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-Albānī رحمه الله emphasized certain etiquettes related to gatherings of knowledge.

It is reported in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad, in the ḥadīth of Abū Thaʿlabah al-Khushanī رضي الله تعالى عنه, that he said:

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

Shaykh al-Albānī explained that this did not occur during a gathering of knowledge. Rather, it occurred during a journey in the open desert. They would spread out, with each person choosing a spot—such as beneath a shaded tree, near a cool valley, and the like.

The Prophet ﷺ disapproved of this spreading out among them and said:

إِنَّمَا تَفَرُّقُكُمْ هَذَا مِنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ

Indeed, this spreading out of yours is from the actions of Shayṭān.

Abū Thaʿlabah 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. As a result, they no longer separated from one another at their stopping places, even though they were traveling. Instead, they would gather together.

What is the secret—or wisdom—behind the Prophet’s ﷺ concern for keeping the people together and not allowing them to separate in their lodgings, even in the open desert? What is the wisdom behind this?

Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله said:

I say: "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.”

Source: Jāmiʿ Turāth al-Albānī, vol. 1, p. 220.

Translated by Abu Anas Atif Hasan