Have You Heard the Story of The Man Who Hit Ibn Baaz on His Head?
February 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
“And Shaikh ’Ali al-’Imraan, may Allaah grant him success in all that is good, related to me [the following], saying that, ‘Shaikh Sa’eed ibn ’Ayaash al-Ghaamidi, the Chief Judge of the Courts in Khamis Mushait, now retired, said, ‘I used to be Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz [Ibn Baaz’s] clerk in Al-Dulam and the Shaikh would never leave until the final case, and this would always delay us.
One time, we had closed all the records and wanted to leave and then a Bedouin came in and so the Shaikh said, ‘We’ll sit and listen to what he wants.’ So I said, ‘O Shaikh, the shift is over.’ He said, ‘We will listen to the man.’ So I said, ‘It’s three o’clock.’ He said, ‘We’ll listen to what he wants, maybe he has come from far away.’
So I became extremely angry and hit the Shaikh on his head with the register and fled.
After a few days I came back to the Shaikh and apologised to him and he accepted my apology as though nothing had happened. Then I sought knowledge and studied until I became a judge and then became the Chief Judge of Khamis Mushait Court.
I learnt many things from the Shaikh, like patience with the people whose cases were brought forward and bearing their harm.
One time, a person came in after the end of the day’s shift, and the clerk had closed the register, so I asked him to open it and listen to what the man had to say, so he became angry and said, ‘The shift is over.’ So I said to him, ‘We will listen to the man, maybe he has come from far away.’
Before I knew it I felt the clerk hit me on the head with the register—and so I recalled what I had done to the Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, [when I was a clerk]—and the man fled from the court.
After a few days I sent after him and told the messenger to tell him that I had forgiven him.’’”
Al-Jaami li-Ahkaam al-Hajj wal-’Umrah, pp. 277-278.
Ibn Taymiyyah on Blind-Following, Compelling and Forcing People to Follow the Opinion of an Imaam and to Show Loyalty and Enmity Based Upon It
February 18, 2014 § Leave a comment
The Shaikh of Islaam, the Remnant of the Salaf, Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “… and for this reason one of the distinguishing marks of the people of innovation is to make up a statement or action and then compel the people to take it up and force them to adopt it, and to show loyalty based upon it and enmity for leaving it.
Just as the Khawaarij innovated their opinion and compelled the people to follow it and showed loyalty and enmity based upon it.
And the Raafidah innovated their opinion and compelled the people to follow it and showed loyalty and enmity based upon it.
And the Jahmiyyah innovated their opinion and compelled the people to follow it and showed loyalty and enmity based upon it …
So whoever punishes [someone] for doing an act or leaving it without an order from Allaah or His Messenger and legislates that as part of religion then he has set up a peer to Allaah and has set up an equal to the Messenger just like the polytheists who set up partners with Allaah, or like the apostates who believed in Musailamah the Liar, and he is from those about whom it was said, “Or have they partners with Allaah, who have instituted for them a religion which Allaah has not allowed?” [Shuraa 42:21]
And for this reason the Imaams of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah would not compel the people with what they would say in issues of ijtihaad, and they would not force a single person.
And for this reason when Haaroon ar-Rasheed consulted [Imaam] Maalik ibn Anas about making the people follow his [book] Al-Muwatta, he said to him, ‘Don’t do that, O Chief of the Believers, for verily the Companions of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ have spread out throughout the lands, and each nation [to which they went] has taken from those [Companions] who were among it, and I have only collected the knowledge of the people of my land,’ or words to that effect, and he also said, ‘I am only a man, I am correct and make mistakes, so refer my statements back to the Book and the Sunnah.’
And Imaam Ahmad said, ‘It does not befit a faqeeh that he forces the people to follow his madhhab or that he insists on them [complying],’ and he said, ‘Don’t blindly-follow any men concerning your religion, for indeed they will not be safe from making a mistake.’
