Mahmud Abu Rayyah – liar from the army of liars.  Heretics use to spread his book “Light on the Muhammadan Sunnah”, and proudly present it as “Defence of Hadith”!!

Sheikh Mustafa as-Sibai (rahimahullah) in his book “Sunna wa makanatuha fi tashriy al-Islam” (pages 482 – 483) said about this Abu Rayyah:

In both his first and second books, he maliciously maligned the scholars of Azhar University, yet he was a man who wore the robe of Azhar scholars and gave himself a title sheikh. This isn’t strange to those from his city and those who know the history of his life. When he was young, he attended in the secondary school that was linked to Azhar University. However, his grades were so poor that he didn’t even complete high school. When he lost hope of continuing his studies, he took a job at a newspaper, assuming the responsibility of correcting typographical errors. He continued in that vocation for a number of years, after which he was given a small writing job in municipal office. There he continued to work until retirement. When he left Azhar, he would stand at the side of the road, mocking students from AZHAR. He derided them for their dedication to studying the Religion, which he saw as a proof of their foolish minds. This is Au Rayyah, as we know him through the people of his city, from scholars and students alike. He didn’t graduate from high school and he never took his knowledge from a scholar. All that he learned was taken from newspapers, which is why he doesn’t deserve to be described as a student of knowledge, and his opinions and ideas are certainly not worthy of any attention. These incidents early on in his life played a major role in increasing Abu Rayyah’s prejudice against Muslim scholars; his early experiences also serve to show us why he’s lacking in both scholarship and intellectual honesty.

In an attempt to refute my views, he derided me because I am from Syria and he continually asserted that my people (Syrians) are known for their stupidity. It doesn’t bother me that he calls me stupid, for it’s the people and the readers who can better judge that. But what concerns me is that I should clarify the reality of the beliefs that this man clings to. His ignorance led him not only to an extreme feeling of nationalistic pride, but also to hating people from other countries. If he were truly a Muslim, he would have known that Muslim countries constitute one nation.

And sheikh (rahimahullah) continued:

He (Abu Rayyah) said that his first book aroused a great controversy, which no other Arabic book has ever achieved, with the exemption of Taha Husayn’s book. He boasts that books are written for the sole purpose of refuting his book, that magazines are filled with critical articles about his book. This is the reality of Abu Rayyah: without scholarship, he desires fame among the ranks of scholars, and lacking in honesty, he seeks fame by arousing the anger of the righteous. The most wretched of people are those deviants who seek notoriety through the perpetration of evil actions – actions that make them deserve the curse of Allah, of the angels, and of all people.

Book of sheikh Mustafa as-Sibai (rahimahullah) has been translated in English and published under the name The Sunnah and its Role in Legislation. Everyone must read this book.

And here another perfect article on Abu Rayyah.