If Separation Is Blamed in Circles of Knowledge, How Much Worse Is It When We Are Separated Amongst Ourselves?

Prior to beginning a talk, Shaykh al-Albani رحمه الله emphasized certain etiquettes related to gatherings of knowledge.

It is reported in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad in the hadeeth of Abū Tha‘labah al-Khushani رضي الله تعالى عنه that he said:

“When we used to travel with the Prophet ﷺ, we would spread out into mountain paths and valleys. One day he said to us: ‘Indeed, this spreading out or distance is from the actions of Shaytan.’”

Shaykh al-Albani explained:

“that this was not during a knowledge based gathering; rather, it occurred during a journey in the open desert. They would spread out, each person choosing a spot—such as beneath shaded trees, near a cool valley, and the like.”

So, the Prophet ﷺ disapproved of that spreading out among them and said:

إنما تفرقكم هذا من عمل الشيطان

“Indeed, this spreading out of yours is from

the actions of Shaytan.”

Abu Tha‘labah رضي الله تعالى عنه said:

“After that, whenever we stopped in a valley, we would gather together so closely that if we had sat on a single mat, it would have been sufficient for all of us.”

They responded to Allah and to the Messenger when he called them (to obedience), and as a result they no longer used to separate at their stopping places, even though they were a traveling people. They would gather together. What is the secret (wisdom) behind the Prophet’s ﷺ concern for keeping people together and not allowing them to separate in their lodgings—even in the open desert? What is the wisdom behind this?

I said: “Indeed, because what is apparent is a sign of what is inward. When Muslims become divided outwardly, that becomes a cause for them to become divided in their hearts.”

Jaami’ Turaath al-Albani v.1 pg. 220

Translated by Abu Anas Atif Hasan