So if these are their statements about the fundamentals [usool] of knowledge and subsidiary issues [furoo’] of the religion, [i.e.,] that they do not permit forcing the people to follow their madhhabs even though they deduced the [rulings of their] madhhabs with legislated proofs—then what is the case about compelling people and forcing statements upon them which are not found in the Book of Allaah, or a hadith from Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ, and nor have they been transmitted from the Companions or the Taabi’een, and nor from a single one of the Imaams of the Muslims?”
Al-Fataawaa al-Kubraa, vol. 6, p. 340, summarised.
Ibn Baaz Asking, “Have You Got Any Money on You?”
February 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
“No beggar would stand in the mosque asking the people for something except that Ibn Baaz would give him, and if he didn’t have anything with him to give he would take from the person next to him and give it to the beggar, and this happened on a number of occasions:
A beggar once stood up in the mosque asking the people so the Shaikh said to his attendant, ‘Do you have anything on you?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ So he said, ‘Give him fifty riyals.’ Another time a beggar stood up, so the Shaikh turned to the mu’adhhin and said, ‘Do you have any money on you?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ So he said, ‘Give him twenty riyals and I will give it back to you later.’ So the mu’adhhin got up and gave the beggar twenty riyals and then forgot about it and thought that due to how busy the Shaikh was and due to his responsibilities and duties he too would forget.
And then [lo and behold later] the Shaikh sent his representative searching for the mu’adhhin who then gave him the twenty riyals, saying, ‘This is from the Shaikh.’
And he, may Allaah have mercy on him, was repeatedly asked about stopping beggars from begging in the mosque and he would say, ‘No, for Allaah, the Most High, said, “And repulse not the beggar.” [ad-Duhaa 93:10].”
Imaamul-’Asr, p. 155.
Ibn Baaz and Having a Good Opinion of Others
February 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
“One of the greatest and most beautiful things you would see in this Shaikh was the good opinion [husn adh-than] he would have of Muslims, having a good opinion was his foundation, he didn’t like arousing doubts about a single Muslim or to cause distrust of him, or to say things that weren’t pleasing about him even if it reached him that a person may have personally wronged or maligned him, in fact, that would make him not care about the issue even more.
Some students of knowledge came to him and complained about someone to him and explained his mistakes and infractions, so the Shaikh started to dictate an answer to reprimand, advise, and direct him, whilst doing so one of the people [present] said, ‘And he, O Shaikh, speaks ill of you and slanders you.’
So the Shaikh said to his scribe, ‘Stop.’ And he left off dictating fearing that it would be said, ‘The Shaikh seeks revenge for himself.’”
Imaamul-’Asr, p. 149.
The Story of the Opening of Ibn Baaz’s Mosque in Makkah
February 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
“What is more amazing than all of this is that the Shaikh would not set himself above others even though people’s hearts were overflowing with love for him, and their intellects compliant to his opinion, and ready to carry out his orders. [On the contrary] he would walk amongst the people as though he was one of them, never boasting of his knowledge, nor looking at others with contempt, and he would not look at his great rank and the various titles that he had.
As an example, the Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, always used to pray in the first row directly behind the Imaam, but if, due to something unexpected, he was slightly late in getting to the first row, he would not allow the person sitting in front of him to get up from his place for him and he would become angry if that did happen.
An amazing story which shows the Shaikh’s distance from distinguishing himself from others is that when any mosque was built the Jumu’ah prayer would not be held in it until a fatwa had been issued from His Eminence [Ibn Baaz]. So when we set up his Jaami’ mosque in Makkah al-Mukarramah I asked for his permission to hold Jumu’ah there, so he said, ‘No, not until the fatwa is issued!’
So I said, ‘O Shaikh, you are the Mufti [of all of Saudi Arabia].’ He said, ‘Even so, this process must follow its official due course and must go before the council just like any other mosque does.’ So we followed his order.
[Then] on the Friday of the week in which the mosque had opened, hoards of people arrived successively to the mosque thinking that the Friday prayer would be held there [i.e., when a mosque is initially opened in Saudi, the regular daily prayers are held there but to start the Jumu’ah khutbah consent is needed], since it was the mosque of the Mufti and [thus] it’s not possible that there would be a delay caused by waiting until a fatwa was issued allowing the Friday prayer.
