In The Name of Allaah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

It used to be said that whoever perpetrates these three acts will be haunted by them: Rebellion against Allaah’s commandments: Allaah [The Most High] said: [يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّمَا بَغْيُكُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنْفُسِكُمْ – O mankind! Your rebellion (disobedience to Allah) is only against your ownselves]. [Surah Yoonus: Ayah: 23] Evil plotting: Allaah [The Most High] said: [وَلَا يَحِيقُ الْمَكْرُ السَّيِّئُ إِلَّا بِأَهْلِهِ – But the evil plot encompasses only him who makes it]. [Surah Faatir: Ayah 43] Breaking pledges: Allaah [The Most High] said: [فَمَنْ نَكَثَ فَإِنَّمَا يَنْكُثُ عَلَىٰ نَفْسِهِ – Then whosoever breaks his pledge only breaks it to his own harm]. [Surah Al-Fath: Aayah 10] (1)

There was a personality amongst us who was well-known to Maktabah Salafiyyah- prior to 1995, but many of us could not see his reality for a very long time. Shaikh Abu Khadeejah [may Allaah preserve him] stated about him many years ago, “This is how he works: Step 1: Prove that he’s a vanguard and protector of the da’wah – how? Refute the Shi’ah, the soofees, HT, and the Hizbees (Turaath etc). Step 2: Use that as the stage to gather youth around him. Step 3: Once these youth are convinced that he is the “true” defender of salafiyyah, he informs them of the Salafis who are “really under cover hizbees” against whom he has “hidden files” that one day he will expose for the world to see! Step 4: Get these youth to start the campaign. Step 5: Play the victim, “I am calling to the truth and these people don’t want it, so they oppose me” – so his campaign goes into high gear, and so on.” [End of quote]

Although outwardly he was “teaching”, he didn’t suffice himself with that. Instead he was always positioning himself into a favourable position in order to stay in control, whilst attempting to dislodge others. When his reality was finally apparent to us – first by the Tawfeeq of Allaah and then the advice received from elder students, we wrote him a letter and demanded that he abandons his controlling and overbearing character in the arena of Dawah; but he refused. He also demanded that unless we aid him refute people whom Al-Allaamah Rabee advised that we refrain from refuting, even though they did commit some wrong, he insisted that we must go ahead with the refutation. So, when we refused, he decided to stop the study circles, and even after we went to Birmingham to request for assistance, we still informed him of our request out of respect and acknowledgement of his pervious efforts; but he said, “Oh, you went to Birmingham for help and now you require my opinion?!” We said to him, “We are just informing you that the brothers from Birmingham are coming to deliver lessons since you have refused to do so”. This was the beginning of his blameworthy path and he further found lame excuses to stay away from the Masjid and gatherings as soon as he lost his teaching position due to his own bad behaviour. He still spoke well of Al-Allaamah Rabee, Al-Allaamah Ubaid Bin Abdillaah Al-Jaabiri, Shaikh Abdullah Al-Bukhaari and others, whilst both Maktabah Salafi and ourselves knew his reality; then when the Fitna of Al-Hajoori occurred, he found an excuse – whilst hiding behind the name of Al-Allaamah Muqbil (rahimahullaah) and the station of Dammaaj- to attack everyone. Indeed, the main problem with this personality was that he was very opinionated, always positioning and imposing himself as a reference point, considered himself as one who possesses that which no other student possesses and was disrespectful to students older than him in the name of “I follow evidence” and “I go straight to the Ulamaa”, but this was nothing but a plot to stay in control and impose his views. Ustaadh Abu Tasneem [may Allaah preserve him] informed us that whilst he was in Dammaaj, this personality was in touch with some Arab students and utilised them to give a negative image of Maktabah Salafiyyah when he disagreed with them on some Dawah affairs.

