Translation, footnotes by Moosaa Richardson
In the Name of Allaah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful…
All praise belongs to Allaah, and may raise the rank of Messenger of Allaah, his family, companions, and those who follow his guidance, and grant them peace.
To proceed:
Verily I have come across what has been spread on some websites, speech attributed to me, that I said in one of my lectures, "When the Messenger of Allaah has freed himself from you upon the tongue of our Lord..." I said this after mentioning a Verse that proves the prohibition of division, the Statement of Allaah, the Blessed and Exalted:
"Verily those who split up their religion and became sects,
you have nothing at all to do with them." [1]
After this, I said, "How can we not be afraid, O brothers, and choose this division and live in it for ages and ages…"
I seek Allaah's Forgiveness from this filthy statement of falsehood, hundreds of times.
And I request that it be erased from every cassette it is found on, and I stress this to everyone who has a tape that has this statement on it, that they erase it.
And I say: Verily this speech is filthy and false, and exalted be Allaah and exonerated from it, for He, the Exalted One, is exonerated from being similar to the created beings, as He, the Exalted One, has said:
"There is nothing like Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing." [2]
And as He, the Mighty and Majestic, has said:
"Say: He is Allaah, One, (He is) Allaah, the Eternal, He does not beget,
nor was He begotten, and there is none comparable to Him." [3]
And He, the Exalted One, has said:
"Do you know of something similar to Him?" [4]
In these Noble Verses is an establishment of the Attributes of His Perfection, Descriptions of His Majesty, and an exoneration from attributes and descriptions of deficiency or similarity to the created beings. So no one is similar to him, and no one is comparable to Him, not with regards to His actual Presence, nor with regards to any of his Great Attributes.
And Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah affirm every Attribute found in the Book and the Sunnah, without tash-beeh (partially likening them to the attributes of others) or ta'teel (denying them), and without takyeef (seeking after their details) or tamtheel (likening them in totality to the attributes of others) regarding any one of His Attributes, like His Ascension above His Throne, above all of His creation, and His Loftiness, Descending, Hearing, Seeing, Capability, Iraadah (wanting), Knowledge, Speech, Wisdom, His being the Creator, Sustainer, the One who brings life and Death, and the rest of what has been established of His Beautiful Names and Lofty Attributes. Ahlus-Sunnah affirm them without takyeef, tamtheel, tash-beeh, or ta'teel, in doing so opposing the people of desires from the Jahmiyyah, Khawaarij, Mu'tazilah, Rawaafidh, and Ash'ariyyah.
And I, and the praise belongs to Allaah, am from those whom Allaah has honored with this methodology, I believe in it within my self, teach it, call to it, and defend it as a student, teacher, and caller with all my ability. I have befriended (people and groups) based on it, and I have had enmity for others based on it since the beginning of my life.
And this statement that I hate came from me during a lecture in which I was inviting to this methodology, inviting those who oppose it to return to it.
And this filthy statement was merely a slip of the tongue. Had anyone notified me about it at the time I said it, I would have rejected it and freed myself from it. And no one who has come across it has the right to be silent about it.
And it is like the statement of that man in the parable set forth by the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam), the one who said out of extreme happiness, "O Allaah! You are my servant and I am your lord!" The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) said,
"He erred due to extreme happiness." [5]
Even this being the case, I am severely anguished because of it and I severely detest it coming from myself or anyone else.
I ask Allaah, the Generous One, the Lord of the Great Throne, to forgive all of my sins, what I have done in private and what I have done openly, and to forgive my slips and mistakes, the slips of the tongue, the pen, the body parts, and the heart.
And "every son of Aadam is constantly mistaken, and the best of those constantly mistaken ones are those who constantly repent." [6] I ask Allaah to make me from the tawwaabeen (those who constantly repent) and from those who purify themselves.
And accepting advice and following the truth is from the most binding of obligations on all of the Muslims, no matter where it came from. And it is not permissible for the Muslim to belittle the advisor or disrespect him, no matter what his case is.
And I seek refuge in Allaah from rejecting advice or defending any mistake or falsehood that originated from me, for verily this evil manner is from the ways of the people of corruption, arrogance, and stubbornness. And it is from the affair of those who do not take heed when reminded. I seek refuge in Allaah from these filthy characteristics.
And I ask Allaah to make me from those whom He has spoken of:
"And those who, when reminded with the Verses of their Lord, they do not become deaf and blind." [7]
And I advise myself and all the Muslims to follow this methodology and to be firm upon it, to take the advice of the advisors, to traverse the path of the upright Salaf in mutual advice and exhortations with the truth, and to accept the advice, as taken from the Statement of Allaah, the Exalted:
"By the (passing of) time, verily mankind is in loss, except those who have believed, done righteous deeds, mutually advise each other with the truth, and mutually advise each other to have patience." [8]
Also, as taken from His Statement:
"And the believing men and believing women are the allies of one another, they command what is good and forbid what is evil." [9]
And from the signs of being upon guidance, uprightness, firmness, and happiness in both the worldly life and in the Hereafter is being firm upon the Book and the Sunnah and traversing upon this methodology, in affairs of beliefs, manners, ordering righteousness, forbidding vice, and making reparations with wisdom and in honorable ways.
And I call upon Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, to grant success to this ummah, especially Ahlus-Sunnah, in promoting this great methodology, to unite their speech upon it, to grant them authority, honor, and dignity in the worldly life, and to grant them, due to following this methodology, salvation and happiness in the Hereafter. Verily, my Lord hears the Supplication.
And may Allaah raise the rank of our Prophet, and that of his family and companions, and may He grant them peace. [10]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] a translation of the meaning of Soorah al-An'aam (6):159
[2] a translation of the meaning of Soorah ash-Shooraa (42):11
[3] a translation of the meaning of Soorah al-Ikhlaas (112):1-4
[4] a translation of the meaning of Soorah Maryam (19):65
[5] from an authentic hadeeth collected by Muslim in his Saheeh (#6895) on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him)
[6] As stated by the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alayhe wa sallam) in an authentic hadeeth collected by at-Tirmithee (#2499) and Ibn Maajah (#4251) on the authority of Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him). Al-Albaanee graded the hadeeth: hasan.
[7] a translation of the meaning of Soorah al-Furqaan (25):73
[8] a translation of the meaning of Soorah al-'Asr (103):1-3
[9] a translation of the meaning of Soorah at-Tawbah (9):71
[10] Dated 1425/7/9, from a post on sahab.net:
