 6 


I read this epistle of his. All it took to make me read it was its
title that shines with the marks of appreciation for others, purity of
purpose, and the motivation of cooperation in the way of seeking
Divine good pleasure: Advice to Our Brothers the Scholars of Najd.
Had I seen something contrary to these elements in the title I would
Introduction: not have paid any attention to the book nor wasted dearly precious
time reading it.
The Salaf Loved the Prophet 
When I began to read it I saw exactly what conformed with the
and Preserved His Vestiges
promise of the title and fulfilled it: a quiet, kind reminder and
and So Should our Brothers of Najd counsels that show true jealous concern over the Religion of Allah 
by as well as pure concern for those brethren lest they stray from the
Dr. Muhammad Sa‘id Ramadan al-Buti path of Allah .
All praise belongs to Allah Most High, by Whose favor good I reviewed the counsels of my brother, Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa‘i, to
deeds become accomplished! Blessings and greeting upon our Master those brothers from the first to the last. Then I weighed those
Muhammad and upon his Family and all his Companions! counsels in the scales of the Divine Law as I understand them to be,
its proofs, and its source-texts. I found him in the right in all of his
To proceed: Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa‘i is one of the most remark- advices and warnings to them. More than that, he is truly speaking, in
able, eminent personalities and scholars of Kuwait. He has brought this capacity, in the name of all the Ulema of the Muslims who
together in his knowledge of Islam, ever since I have known him, follow the guidance of the Qur’an and Sunna and tread the path and
scholarly endeavor with the call to Islam as well as humanitarian and method of the pious Predecessors, whoever and wherever they are.
social efforts and works of charity. He has always been commanding
good and forbidding evil as much as possible, his reliance in this I truly do not know if the Islamic World ever concurred in its
being – after knowledge – his love for the sake of Allah and his indignation over a single matter in its entire history the way it
concern for the servants of Allah . He has kept contact with all the does today over what is being perpetrated by the brethren who
Muslims regardless of their different groups and communities, the are in charge of the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] and by its scholars
way a brother keeps in touch with his Muslim brethren always in the evisceration of Makka and Madina and their vicinities of
striving to reform the latter by extending the bridges of mutual all the historical remnants connected with the life of the
sincere advice to them. In this he took for his guide the Divine Messenger of Allah  – both as a private person and as a
command Therefore make peace between your brethren prophet – and, subsequently, their perpetrating deeds that violate
(49:10) and the directive of the Messenger of Allah  who said: Islamic Law and violate the method which the pious Predecessors
“Religion is sincere, faithful advice…” (al-Salaf al-Sâlih) used to apply. Namely: prohibiting the Muslims
from visiting al-Baqi‘, prohibiting them from being buried in it, and
Such is the sign of the truthful among the servants of Allah  declaring the larger mass of this Community apostates on the pretext
and those who are sincere in putting His commands into effect and that they are Ash‘aris or Maturidis! And was Imam al-Ash‘ari
truly following His precepts. We detect and recognize them thus, anything but the defender of the pious Predecessors by the Consensus
without presuming anything on the part of Allah . of the Community of Islam?!
  7   8 

What adds to this indignation which, today, has reached its found nothing but Consensus (ijmâ‘) – beginning with the time of
climax is the fact that those brethren who are committing these the Messenger of Allah  – on the lawfulness of seeking blessing
abominations persist in their way and continue doing so in the midst through his relics. More than that, I saw that all of the Companions
of silence and general indifference! But the least degree of raced and competed in such pursuit. And there is no doubt that the
conformity to the priorities of the Religion of Islam and the most Shaykhs of Najd know what we all know of the existence of rigor-
obvious, agreed-upon basics in its rulings require them to begin, first, ously authentic and firmly established narrations in the two
by publishing an open statement in the plain sight and hearing of the books of Sahih [al-Bukhari and Muslim] and in other books, to the
Islamic World in which they show the proof for what, in their effect that the Companions derived blessings from the sweat of
opinion, constitutes the obligation of destroying and eradicating from the Messenger of Allah , his hair, the water he used for
the face of the earth the historical remnants of Prophethood whatever ablution, his saliva, the cup he drank in, and the spots in which
they are and wherever they are found. he prayed, sat, or napped.
Thereafter, they would have been required to announce their Nor do we doubt that they know, just as we know, that the
decision – on the bases mentioned above – to go ahead and put into three time-periods of the Predecessors stand witness in consensus to
effect the stipulations of the legal ruling paired with its proof. the practice of deriving blessings from the historical remnants by
which they remembered the Messenger of Allah . For example, the
I was and continue to be but one of millions of Muslims who
house of his birth; the house of Khadija – may Allah be well-pleased
are astonished at what is presently going on in Makka and Madina,
with her!; the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari  which first
right under the eyes of the Muslims from the Eastern reaches of the
welcomed him and in which he resided in the first day of his Migra-
earth to the farthest West, with the flippant dismissal of their
tion to Madina the Radiant; and others of the vestiges such as the
symbols, their knowledge and learning, and their beliefs. All this
well of Aris, the well of Dhu Tuwa, the house of Arqam… Then the
takes place without the slightest excuse being offered before they
generations that succeeded followed in the same steps and were the
venture into those strange affairs: not one scholarly argument to
best guardians of these relics and a dependable witness to the above-
which they might cling, nor one example of juridical exertion
mentioned Consensus.
(ijtihâd) to which they might rightfully refer.
In our time, the Islamic World in its entirety is shocked by
I even preferred, in my amazement, to begin by blaming
this innovation with which our brethren, the Shaykhs of Najd, are
myself for my ignorance. I thought there was probably something
tearing apart the Consensus of the Predecessors of the Muslims and
wrong in my information which I mistakenly took for right, or some
their Successors to our day. The house that saw the birth of the
legal ruling of which I was unaware. I thought this in conformity
Messenger of Allah  was razed and transformed into a cattle
with our obligation to keep a good opinion of our Muslim brethren –
market and the house that was the first home of the Messenger of
especially the scholars among them – as much as possible. So I went
Allah  in Madina was changed into latrines!
back and dug up the biographies of the pious Predecessors and
looked up their position. I began with the time of the Companions And so do the hands of eradication and destruction tear apart the
then the following periods to find out anew precisely where they historical remnants that generation after generation of the Muslims
stood from the use of relics and the historical vestiges of prided themselves with the immense honor of serving and preserving.
Prophethood – whether the personal relics of the Messenger of Allah
 or those vestiges connected to his Message and Prophethood. I
  9   10 

The strangest thing in all this is that the Shaykhs of Najd see very our endeavors, then surely, knowledge will lead us to the truth and
well the extent to which the Islamic World disapproves of this and its truth to success!”
profound anger at this innovation that looks down upon the early
We agreed, on this basis, to organize a scholarly congress in the
Consensus of the Muslims and makes light of the symbols of their
Saudi Kingdom formed of ten of the Saudi scholars who possess
faith. They see this, yet they do not turn to address the Muslims with
ample knowledge, sincerity in the Religion of Allah , and jealous
one word by which they might try to justify their actions and explain
concern over the unity of the Community of Islam, together with ten
their viewpoint. For the way it ought to be – if we suppose the
scholars from the rest of the Arab World possessing the same
Shaykhs of Najd were right in those acts of theirs while the Ulema of
qualities.1 Their task would be to examine among themselves those
the Islamic World in their entirety are ignorant and wrong – is that
newly invented questions which have no precedent among the pious
those Shaykhs address the Muslim World with a clear demonstration
Predecessors as far as we know. They would discuss them according
of what they personally know, so that the Muslim World should
to a mutually agreed-upon scholarly method. It was hoped that, at
realize its [supposed] mistake and redirect itself to the right way. For
that time, the real answers would manifest themselves and dissipate
the Muslim World always distinguished itself and stood out from the
the clouds and illusions that caused misperceptions which led into
rest of the world in knowing the right. By so doing, they [the
factionalism and the paths of misguidance.
Shaykhs of Najd] would earn the reward of guiding and directing the
Muslims to the truth from which they had [presumably] erred through We parted on that note. I promised to provide a list of ten
all their past ages. scholars from various quarters of our Arab world, at its forefront
Syria, just as he also promised to provide the names of ten scholars
   from the [Saudi] Kingdom, after which a venue would be set and the
On this occasion I shall relate the following story which began meeting should take place.
but, until now, remains open-ended.
I fulfilled my promise and sent him the names of the ten scholars
We complained to one another, I and my most esteemed friend, in which I saw the qualities of ample knowledge, sincerity in the
[the Saudi Minister of Religious Endowments] al-Ustadh Dr. ‘Abd Religion of Allah , and jealous concern over the unity of the
Allah ibn ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-Turki, when we met during a conference Muslims. I then waited, expecting to receive from him the remainder
held in one of our Arabic countries, about this grievous state which of the names and the time and place of the congress. And here I am,
has practically given birth to a new Islam from the land of Najd still waiting, years after this initial agreement!!
without any connection to the pious Predecessors at all!
I came to know that my loyal friend had done his best and left no
Subsequent to which, this situation has now caused the worst
stone unturned in order to choose, among the scholars of the [Saudi]
manifestations of mutual destruction and division in the Islamic
Kingdom, those deemed most qualified to take part in such a
world, and even in most Islamic centers in Europe and America.
congress. However, as is their habit, they run from confrontation and
Dr. ‘Abd Allah said to me: “This is truly a sad state of affairs. discussion of these very issues to the same extent that they rush
But what is the solution?”
1
I said: “The solution is for us to try to speak to those brothers and One wonders why the non-Arab remainder of the Islamic world – four
fifths of the Umma – were not included for representation in this agreement,
discuss together all the issues according to the criteria of Islamic especially Turkish ulema (Turkey being arguably the second largest holder
knowledge. If there is real sincerity without mistrust nor ill will in of Prophetic and Companion relics in the world), Indian ulema, African and
South-East Asian ulema, etc. [T]
  11   12 

