Question:

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

As-Salaamu ‘Alaikum wa Rahmatullah wa Barakaatuh,

When the shuyukh say things about people, how do we know if the shuyukh are just testing them and us or if they really mean what they say…eg, if the shuyukh say that this is a corrupt person and has a dirty heart…do we take it at face value, or look at it as a test for that person and ourselves and not hold a bad opinion or enmity towards that person?

I ask this in context of the incident Shaykh Hisham mentioned of Grandshaykh shouting Mawlana Shaykh Nazim in front of everybody and the other mureeds began thinking bad of Mawlana Shaykh Nazim and took Grandshaykhs words at face value.

How do we avoid being like those mureeds, but also make sure that we are not disobeying the Shaykh by interpreting the situation wrongly?

May Allah Reward You,
Jazakallah

Answer:

Alaykum Salam,

A murid has to realize when a person is trying to harm the Shaykh and dissociate from such a person forthwith. A truthful murid also needs to detect what the Shaykh considers a real fitna and unacceptable interference so that they do not contribute in fueling such a fire
against the Shaykh.

If in doubt then abstain from judgement and reflect more; however, the murid has to be on the same page with Shaykh because haqq is haqq and batil is batil. A widespread example of batil is those who misrepresent the Shaykh around the world, as described in some of the recent suhbas of Mawlana Shaykh Hisham.

When, however, Shaykh makes a rebuke involving a senior caliph similar to the incident mentioned in your question, the matter is different and those who witness it should not interfere whether outwardly or with their hearts. We keep our irrelevant interpretations to ourselves and focus on our own ego-infestation issues. As Mawlana said when lions roar
dogs keep quiet.

Our hearts are under scrutiny in any case, whether in the first scenario or the latter, and Allah knows best.

Hajj Gibril Haddad