Saint Ibn Mashish Martyred by False Prophet Ibn Abi Tawajin

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

يا نبي سلام عليك

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Peace be upon you, O Prophet

I am a disciple of Mufti Sayyid Mubashshir Hussain Shah, damat barakatuhum, at whose blessed hand in October 2023 I not only repented from the Qadiani heresy and embraced Islam, but was also initiated through bay’ah into the Shadhili order.

His shaykh is Abu Bakr Shadhili, damat barakatuhum, an extremely pious and learned individual known for encouraging the people to make dhikr of Allah and purify their heart. Mufti Sayyid Mubashshir Shah is a champion of the cause of Khatm un-Nubuwwah, the finality of prophethood, and has spent his entire life debating and refuting the Qadiani heresy and other similar heresies.

I realized that, being a Shadhili, my murshid has tremendous zeal for the cause of Khatm un-Nubuwwah because this is a matter that is at the heart of the history of our Silsilah.

My shaykh, Mufti Mubashshir Shah on the right, with his shaykh Abu Bakr Shadhili on the left, at Masjid an-Nabawi

The Shadhili order is attributed to Imam Abul-Hasan ash-Shadhili (593/1196-656/1258), rahimahullah. A sharif, meaning a descendant of the Prophet, sall Allahu alayhi wasallam, through Imam Hasan, radi Allahu anhu, he was born in Morocco and passed away in Humaythirah, a town in Egypt near the coast of the Red Sea, where his tomb is located.

Imam Abul-Hasan ash-Shadhili was a disciple of the eminent saint Abd us-Salam bin Mashish al-Alami, qaddas Allahu sirrahu, who was martyred in 625/1227.

Ibn Mashish, rahmatullah alayh, was also from Morocco and lived during the turbulent period of the Almohads. A false prophet and evil sorcerer, Ibn Abi Tawajin, arose in revolt against the Almohads and had Shaykh Ibn Mashish, rahmatullah alayh, killed (Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd edition, v.1, p.91):

His tomb is located on a mountain, Jabal Alam, south of Tetouan in Morocco, where Muslims gather to pray for him.

Ibn Abi Tawajin, la’natullah alayh, was surely one of the antichrists and false prophets foretold by our Holy Prophet Muhammad, sall Allahu alayhi wasallam, who would arise from this Ummah.

Now it becomes clear why my murshid, and the Shadhilis in general, are so passionate about defending the doctrine of Khatm un-Nubuwwah and waging a spiritual struggle against the tribulation of the false prophets, whether it is Ibn Abi Tawajin or Mirza of Qadian. 

The Shadhili order is one of the principal orthodox Sufi orders in Sunni Islam, the others being the Naqshbandi, Qadiri, Chishti, Suhrawardi, Rifa’i, Kubrawi and Khalwati orders.

My murshid is also a disciple of the pious and charismatic Ilyas Attar Qadiri, damat barakatuhum, making him and myself members of the blessed and prestigious Qadiri order too. This is a great honor to be connected to both the Qutb of the East, Shaykh Abd ul-Qadir al-Jilani, and the Qutb of the West, Shaykh Abd us-Salam bin Mashish al-Alami.

Dr. Hassan al-Turabi Exposed

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

يا نبي سلام عليك

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Peace be upon you, O Prophet

The country of Sudan has historically and currently faces much difficulty. Initially a homeland for mainstream Sunni Islam, predominantly following the Maliki school of jurisprudence and the Qadiri Sufi order, it was plunged into a series of crises beginning with the Mahdist uprising of the false Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Fahal (d. 1885). Though this Mahdist uprising ultimately failed, the Mahdist movement continued in the form of the Ansar and its political wing, the Ummah Party.

Subsequent to the Mahdist tribulation, the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideas were introduced to the Sudan. Thereafter arose the heretic Mahmoud Taha (1909-1985) who was executed for his apostasy.

Apparently, Hassan al-Turabi (1932-2016) played a role in engineering the elimination of Mahmoud Taha in 1985, while having stolen some of his reformist and “progressive” ideas.