eagerly, as individuals, to implement their opinions – wich they alone family ties in the fold of the kinship of Islam. I also hope that this
hold – concerning the same issues!! epistle will remind them that Islam does not become complete in a
human being until it enters the mind as complete certitude and holds
Accordingly, we need to ask ourselves and each other the
sway over the heart as love and utter veneration.
question: Is this the way of sincerity for the sake of Allah  in
establishing the good and eliminating evil? Will you now check and see, O scholars of Najd! the place of
love for Allah and His Prophet in your hearts? Will you try and
How can the good be good if we – brothers in Islam – do not call
cultivate such love – in case you find it atrophied in yourselves –
upon one another in complete cooperation as as to recognize the good
through more remembrance of Allah ? When you do, then
and make it known to others? And how can evil be [known as] evil in
such love will certainly motivate you – I swear it by Allah! – to
our Islamic practice if we do not call upon one another in complete
protect and guard the historical remnants of Prophethood and
cooperation so as to recognize it as evil, following which, help each
their owner instead of eradicating and destroying them. You will
other to denounce it as such?
then walk the path of the pious Predecessors  in this respect.
How can our brothers the Shaykhs of Najd single themselves out You will, once and for all, cease uttering that word which you
in committing these strange acts which Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa‘i has think is advice but which is, in fact, a perverse lie, and which you
listed in this engaging epistle and which amount to fifty-[seven]2 think is an easy matter but which is, in the sight of Allah , a
strange acts? After much researching, we have not found, in the grave and tremendous matter! I mean your statement to the
Religion of Allah , the least justification for their committing pilgrims on many occasions: “Beware of exaggeration in love for
them. I say: How can the fact that the Shaykhs of Najd single the Messenger of Allah!”
themselves out from the totality of the ulema of the Muslims in
If you had only said, as the Messenger of Allah  said: “Do not
committing those newly invented acts of theirs, without any
over-extol me the way the Christians over-extolled the son of
previous consultation or cooperation with them, be an Islamically
Maryam,” it would have been acceptable discourse and valuable ad-
acceptable deed when al-Islam was and does not cease to be, in
vice. As for love that consists in the attachment of the heart to the
all its important affairs, firmly established on mutual
beloved in the sense that one feels ease and familiarity near him and
communication and cooperation? Yet I do not despair. I remain
estrangement far from him: to exaggerate in such love – when the
full of hope as long as I find a way to retain hope.
beloved is the Messenger of Allah  – is nothing but a patent sign of
I thank my brother, al-Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa‘i, for his dialogue in added nearness to Allah  when we know full well that love in
the form of an epistle, its important content, and its endearing and Allah  is among the necessary constituents of [declaring and
gentle style. At the same time, I hope that this work will find upholding] the Oneness of Allah. And, as much as the lover of the
receptive ears among the eminent brethren to whom it is directed. Messenger of Allah  exaggerates in his love for him or overdoes it,
Likewise, I hope that we shall begin to notice, on their part, the still, he will never reach more than the extent ordered by the
heartfelt fervor of sincerity for the sake of Allah , jealous concern Messenger of Allah  who said, as narrated by the two
over what Allah  has made sacred, and tender pity in keeping Grandmasters [al-Bukhari and Muslim]: “None of you [truly]
believes until I am more beloved to him than his property and
2
children and all people” and, in another narration in al-Bukhari: “and
The original text states “fifty-eight.” Sayyid Yusuf actually mentions more himself.”
items than the fifty-seven he numbers as some of his entries cite multiple
offences. Cf. §3, 9, 11, 12, 25, 26, 43, 49, 52. [T]
  13 

When your hearts bloom with this kind of love, you will realize
that, as much as they become imbued with such love, they shall still
fall short of the level which the Messenger of Allah  deserves.
Your souls will thirst to see the historical remnants of Prophethood –
if any such remnants still remain with you today – instead of
detesting them and frantically using every means to rid yourselves of
them and eliminate them!
I ask Allah  and beg Him to reunite us on Truth with our
brothers the scholars of Najd, the Truth brought by the Book of Allah
and shown by the life of the Messenger of Allah  and his Sunna,
according to which our pious Predecessors lived. May He reunite us
– after [granting us] certitude of mind in the realities of Islam – on an
unsuppressed regular devotion (wird) consisting in love of Allah 
and love of His Prophet .
– Dr. Muhammad Sa‘id Ramadan al-Buti.
 In the Name of Allah All-Beneficent Most Merciful

Say: Who gives you provision from the sky and the earth? Say:
Allah. Lo! we or you assuredly are rightly guided or in error
manifest. Say: You will not be asked of what we committed, nor
ADVICE shall we be asked of what you do. Say: Our Lord will bring us all
together, then He will judge between us with truth. He is the All-
TO OUR BROTHERS THE SCHOLARS OF NAJD Knowing Judge (34:24-26).
(1420/1999)
by Lo! Allah enjoins justice and kindness, and giving to kinsfolk,
and forbids lewdness and abomination and wickedness. He
Sayyid Yusuf ibn al-Sayyid Hashim al-Rifa‘i exhorts you in order that you may take heed (16:90).

O my people! Yours is the kingdom today, you being uppermost

in the land. But who would save us from the wrath of Allah
should it reach us? (40:20).
  24   25 


All praise belongs to Allah! Blessings and greetings upon our
1
Calling the Muslims: “Pagans”
It is not permitted to charge Muslims – believers in monotheism
Master [Muhammad] the Messenger of Allah and upon his Family who pray with you, fast, pay zakât, and perform pilgrimage shouting
and most honorable Companions and all those loyal to him. over and over, “Ever at Your call, O Allah! Ever at Your call, there is
To proceed: Using as my point of departure the narration of the no partner with You, ever at Your call! Truly all glory and praise, all
Prophet : “Religion is sincere, faithful advice. We said: [Faithful] favor and grace belong to You, and all sovereignty and dominion!
to whom? He replied: To Allah; to His Book; and to His Messenger, No-one can be a partner to You!” – It is not permitted, by Law, to
the leaders of the Muslims, and their multitude,”3 and after the charge them with idolatry (al-shirk) the way your books and
publication of my book al-Radd al-Muhkam al-Mani‘ 4 and that of publications are filled with such charges; the way your preacher
other books authored by people of learning,5 I waited to see if, clamors on the day of the Major Hajj in the mosque of al-Khayf in
perhaps, some of your doings and methods would change. However, Mina, the eve of the Feast of the pilgrims and all Muslims; and the
nothing of the sort took place. way his fellow preacher frightens the people of Makka and those in
the Holy Mosque on the Day of ‘Id al-Fitr through all their verbal
Therefore, since Allah  says in Surat al-‘Asr: By the assaults and false accusations. Stop this, and may Allah guide you!
declining day, Lo! man is in a state of loss, Save those who believe To frighten a Muslim is prohibited, especially the dwellers of the
and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort Two Sanctuaries. There are many sound sacred texts to that effect.
one another to endurance (103:1-3), I decided, after the Prayer of
Counsel (al-istikhâra), to address you with this sincere faithful
advice which, I hope, will be accepted. I ask our Lord Most High to
show us and you the truth for what it is and grant us to follow it, and
2
show us falsehood for what it is and grant us to avoid it. May He not Calling the Muslims: “Apostates”
make this matter confused for us lest we follow our lusts. It is Allah You have declared the Sufis disbelievers then the Ash‘aris. You
alone Who guides to what is right. have denied and denounced imitation of and adherence to the Four
   Imams (Abu Hanifa, Malik, al-Shafi‘i, Ahmad ibn Hanbal) whereas
their imitators formed and continue to form the vastest mass (al-
Accordingly, I say, trusting in Allah  for success:
sawâd al-a‘zam) of the Muslims, just as the official ideology of your
3
state and that instituted by King ‘Abd al-‘Aziz – may Allah have
See below, #37 (p. 64). [T] mercy on him! – textually stipulates reliance upon, and due consid-
4
See notice on Shaykh Yusuf al-Rifa‘i above (p. viii). [T]
5
Cf. ‘Abd al-Hayy al-‘Amrawi & ‘Abd al-Karim Murad, al-Tahdhir min al- eration of the Four Madhâhib. Therefore, stop this, and may Allah 
Ightirar bi ma Ja’a fi Kitab al-Hiwar min al-Manakir (“Warning Against guide you!
Being Fooled by the Reprehensible Contents of the Book [by Ibn Mani‘] ‘A
Debate with al-Maliki’”); Shaykh Rashid ibn Ibrahim al-Marikhi of Whoever turns disbeliever after his Islam has the status of an
Bahrayn, Raf‘ al-Astar ‘an Shubuhat wa Dalalat Sahib al-Hiwar (“Exposing apostate (murtadd) whose killing becomes licit. Therefore, remember
the Insinuations and Aberrations of the Author of the ‘Debate with al-
Maliki’”); al-Sayyid ‘Abd Allah ibn Mahfuz al-Haddad Ba ‘Alawi al- the narration of your Prophet the Elect One – Allah bless and greet
Hadrami, al-Sunna wa al-Bid‘a. Etc. [T]
  26   27 

him and his Family: “Do not revert after me and turn disbelievers Prophetic Sunna without condemning them nor counting them as
again, striking at one another’s neck.”6 innovations. We shall list some of them.

