# How does he view the Salafi movement, and is hadith narrator criticism a divine science?

*The Salafi movement from iconoclasm to dogmatism; narrator criticism is a human science*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/8u9-aslyrze/s/4/
- Date: 2018-02-21 · Kind: lesson · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Reply to Sunni (Wahhabi) Defence Pt.I -Mufti Abu Layth (10:29–14:23)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U9-ASlyrzE&t=629s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/8u9-aslyrze/

**Topics:** Salafism and Wahhabism; Narrator criticism; Responses to critics

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** The Salafi movement began as a courageous rejection of tradition but, once established, became as dogmatic as what it opposed. Narrator criticism is a human science, so it is always open to revision and disagreement.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Mufti Abu Layth says the Salafi movement, having begun as a courageous iconoclastic rejection of tradition, became as dogmatic as what it opposed once established, and that narrator criticism (ilm al-rijal) is a human science open to revision and disagreement rather than a divine one.

**Evidence, his words at 14:06:** “it is not a divine science it is something that men have come up with” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U9-ASlyrzE&t=846s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth says the Salafi movement rose on a sympathetic appeal: do not follow tradition or numbers, look at the evidence, be objective. He says he personally respected the courage of this iconoclastic beginning. He describes how, in his account, the movement rejected the four Sunni schools and made up its own positions, then went against the almost universal Ash'ari and Maturidi creed of the Ummah in favour of a literalist Hanbali creed, dismissing figures such as Ibn Hajar, Ibn al-Salah [?] and al-Nawawi [?] with 'it doesn't matter, we go with evidence'. Once established, he says, they resorted to the same dogmatic numbers game and became the oppressor they rose against, as revolutionary movements through history have done; the Salafis, he says, have become the Frankenstein they warned against. He then makes a short further point: the science of narrator criticism (ilm al-rijal) is not divine but man-made, since everyone knows the critique of chains comes through men, so it is always open to improvement, disagreement and different later opinions.

## Sources and names cited

- Salafi movement
- Hanbali creed
- Ash'ari and Maturidi creed
- Ibn Hajar
- Ibn al-Salah [?]
- al-Nawawi [?]
- ilm al-rijal (narrator criticism, jarh wa ta'dil)
- narrator criticism is man-made, not divine, and so open to revision

## Transcript (machine tier, 10:29–14:23)

[10:16] them right they go about kind of arguing against me about me criticizing these chains and I want to say here these people I assume them to be seller fees I could be wrong but this whole Salafi movement yeah the seller fees rose on the back of this sympathy you see of like that you see of trying to say don't look at tradish don't look at numbers it's not a numbers game it's the truth try to use try to look at the evidence try to be objective that you know they cried these claims

[10:55] for years they were the Salafi movement began as an iconoclastic movement it rejected tradition yeah Annie I personally respected that about the seller fees that they had this the courage to to rise against the masses and to question things I personally respect that because it takes a lot of courage to do that then what do you know no sooner do they become an established like so first of all they rejected the four schools of

[11:32] sunni jurisprudence and completely made up their own things then they went even further the mainstream entire Muslim Ummah almost believed in a certain belief like whether they were a shoddy matadv stuff like this they went against them and adopted this humbly Ikeda this kind of literalist dogmatic views in creed they went against everybody you told them oh but what about even the hogr have said oh it doesn't matter what about even a Salah no no it doesn't matter what about Imam no we owe it

[12:11] doesn't matter what about all these my oh it doesn't matter what about it doesn't matter we have to go with evidence we have to go with objectivity we have to go with and no sooner do they become an established kind of group that they themselves readers resort to that same kind of dogmatic numbers game so they become the kind of oppressor that they try to rise against this is this is just typical of any easy you see these movements that try to remove despotic kind of tyrants

[12:51] eventually the people that take over just become dead despots and tyrants themselves this is like history repeatedly shows us this so the seller fees who began with these sympathies today have just become the same thing themselves they've become the very frankenstein that they tried to warn against so it's it's shocking - okay now my next point is Elmore Rijal this science of arrived we've gotta start abdur-rahman Murphy in the house

[13:28] Aloha Savin instead a Louis Arlen right now these this Elm original is the science of critiquing people in these chains our first point is did this come from God is this divine or is this man-made if it is from alanis messenger which it isn't everybody knows that the critiquing the chains of asani comes through men then in that case it will always be susceptible to susceptible to to improvement you can always work on it

[14:06] people can always disagree on it the people that come later can have different opinions on it is not a divine science it is something that men have come up with then I want to add another point and this is important they say oh he critiqued things like Bihari and stuff like this well you see albani criticized Bihari alberni okay criticized several hadith in Bukhari probably just close to a dozen or so and clasp them as weak and rejected them amongst them the hadith of if not a bus which is in sahih hain

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment 8U9-ASlyrzE/s/4. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/8u9-aslyrze/s/4/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.