What were shaykhs?

Why were the shaykhs not involved in governing the non-Muslims?

Shaykhs were not involved in governing the non-Muslims because they were local Islamic religious leaders. Ra'is were the ones governing the non-Muslim families and non-Muslim religious leaders.

El Azar family north Lebanon kora?

In his book, The Politics of Interventionism in Ottoman Lebanon 1830-1861, Caesar E. Farah, Professor of Middle-Eastern Studies at the University of Minnesota, describes the feudal structure that characterized Mount Lebanon from the late seventeenth century through the nineteenth century. The author lists the Shaykhs of the Christian north, including the Greek Orthodox Azar shaykhs of al-Kura district. In his references, he includes RLNA, Events of 1860, 7786, an instrument bearing the signatures of Abu Lam' emirs, Khazin, Hubaysh, Dahir, Dahdah, Abu Sa'b, Hashim and 'Azar shaykhs - the principal feudal families of the north.

Who was Kahina?

Kahina was a military and religious leader of the Jrawa Zenata tribe who drove off, and later, was defeated by Muslim invaders in the 7th century.Kahina, also known as al-Kahinat -meaning "female seer"- and Kahya, I-Kahna in modern Magreb Arabic romanised as Kahina, was a military and religious leader of the Jrawa Zenata tribe. Her real name was Dihya, Dahya, or Damiya. al-Kahinat is a nickname that was used by her Muslim opponents because of her reputed ability to foresee the future. Kahina was born early in the 7th century, and died in the 690s in modern day Algeria.Before the Islamic ConquestBefore the Islamic conquest of northern Africa began, Africa was a province of the Byzantine Empire. At that time it had been reconquered by Emperor Justinian. The entire area thrived under the capital city, Carthage. A peace in the land brought economic prosperity. Its grain was exported, as well as goods produced by artisans, such as red pottery which had become renowned throughout the Empire. Africa was rising to become an intellectual center of the world. Kahina's youth had been spent in this time and near, where peoples of different races and religions thrived, Romans, Berbers, Visigoth settlers, and Numidians; there were Catholics, Arians, Donatists, and Jews. There was some tension as the Jews and Donatists were subject to outbreaks of persecution and conflict however. Kahina was the daughter of the Jrawa tribe's chieftain, Tabat. The tribe lived in the region of the Aures mountains. Little is know about her father, or even of her own life. Some historians claim that Kahina may have professed Judaism, meaning that her Arab name, al-Kahinat, may be of the Hebrew word Khn, meaning "a person of the priest class." One Arab chronicle by Ibn Khaldoun that had been written after Kahinas death called Kahina "a Jewess." At this time many Berber tribes were Jewish, but some were of Christian or native beliefs, so it is possible the Kahina was a Jew. One thing know about her was her appearance. Kahina had very long black hair, and large dark eyes; she was very tall for a woman of her time, and was charismatic.She was known most of all for her great intelligence, wisdom, and the said ability to foresee the future. She was also a woman of great control. When she was a young woman, she was demanded by another chieftain to become his bride; when she refused he began to terrorize her tribe. Kahina was forced into hiding for a time, but finally she agreed to the marriage. On the wedding night, she murdered her new husband by smashing his skull with a nail. The man was a tyrant, and Kahina was greatly praised and thanked for rescuing the people of his tribe from his leadership.Her renown life became known to the people of Masmuda. Their shaykhs and princes began to seek her hand in marriage, but she said that she would only marry the man who ruled the entirety of the Maghrib. Supposedly it was Amir Abu Bakr b. Umar who married her. She had promised him great wealth. One story shows that she blindfolded him and took him within a subterranean dwelling. When she took off the blindfold he saw rooms filled with gems, gold, and silver. He was amazed at what he saw. Kahina told him that all of it was his wealth, and that God had given it to him, also that she had delivered it to him. She then blindfolded him and took him out. She did this so he did not know who or where he had entered and exited.The Conquest BeginsWhen the Muslims finally conquered Egypt in 646 AD, the year of peace would come to a close. Islam as quickly approaching, and the Byzantine Empire was suffering defeats on many other fronts, further weakened by a great civil war. There was no assistance given as the Muslim armies approached so the Exarches of Africa were forced to rely upon the limited resources that could be found locally. Amazingly they were able to hold of the Arabs until 680 AD, when they finally broke through the defenses. The Byzantine retreated to the coastal cities as the Muslim commander, Oqba led raids along the coast, which reached the Atlantic Ocean in modern Morocco. Oqba is said to have slashed the waves of the ocean with his Sabre in fury that there was no more land to conquer, however he, and his army were soon annihilated by a group of Berber tribes. Eventually Carthage fell, and the Byzantine presence in Africa ended.However, during the siege of Carthage, Kahina had been busy rallying together all the Berber tribes under one ideal; she also gathered survivors of the Byzantine army and the remnants of the Visigoths. They were determined to drive out the invaders. They began with guerrilla warfare which turned into a full scale attack against the Muslim army. She completely defeated it and pushed the invading army all the way back into Egypt, supposedly to the Nile.She reclaimed the ruins of Carthage, and became the unquestioned leader and heroine of northern Africa. She was now joined also by deserters of the Muslim army, including an apostate who became a lieutenant and her adopted son. It was at this time she gained the name al-Kahinat. She ruled as a great military and administrative leader over her transformed army which now had discipline and was capable of being maintained, all while holding off the Muslims, for almost three years. However Kahina knew that the Muslims would attempt to conquer their lands again, and so she began preparing in the best way she knew how.According to Muslim chroniclers, Kahina began a "scorched earth" campaign, thinking that by destroying what the invaders wanted out of their land -livestock, crops, and cities- they would abandon they invasion altogether. However, Kahina misunderstood one important point, the intent of the Muslims invasion. Another problem was that her actions caused her to lose support of the settled population who were terrified by the destruction. The intent of the Muslim's invasion was not to gain land, food, or livestock, but converts. Soon the Muslims sent out their armies who benefited from the destruction Kahina had done. Without the support Kahina's army and people desperately needed, they were utterly destroyed. It is said Kahina died with a sword in her hand and was slain by Ibn Khaldun when she was 127 years old, however this is most likely exaggerated. Her head was mummified and sent to the Caliph who had it nailed to the entrance of his favorite mosque. After her defeat much of the remaining people of northern Africa quickly converted to Islam or were killed as there was no, or little, organized resistance left.

HAzrat Ahmed Al Badwi?

Hazrat Shaykh al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badaw (Radi Allah Anhu)The Shaykh al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badaw&(Radi Allah Anhu) was a Muslim saint and also the founder of the Badawiyyah Sufi order. He was born in Fez, Morocco in 596 AH and died in Tanta, Egypt in 675 AH. He was noted for his ascetic behavior, and was also known to perform many miracles.Many false stories have unfortunately also been attributed to him, including by those who claim to be Sufi teachers.According to the famous Muslim writer al-Sayyid Muhammad Murtadā al-Zabīdī (d. 1205 AH), the full genealogy of al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī is Ahmad ibn 'Alī ibn Ibrāhīm ibn Muhammad ibn Abī Bakr ibn Ismā'īl ibn 'Umar ibn 'Alī ibn Uthmān ibn al-Husayn ibn Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Ashhab ibn Yahyā ibn 'Īsā ibn 'Alī ibn Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Ja'far ibn 'Alī al-Hādī ibn Muhammad al-Jawād ibn 'Alī ar-Ridā ibn Mūsā al-Kāzim ibn Ja'far al-Sādiq ibn Muhammad al-Bāqir ibn [Zain al-'Ābidīn] 'Alī ibn al-Husayn ibn Fāţimah, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad (sal-lal-laho-taala-alahi- wasalam), may Allah shower blessings and peace upon him and his family members.His Life :Al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) was the youngest of the seven children of al-Sayyid 'Alī(Radi Allah Anhu). His siblings were al-Hasan (the eldest, born in 583 AH), Muhammad, Fāţimah, Zainab, Ruqayyah, and Fiddah.Even from a young age, al-Sayyid Ahmad(Radi Allah Anhu) was already known as al-Badawī (the bedouin) as he liked to cover his face, imitating the behaviour of the desert dwellers.And while he was still living in Fez, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī(Radi Allah Anhu) was brought by his brother al-Sayyid al-Hasan to meet a Sufi shaykh by the name of 'Abd al-Jalīl ibn 'Abd al-Rahman al-Naisabūrī, who recognized the spiritual talent of the young boy and gave him initiation into the Sufi path.In 603 AH, al-Sayyid 'Alī heard a voice in his dream telling him to migrate to Makkah al-Mukarramah. So he took his family, including the seven year old al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī, to move to Makkah al-Mukarramah. The journey took approximately four years. They stopped at several places including Cairo, which at that time was under the rule of al-Sulţān Sayfuddīn al-'Ādil al-Ayyūbī.When they finally reached Makkah al-Mukarramah, they were warmly welcomed by the leaders of the shurafā' (descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah shower blessings and peace upon him and his family members).In Makkah al-Mukarramah, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī(Radi Allah Anhu) studied and memorized the Quran. He also attended lessons on al-Hadīth and on al-Fiqh based on the madhhab (school of thought in Islamic jurispudence) of al-Imām al-Shāfi'ī (Radi Allah Anhu).After being introduced to the world of Sufism, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī(Radi Allah Anhu) would spent a lot of his time in spiritual seclusion. One of his favourite spots was on Jabal Abī Qubais, which is located near Masjid al-Harām.In 633 AH, in a vision, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī(Radi Allah Anhu) was spiritually visited by al-Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlanī (Radi Allah Anhu) (d. 561 AH) and al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Rifā'ī (Radi Allah Anhu) (d. 578 AH) who invited him to visit their tombs.The next day, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) left Makkah al-Mukarramah and set out to visit the tombs of the righteous ones in Iraq, accompanied by his elder brother al-Sayyid al-Hasan(Radi Allah Anhu).Before they reached Umm 'Abīdah, the resting place of al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Rifā'ī (Radi Allah Anhu), al-Sayyid al-Hasan decided to go back to Makkah al-Mukarramah for he missed his family. Al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) continued his journey alone and met with many adventures including defeating the enchantress called Fāţimah near Umm 'Abīdah.In one of the most misquoted anecdotes, it was related that while al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) was in Iraq, he was offered by al-Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlanī (Radi Allah Anhu) and al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Rifā'ī (Radi Allah Anhu) [in their spiritual forms] the keys to the spiritual kingdoms of Iraq, Yemen, India, Iconium, and all the Muslim lands in the East and the West, for the keys were in their hands.Al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) politely declined. [According to one version of the story, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī said that he would only take the keys from the hand of the Prophet Muhammad himself, may Allah shower blessings and peace upon him and his family members.]After visiting the tombs of the pious ones in Iraq, including that of his ancestor al-Imām Mūsā al-Kāzim (Radi Allah Anhu), and receving further spiritual illumination after spending some time in meditation there, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) headed home.Back in Makkah al-Mukarramah, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) reported to his brother al-Sayyid al-Hasan (Radi Allah Anhu) on the offer of the keys to the spiritual kingdoms by the two spiritual poles al-Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlanī (Radi Allah Anhu) and al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Rifā'ī(Radi Allah Anhu).Al-Sayyid al-Hasan (Radi Allah Anhu) told his younger brother, "Verily, inviting people to the path of Allah is the key to goodness. What al-Shaykh 'Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlanī (Radi Allah Anhu) and al-Shaykh Ahmad al-Rifā'ī (Radi Allah Anhu) had wanted was that you follow their path in inviting people to God. And their path is none other than following the Quran and the Sunnah. This is the true path (ţarīqah) in Islam."Al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) concurred with and appreciated the explanation given by his elder brother al-Sayyid al-Hasan (Radi Allah Anhu).He studied the Qur'an with the readers of the time. He possessed a courageous heart, and was called al-Badawi because of his stuttering. When the divine gifts came to him, drowning him in complete absorption in Allah, his life completely changed. He shunned the company of people; held to silence, and communicating only through gestures. (one line left out).His state continued to grow until he became as he is known. In his sleep he saw three times someone saying, "Stand and go to place of the rising sun. If you reach there, then go to the place of the setting sun. Then travel to Tanta, for surely this is your place, O young man!" This was in Shawwal, 633 H.He went to Iraq where he was welcomed by its Shaykhs, both living and dead. He took on the blessed Sufi Kharqa through the permission of Shaykh Bari (Radi Allah Anhu) who received it from Na'im al-Baghdadi (Radi Allah Anhu) who in turn received it from Shaykh Ahmad al-Rafa'I (Radi Allah Anhu), may Allah be pleased with all of them. After reaching Tanta, al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) stayed at the home of a trader by the name of Rukain (also known as Ruknuddīn) ibn Shuhaiţ.Al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) was