3
Calling the Muslims: “Deviants” 5
Shutting the Mosque in Madina at Night
After you finished doing the above, you let loose certain hirelings
you had nurtured, so that they began to throw accusations of You shut close the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah  after
misguidance and deviance at the Islamic groups and organizations the ‘Isha prayer when this Mosque was never closed before your time
that work in the field of calling to Islam (da‘wa) and are active in the history of the Muslims, preventing people from performing
raising up the Word of Allah and commanding good and forbidding retreat (i‘tikâf) and late night prayers (tahajjud) in it, and you forget
evil. I mean organizations such as Jama‘at al-Tabligh; al-Ikhwan al- the saying of Allah Most High: And who does greater wrong than
Muslimin; the Deobandi group that represents the brightest Ulema of he who forbids the approach to the sanctuaries of Allah lest His
India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; and the Barelwi group that Name should be mentioned therein, and strives for their
represents the vastest mass of the common Muslims in those ruin?… (2:114).
countries. In so doing they have made use of books, tapes, and the
like. Then you went and translated those books into various lan-
guages, distributing them free through your numerous outlets. 6
Likewise, you published a book that contains the declaration that the Imposing the Style of Najd in Adhân
people of Abu Dhabi and Dubai are disbelievers, together with the
Ibadis,7 your colleagues on the board of Majlis al-Ta‘awun. As for You impose on the callers to prayer in the Hijaz a specific style
your attacks on the renowned Azhar University and its scholars, they of adhân which is the one you use in Najd, within a specific, limited
are too numerous to count! duration of time, and you require that the voice not be softened nor
beautified in calling the Muslims to this paramount symbol of the
4 Religion which is Salât.
Calling the Muslims: “Innovators”
You keep repeating the phrase of the noble hadith, “Every
innovation is misguidance”8 without discernment, only to criticize
7
and condemn others, yet approving certain actions that contradict the
Monopolozing Teaching in Hijaz
You forbid teaching and admonition in the Two Sanctuaries even
6
Narrated from Ibn ‘Umar and Jarir  by al-Bukhari and Muslim. if the teacher is one of the great Muslim scholars and even if he
7
The Ibadiyya are a Khariji madhhab founded by ‘Abd Allah ibn Ibad al-
Tamimi (d. 86) who consider the Muslims who differ with them to be neither comes from the Hijaz or al-Ahsa’ as long as he does not follow your
mu’mins nor mushriks but kuffâr ni‘ma i.e. thankless sinners but not apostates, school of thought or carry an explicit permit written and sealed by
whose lives are sacred and their regions within Dâr al-Islam, and they allow you. Anyone other than yourselves is thus barred, were it the Rector
intermarriage with and inheritance from and to them. Cf. Abu Zahra, Tarikh al- of the distinguished al-Azhar! Therefore, fear Allah and do not go to
Madhahib al-Islamiyya (1:85, 2:54).[T]
8
Narrated from Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah  by Muslim. See Sayyid ‘Abd Allah ibn
al-Siddiq al-Ghumari’s Itqan al-Sun‘a fi Tahqiq Ma‘na al-Bid‘a.
  28   29 

excess in promoting your madhhab but keep a good opinion of your ship their Lord. You rebuke them harshly, block them from seeing
brothers among the scholars of Islam. the [original] Mosque and the imam with multiple barriers, and stare
at them with suspicion and distrust. All this is an ugly innovation for
it is the start of something that did not take place in the time of the
8 Prophet  nor that of the pious Predecessors. For the rows of the
men used to stand behind the imam, then those of the boys, then
Preventing Burial in al-Baqi‘ those of the women, all praying together without barrier behind the
You forbid the burial of Muslims who die outside Madina and Prophet .
Makka from taking place in those Two Cities which are of the most
blessed sites loved by Allah and His Prophet , depriving the
Muslims from obtaining the immense reward of burial in them. It is 10
related from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Adi al-Zuhri  that he said: “I saw the Posting Hoodlums at the Noble Grave
Prophet  on his mount, standing on the hillock, saying: ‘By Allah!
You are surely the best land of Allah and the most beloved to Allah You have brought hirelings and ignoramuses whose only skill is
of the lands of Allah, and if I were not being driven out of you I frowning and placed them at the Muwâjaha Sharîfa with their backs
would never go out.’”9 turned to the Elect Prophet . They turn their backs and rear ends to
It is also narrated from Ibn ‘Umar  that he said the Messenger him, facing his visitors and all Muslims with sour faces full of spite,
of Allah  said: “Whoever can die in al-Madina, let him die in it, for giving them sinister looks and taunting them with charges of idolatry
I do intercede for whoever dies in it.”10 and innovation, almost attacking them physically. They rebuke this
one, bark at that one, hit the [supplicating] hands of the third, raising
their voices to censor and blame, ignoring and forgetting the saying
9 of Allah : O you who believe! Lift not up your voices above
the voice of the Prophet, nor shout when speaking to him as you
Obstructing and Scolding shout one to another, lest your works be rendered vain while you
Women in Madina perceive not. Lo! they who subdue their voices in the presence of
You forbid women from reaching the Place of the Noble Meeting the Messenger of Allah, those are they whose hearts Allah has
(al-Muwâjaha al-Sharîfa) at the grave of the Prophet  and greeting proven unto righteousness. Theirs will be forgiveness and
him just as men do. If you could, you would prevent women from immense reward. Lo! those who call you from behind the private
circumambulating the Holy House with their lawful relatives, all apartment, most of them have no sense (49:2-4).
contrary to the practice of the pious Predecessors and the Muslims! All this behavior is compounded with arrogance and persistence
You despise the believing women who protect their honor and wor- in humiliating the lovers and beloved of al-Mustafa  and his
visitors among the Believers in his noble presence and right before
9
Narrated by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi (hasan gharîb sahîh), al-Nasa’i in al- his noble sleeping-ground which the Shaykh of the Hanbalis [Abu al-
Sunan al-Kubra (2:479), Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban (9:22 #3708), and al-Hakim
(3:7 sahîh al-isnâd). Wafa’] Ibn ‘Aqil considered the most sublime spot in all the universe
10
Narrated by Ahmad, al-Nasa’i in al-Kubra (2:488), al-Tirmidhi from
Ayyub al-Sikhtyani (hasan gharîb), Ibn Majah, and Ibn Hibban (9:57
#3741).
  30   31 

as related by Shaykh Ibn al-Qayyim in his book Bada’i‘ al- posts scattered stones so that we no longer know whose grave is
Fawa’id.11 where. Gasoline was even poured on one of them.13 Truly there is no
change nor power except with Allah Most High, Most Great. Leave
11 stone superstructures intact for they are allowed! Leave the hand-
span elevation for it is allowed, together with the two grave-posts! It
Blocking Women from Visiting Baqi‘ is established that the Prophet  placed a rock on top of ‘Uthman
You forbid women from visiting the noble Baqi‘ with no agreed- ibn Maz‘un’s  grave saying: “With it I shall designate the grave of
upon, clear and explicit proof from the Law.12 You create difficulties my [milk-]brother and later bury in it whoever dies among my
for the Muslims who perform visitation in other than short and re- relatives.”14 Kharija ibn Zayd said: “I can see myself when we were
stricted times. Some of them wait for the opportunity of burying the young men in the time of ‘Uthman [ibn ‘Affan] . The strongest one
dead so that they can visit al-Baqi‘! You have also forbidden guides of us in high jump was he who could jump over the grave of ‘Uthman
to al-Madina al-Munawwara from accompanying visitors, elimina- ibn Maz‘un and clear it.”15
ting their livelihoods and leaving visitors in confusion. They do not
know the location of the graves of the noble Family of the Prophet 
nor those of his wives the Mothers of the Believers, nor those of his 13
Companions  and this is truly grave injustice, tyranny, oppression, Police Interrogation Centers
and arrogance which Allah  shall never accept nor His most
honorable Prophet . Stop it, and may Allah Most High guide you! You created an inquest and trial center in the corner of the
Prophetic Sanctuary previously, now next to al-Baqi‘. There, you
sentence those you observe to use intermediaries (tawassul), or visit
12 frequently, or act humbly, weep or supplicate Allah  in front of the
Grave Destruction and Desecration most noble grave, seeking the Prophet  as a means of approach to
Allah . You shower them with a hail of questions prepared in
You destroyed the sign-posts by which we knew the graves of the advance pertaining to the licitness of Visitation, using
Companions, the Mothers of the Believers, and the members of the intermediaries, and [celebrating] the noble Birth. Whoever you
noble Family of Prophet . You left them a vacant lot, the grave-
13
The grave of Amina bint Wahb the Prophet’s  mother.
11 14
See Ibn al-Qayyim, Bada’i‘ (3:135-136=2:147) where he states that Ibn Narrated from an unnamed Companion by Abu Dawud and al-Bayhaqi in al-
‘Aqil said: “Someone asked me which was better, the room of the Prophet Kubra (3:412) with fair chains cf. Ibn Hajar, Talkhis al-Habir (2:134); Ibn al-
 or the Ka‘ba? I replied, If you merely mean the room, then the Ka‘ba is Mulaqqin, Tuhfat al-Muhtaj (2:29). The complete report states that the Prophet
better. But if you mean the room with him in it then no, by Allah! nor the  asked a man to place a rock on top of Ibn Maz‘un’s grave; when he was
Throne and its bearers, nor the Paradise of ‘Adn, nor the revolving unable to move it, he  rolled up his sleeves and helped him and the whiteness
universes! For in that room there is a body which, if it were weighed against of his arms was visible. Ibn Maz‘un was the first of the Muhâjirûn buried in
this world and the next, would outweigh it.” And Imam Malik said: “The Baqi‘ al-Gharqad. Ibrahim, the Prophet’s  son, was buried next to him. [T]
spot which contains the body of the Prophet  is better than anything else, 15
Cited by al-Bukhari without chain in his Sahih chapter-title, “[Placing] a Stalk
even the Seat of Authority (al-Kursî) and the Throne (al-‘Arsh); then the on Top of the Grave.” Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari (3:256=1959 ed. 3:223):
Mosque of the Prophet ; then Makka.” [Cf. Appendix,”Disinformation” – “Al-Bukhari narrated it with its [sound] chain in al-Tarikh al-Saghir (1:42)… It
T] contains a proof for the licitness of raising high the grave and elevating it above
12
Cf. Appendix “Visitation of the Graves by Women.” [T] the surface of the earth.”
  32   33 

