The following is a reader response to the recent publication in the Islamic Post entitled, Destruction of Timbuktu Sufi Shrine Exposes Wahabi Agenda.
Comment made by maryamshams:
Its strange to see that people make accusations without any facts. Let us cross examine the accussations point by point.
1. Dr Adams says: "Thus, the term ‘Wahabi Islam’ is absolutely wrong" .
The muslims he refers to never claim themselves to follow" Wahabi Islam". They follow the way of the salaf with evidence from the Prophet SAWS hadith and the Quran.
Speaking lies against someone because you hate them is defintely a sign of hypocrisy and fanatism.Why talk about something when you cannot even speak the truth.
2. Salafi Scholars never approve of suicide bombings , infact they severely prohibit it even in case of Palestinians who fight the zionists because Allah has forbidden a muslim to take his own life. Its only some extremists who follow Scholars with weak knowledge fall into this trap.
3. In another claim – "Extremism, terrorism and fanaticism against Muslims reigns in Wahabi ideology; this same spirit served to massacre a half million Muslims in the bloody takeover of Arabia" …..
No basis to this accusation. If half a million people were really killed , it would have been known well in history and would be a genocide. All that is known is few hundreds of people were killed, and in war there are always casualties.
Another Blatant Lie !
4. "opening of the Sidi Yahya masjid main door is amongst the signs of last days" – No proof of this in Islam. Never did the Prophet SAWS mention about the sidi yahya masjid door .
Why mislead muslim masses to falsehood with these lies ?
These claims and attacks are nothing but a way of falsifying those who Follow True Islam. This shows how much hatred and jealousy people like Mahmoud Siddibe qadri and Dr Adams have towards the Salafis . Its up to the muslims to understand whether they can follow the way of those who simply lie in the first place , or those who speak truth with facts and proof to back it up.
If i am wrong please prove it !
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Author’s response:
First, we want to thank you for taking the time to read the article and give us your impression. We will do our best to respond to your questions and the points you raised in relation to the article and we hope that it will enlighten you on the reason why our previous article on Timbuktu and other articles on Wahhabism were published.
In regards to your first point on the calling Wahhabi as ‘ Wahhabi’:
The Kharijites (a group of rebellious seceders, so-called because they seceded from the army of the Caliph Ali when he agreed to settle his dispute with Muawiyah through arbitration) never called themselves in this manner; they were labelled as such due to their belief and actions. So, even though the Wahhabis never claimed to be as such, Muslims scholars have called them Wahhabi based on their ideology and to make sure that there is a separation between their sectarian ideology and that of the Muslim community (Ahle Sunnah wal Jamma’ah).
The claim by the Wahhabi/Salafis to be the only ones following ‘the Salaf’ is dubious. Every Muslim that learned the precepts and the sciences of Islam from one of the four schools of jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’I, Hanbali) at the hand of a competent and authorized teacher, in fact, follows the ways of the Salaf and no one else does; and the same applies for the science of Aqida, for the science of Hadith, for the science of Tafsir and any other science. Up to this day, every competent teacher that received proper authorization (or ijaza) to teach a subject can trace back to his teacher, who, in turn, can prove his authorization from his teacher and this all the way back to Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i or Imam Hanbal, may Allah be well pleased with them. And as we all know, these luminaries studied at the hand of the Tabi’i, the first generation of Muslims who lived after the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him).
However, this is not the case for those who nowadays claim to be the followers of the true Salaf. We have yet to see one of their scholars bring their chain of learning as proof of following the way of the holy Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all. In fact, some of the greatest and most respected pseudo-scholars and imams of the Wahabis or Salafis never, ever provided evidence of getting authorization to teach from any competent scholar. Did Sheikh ibn Baz ever provide any proof or did Sheikh Nasir Al-Albani, who is reputed to have learned most of his knowledge in the Dhahiriyya Library in Damascus, ever provide evidence to refute these claims? No – and they never will because they did not acquire the required credentials to teach others. In fact, the chief of the Wahabiyya and Salafia, Muhammed ibn Abdul Wahab, was refuted by all the respected scholars of his time and even by his own family. This is not a claim, but an historical fact!
Moreover, if the Salafi are “following the way of the Salaf with evidence from the Prophet (Peace and blessings be upon him) hadith and Quran”, why is it that up to today we have yet to see any descendant of Imam Hasan or Imam Hussein (Allah’s mercy be upon them) approve of their way and follow them since the evidences are there? Any time we hear or read from members of the Ahle Bait (descendant family members of the Holy Prophet, peace and blessing be upon them ) on the Wahabis or Salafis is to condemn their actions and their beliefs. If they “follow the Salaf with the evidence of the Prophet’s hadith and Quran”, does that mean that every single descendant of Imam Ali and of Syeda Fatimah Zahra (Allah be pleased with them) are misguided? This is ludicrous. That in itself should be enough of an argument for people who reflect.
Salafi Scholars never approve of suicide bombings?