Therefore, we remind ourselves once again: “The one informed is not the same as the one who witnessed (with his own eyes). Indeed, Allaah [The Exalted] told Musa [peace be upon him] about what his people had done with the calf (i.e. worshipped the calf) and he did not throw the tablets, (but) when he saw what they had done, he threw the tablets (out of anger) and they broke”. [Saheeh Al-Jaami 5374]

أي المشاهدة ، إذ هي تحصيل العلم القطعي ، وقد جعل الله لعباده آذانا واعية وأبصارا ناظرة ، ولم يجعل الخبر في القوة كالنظر بالعيان ، وكما جعل في الرأس سمعا وبصرا ، جعل في القلب ذلك ، فما رآه الإنسان ببصره قوي علمه به ، وما أدركه ببصر قلبه كان أقوى عنده ، وقال الكلاباذي: الخبر خبران: صادق لا يجوز عليه الخطأ ، وهو خبر الله ورسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم ، ومحتمل ، وهو ما عداه ، فإن حمل الخبر على الأول فمعناه: ليس المعاينة كالخبر في القوة ، أي الخبر أقوى وآكد وأبعد عن الشكوك إذا كان خبرا لصادق ، والمعاينة قد تخطئ ، فقد يرى الإنسان الشيء على خلاف ما هو عليه ، كما في قصةموسى والسحرة ، وإن حمل على الثاني فمعناه: ليس المعاينة كالخبر ، بل هي أقوى وآكد ، لأن المخبر لا يطمئن قلبه وتزول عنه الشكوك في خبر من يجوز السهو عليه والغلط ، والحاصل أن الخبر إن كان خبرا لصادق فهو أقوى من المعاينة ، أو غيره فعكسه ، إلا أن ما ذكر في الخبر الآتي عقبه على الإثر يشير إلى أن المراد هنا الثاني

Meaning, witnessing, as it is the attainment of definitive knowledge. Allaah created for His servants conscious ears, and eyes that can see, and He did not make news (in general) as powerful as witnessing with the eyes (in general). And just as he placed hearing and sight (around the) head (area), He also placed that in the heart (i.e. sound perception), so the knowledge of that which a person sees with his sight becomes robust, and what he perceives with the sight of his heart is stronger for him. Al-Kalaabaadhee [Abu Nasr, Ahmad Bin Muhammad Ibn Al-Husayn Ibnul Hasan Bin Ali Bin Rustom (may Allaah have mercy upon him)] said, “News is two types: the one that is (absolute) truth and can never carry mistakes- the news from Allaah and His Messenger. And this (hadeeth) may also refer to the news other than this first one.

If news referred to is the first type, then its meaning is that eye witness is not like truthful news in strength- meaning news is stronger, more certain and far removed from doubts if it is truthful news, (because) the one who witnesses with his eyes can be mistaken – a person may see something in manner that is other than its true reality, such as what occurred in the story of Musa [peace be upon him] and the magicians. And if the hadeeth is applied to the second type of news, then its meaning is: the eye witness (in reality- without any deception etc) is not like news; rather it is stronger and more certain because the one who is informed is not reassured in his heart and his doubts do not seize regarding news from someone who can forget and make mistakes. The point is that if the report is true, it is stronger than the eye witness, or otherwise; however, the intent of what is mentioned with regards news refers to the second type [i.e. the true eye witness that is based on other than revelation and it contains no (deception, ambiguity) is stronger than true news (that is not based on revelation), even though both are accepted]. (2)

We ask Allaah not to leave us to our Nufoos.

[يَا حَيُّ يَا قَيُّومُ بِرَحْمَتِكَ أَسْتَغيثُ أَصْلِحْ لِي شَأْنِيَ كُلَّهُ وَلاَ تَكِلْنِي إِلَى نَفْسِي طَرْفَةَ عَيْنٍ

O Ever Living! O The Self Subsisting, Upon Whom Everything Depends! By Your mercy I seek assistance; rectify for me all of my affairs and do not leave me to myself, even for the blink of an eye. [Imaam Albaani declared it Hasan in Silsilah As-Saheehah Number 227]

[Ref 1: Kitaab Uyoonul Akhbaar of Ibn Qutaybah (rahimahullaah) Vol 1: page: 149]

[Ref 2: An Excerpt from Faydul Qadeer. 5/356-357. paraphrased]