very well received in Tanta. Many people came to visit him, for they benefitted from his presence and his teachings, and also from the barākah that flowed through him. It was reported that al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī (Radi Allah Anhu) once said, "The spiritual paupers (al-fuqarā') are like the olive fruit. Among them are the great ones and among them are the small ones. For those who do not possess "oil", I will be their "oil". I will aid them in all their affairs and I will also help them overcome their difficulties. Not on my own efforts and strengths, but through the barākah of the Prophet, may Allah shower blessings and peace upon him and his family members."His Tariqa :He took bay'ah from Shaykh Ibn 'Abd Allah al-Naysaburi (Radi Allah Anhu), from whom there are a chain of seven shaykhs who received bay'a from al-Imam Dawud al-Ta'iy who received it from Habib Allah al-'Ajami who received from the Master of the Tabi'een, al-Hasan al-Basri, who received it from Sayyiduna 'Ali, may Allah illumine his face, who received it from al-Mustafa, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.His State :He was a big Qutb, he could cause his murids to grow in ma'rifa by just looking at them. If he gave one of his murids a special look he would raise him to the Maqam of al-Shuhud. He used to fast continually for forty days, then break his fast. In most of his states he would stare upward to the sky with eyes of burning coal, shouting continuously.His Attributes :He was called the one with the two veils, for he always wore two veils. He was tall with thick legs, full arms, and a big face. His complection was between white and brown.His Noble Sayings :Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawi (may Allah be pleased with him) said:The fuqarā are like olives, among them are the big and small, and he who has no oil; and I am his oil. Meaning, whoever is truthful (şādiq) in his poverty, pure as the oil, living according to the Book and the Sunnah, then I am his help in all matters, providing for his needs in this world and the next - not by my power and strength but by the barakah of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace).O Abd al-'Al, beware of love of this world, for it corrupts the righteous deed as vinegar corrupts honey. Know, 'Abd al-'Al, that Allah said: "Surely Allah is with those who possess taqwa and those who do good" (16:128).'Abd al-'Al, be concerned with the orphan, cloth the naked, feed the hungry, honor the stranger and the guest, perhaps then you will be among those whom Allah accepts.'Abd al-'Al, you must do dhikr abundantly, and beware of being among those who are heedless of Allah the High. Know that every raka'ah at night is better than a thousand in the day.The best of you in character is he who has the most belief in Allah the High. Evil character corrupts good deeds like vinegar corrupts honey.'Abd al-'Al, this way of ours is built upon the Book, the Sunnah, şidq, purity, loyalty, bearing injustice against oneself, and fulfilling the promise.Shaykh 'Abd al-'Al said: While serving the Shaykh for forty years I never saw him distracted from the worship of Allah for an instant. One day I asked him about the reality of poverty in the way of the sacred law (al-faqr al-shar'ī) and he said: According to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) the faqīr (in Allah) has the following 12 signs: (1) he is an 'arif bi llah (i.e., having direct knowledge of Allah); (2) he is obedient to Allah's commands; (3) he holds to the Sunnah of the Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace); (4) he is always pure; (5) in every situation he is pleased with Allah; (6) he is certain of what is with Allah; (7) he is despairing of what is in the hands of mankind; (8) he bears [patiently] with hardships; (9) he hastens to fulfill Allah's command; (10) he shows compassion for mankind; (11) he is humble before people; (12) he knows that Shaytan is his enemy according to what Allah the High says: "Surely, the Shaytan is your enemy, so take him for an enemy" (35:6).Then Shaykh 'Abd al-'Al asked him about reflection, tawbah, dhikr, love of Allah (wajd), şabr, zuhd, īmān, and his shaykh and teacher, Ahmad al-Badawi, answered him in such a way that it quenched the fire of rancor, comforted the ill, and demonstrated Allah's knowledge (of all things). These words, known to the nobles of knowledge and the Sufis, were found scattered about, but the Sayyid revealed their reality, exposing them with purity and clarity. He said the following about the above mentioned technical terms:Reflection (tafkīr): Reflection upon Allah's creatures and His creating not upon His essence, for surely thinking cannot encompass Him.Tawbah: Its reality is regret for wrongs committed, abandonment of disobedience, asking for Allah's forgiveness with the tongue, resolve not to return to the disobedience, and purity of heart. This is the tawbat al-naşuĥ (sincere tawbah) to which Allah orders us in His Mighty Book: "O you who believe, turn in repentance to Allah a sincere turning" (66:8).Dhikr: The reality of dhikr is that it is with the heart not by the tongue only. Dhikr with the tongue without the heart is shallow. Remember Allah with a heart that is present and beware of being distracted (ghaflah) from Allah, for surely it causes the heart to become hard.Wajd: Wajd is when the dhikr of the Real, la ilaha illa hu, increases so that a light is cast into the heart from Allah's presence, until the skin thrills, and there is longing for the Beloved, la ilaha illa hu. The murīd clings to wajd and attaches himself entirely to Allah. When the wajd increases and he becomes distracted in passionate love so that it becomes excessive, then the murīd reaches the high rank of spiritual elevation.Patience (şabr): It is pleasure with the hukm (ruling) of Allah and submission to His command. It is when man rejoices in misfortune just as he rejoices in good fortune. Allah says: "And give good news to the patient, who when a misfortune befalls them, say: surely we are Allah's and to Him we surely return" (2: 155-156).Zuhd: Zuhd is opposing the nafs by leaving worldly desires; and leaving the seven doors of the permitted in the fear that one may fall into the prohibited.Īmān: Īmān is the most precious thing; he who has the most belief (īmān) has the most taqwa. When the character (akhlāq) of the murīd is good, his īmān increases; the best of you in character is he who has the most belief in Allah.When imparting counsel to his khalifah, 'Abd al-'Al, Shaykh al-Badawi said: Don't rejoice over the misfortune of any of Allah's creatures or utter words that slander or defame. Never harm someone who has harmed you. Show concern for someone who has wronged you. Do good to whoever has done you evil and give to whoever has withheld from you. Do you know who is the true, patient faqīr? I said: Please, continue to give me what is beneficial. Shaykh al-Badawi (Radi Allah Anhu) continued: He is the one who when he gives he doesn't ask to be thanked. And when the patient man losses his patience because of Allah's hukm (ruling; i.e., He causes events to occur that break the faqīr's patience), he acts according to the Book and the Sunnah.The following words transmitted by Sayyid al-Bakri are the ultimate expression of the secret of Shaykh al-Badawi's (Radi Allah Anhu) great spiritual nature: He who has no knowledge ('ilm) will have no worth (qīmah) in this world or the next. He who has no forbearance (ĥilm) will find no benefit in knowledge. He who is without generosity (sakhā') will have no portion of his wealth. He who has no sympathy and concern (shafaqah) for mankind will find no intercessor to plead his case (shifā'ah) before Allah. He who has no patience (şabr) will obtain no success and goodness in his affairs. He who has no taqwa (godfearingness) has no station (manzilah) with Allah. And he who is deprived of these six qualities has no place in the Garden (Jinnah).His Nearness to Allah :Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) was drawing near to Allah until he reached the door of divine presence and said " O Allah please open the door for me" He was not getting an answer until he met some one by the grace of Allah, He saw that person on the street, an ordinary person, who looked at him and said "O Ahmad" He did not even call him "Shaikh Ahmad" to give him due respect. He said "O Ahmad" you need the key to Allah Divine Presence? I have that key. If u want it, come to me and i will give to u.Many people among us , because they are proud of themselves refuse to accept facts and truth, although they know, as a matter of fact, that this is the right path. They are not accepting because of their ego say "NO" so Ahmad ego said to him, " How are u going to accept something from him? Dont accept the key from him accept Allah.So he said brother i don't take the key from u or any one else except the key maker. Who are u ? you are nothing.Then he kept striving to reach the divine presence until he heard a voice saying to him, " O Ahmad", this life is the life of cause an effect, I will not give the key to u. My will is that the key to my door, for u is with that person so go and get it from him, Now the matter was selected he had heard it from Allah and has accepted.Now he had to find that guide, but that guide had disappeared. He had left him for six months the guide was secretly observing Ahmad's heart seeing him search for him to and fro and pray to Allah day and night "O Allah send that person back to me" That person finally removed his viel he had been there all the time revealing himself and Ahmad saw him last. so the guide removed the veil and appeared to Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) . Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) said "O My Shaikh! I found u. "He did not find him but the guide had removed the viel, it was he who was unabel to notice him.and Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) said oh y shaikh i accept u as a guide, the guide replied if u accept me as a guide now u have to submit and surrender give over your will to me completely. you cannot have a will beside my will. You have built your knowledhe on a cliff. With a breath from the wind of ego , it is going to collapse. I have to first build for you a firm foundation. so , look into my eyes. Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) look into the guide eyes and the guide immediately removed all the knowledge that Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) has learned through books. "Through Books" means there are many things written which comes out fro the ego of authors. So he pulled out that knowledge from Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) heart and disappeard. He left him for another six month not knowing even how to say, Bismillahi 'r-Rahmani 'r-Rahim," and not knowing how to prounce the holy name Allah.Everyone in the city now began mocking Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) who had become insane after having been a great scholar. they thought that he was mentally ill because there understanding was limited. All they could see that he was following some one who was making him crazy, but Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) knew that he heard the voice of Allah saying" your key is with that one. "No one can make him crazy-he was only after that person with all his focus.If Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) had accepted from the begening, when that one came to him by Allah wills, he would not have passed through this test at that time. why make yourself pass through a test? When u find the truth, the correct guide, accept him immediately! don't play games with ur ego. So the guide left him for another six months, then appeared to him another time. In those six months Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) had been searchin for him again. when he finally apperead again, Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) saw him and said " O my shaikh, i found u another time! " At that time the guide looked into his eyes and through them transferred from his heart to Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) heart, internal Knowledge-the knowledge of the book and its secrets - giving, giving , giving untul light was coming from Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al Badawi(Radi Allah Anhu) eyes, so much that anyone who looked into his eyes would die. After that he began to wear a veil(burqa). At that time he was abel to enter into divine Presence, and he recived that key he had been seekin so long.Ahmad al-Badawi (Radi Allah Anhu) was one of the great awliya' and was the Khalifa to Shaikh Baree (Radi Allah Anhu), who was one of the superiors of tasawwuf and the Khalifa to 'Ali ibn Nuaym al-Baghdadi (Radi Allah Anhu), who was a great wali educated by Ahmad ar-Rifai (Radi Allah Anhu), a possessor of karamat and a Sharif. Ahmad al-Badawi (Radi Allah Anhu), who was a Sharif, too, passed away in Egypt in 675 A.H. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have attained faid by visiting his tomb in Tanta every year, and nothing incongruous with Islam has happened during the visits. [Mir'at al-Madina, p.1049.] As to Hazrat Sayed 'Abd al-Qadir al-Geilani (Radi Allah Anhu) and Hazrat Muhyiddin ibn al-'Arabi (Radi Allah Anhu), their high status has been comprehended and explained in hundreds of books only by Islamic scholars who were talented like them. Al-Imam ar-Rabbani's (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) work Maktubat is full of eulogy and praise for these great walis. And great scholar 'Abd al-Ghani an-Nabulusi (rahimah-Allahu ta'ala) wrote about their high honor in detail in Al-Hadiqa.After the death of al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Badawī(Radi Allah Anhu) in Tanta, his followers came to visit his tomb regularly. Today, three special annual festivals are celebrated in his honour, the centre of which are held at the mosque bearing his name. The largest of these festivals is very popular and is attended by up to three million people from all walks of life in Egypt [and some parts of Sudan].During his life time he has also visited many places through out the world and has also visited India and the neighbouring countries, there is chilla mubarak of this great Saint in Worli Sea face, Mumbai, India, one of the most expensive area of Mumbai, but when you reach at the chilla mubarak you will hardly feel like you are in Mumbai. This place is full of greenery and is situated at a small hill there are all together 7 Mazar-e-Akdas at the same place from which one is the chilla mubarak of Hazrat Sayed Ahmed Al-Badwi (Radi Allah Anhu) and rest are the mazar Sharif of the Saints who came along with him.If you stay in India then you have to visit this place to see how blessed this place is by the rehmat of Allah, If you want to know any thing more fell free to ask me my email id is mazi_24fps@yahoo.co.in.