As far as the statement that Salafi scholars do not approve of suicide bombing and vehemently condemn it, even in the case of Palestinians who fight the Zionists and that its only some extremists that follow scholars with weak knowledge, I would respond that if it is so, why is it that all those suicide bombers that attack Holy Shrines, Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world come from Wahhabi/Salafis based groups? We never hear of attacks or killings perpetrated from Muslim moderate organisations or from Sufi based groups. In fact, moderate Muslims and Sufis are the first victims of suicide bombings and terror attacks.
All over the world, more Muslims are victims and die from terrorist attacks than any other group or religion. In many Muslim countries, attacks are perpetrated weekly, if not daily, by so-called Muslims against other Muslims. These are not isolated incidents. The perpetrators of these attacks base themselves on the Wahhabi/Salafi notion of takfir and do not consider other Muslims as their fellow brothers, but as ‘kafir’ because they say "Ya Muhammad" and because they go and pay their respects to and visit people at their graves.
The people who desecrate and destroy graves are the same ones who go and blow themselves up in Holy Shrines. The only difference is that they pushed their ideology to the next level. However, both Wahhabis and Salafis consider the visitors of the graves as committing an act of ‘idolatry’ and therefore, label those who practice that as not being Muslim. The scholars of the two groups come from the same root (Wahhabism) and from the same tree (Salafism), it’s only the branch that differs.
Here is what Sheikh ibn Baz had to say about Muslims who seek intercession and assistance from The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Muslim saints or Awliya:
"But if he prays to the dead and seeks help from them or from the jinn or other created beings, and he says “O Messenger of Allaah help me or heal my sick loved one” or he says “Ya Sayyidi al-Husayn” or “Ya Sayyidi al-Badawi” or calls upon any other dead person, or prays to inanimate things such as idols, saying “al-madad al-madad (help, help)”, then he is a mushrik who is guilty of major shirk, and you should not pray behind him and his leading the prayers is not valid." (Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 9/373, 374)
That is the same person who accepted the invitation of the United States Army in Saudi Arabia to attack Muslims and "grave worshipers" of Iraq.
Now let’s look at the statements of some respected Wahhabi/Salafi based scholars that legitimise terror so that we do not say our claims are unfounded.
In the 1970s, under King Khaled, the Saudi education system which was full of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Salafi groups, published and promoted many books of Sayyid Qutb, the brother of Muhammad Qutb, who was a professor of Islamic Studies in the Kingdom. Sayyid Qutb, one of the founding fathers of modern-day terrorism, was the editor of the Salafi-based Muslim Brotherhood weekly periodical and a member of its Working Committee and of the Guidance Council. Qutb, in Ma'alim fil-Tariq, taught that Muslims and Muslim rulers who fail to implement Almighty God´s laws are not actually Muslims but ‘apostates’, they live in a state of ‘jahiliyya’ and must be opposed. This idea has influenced the rise of contemporary militants who use this doctrine to legitimize the killing of Muslims by Muslims for alleged ‘apostasy’. It would be good to mention at this point that Sayyid Qutb, "the scholar", had no Islamic credentials for his books and teachings to be propagated throughout the Muslim world, his only post-secondary education was a secular background.
Here is a 2004 excerpt from a BBC in regards to Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi views. He is praised and followed by many MSA (Muslim Student Associations) around the world:
"It is particularly his views on suicide bombings that has courted controversy, but mainly in the West. He has distanced himself from suicide attacks in the West, but he has consistently defended Palestinian suicide attacks against Israelis.
Recently, he told Al-Jazeera that he was not alone in believing that suicide bombings in Palestinian territories were a legitimate form of self defence for people who have no aircraft or tanks.
He said hundreds of other Islamic scholars are of the same opinion. In this respect, he is very much in tune with what the vast majority of people in the Arab world believe.
Defending suicide bombings that target Israeli civilians, Sheikh A-Qaradawi told the BBC program Newsnight that "an Israeli woman is not like women in our societies, because she is a soldier. I consider this type of martyrdom operation as an evidence of God's justice. Allah Almighty is just; through His infinite wisdom he has given the weak a weapon the strong do not have and and that is their ability to turn their bodies into bombs as Palestinians do".
Despite his popularity, Sheikh Al-Qaradawi is not without his critics in the Arab world.
Some see his regular preaching on Al-Jazeera as ‘an uncritical regurgitation of Islamic dogma out of touch with the modern world.’
One can say that not all Salafi scholars authorize the killing of innocent Muslims and non-Muslims, but no one can claim that it is the only and unique view of their Ulemas. And the fact that, as mentioned previously, in almost every case of terrorist attacks, the radical groups behind the attacks (killings, the destruction of shrines, etc.) come from the Wahhabi/Salafi ideology; we can claim that this minority was misguided due to the Wahhabi indoctrination.
The massacre of Muslims in the bloody takeover of Arabia – Another Blatant Lie !
