Discussion on Islamic Unity and Scholars

The foundation of our work is our master, Sheikh Badr al-Din

al-Hasani.

Many Islamic endeavors in our country trace back to our master,

Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani.

Sheikh Badr al-Din al-Hasani, brother, made great efforts to bring people together

in service of religion, but his efforts to bring people together

and unite the ranks

began in the nineteenth century, because the sheikh was born in the middle of the

nineteenth century, and since his youth, he has pursued this endeavor

and achieved remarkable success.

Before the period we are in now,

today, we are suffering greatly from

fragmentation and division, meaning

people attacking one another with their words and on social media

and these very severe chaotic accusations

and so on. This was not the case before.

This is something new in our time. Originally, in al-Sham,

praise be to God, all the scholars of al-Sham were united,

in all their orientations, including Salafis, Sufis, Ash'aris,

Maturidis, and all of them

had united hearts, there were no differences between them, and we were not

We feel some of this division and fragmentation that we did not

feel at all before. My brothers,

we were

for many long years, Sheikh Bahjat al-Bitar, may God have mercy on him, was

the foremost symbol of Salafism in our country. Ask the elders,

they know that Sheikh Bahjat al-Bitar, may God have mercy on him,

along with the scholars, all the scholars of the country,

the Ash'aris, Sufis, Maturidis, and others, were all a single fabric,

all one, including Sheikh Bahjat, and he

always attended the Scholars' Association gatherings

chaired by Sheikh Abu al-Khayr al-Maydani, sheikh of the Naqshbandi order.

Sheikh Bahjat al-Bitar was with them, and they never abandoned one another.

Then afterward, after Sheikh Bahjat al-Bitar departed for

the mercy of God, blessed and exalted be He, Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut

became the greatest Salafi sheikh. Ask about Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut

and his relations with all

the Syrian scholars. They were very strong and solid.

Sheikh, Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Arna'ut, my brothers

Please ask the professors who teach at

the Islamic institutes in Damascus, for they know more than

others.

Who is Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Arnaout's close friend, who was always at his left and sat

with him, talking with him often,

even at times

there would be some joking

and amusement between them? Who is the close friend

on such occasions and in their free time

who sits with Sheikh Abd al-Qadir al-Arnaout?

And Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri. Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri is a sheikh

of the Shadhili order, the successor of Sheikh Muhammad

al-Hashimi, who was Sheikh Said al-Burhani's sheikh, and Sheikh

Ahmad al-Shami in Douma, and Sheikh Abdul Qadir Issa in

Aleppo, and Sheikh Said Hawwa, may God have mercy on them all.

Their sheikh and successor was Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Shaghouri,

Sheikh Abdul Qadir al-Arnaout's dearest friend,

meaning they were

those whose friendship and love for God, Blessed

and Exalted, were attested to by everyone. There was no such division in our country between

Salafi, Ash'ari, Sufi, and so on. None of this existed.

Yes, they differed in opinions and ideas, but their hearts were one,

There was no such

division among the members of the Ummah,

which, I mean, was stirred up, stirred up by the wicked

and those with malicious agendas, God forbid. It was never

among us, ever, ever.