PART 9: TRYING TIMES FOR SUNNIS AND SUFIS.

From the Layman’s Desk-15:

Trying Times for Sunnis and Sufis.

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST BENEFICIENT, MOST MERCIFUL.

'They seek to deceive Allah (swt) and those who believe.  Nay, themselves do they deceive, though they are not conscious of it.  There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah ( swt) lets them increase their disease and for them there is a grievous torment (Azaab) for the false assertions they have made' (Al-Baqara - 9)

We noted earlier that the Wahhabis have been rampantly destroying the Islamic heritage and legacy in Makkah and Madinah Munawarra and other places wherever they can lay their hands on.  We further noted how in the recent past they indiscriminately slaughtered Muslims of Makkah, Madina and other cities including Taif where they killed men, pregnant women, the young and the old, the children and the suckling infants.  They also threw and tore thousands of Islamic books in the alleys and on the streets.   The books were copies of Qur’an Shareef, copies of Sahih al-Bukhari and Muslims and many others about al-Hadith, Fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and various subjects of Islamic sciences.   All that is part of recorded history. 

"Salafi"/Wahhabi  Forgeries/Manipulations

However, it seems the Wahhabis were not satisfied with just tearing up all the Islamic books.    So they came out with another brilliant idea to destroy Islam from within:  Tampering, interpolating, expunging and changing sentences from the Islamic books that did not suit their creed of Wahabbiyya.  To top all this, they have also resorted  to false attributions, i.e. attributing those words to the authors which the latter never used or intended.   Rampant forgery of Islamic books is one big industry that has been made possible by millions of petrodollars being doled out to the obliging  but greedy and unconscientious publishing houses who publish the fabricated and tampered Islamic books of Classic Islamic scholars to fool the world Muslims.  Especially at risks are the English translations of those classic Islamic books.  So are the original Arabic texts.  In the sub-continent of India and Pakistan it is the Urdu texts that are being tampered with.  Thus I am sure the Islamic books that have been translated into other languages too have been tampered with by the Wahhabis.  So the next time you don't find a particular hadith or some pages or citations from other Islamic books you know what has happened.  Right from the Sahih of Imam Bukhari to Riyadh as-Saliheen and al-Adkhar of Imam Nawawi  and commentaries of Qur'an, and great  works of other scholars’ like Bin Abideen Al Hanfi, Abu Hayyan Nahwi and Imam Allama Savi  have also been played with and distorted by way of  wilful misinterpretations, mistranslations and badly informed notes on hundreds of traditional religious texts.  Worst of all, the new words and doctrines   manufactured in these factories have been  falsely attributed to the righteous ulema which an innocent Muslim does not know about it.  So who gave the dwarfs the right to change the texts of the Islamic books and correct those giant Islamic scholars? 

To cite all those tamperings is the field of the Research Scholars of the Ahle Sunnah wal Jama’ah and this is not possible for a layman.  However, we can  only glean some of those tampering from the websites with a courteous thanks to those authors for spreading the word that Salafi/Wahhabi scholars are creating a “Fitna” and doing plain mischief to confuse and disunite the Muslim world by fabricating and tampering the works of basic but extremely valuable Islamic texts of the classic Islamic authors such as Imam Nawawi, Ibn Kathir, Imam Bukhari among many others.  This should give enough hint to the dear reader as to how the Wahhabis under the guise of Ahl as-Sunnah are damaging Islam from within. 

Now, to cite only a few examples based on the research work of those Islamic scholars with thanks to the sources.

Many books of Imam Nawawi ® have been attacked,  including Riyad al-Salihin, and Al- Adhkar where he asks to seek prophet’s intercession upon visiting His Rawdha in Madina .  A team of unprincipled editors and translators out of a Riyad publishing house by the name of Darussalam was commissioned to produce a glossy 2-volume English edition of Imam al-Nawawi's Riyad al-Salihin - being distribued for free to Islamic schools around the world - designed to propagate "Salafi" ideology to the unwary English-speaking Muslim students of Islamic knowledge.   For Salafi tampering of the Riyad al-Saliheen, please a detailed comment by Moin Shaheed and Shaykh Gibril Haddad:  http://www.livingislam.org/trs_e.html 

Regarding the distortions in Kitab al-Adhkar (The Book of Remembrance of Allah) by Imam Nawawi, they were also pointed out by Shaykh Mahmud Sa'id Mamduh in his Raf' al-Minara.  The late Shaikh Abdul Qadir Arna’ut  who was the Head of the Wahhabiyya in Damascus was once accused of tampering with the words of Imam Nawawi in his Kitab al-Adhkar.  But when Shaykh Mahmud Sa’id Mamduh directly asked him if he had done this, al-Arna’ut blamed the Riyad based Wahhabi printers for the tampering.  According to Shaykh Al-Arna'ut he had written his notes on the text which were removed by the publisher or whosoever. He mentioned that he had written his analysis on the narration of Al-Utbi which were removed.  Shaykh Mahmud Sa'id Mamduh asked the son of Shaykh Abdul Qaadir and the latter denied such distortion had issued from his father’s side.  In fact, Arna’ut’s hand-written reply is printed in the back of Shaykh Mamduh’s 400-pages book on Tawassul, Rafa’ al-Minaara that refutes the Wahhabi lies on the subject.  Shaykh Abdul Qaadir had written his defense before it was inquired by Shaykh Mamduh.  He used to send it to whosoever inquired it from him. See this: http://saaid.net/Warathah/1/alarnaut.htm#_Toc70769592

Please also see the next paragraph:

“Tamperings with classical Islamic text: Source: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/nuh/masudq3.htm

Question 3: Re-Forming Classical Texts

As far as Wahhabi tamperings with classical texts goes, how widespread is this heinous crime? Can you give some serious examples of this?

Answer
I do not know how widespread it is, but it certainly does exist. Of hard evidence that I have personally seen, there is the work that I am currently translating, Kitab al-adhkar [The book of remembrances of Allah] by Imam Nawawi. The text that Nawawi wrote in the Book of Hajj of the Adhkar reads:

“Section: The Visit to the Tomb of the Messenger of Allah (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace), and the Remembrances of Allah Made There”Know that everyone who performs the hajj should set out to visit the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), whether it is on one’s way or not, for visiting him (Allah bless him and give him peace) is one of the most important acts of worship, the most rewarded of efforts, and best of goals.

When one sets out to perform the visit, one should do much of the blessings and peace upon him (Allah bless him and give him peace) on the way. And when one’s eye falls on the trees of Medina, and its sanctum and landmarks, one should increase saying the blessings and peace upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), asking Allah Most High to benefit one by one’s visit to him (Allah bless him and give him peace), and grant one felicity in this world and the next through it. One should say, “O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy, and bestow upon me, through the visit to the tomb of Your prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), that which You have bestowed upon Your friends, those who obey You. Forgive me and show me mercy, O Best of Those Asked” (al-Adhkar al-Nawawiyya, 283–84).

In the 1409/1988 printing of this work, published by Dar al-Huda in Riyad, Saudi Arabia, under the inspection and approval of the Riyasa Idara al-Buhuth al-‘Ilmiyya wa al-Ifta’ or “Presidency of Supervision of Scholarly Studies and Islamic Legal Opinion,” the same section has been changed to agree with Ibn Taymiya’s view that setting out to visit the Prophet’s tomb (Allah bless him and give him peace) is disobedience. (It only becomes permissible, according to this point of view, if one intends visiting the mosque of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace).) The re-formed version reads as follows, italics showing the alterations made to Nawawi’s text:

“Section: The Visit to the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah (Allah Bless Him and Give Him Peace) [deletion]”

Know that it is preferable, for whoever wants to visit the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace), [deletion] to make much of the blessings and peace upon him (Allah bless him and give him peace) on the way. And when one’s eye falls on the trees of Medina, and its sanctum and landmarks, to increase saying the blessings and peace upon the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), asking Allah Most High to benefit one by one’s visit to his mosque (Allah bless him and give him peace), and grant one felicity in this world and the next through it. One should say: “O Allah, open for me the doors of Your mercy, and bestow upon me, through the visit to the mosque of Your prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace), that which You have bestowed upon Your friends, those who obey You. Forgive me and show me mercy, O Best of Those Asked” (al-Adhkar, 295).

The same printing has completely dropped nearly a half page of the section of tawassul (supplicating Allah through the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)) when visiting the Prophet’s tomb—apparently to promote the Wahhabi doctrine that this is shirk or “assigning co-sharers to Allah.”

They have attributed the above words to Imam Nawawi without mentioning that it has been altered in any way.

This should not surprise Westerners, who have had before them Muhammad Muhsin Khan’s translation of Sahih al-Bukhari for some years now. In it, we find Bukhari’s heading about the effects of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace): “and of his hair, his sandals, and his vessels, of that which his Companions and others used to obtain blessings through after his death (yatabarraka bihi As-habuhu wa ghayruhum ba‘da wafatihi),” in which the words yatabarraka bihi have been rendered as “were considered as blessed things” in the English (Khan, Sahih al-Bukhari, 4.218). The Arabic verb tabarraka bihi signifies “He had a blessing; and he was, or became, blest; by means of him, or it” (Lane, Arabic-English Lexicon, 1.193), or often, “he looked for a blessing by means of,” or “regarded as a means of obtaining a blessing from,” him or it (ibid.)—in either case actually obtaining, or hoping to obtain, a blessing by means of these things, a nuance quite different from the passive “were considered as blessed,” which does not entail any special benefit from them.

Or consider the seventy-three-page “introduction” to volume one of this same translation, a tract that explains the Muslim Trinity: Tawhid al-Rububuyya, Tawhid al-Uluhiyya, and Tawhid al-Asma wa al-Sifat—the (1) Tawhid of Lordship, (2) Tawhid of Godhood, and (3) Tawhid of Names and Attributes. By way of preface to it, Dr. Khan notes that many Western converts enter Islam without knowing what belief in the Oneness of Allah really means. He clarifies that tawhid is not one; namely, to say and believe the shahada of Islam with complete conviction—as it was from the time of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) until the advent of Ibn Taymiya seven centuries later—as new converts might imagine, but must now be three in order to be one, and cannot be one without being three. While such logic may be already familiar to converts from Christianity, Imam Bukhari (d. 256/870) certainly never knew anything of it, and its being printed as an “introduction” to his work seems to me to qualify as “tampering with classical texts”—aside from being a re-form of traditional ‘aqida, in which Islam, in the words of the Prophet of Islam (Allah bless him and give him peace), “is to testify that there is no god except Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah . . .” (Sahih Muslim, 1.37: 8).

Another example is found in the commentary of the famous Maliki scholar Ahmad Sawi (d. 1241/1825) on the Qur’anic exegesis Tafsir al-Jalalayn of Jalal al-Din Mahalli and Jalal al-Din Suyuti, in which he says of the verse “Truly, the Devil is an enemy to you, so take him as an enemy: he only calls his party to become of the inhabitants of the blaze” (Qur’an 35:6): It is said this verse was revealed about the Kharijites [foretelling their appearance], who altered the interpretation of the Qur’an and sunna, on the strength of which they declared it lawful to kill and take the property of Muslims—as may now be seen in their modern counterparts; namely, a sect in the Hijaz called “Wahhabis,” who “think they are on something, truly they are the liars. Satan has gained mastery over them and made them forget Allah’s remembrance. Those are Satan’s party, truly Satan’s party, they are the losers” (Qur’an 58:18–19). We ask Allah Most Generous to extirpate them completely (Sawi: Hashiya al-Sawi ‘ala al-Jalalayn, 3.255). This passage is quoted from the ‘Isa al-Babi al-Halabi edition published in Cairo around the 1930s. It was also printed in its entirety in the Maktaba al-Mashhad al-Husayni edition (3.307–8) published in Cairo in 1939, which was reproduced by offset by Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-‘Arabi (3.307–8) in Beirut in the 1970s. By the early 1980s, the Salafi movement, or oil money, or some combination of the two, had generated enough of a market to tempt Dar al-Fikr in Beirut to offset the same old printing, but with a surreptitious change. In the third volume, part of the bottom line of page 307 and the top line of 308 have been whited out, eliminating the words “namely, a sect in the Hijaz called ‘Wahhabis,’” venally bowdlerizing the whole point of what the author is trying to say about the modern counterparts of the Kharijites in order to sell it to them. The deletion was virtually indistinguishable from an ordinary spacing mistake, coming as it does at the ends of the two pages, though Dar al-Fikr made up for any technical shortcomings in this respect in 1993 with a newly typeset four-volume version of Hashiya al-Sawi ‘ala al-Jalalayn, which its title page declares to be “a new and corrected (munaqqaha) printing.” The above passage appears on page 379 of the third volume with the same wording as the previous coverup, but this time in a continuous text, so no one would ever guess that Sawi’s words had been removed.

Or consider the example from the two-volume Qur’anic exegesis of Abu Hayyan al-Nahwi (d. 754/1353), Tafsir al-nahr al-madd [The exegesis of the far-stretching river] condensed mainly from his own previous eight-volume exegesis al-Bahr al-muhit [The encompassing sea], arguably the finest tafsir ever written based primarily on Arabic grammar. Abu Hayyan, of Andalusion origin, settled in Damascus, knew Ibn Taymiya personally, and held him in great esteem, until the day that Barinbari (d. 717/1317) brought him a work by Ibn Taymiya called Kitab al-‘arsh [The book of the Throne]. There they found, in Ibn Taymiya’s own handwriting (which was familiar to Abu Hayyan), anthropomorphic suggestions about the Deity that made Abu Hayyan curse Ibn Taymiya until the day he died. This was mentioned by the hadith master (hafiz) Taqi al-Din Subki in his al-Sayf al-saqil (85). Abu Hayyan, in his own Qur’anic exegesis of Ayat al-Kursi (Qur’an 2:258) in surat al-Baqara, recorded something of what so completely changed his mind: I have read in the book of Ahmad ibn Taymiya, this individual whom we are the contemporary of, and the book is in his own handwriting, and he has named it Kitab al-‘arsh [The book of the Throne], that “Allah Most High is sitting (yajlisu) on the Kursi but has left a place of it unoccupied, in which to seat the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace)” [italics mine]. Al-Taj Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Abd al-Haqq Barinbari fooled him [Ibn Taymiya] by pretending to be a supporter of his so that he could get it from him, and this is what we read in it (al-Nahwi, Tafsir al-nahr al-madd, 1.254). This is of interest not only because it documents (at the pen of one of Islam’s greatest scholars) that Ibn Taymiya had a “double ‘aqida,” one for the public, and a separate anthropomorphic one for an inner circle of initiates—but also because when Abu Hayyan’s work was first printed on the margin of his longer exegesis al-Bahr al-muhit in Cairo by Matba‘a al-Sa‘ada in 1910, the whole passage was deleted—intentionally, as the guilty party later confessed to Muhammad Zahid Kawthari, who quotes the above passage in a footnote to al-Sayf al-saqil and then says:

This sentence is not in the printed exegesis al-Bahr [al-muhit], for the copy editor at Matba‘a al-Sa‘ada told me he found it so extremely revolting that he deemed it too enormous to ascribe to a Muslim, so he deleted it, so it would not be exploited by the enemies of the religion. He asked me to record that here by way of making up for what he had done, and as a counsel (nasiha) to Muslims (al-Sayf al-saqil, 85).

The deception was perpetrated anew when Abu Hayyan’s Tafsir al-nahr al-madd was printed on its own in Beirut with the same deletion by Dar al-Fikr in 1983, and was not rectified until Dar al-Janan and Mu’assasa al-Kutub al-Thaqafiyya in Beirut brought it out using original manuscripts of the work in 1987.

I think these examples are sufficient to give a general idea of the process, though the motives may differ from case to case. And Allah knows best.”

SALAFI TAMPERING OF RAWDHA TALIBEEN:

An Islamic researcher stated:  ”Recently I have been asked about Imam Nawawi’s ® stand on constructing and maintaining structures upon the graves of prophets and saints. I went through his famous book Rawdha Talibeen through an e-library called Makthbah Shamilah which offers thousands of classic books and is widely used by students.  I was shocked to see the sentence has been tampered with. I went online to get the correct version, but to be shocked again to see it distorted. Praise to Almighty Allah as I continued my search until I found the exact text.

“What is striking is the divine dignity of Imam Nawawi ®. Those deceivers could not erase the sentence altogether but left behind crystal clear traces to inform the reader of a mischievous deletion! Subhan Allah. See the links and compare with the image below:

http://www.al-eman.com/Islamlib/viewchp.asp?BID=162&CID=62#s3

http://islamport.com/d/2/shf/1/26/1782.html?zoom_highlightsub=%DE%C8%E6%D1+%C7%E1%CA%C8%D1%DF+%C8%E5%C7+%DD%D1%DA+%ED%CC%E6%D2+%E1%E6%D5%ED (2/339)

but it was very upsetting and shocking for me to be convinced of the widening deception  and distortion in religious texts.”[Traditional Islamic School]”

SALAFI TAMPERING OF ABU UTHMAN AL-SABUNI’S BOOK:

Abu-Uthman Al-Sabuni was a great Ashari and Sufi scholars.  He along with Imam Al- Juwayni and Imam Al-Qushayri, was persecuted in the infamous ordeal which took place in Nishapur in modern day Iran and that had led many of them to depart their homeland. He was one of the scholars who signed on Al-Qushayri’s  declaration in defence of Asha’aris.  However, the book in the question has been published and printed by the Hashwiyya  Wahhabis, and thus one can’t be sure of the authenticity of the text.  Actually Shiekh ‘Al-Azhari’ of Rayaheen forum, http://cb.rayaheen.net/index.php, discovered some forgery in the different published copies of the book; take for example this early edition published in Kuwait.  For details, please see

http://www.marifah.net/forums/topic/3246-examples-of-salafis-salafi-publishing-houses-tamperingalteringforging-texts/

and  for various Arabic versions of Wahhabi publications for forgery.  According to one version,  if you can read Arabic you will see clearly in the footnote that the Wahhabi publisher mentions that he replaced the word ‘tomb’ in the original text by Imam Sabuni: “I traveled to Hijaz with intention to visit the tomb of Prophet Mohammed (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)…” with the word ‘mosque’. The justification provided was of course that having such intention to visit the tomb is an act of polytheism ‘Shirk’!  So Imam Sabuni  is a ‘Mushrik’ and an idol worshiper and yet they boldly relate themselves to him!  The odd thing is that each publisher wrote the name of the Imam on the cover differently. The first printed it ‘Abu Uthman Ismaiel ibn Abdulrahman’ which is correct, while the other printed ‘Abu Ismiel Abdulrahman ibn Ismaiel’ which is wrong.

SALAFI TAMPERING IN RUH AL-MA’ANI:

Shaykh Gibril Haddad informs us (2006-04-07):  

“A sharp reader and unparalleled expert in rare books and manuscripts, Imam al-Kawthari long ago revealed that the printed version of Imam Mahmud ibn `Abd Allah al-Husayni al-Alusi al-Baghdadi's (1217-1270) tafsir entitled Ruh al-Ma`ani published by his "Salafi" son Nu`man al-Alusi in Bulaq (Egypt) in 1301 (then again twice by the Damascene "Salafi" Munir `Abduh Agha at his Muniriyya Press in Egypt) contained alterations and accretions from foreign hands, responsibility for which al-Kawthari laid squarely at the feet of Nu`man: "He cannot be trusted over the publication of his father's commentary, and if someone were to compare it [the latter edition] with the [autograph] manuscript kept today at the Raghib Basha library in Istanbul, which is the manuscript gifted by the author to the Sultan `Abd al-Majid Khan, one would certainly find in it what will make him certain of that."(1)

In his 1968 372-page book al-Alusi Mufassiran, Muhsin `Abd al-Hamid(2) petulantly denied the charge that there had been any tampering with the Tafsir as "a bizarre fiction," claiming he had compared the manuscript kept at Baghdad's general Awqaf library and found no discrepancies, and that he consulted with [the "Salafi"] Muhammad Bahjat [al-Baytar] and Munir al-Qadi who were of one mind with him.

Recently, in an internet communication on February 26, 2006 the Riyadh genealogist and historian of scholarship Dr. Muhammad ibn `Abd Allah Aal Rashid mentioned all of the above and commented:

"This claim [by Muhsin `Abd al-Hamid] avails us nothing, since al- Kawthari very precisely referred to the autograph manuscript and its location. In the Hajj of the year that just passed (1426) I met the researcher and teacher Ah.mad ibn `Abd al-Karim al-`Ani who informed me that the Imam al-A`zam Faculty in the city of Baghdad had tasked thirty Master's candidate students to prepare a critical edition of al-Alusi's commentary, Ruh al-Ma`ani, Ustadh al-`Ani being one of those students... and they were basing themselves on the manuscript indicated by Shaykh al-Kawthari. He told me that the printed version was indeed filled with alterations, tamperings, gaps and suppressions in many places, which confirms the words of Shaykh al-Kawthari that the printed version which is in circulation contains tamperings and suppressions."(3)

Notes:

(1) Al-Kawthari, Maqalat (p. 344) and marginalia on al-Subki's al-Radd `ala al-Nuniyya (p. 108)
(2) He also authored the 1983 book Jamal al-Din al-Afghani: al-Muslih. al-Muftara `alayh (Mu'assasat al-Risala).
(3) Muhammad Aal Rashid: http://www.elnafeas.net/montada/index.php?showtopic="38.

Was-Salam,
gibril”

DEOBANDI FABRICATION ON INTERNET.

The founder of the Wahabbi sect in the Indian Subcontient, Ismail Dehalvi wrote a book in Persisn called " Iza al Haq".

http://archive.org/details/BidatKiHaqiqatAurUssKayAhkaamByShaykhShahMuhammadIsmailr.

Once the book is downloaded you can see that page number 76 and 77 is missing from the uploaded book.  Page number 76 and 77 contains this passage from Ismail Dehlavi,which shows his belief : 

 Ismail Dehalvi writes:

“ to have this belief that Allah is free of time, location , direction and that Allah will be seen without a direction ( on the day of Judgement) all this is Biddah”.

Ismail Dehalvi says to make “tawil” of ayat e mutashabihāt is Biddah “

Next, the Wahhabis have been caught fabricating Ghuniya Al Talibeen written by Sayed Shaykh Abdul Qadir Gilani [ Radi allahu ta'ala].  Under the chapter of "Taraweeh" , all the printed editon of Ghuniya Al Talibeen has twenty rakats.  Shaykh Abdul Qadir Gilani [ Radia allahu ta'ala] writes " The rakats for Taraweeh salah is TWENTY" .  In the Urdu book, Ghuniya Al Talibeen , page 591, published by Maktaba Saudiya , Hadith Manzil, Pakistan, the words are shamelessly changed to a total of 11 raka’at.  All the four school of Jurispudence( Fiqh) , all the salaf as-saliheen have narrated the rakat of tarawweh as twenty.  Till this date , the number of taraweeh rakat performed in Madina al- Munawwara is twenty .  All the muslims are united since last fourteen hundred years that the number of rakat for taraweeh salah is TWENTY.  Only the wahabis [who follow Ibn Abdal Wahhab Najdi al-Tamimi , Albani and his company] adhere to EIGHT rakat Taraweeh which has no basis in Fiqh.   In any case, according to Shaykh Haddad, “As for the Ghunya: it is not an integrally preserved text and the copies we have today are corrupt. “  Be that as it may, there are many hadith narrations which prove the case for twenty rak'ahs, but some of these narrations are less authentic than others, nevertheless they are weighty enough to back each other up and raise the level of authentication to at least Hasan (good).  To take just an example: Al-Imam al-Hafiz Jamaluddin al-Zayla'i has recorded in his book Nasb ur-Rayah that: "Al-Bayhaqi has related in al-Marifa  (via the following chain of transmission): Abu Tahir al-Faqih -> Abu Uthman al-Basri -> Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Abdal Wahhab -> Khalid ibn Mukhallad -> Muhammad ibn Ja'far -> Yazid ibn Khaseefah -> Sa'eeb ibn Yazid, who said:  'In the time of Umar ibn al-Khattab (radiallahu anhu) the people used to observe 20 rak'ahs and the witr.' Al-Nawawi said in al-Khulasa: 'Its Isnad is Sahih.'"

TAMPERING OF KASHF AL-KURBAH FI WASFI HALI AHL AL-GHURBAH

Next, Imam ibn Rajab Hanbali (1335-1393 c.e.) the Sunni Hafidh refuted those who do not adhere to one of the four Schools of Thought (Madhhab).  The Salafis/Wahhabis have tampered one of his books called   Kashf al-Kurbah fi Wasfi Hali Ahl al-Ghurbah as brother Abdullah of yanabi.com gives us an example:    

“The Salafiyyah refuse to translate the last part of Kashf-ul-Kurbah fee wasfi Haali Ahlil-Ghurbah by Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee (Rahimullaah) and this is what they have to say about it in the introduction to the book:  [‘...And he categorizes this Strangeness into several types – both inner and outer. It must be noted that Ibn Rajab uses several weak ahaadeeth in this treatise, which have been pointed out. And towards the end of his treatise, he begins to divert from the topic by going deep into the issue of inner strangeness, sometimes focusing on aspects that have no basis in Islaam, such as talk about the ‘Aarif, wajd, khulwah, etc. These were Sufi ideas that were prevalent during his time. In his introduction to his abridgement and checking of Ibn Rajab’s monumental book “Jaami’-ul-‘Uloom wal-Hikam”,  Shaikh Saleem Al-Hilaalee said: “Ibn Rajab (rahimahullaah) treaded the Manhaj of the Salaf with regard to the issues of Eemaan and acquiring knowledge. And he supported it and defended it from the false arguments of the opponents. His books are loaded with that. And he wrote some treatises specifically on this topic such as his book ‘Bayaan Fadlu ‘Ilm-is-Salaf ‘alaal-Khalaf.’ However, there can be found traces of Sufism in his books, may Allaah protect him from inclining towards it’s dangerous paths, due to what Allaah has given him from vast knowledge of the Narrations and a clear Salafee Methodology.” (Iqaadh-ul-Himam: pg. 9)’]

“Also the Salafiyyah leave this astonishing note at the end of the book: [This is where we will end the translation of the treatise. As stated in the introduction, the Imam goes into discussion of themes founded upon Sufi concepts which have no basis in Islaam and which have little benefit, so All praise is due to Allaah through whose Grace all good deeds are completed.]”

How low can the fabricators stoop should be clear enough from the examples of the Salafi tamperings.  Evidently, to their utter discredit, they are hell-bent on correcting the works of the giant Islamic scholars in order to suit their Salafiyya/ Wahhabiyya creed.

Tamperings to continue, Insha Allah.

NASIR.

PART 8: TRYING TIMES FOR SUNNIS AND SUFIS.

From the Layman’s Desk-15:

PART 8: TRYING TIMES FOR SUNNIS AND SUFIS:

In the name of Allah, Most Beneficient Most Merciful.

DESTRUCTION OF ISLAMIC HERITAGE IN MAKKAH MUKARRAMA:

Say: If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates or your kindred; the wealth you have gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline or the dwellings in which you delight – are dearer to you than Allah, or His apostle, or the striving in His cause; then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious.” (Qur'an: 9:24)

The destruction of the Islamic heritage by the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia has no parallel in the history of mankind. We noted in earlier Part of the article about the wanton wahhabi destruction of Madina Munawwara.  

Regarding Makkah, “We are witnessing the last few moments of Makkah,’ says Dr. Sami Angawi, a Saudi architect who is an expert on 1400-year old buildings in Saudi Arabia.  As mentioned by The American Muslim (TAM): “History is being erased in order to accommodate ever increasing numbers of pilgrims.  Over 300 sites have been destroyed in the last 50 years. 95% of the sites in Mecca have been destroyed.  As few as 20 structures are left that date back to the time of the Prophet.  It would seem that at this rate there won’t be much for those like Congressman Tancredo who suggested Nuking Mecca to destroy.  Muslim silence over the destruction is shocking….Of the three sites the Saudis have allowed the UN to designate World Heritage Sites, none are related to Islam.” 

Of course, the reason for destruction of Islamic heritage is not just the increase in the number of pilgrims to Makkah.    "At the root of the problem is Wahhabism,"  says Dr Angawi. " They have a big complex about idolatry and anything that relates to the Prophet."

The present Grand Mosque has three floors and is the largest mosque in the world.  It is built around the Kaaba, the most sacred place in Islam, [but next only to the site of Prophet’s grave which by the Ijma (consensus) of the Muslims  is the holiest on the earth according to Qadi `Iyad in al-Shifa’, in the chapter on visiting the Prophet].  “They have ‘renovated’ the Haram (sacred precinct) in Makkah and reorganised the pilgrimage, imposing their own ignorance upon one of the sacred obligations (the Hajj) of the Muslim faith.  An essential part of the Hajj is to re-enact the distress of Hagar as she runs between two hills (Safa and Marwah) in search of water. The Saudi authorities have now completely enclosed these two hills within a massive building and installed an automatic moving pavement (travelator) between the two. The entire symbolism of Hagar's search has been obliterated and the hills themselves have been destroyed to accomodate the building and the moving sidewalk. The authorities are in the process of adding air-conditioning to the entire complex.  Those circling the Kaaba only need to look skywards to see the latest example of the Saudi monarchy's insatiable appetite for architectural bling.  At 1,972ft, the Royal Mecca Clock Tower, opened earlier this year, soars over the surrounding Grand Mosque, part of an enormous development of skyscrapers that will house five-star hotels for the minority of pilgrims rich enough to afford them.  A Salafi-Saudi cleric on Wednesday March 17 has called for demolishing the Grand Mosque (Masjid Al-Haram) in the holy city of Makkah and replacing it with a new one featuring "20 to 30" floors on the pretext of preventing men and women from mingling during pilgrimages (sha’a’er ot-Tawaf wa as-Sa`ee) which has been in Muslim practice since centuries, says a report in daily Akhbar Al Khaleej.  A viewer posed video footage of the show on the YouTube website, dubbing the cleric "the new Ibraha" after the tyrant who wanted to demolish the Ka'aba 14 centuries ago.

Speaking about the destructions of the Islamic heritage in Makkah, let’s turn to what Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa’i has stated in his Advice to the Ulema of Najd: “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, peace and blessings be upon him, namely the noble place where he was born. This house was razed then changed into a cattle market, then some pious people used ruse to transform it into a library which became ‘Maktabat Makka al-Mukarrama.’  You began to pray at that place with evil stares and vengeful threats, trying to entrap it with the official departments. You openly requested that it be destroyed and have shown hostility to the authorities pressing them hard to effect such destruction after the decision taken to that effect by the organization of your major scholars a few years ago. I have an explicit taped recording of this decision. But the Custodian of the Two Sanctuaries, King Fahd -- the prudent and wise man who is a aware of next worldy consequences-- ignored your request and froze it indefinitely. Alas, for shame! Such disrespect and disloyalty against this noble Prophet, peace and greetings be upon him, by whom Allah Most High brought us out and yourselves and your ancestors into light! What a shamelessness in his presence the Day we come to drink form his blessed Basin! Alas, woe and misery for a Sect that hates its Prophet whether in word or in deed, holding him in contempt and trying its best to eradicate his traces! Yet Allah Most High says to us, { Take as your place of worship the place where Ibrahim stood (to pray)" [2:125]}.  And he said, bestowing on the Israelites the gifts of Talut, Musa, and Harun, { And their Prophet said unto them: Lo! The token of his kingdom is that there shall come to you the ark wherein is peace of reassurance from your Lord, and a remnant of that which the house of Musa and the house of Harun left behind, the angles bearing it. Lo! Herein shall be a token for you if (in truth) you are believers" [2:248]}. The Ulema of Quranic commentary said that these vestiges consisted in the staff of Musa peace be upon him, his sandals, etc.³⁵ Read also, if you like, the sound and authentic hadiths that pertain to the physical and personal relics of the Prophet, peace and greetings be upon him, and the true concern of the Companions, may Allah be well pleased with them, over them as mentioned in the pages of sahih al-Bukhari. There is enough evidence "for him who has a heart or gives ear with full intelligence" [50:37] and ample provision for those who think and reflect. ³⁶ “

Regarding the house of the Mother of Believers, Khadija ®, the Shaykh admonishes the Najdi Ulema:  “You approved, without the least objection, the razing of the house of Khadijat al-Kubra -Allah be well- pleased with her!- The mother of the believers and First Beloved of the Messenger of the Lord of the worlds- Allah bless and greet him and his Family. That place is the spot where the Revelation descended upon him for the first time from the Lord of Mighty and Majesty. You did not raise a peep when this destruction occurred, satisfied that washrooms and latrines took its place! Where is fear of Allah? Where is Shame before his most noble Messenger?”

In fact this was the very house where Umm Kulthum, Ruqayyah, Zainab, Fatimah and Qasim (may Allah be pleased with them all) were born.  After it was rediscovered during the Haram extensions in 1989, the site was covered over with sand to conceal it,  and later, public toilets were built over it.  Do you see the nature of the hardened hearts of the Wahhabis and how they view the family of the Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)?  Dar al-Arqam, the first Islamic school where Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) taught has been demolished to make room for escalators.   Jannatul al-Muala where Khadija ® was buried and other members of his family were also buried and which had been  blessed by Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) was razed on April 21, 1925 and all the tombs were destroyed.   The graveyard is drowning in sewage and the authorities are reluctant to act.  The tomb of Maimouna ®, another wife of Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam), is also in Makkah in an area known as Sarif, which lies on the side of the Hijra Road, nearly 13 miles (20 kilometers) outside Makkah. That had also been razed. Historian al-Janubi returning from his pilgrimage in the year 963 A.H. (1555 c.e.) said: “I saw there," said he, "a dome of black marble erected in memory of Maimuna, on the very spot on which the apostle of God had reposed with her. God knows the truth ! and also the reason of the black color of the stone. There is a place of ablution, and an oratory ; but the building has fallen to decay.” (Washington Irving in Life of Mohammed)

Most Muslims visiting Makkah long to climb to the top of Jabal al-Nur (“the mountain of light”), to visit the Cave of Hira. It was to this cave that the Prophet (saws) used to retire in the month of Ramadan for prayer and meditation. He (saws) received the first revelations of the Qur'an while in the cave. The Wahhabi zealots want to destroy the mountain to prevent pilgrims from visiting the cave. At the foot of the hill the Wahhabis have posted a fatwa: “The Prophet Muhammed (sal Allahu alayhi wasallams) did not permit us to climb on to this hill, not to pray here, not to touch stones, and tie knots on trees...” Can the Wahhabis provide any evidence that he forbade Muslims from going there, or are their rants based on their hatred of Islam and the Muslims' attachment to and love for Allah's Beloved Messenger?

The next Masjid in line for destruction is the Masjid al-Bayah which is on the way to Mina, as the Najdi Ulema want the area of stoning the Jamaraat increased  all the way to the place where the mosque stands today.  This mosque is historically significant because this is where the Pledge of Allegiance at al-Aqaba in April 621 c.e. was taken.  It was here that the first twelve Ansars (Helpers) from Madinah accepted Islam and pledged their allegiance to Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam). 

Historic and culturally important landmarks are being destroyed to make way for luxury hotels and malls.  Dr. Irfan Ahmed al-Alawi, the Chairman of the Islamic Heritage Foundation, says this is another Wahhabi plot to destroy yet another historical place belonging to Prophet Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam). According to him, today there are fewer than 20 structures remaining in Mecca that date back to the time of the Prophet 1,400 years ago.  The case of the grave of Amina bint Wahb, the mother of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam), found in 1998, is typical of what has happened. "It was bulldozed in Abwa and gasoline was poured on it. Even though thousands of petitions throughout the Muslim world were sent, nothing could stop this action."    

The house of Abu Bakr, the Prophet's (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) companion and the First Khalifa of Islam, is  now the site of the local Hilton hotel; the house of Ali-Oraid, the grandson of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) and the Mosque of abu-Qubais, is now the location of the King's palace in Mecca.

Someone might say what’s wrong with commercial prospects in building more hotels for the comfort of the Hajis.  Sure, but that could have been done otherwise too by preserving the Islamic heritage.  The so-called skyscrapers and business houses could have been built within reasonable distances and the pilgrims could have taken the cabs, buses, or even used camels to reach the holy destinations.  It does not require any intelligence to understand that extreme hatred for and spilling venom at the signs of Islamic sites and heritage has caused the Wahhabis to destroy them on the alleged pretext of protecting the Ummah from Shirk.  This reminds me of a quote of Dr. Samuel Johnson:  When a butcher tells  you that his heart bleeds for his country, he has,  in fact,  no uneasy feeling.  Shedding crocodile tears for Shirk and gulping down the Muslim heritage can only fool the crocodiles and the land sharks.  

Thus, another site that was demolished is the Ottoman Fort which was built on Bulbul hill overlooking the Grand Mosque. It was built in 1780 by the ruling Ottomans to protect the city and its Muslim shrines from invaders. The 220-year-old al-Ajyad fort was demolished in 2002 to make way for a $533m project for furnished apartments.  Today, the Zam Zam Towers stand in place of the Fort. 

Ali al-Ahmed, the head of the organisation, formerly known as the Saudi Institute, said: "The destruction of Islamic landmarks in Hijaz is the largest in history, and worse than the desecration of the Koran."  Despite an estimated $13bn in development cash currently washing around Mecca, Saudi sceptics dismiss the developers' argument. "The service of pilgrims is not the goal really," says Mr Ahmed. "If they were concerned for the pilgrims, they would have built a railroad between Mecca and Jeddah, and Mecca and Medina. They are removing any historical landmark that is not Saudi-Wahhabi, and using the prime location to make money," he says.   You don't need a shopping centre and restaurants when you're doing hajj. Marble flooring and five-star accommodation will not enhance your pilgrimage or make you a better Muslim. The idea that you can make a profit is especially offensive. Such desecration and disrespect would have been unthinkable 30 years ago.

It is  said that with the boom in construction activities of very tall buildings or hotels that cater to the very rich, Makkah is being turned into Las Vegas – and this is no compliment because they are turning Makkah Shareef into a tourist attraction.  Non-Muslim companies have no business to be there just non-Muslims  have no business to be there.  It is not the sponsorship per se that is rueful.  More rueful is the fact that rampant greed has overtaken the establishment and administration.   In the past, we have had McDonalds, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Coca-Cola, etc., in Saudi Arabia and now Starbucks.   Starbucks is one of the USA’s and the world’s most popular specialty coffee shop chains headed by its Chairman Howard Schultz who is  "a Jewish American who has long been supportive of Jewish organizations and causes in the United States and in Israel".  The logo of Starbucks is Queen Esther the Queen of the Jews or even it were of a mermaid with two tails,  there are shops in Makkah, Madina Munawarra, and other cities of the Arab countries.  Coffee was supposed to be an Islamic discovery.   But see how the Israelis are being sponsored in the Holy City.This is another instances how soft the Wahhabis are to the Jews but for the Muslims of Ahl as-Sunnah wal Jama’ah they come down hard.     It is only to be hoped that fake conversions to Islam are not being practised by the authorities to circumvent the Shariah  law that non-Muslims should not be allowed within the holy cities of Makkah the Magnificent and Madinah the Radiant!

Tarek Fatah, a Pakistani-Canadian Muslim activist and broadcaster, finds it incomprehensible that while the demolition of the Babri mosque by Hindu zealots at Ayodhya continues to remain an emotive issue with Muslims, what the Saudi authorities plan to do has evoked no protest at all.  According to him, today, the religious zealots in Saudi Arabia are not alone.  Commercial developers have joined hands with them and are making hundreds of millions in profits as they build ugly, but lucrative high-rises that are shadowing the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba. About 99% of real estate owners in the Jabal ‘Umar area are shareholders in this company. The owners have been provided with financial incentives, including what they used to receive as rents, combining five-star facilities under the luxurious Le Meridien banner.  Le Meridien Towers, Makkah,  will allow several thousand housing units in Mecca to be available during specified periods of time, for a one-off, fixed fee, giving the towers 25 years of shared ownership in Mecca. This scheme allow outsiders, whether Muslim or not, to invest in the city; they will be allowed to buy from a range of properties that can be used, sublet, resold or given as a gift. Many hotels are already in operation and during Ramadan, they offer  direct car access to the Holy Mosque through the tunnel of King Abdulaziz gate.  Raffles Makkah Palace is also situated in the prestigious Abraj Al-Bait complex overlooking the Grand Mosque and Kaaba shrine, Raffles Makkah Palace boasts spacious suites with panoramic views and 24-hour personal butler.

World heritage experts meeting at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London have called on Saudi authorities to halt the destruction of sites linked with Islamic history. Saudi authorities argue that they are trying to prevent idolatry from taking place which is simply not true for reasons stated in previous instalments of this article. 

What has been preserved, strangely are the Jewish Fort of Khyber and the citadel of the Saudi Dynasty at ad-Diriyya district, north-west of Riyad and the site of al-Hijr (Madian Salih) with 111 monumental tombs of the Nabataean period.  

Dr. Mai Yamani, author of The Cradle of Islam, said it was time for other Muslim governments to ignore the al-Sauds' oil wealth and clout and speak out. "What is alarming about this is that the world doesn't question the al-Sauds' custodianship of Islam's two holy places. These are the sites that are of such importance to over one billion Muslims and yet their destruction is being ignored," she said. "When the Prophet was insulted by Danish cartoonists thousands of people went into the streets to protest. The sites related to the Prophet are part of their heritage and religion but we see no concern from Muslims."

The silence that lurks over the destruction of the Islamic heritage is deafening – so deafening that it shrieks out at the Islamic and rest of the world of Asians, Africans, Europeans, Australians and Americans for being tolerant of inhuman and vandalizing attitude of the Wahhabis who are the revilers and destroyers of the legacy of a major world religion which they themselves claim to follow.   Or has Saudi petrodollars and mammonism seeped into their souls and numbed their senses into complacency beyond restoration?  At the rate the wanton wahabbi destructions are going on, soon Islam will no longer have any physical evidence of its early history.    Without history and culture or Islamic tradition there can be no civilization to speak of.  In the future, when the children will ask about the glory of Islam and its symbols and heritage, what will the parents show them?  Just the Khyber Fort or the ad-Diriyyah fort or the site of al-Hijr which are all unislamic?   Or will they show their children the tall buildings and hotels that boast of  un- satiable greed and wilful destructions of the legacy of Islam?  What a shame!

However, there can be no doubt that when all is said and done, history will render a very harsh judgment on those who try to wipe out the signs of the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) whom Allah chose to spread Islam to the world. 

All praise belongs to Allah! Blessings and greetings upon our Master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah and upon his Family and most honorable Companions and all those loyal to him.

To continue, Insha Allah…

NASIR.

PART 7: TRYING TIMES FOR SUNNIS AND SUFIS.

From the Layman’s Desk-15:

PART 7: TRYING TIMES FOR SUNNIS AND SUFIS:

IN THE NAME OF ALLAH, MOST BENEFICIENT, MOST MERCIFUL.

“Do not demolish the buildings of the past, for they are the adornment of Madina.”

[Recorded by Tahawi (Sharh Ma’ani al-Athar, 4:193-94), Bazzar (see Haythami’s Majma’ 3:301), and Hafiz al-‘Ayni said its chain is Sahih (‘Umdat al-Qari, 10:327).]