So when I left half an hour before the [start of the] Friday prayer, [on my way] I saw that the mosque was jammed with people and so I felt very perturbed and went straight to the mosque in which the Shaikh was going to pray Jumu’ah, and it was his habit to go early for the Friday prayer, he would go about two hours before it, so [when I got to the mosque he was in] I crossed the rows to get to him, may Allaah have mercy on him, and said, ‘O Shaikh! The mosque is jammed with worshippers—they opened the doors and went in, so what should be done?’
He said, ‘Go and tell them to go to another mosque.’ So I said, ‘Yaa Shaikh, it’s [very] awkward! What do you think if I were to give them a short sermon to ease this difficult situation for them?’ So he said, ‘The fatwa [for the permission to hold the Friday sermon] hasn’t been issued yet. Go and apologise to the people.’
So I went back carrying a mountain of grief on my back, Yaa Allaah, a very difficuly situation, people ready [for prayer], perfumed, ready and waiting for the new Imaam to ascend [the pulpit] and delight their ears with a khutbah, and now I was to stand in front of them saying, ‘Jumu’ah prayer will not be held,’ I almost fled and left it, but then I worried about the negative effects that would have, so there was no option but to carry out the Shaikh’s order.
So I stood before the people and said to them, ‘Yaa ikhwaan, apologies, Jumu’ah prayer will not be held here because the fatwa has not been issued yet, so go to another mosque close by, and your reward is with Allaah the Most High.’
So they stood up, losing their temper in my face and raising their voices and one of the Shaikhs there said, ‘I will lead you in the Jumu’ah prayer, call the iqamah, call the iqaamah for the prayer.’
So I said, ‘Yaa ikhwaan, these are not my words nor my opinion, this is the order of His Eminence Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Baaz!’
And so all of a sudden the situation calmed down, the people settled, the red faces disappeared and the voices became humbled so that you could just hear a whisper, and they departed in peace and with good.
And all praise is for Allaah.”
Imaamul-’Asr, pp. 106-108.
Ibn Baaz and Jumu’ah
February 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
“It was his habit to go early for Jumu’ah prayer, most of the time he would go two hours before it …”
Imaamul-’Asr, p. 107.
Ibn Baaz the Generous Teenager
February 17, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Shaikh Muhammad al-Musa said to me, ‘Shaikh Ibn Baaz had a relative whose name was Sa’d ibn ’Abdul-Muhsin and he was a hundred years old, His Eminence [Shaikh Ibn Baaz] used to say that this man was ten years older than him.
This [old] man told me about Shaikh [Ibn Baaz’s] generosity and that it was something implanted in his nature from when he was young, he said, ‘When Ibn Baaz was a teenager he would attend the lessons of His Eminence, the Shaikh, the ’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim, may Allaah have mercy on him. After the lesson would be over and he would be on his way home, if he would find someone on his way, a student of knowledge, or a stranger/foreigner [who was new to the area], or a guest, or a neighbour, then he would insist on him coming in and ask him to eat despite being poor and despite the sparsity of food [that he had].’
And he continued with his amazing generosity, may Allaah have mercy on him, for all his life and would in fact feel pain if he did not find guests to share his food with him.”
Imaamul-’Asr, p. 100.
Also see here.
After Being Praised Ibn Baaz Said …
February 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
“One time I came to his house and happened to meet him after he had just gotten up from dinner and was on his way to wash his hands, his son Ahmad, may Allaah bless him, was with him. So I gave him salaam and said, ‘O Shaikh! I want to speak to you about something that I feel inside,’ I said that to him trying to avail the opportunity of having found the Shaikh alone, so he said, ‘Khair, inshaa Allaahu ta’aala.’
When he finished washing his hands, I said to him, ‘O Shaikh! Praise Allaah, because part of the good-tidings which have come early for you is the love the people have for you and their acceptance for what you say,’ and I mentioned other things similar in nature.