deem in violation in the above you imprison, cancel his residency

permit, and banish from the land. All this when these are, in fact,
matters that turn between the status of desirability (istihbâb) and 15
that of indifference (ibâha) among the scholars, including the Interdiction of “Dala’il al-Khayrat”
Hanbalis, so that it is impermissible to declare apostate a Muslim
on their basis or pursue him in justice. I was told by a trustworthy You forbid people to bring in and read Dala’il al-Khayrat fi al-
former detainee that his hands remained chained all the while of his Salawat ‘ala al-Nabi (“Guide to All Good Things in the Invocation
month-long incarceration so that he performed ablution and prayed in of Blessings upon the Prophet ”)19 by the knower of Allah  and
chains. He was even prevented from reading the Holy Qur’an. Fear descendant of al-Hasan , Shaykh Muhammad Sulayman al-Jazuli
Allah! Injustice shall reap multi-layered darkness on the Day of and other books. Yet you know of the books and magazines that enter
Resurrection! Can such evil take place in the Mosque of the Prophet the land and are put on display, all sorts of publications deemed abo-
 who said: “I am only a mercy offered”?16 Allah sent him as a minable and reprehensible by the Law. Fear Allah !
mercy to all the worlds: what about the Muslims you treat so harshly
in close vicinity to him in his own Mosque? Remember he said,
“Prophets are alive in their grave, praying”; “Truly Allah forbade the 16
earth to consume the bodies of Prophets.”17 Forbidding Mawlid Gatherings
You spy on, harrass, arrest, and punish whoever holds gatherings
of celebration and commemoration of the Prophetic birth that are
14 devoid of any lawfully reprehensible activity. Yet you do not object
Razing of the Mosque of Abu Bakr  to gatherings of entertainment, musical instruments, singing, and all
You allowed a generous donor from Madina to raze and rebuild such displays. Since when is it allowed to use a double standard, hu-
the mosque of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq  in Jabal al-Khandaq at his ex- miliating the loving faithful while cajoling the mindless dissolute?
pense. Once the building was razed, you cancelled the rebuilding per-
mit for you consider it an innovation to visit the seven Mosques at
the site of the Battle of the Trench, concerning which was revealed 17
Surat al-Ahzab! In fact, you wish to destroy them all.18 Forbidding Qunût in the Fajr Prayer
You forbid the imams in the mosques to recite the qunût
16
Narrated from Abu Hurayra by al-Bayhaqi in his Shu‘ab (2:164) and supplication in the dawn prayer, deeming it an innovation20 when you
Dala’il (1:157); al-Quda‘i in his Musnad (2:189); al-Hakim (1:35=1:91 know that it is established in the Law according to two of the four
sahîh, al-Dhahabi concurred. Al-Bazzar (3:114) and al-Tabarani in al-
Saghir and al-Awsat (1:168) narrate it as: “I was sent only as a mercy
offered” with Sahih narrators as per al-Haythami (8:257).
17
See al-Maliki’s The Prophets in Barzakh (ASFA Publications) for
documentation of these sound narrations and Balkans” in The Muslim Magazine vol. 3 (1-2 Winter/Spring 2000) p. 25-26,
http://x53.deja.com/getdoc.xp?AN=635632055&CONTEXT=962118110.74 section titled, “Reaction to Wahhabi Reconstruction.” [T]
19
2064258&hitnum=0 [T]. http://www.angelfire.com/pa/durood/cover.html & sunnah.
18
On their destruction of Albanian Kosovar religious monuments, graveyards, org/ibadaat/dalail_khairat/dalail_alkhayrat_frame.htm [T].
20
and Ottoman-style mosques, see Stephen Suleiman Schwartz, “Letter from the See Appx., “The Prophet’s  Qunût Against Najd.” [T]
  34   35 

Imams – al-Shafi‘i and Malik. Why do you impose your own opinion messengers kept bringing them clear proofs (of Divine
and create difficulties for the Muslims? sovereignty) but they disbelieved; so Allah seized them. Lo! He is
Strong, Severe in punishment (40:21-22). Has not the history of
those before you reached you: the folk of Noah and (the tribes of)
18 ‘Ad and Thamud and those after them? None but Allah knows
Monopolizing the Position of Imam them. Their messengers came unto them with clear proofs, but
they thrust their hands into their mouths, and said: Lo! we
You do not allow anyone to be imam in either of the Two disbelieve in that wherewith you have been sent, and lo! we are in
Sanctuaries except one of your own. You make it categorically grave doubt concerning that to which you call us (14:9). Why
forbidden to the Ulema of al-Hijaz, al-Ahsa’, and others. Is this an act then do you deprive the Muslims from witnessing the sign-posts and
of justice, or an obligation of the Religion? Fear Allah  and be just! vestiges of the battles of Badr, Uhud, Hudaybiya, Hunayn, al-Ahzab,
For Allah  loves those who are just. and others of the Days of Allah in which He gave victory to His
Messenger and righteous servants, routing idolatry and the
polytheists? Fear Allah, and be among those endowed with hearts so
19 that, perhaps, you will be granted mercy!
Destruction of Our Historical Vestiges
20
You have wreaked destruction on the historical vestiges of the
Prophet  and those of his most honorable Companions  in Aiding the Arch-Innovator, al-Albani
Madina al-Munawwara especially and the two Sanctuaries generally. You have provided a haven to Nasir Albani21 and abetted him,
Nothing seems to remain of these vestiges anymore except the allowing him to publish his book Ahkam al-Jana’iz wa Bida‘uha in
Prophetic Mosque itself. Yet, in our time, the nations of the world which he openly asks for the removal of the grave of the Prophet 
pride themselves in and preserve their historical vestiges as a from the most noble Mosque!22 You appointed him a member in the
memento, a lesson, a meaningful sign of their time-honored past. But upper board of the Islamic University in Madina al-Munawwara and
you consider that every vestige that is stopped at for perusal or visit, a teacher in it. After the late King Faysal barred him and expelled
is a partner [worshipped] together with Allah . But Allah  him from the country with some of his followers you returned him to
Himself ordered us to travel the earth to see the vestiges of the that position. You still liberally propagate and recommend his
idolaters and derive lessons from them, such as ‘Ad and Thamud, deviant books but have interdicted and forbidden some of the books
found at Diyar Salih, al-‘Ala’, near Madina al-Munawwara, which of Hujjat al-Islam al-Ghazzali, Abu al-Hasan al-Nadwi, ‘Abd al-
are still visited sites, as Allah  said: Systems have passed away Fattah Abu Ghudda, al-Maliki, Sa‘id Hawwa, al-Buti, and others of
before you. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the the Ulema of the Muslims. Where is justice and equity?
consequence for those who did deny (the messengers) (3:137).
Have they not travelled in the land to see the nature of the
consequence for those who disbelieved before them? They were 21
When he was banned from Syria before his expulsion from Saudi Arabia.
mightier than these in power and (in the) traces (which they left He lived under house arrest in Amman until his death in 1999. Cf.
Appendix, “Albani & Co.” [T].
behind them) in the earth. Yet Allah seized them for their sins, 22
He reiterates this foolishness in his Tahdhir al-Sajid, Hijjat al-Nabi, and
and they had no protector from Allah. That was because their Manasik al-Hajj wa al-‘Umra. [T]
  36   37 

reached him then ordered you to restore them as they were…! But
21 what is the reason for this disrespect and obstruction of your most
Aiding Another Rabid Extremist noble Prophet , the means of access between you and your Lord?
What has transpired between you and him? You seem to have
You nurtured al-Albani’s student and deputy in Kuwait, ‘Abd al- forgotten His saying: Those who vex the messenger of Allah, for
Rahman ‘Abd al-Khaliq, directing your followers to him, lavishly them there is a painful doom (9:61) and Lo! those who malign
supporting him with every means. He assailed the host of the Friends Allah and His messenger, Allah has cursed them in the world and
of Allah in his Fada’ih al-Sufiyya (“The Disgraces of the Sufis”) in the Hereafter, and has prepared for them the doom of the
which he deems all Sufis misguided, free-thinking heretics (zanâdi- disdained (33:57).
qa) and lawless esotericists (bâtiniyyîn) even if they count those eu-
logized by Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn Rajab, al-Dhahabi, and the rest of your
putative authorities! Remember a rigorously authentic hadith qudsî 23
states: “Whoever shows enmity to a single friend of Mine, I declare Asking to Demolish the Green Dome
war on him.”23
You allowed a man by the name of Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi‘i –
known through his books and tapes for his propensity to insult and
22 disparage those of the Ulema who disagree with him, those who call
Erasing Poetry in Praise of the Prophet  unto Allah, and the pious of this Community of Islam – to produce
some research at the end of his studies at the Islamic University of
You take advantage, every year, of the opportunity of Madina titled “About the Dome Built over the Grave of the Mes-
maintaining, polishing, and refurbishing the Prophetic Mosque in senger ” sponsored by Shaykh Hammad al-Ansari. In this paper he
order to eliminate many of the emblems of Islam [still] found in the demands openly and without shame that the Noble Grave be brought
inner hall of the Mosque such as historical vestiges and praises of the out of the Mosque, deems the presence of the Grave and Noble Dome
Prophet . Thus you painted over many of the verses of al-Busayri’s there major innovations, and asks that they both be destroyed! On top
poem on the Prophetic Mantle (al-Burda)24 You have also tried to of this you granted him high marks and a passing grade!
cover up the famous two verses – inscribed on the windows of the
Do you honor those who challenge the Messenger of Islam, the
Mosque – quoted in the story of al-‘Utbi as mentioned by Ibn Kathir
Beloved of Allah, the Mercy to the Universes and His Intimate
in his Tafsir: “O best of those whose bones are buried in the deep
Friend?! Then this man directed hundreds of his followers, imitators,
earth, and from whose fragrance the depth and height have become
and their kind among those influenced by your School, bearing arms,
sweet! / May I be the ransom for a grave in which you dwell,where
to destroy and unearth the graves of the pious Muslims in Aden,
one finds purity, bounty and munificence! 25 If the Custodian of the
Yemen, a few years ago.26 They roamed the land spreading corrup-
Two Sanctuaries – King Fahd – had not stopped you when the news
tion and ruin, digging up the graves of the dead with picks and spades
23 until they brought out the bones of some of the dead and violated
Part of a hadith narrated from Abu Hurayra by Bukhari.
24
English text at members.xoom.com/solly999/scarf.html. See its
26
explanations in Shaykh H. Kabbani’s Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine First among them Imam al-Habib al-‘Aydarus al-‘Adani [Abu Bakr ibn ‘Abd
(2:83-141). Cf. below, n. Error! Bookmark not defined.. [T] Allah (d. 911)] the blessing of Aden and Hadramawt, Allah have mercy on him!
25
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (2:306) and al-Bidaya (1:180). [T] Allah thwarted their plans and his shrine was renewed and blessed dome rebuilt.
  38   39 

