Ibn Baaz During Hajj, Hundreds of People Around Him and the Fruit …
February 10, 2014 § Leave a comment
“In ’Arafah during 1418AH/1998CE he was sitting at the place of prayer and hundreds of people were around him. Some cut fruit was brought to him because during the Hajj rituals it was his habit that most of the time he would only eat fruit and dates and laban. So when it was put before him he said, ‘Have all those present been given the same thing [too]?’ They replied, ‘No.’ So he said, ‘Take it away,’ and became angry.”
Jawaanib min Seeratil-Imaam ’Abdul-’Aziz Ibn Baaz, p. 130.
Imaam adh-Dhahabi’s Epic Advice
February 9, 2014 § Leave a comment
Imaam adh-Dhahabi said, “So may Allaah have mercy on a man who devotes himself to his own situation, restricts his tongue, dedicates himself to reciting his Quraan, cries over his time, constantly ponders over the two Sahihs, and worships Allaah before the appointed time overtakes him unawares—O Allaah, so grant success and have mercy.”
Tadhkiratul-Huffaadh, vol. 2, p. 86.
Ibn Baaz, the Cadillac, the Mercedes, the Ford, the Buick and the Caprice …
February 8, 2014 § 1 Comment
“The time for the car that was accorded to him and people like him by the government had expired and they wanted to change it to something newer.
So Ibn Baaz said, ‘What’s wrong with this one?’
He was told that its time had expired and so, ‘What would you like instead, Eminent Shaikh?’
‘What types of car are available?’ he asked.
So they mentioned a Cadillac, Mercedes, Ford, Buick and others.
He said, ‘And the Caprice?’
They said, ‘It doesn’t befit your rank.’
He replied, ‘Why? Isn’t the grave one [and the same for everyone]?’”
Jawaanib min Seeratil-Imaam ’Abdul-’Aziz Ibn Baaz, p. 128.
’Uthaimeen and The Russian Pilgrims
February 7, 2014 § Leave a comment
“This incident was mentioned by one of the members of the Da’wah and Guidance Office in Jeddah. During Hajj in the year 1417AH/1996CE he was with Shaikh Ibn ’Uthaimeen at King ’Abdul-’Aziz Airport in Jeddah. The Shaikh would stand amongst the pilgrims arriving for Hajj carrying out his obligation of da’wah and teaching. He was then surprised by the arrival of some pilgrims who had come from one of the Soviet Republics, so the Shaikh wanted to speak to them and asked whether they had a translator. The group guide who was a Russian came forward but he did not know that the Shaikh [standing before him] was Shaikh ’Uthaimeen.
Once he had finished translating, the guide asked, ‘Who is this Shaikh?’ ‘That is Ibn ’Uthaimeen,’ he was told. [Upon hearing that] he hugged the Shaikh, kissing him and crying. And then he took the microphone and told the entire group of pilgrims that this is Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, and so tears started flowing from them all, and the guide kept calling out with the mic at the top of his voice, repeating the name of Shaikh Ibn ’Uthaimeen. And the individuals in the group started to give salaam to the Shaikh and kiss him [on his forehead].
The guide [then] said to the Shaikh, ‘These are your students. They used to read your books in the cellars underground during Communist rule.’”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 38.
’Uthaimeen, His Lecture, and the Broken Pipe in the Mosque Bathroom
February 7, 2014 § 1 Comment
“One time while the Shaikh was giving a lecture in the mosque next to his house one of the students went to the bathroom and found that a pipe was broken and leaking. He told the Shaikh about it during his lecture, and so the Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him, stopped his lecture and went home and brought some tools and himself joined in with the students to fix the leak.”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 43.
An Imaam’s Humility: ’Uthaimeen and The Car That Stalled
February 7, 2014 § Leave a comment
“Shaikh ’Uthaimeen and a brother who loved him [for the Sake of Allaah] got into an old car which would break down very often, and it stalled on the way. So the Shaikh said to the driver, ‘Stay where you are and I’ll get out to push it.’
So he got out and pushed it himself until it started up.”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 42.
The Steadfastness of an Imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah: Ibn ’Uthaimeen at the End of a Tiring Journey
February 7, 2014 § Leave a comment
“This instance is narrated by The Shaikh, Dr. [Abu Anas] Hamad al-’Uthmaan from Kuwait, and he is one of the students of Shaikh ’Uthaimeen who accompanied him for more than five years. It shows the steadfastness of Shaikh ’Uthaimeen in worship and that he wouldn’t leave the night prayer even when travelling. What happened was that Shaikh Abu Anas Hamad al-’Uthmaan accompanied the Shaikh on a journey from ’Unaizah to Riyadh, and then they headed out to Makkah by car for ’Umrah. After they finished ’Umrah, everyone who was accompanying the Shaikh yielded to sleep due to how exhausted they were from their journey and the ’Umrah.
‘And I woke up,’ said Shaikh Hamad al-’Uthmaan, ‘half way through the night and lo and behold the Shaikh was standing in prayer. So I said to myself, ‘Yaa Subhaanallaah, I’m a youth who succumbed to sleep, and this is an elderly Shaikh who succumbed to prayer and worship.’ So I performed ablution and started to pray, following the example of the Shaikh. So I tried to fight off the drowsiness and overcome it but I wasn’t able to and sleep overcame me.
So I went to sleep and the Shaikh was there still praying.’”
Al-Jaami’ li-Hayaatil-’Allaamah Muhammad Ibn Saalih al-’Uthaimeen, p. 39.
The Humility of an Imaam of Ahlus-Sunnah: Ibn Baaz and The Thirteen Year Old Advisor
February 7, 2014 § 1 Comment
One time a young boy phoned Shaikh Ibn Baaz and said, “Eminent Shaikh, the people are in desperate need of scholars who will give them fatwas, I suggest that your excellency appoints a Mufti for every city so that it is easy to call him.” So the Shaikh said, “Maa Shaa Allaah, may Allaah put right all your affairs, how old are you?” “Thirteen,” he said. The person relating the story then said, “So His Eminence said to me, ‘This is a good suggestion which needs to be studied. Write to the Secretary-General of the Committee of Major Scholars about this.’ So I wrote what he dictated, part of which was, ‘Amma Ba’d, a sincere advisor called me and said that he suggests that a Mufti be placed in each city, and I hold that this should be put before the Permanent Committee so that we can exchange views on the topic …’”
Jawaanib min Seeratil-Imaam ’Abdul-’Aziz Ibn Baaz, p. 129.
You Are a Misguided Innovator If You Prop Up Someone To Be Followed Unconditionally Apart From the Prophet ﷺ
February 1, 2014 § Leave a comment
Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “It is not allowed for a person to be propped up for the Ummah and his way called to, [and then have] loyalty and enmity based upon that way except for our Prophet and Messenger Muhammad ﷺ. So whoever sets up someone else instead of him ﷺ for that [role], then he is misguided, an innovator.”
Hukmul-Intimaa ilaa al-Firaq wal-Ahzaab wal-Jamaa’aat al-Islaamiyyah, p. 104.
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen’s Twelve Cassettes Explaining Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid’s Book, Hilyatu Taalibil-’Ilm
February 1, 2014 § 1 Comment
Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid on Extreme Blind Following: Obeying Everything that is Said Without Asking for Proof for Both What Is Said or the Fatwas Issued
January 31, 2014 § Leave a comment
The great scholar of Saudi Arabia, Shaikh Bakr Abu Zaid, may Allaah have mercy on him said, “The Shaikh of Islaam, Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allaah have mercy on him said, “Whoever props up a person—whoever that person may be—and then bases his loyalty and enmity upon what that person says or does, then he is from those, “who split up their religion and became sects.” [Room 30:32]
And this is the condition of many of the jamaa’ahs and Islamic sects today where they appoint people as their leaders and show loyalty to those leader’s allies and enmity to their enemies and obey them in every fatwa they give them without referring back to the Book and the Sunnah and without asking them for their proofs for what they say or the fatwas they give.”
Hukmul-Intimaa ilaa al-Firaq wal-Ahzaab wal-Jamaa’aat al-Islaamiyyah, pp. 104-105.
Shaikh Muqbil: “How easy it is to memorise some words [like], ‘So and so is a hizbi,’ or, ‘So and so is an agent.’
January 8, 2014 § 1 Comment
The PDF: Shaikh Muqbil on Not Wasting Time.
Questioner: Why don’t you speak such that your Jarh of contemporaries will be the same as or like the Jarh of the scholars of the past about weak or abandoned narrators, such that you say, for example, “So and so is a hizbi and weak and he is not to be taken from,” or, “So and so is a liar or a dajjaal or abandoned,” and so on, along with a clarification of the methodology of the man in terms of his Shi’ism or Sufism or hizbiyyah or tamyee’?
Shaikh Muqbil: That is something good but I am busy and I have projects [to do] which I want to finish and which I hold to be more beneficial, like [researching about] the Shaikhs of al-Haakim and the Shaikhs of his Shaikhs and his narrators whose biographies were not written in Tahdheeb at-Tahdheeb, and [another project is] like the completion of, ‘As-Saheeh al-Musnad Mimmaa Laisa fis-Saheehain,’ and like, ‘Al-Jaami’ as-Saheeh Mimmaa Laisa fis-Saheehain.’
So I am busy and have fallen short in many things.
Numerous books come to me from here and there and the brothers who send them say, ‘We want you to refute them,’ so I say, ‘If I do it will be on cassette because I am busy with what I hold to be more beneficial for Islaam and the Muslims.’
And I regard, ‘Al-Makhraj minal-Fitnah,’ and, ‘Al-Musaara’ah,’ and, ‘Qam’ul-Mu’aanid wa Zajrul-Haaqid al-Haasid,’ to be books of Jarh and Ta’deel. In ‘Al-Musaara’ah,’ I spoke about the Sufis and the people of superstitious deviations, and the Mukaaramah [a branch of Isma’ili Shi’a found in Najran in Saudi Arabia and Yemen], and journalists and many of the callers to Hizbiyyah in Yemen. In, ‘Qam’ul-Mu’aanid,’ I spoke about Hizbul-Islaah and about hizbiyyah cloaked with [the title of being] ‘associations’, so I regard these to be books of Jarh and Ta’deel [that I have written].
And after [mentioning] this, I advise my brothers to completely dedicate themselves to seeking knowledge, because this differing which is present in the lands of the two harams and Najd between the people of knowledge comes from free time.
How easy it is to memorise some words [like], ‘So and so is a hizbi,’ or, ‘So and so is an agent,’ and then to go around relaying it from this gathering to that. Rather I want you to start by memorising the Quraan and memorising the hadiths of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ that you are able to, and similarly with the Arabic language.
So I say, whether they like it or not, this clash has come about between them due to free time—so if you were to occupy yourselves with memorising the Quraan and acquiring beneficial knowledge you wouldn’t have the time for such talk.
And someone came to me from the land of the Harams and Najd and all of a sudden he was saying, “The Shaikh … and the Shaikh … and the Shaikh …,’ [i.e., talking ill of them] so I said, “O so and so:
فَدَع عَنكَ نَهباً صيحَ في حَجَراتِه وَلَكِن حَديثاً ما حَديثُ الرَواحِلِ
So leave alone spoil by the sides of which a shouting was raised.
But relate to me a story: what is the story of the riding-camels?
[These are the opening lines from a poem by Imru’ul-Qais and are an, “Arabic adage used about someone who has lost some of his wealth, and thereafter something even more valuable than it is lost. Namely, ‘Leave the spoils which have [already] been pillaged from all around you [i.e., they’ve already been cried over so there is no point mentioning them now, instead], relate to me the story of the riding-camels you took [i.e., which are even more valuable than what was previously taken from me]: what became of them?’” [An-Nihaayah fi Ghareebil-Hadithi wal-Athar, p. 188.]]
[And so I said to him] I want to test you about the knowledge you had with you when you departed from us [for your journey], and so he started scratching his head and became silent.
So beware of squandering your time and wasting it with these issues. You should rather be diligent and strive to obtain beneficial knowledge and understanding of Allaah’s Religion. And anything which comes to us which opposes the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of Allaah’s Messenger ﷺ we discard and disprove it.
Ghaaratul-Ashritah, vol. 2, pp. 410-411.
Ibn Abbaas’ Advice on How to Stop Backbiting
December 30, 2013 § 1 Comment
From Ibn ’Abbaas, may Allaah be pleased with him, “Whenever you want to mention your brother’s faults, mention yours.”
Hayaatus-Salaf bainal-Qawl wal-’Amal, p. 606.
’Uthaimeen on Steadfastness and Not Relying on Yourself
December 24, 2013 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “It is an obligation for a person to turn to Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, because He is the One in whose Hands is the dominion of the heavens and the earth, so do not, for example, rely on the firmness of eemaan in your heart, relying on [the idea that] the Devil will not overcome you and that the desires of the soul that orders evil will not infiltrate you, rather always recourse back to Allaah, the Most High, and ask Him for steadfastness.”
Tafseer Surah Yaa Seen, p. 26.
Shaikh Muqbil on the Justness of Ahlus-Sunnah in Jarh and Ta’deel
December 22, 2013 § Leave a comment
The Imaam of Yemen, Muqbil ibn Haadi al-Waadi’i, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Indeed in His Noble Book, Allaah عز وجل says, “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allaah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allaah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allaah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.” [Nisaa 4:135]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allaah, witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just—that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allaah, indeed, Allaah is Acquainted with what you do.” [Maaidah 5:8]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “And do not let the hatred of a people for having obstructed you from al-Masjid al-Haraam lead you to transgress. And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression. And fear Allaah, indeed, Allaah is severe in penalty.” [Maaidah 5:2]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “Indeed, Allaah orders justice and good conduct and giving to relatives and forbids immorality and bad conduct and oppression. He admonishes you that perhaps you will be reminded.” [Nahl 16:90]
And He سبحانه وتعالى said, “And when you speak [i.e., testify], be just, even if [it concerns] a near relative.” [An’aam 6:152]
Ahlus-Sunnah are the ones who have the most right and the greatest share of these verses and those proofs similar to them, for if they write, they write what is for them and against them, and if they talk they mention what is for them and against them. They stick to justice whether dealing with those who are close to them or distant, whether an enemy or friend. And if you were to look at the books of Jarh and Ta’deel you will find that they are the epitome of justness: they will disparage a man if he deserves such jarh even if he were one of the heads of the Sunnah, and they will praise a person of innovation with the good that he has if there is a need for that, contrary to the people of desires—for they will praise whoever agrees with their innovations even if he is worthless, and they vilify whoever opposes them even if he were one of the heads of the religion.”
Al-Ilhaad al-Khumaini fi Ardil-Haramain, pp. 1-2.
Ibn Baaz Asked About Interacting with Innovators and Knowing When to Boycott Them or Not
December 22, 2013 § Leave a comment
Questioner: What do you advise us with concerning interacting with innovators who we see and speak to and deal with almost every day?
Ibn Baaz: It is obligatory to boycott them for their innovations, if they openly exhibit innovations then it is obligatory to boycott them after having advised and directed them, because a Muslim advises his brother and warns him from open innovations and sins which Allaah has forbidden him, so if he repents [then that is what is desired] and if not then he deserves to be boycotted, and he is dealt with in this manner so that maybe he will repent, maybe he will feel remorse, maybe he will come back to the truth.
Unless the boycotting will result in something whose end is not praiseworthy, then it is not carried out—if leaving off boycotting is better in terms of [bringing that person closer to the] religion and greater in good and closer to being successful, then he is not to boycott him but instead continues to advise him and warns him about the falsehood [that he is in] and he does not boycott him, hoping that Allaah will guide him due to that.
For the believer is like a doctor, if he sees that a cure is beneficial, he carries it out, and when he sees that it is not, he leaves it—so boycotting falls under the category of being a cure, if it has a good effect and is of benefit, he does so, [implementing it] as a form of cure, [hoping] that he may repent and may turn back from his mistake when he sees that his brothers have ostracised him.
But if the boycotting results in greater evil and an increase in the [number of the] people of evil and helps them—then he is not to be ostracised but rather sincerely advised and directed continually and shown the abhorrence of what he has done and he does not show him that he agrees with the falsehood that he carries out, but [he does] persist in advising him sincerely and directing [him].
Fataawaa Nurun ’alad-Darb, vol. 3, p. 40.
Al-Qurtubi, “There is Nothing More Beneficial for the Hearts Than …”
December 16, 2013 § Leave a comment
Al-Qurtubi said, “The scholars, may Allaah have mercy on them, said, ‘There is nothing more beneficial for the hearts than visiting the graves, especially if the hearts are hard.’”
At-Tadhkirah, p. 132.
Al-’Abbaad on, ‘So and so is an Innovator, if You don’t Call Him an Innovator Then We will Call You an Innovator,’ when Both the One Making that Judgement and the one it is Made Against are from Ahlus-Sunnah and Have the Same Manhaj
December 15, 2013 § 1 Comment
Host: The questioner says, ‘Our Shaikh, may Allaah protect you, it is from the success that Allaah has given us that many of the students of knowledge were present for the [lessons on the] Introduction of Sahih Muslim explained by Your Excellency, only that this blessing, i.e., the principles which Imaam Muslim mentioned have become unclear to some of them such that some of them have applied the principles to some of their [own] brothers from Ahlus-Sunnah.
So when a scholar performs ijtihaad and calls someone an innovator but other people oppose him in that, then they oblige other people to call him an innovator [too] and they then go to the people who oppose them and boycott them and warn against them, believing that that is the methodology of the Salaf even though the ’aqeedah of both parties is one and their methodology is one, and the countries of many of these people are full of shirk and magic and Sufism, so do you have any advice to clarify the truth and bring about unity?
Al-’Abbaad: I say: the person to whom Allaah has granted success must clarify the truth and ask for Allaah’s guidance for the person he is clarifying the truth to, but after that what should not occur from him is to pursue that person [such] that if that person does not respond then he is boycotted and not spoken to like that which some of the small students do—because they know nothing of the religion and [they do this boycotting etc.,] while they are present in Europe and the East and the West, ya’ni, they know nothing about the rudimentary matters of the religion but they have been afflicted with calling people innovators and boycotting, ya’ni, ‘So and so called so and so an innovator so whoever does not call him an innovator then he is an innovator and is to be boycotted,’ this is not the way of the Salaf—Shaikh Ibn Baaz would never do this—how numerous his refutations are but he was [always] busy with knowledge and would not pursue the person that was refuted, he would just make the truth clear and then carry on along the path of the people of knowledge. This is the correct way.
As for what some of the small students who are found in different places do and who have nothing in terms of knowledge, but only, ya’ni, they will meet their brothers and so [then will say], ‘So and so is an innovator, if you don’t call him an innovator [too] then we will call you an innovator,’ and he [i.e., the person they are calling an innovator] is from Ahlus-Sunnah and this is about people from Ahlus-Sunnah, it is not about people from Ahlul-Bid’ah but about people from Ahlus-Sunnah, he did something which is attributed to him, it [i.e., this thing attributed to him] may be correct or it may be incorrect, but [then] doing such [aforementioned] things is not allowed—this is not known from the Salaf of this Ummah: that when one of them would make a mistake that he would then be boycotted and called an innovator and that the people would then be asked to call him an innovator [too] and boycott him, this is not from the manhaj of the Salaf.
And the closest example [is that of] our Shaikh, Shaikh ’Abdul-’Aziz ibn Baaz through whom Allaah brought about benefit and that benefit covered the horizons and much, much good came about at his hands and his refutations are numerous but he was busy with knowledge, it wasn’t his mission, when he did call someone an innovator, to then go and say, ‘This is a must, because if not, whoever does not call him an innovator [too] then he will [also] become an innovator and is to be boycotted,’—Shaikh Ibn Baaz never did this—and nor those on the way of the Shaikh, may Allaah have mercy on him.
Asked on 8/12/2013 in the Prophet’s Mosque.
Al-’Abbaad Asked Whether it is Allowed to Test People Regarding a Particular Person by Asking Them, ‘What do you say about so and so?’
December 14, 2013 § 3 Comments
Questioner: Is it allowed to test people regarding a particular person, such that it is said to one of them, ‘What do you say about so and so?’ and then he is categorised according to his answer?
Al-’Abbaad: Such things are not allowed, this is from the Devil’s manipulation of the people. It is a mistake for them to busy themselves with asking people questions about a person and then to [either] throw away that person who was being tested by that question or bring him close according to the answer that he gives. It is obligatory on everyone person who is sincere to himself to busy himself with seeking knowledge and with that which will benefit him, and not to busy himself with what will harm and not benefit him.
Baab Sharhis-Sunnah min Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud.
Al-’Abbaad Asked if, when a Shaikh Calls Someone an Innovator, the Student is Obliged to Adopt that Stance
December 14, 2013 § 1 Comment
Questioner: If one of the Shaikhs said about someone, ‘He is an innovator,’ is the student obliged to adopt this stance of calling that person an innovator? Or must he know why the person was called an innovator? Because this declaration of a person to be an innovator may have been applied to someone who is on the Sunnah?
Al-’Abbaad: Not everyone’s statements in this issue are accepted, if it comes from someone like Shaikh Ibn Baaz or like Shaikh Ibn ’Uthaimeen then it is possible that his statement is relied on, as for anyone and everyone, then such statements are not taken from them.
Baab maa Jaa’a fi Miqdaar Diyyatidh-Dhimmi min Sharh Sunan Abi Dawud.
Al-‘Abbaad on Rushing to Declare Someone who has the Correct ’Aqeedah to be an Innovator
December 13, 2013 § Leave a comment
Questioner: We want a clarification of the danger of rushing to declare someone who is known to have a sound ’aqeedah to be an innovator or open sinner and the enmity and boycotting and conflict that results from that?
Al-’Abbaad: What is obligatory on every Muslim is to take precautions regarding his religion and himself and that he does not thrust himself into issues whose harm will come back to him, in fact, it is sincere advice between the Muslims that is obligatory and especially between Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah, advising one another, being good to one another, co-operating amongst each other upon good, warning each other from what they may fall into so that they can turn away from it—and after that the people are not divided into those who support this person against that one or that one against this one.
Rather a person strives to make the truth the missing thing he is looking for, and he [should be someone who] loves good for everyone, such that he loves that a person who has made a mistake returns [to the truth].
As for the differing which takes place and busying one’s time with what happens between Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa’ah in terms of the statements they make about each other and the students of knowledge pursuing that and becoming busy with it such that it becomes their one and only concern—then this does not befit a student of knowledge, in fact, the student of knowledge must desire to become busy with knowledge and not busy himself with, ‘So and so said and so and so said,’ it is not allowed for him to pursue the saying of so and so and so and so which he has become busy with because that results in rancour, enmity, boycotting, hatred and alienation.
So what is obligatory is mutual advice one to another, and what is obligatory is that everyone is good to the other and that he loves good for himself, and thus co-operation upon righteousness and piety will occur.
As for splitting Ahlus-Sunnah into disputants and quarrellers, each of them speaking about the other, calling each other innovators, slandering each other, boycotting each other—then there is no benefit in this, only harm. And it would have been fitting for time to have been spent speaking about the enemies of the Sunnah who spread mischief in the land and do not rectify matters.
As for a person who is from Ahlus-Sunnah but who has mistakes, then he is sincerely advised and debated with in a way that is best, and keenness is to be shown for him to be guided and for him to be brought close and not for him to be alienated and thrown away and discarded.
So it is obligatory to be just[ly balanced] and moderate in all matters and not to go to extremes or fall short.
And the declaring of people [from Ahlus-Sunnah] to be obstinate sinners and innovators and the boycotting [that occurs] and so on, this is all from the handiwork of the Devil and from his plots against man, rather what is obligatory, as I indicated, is to be busy with knowledge and not to preoccupy oneself with the things that some of Ahlus-Sunnah say about each other, because that preoccupies [a person] from knowledge and detestable matters result from it like those that I alluded to earlier such as [people then] boycotting each other, and this is wrong—because if everyone who made a mistake were to be boycotted or if everyone who read his books or listened to him were to be boycotted, no one would be exempt from that, because everyone is liable to make mistakes, and some of the scholars, we don’t say many of the scholars, made mistakes, and the people did not boycott them or abandon them or leave their books, rather they benefitted from them, and the person who makes a mistake is rebutted, but that should not be a cause for people to split into parties and factions, for that is from the Devil’s plot for man.
From the Shaikh’s explanation of Abu Dawud.
Al-‘Abbaad asked About People who are Hasty in Declaring Others to be Innovators and the Youth who Busy Themselves with Such Things
December 13, 2013 § Leave a comment
Questioner: What is Your Excellency’s opinion about a person who is hasty in declaring someone to be an innovator or sinner by saying, “The most vile person on earth,” or, “The most harmful of the world,” about a man who is known to have a sound methodology and calls to it and also has blessed efforts in calling to Allaah, and then based upon that he makes it a requirement that whoever does not call him an innovator is boycotted and ostracised, and he turns differences between people into differences in the manhaj and then that results in division amongst the youth and sows enmity between them?
Al-’Abbaad: Statements such as these are clear mistakes, obvious mistakes, it is obligatory to have moderation and to be just[ly balanced] in all affairs and to be careful of the harm of the tongue and what is caused thereby whose ending is not something praiseworthy, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, “Whoever guarantees me [the chastity of] what is between his jaws and his legs, I guarantee him Paradise,” what is being referred to is the tongue and one’s private parts, likewise his saying صلى الله عليه وسلم in his counsel to Mu’aadh, “And are the people thrown on their faces [or he said, ‘on their nostrils’] into the fire for any reason other than the fruits of their tongues?” So it is obligatory for a person to guard his tongue and not to let it loose by talking about things which will harm him.
On top of that, the fact that a person makes a mistake and then, as is said in the question [he is subsequently referred to as being], ‘… more vile then such and such … more dangerous than such and such … more severe than such and such,’ this is also an increase in a person’s harming himself by bringing such exaggerations, by making statements which may not be correct and which are not sound and not in conformation with the reality [of the situation].
Furthermore, the anarchy, the evil suspicion brothers have of each other, the boycotting and so on that occurs because of those statements, all of these are things which are from the handiwork of the Devil, and are things which are from the plots he has for man to make him fall into destructive matters and those things which will result in him being harmed.
So a person must call himself to account and guard his tongue, the damage caused by it is something very dangerous and colossal, and it is from a person’s good fortune that he guards it from speaking about anything that comes back to harm him.
And that which some of the brothers from Ahlus-Sunnah do where they concern themselves with discrediting others and speaking about others and expending their efforts in that and leaving off the enemy, [leaving off] those who spread corruption in the land and do not rectify—these are things the Devil plots for a person to turn him away from that which he should [in reality] be doing, turning him away [from the good he should be doing] to that which he should [in fact] be protecting himself from.
From the Shaikh’s explanation of Sunan Abu Dawud.
Ibn Taymiyyah in Prison
December 11, 2013 § Leave a comment
The student of Ibn Taymiyyah, Imaam Ibn ’Abdul-Haadi, said, “He is the Shaikh, the Rabbaani Imaam, the Imaam of the Imaams, the Mufti of the Ummah, the Scholar of Multiple Fields of Knowledge, the Chief of the Memorisers, the Peerless [Scholar] of His Time, the Master of His Era, the Shaikh of Islaam, the Blessing of Mankind, the Sign of the Time, the Explainer of the Quraan, the Chief of the Ascetics, the Matchless Worshipper, the Subduer of Innovations, the Last of the Mujtahids—Taqiyud-Deen Abul-’Abbaas Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah, ‘He finished reciting the Quraan eighty or eighty one times during the time he was in prison … everyday he would recite three Juzz, finishing [the Quraan] every ten days, thus did his brother Zainud-Deen inform me.’”
Al-’Uqood ad-Durriyah min Manaaqib Shaikhil-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, pp. 3 and 290.
Al-‘Abbaad on Pirated Software
December 6, 2013 § 1 Comment
Questioner: Some people buy a computer program, crack it, and then copy it and sell it for a cheap price, bearing in mind the original copy is sold at expensive rates, is this allowed?
Al-‘Abbaad: One must guard the rights of people and not infringe upon them, if he himself were the person in this situation would he agree for this to be done for him [i.e., if the person making the copies were the actual owner/producer of the original]? It’s known he wouldn’t. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said in a hadith reported by ’Abdullah ibn ’Amr ibn al-’Aas in Sahih Muslim, and this is part of a long hadith, “Whoever would like to be delivered from Hell and enter Paradise, let him die believing in Allaah and the Last Day, and let him treat people as he would like to be treated,” [The Book of Leadership, no. 4776] ya’ni, he deals with people as he would like for them to deal with him.
Al-Fawzaan on Pirated Software
December 5, 2013 § Leave a comment
Questioner: Here’s another question from Algeria, the brother says, ‘I work with pirated software whose owner is a Christian [i.e., the original software is owned/produced by a Christian], I work copying CD’s, even though they do not permit them to be copied, but we copy them [anyway] and then use them for seeking knowledge?’
Al-Fawzaan: This is not allowed, this is from their rights and it is not allowed for us to transgress against them and it is not allowed for us to take their wealth, it is not allowed for us to transgress against them, saying [as a justification], ‘They are Christians.’ No. This is deception. These are their rights and we do not take them away, so long as they prohibit it, these are their rights and we do not encroach upon them saying [as a justification], ‘This is part of da’wah,’ this is not from da’wah—this is a defamation of the da’wah, Islaam forbids this, [Islaam forbids] committing aggression against people’s property, and their rights, even if they are non-Muslims.
’Uthaimeen on Women Growing Long Nails
December 5, 2013 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “I warn some of those women whose evil deeds—leaving their nails to grow and making them long—has been made alluring to them by Shaitaan. [I warn them] because it goes against the fitrah [one’s natural disposition] and the time the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم laid down for his nation, because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم set a time [limit for the trimming of] the nails, the pubic region and the armpits, and moustaches for men, of no more than forty days.”
Fataawaa Nurun ‘alad-Darb, vol. 11, p. 12.
’Uthaimeen on What to Memorise
December 3, 2013 § Leave a comment
Shaikh ’Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Memorise what you are able to from the books of hadith, if it is possible for you to memorise Bulughul-Maraam min Adillatil-Ahkaam then that is very good, if you can’t, then ’Umdatul-Ahkaam, so that you will have a share of proofs which you can rely on—and this is all after memorising the Book of Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, and understanding its meanings, because it is the foundation.”
Fataawaa Nurun ’alad-Darb, vol. 2, p. 20.
Ibn Baaz Was One of the Fastest Scholars to Refute Innovations
November 18, 2013 § Leave a comment
Shaikh Muhammad al-Majdhoob said about Shaikh Ibn Baaz, may Allaah have mercy on him, “And you would see him to be the fastest scholar to renounce innovations because according to him they are an assault against the rights of the revelation, an alteration of Allaah’s Religion, something which ultimately distances the Muslims from the correct Islamic path.”
’Ulamaa wa Mufakkiroon ’Araftuhum, p. 91.
Uthaimeen on Knowledge
November 17, 2013 § Leave a comment
Shaikh Uthaimeen, may Allaah have mercy on him, said, “Knowledge is one of the best and most lofty types of worship and the greatest in benefit, and that is why you find the Devil keen to hinder a person from it.”
Fataawaa Nurun-alad-Darb, vol. 2, p. 12.
Gifts of Knowledge 