What is salafi?

Salafi is a conservative Sunni Islamic movement that seeks to adhere closely to the practices and beliefs of the first generations of Muslims, known as the Salaf. Salafis emphasize a literal interpretation of Islamic texts and focus on purifying their beliefs and practices according to what they believe to be the original teachings of Islam.

What are the differences between wahabi and Sunni Islam?

WAHHABISM: UNDERSTANDING THE ROOTS AND ROLE MODELS OF ISLAMIC EXTREMISMby Zubair Qamar*condensed and edited by ASFA staffIntroduction The most extremist pseudo-Sunni movement today is Wahhabism(also known as Salafism). While many may think that Wahhabi terror is a recent phenomenon that has only targeted non-Muslims, it will surprise many to know that the orthodox Sunni Muslims were the first to be slaughtered in waves of Wahhabimassacres in Arabia hundreds of years ago. One only has to read the historical evolution of Saudi Arabia to know the gruesome details of the tragedy - a tragedy in which thousands of Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims perished at the hands of Wahhabi militants.The extremist interpretations of Wahhabism, although previously confined to small pockets of people in Arabia, has survived to this day under the protection, finance, and tutelage of the Saudi state religious organs. This has transformed Wahhabism - and related Salafi groups that receive inspiration and support from them - from a regional to a global threat to be reckoned with by the world community. To a Wahhabi-Salafi, all those who differ with them, including Sunni Muslims, Shi'ite Muslims, Christians, and Jews, are infidels who are fair targets.Do the majority of Sunnis support Wahhabism? Are Sunnis and Wahhabis one and the same?What is a Wahhabi?Because Wahhabis claim to be "true Sunnis," it is difficult for one who is unfamiliar with Wahhabism to distinguish it from orthodox Sunni Islam. If a Wahhabi is asked if he/she is Sunni, he/she will always reply in the affirmative. When asked if they are Wahhabis, they reply with an emphatic "no" as they consider it an insult to what they believe and stand for: "Purity of worship and reverence to God alone. The authentic carriers of Islam from the time of the Prophet (s)[1] until now." Calling them Wahhabis implies that they learned ideas from a man - Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab - instead of the Qur'an and Sunnah - the two great sources of Islam. Irrespective of what they think, they are not following the Islamic sources authentically, but the wrong interpretations of the founder of the Wahhabi movement who appeared in the 1700s. Sunnis and other Wahhabi detractors have labeled them as Wahhabis to differentiate them from orthodox Sunnis.Wahhabis as Salafis: deceptive semanticsWahhabis differentiate themselves from orthodox Sunnis by labeling themselves Salafis, which refers to the word salaf - the time period in which the early Muslims lived in the first 300 years after the Hijra, or emigration, of Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622. The Companions (Sahaba), those who followed the Companions (Tabi'een), and those who followed those who followed the Companions (Taba al-Tabi'een) who lived in the time period of the Salaf are exemplars par excellence of what Muslims should be, as Prophet Muhammad (s) had praised these Muslims as being the best of Muslims. Therefore, it has been the aim of every Muslim since the time of Prophet Muhammad (s) to adhere to and to follow the footsteps of the adherents of the salaf. This means that when a Wahhabi calls himself a Salafi, he claims to be a genuine follower of pristine Islam. This, however, is far from the truth.Orthodox Sunni Muslims believe that they are the true bearers of pristine Islam since the time period of the Salaf. Because there were time gaps between the noble period of the Salafand centuries that followed, the authentic positions of the early Muslims were passed by scholars in those times and afterwards to later generations via meticulous, systematic, and methodological means of preservation. The knowledge was passed from qualified scholars to other qualified scholars through the centuries, who passed it to the masses. This uninterrupted chain of knowledge from the time of the Salaf until now has been authentically preserved by the orthodox Sunnis. Orthodox Sunnis, therefore, have roots in the Salaf, and are represented today by the four surviving authentic schools of Islamic jurisprudence: Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki, and Hanbalischools (madhahib).The Wahhabis, by calling themselves Salafis, not only claim to follow the footsteps of the early Muslims, but also use semantics to fool and allure less informed Muslims into accepting Wahhabism. Wahhabis say, "You must follow the Muslims of the Salaf." (This is undoubtedly true.) Then the Wahhabi semantics: "Therefore you must be a Salafi and nothing else. Following anything else means you're following a path that is different from the Muslims of the Salaf." By such deceptive semantics, the less informed Muslims believe that Salafis must truly represent the pristine interpretations of the early Muslims of the Salaf. After all, the word Salafi sounds like Salaf, so it must truly be representative of it. Far from it. When the less informed goes beyond semantics and blind faith and investigates what a Salafi believes, the truth unveiled is that the understanding of Salafis (Wahhabis) is different and contradictory to the understanding and positions of the pious Muslims who lived in the Salaf - and the majority of Muslims who have ever lived (Sunnis).Wahhabi-Salafi varietyThe Wahhabi-Salafis believe that Sunnis have been vehemently wrong for the past 1,000+ years and aim to bring the Muslims out of a state of ignorance (jahilliyya) that has existed, in their minds, since the time of the pious adherents of the Salaf. Even if the majority of orthodox Sunni Muslims were strong today, indeed if they ruled an empire that stretched far to every corner of the globe, it would still be a failure to Salafis because to them the foundations of such a political system would have been based on reprehensible innovation (bid'a) and blasphemy (kufr).To the Salafi, the presence and power of Sunni orthodoxy, in all of its manifestations as illustrated throughout Islamic history, is just as impure as the rising European hegemony in all of its manifestations since the demise of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. To the Salafis, a minority in this world, the world is an abode of blasphemy, ruled and occupied by infidelsthat demands reformation through both non-violent and violent means to bring about a supposedly pure Islamic world system.Wahhabi-Salafis come in various strains, some being more extreme than others. The variety in strains is due to differences in approach of bringing the Muslims back to a state of strengthened belief based on the example of the pious ancestors. It must be emphasized that although all Wahhabis are called Salafis, all Salafis are not purely Wahhabi. "Salafi Muslims" include those like Syed Qutb who wish to eradicate the supposed current state of ignorance (jahiliyya) and bring Muslims back to a state of purity - a purity reminiscent of the purity of Muslims who lived in the time period of the Salaf. However, all Salafi Muslims, whether they are Wahhabi or Qutbi, admire with exaggeration the role models Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab and Ahmad Ibn Taymiyah, whose hard-line interpretations have inspired revolutionaries today. Therefore, although all Salafis are not Wahhabis, they admire many of the same role models - role models who have been rejected and condemned by masses of orthodox Sunni scholars for their unauthentic representations of pristine Islam. It can also be said that all Wahhabis consider themselves to be Salafis and prefer to be called by this name (instead of Wahhabi), even though differences exist between Salafi groups.Although there are differences in approach among Salafis, they have nonetheless allied themselves in an attempt to make the Salafi vision a reality by both non-violent and violent means.An example of this are the Salafi-oriented Deobandis and their alliance with the Wahhabis. The alliance between the Muslim Brotherhood (and its various factions and offshoots) and the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia was strengthened during the 1950s and 1960s in the struggle of the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt's Nasserist regime. Saudis had provided refuge for some leaders of the Brotherhood, and also provided assistance to them in other Arab States. The Wahhabi-Salafi alliance was further strengthened as a response to the growing threat of Shi'ah power when the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran revolted and overthrew the U.S.-allied Shah in 1979.Lastly, the alliance made itself manifest in the holy struggle (jihad) against the atheist/Communist Soviets in Afghanistan. Salafis of all strains worked together as the "righteous Sunnis" to counter the Shi'ah-Communist threat, from proselytizing to killing to make their Salafismprevail. Indeed, Salafis have used both proselytizing and revolutionary means to express their message using both political and apolitical approaches. So-called "Sunni terrorism" today is perpetrated by radical Salafis who desire to replace "infidel" governments with myopic "scholars" who adhere to their fanatical interpretations and ideologies. Their tentacles are spread to all corners of the globe, including Bosnia, Albania, Indonesia, Philippines, Uzbekistan, England, Malaysia, South Africa, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Salafis have demonstrated the havoc they are capable of wreaking in recent decades.Wahhabis as neo-KharijitesThe Wahhabis are especially notorious for reviving the ways of the Khawarij (or Kharijites). They originated in the time of the caliphates of Uthman and Ali, among the closest companions to Prophet Muhammad. They were the earliest group of fanatics who separated themselves from the Muslim community. They arose in opposition to Ali - Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law - because of his willingness to arbitrate with Mu'awiyah, governor of Damascus at that time, over the issue of the caliphate. The Khawarij, meaning "those who exited," slung accusations of blasphemy against Ali and Mu'awiyah - and those who followed them - saying that the Qur'an, and not them, had the ultimate authority in the matter. Ibn al-Jawzi, an orthodox Sunni scholar, in his book Talbis Iblis (The Devil's Deception) under the chapter heading "A Mention of the Devil's Delusion upon the Kharijites," says that Dhu'l-Khuwaysira al-Tamimi was the first Kharijite in Islam and that "[h]is fault was to be satisfied with his own view; had he paused he would have realized that there is no view superior to that of Allah's Messenger…" Furthermore, the orthodox Sunni scholar Imam Abd al-Qahir al-Baghdadi discusses the Kharijite rebellions and their bloody massacres of tens of thousands of Muslims in one of his books. He explicitly mentions the Azariqa, one of the most atrocious Kharijitemovements led by Nafi' ibn al-Azraq from the tribe of Banu Hanifa - the same tribe where the heretic Musaylima the Prevaricator (or Liar) who claimed prophethood alongside Prophet Muhammad came from. Just as the Khawarij threw accusations of blasphemy on Ali and Mu'awiya, Wahhabis throw accusations of blasphemy against Sunnis and Shi'ites.The Al-Sa`ud and Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab - the founder of WahhabismWahhabism is named after the its founder, Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab (1703-1792), and has its roots in the land now known as Saudi Arabia. Without this man, the al-Sa`ud &lrm;, one of many clans spread over the Arabian peninsula, would not have had the inspiration, reason, and determination to consolidate the power that they did and wage "jihad" on people they perceived to be "polytheists" - those who attribute partners in worship to Almighty God. How intimately close was al-Sa`ud&lrm;'sassociation with Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab? Robert Lacey eloquently illustrates this association:Until [Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab's] coming the Al Sa`ud &lrm; had been a minor sheikhly clan like many others in Nejd, townsmen and farmers, making a comfortable living from trade, dates and perhaps a little horse-breeding, combining with the desert tribes to raid outwards when they felt strong, prudently retrenching in times of weakness. Modestly independent, they were in no way empire builders, and it is not likely that the wider world would ever have heard of them without their alliance with the Teacher.[2]The al-Sa`ud are originally from the village of ad-Diriyah, located in Najd, in eastern Arabia situated near modern day Riyadh, the capital of Sa`ud&lrm;i Arabia. Ancestors of Sau'ud Ibn Muhammad, whom little is known about, settled in the area as agriculturists and gradually grew in number over time into the clan of al-Sa`ud &lrm;.Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab was raised in Uyainah, an oasis in southern Najd, and was from the Banu Tamim tribe. He came from a religious family and left Uyainah in pursuit of Islamic knowledge. He traveled to Mecca, Medina, Iraq, and Iran to acquire knowledge from different teachers. When he returned to his homeland of Uyainah, he preached what he believed to be Islam in its purity - which was, in fact, a vicious assault on traditional Sunni Islam.The orthodox Sunni scholar Jamil Effendi al-Zahawi said that the teachers of Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab, including two teachers he had studied with in Medina - Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Sulayman al-Kurdi and Shaykh Muhammad Hayat al-Sindi - became aware of his anti-Sunni Wahhabi creed and warned Muslims from him. His shaykhs, including the two aforementioned shaykhs, used to say: "God will allow him [to] be led astray; but even unhappier will be the lot of those misled by him."[3]Moreover, Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab's own father had warned Muslims from him, as did his biological brother, Sulayman Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab, an orthodox Sunni scholar who refuted him in a book entitled al-Sawa'IQ al-Ilahiyya fi al-radd `ala al-Wahhabiyya["Divine Lightnings in Refuting the Wahhabis"]. Ibn `Abdul-Wahhab was refuted by the orthodox Sunni scholars for his many ugly innovations. Perhaps his most famous book, Kitab at-Tawheed(Book of Unity of God) is widely circulated amongst Wahhabisworldwide, including the United States. His book is popular in Wahhabi circles, although orthodox Sunni scholars have said that there is nothing scholarly about it, both in terms of its content and its style.Ibn Taymiyah: the Wahhabi founder's role modelIt is worth giving an overview of a man named Ahmed Ibn Taymiyah (1263-1328) who lived a few hundred years before Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab. The Wahhabi founder admired him as a role model and embraced many of his pseudo-Sunni positions. Who exactly was Ibn Taymiyah and what did orthodox Sunni scholars say about him? Muslim scholars had mixed opinions about him depending on his interpretation of various issues. His straying from mainstream Sunni Islam on particular issues of creed (`aqeedah) and worship (`ibadat) made him an extremely controversial figure in the Muslim community.Ibn Taymiya has won the reputation of being the true bearer of the early pious Muslims, especially among reformist revolutionaries, while the majority of orthodox Sunnis have accused him of reprehensible bid'ah (reprehenisible innovation), some accusing him of kufr (unbelief).[4]It behooves one to ask why Ibn Taymiyah had received so much opposition from reputable Sunni scholars who were known for their asceticism, trustworthiness, and piety. Some of Ibn Taymiyah's anti-Sunni and controversial positions include:(1) His claim that Allah's Attributes are "literal", thereby attributing God with created attributes and becoming an anthropomorphist;(2) His claim that created things existed eternally with Allah;(3) His opposition to the scholarly consensus on the divorce issue;(4) His opposition to the orthodox Sunni practice of tawassul (asking Allah for things using a deceased pious individual as an intermediary);(5) His saying that starting a trip to visit the Prophet Muhammad's (s) invalidates the shortening of prayer;(6) His saying that the torture of the people of Hell stops and doesn't last forever;(7) His saying that Allah has a limit (hadd) that only He Knows;(8) His saying that Allah literally sits on the Throne (al-Kursi) and has left space for Prophet Muhammad (s) to sit next to Him;(9) His claim that touching the grave of Prophet Muhammad (s) is polytheism (shirk);(10) His claim that that making supplication at the Prophet Muhammad's grave to seek a better status from Allah is a reprehensible innovation;(11) His claim that Allah descends and comparing Allah's "descent" with his, as he stepped down from a minbar while giving a sermon (khutba) to Muslims;(12) His classifying of oneness in worship of Allah (tawheed) into two parts: Tawhid al-rububiyya and Tawhid al-uluhiyya, which was never done by pious adherents of the salaf.Although Ibn Taymiyah's unorthodox, pseudo-Sunni positions were kept away from the public in Syria and Egypt due to the consensus of orthodox Sunni scholars of his deviance, his teachings were nevertheless circulating in hiding. An orthodox Sunni scholar says:Indeed, when a wealthy trader from Jeddah brought to life the long-dead 'aqida [creed] of Ibn Taymiya at the beginning of this century by financing the printing in Egypt of Ibn Taymiya's Minhaj al-sunna al-nabawiyya [italics mine] and other works, the Mufti of Egypt Muhammad Bakhit al-Muti'i, faced with new questions about the validity of anthropomorphism, wrote: "It was a fitna (strife) that was sleeping; may Allah curse him who awakened it."It is important to emphasize that although many of the positions of Ibn Taymiyah and Wahhabis are identical, they nonetheless contradict each other in some positions. While Ibn Taymiyah accepts Sufism (Tasawwuf) as a legitimate science of Islam (as all orthodox Sunni Muslims do), Wahhabis reject it wholesale as an ugly innovation in the religion. While Ibn Taymiyah accepts the legitimacy of commemorating Prophet Muhammad's birthday (Mawlid) - accepted by orthodox Sunni Muslims as legitimate - Wahhabis reject it as a reprehensible innovation that is to be repudiated.Ibn Taymiyah is an inspiration to Islamist groups that call for revolution. Kepel says, "Ibn Taymiyya (1268-1323) - a primary reference for the Sunni Islamist movement - would be abundantly quoted to justify the assassination of Sadat in 1981…and even to condemn the Saudi leadership and call for its overthrow in the mid-1990s".