Some Cautions Regarding Benefiting from Western Writers

The shaikh, Dr. Muḥammad ibn Ghālib Al-ʿUmarī, may Allāh protect him, said:

There’s nothing to stop us, in terms of Islamic law, from accepting advice on educational matters or [taking on other] valuable [benefits] from Western writers, but that should be in a way that:

  • does not contradict our religion;
  • we don’t make do with it to the exclusion of our Islamic legislation;
  • we don’t go too far in making out how great it is or in claiming it’s uniqueness;
  • we know that the correctness of [any] pieces of advice from them doesn’t indicate [anything] about their being sound in religious matters.