In his interview with Milton Viorst, Hassan al-Turabi said, “I personally have views that run against all the orthodox schools of law on the status of women, on the court testimony of non-Muslims, on the law of apostasy. Some people say that I have been influenced by the West and that I border on apostasy myself. But I don’t accept the condemnation of Salman Rushdie. If a Muslim wakes up in the morning and says he doesn’t believe any more, that’s his business.” (Sudan’s Islamic Experiment, Foreign Affairs, vol.74, no.3, May-June 1995, p.53)

“Things like dress, for example, there are moral injunctions of how women and men should dress, but that is not part of the law.” (Ibid, p.54)

Considering his background in the so-called Muslim Brotherhood, or Ikhwan al-Muslimin, Dr. Hassan al-Turabi’s “progressive” views are comparable to Yusuf al-Qaradawi’s and other modernists and reformists who preceded them, like Muhammad Abduh and Mahmud Shaltut.

The Muslim Brotherhood is wrongly characterized in the media as some sort of traditionalist or fundamentalist Islamic movement, when in reality is a vehicle for the modernism and reformism. At any rate, Dr. Hassan al-Turabi broke with the Muslim Brotherhood and formed his own party called the National Islamic Front (NIF).

Among the scandalous views of Hassan al-Turabi was the recognition of marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men, allowing women to lead the Salah for men as their imam, that Jesus, peace be upon him, has already died and will not descend from Heaven in the future.

Albani: Gold Rings Bracelets Necklaces Forbidden for Women!

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

يا نبي سلام عليك

Contrary to a somewhat widespread impression, the Shari’ah of Islam does not contain any extremely unusual or unnatural rulings which conflict with human nature or common sense. Extreme practices and laws are rather to be found in the other religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Judaism and Christianity.

Islam totally allows women to wear gold jewelry, for that is something natural and common for women across all human cultures and civilizations. Describing females, Allah says in the Holy Quran:

اَوَمَنۡ یُّنَشَّؤُا فِی الۡحِلۡیَۃِ وَہُوَ فِی الۡخِصَامِ غَیۡرُ مُبِیۡنٍ

One who is reared among jewelry and who is unclear in disputation

(Surah 43, Ayah 18)

My master, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَحَلَّ لإِنَاثِ أُمَّتِي الْحَرِيرَ وَالذَّهَبَ وَحَرَّمَهُ عَلَى ذُكُورِهَا

“Allah, glorified and majestic, has permitted for the females of my Ummah silk and gold and prohibited it for its males”

The prohibition of wearing gold and silk for men is not illogical, for they are primarily associated with women as a means of their adornment, and the distinction between male and female ought to be maintained.

In a previous post I mentioned how Albani, a Salafi figure of recent memory, caused considerable tribulation in the Ummah by issuing legal opinions and rulings that contravene the consensus of the four schools of jurisprudence in Sunni Islam.

Another one of those controversial opinions of Albani was his fatwa that even women are prohibited from wearing gold jewelry that is circular (rings, bracelets, necklaces):

واعلم أن النساء يشتركن مع الرجال في تحريم خاتم الذهب عليهن ومثله السوار والطوق من الذهب

“Know that women, along with men, are prohibited from wearing gold rings and likewise gold bracelets and necklaces” (Adab uz-Zafaf, p.222)

This strange and false ruling not only dissents from the established consensus of the four schools that women are permitted to wear gold jewelry, including rings, bracelets and necklaces, but is also contrary to nature and common sense. It is a ruling more in tune with the strict monastic code Buddhist nuns are required to observe.

Albani based his radical and unique ruling on some isolated and odd (shadh) narrations. This demonstrates the danger of people neglecting traditional Sunni scholarship and jurisprudence in favor of an approach of directly consulting the Hadith literature without proper training and guidance. 