[5]Sivan says that only six months before Sadat was assassinated, the weekly Mayo singled out Ibn Taymiyya as "the most pervasive and deleterious influence upon Egyptian youth." Sivan further says that Mayo concluded that "the proliferating Muslim associations at the [Egyptian] universities, where Ibn Taymiyya's views prevail, have been spawning various terrorist groups." Indeed, a book entitled The Absent Precept, by `Abd al-Salam Faraj - the "spiritual" leader of Sadat's assassins who was tried and executed by the Egyptian government - strongly refers to Ibn Taymiyya's and some of his disciples' writings. Three of four of Sadat's assassins willingly read a lot of Ibn Taymiyya's works on their own.[6]Ibn Taymiyah is also noted to be a favorite of other Salafi extremists, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Syed Qutb. Ibn Taymiyyah's student, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, is also frequently cited by Salafis of all colors.Ibn Taymiyah's "fatwa" of jihad against MuslimsWhat is also well-known about Ibn Taymiyah is that he lived in turbulent times when the Mongols had sacked Baghdad and conquered the Abassid Empire in 1258. In 1303, he was ordered by the Mamluk Sultan to give a fatwa (religious edict) legalizing jihad against the Mongols. Waging a holy war on the Mongols for the purpose of eliminating any threat to Mamluk power was no easy matter. The Mongol Khan Mahmoud Ghazan had converted to Islam in 1295. Although they were Muslims who did not adhere to Islamic Law in practice, and also supported the Yasa Mongol of code of law, they were deemed apostates by the edict of Ibn Taymiyah. To Ibn Taymiyah, Islamic Law was not only rejected by Mongols because of their lack of wholesale adherence, but the "infidel" Yasa code of law made them legal targets of extermination. The so-called jihad ensued and the Mongol threat to Syria was exterminated. Wahhabis and other Salafis to this day brand the Mongol Mahmoud Ghazan as a kafir (disbeliever). Orthodox Sunni Muslims, however, have praised Mahmoud Ghazan as a Muslim. Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani writes:In fact, Ghazan Khan was a firm believer in Islam. Al-Dhahabi relates that he became a Muslim at the hands of the Sufi shaykh Sadr al-Din Abu al-Majami' Ibrahim al-Juwayni (d.720), one of Dhahabi's own shaykhs of hadith….During his rule he had a huge mosque built in Tabriz in addition to twelve Islamic schools (madrasa), numerous hostels (khaniqa), forts (ribat), a school for the secular sciences, and an observatory. He supplied Mecca and Medina with many gifts. He followed one of the schools (madhahib) of the Ahl al-Sunna [who are the orthodox Sunnis] and was respectful of religious scholars. He had the descendants of the Prophet mentioned before the princes and princesses of his house in the state records, and he introduced the turban as the court headgear.[7]Muhammad ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab would later follow Ibn Taymiyah's footsteps and slaughter thousands of Muslims in Arabia.Orthodox Sunni scholars who refuted Ibn Taymiyah'spseudo-Sunni positionsIbn Taymiyah was imprisoned by a fatwa (religious edict) signed by four orthodox Sunni judges in the year 726 A.H for his deviant and unorthodox positions. Note that each of the four judges represents the four schools of Islamic jurisprudence that Sunni Muslims belong to today. This illustrates that Ibn Taymiyah did not adhere to the authentic teachings of orthodox Sunni Islam as represented by the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence. There is no evidence to indicate that there was a "conspiracy" against Ibn Taymiyyah to condemn him, as Wahhabis and other Salafispurport in his defense. The names of the four judges are: Qadi [Judge] Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Jama'ah, ash-Shafi'i, Qadi [Judge] Muhammad Ibn al-Hariri, al-`Ansari, al-Hanafi, Qadi [Judge] Muhammad Ibn Abi Bakr, al-Maliki, and Qadi [Judge] Ahmad Ibn `Umar, al-Maqdisi, al-Hanbali.Some orthodox Sunni scholars who refuted Ibn Taymiyya for his deviances and opposition to the positions of orthodox Sunni Islam include: Taqiyy-ud-Din as-Subkiyy, Faqih Muhammad Ibn `Umar Ibn Makkiyy, Hafiz Salah-ud-Din al-`Ala'i, Qadi, Mufassir Badr-ud-Din Ibn Jama'ah, Shaykh Ahmad Ibn Yahya al-Kilabi al-Halabi, Hafiz Ibn Daqiq al-`Id, Qadi Kamal-ud-Din AZ-Zamalkani, Qadi Safi-ud-Din al-Hindi, Faqih and Muhaddith `Ali Ibn Muhammad al-Baji ash-Shafi'i, the historian al-Fakhr Ibn al-Mu`allim al-Qurashi, Hafiz Dhahabi, Mufassir Abu Hayyan al-`Andalusi, and Faqih and voyager Ibn Batutah.Najd - A place not so holyNajd, in Saudi Arabia, is where the founder of Wahhabism came from. It was a mostly barren and dry land inhabited by Bedouins who used to graze animals. With sparse water, it is not the most comfortable of places since its climate has extremes of heat and cold in the summer and winter seasons. Najd has a notorious reputation in the orthodox Sunni community for originating seditions (fitan) long before Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab came. Indeed, it is known to have harbored many trouble mongering individuals who challenged the Muslims both spiritually and physically. The orthodox Sunni Iraqi scholar Jamal Effendi al-Zahawi says:Famous writers of the day made a point of noting the similarity between Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab's beginnings and those of the false prophets prominent in Islam's initial epoch like Musaylima the Prevaricator, Sajah al-Aswad al-Anasi, Tulaiha al-Asadi and others of his kind [14].Fenari says that although Najd is closest to to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, it has only been dispraised by Prophet Muhammad (s) in authentic traditions. He raises another interesting point that while many Arabian tribes were praised by Prophet Muhammad, the Banu Tamim - the most well known tribe of Central Arabia where Muhammad ibn `Abdul Wahhab was from - is praised only once. Moreover, authentic traditions that "explicitly critique" the Banu Tamimites are far more numerous. Ibn al-Jawzi, an orthodox Sunni scholar, documents the evolution of the Kharijite movements and illustrates how the tribe of Banu Tamim played a leading role in it. Imam Abd al-Qahir also states that the Tamimites - and the Central Arabians in general - were intimately involved in the Kharijiterebellions against the Muslims, contrasting their immense contribution to the minimal contribution of members of the tribes of Medina and Yemen. It is from Banu Tamim where a man name Abu Bilal Mirdas came from, who, although being a relentless worshipper, turned out to be one of the most barbaric Kharijite fanatics. "He is remembered as the first who said the Tahkim - the formula 'The judgment is Allah's alone' - on the Day of Siffin, which became the slogan of the later Kharijite da'WA." It is reminiscent of what Wahhabis say today - that they strictly adhere to nothing but the Qur'an and Sunnah - although it is merely a jumble of words without coherent meaning. Najda ibn Amir of the tribe of Banu Hanifa was a Kharijite whose homeland was Najd, and the best known woman among the Kharijites was a Tamimite named Qutam bint `Alqama. It is fascinating to see that fanatics of all types came from a region where the fanatic Muhammad ibn Abdul-Wahhab came from.The Wahhabi assault on graves and the massacre of Muslim communities in Riyadh andKarbalaWith the ferocious zeal of a "divine" mission, aimed at terminating what they perceived as the filthy polytheistic scum of Arabia, the Wahhabi army led by Muhammad ibn Sa`ud &lrm;first destroyed graves and objects in Najdi towns and villages that were used for what they condemned as "polytheistic practices." The Wahhabi movement mustered supporters who rallied behind their cause, increased the size of their army, and successfully united most of the people of Najd under the banner of Wahhabism by 1765.The assault and "jihad"of Wahhabism did not stop after the death of Muhammad ibn Sa`ud &lrm; in 1765, but continued with unrelenting and barbaric force under the leadership of his son, Abdul-Aziz, who captured the city of Riyadh in 1773. Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhab died a year earlier but left four sons who continued spreading Wahhabism and strengthened the Wahhabifamily's alliance with the Al-Sa`ud &lrm;.[8] Later, in 1801, the Wahhabi army marched to Karbala with a force of 10,000 men and 6,000 camels.[9] Upon reaching Karbala, they mercilessly and indiscriminately attacked its inhabitants for eight hours, massacring about 5,000 people. Moreover, they severely damaged Imam Hussein's mosque, looted the city, and left the carnage-laden city with its treasures on 200 camels.[10] This holocaust won the Wahhabi criminals the unforgiving hatred and wrath of the Shi'ite and Sunni Muslims, who, until this day, curse them passionately. The Shi'ite Muslims consider Imam Hussein, a grandson of Prophet Muhammad (s), one of the most sacred figures and his tomb one of the most sacred sites on earth. Every year, thousands of Shi'ites gather at the site to commemorate the death of Imam Hussein. Visiting Karbala one is indeed filled me with awe and spiritual strength even as a devout Sunni. Shi'ite wrath, of course, didn't mean much to the Wahhabis. The Shi'ites, along with the Sunnis, had already been labeled as "blasphemers" for practicing tawassul and tabarruk. What are these practices? Are they part of Sunni Islam or not?Tawassul and TabarrukNuh Keller, an orthodox Sunni scholar, defines tawassul as "supplicating Allah by means of an intermediary, whether it be a living person, dead person, a good deed, or a name or attribute of Allah Most High". I remember doing tawassul in 1989 at Imam Abu Hanifah's tomb, the noble and renowned Islamic scholar whose ijtihad the majority of Sunni Muslims follow. Although I had not studied much about Islam and the practices of tawassulat that time, I had been told by trustworthy Muslims that using pious individuals as intermediaries when asking Allah for something was a blessed opportunity that I couldn't afford to miss. I had also visited the tomb of the great sufi and saint Abdul-Qadir Jilani and performed tawassul over there. An example of tawassul is: "Oh Allah, I ask you to cure my illness by means of the noble status of Imam Abu Hanifah (s)." When doing tawassul, the source of blessings (barakah) when asking Allah through an intermediary is Allah - not the intermediary. The intermediary is simply a means to ask Allah for things. Although it is not necessary for a Muslim to use a pious intermediary when asking Allah, it is recommended because it was a practice of Prophet Muhammad (s), the Companions (ra), and of the great scholars of Islam (ra). It is not only prophets and saints (in their graves) that are used as means to asking Allah. A Muslim can also ask Allah through relics (tabarruk) that belonged to pious people, and may even use amulets with verses on the Qur'an on them as a means of asking God for protection from evil. It is not the means that provides protection, but Allah.Wahhabis reject a type of tawassul accepted by orthodox Sunni MuslimsAlthough Sunnis, Shi'ites, and Wahhabis believe that tawassul by one's good deeds, a name or attribute of God, or intercession by someone who is alive and present is permissible, Wahhabis accuse Sunnis (and Shi'ites) of committing shirk (attributing partners in worship to God) when doing tawassul through an intermediary who is not alive or present (in the worldly life). That is, to a Wahhabi, tawassul through an intermediary who has died and is in his grave is ugly blasphemy. This is critical to know because this is the primary reason why Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab and the Al-Sa`ud &lrm; criminals that collaborated with him massacred many Muslims in the Arabian peninsula. Muslims had been doing this form of tawassul for over 1,000 years but the Wahhabis believed it was blasphemy that had to be exterminated by the sword. What Wahhabis were doing in actuality was massacring orthodox Sunni Muslims, even though they foolishly believed they were fighting against evil blasphemors that didn't deserve to live. Wahhabis were not following the footsteps of the pious Salaf, but the footsteps of Ibn Taymiyyah who a couple of hundred years before them denounced that particular form of tawassul as sinful. Wahhabis today forbid Muslims from doing tawassul through Prophet Muhammad, and have enforced strict rules around his grave in Medina, Saudi Arabia. It is for this reason that Wahhabisforbid Muslims from visiting the graves of pious Muslims, and have destroyed markings on graves to prevent Muslims from knowing the specific spots where saints are buried. Yet, it is interesting to note the hypocritical nature of the Wahhabis when they had refused the demolishing of the grave of Ibn Taymiyah in Damascus, Syria to make way for a road. Somehow, this is not "polytheism" to them, but it is "polytheism" for the majority of the Islamic community.The flawed Wahhabi understanding of tawassul: confusing the means with the GiverWahhabis wrongly accuse orthodox Sunnis of committing shirk (polytheism) when asking God for something using an intermediary, whether the means is a pious human being in his grave, objects (tabarruk), or seeking protection from God using amulets with verses of the Qur'an written on them (ruqya). The Wahhabi believes that asking God for something through a means is the same as worshipping the means itself. That is, for people who do tawassul through a pious saint in his grave is asking the pious saint - and not God - for things. People who do tabarruk through a relic of Prophet Muhammad (s) are asking the relic - and not God - for blessings, and people who wear ruqya are asking the ruqya itself for protection - and not God. When a Muslim visits the Prophet Muhammad's (s) grave and calls on the Prophet (s), "Oh Prophet," (Ya Rasulullah), the Wahhabis accuse such a person of worshipping the Prophet (s) and refuse to accept the understanding that the Prophet himself is a means to asking God for things. Such an act to Wahhabis drives a Muslim out of the realms of the religion of Islam. In sum, the Wahhabis believe that such people are worshipping creation alongside God, and are therefore guilty of polytheism - attributing partners in worship to God.The now deceased former Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Abdul-Aziz ibn Abdullah Ibn Baz, defends Ibn Abdul-Wahhab's accusation of polytheism that he had heaped on the Muslim masses and his resorting to "jihad" by saying that Muslims had gone astray because they had "worshipped" things are than God:The people of Najd had lived in a condition that could not be approved of by any believer. Polytheism had appeared there and spread widely. People worshipped domes, trees, rocks, caves or any persons who claimed to be Auliya (saints) though they might be insane and idiotic.There were few to rise up for the sake of Allah and support His Religion. Same was the situation in Makkah and Madinah as well as Yemen where building domes on the graves, invoking the saints for their help and other forms of polytheism were predominant. But in Najdpolytheistic beliefs and practices were all the more intense.In Najd people had worshipped different objects ranging from the graves, caves and trees to the obsessed and mad men who were called saints.When the Sheikh [Ibn Abdul-Wahhab] saw that polytheism was dominating the people and that no one showed any disapproval of it or no one was ready to call the people back to Allah, he decided to labour singly and patiently in the field. He knew that nothing could be achieved without jihad (holy fighting), patience and suffering [italics mine].[11]Orthodox Sunnis, however, have never claimed to worship the means, but only God. Because Wahhabis didn't tolerate this, they massacred thousands of Muslims who they saw as being "polytheists" in Arabia. In actuality, they were Sunni Muslims who were following Islam in its purity as taught by the pious ancestors that lived in the time period of the Salaf.Wahhabis attribute a place and direction to AllahWhile accusing the masses of Muslims of being polytheists, Wahhabis themselves have differentiated themselves from other Muslims in their understanding of creed. Due to the Wahhabis' adherence to an unorthodox, grossly flawed literal understanding of God's Attributes, they comfortably believe that Allah has created or human attributes, and then attempt to hide their anthropomorphism by saying that they don't know 'how' Allah has such attributes. For example, Bilal Philips, a Wahhabi author says:He has neither corporeal body nor is He a formless spirit. He has a form befitting His majesty [italics mine], the like of which no man has ever seen or conceived, and which will only be seen (to the degree of man's finite limitations) by the people of paradise.Discussing each part of his statement will shed light into his anthropomorphic mind. Bilal Philips says that "Allah has a form befitting His majesty…" What he confirms in his mind is that Allah definitely has a form. He even specifies the kind of form by saying: "He [Allah] has neither corporeal body…" meaning that Allah has a form that is not like the forms of creation, and then says, "nor is He a formless spirit. Then he says, "He has a form befitting His majesty…" The problem with such statements to a Muslim is that they express blatant anthropomorphism. What Bilal Philips is doing here is foolishly attributing a "form" to God that, in his mind, nobody has ever seen. Therefore, Bilal Philips believes that God has some type of form, or non-corporeal body. No orthodox Sunni Muslim scholar has ever said such a perfidious thing.Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, one of the greatest mujtahid Sunni imams ever to have lived, refuted such anthropomorphic statements over a thousand years before Bilal Philips was born. The great Sunni Ash`ari scholar, Imam al-Bayhaqi, in his Manaqib Ahmadrelates with an authentic chain that Imam Ahmed said:A person commits an act of disbelief (kufr) if he says Allah is a body, even if he says: Allah is a body but not like other bodies.Imam Ahmad continues:The expressions are taken from language and from Islam, and linguists applied 'body' to a thing that has length, width, thickness, form, structure, and components. The expression has not been handed down in Shari'ah. Therefore, it is invalid and cannot be used.Imam Ahmed is a pious adherer of the time period of the Salaf that was praised by Prophet Muhammad (s). How can Bilal Philips claim to represent the pious forefathers of the Salaf? He not only contradicts them but is vehemently refuted by them. The great pious predecessors had refuted ignoramuses like Bilal Philips in their times long ago.Blatant anthropomorphism is also illustrated by the Wahhabi Ibn Baz's commentary on the great work of Imam Abu Ja'afar at-Tahawi called "Aqeedah at-Tahawiyyah" (The Creed of Tahawi), a work that has been praised by the orthodox Sunni community as being representative of Sunni orthodoxy. The now deceased Ibn Baz was Saudi Arabia's grand Mufti.Article #38 of Imam Tahawi's work states:He is beyond having limits placed on Him, or being restricted, or having parts or limbs. Nor is He contained by the six directions as all created entities are.Ibn Baz, in a footnote, comments:Allah is beyond limits that we know but has limits He knows.In another footnote, he says:By hudood (limits) the author [referring to Imam Tahawi] means [limits] such as known by humans since no one except Allah Almighty knows His limits.Ibn Baz deceptively attempts to represent the noble Sunni Imam al-Tahawi as an anthropomorphist by putting his own anthropomorphic interpretation of Imam Tahawi's words in his mouth. It must be emphasized that not a single orthodox Sunni scholar understood Imam Tahawi's statement as Ibn Baz did.Ibn Baz's also shows anthropomorphism in a commentary by the great Sunni scholar Ibn Hajar al-`Asqalani. Ibn Baz says:As for Ahl ul-Sunna - and these are the Companions and those who followed them in excellence - they assert a direction for Allah, and that is the direction of elevation, believing that the Exalted is above the Throne without giving an example and without entering into modality.Another now deceased Wahhabi scholar, Muhammad Saleh al-Uthaymeen, blatantly expresses his anthropomorphism. He says:Allah's establishment on the throne means that He is sitting 'in person' on His Throne.The great Sunni Hanbali scholar, Ibn al-Jawzi, had refuted anthropomorphists who were saying that Allah's establishment is 'in person' hundreds of years ago:Whoever says: He is established on the Throne 'in person' (bi dhatihi), has diverted the sense of the verse to that of sensory perception. Such a person must not neglect that the principle is established by the mind, by which we have come to know Allah, and have attributed pre-eternity to Him decisively. If you said: We read the hadiths and keep quiet, no one would criticize you; it is only your taking them in the external sense which is hideous. Therefore do not bring into the school of this pious man of the Salaf - Imam Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal] - what does not belong in it. You have clothed this madhab [or school of jurisprudence] with an ugly deed, so that it is no longer said 'Hanbali' except in the sense of 'anthropomorphist'Sulayman ibn `Abdul Allah ibn Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab, the grandson of the Wahhabi movement's founder, says:Whoever believes or says: Allah is in person (bi dhatihi) in every place, or in one place: he is a disbeliever (kafir). It is obligatory to declare that Allah is distinct from His creation, established over His Throne without modality or likeness or exemplarity. Allah was and there was no place, then He created place and He is exalted as He was before He created placeJust as Bilal Philips affirms a form to Allah in his mind, and Ibn Baz confirms limits to Allah in his mind, al-Uthaymeen confirms that Allah is literally sitting 'in person' on the Throne in his mind. All of them have loyally followed the footsteps of Ibn Taymiyyah and Muhammad ibn `Abdul-Wahhab - the two arch-heretics who were instrumental in causing tribulation (fitna) and division among the Muslim masses because of their reprehensible, unorthodox interpretations of the Islamic sources.Wahhabi anthropomorphists say: Allah is in a direction, Allah has limits, Allah is literally above the Throne, and that Allah is sitting 'in person' on the Throne. To a Muslim, the fact is that the Throne is located in a particular direction and a certain place. By understanding Allah to be above the Throne literally as the Wahhabis do, they are attributing Allah with created attributes and, as a result, are implying that a part of the creation was eternal with Allah. This opposes what the the Qur'an and the following hadith authentically related by al-Bukhari says:Allah existed eternally and there was nothing else [italics mine].Sunni orthodoxy clears Allah of all directions and places. To a Sunni, Allah has always existed without the need of a place, and He did not take a place for Himself after creating it. Orthodox Sunni scholars have said exactly what was understood by Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Companions (ra). Imam Abu Hanifah, the great mujtahid Imam who lived in the time period of the Salaf said: "Allah has no limits…", period. And this is what Sunni orthodoxy represents.Orthodox Sunni scholars oppose WahhabismI end this article with a selected list of orthodox Sunni scholars who have refuted Wahhabism and warned Muslims from its poison. The list of scholars, along with names of their books and related information, is quoted from the orthodox Sunni scholar Muhammad Hisham Kabbani[12]:Al-Ahsa'i Al-Misri, Ahmad (1753-1826): Unpublished manuscript of a refutation of the Wahhabi sect. His son Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn `Abd al-Latif al-Ahsa'i also wrote a book refuting them.Al-Ahsa'i, Al-Sayyid `Abd al-Rahman: wrote a sixty-seven verse poem which begins with the verse:Badat fitnatun kal layli qad ghattatil aafaaqaWA sha``at fa kadat tublighul gharba wash sharaqa[A confusion came about like nightfall covering the skiesand became widespread almost reaching the whole world]Al-`Amrawi, `Abd al-Hayy, and `Abd al-Hakim Murad (Qarawiyyin University, Morocco): Al-tahdhir min al-ightirar bi ma ja'a fi kitab al-hiwar ["Warning Against Being Fooled By the Contents of the Book (by Ibn Mani`) A Debate With al-Maliki(an attack on Ibn `Alawi al-Maliki by a Wahhabi writer)"] (Fes: Qarawiyyin, 1984).`Ata' Allah al-Makki: al-sarim al-Hindi fil `unuq al-najdi ["The Indian Scimitar on the Najdi's Neck"].Al-Azhari, `Abd Rabbih ibn Sulayman al-Shafi`i (The author of Sharh Jami' al-Usul li ahadith al-Rasul, a basic book of Usul al-Fiqh: Fayd al-Wahhab fi Bayan Ahl al-Haqq WA man dalla `an al-sawab, 4 vols. ["Allah's Outpouring in Differentiating the True Muslims From Those Who Deviated From the Truth"].Al-`Azzami, `Allama al-shaykh Salama (d. 1379H): Al-Barahin al-sati`at ["The Radiant Proofs..."].Al-Barakat al-Shafi`i al-Ahmadi al-Makki, `Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ahmad: unpublished manuscript of a refutation of the Wahhabi sect.al-Bulaqi, Mustafa al-Masri wrote a refutation to San`a'i's poem in which the latter had praised Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab. It is in Samnudi's "Sa`adat al-Darayn" and consists in 126 verses beginning thus:Bi hamdi wali al-hamdi la al-dhammi astabdiWa bil haqqi la bil khalqi lil haqqi astahdi[By the glory of the Owner of glory, not baseness, do I overcome;And by Allah, not by creatures, do I seek guidance to Allah]Al-Buti, Dr. Muhammad Sa`id Ramadan (University of Damascus): Al-Salafiyyatu marhalatun zamaniyyatun mubarakatun la madhhabun islami ["The Salafiyya is a blessed historical period not an Islamic school of law"] (Damascus: Dar al-fikr, 1988); Al-lamadhhabiyya akhtaru bid`atin tuhaddidu al-shari`a al-islamiyya ["Non-madhhabism is the most dangerous innovation presently menacing Islamic law"] (Damascus: Maktabat al-Farabi, n.d.).Al-Dahesh ibn `Abd Allah, Dr. (Arab University of Morocco), ed. Munazara `ilmiyya bayna `Ali ibn Muhammad al-Sharif WA al-Imam Ahmad ibn Idris fi al-radd `ala Wahhabiyyat Najd, Tihama, WA `Asir ["Scholarly Debate Between the Sharif and Ahmad ibn Idris Against the Wahhabis of Najd, Tihama, and `Asir"].Dahlan, al-Sayyid Ahmad ibn Zayni (d. 1304/1886). Mufti of Mecca and Shaykh al-Islam (highest religious authority in the Ottoman jurisdiction) for the Hijaz region: al-Durar al-saniyyah fi al-radd ala al-Wahhabiyyah ["The Pure Pearls in Answering the Wahhabis"] pub. Egypt 1319 & 1347 H; Fitnat al-Wahhabiyyah ["The Wahhabi Fitna"]; Khulasat al-Kalam fi bayan Umara' al-Balad al-Haram ["The Summation Concerning the Leaders of the Sacrosanct Country"], a history of the Wahhabi fitna in Najd and the Hijaz.al-Dajwi, Hamd Allah: al-Basa'ir li Munkiri al-tawassul ka amthal Muhd. Ibn `Abdul Wahhab ["The Evident Proofs Against Those Who Deny the Seeking of Intercession Like Muhammad Ibn `Abdul Wahhab"].Shaykh al-Islam Dawud ibn Sulayman al-Baghdadi al-Hanafi (1815-1881 CE): al-Minha al-Wahbiyya fi radd al-Wahhabiyya ["The Divine Dispensation Concerning the Wahhabi Deviation"]; Ashadd al-Jihad fi Ibtal Da`WA al-Ijtihad ["The Most Violent Jihad in Proving False Those Who Falsely Claim Ijtihad"].Al-Falani al-Maghribi, al-Muhaddith Salih: authored a large volume collating the answers of scholars of the Four Schools to Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab.al-Habibi, Muhammad `Ashiq al-Rahman: `Adhab Allah al-Mujdi li Junun al-Munkir al-Najdi ["Allah's Terrible Punishment for the Mad Rejector From Najd"].Al-Haddad, al-Sayyid al-`Alawi ibn Ahmad ibn Hasan ibn al-QutbSayyidi `Abd Allah ibn `Alawi al-Haddad al-Shafi`i: al-Sayf al-batir li `unq al-munkir `ala al-akabir ["The Sharp Sword for the Neck of the Assailant of Great Scholars"]. Unpublished manuscript of about 100 folios; Misbah al-anam WA jala' al-zalam fi radd shubah al-bid`i al-najdi al-lati adalla biha al-`awamm["The Lamp of Mankind and the Illumination of Darkness Concerning the Refutation of the Errors of the Innovator From Najd by Which He Had Misled the Common People"]. Published 1325H.Al-Hamami al-Misri, Shaykh Mustafa: Ghawth al-`ibad bi bayan al-rashad ["The Helper of Allah's Servants According to the Affirmation of Guidance"].Al-Hilmi al-Qadiri al-Iskandari, Shaykh Ibrahim: Jalal al-haqq fi kashf ahwal ashrar al-khalq ["The Splendor of Truth in Exposing the Worst of People] (pub. 1355H).Al-Husayni, `Amili, Muhsin (1865-1952). Kashf al-irtiyab fi atba` Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab ["The Dispelling of Doubt Concerning the Followers of Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab"]. [Yemen?]: Maktabat al-Yaman al-Kubra, 198?.Al-Kabbani, Muhammad Hisham, Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine, vol. 1-7, As-Sunnah Foundation of America, 1998._____, Islamic Beliefs and Doctrine According to Ahl as-Sunna - A Repudiation of "Salafi" Innovations, ASFA, 1996._____, Innovation and True Belief: the Celebration of Mawlid According to the Qur'an and Sunna and the Scholars of Islam, ASFA, 1995._____, Salafi Movement Unveiled, ASFA, 1997.Ibn `Abd al-Latifal-Shafi`i, `Abd Allah: Tajrid sayf al-jihad `ala mudda`i al-ijtihad ["The drawing of the sword of jihad against the false claimants to ijtihad"].The family of Ibn `Abd al-Razzaq al-Hanbali in Zubara and Bahrayn possess both manuscript and printed refutations by scholars of the Four Schools from Mecca, Madina, al-Ahsa', al-Basra, Baghdad, Aleppo, Yemen and other Islamic regions.Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab al-Najdi, `Allama al-Shaykh Sulayman, elder brother of Muhammad ibn `Abd al-Wahhab: al-Sawa'IQ al-Ilahiyya fi al-radd 'ala al-Wahhabiyya["Divine Lightnings in Answering the Wahhabis"]. Ed. Ibrahim Muhammad al-Batawi. Cairo: Dar al-insan, 1987. Offset reprint by Waqf Ikhlas, Istanbul: Hakikat Kitabevi, 1994. Prefaces by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Kurdi al-Shafi`i and Shaykh Muhammad Hayyan al-Sindi (Muhammad Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab's shaykh) to the effect that Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab is "dall mudill" ("misguided and misguiding").Ibn `Abidin al-Hanafi, al-Sayyid Muhammad Amin: Radd al-muhtar `ala al-durr al-mukhtar, Vol. 3, Kitab al-Iman, Bab al-bughat ["Answer to the Perplexed: A Commentary on "The Chosen Pearl,"" Book of Belief, Chapter on Rebels]. Cairo: Dar al-Tiba`a al-Misriyya, 1272 H.Ibn `Afaliq al-Hanbali, Muhammad Ibn `Abdul Rahman: Tahakkum al-muqallidin bi man idda`a tajdid al-din [Sarcasm of the muqallids against the false claimants to the Renewal of Religion]. A very comprehensive book refuting the Wahhabi heresy and posting questions which Ibn `Abdul Wahhab and his followers were unable to answer for the most part.Ibn Dawud al-Hanbali, `Afif al-Din `Abd Allah: as-sawa`IQ WA al-ru`ud ["Lightnings and thunder"], a very important book in 20 chapters. According to the Mufti of Yemen Shaykh al-`Alawi ibn Ahmad al-Haddad, the mufti of Yemen, "This book has received the approval of the `ulama of Basra, Baghdad, Aleppo, and Ahsa' [Arabian peninsula]. It was summarized by Muhammad ibn Bashir the qadi of Ra's al-Khayma in Oman."Ibn Ghalbun al-Libi also wrote a refutation in forty verses of al-San`ani's poem in which the latter had praised Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab. It is in Samnudi's Sa`adat al-daraynand begins thus:Salami `ala ahlil isabati wal-rushdiWa laysa `ala najdi WA man halla fi najdi[My salutation is upon the people of truth and guidanceAnd not upon Najd nor the one who settled in Najd]Ibn Khalifa `Ulyawi al-Azhari: Hadhihi `aqidatu al-salaf WA al-khalaf fi dhat Allahi ta`ala WA sifatihi WA af`alihi WA al-jawab al-sahih li ma waqa`a fihi al-khilaf min al-furu` bayna al-da`in li al-Salafiyya WA atba` al-madhahib al-arba`a al-islamiyya ["This is the doctrine of the Predecessors and the Descendants concerning the divergences in the branches between those who call to al-Salafiyya and the followers of the Four Islamic Schools of Law"] (Damascus: Matba`at Zayd ibn Thabit, 1398/1977.Kawthari al-Hanafi, Muhammad Zahid. Maqalat al-Kawthari. (Cairo: al-Maktabah al-Azhariyah li al-Turath, 1994).Al-Kawwash al-Tunisi, `Allama Al-Shaykh Salih: his refutation of the Wahhabi sect is contained in Samnudi's volume: "Sa`adat al-darayn fi al-radd `ala al-firqatayn."Khazbek, Shaykh Hasan: Al-maqalat al-wafiyyat fi al-radd `ala al-wahhabiyyah ["Complete Treatise in Refuting the Wahhabis"].Makhluf, Muhammad Hasanayn: Risalat fi hukm al-tawassul bil-anbiya wal-awliya ["Treatise on the Ruling Concerning the Use of Prophets and Saints as Intermediaries"].Al-Maliki al-Husayni, Al-muhaddith Muhammad al-Hasan ibn `Alawi: Mafahimu yajibu an tusahhah ["Notions that should be corrected"] 4th ed. (Dubai: Hashr ibn Muhammad Dalmuk, 1986); Muhammad al-insanu al-kamil ["Muhammad, the Perfect Human Being"] 3rd ed. (Jeddah: Dar al-Shuruq, 1404/1984).Al-Mashrifi al-Maliki al-Jaza'iri: Izhar al-`uquq mimman mana`a al-tawassul bil nabi WA al-wali al-saduq ["The Exposure of the Disobedience of Those Who Forbid Using the Intermediary of the Prophets and the Truthful Saints].Al-Mirghani al-Ta'ifi, `Allama `Abd Allah ibn Ibrahim (d. 1793): Tahrid al-aghbiya' `ala al-Istighatha bil-anbiya' wal-awliya ["The Provocations of the Ignorant Against Seeking the Help of Prophets and Saints"] (Cairo: al-Halabi, 1939).Mu'in al-Haqq al-Dehlawi (d. 1289): Sayf al-Jabbar al-maslul `ala a`da' al-Abrar ["The Sword of the Almighty Drawn Against the Enemies of the Pure Ones"].Al-Muwaysi al-Yamani, `Abd Allah ibn `Isa: Unpublished manuscript of a refutation of the Wahhabi sect.Al-Nabahani al-Shafi`i, al-qadi al-muhaddith Yusuf ibn Isma`il (1850-1932): Shawahid al-Haqq fi al-istighatha bi sayyid al-Khalq (s) ["The Proofs of Truth in the Seeking of the Intercession of the Prophet"].Al-Qabbani al-Basri al-Shafi`i, Allama Ahmad ibn `Ali: A manuscript treatise in approximately 10 chapters.Al-Qadumi al-Nabulusi al-Hanbali: `AbdAllah: Rihlat ["Journey"].Al-Qazwini, Muhammad Hasan, (d. 1825). Al-Barahin al-jaliyyah fi raf` tashkikat al-Wahhabiyah ["The Plain Demonstrations That Dispel the Aspersions of the Wahhabis"]. Ed. Muhammad Munir al-Husayni al-Milani. 1st ed. Beirut: Mu'assasat al-Wafa', 1987.Al-Qudsi: al-Suyuf al-Siqal fi A`naq manankara `ala al-awliya ba`d al-intiqal ["The Burnished Swords on the Necks of Those Who Deny the Role of Saints After Their Leaving This World"].Al-Rifa`i, Yusuf al-Sayyid Hashim, President of the World Union of Islamic Propagation and Information: Adillat Ahl al-Sunna WA al-Jama`at aw al-radd al-muhkam al-mani` `ala munkarat WA shubuhat Ibn Mani` fi tahajjumihi `ala al-sayyid Muhammad `Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki ["The Proofs of the People of the Way of the Prophet and the Muslim Community: or, the Strong and Decisive Refutation of Ibn Mani`'s Aberrations and Aspersions in his Assault on Muhammad `Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki"] (Kuwait: Dar al-siyasa, 1984).Al-Samnudi al-Mansuri, al-`Allama al-Shaykh Ibrahim: Sa`adat al-darayn fi al-radd `ala al-firqatayn al-wahhabiyya WA muqallidat al-zahiriyyah ["Bliss in the Two Abodes: Refutation of the Two Sects, Wahhabis and Zahiri Followers"].Al-Saqqaf al-Shafi`i, Hasan ibn `Ali, Islamic Research Intitute, Amman, Jordan: al-Ighatha bi adillat al-istighatha WA al-radd al-mubin `ala munkiri al-tawassul ["The Mercy of Allah in the Proofs of Seeking Intercession and the Clear Answer to Those who Reject it"]; Ilqam al hajar li al-mutatawil `ala al-Asha`IRA min al-Bashar ["The Stoning of All Those Who Attack Ash'aris"]; Qamus shata'im al-Albani WA al-alfaz al-munkara al-lati yatluquha fi haqq ulama al-ummah WA fudalai'ha WA ghayrihim...["Encyclopedia of al-Albani's Abhorrent Expressions Which He Uses Against the Scholars of the Community, its Eminent Men, and Others..."] Amman : Dar al-Imam al-Nawawi, 1993.Al-Sawi al-Misri: Hashiyat `ala al-jalalayn["Commentary on the Tafsir of the Two Jalal al-Din"].Sayf al-Din Ahmed ibn Muhammad: Al-Albani Unveiled: An Exposition of His Errors and Other Important Issues, 2nd ed. (London: s.n., 1994).Al-Shatti al-Athari al-Hanbali, al-Sayyid Mustafa ibn Ahmad ibn Hasan, Mufti of Syria: al-Nuqul al-shar'iyyah fi al-radd 'ala al-Wahhabiyya ["The Legal Proofs in Answering the Wahhabis"].Al-Subki, al-hafiz Taqi al-Din (d. 756/1355): Al-durra al-mudiyya fi al-radd `ala Ibn Taymiyya, ed. Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari ["The Luminous Pearl: A Refutation of Ibn Taymiyya"]; Al-rasa'il al-subkiyya fi al-radd `ala Ibn Taymiyya WA tilmidhihi Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, ed. Kamal al-Hut ["Subki's treatises in Answer to Ibn Taymiyya and his pupil Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya"] (Beirut: `Alam al-Kutub, 1983); Al-sayf al-saqil fi al-radd `ala Ibn Zafil ["The Burnished Sword in Refuting Ibn Zafil (Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya)" Cairo: Matba`at al-Sa`Ada, 1937; Shifa' al-siqam fi ziyarat khayr al-anam ["The healing of the sick in visiting the Best of Creation"].Sunbul al-Hanafi al-Ta'ifi, Allama Tahir: Sima al-Intisar lil awliya' al-abrar ["The Mark of Victory Belongs to Allah's Pure Friends"].Al-Tabataba'i al-Basri, al-Sayyid: also wrote a reply to San`a'i's poem which was excerpted in Samnudi's Sa`adat al-Darayn. After reading it, San`a'i reversed his position and said: "I have repented from what I said concerning the Najdi."Al-Tamimi al-Maliki, `Allama Isma`il (d. 1248), Shaykh al-Islam in Tunis: wrote a refutation of a treatise of Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab.Al-Wazzani, al-Shaykh al-Mahdi, Mufti of Fes, Morocco: Wrote a refutation of Muhammad `Abduh's prohibition of tawassul.al-Zahawi al-Baghdadi, Jamil Effendi Sidqi (d. 1355/1936): al-Fajr al-Sadiq fi al-radd 'ala munkiri al-tawassul WA al-khawariq ["The True Dawn in Refuting Those Who Deny the Seeking of Intercession and the Miracles of Saints"] Pub. 1323/1905 in Egypt.Al-Zamzami al-Shafi`i, Muhammad Salih, Imam of the Maqam Ibrahim in Mecca, wrote a book in 20 chapters against them according to al-Sayyid al-Haddad.See also:Ahmad, Qeyamuddin. The Wahhabi movement inIndia. 2nd rev. ed. New Delhi : Manohar, 1994.

Who is malik ibn anas ibn malik ibn amr al-imam abu abd Allah al-humyari al-asbahi al-madani explain in brief?

Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn `Amr, al-Imam, Abu `Abd Allah al-Humyari al-Asbahi al-Madani (93-179), the Shaykh of Islam, Proof of the Community, Imam of the Abode of Emigration, and Knowledgeable Scholar of Madina predicted by the Prophet. The second of the four major mujtahid imams, whose school filled North Africa, al-Andalus, much of Egypt, and some of al-Sham, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Khurasan. He is the author of al-Muwatta' ("The Approved"), formed of the sound narrations of the Prophet from the people of the Hijaz together with the sayings of the Companions, the Followers, and those after them. It was hailed by al-Shafi`i as the soundest book on earth after the Qur'an, nearest book on earth to the Qur'an, most correct book on earth after the Qur'an, and most beneficial book on earth after the Qur'an according to four separate narrations. Malik said: "I showed my book to seventy jurists of Madina, and every single one of them approved me for it (kulluhum wâta'ani `alayh), so I named it 'The Approved'." Imam al-Bukhari said that the soundest of all chains of transmission was "Malik, from Nafi`, from Ibn `Umar." The scholars of hadith call it the Golden Chain, and there are eighty narrations with this chain in the Muwatta'.Among those Malik narrated from in the Muwatta': Ayyub al-Sakhtyani, Ja`far ibn Muhammad (al-Sadiq), Zayd ibn Aslam, `Ata' al-Khurasani, al-Zuhri, Ibn al-Munkadir, `Alqama, Nafi` the freedman of Ibn `Umar, and others. Among those who narrated from Malik: al-Zuhri, Ibn Jurayj, Abu Hanifa, al-Awza`i, Sufyan al-Thawri, Shu`ba, Ibn al-Mubarak, Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, `Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, Waki`, Yahya al-Qattan, al-Shafi`i, Ibn Wahb, Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi, `Abd al-Razzaq, and many others.The Prophet said: "Very soon will people beat the flanks of camels in search of knowledge, and they shall find no-one more knowledgeable than the knowledgeable scholar of Madina." Al-Tirmidhi, al-Qadi `Iyad, Dhahabi and others relate from Sufyan ibn `Uyayna, `Abd al-Razzaq, Ibn Mahdi, Ibn Ma`in, Dhu'ayb ibn `Imama, Ibn al-Madini, and others that they considered that scholar to be Malik ibn Anas. It is also related from Ibn `Uyayna that he later considered it to be `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-`Aziz al-`Umari. Al-Dhahabi said of the latter: "He possessed knowledge and good fiqh, spoke the truth fearlessly, ordered good, and remained aloof from society. He used to press Malik in private to renounce the world and seclude himself."Abu Mus`ab said: "Malik did not pray in congregation [in the Prophet's mosque] for twenty-five years. He was asked: 'What is preventing you?' He said: 'Lest I see something reprehensible and be obligated to change it.'" Another narration from Abu Mus`ab states: "After Malik left the [Prophet's] mosque he used to pray in his house with a congregation that followed him, and he prayed the Jum`a prayer alone in his house." Ibn Sa`d narrates from Muhammad ibn `Umar: "Malik used to come to the Mosque and pray the prayers and the Jum`a, as well as the funeral prayers. He used to visit the sick and sit in the Mosque where his companions would came and saw him. Then he quit sitting there, instead he would pray and leave, and he quit attending the funeral prayers. Then he quit everything, neither attending the prayers nor the Jum`a in the mosque. Nor would he visit anyone who was sick or other than that. The people bore with it, for they were extremely fond of him and respected him too much. This lasted until he died. If asked about it, he said: 'Not everyone can mention his excuse.'"Ibn `Abd al-Barr said that Malik was the first who compiled a book formed exclusively of sound narrations. Abu Bakr ibn al-`Arabi said: "The Muwatta' is the first foundation and the core, while al-Bukhari's book is the second foundation in this respect. Upon these two all the rest have built, such as Muslim and al-Tirmidhi." Shah Wali Allah said something similar and added that it is the principal authority of all four Schools of Law, which stand in relation to it like the commentary stands in relation to the main text. Malik composed it in the course of forty years, having started with ten thousand narrations until he reduced them to their present number of under 2,000.Al-Suyuti said: "There is no mursal narration in the Muwatta' except it has one or several strengthening proofs (`âdid aw `awâdid)." Ibn `Abd al-Barr composed a book in which he listed all the narrations of the Muwatta' that are either mursal, or munqati`, or mu`dal, and he provided complete sound chains for all of them except four:"In truth I do not forget, but I am made to forget so that I shall start a Sunna." This is the second hadith in the book of Sahw."The Prophet was shown the lifespans of people before his time, or whatever Allah willed of it, and seemed alarmed that the lifespans of his Community were too brief to reach the amount of deeds reached by previous communities who lived long. Whereupon Allah gave him the Most Precious Night (layla al-qadr), which is better than a thousand months." This is the fifteenth hadith in the book of I`tikaf.Mu`adh ibn Jabal said: "The last instruction I received from Allah's Messenger when I put my foot in the stirrup was: 'Beautify your manners for the people, O Mu`adh ibn Jabal!'" This is the first hadith of the book of Husn al-Khuluq."If clouds appear towards the sea then go northwards, that is the mark of heavyish rain." This is the fifth hadith of the book of Istisqa'.Among the hadith masters, al-`Iraqi and his student Ibn Hajar agreed with Ibn `Abd al-Barr that the above four hadiths have no chain, but others follow a different view: Shaykh Muhammad al-Shinqiti mentioned in his Dalil al-Salik ila Muwatta' al-Imam Malik (p. 14) that Shaykh Salih al-Fulani al-`Umari al-Madani said: "Ibn al-Salah provided complete chains for the four hadiths in question in an independent epistle which I have in my possession, written in his own hand." Shaykh Ahmad Shakir said: "But al-Shinqiti did not mention what these chains were, and so the scholars cannot judge on the question."Al-Zurqani counted as sixty-nine the number of those who narrated the Muwatta' directly from Malik, geographically spread as follows:- Seventeen in Madina, among them Abu Mus`ab Ahmad ibn Abi Bakr al-Zuhri, whose version has received a recent edition;- Two in Mecca, among them al-Shafi`i;- Ten in Egypt, among them `Abd Allah ibn Wahb, `Abd Allah ibn Yusuf al-Tinnisi al-Dimashqi, whose narration al-Bukhari chose, and Dhu al-Nun al-Misri;- Twenty-seven in Iraq, among them `Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi, whose narration Ahmad ibn Hanbal chose, Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi al-Hanzali al-Naysaburi, whose narration Muslim chose, and Abu Hanifa's student Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, whose version has been published but greatly differs from the others and also contains other than what is narrated from Malik, so that it became known as Muwatta' Muhammad;- Thirteen in al-Andalus, among them the jurist Yahya ibn Yahya al-Laythi "the Sage of al-Andalus" û thus nicknamed by Malik himself û whose version is the most commonly used today and is the version meant by the term "Malik's Muwatta'." He is mainly responsible for the spread of the Maliki School in al-Andalus.- Two from al-Qayrawan;- Two from Tunis;- Seven from al-Sham.Imam Malik is the connection of the entire Islamic Community to the knowledge of the Sunna as it was preserved by the scholars of the Prophet's city, al-Madina. This reference-point of his school of jurisprudence is observed time and again in the Muwatta'with the phrase: "And this is what I have found (or seen) the people of knowledge practicing." He was keenly aware of his mission as both the transmitter and the elucidator of the Sunna. This is characteristic of his students' praise of him, beginning with al-Shafi`i's famous sayings: "No-one constitutes as great a favor to me in Allah's Religion as Malik" and "When the scholars of knowledge are mentioned, Malik is the guiding star." `Abd Allah ibn Wahb said: "Every memorizer of hadith that does not have an Imam in fiqh is misguided (dâll), and if Allah had not rescued us with Malik and al-Layth (ibn Sa`d), I would have been misguided." Abu Mus`ab recounts the following story:I went in to see Malik ibn Anas. He said to me: "Look under my place of prayer or prayer-mat and see what is there." I looked and found a certain writing. He said: "Read it." It contained the account of a dream which one of his brothers had seen and which concerned him. Malik recited it [from memory]: "I saw the Prophet in my sleep. He was in his mosque and the people were gathered around him, and he said: 'I have hidden for you under my pulpit (minbar) something good - or: knowledge - and I have ordered Malik to distribute it to the people.'" Then Malik wept, so I got up and left him.The caliph Abu Ja`far al-Mansur had forbidden Malik to narrate the hadith: "The divorce of the coerced does not take effect" (laysa `ala mustakrahin / li mukrahin talâq). Then a spy came to Malik and asked him about the issue, whereupon Malik narrated the hadith in front of everyone. He was seized and lashed until his shoulder was dislocated and he passed out. When he came to, he said: "He [al-Mansur] is absolved of my lashing." When asked why he had absolved him, Malik replied: "I feared to meet the Prophet after being the cause for the perdition of one of his relatives." Ibrahim ibn Hammad said he saw Malik being carried up and walking away, carrying one of his hands with the other. Then they shaved his face and he was mounted on a camel and paraded. He was ordered to deprecate himself aloud, whereupon he said: "Whoever knows me, knows me; whoever does not know me, my name is Malik ibn Anas, and I say: The divorce of the coerced is null and void!" When news of this reached Ja`far ibn Sulayman (d. 175) the governor of Madina and cousin of al-Mansur, he said: "Bring him down, let him go."Imam Malik held the hadith of the Prophet in such reverence that he never narrated anything nor gave a fatwa unless in a state of ritual purity. Isma`il ibn Abi Uways said: "I asked my uncle û Malik û about something. He bade me sit, made ablution, sat on the couch, and said: la hawla WA la quwwata illa billah. He did not give a fatwa except he said it first." Al-Haytham said: "I heard Malik being asked forty eight questions, to thirty-two of which he replied: 'I do not know.'" Abu Mus`ab reported that Malik said: "I did not give fatwas before seventy scholars first witnessed to my competence to do it."Malik's ethics, together with the states of awe and emotion which were observed on him by his entourage, were no doubt partly inherited from great shaykhs of his such as Ja`far al-Sadiq, Ibn Hurmuz, and Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri. He visited his shaykh Ibn Hurmuz (d. 148) every day from morning to night for a period of about eight years and recounts: "I would come to Ibn Hurmuz, whereupon he would order the servant to close the door and let down the curtain, then he would start speaking of the beginning of this Umma, and tears would stream down his beard." The Maliki shaykh Ibn Qunfudh al-Qusantini (d. 810) wrote:It was the practice of the Pious Predecessors and the Imams of the past that whenever the Prophet was mentioned in their presence they were overwhelmed by reverence, humbleness, stillness, and dignity. Ja`far ibn Muhammad ibn `Ali ibn al-Husayn ibn `Ali ibn Abi Talib would turn pale whenever he heard the Prophet mentioned. Imam Malik would not mention a hadith except in a state of ritual purity. `Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr al-Siddiq would turn red and stammer whenever he heard the Prophet mentioned. As for `Amir ibn `Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-`Awamm al-Asadi (one of the early Sufis), he would weep until his eyes had no tears left in them. When any hadiths were mentioned in their presence they would lower their voices. Malik said: "The Prophet's sacredness (hurma) is in death is as his sacredness was in life."Qutayba said: "When we went to see Malik, he would come out to us adorned, wearing kuhl on his eyes, perfumed, wearing his best clothes, sit at the head of the circle, call for palm-leaf fans, and give each one of us a fan." Muhammad ibn `Umar: "Malik's circle was a circle of dignity and courtesy. He was a man of majestic countenance and noblity. There was no part for self-display, vain talk, or loud speech in his circle. His reader would read for all, and no-one looked into his own book, nor asked questions, out of awe before Malik and out of respect for him."When the caliph al-Mahdi sent his sons Harun and Musa to learn from Malik, the latter would not read to them but told them: "The people of Madina read before the scholar just like children read to the teacher, and if they make a mistake, he corrects them." Similarly when Harun al-Rashid with his own two sons requested Malik to read for them, he replied: "I have stopped reading for anybody a long time ago." When Harun requested the people to leave so that he could read freely before Malik, the latter also refused and said: "If the common people are forbidden to attend because of the particulars, the latter will not profit." It is known that Malik's way in the transmission of hadith, like Ibn al-Musayyib, `Urwa, al-Qasim, Salim, Nafi`, al-Zuhri, and others, was `ard ("reading by the student") and not samâ`("audition from the shaykh"), although the student states by convention, in both cases: "So-and-so narrated to us."The caliph Harun al-Rashid said to Malik after hearing his answers to certain questions he put to him: "You are, by Allah! the wisest of people and the most knowledgeable of people." Malik replied: "No, by Allah! O Leader of the Believers." He said: "Yes! But you keep it hidden. By Allah! If I live, I shall put your sayings in writing like the mushafs are put down in writing, and I shall disseminate them to the ends of the world." But Malik refused.When one of the caliphs manifested his intention to replace the Prophet's wooden pulpit with a pulpit of silver and jewels Malik said: "I do not consider good the hindrance of the people from access to the Prophet's relics." (lâ ara an yuhrama al-nâsu athara rasulillah.)Among Malik's sayings:From Ibn Wahb: "Knowledge Allah places wherever He wills. It does not consist in narrating a lot."From Ibn Wahb: "The saying has reached methat none renounces the world and guards himself except he will speak wisdom."From Ibn Wahb: "Knowledge diminishes and does not increase. Knowledge has diminished incessantly after the Prophets and the Books."From `Abd Allah ibn `Abd al-Hakam: "The Companions differed in the Branches (al-furû`) and split into factions (tafarraqû), and each one of them was correct in himself."From Ja`far ibn `Abd Allah: "We were with Malik when a man came and asked him: 'O Abu `Abd Allah! "The Merciful is established over the Throne" (20:5): how is He established?' Nothing affected Malik as much as that man's question. He looked at the ground and started prodding it with a twig he held in his hand until he was completely soaked in sweat. Then he lifted his head and said: 'The "how" of it is inconceivable; the "establishment" part of it is not unknown; belief in it is obligatory; asking about it is an innovation; and I believe that you are a man of innovation.' Then he gave an order and the man was led out."From Ibn Wahb: "We were with Malik when a man asked him: 'O Abu `Abd Allah! "The Merciful is established over the Throne"(20:5): how is His establishment?' Malik lowered his head and began to sweat profusely. Then he lifted up his head and said: '"The Merciful is established over the Throne" just as He described Himself. One cannot ask "how." "How" does not apply to Him. And you are an evil man, a man of innovation. Take him out!' The man was led out."From Yahya ibn Yahya al-Tamimi and Malik's shaykh Rabi`a ibn Abi `Abd al-Rahman: "We were with Malik when a man came and asked him: 'O Abu `Abd Allah! "The Merciful is established over the Throne" (20:5): how is He established?' Malik lowered his head and remained thus until he was completely soaked in sweat. Then he said: 'The establishment is not unknown; the "how" is inconceivable; belief in it is obligatory; asking about it is an innovation; and I do not think that you are anything but an innovator.' Then he ordered that the man be led out."From Ma`n: "Disputation (al-jidâl) in the Religion fosters self-display, does away with the light of the heart and hardens it, and bequeaths aimless wandering."From Ma`n and others: "There are four types of narrators one does not take from: An outright scoffer, even if he is the greatest narrator; an innovator who invites people to his innovation; someone who lies about people, even if I do not charge him with mendacity in hadith; and a righteous, honorable worshipper if he does not memorize what he narrates." Malik's last clause refers to the two conditions sine qua non of the trustworthy narrator, who must possess not only moral uprightness (`adâla) but also accuracy in transmission (dabt). The clause elucidates the paradox current among hadith scholars whereby "No-one lies more than the righteous." The reason for this is that the righteous do not doubt the Muslim's attribution of a saying to his Prophet, and so they accept it without suspicion, whereas al-Shafi`i said: "If Malik had the slightest doubt about a hadith, he discarded the entire hadith." Dr. Nur al-Din `Itr said: "The manner of the righteous who narrate everything indiscriminately stems from purity of heart and good opinion, and the scholars have said about such narrators: 'Lies run off their tongue without their intending it.'" There is a fundamental difference between the latter and those who deliberately forge lies or narrate forgeries passed for hadith, and who are condemned by the Prophet's saying: "Whoever lies about me willfully, let him take now his seat in the Fire!"From Ibn al-Qasim: "Malik used to say: 'Belief increases.' He would stop short of saying that it decreases."From Ibn Abi al-Zubayr: "I saw `Ata' ibn Abi Rabah enter the [Prophet's] Mosque, then take hold of the pommel of the Pulpit, after which he faced the Qibla [to pray]."In the Muwatta': "Shaving the moustache is an innovation." It is elsewhere related that Malik himself was tall, heavyset, imposing of stature, very fair, with white hair and beard but bald, with a huge beard and blue eyes; he "detested and condemned" shaving of the moustache, and he always wore beautiful clothes, especially white.Narrated by Ibn Abi Zayd: "The turban was worn from the beginning of Islam and it did not cease to be worn until our time. I did not see anyone among the People of Excellence except they wore the turban, such as Yahya ibn Sa`id, Rabi`a, and Ibn Hurmuz. I would see in Rabi`a's circle more than thirty men wearing turbans and I was one of them; Rabi`a did not put it down until the Pleiades rose and he used to say: 'I swear that I find it increases intelligence.' Jibril was seen in the image of (the Companion) Dihya (ibn Khalifa) al-Kalbi wearing a turban with its extremity hanging between his shoulder-blades." Ashhab said: "When Malik wore the turban he passed it under his chin and let its extremity hang behind his back, and he wore musk and other scents."

