A Closer Examination of Abu Fayrooz’s Tabdee’ of Sheikh Hisham At-Tahiri

When Abu Fayrooz, may Allah grant him success, was asked about Sheikh Saleem Al-Hilali, may Allah preserve him, he replied: “...Saleem Al-Hilali is not trustworthy in my opinion. However, I have refrained from disparaging him as long as the matter remains ambiguous to our scholars, and none of them have spoken negatively about him. I continue to await the scholars and their guidance...” Points of benefit: 1. His statement implies that he would have labelled Sheikh Saleem an innovator had a scholar preceded him. 2. It also suggests that Abu Fayrooz himself is NOT a scholar. 3. He established the evidence against Sheikh Saleem Al-Hilali, and despite the latter's arrogance and continued rejection of this advice (according to Abu Fayrooz's own admission audio), he refrained from declaring him an innovator. Crucial Questions: 1. If Abu Fayrooz did not declare tabdee’ on Sheikh Saleem because no one had preceded him, why has he now declared tabdee’ on Sheikh Hisham without any scholar preceding him? 2. Although the hujjah was established on Sheikh Saleem, who persisted in his rejection (according to Abu Fayrooz), no tabdee’ was issued. Meanwhile, when a young brother from the West messaged Abu Fayrooz about Sheikh Hisham, the declaration of tabdee' was issued instantly 3. You write in your manifesto: "We believe in letting the Mashaayikh control this Da'wah, and we believe in returning things back to the Mashaayikh" We all know (I hope) that the mashayikh do not ultimately control the da'wah, rather its the evidences we submit to: {ٱتَّبِعُوا۟ مَاۤ أُنزِلَ إِلَیۡكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا۟ مِن دُونِهِۦۤ أَوۡلِیَاۤءَۗ قَلِیلࣰا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ} "Follow, [O mankind], what has been revealed to you from your Lord and do not follow other than Him any allies. Little do you remember" [Surah Al-Aʿrāf: 3]. I would strongly recommend rephrasing this section to avoid conveying the wrong message. However, for the sake of argument, if we were to adopt this approach wholeheartedly, it’s clear that the mashayikh have advised us to distance ourselves from Abu Fayrooz, if not entirely, then at least from his reckless rulings. It’s important to note that this advice comes from prominent "scholars" such as Sheikh Yahya, Sheikh Abul Yaman, Sheikh Abdulhameed, Sheikh Hasan ibn Qasim Ar-Raymi, among others. Conclusion: This inconsistent approach is precisely why the above scholars have cautioned us against this reckless approach. https://t.me/almanhajussalafi/901 https://t.me/abdulhamid12/1332 Abu Ishaq Muhammad ibn Ahmad