The massacres of Muslims committed by Wahabis throughout their short history are very well documented by many Muslim scholars in many different languages. To prove this point, let us quote from some of the renowned scholars of the Ahle Sunnah.
The following is quoted from the book Fitnatul Wahabiyya (which can be found online) of the chief Mufti of Makkah, Shaykhul-Islam Ahmad Zayni Dahlan al-Makki ash-Shafi'i (ra) (1816 – 1886). Sheikh Dahlan was a historian as well as a scholar in Islamic fiqh. He acquired different types of Islamic knowledge and was appointed as the Mufti of the Shafi'iyyah scholars in Makkah. Sheikh Dahlan recorded the story of the Wahhabis’ takeover of the holy places in a number of books. Here is one of the passages from Fitnatul Wahabiyya that gives details of some of the killings perpetrated by the adherents of the Wahhabi ideology:
“The fighting started between the Wahhabis and the Prince of Mecca, Mawlana Sharif Ghalib Ibn Bu Sa'id, who had been appointed by the honored Muslim Sultan as his ruling representative over the areas of al-Hijaz. This was in 1205 A.H., during the time of Sultan Salim III, the son of Sultan Mustafa III, the son of Ahmad. Previous to the outbreak of fighting, the Wahhabis began to build power and gain followers in their areas. As their territories expanded, their evil and harm increased. They killed countless numbers of Muslims, legitimated confiscating their money and possessions, and captured their women. The founder of their wicked doctrine was Muhammad Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab, who originated from eastern Arabia, from the tribe of Banu Tamim. He lived a long life, about one-hundred years. He was born in 1111 A.H. and died in 1200 A.H. His history was narrated as follows:
Muhammad Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab started as a student of knowledge in the city of the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: Medina al-Munawwarah. Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab's father was a good, pious man among the people of knowledge as was his brother, Shaykh Sulayman. His father, his brother, and his Shaykhs (teachers of religion) had the foresight Ibn 'Abdul-Wahhab would innovate a great deal of deviation and misguidance, because of their observance of his sayings, actions, and inclinations concerning many issues. They used to reprimand him and warn people against him.”
Here is another quote, this time from one of the most renowned Hanafi scholars Ibn ‘Abidin (1783-1836) in history, who wrote in his book Hashiya Radd al-Muhtar:
“His words and who consider the Companions of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) to be disbelievers are not a condition for someone to be a Kharijite, but rather are a mere clarification of what those who revolted against ‘Ali (Allah Most High be well pleased with him) in fact did.
Otherwise, it is enough to be convinced of the unbelief of those they fight against, as happened in our own times with the followers of [Muhammad ibn] ‘Abd al-Wahhab, who came out of the Najd in revolt, and took over the sanctuaries of Mecca and Medina. They claimed to be of the Hanbali madhhab, but believed that they were the Muslims, and that those who believed differently than they did were polytheists (mushrikin). On this basis, they held it lawful to kill Sunni Muslims (Ahl al-Sunna) and their religious scholars, until Allah Most High dispelled their forces, and the armies of the Muslims attacked their strongholds and subdued them in 1233 A.H.”
Syed Hussain Ahmad al-Madani said in his book Ash-Shihab as-Saqib :
"Ibn Abdal Wahhab arose in the beginning of the thirteenth Islamic century in the Najd. His thinking was false, and his beliefs were corruptional; on these grounds he opened the way for killing the Ahl as-Sunnah."
The incident of Taïf is known through the Islamic world. As we can see, to say that there is no basis to the accusation of killing of Muslims at the hands of the Wahabi and the Saud family is The Blatant Lie of our time.
The opening of the Sidi Yahya masjid main door.
With all the events that have been unfolding in the world in the past three decades, one can see that all the major signs of the last days mentioned by the Holy Last Messenger (Peace and blessings upon him) occurred. And in the past 10 years, events have been unfolding at an even faster pace. I do not claim that the opening of door of Sidi Yahya masjid is a sign of the last days mentioned in the ahadith, I clearly said that the demolishers of Timbuktu in their zeal to prove that the claim was false, proved that we are in the last days. And from the sayings of the Holy Last Messenger (peace be upon him), no one in their right mind can claim that we are not in the end of times. There is nothing in this that can mislead anyone who possess the faculty of thinking and contemplation. Even the Christians recognize this. This is my opinion and I will stick to it.
We have provided you with irrefutable proof, documented facts and well researched details to educate our readers on the reality of the Wahhabi doctrine. We are living in times where the field is not levelled and equal for all to present their arguments; a time where the petrodollars Monarchies finance Wahhabi/Salafi organisations and print books propagating their doctrine all over the world. The voices of the true scholars of the Ahle Sunnah wal Jammat are being silenced in the medias.
Many books, pamphlets and DVDs are available on the subject. A newspaper article presents limitations to go into great detail, however we pray and we hope that enough was provided for the seekers of truth to continue their own research on the answers that were provided.