Why music is haram?

Hazrath Anas (R.A.) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: "There will certainly be people from my Ummah who will attempt to legalize fornication, the wearing of silk (for males), the consuming of wine and the use of musical instruments" (Al-Jaamius Sagheer - Pg. 139 Ruling on music, singing and dancingI have always heard that music, singing and dancing are haram in Islam. I went to this other site for the first time,XXX, and typed in music and all of these articles appeared which said music,dancing, and singing in Islam is halal??? They said "as long as the 2 sexes are not close together and their is no drinking going on" etc. and they even have hadiths that try to prove our Prophet Muhammed s.a.w was ok with this??? I am very confused now... Could you PLEASE give a full, detailed explanation about the Islamic ruling on music, singing and dancing and when it is allowed, if it is even allowed at all.Praise be to Allaah. Ma'aazif is the plural of mi'zafah, and refers to musical instruments (Fath al-Baari, 10/55), instruments which are played (al-Majmoo', 11/577). Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) narrated from al-Jawhari (may Allaah have mercy on him) that ma'aazif means singing. In his Sihaah it says that it means musical instruments. It was also said that it refers to the sound of the instruments. In al-Hawaashi by al-Dimyaati (may Allaah have mercy on him) it says: ma'aazif means drums (dufoof, sing. daff) and other instruments which are struck or beaten (Fath al-Baari, 10/55). Evidence of prohibition in the Qur'aan and Sunnah: Allaah says in Soorat Luqmaan (interpretation of the meaning): "And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah…" [Luqmaan 31:6] The scholar of the ummah, Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: this means singing. Mujaahid (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this means playing the drum (tabl). (Tafseer al-Tabari, 21/40). Al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this aayah was revealed concerning singing and musical instruments (lit. woodwind instruments). (Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 3/451). Al-Sa'di (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: this includes all manner of haraam speech, all idle talk and falsehood, and all nonsense that encourages kufr and disobedience; the words of those who say things to refute the truth and argue in support of falsehood to defeat the truth; and backbiting, slander, lies, insults and curses; the singing and musical instruments of the Shaytaan; and musical instruments which are of no spiritual or worldly benefit. (Tafseer al-Sa'di, 6/150) Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The interpretation of the Sahaabah and Taabi'in, that 'idle talk' refers to singing, is sufficient. This was reported with saheeh isnaads from Ibn 'Abbaas and Ibn Mas'ood. Abu'l-Sahbaa' said: I asked Ibn Mas'ood about the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), '"And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks' [Luqmaan 31:6]. He said: By Allaah, besides Whom there is no other god, this means singing - and he repeated it three times. It was also reported with a saheeh isnaad from Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) that this means singing. There is no contradiction between the interpretation of "idle talk" as meaning singing and the interpretation of it as meaning stories of the Persians and their kings, and the kings of the Romans, and so on, such as al-Nadr ibn al-Haarith used to tell to the people of Makkah to distract them from the Qur'aan. Both of them are idle talk. Hence Ibn 'Abbaas said: "Idle talk" is falsehood and singing. Some of the Sahaabah said one and some said the other, and some said both. Singing is worse and more harmful than stories of kings, because it leads to zinaa and makes hypocrisy grow (in the heart); it is the trap of the Shaytaan, and it clouds the mind. The way in which it blocks people from the Qur'aan is worse than the way in which other kinds of false talk block them, because people are naturally inclined towards it and tend to want to listen to it. The aayaat condemn replacing the Qur'aan with idle talk in order to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah without knowledge and taking it as a joke, because when an aayah of the Qur'aan is recited to such a person, he turns his back as if he heard them not, as if there were deafness in his ear. If he hears anything of it, he makes fun of it. All of this happens only in the case of the people who are most stubbornly kaafirs and if some of it happens to singers and those who listen to them, they both have a share of this blame. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/258-259). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "[Allaah said to Iblees:] And befool them gradually those whom you can among them with your voice (i.e. songs, music, and any other call for Allaah's disobedience)…" [al-Israa' 17:64] It was narrated that Mujaahid (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "And befool them gradually those whom you can among them with your voice" - his voice [the voice of Iblees/Shaytaan] is singing and falsehood. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This idaafah [possessive or genitive construction, i.e., your voice] serves to make the meaning specific, as with the phrases [translated as] "your cavalry" and "your infantry" [later in the same aayah]. Everyone who speaks in any way that is not obedient to Allaah, everyone who blows into a flute or other woodwind instrument, or who plays any haraam kind of drum, this is the voice of the Shaytaan. Everyone who walks to commit some act of disobedience towards Allaah is part of his [the Shaytaan's] infantry, and anyone who rides to commit sin is part of his cavalry. This is the view of the Salaf, as Ibn 'Abi Haatim narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas: his infantry is everyone who walks to disobey Allaah. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan). Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "Do you then wonder at this recitation (the Qur'aan)? And you laugh at it and weep not, Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing)" [al-Najm 53:59-61] 'Ikrimah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: it was narrated from Ibn 'Abbaas that al-sumood [verbal noun from saamidoon, translated here as "Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing)"] means "singing", in the dialect of Himyar; it might be said "Ismidi lanaa" ['sing for us' - from the same root as saamidoon/sumood] meaning "ghaniy" [sing]. And he said (may Allaah have mercy on him): When they [the kuffaar] heard the Qur'aan, they would sing, then this aayah was revealed. Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning) "Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing)" - Sufyaan al-Thawri said, narrating from his father from Ibn 'Abbaas: (this means) singing. This is Yemeni (dialect): ismad lana means ghan lana [sing to us]. This was also the view of 'Ikrimah. (Tafseer Ibn Katheer). It was reported from Abu Umaamah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Do not sell singing slave women, do not buy them and do not teach them. There is nothing good in this trade, and their price is haraam. Concerning such things as this the aayah was revealed (interpretation of the meaning): 'And of mankind is he who purchases idle talks (i.e. music, singing) to mislead (men) from the path of Allaah…' [Luqmaan 31:6]." (Hasan hadeeth) The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Among my ummah there will certainly be people who permit zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments…" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari ta'leeqan, no. 5590; narrated as mawsool by al-Tabaraani and al-Bayhaqi. See al-Silsilah al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 91). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This is a saheeh hadeeth narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh, where he quoted it as evidence and stated that it is mu'allaq and majzoom. He said: Chapter on what was narrated concerning those who permit alcohol and call it by another name. This hadeeth indicates in two ways that musical instruments and enjoyment of listening to music are haraam. The first is the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "[they] permit" which clearly indicates that the things mentioned, including musical instruments, are haraam according to sharee'ah, but those people will permit them. The second is the fact that musical instruments are mentioned alongside things which are definitely known to be haraam, i.e., zinaa and alcohol: if they (musical instruments) were not haraam, why would they be mentioned alongside these things? (adapted from al-Silsilah al-Saheehah by al-Albaani, 1/140-141) Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This hadeeth indicates that ma'aazif are haraam, and ma'aazif means musical instruments according to the scholars of (Arabic) language. This word includes all such instruments. (al-Majmoo', 11/535). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: And concerning the same topic similar comments were narrated from Sahl ibn Sa'd al-Saa'idi, 'Imraan ibn Husayn, 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Amr, 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Abbaas, Abu Hurayrah, Abu Umaamah al-Baahili, 'Aa'ishah Umm al-Mu'mineen, 'Ali ibn Abi Taalib, Anas ibn Maalik, 'Abd al-Rahmaan ibn Saabit and al-Ghaazi ibn Rabee'ah. Then he mentioned it in Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, and it indicates that they (musical instruments) are haraam. It was narrated that Naafi' (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Ibn 'Umar heard a woodwind instrument, and he put his fingers in his ears and kept away from that path. He said to me, O Naafi', can you hear anything? I said, No. So he took his fingers away from his ears and said: I was with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he heard something like this, and he did the same thing. (Saheeh Abi Dawood). Some insignificant person said that this hadeeth does not prove that musical instruments are haraam, because if that were so, the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would have instructed Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both) to put his fingers in his ears as well, and Ibn 'Umar would have instructed Naafi' to do likewise! The response to this is: He was not listening to it, but he could hear it. There is a difference between listening and hearing. Shaykh al-Islam (Ibn Taymiyah) (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Concerning (music) which a person does not intend to listen to, there is no prohibition or blame, according to scholarly consensus. Hence blame or praise is connected to listening, not to hearing. The one who listens to the Qur'aan will be rewarded for it, whereas the one who hears it without intending or wanting to will not be rewarded for that, because actions are judged by intentions. The same applies to musical instruments which are forbidden: if a person hears them without intending to, that does not matter. (al-Majmoo', 10/78). Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: the listener is the one who intends to hear, which was not the case with Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them both); what happened in his case was hearing. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) needed to know when the sound stopped because he had moved away from that path and blocked his ears. So he did not want to go back to that path or unblock his ears until the noise had stopped, so when he allowed Ibn 'Umar to continue hearing it, this was because of necessity. (al-Mughni, 10/173) (Even though the hearing referred to in the comments of the two imaams is makrooh, it was permitted because of necessity, as we will see below in the comments of Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him). And Allaah knows best). The views of the scholars (imaams) of Islam Al-Qaasim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Singing is part of falsehood. Al-Hasan (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: if there is music involved in a dinner invitation (waleemah), do not accept the invitation (al-Jaami by al-Qayrawaani, p. 262-263). Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The view of the four Imaams is that all kinds of musical instruments are haraam. It was reported in Saheeh al-Bukhaari and elsewhere that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that there would be among his ummah those who would allow zinaa, silk, alcohol and musical instruments, and he said that they would be transformed into monkeys and pigs… None of the followers of the imaams mentioned any dispute concerning the matter of music. (al-Majmoo', 11/576). Al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The four madhhabs are agreed that all musical instruments are haraam. (al-Saheehah, 1/145). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The madhhab of Abu Haneefah is the strictest in this regard, and his comments are among the harshest. His companions clearly stated that it is haraam to listen to all musical instruments such as the flute and the drum, even tapping a stick. They stated that it is a sin which implies that a person is a faasiq (rebellious evil doer) whose testimony should be rejected. They went further than that and said that listening to music is fisq (rebellion, evildoing) and enjoying it is kufr (disbelief). This is their words. They narrated in support of that a hadeeth which could not be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). They said: he should try not to hear it if he passes by it or it is in his vicinity. Abu Yoosuf said, concerning a house from which could be heard the sound of musical instruments: Go in without their permission, because forbidding evil actions is obligatory, and if it were not allowed to enter without permission, people could not have fulfilled the obligatory duty (of enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil). (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/425). Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked about playing the drum or flute, if a person happens to hear the sound and enjoy it whilst he is walking or sitting. He said: He should get up if he finds that he enjoys it, unless he is sitting down for a need or is unable to get up. If he is on the road, he should either go back or move on. (al-Jaami' by al-Qayrawaani, 262). He (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "The only people who do things like that, in our view, are faasiqs." (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 14/55). Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Among the types of earnings which are haraam by scholarly consensus are ribaa, the fee of a prostitute, anything forbidden, bribes, payment for wailing over the dead and singing, payments to fortune-tellers and those who claim to know the unseen and astrologers, payments for playing flutes, and all kinds of gambling. (al-Kaafi). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, explaining the view of Imaam al-Shaafa'i: His companions who know his madhhab (point of view) stated that it is haraam and denounced those who said that he permitted it. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan, 1/425). The author of Kifaayat al-Akhbaar, who was one of the Shaafa'is, counted musical instruments such as flutes and others, as being munkar (evil), and the one who is present (where they are being played) should denounce them. (He cannot be excused by the fact that there are bad scholars, because they are corrupting the sharee'ah, or evil faqeers - meaning the Sufis, because they call themselves fuqaraa' or faqeers - because they are ignorant and follow anyone who makes noise; they are not guided by the light of knowledge; rather they are blown about by every wind. (Kifaayat al-Akhbaar, 2/128). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: With regard to the view of Imaam Ahmad, his son 'Abd-Allaah said: I asked my father about singing. He said: Singing makes hypocrisy grow in the heart; I do not like it. Then he mentioned the words of Maalik: the evildoers (faasiqs) among us do that. (Ighaathat al-Lahfaan). Ibn Qudaamah, the researcher of the Hanbali madhhab - (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: Musical instruments are of three types which are haraam. These are the strings and all kinds of flute, and the lute, drum and rabaab (stringed instrument) and so on. Whoever persists in listening to them, his testimony should be rejected. (al-Mughni, 10/173). And he said (may Allaah have mercy on him); If a person is invited to a gathering in which there is something objectionable, such as wine and musical instruments, and he is able to denounce it, then he should attend and speak out against it, because then he will be combining two obligatory duties. If he is not able to do that, then he should not attend. (al-Kaafi, 3/118) Al-Tabari (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The scholars of all regions are agreed that singing is makrooh and should be prevented. Although Ibraaheem ibn Sa'd and 'Ubayd-Allaah al-'Anbari differed from the majority, (it should be noted that) the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Adhere to the majority." And whoever dies differing from the majority, dies as a jaahili. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi, 14/56). In earlier generations, the word "makrooh" was used to mean haraam, then it took on the meaning of "disliked". But this is to be understood as meaning that it is forbidden, because he [al-Tabari] said "it should be prevented", and nothing is to be prevented except that which is haraam; and because in the two hadeeths quoted, music is denounced in the strongest terms. Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) is the one who narrated this report, then he said: Abu'l-Faraj and al-Qaffaal among our companions said: the testimony of the singer and the dancer is not to be accepted. I say: if it is proven that this matter is not permissible, then accepting payment for it is not permissible either. Shaykh al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said: What Ibraaheem ibn Sa'd and 'Ubayd-Allaah al-'Anbari said about singing is not like the kind of singing that is known nowadays, for they would never have allowed this kind of singing which is the utmost in immorality and obscenity. (al-I'laam) Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: It is not permissible to make musical instruments. (al-Majmoo', 22/140). And he said: According to the majority of fuqahaa', it is permissible to destroy musical instruments, such as the tanboor [a stringed instrument similar to a mandolin]. This is the view of Maalik and is the more famous of the two views narrated from Ahmad. (al-Majmoo', 28/113). And he said: …Ibn al-Mundhir mentioned that the scholars were agreed that it is not permissible to pay people to sing and wail… the consensus of all the scholars whose views we have learned about is that wailing and singing are not allowed. Al-Shu'bi, al-Nakha'i and Maalik regarded that as makrooh [i.e., haraam]. Abu Thawr, al-Nu'maan - Abu Haneefah (may Allaah have mercy on him) - and Ya'qoob and Muhammad, two of the students of Abu Haneefah said: it is not permissible to pay anything for singing and wailing. This is our view. And he said: musical instruments are the wine of the soul, and what it does to the soul is worse than what intoxicating drinks do. (Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 10/417). Ibn Abi Shaybah (may Allaah have mercy on him) reported that a man broke a mandolin belonging to another man, and the latter took his case to Shurayh. But Shurayh did not award him any compensation - i.e., he did not make the first man pay the cost of the mandolin, because it was haraam and had no value. (al-Musannaf, 5/395). Al-Baghawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) stated in a fatwa that it is haraam to sell all kinds of musical instruments such as mandolins, flutes, etc. Then he said: If the images are erased and the musical instruments are altered, then it is permissible to sell their parts, whether they are silver, iron, wood or whatever. (Sharh al-Sunnah, 8/28) An appropriate exception The exception to the above is the daff - without any rings (i.e., a hand-drum which looks like a tambourine, but without any rattles) - when used by women on Eids and at weddings. This is indicated by saheeh reports. Shaykh al-Islam (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: But the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) made allowances for certain types of musical instruments at weddings and the like, and he made allowances for women to play the daff at weddings and on other joyful occasions. But the men at his time did not play the daff or clap with their hands. It was narrated in al-Saheeh that he said: "Clapping is for women and tasbeeh (saying Subhaan Allaah) is for men." And he cursed women who imitate men and men who imitate women. Because singing and playing the daff are things that women do, the Salaf used to call any man who did that a mukhannath (effeminate man), and they used to call male singers effeminate - and how many of them there are nowadays! It is well known that the Salaf said this. In a similar vein is the hadeeth of 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), when her father (may Allaah be pleased with him) entered upon her at the time of Eid, and there were two young girls with her who were singing the verses that the Ansaar had said on the day of Bu'aath - and any sensible person will know what people say about war. Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "Musical instruments of the Shaytaan in the house of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!" The Messenger of Allaah had turned away from them and was facing the wall - hence some scholars said that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him) would not tell anybody off in front of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but he thought that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was not paying attention to what was happening. And Allaah knows best. He (the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)) said: "Leave them alone, O Abu Bakr, for every nation has its Eid, and this is our Eid, the people of Islam." This hadeeth shows that it was not the habit of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions to gather to listen to singing, hence Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq called it "the musical instruments of the Shaytaan". And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of this appellation and did not deny it when he said, "Leave them alone, for every nation has its Eid and this is our Eid." This indicates that the reason why this was permitted was because it was the time of Eid, and the prohibition remained in effect at times other than Eid, apart from the exceptions made for weddings in other ahaadeeth. Shaykh al-Albaani explained this in his valuable book Tahreem Aalaat al-Tarab (the Prohibition of Musical Instruments). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of young girls singing at Eid, as stated in the hadeeth: "So that the mushrikeen will know that in our religion there is room for relaxation." There is no indication in the hadeeth about the two young girls that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was listening to them. The commands and prohibitions have to do with listening, not merely hearing, just as in the case of seeing, the rules have to do with intentionally looking and not what happens by accident. So it is clear that this is for women only. Imaam Abu 'Ubayd (may Allaah have mercy on him) defined the daff as "that which is played by women." (Ghareeb al-Hadeeth, 3/64). An inappropriate exception Some of them make an exception for drums at times of war, and consequentially some modern scholars have said that military music is allowed. But there is no basis for this at all, for a number of reasons, the first of which is that this is making an exception with no clear evidence, apart from mere opinion and thinking that it is good, and this is wrong. The second reason is that what the Muslims should do at times of war is to turn their hearts towards their Lord. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "They ask you (O Muhammad) about the spoils of war. Say: 'The spoils are for Allaah and the Messenger.' So fear Allaah and adjust all matters of difference among you…" [al-Anfaal 8:1]. But using music is the opposite of this idea of taqwa and it would distract them from remembering their Lord. Thirdly, using music is one of the customs of the kuffaar, and it is not permitted to imitate them, especially with regard to something that Allaah has forbidden to us in general, such as music. (al-Saheehah, 1/145) "No people go astray after having been guided except they developed arguments amongst themselves." (Saheeh) Some of them used the hadeeth about the Abyssinians playing in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as evidence that singing is allowed! Al-Bukhaari included this hadeeth in his Saheeh under the heading Baab al-Hiraab wa'l-Daraq Yawm al-'Eid (Chapter on Spears and Shields on the Day of Eid). Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This indicates that it is permissible to play with weapons and the like in the mosque, and he applied that to other activities connected with jihaad. (Sharh Muslim). But as al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: whoever speaks about something which is not his profession will come up with weird ideas such as these. Some of them use as evidence the hadeeth about the singing of the two young girls, which we have discussed above, but we will quote what Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, because it is valuable: I am amazed that you quote as evidence for allowing listening to sophisticated songs the report which we mentioned about how two young girls who were below the age of puberty sang to a young woman on the day of Eid some verses of Arab poetry about bravery in war and other noble characteristics. How can you compare this to that? What is strange is that this hadeeth is one of the strongest proofs against them. The greatest speaker of the truth [Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq] called them musical instruments of the Shaytaan, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) approved of that appellation, but he made an exception in the case of these two young girls who had not yet reached the age of responsibility and the words of whose songs could not corrupt anyone who listened to them. Can this be used as evidence to allow what you do and what you know of listening (to music) which includes (bad) things which are not hidden?! Subhaan Allaah! How people can be led astray! (Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/493). Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) was young at that time; nothing was transmitted from her after she reached the age of puberty except condemnation of singing. Her brother's son, al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad, condemned singing and said that it was not allowed to listen to it, and he took his knowledge from her. (Talbees Iblees, 229). Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: A group of the Sufis used this hadeeth - the hadeeth about the two young girls - as evidence that singing is allowed and it is allowed to listen to it, whether it is accompanied by instruments or not. This view is sufficiently refuted by the clear statement of 'Aa'ishah in the following hadeeth, where she says, "They were not singers." She made it clear that they were not singers as such, although this may be understood from the wording of the report. So we should limit it to what was narrated in the text as regards the occasion and the manner, so as to reduce the risk of going against the principle, i.e., the hadeeth. And Allaah knows best. (Fath al-Baari, 2/442-443). Some people even have the nerve to suggest that the Sahaabah and Taabi'een listened to singing, and that they saw nothing wrong with it! Al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said: We demand them to show us saheeh isnaads going back to these Sahaabah and Taabi'een, proving what they attribute to them. Then he said: Imaam Muslim mentioned in his introduction to his Saheeh that 'Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak said: The isnaad is part of religion. Were it not for the isnaad, whoever wanted to could say whatever he wanted to. Some of them said that the ahaadeeth which forbid music are full of faults. No hadeeth was free of being criticized by some of the scholars. Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The ahaadeeth which were narrated concerning music being haraam are not full of faults as has been claimed. Some of them are in Saheeh al-Bukhaari which is the soundest of books after the Book of Allaah, and some of them are hasan and some are da'eef. But because they are so many, with different isnaads, they constitute definitive proof that singing and musical instruments are haraam. All the imaams agreed on the soundness of the ahaadeeth which forbid singing and musical instruments, apart from Abu Haamid al-Ghazzaali, but al-Ghazzaali did not have knowledge of hadeeth; and Ibn Hazam, but al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) explained where Ibn Hazam went wrong, and Ibn Hazam himself said that if any of (these ahaadeeth) were saheeh, he would follow that. But now they have proof that these reports are saheeh because there are so many books by the scholars which state that these ahaadeeth are saheeh, but they turn their backs on that. They are far more extreme than Ibn Hazam and they are nothing like him, for they are not qualified and cannot be referred to. Some of them said that the scholars forbade singing because it is mentioned alongside gatherings in which alcohol is drunk and where people stay up late at night for evil purposes. Al-Shawkaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The response to this is that mentioning these things in conjunction does not only mean that what is haraam is what is joined together in this manner. Otherwise this would mean that zinaa, as mentioned in the ahaadeeth, is not haraam unless it is accompanied by alcohol and the use of musical instruments. By the same token, an aayah such as the following (interpretation of the meaning): "Verily, he used not to believe in Allaah, the Most Great, And urged not on the feeding of Al‑Miskeen (the poor)." [al-Haaqqah 69:33-34] would imply that it is not haraam to disbelieve in Allaah unless that is accompanied by not encouraging the feeding of the poor. If it is said that the prohibition of such things one at a time is proven from other reports, the response to that is that the prohibition of musical instruments is also known from other evidence, as mentioned above. (Nayl al-Awtaar, 8/107). Some of them said that "idle talk" does not refer to singing; the refutation of that has been mentioned above. Al-Qurtubi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: This - the view that it means singing - is the best that has been said concerning this aayah, and Ibn Mas'ood swore three times by Allaah besides Whom there is no other god, that it does refer to singing. Then he mentioned other imaams who said the same thing. Then he mentioned other views concerning the matter. Then he said: The first view is the best of all that has been said on this matter, because of the marfoo' hadeeth, and because of the view of the Sahaabah and the Taabi'een. (Tafseer al-Qurtubi). Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him), after quoting this Tafseer, said: Al-Haakim Abu 'Abd-Allaah said in the Tafseer of Kitaab al-Mustadrak: Let the one who is seeking this knowledge know that the Tafseer of a Sahaabi who witnessed the revelation is a hadeeth with isnaad according to the two Shaykhs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim). Elsewhere in his book, he said: In our view this hadeeth has the same strength as a marfoo' report. Although their tafseer is still subject to further examination, it is still more readily acceptable than the tafseer of those who came after them, because they are the most knowledgeable among this ummah of what Allaah meant in his Book. It was revealed among them and they were the first people to be addressed by it. They heard the tafseer from the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in word and in deed. And they were Arabs who understood the true meanings of (Arabic) words, so Muslims should avoid resorting to any other interpretation as much as possible. Some of them said that singing is a form of worship if the intention is for it to help one to obey Allaah! Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: How strange! What type of faith, light, insight, guidance and knowledge can be gained from listening to tuneful verses and music in which most of what is said is haraam and deserves the wrath and punishment of Allaah and His Messenger? … How can anyone who has the least amount of insight and faith in his heart draw near to Allaah and increase his faith by enjoying something which is hated by Him, and He detests the one who says it and the one who accepts it? (Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/485) Shaykh al-Islam said, discussing the state of the person who has gotten used to listening to singing: Hence you find that those who have gotten used to it and for whom it is like food and drink will never have the desire to listen to the Qur'aan or feel joy when they hear it, and they never find in listening to its verses the same feeling that they find when listening to poetry. Indeed, if they hear the Qur'aan, they hear it with an inattentive heart and talk whilst it is being recited, but if they hear whistling and clapping of hands, they lower their voices and keep still, and pay attention. (Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 11/557 ff) Some say that music and musical instruments have the effect of softening people's hearts and creating gentle feelings. This is not true, because it provokes physical desires and whims. If it really did what they say, it would have softened the hearts of the musicians and made their attitude and behaviour better, but most of them, as we know, are astray and behave badly. Conclusion Perhaps - for fair-minded and objective readers - this summary will make it clear that the view that music is permissible has no firm basis. There are no two views on this matter. So we must advise in the best manner, and then take it step by step and denounce music, if we are able to do so. We should not be deceived by the fame of a man in our own times in which the people who are truly committed to Islam have become strangers. The one who says that singing and musical instruments are permitted is simply supporting the whims of people nowadays, as if the masses were issuing fatwas and he is simply signing them! If a matter arises, they will look at the views of fuqahaa' on this matter, then they will take the easiest view, as they claim. Then they will look for evidence, or just specious arguments which are worth no more than a lump of dead meat. How often have these people approved things in the name of sharee'ah which in fact have nothing to do with Islam! Strive to learn your Islam from the Book of your Lord and the Sunnah of your Prophet. Do not say, So-and-so said, for you cannot learn the truth only from men. Learn the truth and then measure people against it. This should be enough for the one who controls his whims and submits himself to his Lord. May what we have written above heal the hearts of the believers and dispel the whispers in the hearts of those who are stricken with insinuating whispers. May it expose everyone who is deviating from the path of Revelation and taking the easiest options, thinking that he has come up with something which none of the earlier generations ever achieved, and speaking about Allaah without knowledge. They sought to avoid fisq (evildoing) and ended up committing bid'ah - may Allaah not bless them in it. It would have been better for them to follow the path of the believers. And Allaah knows best. May Allaah bless and grant peace to His Messenger who made clear the path of the believers, and to his companions and those who follow them in truth until the Day of Judgement. Summary of a paper entitled al-Darb bi'l-Nawa li man abaaha al-Ma'aazif li'l-Hawa by Shaykh Sa'd al-Deen ibn Muhammad al-Kibbi. For more information, please see: Al-I'laam bi Naqd Kitaab al-Halaal wa'l-Haraam, by Shaykh al-'Allaamah Saalih ibn Fawzaan al-Fawzaan Al-Samaa' by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn al-Qayyim Tahreem Aalaat al-Tarab, by Shaykh Muhammad Naasir al-Deen al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him)Islam Q&ASheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjidhttp://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/5000

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Who is malik ibn anas ibn malik ibn amr al-imam abu abd Allah al-humyari al-asbahi al-madani explain in brief?

Why music is haram?

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