Abdullah el-Faisal: 100 Fabricated Hadith (Part 1)

 بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

يا نبي سلام عليك

One of the most deluded neo-Kharijites of our time is Abdullah el-Faisal, a convert from Jamaica born with the name Trevor William Forrest. In 2023, he was sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment in New York for attempting to recruit for ISIS.

Abdullah el-Faisal converted to Islam around 1980. He went to formally study Islam at Saudi Arabia’s Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh. He therefore became a Wahhabi and after his studies moved to the United Kingdom where he began preaching.

However, Abdullah el-Faisal quickly fell out with the mainstream Salafis who controlled the Brixton Mosque he used to attend. His infamous sermon “The Devil’s Deception of the Saudi Salafis” gained him a reputation as a neo-Kharijite extremist and a Takfiri. Initially associated with Abu Hamzah al-Masri, the two had a falling out and began refuting each other, ostensibly because Abdullah el-Faisal was too extreme even for someone like Abu Hamzah.

Aside from attacking the so-called Saudi Salafis (now usually referred to as Madkhalis), Abdullah el-Faisal spoke out harshly against others too, especially us mainstream Sunnis (Barelawis).

Abdullah el-Faisal authored a book titled “100 Fabricated Hadith”:

In this hastily compiled text, Abdullah el-Faisal exposed his ignorance of the Hadith sciences by declaring a catalogue of 100 narrations fabricated, even though some of them are merely weak (da’if) and not fabricated (mawdu).

The Hadith scholars of Ahl us-Sunnah wal-Jama’ah do not totally dismiss weak Ahadith, which may be utilized as support for matters established from the Quran and authentic Ahadith, and which may be utilized for fada’il—supporting virtuous deeds.

Additionally, in this book, Abdullah el-Faisal has written comments explaining why certain narrations are problematic for him, and it is those reasons which deserve criticism because they are not entirely motivated by Islam.

Turban

The third narration in his list of a hundred is regarding the turban. While the specific narration mentioned there may indeed be fabricated, there are several other narrations about the virtue of tying a turban which can’t so easily be dismissed as fabricated.

Firstly, the tying of the turban is a confirmed Sunnah of the Prophet, sall Allahu alayhi wasallam, and his Companions, along with the early Muslims and great Imams.

According to a Hadith, admittedly weak:

أَكْرَمَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ بِالْعَمَائِمِ وَالْأَلْوِيَةِ

“Allah, glorified and majestic is He, honored this Ummah with turbans and banners” (Sunan Sa’id bin Mansur, #2528)

Although this Hadith is weak, it is certainly not fabricated and there is no problem in quoting similar narrations for the purpose of encouraging men to tie turbans as it is from the fada’il.

Regrettably, the Sunnah of wearing the turban by Muslim males has waned considerably to the point that it is virtually non-existent today. Those few that do continue to tie turbans tend to be the Ulama and the Sufis, and some people of a few countries like Afghanistan and Sudan.

Wahhabism and Salafism have played an outsized role in influencing Muslims away from the turban. The Wahhabi and Kharijite Abdullah el-Faisal including a narration about the turban in his list of 100 fabricated Hadith is an example of how they seek to discourage the turban, which they associate with the traditional Sunnis and Sufis. Virtually no Salafi would be seen wearing a turban. Instead, they tend to prefer going either bareheaded or don the ghutra of the Gulf Arabs and Bedouins.

Arabs

The fourth narration in Abdullah el-Faisal’s list of 100 fabricated Hadith is concerning the virtue of the Arabs, and the command to love them because the Prophet, peace be upon him, is himself an Arab, the Quran was revealed in Arabic and the language of Paradise will be Arabic. Commenting on this, Abdullah el-Faisal says, “We do not show love to people because of their race, language, tribe, nationality or wealth.”

What he has expressed is an extreme form of egalitarianism that was likewise expressed by the historic Khawarij. It is not surprising that this neo-Kharijite, Abdullah el-Faisal, shares a similar sentiment of extreme egalitarianism in which loving and honoring people because they are Arab, or from the tribe or lineage of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is frowned upon.

But as for us traditional Sunni Muslims, we consider it from our madhhab to show love and respect for those Muslims who are related to the Prophet, peace be upon him, by blood, and we do not consider the sentiment of loving and honoring the Arabs because the Prophet was Arab to be against the spirit of equality taught by Islam. If a Muslim loves Arabs, it does not mean he necessarily hates non-Arabs and is therefore sinful.

In fact, there are many authentic Hadith about the virtues of various nations and tribes. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَى كِنَانَةَ مِنْ وَلَدِ إِسْمَعِيلَ وَاصْطَفَى قُرَيْشًا مِنْ كِنَانَةَ وَاصْطَفَى مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ وَاصْطَفَانِي مِنْ بَنِي هَاشِمٍ

“Verily, Allah has chosen Kinanah from the sons of Ishmael, and he has chosen the Quraysh from Kinanah, and he has chosen the tribe of Hashim from the Quraysh, and he has chosen me from the tribe of Hashim.” (Sahih Muslim)

Allah even says in the Quran that He preferred the Israelites over everyone else at that point in history when they were His chosen people:

یٰبَنِیۡۤ اِسۡرَآءِیۡلَ اذۡکُرُوۡا نِعۡمَتِیَ الَّتِیۡۤ اَنۡعَمۡتُ عَلَیۡکُمۡ وَاَنِّیۡ فَضَّلۡتُکُمۡ عَلَی الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

O children of Israel! Remember My favor with which I favored you, and that I preferred you over the worlds

(Surah 2, Ayah 47)

Tawassul

Abdullah el-Faisal objects to the fifth narration on his list about Adam seeking forgiveness for having eaten from the tree by invoking the right of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, not only on the basis that it is supposedly fabricated but because it sanctions a form of intercession or tawassul which he considers false, “There are various Sufi orders in the Muslim world today who rely on this fabricated Hadith to practice the haraam types of tawassul.”

Abdullah el-Faisal also revealed his false belief that it is now not possible for the Prophet, peace be upon him, to supplicate for his Ummah: “And now that he (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) has passed on to the company of the highest Angels and it is not now possible for him to supplicate for us”.

He goes on to declare the type of tawassul practiced by Sunni Muslims to be haram, “The haraam types of tawassul will now be looked at. There are some Muslims in the world today who performed types of tawassul that are not prescribed; hence they do not fall into any of the three halaal previous mentioned types of tawassul. These Muslims call upon Allah (azza wa jall) by saying: ‘O Allah forgive me due to the glory of Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam)’ or ‘O Allah forgive me due to the right that Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) has over You.’ Some of them even go as far as to approach the grave of the Prophet (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) and stand by it and say: ‘O Muhammad beg Allah to forgive me.’ Or ‘Beg Allah (azza wa jall) to bless me with such and such a thing.’ These types of tawassul are haraam because they are not prescribed.”

Again, Abdullah el-Faisal revealed how much of an extreme Wahhabi he is when he said, “As for their saying: Had it not been for Muhammad (sall Allahu alayhi wasallam) Allah (azza wa jall) would not have created the heavens and the earth; it is Shirk”

How is this belief shirk exactly? One can disagree with though still comprehend an edict that declares it false and erroneous; but shirk is a specific crime which means to associate a partner with Allah. This is yet another instance of Wahhabis casually and carelessly declaring matters shirk without understanding the basic definition of shirk.

Coming back to the narration of Adam seeking forgiveness from Allah through the right of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, it has been reported by al-Hakim of Nishapur:

لَمَّا اقْتَرَفَ آدَمُ الْخَطِيئَةَ قَالَ يَا رَبِّ أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّدٍ لَمَا غَفَرْتَ لِي

“When Adam committed the mistake he said, ‘O Lord, I ask you by the right of Muhammad that you forgive me.’” (al-Mustadrak alas-Sahihayn, v.2, p.672)

Although al-Hakim declared this Hadith authentic, we agree it is weak. Nevertheless, while it is true that some of the Hanafis prohibitively disliked asking Allah by the right of the Prophet, peace be upon him, others, particularly from the Shafi’i and Hanbali schools, did not.