their sanctity. They caused a deaf and blind dissension. We heard 25

they even used dynamite in some places! All this is part of the
record of your deeds.
Not Saying “Sanctuary” for Madina
You insist on naming the overseeing board for the affairs of the
Two Sanctuaries, “Presidency of the Meccan Sanctuary and the
24 Noble Prophetic Mosque” (ri’âsat al-haram al-makkî wa al-masjid
Not Saying “al-Munawwara” for Madina al-nabawî al-sharîf) but you do not say, “the Noble Prophetic
Sanctuary” (al-haram al-nabawî al-sharîf). Likewise in your road
You named the volume of the Qur’an printed on order of the signs indicating that direction. Why is not his Mosque [referred to as]
Custodian of the Two Sanctuaries – Allah reward him for it! – by the a Sanctuary?
name of Mushaf al-Madina al-Nabawiyya (“Volume of the Prophetic
City”) instead of Mushaf al-Madina al-Munawwara (“Volume of the The Prophet  declared all of Madina a sanctuary. ‘Asim ibn
Illuminated City”).27 It seems you refuse to acknowledge that this Sulayman al-Ahwal said that he asked Anas: “Did the Messenger of
blessed city became illuminated – as did the entire world – by the Allah  make Madina a sanctuary (haram)?” He said: “Yes! from
sending and messengership of our Master Muhammad . Yet the such-and-such a place to such-and-such a place. So, whoever gives
young girls of the Ansar called out in the past: “The full moon rose rise to some innovation in it” – Anas said to ‘Asim, “and this is a
over us from the mountains of al-Wada‘!” For the Prophet  is very tough stipulation” – “incurs the curse of Allah, the angels, and
indeed al-Badr – the full moon – and the Light,28 as Allah said: O all people! Nor will Allah accept from him the least barter and trade
Prophet! Lo! We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of on the Day of Resurrection!”
good tidings and a warner, and as a summoner unto Allah by His Another narration – also from Anas – states: “Then he 
permission, and as a lamp that gives light (33:45-46), and Now marched until Uhud came into sight and said: ‘This is a mountain
has come unto you light from Allah and a plain Scripture who loves us and whom we love.’ Then, overlooking al-Madina, he
whereby Allah guides him who seeks His good pleasure unto said: ‘O Allah! Truly I am declaring a sanctuary all that is between its
paths of peace. He brings them out of darkness unto light by His two mountains as Ibrahim declared Makka a sanctuary. O Allah!
decree, and guides them unto a straight path (5:15-16). Go back grant them blessings in their mudd and sâ‘ [measures].’”29
to the books of commentary and you will see that they explained the
Also narrated from Abu Hurayra, the Prophet  said: “Al-
light mentioned in the foregoing verses to mean al-Mustafa . Here
Madina is a sanctuary (al-madînatu haram), so whoever gives rise to
we will not argue with you concerning the light of his noble essence
an innovation in it or gives safe haven to an innovator, let the curse
but we say that he was Light and Mercy through the Book and the
of Allah be on him, that of the angels, and that of All people! And let
Sunna and guidance that he brought. Allah  said: He brings them
not the least barter nor trade be accepted from him on the Day of
out of darkness unto light by His decree and guides them unto a
Resurrection!”30
straight path (5:16).

27 29
See Bakr Abu Zayd in appx. “Albani and Company” [T] Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim.
28
See Appendix, “Light of the Prophet .” [T] 30
Narrated by Muslim.
  40   41 

26 4. Suppression of the 10th volume – on tasawwuf – of Ibn

Taymiyya’s Fatawa in your latest edition.
Falsifying Our Scholarly Heritage
5. Shaykh Ibn Baz the [late] former overall president of the
It has become your custom to suppress whatever does not please directorships of scholarly research, iftâ’, da‘wa, and irshâd tried
or satisfy you from the books of our Islamic heritage which you to rectify whatever did not please him in Fath al-Bari by the
cannot prevent from entering the [Saudi] Kingdom because the Imam and hadith master Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani. So he published
general public need them. This is a criminal act both in Islamic Law three volumes together with his aides then stopped his remarks;
and in secular laws against the views of the authors who are Ulema of but he opened an avenue of harm and evil with these remarks.
the pious Predecessors. They cannot summon you before a judge in
this world but they can certainly summon you before the Almighty 6. Abu Bakr al-Jaza’iri was given the opportunity to make a
Judge in the next… Among the passages that were suppressed or commentary on the Qur’an that might be a substitute and rival to
altered and tampered with: Tafsir al-Jalalayn. The public was then misled to believe that
they were the same book to ensure its propagation.34
1. In the book of al-Adhkar by Imam Muhyi al-Din al-Nawawi as
published by Dar al-Huda in al-Riyad in 1409/1989 and edited by
‘Abd al-Qadir al-Arna’ut of Damascus, page 295, the chapter-
title, “Section on Visiting the Grave of the Messenger ” was 27
substituted with the title, “Section on Visiting the Mosque of the Indecencies of Guards towards Women
Messenger of Allah ” together with the suppression of several Whereas you separate women from their relatives in the Mosque
lines from the beginning of the section and its end, and the of the Prophet  on the pretense that you are anxious to preserve
suppression of al-‘Utbi’s story which Imam al-Nawawi had men- chastity and Religion, you station your men at the entrances reserved
tioned in full.31 This is a bold felony against an author and his to women, fully facing them, as if those men were divinely
book! When the editor was asked about it, he replied that your immunized against all that may occur in others. Likewise you station
agents were the ones who had changed and tampered. I have a your male observers within the rows of the men and women who cir-
facsimile of his own hand-written statement to that effect. cumambulate the House in the greater and minor pilgrimages, fully
2. Certain expressions that displeased you were suppressed from al- facing the faces of women and demanding them to don the face-veil
Sawi’s [d. 1241/1825] supercommentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn.32 in violation of the position of the vast majority of the Ulema that it is
obligatory to uncover the face when accomplishing this rite.
3. Suppression of the chapter that concerns the Friends of Allah (al-
awliyâ’), Substitute-Saints (al-abdâl), and the Righteous (al-
sâlihîn) from Ibn ‘Abidin’s Hashiya in Hanafi jurisprudence.33 28
Terrorizing Muslims inside the Haram
31
See http://sunnah.org/msaec/articles/arnaut.htm. [T]
32
Hashiya ‘ala Tafsir al-Jalalayn (v. 58:18-19), passage describing modern You do not object to those who terrorize the Muslims who are in
Kharijism from which were removed the words, “namely, a sect in the Hijaz the Meccan Sanctuary and investigate them, arresting them if they do
named Wahhabis”: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/masudq3.htm [T].
33
More probably Ijabat al-Ghawth bi Bayan Hal al-Abdal wa al-Ghawth in
34
Ibn ‘Abidin’s Rasa’il (2:264-284). [T] For other tamperings see Appendix, “al-Albani” under Bin Baz [T].
  42   43 

not produce residency papers, in violation of the saying of Allah :

and whosoever enters it is safe (3:97). In addition, these doings 32
create commotions and spoil the climate of purity, peace, quiet, and Attempting to Close Down al-Baqi‘
dignity for those who meditate therein and those who bow down You strove to commit a major innovation in which none preceded
and prostrate themselves (2:125). you, not even those who adhered to your doctrines and methods before
you: striving to close down the noble Baqi‘ cemetary, prevent burial in
it, and redirect the burial of the new dead to another spot “far from the
29 place of idolatry and innovations,” as you put it, so as to stop people
Willfully Creating Unlawful Situations from entering al-Baqi‘ and visiting whoever is in it of the Prophetic rel-
You adamantly decline to ratify, in the Islamic law courts, the atives, the Companions, the Successors, and the rest of the Righteous.
contracts of marriage and nikâh between Muslim men and women for Allah  brought your endeavors to nought, causing someone to inform
any foreign Muslim male and female if the man is a visitor and does King Fahd, the Custodian of the Two Sanctuaries, of this plan. Where-
not possess a document of permanent residency. This is an upon he rejected what you were planning and ordered that al-Baqi‘ be
innovation and injustice for which you are entirely accountable if the enlarged so as to eliminate your pretext that it became too full to ac-
man commits an illicit act. commodate more Muslim burials.

30 33
Doctrinal Inquisition of Students Replacing Khadija’s House with Latrines
You will not enlist any student into undergraduate and graduate You approved, without the least objection, the razing of the
studies without first examining him in what you term “correct house of Khadijat al-Kubra – Allah be well-pleased with her! – the
doctrine,” not contenting yourselves with the fact that one is a Mus- Mother of the believers and First Beloved of the Messenger of the
lim from the ranks of the common Muslims who declare Oneness for Lord of the worlds – Allah bless and greet him and his Family. That
Allah . This is despicable fanaticism. place is the spot where the Revelation descended upon him for the
first time from the Lord of Might and Majesty. You did not raise a
peep when this destruction occurred, satisfied that washrooms and
31 latrines took its place! Where is fear of Allah? Where is shame before
Libeling Ulema Who Disagree with You his most noble Messenger?
When someone disagrees with you over any issue in jurisprudence
or doctrine, you publish a book reviling him, declaring him an innovator
or an idolator without granting him his right to defend nor justify himself 34
against such charges, as has happened with al-Maliki, Abu Ghudda, al-
Sabuni, and others. Eradicating the House of his Mawlid 
You tried and continue to try – as if it were your goal in life – to
destroy the last remnant of the historical vestiges of the Messenger of
Allah , namely the noble place where he was born. This house was
razed then changed into a cattle market, then some pious people used
  44   45 

ruse to transform it into a library which became “Maktabat Makka al- 35

Mukarrama.” You began to pry at that place with evil stares and Repudiating the Hanbali School
vengeful threats, trying to entrap it with the official departments. You
openly requested that it be destroyed and have shown hostility to the Those that came before you were of the Hanbali madhhab,
authorities, pressing them hard to effect such destruction after the following and imitating the school of the Imam and Shaykh Ahmad
decision taken to that effect by the organization of your major ibn Hanbal  beginning with Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Qayyim, Ibn
scholars a few years ago. I have an explicit taped recording of this Rajab, Ibn ‘Abd al-Hadi, Ibn Qudama al-Maqdisi, then al-Zarkashi,
decision. But the Custodian of the Two Sanctuaries, King Fahd – the Mar‘i ibn Yusuf, Ibn Jubayra, al-Hijawi, al-Mardawi, al-Ba‘li, al-
prudent and wise man who is aware of next-worldly consequences – Buhuti, Ibn Muflih, finally Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab
ignored your request and froze it indefinitely. Alas, for shame! Such and sons, Mufti Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, and Ibn Humayd – may
disrespect and disloyalty against this noble Prophet  by whom Allah have mercy on all of them. However, now you dissociate your-
Allah  brought us out and yourselves and your ancestors into light! selves from this School, declaring that “You are Salafis.”37 Shaykh
What shamelessness in his presence the Day we come to drink from ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz recently announced in an interview with the
his blessed Basin! Alas, woe and misery for a Sect that hates its periodical al-Majalla that “he does not conform to nor rely on the
Prophet whether in word or in deed, holding him in contempt Hanbali madhhab and the jurisprudence of the Hanbalis” but that you
and trying its best to eradicate his traces! Yet Allah  says to us: “all conform only to the Qur’an and the Sunna.”
Take as your place of worship the place where Ibrahim stood Glory to Allah Most High! And were Imam Ahmad and his
(to pray) (2:125). And He said, bestowing on the Israelites the gifts brothers the other Imams not in conformity to the Qur’an and Sunna?
of Talut, Musa, and Harun: And their Prophet said unto them: Or have you and this Shaykh and his followers all reached the rank of
Lo! the token of his kingdom is that there shall come to you the mujtahid mutlaq and the rank of Imam in the Law – one who exerts
ark wherein is peace of reassurance from your Lord, and a rem- his own personal reasoning and juridical opinion without following
nant of that which the house of Musa and the house of Harun left nor imitating whoever preceded him?! We exhort you to go ahead
behind, the angels bearing it. Lo! herein shall be a token for you and say it in the open, and we seek refuge in Allah  from igno-
if (in truth) you are believers (2:248). The Ulema of Quranic rance, illusion, and deluded claims! We seek refuge from having
commentary said that these vestiges consisted in the staff of Musa reached the time described described by the Prophet  when he said:
, his sandals, etc.35 Read also, if you like, the sound and authentic “Just before the Hour there shall come days in which ignorance shall
hadiths that pertain to the physical and personal relics of the Prophet descend and knowledge be lifted, and killing will abound.”38 He also
 and the true concern of the Companions  over them as said: “Truly Allah does not take away Knowledge suddenly and
mentioned in the pages of Sahih al-Bukhari. There is enough evi- forcefully from His servants, but He takes it away by taking away the
dence for him who has a heart or gives ear with full intelli- Ulema until none is left, at which time the people shall take for their
gence (50:37) and ample provision for those who think and reflect.36 leaders ignorant persons who will be asked questions and answer

35
“The Beast shall come out and with her is Sulayman’s seal-ring and Musa’s
37
rod...” Narrated from Abu Hurayra by Tirmidhi (hasan gharîb) and Ahmad. [T] Cf. https://sunnah.org/2012/04/23/who-and-what-is-a-salafi/, “Who and
36
Cf. Shaykh H. Kabbani’s Encyclopedia (4:135-156) and What is a Salafi?” by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller [T].
38
http://sunnah.org/ibadaat/tawassul_3.htm#Tabarruk. [T] Narrated from Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari  by al-Bukhari.
  46   47 

without knowledge. They shall be misguided and misguide others.”39 fatwa that whoever trespasses it commits a sin and showed enmity to
such advisers. All this when the Muslims and their rulers are in the
36 direst need of admonition and sincere advice towards good! May
Hacks Reviling the Imams of Islam Allah send blessings and greeting on him who said, “Religion is sin-
cere, faithful advice. We said: [Faithful] to whom? He replied: To
You have allowed youngsters and immature babblers (sufahâ’ al- Allah; to His Book; and to His Messenger, the leaders of the
ahlâm) to attack the pious Predecessors who are the most eminent Muslims, and their multitude.”42
personalities of this Community, among them the Proof of Islam,
Imam al-Ghazzali40 – Allah have mercy on him! You encouraged a
certain Mahmud al-Haddad to publish a book in which he claims to 38
have gathered together the two works of hadith-documentation – by Committing Criminal Excesses
al-‘Iraqi and al-Zabidi – for [all the narrations cited in] Ihya’ ‘Ulum
al-Din and which began by attacking Imam al-Ghazzali and accusing You acted scandalized and denounced al-Khomayni, the Iranian
him of misguidance and major aberrations! This, of course, after first leader, and his friends when they made the verse The only reward
attacking, through all your publishing media, Imam Abu al-Hasan al- of those who make war upon Allah and His messenger and strive
Ash‘ari41 and his followers who constitute the vast mass of the after corruption in the land will be that they will be killed or
Muslims since hundreds of years and whom you have described as crucified or have their hands and feet on alternate sides cut off,
“misguided and misguiding others”! (See past issues of your pe- or will be expelled out of the land. Such will be their degradation
riodical, al-Buhuth al-Islamiyya; Safar al-Hawali’s Manhaj Ahl al- in the world, and in the Hereafter theirs will be an awful doom
Sunna wa al-Jama‘a; and others). I have shown the [Saudi] minister (5:33) an excuse to issue death warrants and execution orders against
of religious endowments, Shaykh ‘Abd Allah ‘Abd al-Muhsin al- their adversaries. Yet you yourselves later took that same verse as an
Turki, some of these issues myself… and nothing changed. avenue to commit the same acts against your own opponents, using it
to cut off the heads of inadvertent offenders among the foreigners and
the helpless, even for possessing a little hashish or qat. We neither
37 heard that you consulted the Islamic Juridical Council (Majma‘ al-
Outlawing Nasiha to Rulers Fiqh al-Islami) located near you in Jeddah, nor that you sought out
You narrowed then closed the door of faithful advice from the the least confirmation in the matter from other authorities such as al-
Muslims to their rulers and those in authority among them. You gave Azhar or the major Ulema of the Muslims! It appears that you have
studiously forgotten, in your capacity as judges, the narration of
‘A’isha that the Messenger of Allah  said: “Ignore the offenses of
39
Narrated from ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr  by al-Bukhari and Muslim, cf. similar those seen to possess [good] qualities (dhawî al-hay’ât), except in
narration from Anas in al-Bukhari. [corporal and capital] penalties.”43 ‘A’isha also related that the
40
Cf. sunnah.org/history/Scholars/imam_alghazali.htm or
http://www.abc.se/~m9783/ghaz_e.html [T]. Prophet  said: “Stave off the penalties from the Muslims as much
41
www.geocities.com:0080/Athens/Parthenon/6343/bio_index/A/a40.html. as you can, and if any leeway is found then release the detainee.
On the authenticity of the actual Ibana:
http://x65.deja.com/[ST_rn=ap]/getdoc.xp?AN=615179737.1&CONTEXT=
42
961711083.1645936742&hitnum=4. On the Ash‘ari school: Narrated from Tamim by Muslim.
43
sunnah.org/aqida/alashaira.htm. [T] Narrated by Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and others.
  48   49 

Truly it is preferable for the ruler to pardon mistakenly than to punish over blood [unjustly shed].”47 Therefore, fear Allah  and do not kill
mistakenly.” Al-Tirmidhi narrated it and said: “This report has been a life which Allah  made sacred, except in justice! And be warned
narrated from her without raising it up to the Prophet , which is of the causes for remorse and guilt the Day of Woe and Resurrection!
more correct.”44 The hadith master Ibn Hajar said:
Al-Bukhari said the most authentic narration on the 39
chapter is Sufyan al-Thawri, from ‘Asim, from Abu Wa’il,
from ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas‘ud who said: “Stave off the penal-
Brain-Washing Young Activists
ties by way of inconclusive evidence. Avert death from the You brain-washed gullible young men with your School and
Muslims as much as you can.” The same was narrated from rigid opinions such as Juhayman al-‘Utaybi, executed for seizing the
‘Uqba ibn ‘Amir and Mu‘adh with mawqûf chains and ‘Umar Meccan Sanctuary with his cohort. Your teacher was his teacher and
with a munqati‘ mawqûf chain.45 Abu Muhammad ibn Hazm spiritual master. They used to return and refer to him as well as act
related it from ‘Umar in al-Isal with a sound mawqûf chain. upon his and al-Jaza’iri’s opinions. They would roam under your
Ibn Abi Shayba similarly narrated through Ibrahim al- sights, harrassing the Muslims in the Two Sanctuaries, commanding
Nakha‘i from ‘Umar that the latter said: “To erroneously not and forbidding and strutting until their force increased, their claws
apply the penalties because of inconclusive evidence is grew long, and they did what they did, so they were surrounded and
dearer to me than mistakenly applying them on the basis of killed, or wounded and taken prisoner. Then you announced that you
inconclusive evidence.” It is also in al-Harithi’s Musnad Abi had nothing to do with them and were innocent of their misdeeds!
Hanifa, from Miqsam, from Ibn ‘Abbas, raised to the Prophet But their books and the publications they left behind are the best
.46 witnesses and proof to the facts. For they sated themselves full with
You also forgot what the Most Truthful said concerning human your extremist views and became completely intoxicated with them.
life: Whosoever kills a human being for other than Still you continue on your way, without the least shame – all in the
manslaughter or corruption in the earth, it shall be as if be had name of the Qur’an and Sunna! Therefore, fear Allah to Whom you
killed all mankind, and whoso saves the life of one, it shall be as if shall return.
he had saved the life of all mankind. Our messengers came unto
them of old with clear proofs (of the sovereignty of Allah), but
afterwards lo! many of them became prodigals in the earth 40
(5:32). Declaring Everybody Apostate
And you forgot that the Prophet  said: “The first judgment that You have declared as disbelievers the Sufis, then the Ash‘aris
shall be passed among the people on the Day of Resurrection shall be and the Maturidis – who form the vast mass of the Muslims – then
you turned to the Ikhwan, then the Tablighis, then the rest of those
44
who make da‘wa and the thinkers of Islam… What have you left for
Also narrated from ‘Ali by al-Daraqutni; Abu Hurayra by Ibn Majah and Abu
Ya‘la; ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Amr by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i. the Muslims besides yourselves?
45
Mawqûf: “Stopped.” A chain arrested at the Companion-narrator without
explicit attribution to the Prophet . Munqati‘: “Cut up.” A chain missing two
successive links or missing only the Successor-link. [T]
46 47
Ibn Hajar, Talkhis al-Habir (4:56). Narrated by Ahmad and the Six except Abu Dawud.
  50   51 

41 Family, his Companions, and the Successors. But there you were,
teaching them how to deprecate him and all of them! You also had
Suppressing Sessions of Fiqh and Dhikr the students spy on and surveil one another so as to report to you the
You forbade and stopped all lessons except yours; all madhâhib names and activities of those you named grave-lovers (al-qubûriy-
except your madhhab; all admonitions except your admonitions. As a yûn)! Namely, those who made frequent visits and salutations upon
result there are no more gatherings of knowledge, no more sessions the Master of Messengers and the Mercy of Allah to the worlds so
of admonishment, no more circles of Qur’anic readings, no more that you might wage war against them, ostracize them and expel
gatherings of dhikr. What will you say tomorrow to your Lord? them! You would only keep whoever became your client and obeyed
When it shall be said: And stop them, for they must be you – for those alone are truthful and trusted according to you.
questioned (37:24). Whoever graduated successfully at your hands, having drunk
in the gamut of your beliefs, you sent back to their countries as
your representatives to sound out your warnings and announce
42 your glad tidings that their misguided fathers and wayward
Apostatizing the Awliyâ’ and Shuhadâ’ nations must renew their Islam. Such graduates you pampered
with lavish salaries, opening offices for them and every con-
You declared Ibn ‘Arabi48 a disbeliever then Hujjat al-Islam al- ceivable opportunity. As a result, dissensions and enmity flared
Ghazzali. Then you declared that Hasan al-Banna’ did not die as a up between them and the Ulema and pious Muslims of the
martyr nor the martyrs of Afghanistan as “their creed was not correct generations of their fathers and past Shaykhs. Such graduates
as a whole, indeed, they were followers of the Hanafi School, erring, resemble time-bombs you manufactured and filled with all kinds
and bound for destruction.” You left none but yourselves as those of bad opinions of others and deep-seated contempt. This has
who are saved, forgetting the Prophet’s  saying: “If anyone says, transformed Muslim countries, especially Africa and Asia, into
‘The people have perished,’ then he perished the most.”49 battle-fields of perpetual dissensions among Muslims. This con-
dition has even spread to the Muslim countries that gained their
independence from Russia only recently, all the way to Muslim
43 minorities and communities in Europe, America, Australia, and
The Sham(e) of Madina University elsewhere! To Allah is our complaint.

You built an university in al-Madina al-Munawwara and named

it the Islamic University, near the Master of Prophets . People and
scholars then flocked to it with their cherished children and sons,
44
rejoicing at the chance of drinking from this spring, thinking it would Outdoing Ibn Taymiyya and his Friends
increase them in love and followership of their Beloved , his dear Neither Ibn Taymiyya, Ibn al-Qayyim, nor any of the Imams of
the Salaf before them said that the Sufis were all polytheists. Rather,
48
Cf. http://sunnah.org/history/Scholars/ibn_arabi.htm and they said that among them were those who reach the level of siddîq –
http://www.sunnah.org/aqida/gh/ibnarabi/ibnarabi.htm [T] truthful saint. Look up, if you wish, the books of al-Dhahabi and Ibn
49
Narrated from Abu Hurayra by Malik, Ahmad, Muslim, al-Bukhari in al-Adab Rajab, Ibn Taymiyya’s Fatawa, Ibn al-Qayyim’s Madarij al-Salikin
al-Mufrad, and Abu Dawud.
  52   53 

and others. Yet you declare the Sufis apostate in their entirety and calling monotheists idolaters (tashrîk), hurling accusations of innova-
impute them with innovation and idolatry! tions (tabdî‘), and holding the worst opinions of the Muslims. If you
The same acts are committed by your minions and newfound pu- want to see this clearly and so that all people can see this plainly, it
pils, the likes of ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘Abd al-Khaliq, Jaza’iri, Zino, suffices to sift through those extremists: is there any Sufi among
Dimashqiyya, Albani, Wadi‘i, and whoever sings their tune. I ask, them, any Azhari, or Ash‘ari, or follower of one of the Four Madh-
are these opinions of yours in conformity with the Pious Prede- âhib? And after you set them loose you kept silent and mute, sitting
cessors or are you full-fledged innovators who single yourselves back and watching instead of firmly condemning their acts. You were
out in all of them? Is it permissible, then, for you to say “We are not of those who gave them sincere, faithful advice. I truly wonder,
Salafis,” when no Salafi ever preceded you in committing such after this, who is the manifest corrupter?!
acts?!

45 47
Calling Sunnis “Jahmis” and “Mu‘tazilis
Exporting Fitna to the US and Europe
You accuse the Muslims who differ with you of being deviant
Your deep-seated illness has contaminated America and Europe. Jahmis or Mu‘tazilis. The truth is, you are the Jahmiyya because you
As a result disagreement flared up in the mosques and schools of the agree with them in some of their doctrines and you are the Mu‘tazila
Muslims, this one following Ibn Baz and ‘Uthaymin, declaring apo- because you concur with them in denying sainthood and saints as
state the Sufis and those who make dhikr; that one, Ash‘ari or well as their miraculous gifts, the life of the dead,50 and the
Maturidi; the third one, Deobandi or Barelwi; etc. Each is fighting arbitration of reason in matters of the unseen in religious issues. It
the other and forbidding salât behind the other as well as marriage or was said:
brotherly relations, severing the ties of Religion. I have witnessed She flung her bane at me and slinked away.
this myself and was present when a Muslim preacher was prevented and also:
from giving khutba in an American mosque on the grounds that he Do not blame a moral trait then display it:
was a Sufi, following which, a quarrel flared up among the wor- Shame on you if you do–great shame!
shippers… Repent, and repent now to Allah the Lord of the worlds
Who said, Repent unto Allah all, O believers, so that you may
succeed (24:31). 48
Reviving Kharijism
You adopted the practices of the Khawarij. Whenever one of the
46 Muslims comes to you – especially students of Islamic knowledge –
Waging War on Islam and the Muslims you begin by checking his doctrine: is it correct in your view or not?
The slaughters and terrible events presently taking place damage “What do you say about this? and about that? and where is Allah?”
the reputation of Islam and play havoc with the Muslims. For ex- etc. This is exactly what the Khawarij would do in the past.
ample, what happened in Algeria and Egypt or in the Meccan Sanctu- Whenever a Muslim monotheist passed them by or came to them
ary is nothing but the fruit of your graduates and beliefs, and the
reading of your publications, all of them built on apostatizing (takfîr), 50
Hence they deny that Ibn al-Qayyim authored al-Ruh! [T]
  54   55 

they investigated him. If he differed with them they killed him. As of the benefit of his valuable lessons. Before him the verifying,
for the polytheists and the disbelievers, they showed them kindness, erudite scholar, Shaykh Isma‘il ‘Uthman al-Zayn al-Shafi‘i – rahima-
reciting the verse And if anyone of the idolaters seeks your pro- hullâh! – was also stopped and harrassed. Allah is the One Who shall
tection, then protect him so that he may hear the word of Allah; take accounts of you!
and afterward convey him to his place of safety. That is because
Thus was the gate of teaching in the Four Madhahib closed
they are a folk who know not (9:6). Shall We then treat those
shut after such teaching had lived on uninterruptedly since the
who have surrendered as We treat the guilty? What ails you?
earliest ages of Islam – the days of the Tâbi‘în and their Successors
How foolishly you judge! (:35-36).
from the best, praised Islamic centuries and even in the time of your
predecessors when they penetrated the Hijaz. Yet you gave full op-
portunity there to al-Jaza’iri and his ilk, such as his in-law, to repeat
49 and shout at the top of his lungs, right next to al-Mustafa : “The fa-
Contempt of the Ulema ther and mother of the Prophet are in hellfire! The father and mother
The Four Madhâhib had pulpits in the Meccan Sanctuary – you of the Prophet are in hellfire!” repeatedly.53 Truly we belong to Allah
destroyed them51 – and teaching chairs – you banned them. Among and to Him is our return, there is no change nor power except with
the last to date was that of Dr. Muhammad ibn ‘Alawi al-Maliki who Allah, sufficient for us is Allah, and what a wonderful reliance! All
succeeded his father and grandfather. But your eyes could not bear to this is in the balance of your deeds and under your responsibility in
see him there, so you accused him of misguidance and sheer disbelief the presence of our Almighty Lord, without fear nor trembling on
in your book al-Hiwar. Had Allah not prompted me to defend him your part before Allah  Who said: Lo! those who malign Allah
with my book al-Radd al-Mani‘ and others of the people of learning and His messenger, Allah has cursed them in the world and the
with theirs,52 and if King Fahd, the Custodian of the Two Sanctuaries, Hereafter and prepared for them the doom of the disdained
had not interfered to protect him, he would be ancient history today. (33:57) and Those who vex the messenger of Allah, for them
there is a painful doom (9:61).
There used to be Ulema also in the Noble Prophetic
Sanctuary, teaching the Four Schools of Law. The last one was
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Juhani al-Shafi‘i – the author of the 50
manual Qatf al-Thimar fi Ahkam al-Hajj wa al-I‘timar – whom you Recent Elimination of a Vestige
prevented from teaching “until he obtain a permit from Shaykh Ibn
Baz.” The permit was never issued and so he was stopped from There was a vestige at the spot where the Prophet’s  camel
teaching. alighted in the mosque of Quba’ when he emigrated to Madina, at
which location was revealed the verse54 A place of worship which
Another was the scrupulous, erudite scholar and mufti, was founded upon duty to Allah from the first day is worthier
Shaykh ‘Abd Allah Sa‘id al-Lahji al-Shafi‘i – rahimahullâh! One of
your spies stopped him from teaching and all requests to Ibn Baz to 53
On the parents of the Prophet  being saved see the refutation of al-Jaza’iri
return him to teaching failed. As a result, the students were deprived by ‘Amrawi and Murad, Wa‘iz Ghayr Mutta‘iz (“A Heedless Admonisher”); al-
Suyuti’s fatwas in Majmu‘ Tis‘ Rasa’il and al-Hawi li al-Fatawa; Kabbani, En-
51
These pulpits can be seen represented around the Ka‘ba in pre-Wahhabi cyclopedia (2:143-159); and al-Barzanji, Sadad al-Din wa Sidad al-Dayn fi
drawings and pictures of Makka. [T] Najat al-Abawayn al-Sharifayn. [T]
52 54
Cf. above, note 5. [T] But see Ibrahim Rif‘at Basha, Mir’at al-Haramayn (1:397). [T]
  56   57 

that you should stand to pray therein, wherein are men who love jurisdiction. When they began to hold private tuition in their own
to purify themselves. Allah loves the purifiers (9:108). You elimi- houses you surveiled them, harrassed them, besieged them, and spied
nated this vestige which we used to see until recently. on them! Are these the acts of the righteous callers to Allah, the elite
of the people of Allah, and the scrupulously Godwary servants of
51 simple living (zuhd) who fear their Almighty Lord  Who said:
Defacing Masjid al-Qiblatayn And guard yourselves against a day in which you will be
brought back to Allah. Then every soul will be paid in full that
There used to be, in the Mosque of the Two Qiblas, a marker which it has earned and they will not be wronged (2:281). Do
indicating the old qibla and the abrogated direction of prayer towards such (men) not consider that they will be raised again Unto an
the Farthest Mosque [in al-Qudus, Sham], so you eliminated it on the awful Day, The day when (all) mankind stand before the Lord of
grounds that you consider it an innovation. the Worlds? (83:4-6).

52 54
Razing the Gardens and Wells Razing Abu Ayyub al-Ansari’s House
of the Companions  You wreaked destruction on the house of the great Companion
You eliminated the garden of the Sahabi Salman al-Farisi  Abu Ayyub al-Ansari  who hosted the Prophet – Allah bless and
which contained a datepalm-tree planted by the Prophet  and you greet him and his Family – upon his arrival in Madina al-Munawwara
destroyed the well of al-‘Ayn al-Zarqa’ near Quba’ and the well of before the building of his noble apartments. All the periods that
Aris – the “well of the ring.”55 You also forbade sighting of the well preceded yours have preserved this vestige, including your immediate
of Ruma which ‘Uthman  had bought from a Jew and turned into a predecessors. But you destroyed this most noble vestige which used
permanent endowment for the Muslims in the way of Allah . There to be in the qibla of the most prayer-niche (mihrâb) of the noble
are many other important vestiges that were either eliminated or Prophetic Mosque on the pretext that “the polytheist Muslims”
defaced and changed. derived blessings from it!!

53 55
Closing the Madrasas in al-Ahsa’ Destroying an Invaluable Library
Followers of the Four Schools from the population of al-Ahsa’ You destroyed, near the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari , the
used to have private schools for the study of each madhhab. You library of Shaykh al-Islam ‘Arif Hikmat which was filled with
closed them down and forbade any teaching from taking place in priceless books and manuscripts.56 Its fine Ottoman architecture was
them because, according to you, it is impermissible to teach other unique. You destroyed all of the above when it was far from the
than your madhhab in the schools for men and women under your enlargement of the Sanctuary and had nothing to do with it.

55 56
Ibn ‘Umar: “The Prophet  wore a silver ring on his hand … [that] fell in the Shaykh Mustafa ibn al-Sayyid Ibrahim al-Basir al-Maghribi told me the entire
well of Aris. (Al-Bukhari). See also Ibrahim Rif‘at Basha, Mir’at al-Haramayn holdings of this library was whisked off by the truckloads to a remote desert
(1:398-399). [T] location and burnt. [T]
  58   59 

the limits and do not trespass bounds: leave alone whatever is of

undecisive status. Beware the Day punishment shall be exacted for
56 the embryos from their killers, a day whereon a man will look on
Madina Destroyed, Khaybar Preserved that which his own hands have sent before, and the disbeliever
will cry: “Would that I were dust!” (78:40). And guard
You also destroyed the well of Bir Ha’ inside the enlargement
yourselves against a day in which you will be brought back to
area, leaving no trace of it nor marker indicating its former existence.
Allah. Then every soul will be paid in full what it has earned, and
The Prophet  entered it as mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari and
they will not be wronged (2:281).
elsewhere.57 You spared none of the vestiges of al-Mustafa  and
his Companions in Madina, only the Prophetic Mosque. Why did you
not turn to Khaybar and other places? And is it permissible to imitate Epilogue
the Jews who destroy and eliminate every Islamic vestige in al-Qudus
al-Sharif by erasing our own vestiges in al-Madina al-Munawwara?
What have you left of our glorious heritage for future generations?! O our brothers, the Scholars of Najd!
The Saudi Arab Kingdom is dear to the heart of every Muslim.
57 Its governors – beginning with the Custodian of the Two Sanctuaries
Executions for Using Ruqya for Healing – spend every effort in serving the guests of the Merciful such as the
pilgrims of Hajj and ‘Umra. However, because of your aberrant and
Finally, you emboldened yourselves to issue rulings in the name
anomalous behavior – as I described in this booklet – all you do is
of the pure, undefiled Law, for the killing of whoever differed with
hurt the governors of this developing State who have placed on your
you among those who specialize in [the application of] healing
shoulders the trust of legal and religious matters. You must keep this
[verses and supplications] (al-ruqya) and spiritual healing, naming
trust faithfully. Do not mix into it your lusts and your own
them magicians! Nor did you distinguish between the genuine and
perceptions lest those who lie in ambush not find in this State an
true authorities among them and the charlatans. You reserved for
opportunity to argue against it, that it is inadequate and incapable of
yourselves the absolute right of fatwa and verdict in the matter. As a
protecting the important sites and law-related affairs in the cities that
result, you shed the blood of numerous innocent people on the
contain the holiest objects of Islam.
grounds that they are magicians whose blood is licit, ignoring the
command of Allah  that you slay not the life which Allah has Therefore, fear Allah  with regard to your Religion and
made sacred, save in the course of justice (6:151) and the your State and your Islam and the Muslims! Show more concern
statement of the Bringer of glad tidings and Warner : “The first in combating dispersion and distance yourselves from causing
judgment that shall be passed among the people on the Day of factionalism among Muslims.
Resurrection shall be over blood [unjustly shed].”58 Therefore, stop at I ask Allah Most High that you be among those Who hear
advice and follow the best thereof (3:18).
57
Cf. al-Bukhari, book of zakât, from Anas ibn Malik : “Abu Talha was the
largest owner of datepalms among the Ansar in Madina and the dearest of all his Was-Salâmu ‘alaykum wa Rahmatullâhi wa Barakâtuh.
plantations to him was Bir Ha’. It lay opposite the Mosque and the Messenger of
Allah  used to enter it and drink from its water, which was fresh and sweet…”
Also in Muslim, book of zakât. Your brother,
58
See n. 47. Yusuf ibn al-Sayyid Hashim al-Rifa‘i