So after praising and thanking Allaah the Most High, he said words to the effect, ‘We seek Allaah’s Aid. We are neglectful and we need to work together upon advising and goodness, we need advice and reminding.’
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, pp. 71-72.
Ibn Baaz a Few Years Before his Death, with Pain in his Knees, he was Offered a New House …
February 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
“A few years before the Shaikh’s death, may Allaah have mercy on him, he suffered from pain in his knee, so the wali al-amr [i.e., ruler], may Allaah reward him, wanted to build a house for the Shaikh without stairs so that he wouldn’t have to be burdened with having to climb them. When they consulted the Shaikh as to where it should be built for him, he, after supplicating for good for them, said, ‘There is no time left in my life and this house we are in is sufficient for us.’”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 65.
Ibn Baaz the Worshipper
February 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Ibn Baaz’s son Ahmad said to me, ‘For as long as I’ve known my father he would get up an hour before fajr and pray eleven rak’ahs.’”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 64.
“Let’s Pray Here at Home,” So Ibn Baaz Became Silent [Lowering his Head] and then Struck the Floor with his Walking Stick, and said …
February 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
“An ambassador had invited the Shaikh to open his fast with him during Ramadaan, and so he did along with a group of guests. Then when he wanted to pray [maghrib] the host said, ‘We’ll pray in congregation [here] in the house, O Shaikh.’
So Ibn Baaz became silent [lowering his head], and then struck the floor with his walking stick and stood up saying, ‘‘Whoever hears the call and does not come, his prayer is not valid, except for those who have an excuse,’ [Ibn Maajah, Al-Albaani said, ‘Saheeh’] get up and go to the mosque.’
So they stood up, all of them, and prayed in congregation in the mosque.”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 42.
Ibn Baaz Making Excuses for his Brothers and Verifying Information Before Jumping to Conclusions
February 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
“A man came to one of the Shaikh’s gatherings and he smelt of cigarettes. So someone came to the Shaikh and said, ‘O Shaikh, this man smokes and his thawb smells of cigarettes.’ The Shaikh replied, ‘Maybe he rode with someone who smokes, maybe he sat with someone and the cigarette smell in that gathering affected him [by getting into his clothes] …’”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 43.
Ibn Baaz and the Weddings—His Veneration of the Prophetic Texts
February 15, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Sa’d ad-Daawood said, ‘His Eminence, the Shaikh came from Taif to Riyadh and we met him at the airport on a Thursday. We then went straight to the mosque so that he could undertake commenting and answering questions after the seminar [that had been held].
When he left the Jaami’, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket. So I read it and found that it was a wedding invitation at a hall that was far away, so I said, ‘O Shaikh! You’re tired and need some rest, so if you would cancel that [wedding] appointment.’ So the Shaikh asked the guards, ‘Do any of you know where the wedding hall is?’’ I was happy that the Shaikh didn’t ask me because I knew where it was. The guards said, ‘We don’t know it.’
The Shaikh said, ‘Sa’d, do you know it?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ So I added, ‘O Shaikh! You’ve just come from a journey and need some rest.’ So he said, ‘What will I say to my Lord when Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ has said, ‘He who is invited to a wedding feast or its like, he should accept it,’ [Muslim], seek Allaah’s Aid [and let’s go].’ So the Shaikh went answering the invitation.’”
[In another incident,] “A man came and said to the Shaikh, ‘O Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz!’
‘Yes,’ he replied.
‘You say that a person should or must attend a wedding invitation?’
‘Yes,’ said the Shaikh, ‘as long as it doesn’t have anything sinful there and as long as he doesn’t have any prior engagements.’
The man repeated his question to the Shaikh and so the Shaikh said, ‘You must attend, attend.’
The man said, ‘And if I don’t?’
The Shaikh made it binding upon him and said, ‘Attend.’
He replied, ‘O Shaikh! So if it doesn’t contain any sinning and I am not engaged with a prior appointment, I must attend?’
‘Yes.’
He said, ‘O Shaikh! I invite you to my son’s wedding tomorrow.’
