Should he sell tapes by daa’iyahs whose ways sometimes differ from the Sunnah?

One of the good
characteristics of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah is that they know the right
path and show compassion towards people, so they love to speak with
knowledge and fairness, and they hate wrongdoing and ignorance, because they
follow the Book of Allaah whenever He commands them to treat people with
fairness and to judge them on the basis of knowledge and truth.  

Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning): 

“O you who believe! Stand
out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allaah, even though it be against
yourselves, or your parents, or your kin”

[al-Nisa’ 4:135] 

“…and that when you judge
between men, you judge with justice”

[al-Nisa’ 4:58] 

“And whenever you give
your word (i.e. judge between men or give evidence), say the truth”

[al-An’aam 6:152]

The human soul can only
reach this level when it works for the sake of Allaah free from any ego or
worldly interests, and when it is aware that Allaah can see into the depths
of the conscience and what is hidden in the heart. According to the hadeeth:
“Those who are fair and just will be on thrones of light.” Narrated by
Muslim, 2827. 

One of the du’aa’s of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was: “I ask You to
(make me speak) the word of truth at times of anger and at times of
contentment.” Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 1305; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani
in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i.

 If you think about the
divinely-ordained method by means of which Allaah raised people to the
pinnacle of self-control, tolerance and speaking the word of truth even if
it goes against one’s self, one’s parents or one’s relatives, you will
understand that many of the daa’iyahs who are involved in the field of
contemporary Islamic da’wah, who have some good qualities and a great deal
of influences among the masses, are doing well in the aspects in which they
excel, and in the aspects in which they are falling short they are either
striving to reach the right conclusion by means of their own ijtihaad, in
which case they will receive either one reward or two, or they are falling
short in some aspects but we hope, in sha Allaah, that their good deeds will
make up for their bad deeds, especially in the case of those who have
influenced the people and led to them becoming righteous. Depriving the
people of access to their call, when there is no effective alternative, is a
method that is not approved of in Islam, for one of the basic principles of
sharee’ah is to reduce evils and promote good among the people. 

The good that is achieved by
these daa’iyahs, such as guiding the youth, encouraging girls to observe
hijab and encouraging people to pray regularly are important matters that
are among the greatest aims of sharee’ah. 

The shortcomings that you
mention, meaning that some daa’iyahs fall short in some aspects, should not
be allowed to overshadow the benefits mentioned, especially since they have
to do with minor issues and are limited to the individual, whereas the
benefits are great and reach many people. 

Hence there is no reason why
you should not sell tapes by these daa’iyahs, so long as they are following
the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah. If any of them make a mistake with
regard to some matter, the way of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah is to advise
them by getting in touch with them or writing to them. 

Whoever thinks about the
daa’iyahs who deliver khutbahs and lectures or broadcast on TV and radio
etc, will notice that they are of different types: 

Some of them are following
the path of the salaf in their methodology, moderation and action.  We
should listen to these daa’iyahs and encourage people to listen to them. 

Some of them are correct in
most of what they say, but they fall somewhat short in the field of action.
They should be listened to, because their shortcomings are usually limited
only to themselves. 

Some of them mix right and
wrong but in general they follow the Sunnah and do not adopt any ideas of
bid’ah (innovation) and do not promote it, so we should not put people off
from listening to them altogether, rather we should correct their mistakes
and speak about their errors in a just and fair manner, whilst also praising
their good points. 

Some of them are people of
bid’ah and shirk, which they spread and promote. We should not listen to
them and we should warn others against them, and not praise their good
points, because that means we are praising them when they have committed
major sins which cancel out any good deeds. 

The above has to do with the
daa’iyahs. 

On the other hand, there are
people who speak of the daa’iyahs in a just manner, and others who speak of
them in an unfair manner. 

Among the latter there are
some who are unjust and unfair; they accuse some daa’iyahs of bid’ah when in
fact they do not follow bid’ah, and warn others against them, when it is
more appropriate to warn people against these unfair critics, because they
are unfair and wrongdoers. No attention should be paid to their warnings
because of their unfairness and wrongdoing. 

Hence we must know how to
distinguish between sin, bid’ah, error and mistakes with regard to the basic
tenets of ‘aqeedah. 

We will give some examples: 

If there is a daa’iyah who
calls people to the path of the salaf, but he is extreme and harsh, then he
should be praised for his methodology but he should be given advice with
regard to his harshness. 

If there is a preacher who
quotes da’eef and munkar (weak and unsound) ahaadeeth, but there is also a
lot of truth in what he says, then he should be praised for his preaching,
but he should be told of the error of his quoting weak and fabricated
ahaadeeth and taking them as evidence. 

If there is someone who
reminds the people and teaches them about proper morals, etiquette and
virtues, but he shaves his beard, for example, or sits in mixed gatherings,
then he should be praised for his good qualities but should be told of the
rulings regarding the matters where he goes against the Sunnah. If he calls
for abandoning some of the obligatory or mustahabb Sunnahs, then that view
should also be refuted. 

If there is someone who
teaches the people bid’ah (innovations) and encourages them to associate
others with Allaah, such as seeking the help of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), dead “saints” (awliya’) or occupants of
graves, or encourages them to pray to them and ask of them, then we should
warn others against him and explain the falseness of his belief and shirk.
We should tell the people not to listen to anything that he says because it
involves dangerous and harmful ideas. 

If there is someone who
mixes truth and falsehood, Sunnah and bid’ah, we should not encourage the
people to listen to him; rather we should point out the error of his ways.
When he starts to propagate his wrong ideas, then the should be advised and
requested to retract these ideas publicly. If he does not do that, then his
mistakes should be announced in the same gathering where he promoted his
mistaken ideas. 

And Allaah is the Source of
strength.