Attended a talk with Shaikh Said Foudah yesterday here in Cairo and he said some very interesting things
He started off by speaking of how important the science of Ilm Al Tawhid. This is also known by other names such as Aqida, Kalaam, and Ilm Usul Al Din. He said that this science of Tawhid exists amongst every Muslim group because Tawhid is the essence of our Deen.
Without the existence of Allah, there is no existence of the Prophet ﷺ even. There is no proper fiqh and the punishment of the graves or anything of that. It all stems from the existence and oneness of Allah.
Shaikh Saeed then said that a Muslim must be honest with himself. The Prophet ﷺ said the believer does not lie. Shaikh Saeed said with honesty comes justice in our critique.
He said people know he critiques Salafis and will come to him and say “They don’t love the Prophet ﷺ.” This is obviously not true and no Muslim should ever suggest that.
He then stated that many people today say they are from Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jammah but have opinions outside of Ahlus Sunnah. They may even have a framework contrary to that of Ahlus Sunnah.
Shaikh Saeed said that many critique him for his critiques of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Arabi, but that this is his honest reading of their writings. This does not come from a statement of love or hate, but being honest. He considers them to have opinions that are outside the confines of Ahlus Sunnah.
He called us to stick to that framework of Ahlus Sunnah. Once we have studied and mastered that framework, we should be honest when we feel that certain scholars, in the past or present, have stepped out of that framework.
There is a Sullam of books that need to be read, with a close attention to its commentaries. Alhamdulillah, in fiqh, Muslims have become very advanced and very sophisticated. We need to have that same sophistication in the science of Tawhid, as this is the most important science.
We need Muslims grounded in the Kalaam tradition so that we can respond to present day Shuhubat. Just as have done a very good job of being able to resolve the various fiqh issues coming before us today, we need to dedicate that same amount of time and effort to resolve the various shubuhaat that have been brought to us today.
Shaikh Saeed mentioned that he also feels like Usul Al Fiqh needs revival in our day and age. He said Kalaam and Usul Al Fiqh are the sciences he believes we as Muslims really need to dive into. This is why his organization is called Aslayn…The two Asls that we need to revive are Usul Al Din(another name for the science of Aqida/Kalaam) and Usul Al Fiqh.
Shaikh Saeed also reminded us of the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ that this Deen is Mateen(deep), so enter it with rifq(gentleness). Do not think that you will be able to master this tradition in a day. It will take time. Take things slowly. Read the commentaries and read them well.
It made me reflect on my journey in studying. I have been in Egypt for almost 3.5 years now. One thing that I have realized in this journey is that some concepts just take time to cook in one’s head. They are not going to click in a day.
Even if someone were to intensely study the religious sciences for 10 hours a day for 1-2 years, they would not be able to match someone who spent an hour a day doing it for five years. This is because this Deen is deep and its sciences must be studied with that in mind.
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