So the Shaikh asked the person with him [whether he had any prior engagements], and they said, ‘You have no engagements.’
So he said, ‘I will attend inshaa Allaah.’”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, pp. 41-42.
’Uthaimeen Reciting as Imaam of the Haram in Makkah
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, as Imaam in the Haram in Makkah in 1982:
’Uthaimeen and the University Inkpot
February 14, 2014 § 1 Comment
“When he, may Allaah have mercy on him, needed to fill his pen with ink from the inkwell in the university’s library to use it for things related specifically to the university, before leaving he would empty the ink remaining in his pen into the inkwell because it was specifically for the university.”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 25.
’Uthaimeen when He would be Absent from His Assigned Duties at his Mosque and when Late for Work
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
“An amazing example of his piety was that when he would be absent from leading the prayer at the Al-Jaami’ al-Kabir [mosque] in ’Unaizah where he was the appointed Imaam and for which he would receive a monthly stipend, he would give the money equal to his absence, even if it was only one day, to the person who covered him as Imaam.
Likewise, when he was teaching at the educational academy in ’Unaizah, if he were late to work—even if it were only a few minutes—he would write his lateness down in the [signing in] register and next to it write, ‘Without an excuse.’”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, pp. 24-25.
’Uthaimeen and the Fax Machine
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Shaikh Badr ibn Naadir al-Mashaari mentions the following, ‘The Shaikh phoned one of the Shaikhs who worked in the courts [as a judge] so that he could send a personal letter to him which had no connection to the courts but was for him personally, so the judge told Shaikh ’Uthaimeen that there was a fax machine next to him to which he could send the letter. So ’Uthaimeen asked him, ‘Isn’t that the court’s fax machine.’ ‘Yes,’ replied the judge. ’Uthaimeen said, ‘How can I send a personal letter at the cost [of the bait al-maal] of the Muslims? Go and buy a fax machine so I can send you this letter,’ and so he did and the Shaikh then sent the letter.’”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 24.
’Uthaimeen Issuing a Fatwa, then Withholding and Going to Ask His Shaikh for Guidance, His Shaikh Being Ibn Baaz
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
“And this shows the pinnacle of his piety in issuing fatwas, and this was concerning glucose injections, in one of his lectures he mentioned a ruling concerning them and one of the people present objected with a medical opinion which went against the fatwa that the Shaikh had given, so the Shaikh announced that he [now] withheld judgement until he would go and ask his Shaikh, the ’Allaamah ’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him. Then the next day he came back and gave them the fatwa of his Shaikh.”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 23.
’Uthaimeen and the Prince of Qaseem’s Gift
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
“The Shaikh’s son, ’Abdullah ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen told me the following, he said, ‘Prince ’Abdul-Ilaah ibn ’Abdul-’Aziz Aal-Su’ood, the Ameer of Qaseem, sent a new American car to the Shaikh as a gift. When the Shaikh got to his house he found the car next to it and was told about what had happened. So the car sat there for five days without being driven, then the Shaikh having made his decision called his son ’Abdullah and said, ‘Take the car to the prince and thank him for what he did but tell him that I don’t need it.’ So the car was sent back to the prince. The Shaikh had an old, cheap car, he wouldn’t pay heed to the appearance of his ride, and he passed away and still had that same old car.’”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 23.
’Uthaimeen and Money Offered to him for Giving Lectures
February 14, 2014 § Leave a comment
“The accountant for the administration of girl’s education in ’Unaizah presented the Shaikh with some money for the lectures that he had given in the Faculty of Education for women in ’Unaizah, so al-’Uthaimeen said, ‘And you want me to draw a wage for [what I hold to be] my obligations towards my daughters and sisters in religion?’”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 22.
Take Heed and Use Your Brain, This is How It’s Done: The Man who Abused and Cursed Ibn Baaz and who then Passed Away—The Gentleness, Mercy, and Understanding of Ibn Baaz
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
“An example of the soundness of the Shaikh’s heart can be seen in what Shaikh ’Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Jallaal narrated to me, may Allaah reward him, where he said that Shaikh Ibn Baaz ruled against a man in a certain issue and the man became upset and he was someone who had a sharp tongue and he started to insult the Shaikh and speak ill of him.
