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Question
Are there any circumstances under which a layman can or should criticize a scholar of deen? For instance, we have an Al-Azhari shaykh at a local masjid here who happens to have a trimmed beard. He also has some issues with the local tabligh effort and has made veiled criticism of it during his regular talks. Will it be permissible for our brothers to consider his act of trimming his beard and his hostility towards tabligh as a morally reprehensible act and hence avoid him? Or, should we simply make an excuse for him and continue to respect him for his knowledge of Quran and Sunnah and try to avert bad thoughts about him? Please clarify.
Answer
You should take that which is good about him and leave the bad. If a person is committing a sin, as trimming the beard is a sin. As a community it is its duty that it not put into such important religious offices such people who themselves are so evidently deficient, as this only helps in the evil practice(s) you mention gaining more momentum.