Conclusively about Bro Abdulwaheed Alam, is that his various acts of delving into the matters between scholars whereby he causes a great tribulation for the Muslim masses is worrisome.
The People of Sunnah in the West are greatly polarised the same way that polarisation is transported to Africa, Nigeria namely.
The trainees here see the scholars of Sunnah labouring day and night to kick out bid'ah and shirk as deviants for one perceived error or two.
Agreed, all errors committed by scholars must be corrected and clarified, majorly by other scholars.
When scholars whoever begin to correct one another's positions on some minute issues of Aqeedah or whatever, the students must be very careful.
When errors are pointed out, allow other scholars to clarify or recant. Don't start whipping up sentiments. Don't start calling other scholars names. Don't start apportioning blames. This is because there is no scholar on earth living or dead that is error-free.
Al-Imaam adh-Dhahabi - rahimahullah - asked repeatedly in As-Siyar: 'Is it anytime any scholar makes a mistake that he is dropped? If that is the case nobody will remain.'
Some students are so hasty that anytime they hear of a scholar's mistake, they fly with it all over the world even if the scholar was their 'Allaamah' yesterday.
Abu Khadeejah had called Shaykh Aliyy Hasan Al-Halabi, Shaykh Yahyaa al-Hajooree, Shaykh Muhammad bn Haadee, etc, al-Allaamah, on several instances but all of a sudden those scholars lost their respect the moment they 'fell' into errors.
This methodology of dropping 'fallen' scholars have seen a very large number of scholars off the record of Sunnah.
Whereas most of these errors and mistakes are what perhaps are sheer misunderstanding from those reading or hearing about them from among the other scholars.
Like Shaykh Aliyy Hasan Al Halabi - rahimahullah - clarified many of what people misunderstood from him before he died. An example of that is the accusation that he was calling to the 'Unity of religions.' He asked that if he was accused of calling to that, he was not only guilty of bid'ah but kufr that the scholars should go ahead and call him a kaafir, which none could do because of the severity of that, and the fact that, he couldn't have really done that.
Another example is the accusation that he was said to have made it a condition that before one can declare another person as a mubtadi, then there must be an Ijmaa. He said he never said that only that before we can declare a person that does not declare a mubtadi as a mubtadi then there must be a consensus from the scholars over the fact that the person not declared a mubtadi by a scholar is actually a mubtadi.
He was simply saying if scholars differ over the bid'ah of a person those scholars should not turn on one another with labels of bid'ah under the invented bid'ah of chain tabdee.
On Halabi's positions, Abu Khadeejah, massacared Al-Halabi upon the claim that that is the position of the Senior Scholars about him. If you ask him, is that the position Shaykh al-Abbaad, Shaykh al-Ithiopii, Shaykh Wasiullaah, etc, he would wave it aside.
Why can't you leave the scholars do their doing? That is our question. They would say one must help the truth. But what if he later pans out that what you think to be the truth is actually not, and you have spoken ill of the accused scholar?
On Shaykh Yahya al-Hajooree, the accussations are like a mountain.
Yes, Shaykh Al-Yahya al-Hajooree - hafidhahullaah - could have gone overboard on certain issues. There could have been serious slips from him. He could be right perhaps in some of the issues.
For example, on the Ahlu-Sunnah being the closest to the truth, he was not the only one that uttered it. See here.
On Adhaan of Uthman - radiyallahu anhu, he tried to clarify himself. He said he never said Uthmaan was a mubtadi but that the first Adhaan is a bid'ah, he cited Ibn Umar - radiyallahu anhuma - for that.
The scholars who held him for that cannot be blamed, and the clarification from Shaykh Yahyaa - hafidhohullah - was necessary.
Perhaps he was trying to say the way people do the First Adhaan, in the masjid, not in the market place (as Uthman did it) is bid'ah. That is the position of Shaykh Al-Albaani - rahimahullah - but Shaykh Al-Albaani was clear to say Uthman was not a Mubtadi and that what he did was not bid'ah but that people who want to do that today shouid do so the same way Uthman did it otherwise it is bid'ah.
We students would have given Shaykh Yahya al-Hajooree a husn dhann. The scholars are right to hold him.
Then on the issue of Sahaba participating in the killing of Uthman, Shaykh Yahyaa - hafidhahullaah - actually retracted from that. He removed it from the latter edition of the book where he wrote it, and there is an audio release from him to that effect.
He had actually made an error in that statement by relying on a weak narration - thought by hìm a strong narration - in al-Bidaayah wan-Nihaayah and Tabaqaat Ibn Sa'd. A narration that Abdulrahman bn Abee Bakr participated in the killing. This is wrong from two perspectives: the narration is weak, two, that Abdulrahman was not a Sahabee. He was born about a hundred days to the death of the Messenger of Allaah - sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Nevertheless, Shaykh Yahyaa's reaction should be acceptable. Scholars who say it is not clear enough can be excused but not mere students.
Yes, Shaykh Yahyaa has a tough and harsh words towards his opponents. Addressing Shaykh Ubayd in his first name is not acceptable. May Allaah forgive the Shaykh for that.
The matter however is that the likes of Abu Khadeejah thrive in matters like these. When those things cease they become irrelevant.
Lastly, Africa, especially Nigeria, being the most populous black country, is rife with a lot of acts anathema to Islam. Soofiyyah reigns here with Sunnah making some inroads but still a very far cry.
The effects of Da'wah of Ikhwaaniyyah and Tanbleeghiyyah are there. They are not relenting too. The people of Sunnah have been in a running battle with them.
So importing the issues among the scholars of Sunnah in Asia and making them topics of discussions where Muslim youths stand to one another's necks is without doubt a very misplaced priority.
Salafiyyah - aqeedatan wa manhajan - had got some callers to it in Nigeria for about two decades now with no much problem until the issues of the mashaayikh came in. Salafee friends have become sworn enemies to one another, madaaris maraakiz, etc, are now in a disarray due to these issues.
Abu Khadeejah et al, we are not interested in the Fitnah, reign in your boys.