After a while that man passed away while Shaikh Ibn Baaz was on Hajj. When his body was brought forward after one of the obligatory prayers to be prayed over, the Imaam, who was one of the students of Shaikh Ibn Baaz, asked, ‘Who is the deceased?’ They said, ‘So and so.’ He said, ‘The one who spoke ill of Shaikh Ibn Baaz and swore at him? By Allaah, I won’t pray over him!’
We prayed over him along with the people. [Afterwards] some people were saying that this Imaam who didn’t pray over that man will have a high and privileged standing in the eyes of Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz.
When the Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, came back from Hajj, they told him that that man had passed away, so he asked for Allaah’s mercy for him. Then they told him that the Imaam didn’t pray over him—and the Shaikh became angry, visibly so, and he wasn’t pleased [at all]. Then he told someone, either ’Abdur-Rahmaan ibn Jallaal or someone else, to take him to the graveyard, and [when he got there] he stood at the grave of that man and prayed and supplicated for him.”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 67.
Young or Old, Male or Female, They All Loved Ibn Baaz—But Why? What was The Secret? Ibn Baaz Replies
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
“One time in his car I asked him, ‘Yaa Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz, I don’t know anyone except that they love you, young or old, male or female, this is almost something unanimous, what is the secret to that, O Shaikh?’ So he, may Allaah have mercy on him, tried to excuse himself from answering. So I repeated the question once or twice more, so he said words to the effect, ‘I do not have spite/hatred for any Muslim, and I do not hear of enmity between two except that I rush to reconcile between them.’”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, pp. 66-67.
Ibn Baaz and the Number of Times He Read Al-Nawawi’s Explanation of Saheeh Muslim
February 13, 2014 § 2 Comments
“Shaikh Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, was asked what the best book that he had read was, so he replied, ‘Al-Nawawi’s explanation of Saheeh Muslim,’ [which is eighteen odd volumes] and the person narrating this said that the Shaikh said, ‘I’ve read it more than sixty times.’”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, p. 28.
Ibn Baaz Sitting on Hay, There’s Rain and Lightning, He’s Crying and Teaching
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Shaikh ’Abdur-Rahmaan al-Jallaal told me that one time he went out for a picnic with His Eminence [Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him], and said, ‘When we prayed maghrib and sat, as far as I recall, a cloud came along and it started to rain with Allaah’s leave and it became heavy. The Shaikh told us to go back, we did and [by then] on the way darkness had spread. When we had left some farmers had seen us [earlier] when we had passed them by, and they knew that the Shaikh was with us, so [now] they started to light some fires with leafless palm-branches so that we could see our way, when we saw the fires we found our way to their farms and came to them. In those days the people were in difficult times, they took us to a small room made of clay where hay would be kept and it was still raining, we let the Shaikh enter and then got up on the hay along with him and sat on it, waiting for the rain to slow.
So the Shaikh said to me, ‘O Abu ’Abdullah, read.’ So I was surprised, how can I read at this uneasy time? It’s night time, raining and there’s lightning!
So the Shaikh said, ‘Since we’re sitting here, recite, and recite your portion.’
When the Shaikh said, ‘Recite your portion,’ I realised that the Shaikh meant that I should lengthen my recitation. So I recited from Surah al-A’raaf and when I finished the Shaikh started to elucidate and explain it and tears were preceding his words, may Allaah have mercy on him.”
Al-Imaam Ibn Baaz, Duroos wa Mawaaqif wa ’Ibar, pp. 19-20.
See this post for more about Ibn Baaz crying, may Allaah grant him Firdous, wa sallallaahu ’alaa Muhammad, Aameen.
Freedom From the Stranglehold of Sayings Without Proof, No Living Person is Safe from Fitnah—Ibn Mas’ood on Blind-Following
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
Ibn Mas’ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, said, “For a surety! Let not a single one of you blindly follow another man in his religion: [such that] if he believes, he [too] believes, and if he disbelieves, he disbelieves. If it is a must that you emulate someone, then the dead—for verily, the living are not safe from fitnah.”
