A student asks Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, for permission to recite some poetry before his lecture, so he allows him to. So the student says:

“O my Ummah, this night is followed by daybreak whose light is spreading throughout earth

Good is anticipated and victory is awaited and the truth, despite the efforts of evil, is triumphant

Through an awakening, may the Creator bless its course, pure, unadulterated, and untarnished

As long as the son of Saalih, the Shaikh of our awakening, is among us, through the likes of him is support and victory hoped for …”

And here Shaikh ’Uthaimeen cuts him off saying, “I do not agree with this line.”

Someone says,“We agree with it, O Shaikh.”

’Uthaimeen says, “No, I do not agree—because I do not want that the truth be linked to/dependent upon people, everyone will perish, so if we correlate the truth with people this means that when a person dies [who is looked up to] the people after him will despair.

So I say, if it is possible for you now to change the last line to:

‘As long as the Book of Allaah and His Prophet’s Sunnah is amongst us,’ then that is good.”

So then the student says the line as Shaikh ’Uthaimeen altered it:

“As long as the Book of Allaah and His Prophet’s Sunnah is among us,” but then he goes back to what he had written in his original version saying, “Ibn al-’Uthaimeen …”

To which Shaikh ’Uthaimeen says, “No, Yaa Shaikh … [then it is slightly unclear] …” then the Shaikh says, “Stop stop.”

Then the student, continuing his poetry, says, “Our faqeeh …”

So the Shaikh can be heard to say, “No, no, no, … no, no … if this is all you have then give us a question.”

Then he advises everyone:

“I advise you all now and for afterwards—do not correlate the truth with men. First off, men can become misguided, even Ibn Mas’ood said, ‘Whoever is going to follow someone, let him follow the dead, because the living are not safe from fitnah.’

If you link the truth to men, it is possible that a person can become self-conceited, we seek Allaah’s refuge from that, and then traverse a path that is not correct.

That is why I advise you now not to make the truth bound to men.

Firstly, a man is not safe, we ask Allaah to keep us and you firm, he is not safe from errors and fitnah.

Secondly, he will die, there is no one who will remain, “And We granted not to any human being immortality before you, then if you die, would they live forever?” [Al-Anbiyaa 21:34]

And thirdly, the children of Aadam are human, maybe he will become conceited if he sees the people revering him, honouring him, turning to him, maybe he will become conceited, and hold that he is infallible and claim infallibility for himself, and that everything he does is the truth, and everything he undertakes is legislated, and through that he is destroyed, for this reason when a man praised another in front of the Prophet ﷺ, he said, “Woe to you, you have cut off your companion’s neck,” or “[broken] your companion’s back.”

[Addressing and consoling the young guy who was reciting the poetry] and I thank the brother in advance, even though I didn’t listen to what he said about me, for the joy he shows concerning me, and I ask Allaah that He makes me someone he has a good opinion of or more, but I do not like this …”

The student can be heard to say, “Jazakallahu khair …”

The Shaikh continued, “… I will give you something [gifts etc.] inshaa Allaahu ta’aala, I ask Allaah to reward you on my behalf with good, and recompense you.”

Here is the audio: https://giftsofknowledge.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/d982d8b5d98ad8afd8a9-d8a7d984d985d8afd8ad-d8a7d984d8aad98a-d8b1d981d8b6d987d8a7-d8a5d8a8d986-d8b9d8abd98ad985d98ad986.mp3