The great scholar Ibn Aqil al-Hanbali said that it is mustahhab to make the following supplication that includes intercession at the grave of the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him:

اللهم إني أتوجه إليك بنبيك صلى الله عليه وسلم نبي الرحمة يا رسول الله إني أتوجه بك إلى ربي ليغفر لي ذنوبي اللهم إني أسألك بحقه أن تغفر لي ذنوبي

“Allahumma! Verily I turn to You by virtue of Your Prophet, Prophet of mercy. O Messenger of Allah, I turn towards my Lord by your virtue for forgiveness of my sins. Allahumma! I ask You by his right that You forgive me.” (at-Tadhkirah, p.117)

Quran at the Grave

The eighth narration listed by Abdullah el-Faisal which he declares fabricated is about the virtue of reciting Surat Ya Sin at the grave of one’s parents on the day of Jumu’ah. Commenting on it, he says, “The above-mentioned fabricated Hadith encourages Muslims to recite the Holy Qur’an by the grave and this is a bid’ah…This practice of reciting the Qur’an over the dead people was disallowed by Abu Hanifa, Malik and Ahmad. The person who claims to be a Muslim but didn’t practice the Qur’an during his lifetime will not benefit from the recitation of his relatives over his dead body.”

But the truth is that Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, rahimahullah, did allow and even encourage recitation of the Quran at the grave to benefit the deceased. I previously wrote an article on this topic with the proofs including an authentic Hadith from the Prophet, peace be upon him.

It is regrettable that these days a growing number of people consider it an innovation to recite the Quran at the grave or to recite the Quran for the benefit of the deceased. Again, this attitude is due to the spread of Salafism and other modernist “flavors” of Islam that are divorced from the traditional and orthodox Sunni Islam that was prevalent in the Ummah since its inception and for generations upon generations thereafter (and still is today for the most part).

To his credit, Abdullah el-Faisal did affirm at least one Sunni belief which is challenged and rejected by some of the most extreme Wahhabis such as the Mamatis, and that is the belief that the deceased can hear us at the grave, “Also we are allowed to give the dead our Salaam since they can hear us.”

Ali is the Gate

The famous and wonderful Hadith:

أَنَا مَدِينَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَعَلِيٌّ بَابُهَا

“I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate”

is rejected as a fabrication by Abdullah el-Faisal, who lists it as the ninth narration in his catalogue of 100 fabricated Hadith. At most it may be said this narration is somewhat weak, but to declare it a fabrication is going overboard. What is more revealing is his reasoning for rejecting the narration, which is dear to virtually all Muslims especially those who love and revere Ali al-Murtada, radi Allahu anhu: “This fabricated Hadith is famous among the Shi’ites who exaggerate in their love for Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra).”

Firstly, this Hadith is acceptable to the Sunnis too, and has been reported in our literature. Secondly, if this is an example of exaggeration of love for mawla Ali, karram Allahu wajhahu, then what will he say about the established and authentic Hadith which establish the excellence of Ali, karram Allahu wajhahu, such as Hadith al-Manzilah:

أَمَا تَرْضَى أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنِّي بِمَنْزِلَةِ هَارُونَ مِنْ مُوسَى

“Are you not pleased that you are to me in the position Aaron is to Moses?”

Some Salafis deliberately seek to cast doubt on those Hadith which extoll the virtues and excellences of Amir ul-Mu’minin Ali bin Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and this is due to going overboard in enmity with the Shi’ah. It is akin to someone seeking to denigrate the true Prophets Moses and Jesus due to enmity with Jews and Christians. Such fools do not realize that just as Moses and Jesus belong to us Muslims and not the Jews and Christians, likewise, Ali belongs to us Sunnis and not to the astray Shiites.

To be continued, in sha Allah