Al-Laalikaa’i, no. 130.
Al-Fawzaan on the Fact that Boycotting is Only Done if There is Benefit to it and if it Doesn’t Lead to Greater Harm
February 13, 2014 § Leave a comment
Questioner: The noble Prophet ﷺ said, “It is not allowed for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three. They meet and so this one turns away from that one, and that one from this. And the best of them is the one who initiates giving the salutation to his brother,” [Bukhaari] or something to that effect, if the person who I argued with doesn’t pray or fast and does bad things, is my dispute with him something haraam? What [exactly] does this hadith mean?
Al-Fawzaan: Boycotting [al-Hajr] is to stop talking to someone, to stop sitting with them and giving them salaam.
Boycotting a believer is not allowed for more than three days if it is about something worldly, in fact he should reconcile with his brother and give him salaam when he meets him.
To begin with, he shouldn’t [even] boycott over a worldly matter, but if it does take place then it should not be for more than three days, this is what the hadith, ‘It is not allowed for a Muslim to boycott his brother for more than three days,’ means, i.e., when the ostracising is over a worldly issue.
As for when it is over a sin which the person being boycotted has committed, a major sin which he has not left, then he must be advised and directed to fear Allaah the Mighty and Majestic. If he does not desist from that sin and does not repent, then he is boycotted, because the boycotting acts as a reprimand and deterrent for him, maybe he will repent [because of it].
Unless ostracising him is something which will lead to harm, whereby it is feared that he will increase sinning and that it will result in greater evil—then in such a situation it is not allowed to boycott him, boycotting a sinner is only allowed if there is benefit to it and if it doesn’t lead to greater harm.
And success lies with Allaah.
Al-Muntaqaa min Fataawaa Fadeelatis-Shaikh Saalih ibn Fawzaan ibn ’Abdillaah al-Fawzaan, vol. 1, pp. 397-398.
Also see here and here for further articles discussing this topic.
The Meaning of the Phrase, ‘Something Emphatically/Unequivocally Known to be Part of the Religion [المعلوم من الدين بالضرورة]’
February 12, 2014 § 2 Comments
Questioner: What does, ‘Something emphatically/unequivocally known to be part of the religion [المعلوم من الدين بالضرورة],’ mean, we hear this phrase a lot? And is it something established in all times and ages or does it differ according to the time and place?
Al-Fawzaan: That which is, ‘emphatically established in the religion [المعلوم من الدين بالضرورة],’ is something which is established by unequivocal proof, either by being unanimously reported [tawaatur] or through the Ummah’s unequivocal consensus, and the one who denies it is regarded as a disbeliever.
For example, the obligation of the five prayers, zakaah, fasting, Hajj, the pillars of Islaam, likewise the forbiddance of alcohol, interest, fornication, and [conversely] those things which are permissible and whose permissibility is emphatically/unequivocally known in Islaam, like [eating] grazing livestock that has been Islamically slaughtered, or bread and things like that.
Whoever denies something whose ruling of permissibility or impermissibility is emphatically established in Islaam is regarded as a disbeliever in Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, an apostate from Islaam.
And such things are constant in all times until the Hour is established, because the rulings of the religion are permanent, fixed and abiding, from the time Allaah sent Muhammad ﷺ to the establishment of the Hour, they do not alter or change.
Al-Muntaqaa min Fataawaa Fadeelatis-Shaikh Saalih ibn Fawzaan ibn ’Abdillaah al-Fawzaan, vol. 3, p. 388.
Excellent Resource: Offline Hans Wehr Arabic-English Dictionary for Your Android Smartphone
February 11, 2014 § 1 Comment
For those of you who need access to the Hans Wehr dictionary on your Android smartphones this is a marvellous resource, it works without internet connection once you’ve downloaded and installed the program and file.
May Allaah reward the brother who produced it with good.
You can download it from the Google Play Store here.
Gifts of Knowledge 