DESTRUCTION OF ISLAMIC HERITAGE IN MADINAH MUNAWWARA:

We noted earlier that in 1806 the Wahhabi army occupied Madina Munawwara when they left no religious buildings, Masjids, Baqi graveyard, etc.,  undemolished.  The Wahhabi army’s destruction campaign targeted the graves of the martyrs of Uhud, the mosque at the grave of Sayyid al-Shuhada’ Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib and the mosques outside the Baqi’: the Mosque of Fatima al-Zahra, the Mosque of al-Manaratain, and Qubbat’ al-Thanaya (the burial site of the Prophet’s incisor that was broken in the battle of Uhud). The structures in the Baqi’ were also leveled to the ground and not a single dome was left standing. This great place that was visited by millions of Muslims over many centuries became a garbage dump, such that it was not possible to recognise any grave or know whom it embraced.

It was at about this time that Muslims who did not follow the Wahhabi Creed were prevented from performing the Haj.  The Syrians were not granted permission for the pilgrimage.  A year earlier IN 1805, the Iraqi and Iranian Muslims were refused permission to perform the Haj while a year later the Egyptians were not granted permission for the Haj!  This was in stark contravention of the injunction of the Holy Quran in Surat al-Baqara: And who doth greater wrong than he who forbiddeth the approach to the sanctuaries of Allah lest His name should be mentioned therein, and striveth for their ruin. As for such, it was never meant that they should enter them except in fear. Theirs in the world is ignominy and theirs in the Hereafter is an awful doom. [2:114] 

Destruction of Hijaz by the Wahhabis continued even thereafter in 1924 and 1925.    On April 21, 1925, the monuments at the Madina Baqi’ were demolished once again by the Ikhwan, loyal to King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, along with the tombs of Muhammed’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) family members in Mecca.^[7]   The Prophet’s mosque in Medina was bombarded and assurances given by Ibn Saud that it would be restored were never fulfilled.  Promises that Hijaz would be transferred to an Islamic multinational government were likewise unfulfilled.^[4] 1926 saw Muslim protests across the world decrying the Saudi actions.^[4]  The grave of  ‘Abd Allah ibn Abd Muttalib (554-570 c.e.) the father of Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) was in Dar al-Nabigha of the Bani Najjar, the house of where the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) learned to swim. However, the grave was exhumed 17 years ago and transferred to the Baqi’. The area of the house today lies under the marble covering the plaza surrounding the mosque.  The Mashrubat Umm Ibrahim—which was built to mark the location of the house where the Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)  son, Ibrahim, was born to Mariah, his Egyptian wife—also contained the grave of Hamida al-Barbariyya, the mother of Imam Musa al-Kazim. These sites were destroyed over the past few years. 

 SITES UNDER THREAT:  The Prophet’s Mosque in Medina is where Mohammed, Abu Bakr and the Islamic Caliph Umar ibn Al Khattab are buried. A pamphlet published in 2007 by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, endorsed by Abdulaziz Al Sheikh, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, stated that “the green dome shall be demolished and the three graves flattened in the Prophet’s Mosque.” This sentiment was echoed in a speech by the late Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen, one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent Wahhabi clerics: “We hope one day we’ll be able to destroy the green dome of the Prophet Mohammed”.^[8]

Shaykh as-Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa’i (b.1932/1351) wrote Nasiha li Ikhwanina ‘Ulama’ Najd [Advice to Our Brothers the Scholars of Najd] which has been translated into English by Shaykh Haddad for the benefit of the Muslims and the English speaking world.  According to some of the excerpts therein we learn how the Shaykh has admonished the Ulema of Najd.   He says:   You have wreaked destruction on the historical vestiges of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wasallam and those of his most honorable Companions may Allah be pleased with them all) in Madîna al-Munawwara especially and the two Sanctuaries generally. Nothing seems to remain of these vestiges anymore except the Prophetic Mosque itself. Yet, in our time, the nations of the world pride themselves in and preserve their historical vestiges as a memento, a lesson, a meaningful sign of their time-honored past. But you consider that every vestige that is stopped at for perusal or visit, is a partner [worshipped] together with Allah (swt) But Allah (swt) Himself ordered us to travel the earth to see the vestiges of the idolaters and derive lessons from them, such as ‘Ad and Thamud, found at Dîyar Salih, al-‘Ala’, near Madîna al-Munawwara, which are still visited sites, as Allah (swt) said: [Systems have passed away before you. Do but travel in the land and see the nature of the 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 mightier than these in power and (in the) traces (which they left behind them) in the earth. Yet Allah seized them for their sins, and they had no protector from Allah. That was because their messengers kept bringing them clear proofs (of Divine 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) ‘Ad and Thamud and those after them? None but Allah knows them. Their messengers came unto them with clear proofs, but they thrust their hands into their mouths, and said: Lo! we disbelieve in that wherewith you have been sent, and lo! we are in grave doubt concerning that to which you call us] (14:9). Why then do you deprive the Muslims from witnessing the sign-posts and vestiges of the battles of Badr, Uhud, Hudaybiya, Hunayn, al-Ahzab, 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 that, perhaps, you will be granted mercy!

Further down, he says regarding a recent elimination of a vestige:  There was a vestige at the spot where the Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) camel alighted in the mosque of Quba’ when he emigrated to Madîna, at which location was revealed the verse^[10] [A place of worship which was founded upon duty to Allah from the first day is worthier that you should stand to pray therein, wherein are men who love to purify themselves. Allah loves the purifiers] (9:108). You eliminated this vestige which we used to see until recently. Regarding the Defacing Masjid al-Qiblatyn he says:  There used to be, in the Mosque of the Two Qiblas, a marker indicating the old qibla and the abrogated direction of prayer towards the Farthest Mosque [in al-Qudus, Sham], so you eliminated it on the grounds that you consider it an innovation.    

Then he writes about the Razing the Gardens and Wells of the Companions ®:  You eliminated the garden of the Sahabi Salman al-Farisi ® which contained a datepalm-tree planted by the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)  and you destroyed the well of al-‘Ayn al-Zarqa’ near Quba’ and the well of Aris – the “well of the ring.^[11]" You also forbade sighting of the well of Ruma which ‘Uthman ® had bought from a Jew and turned into a permanent endowment for the Muslims in the way of Allah (swt).    There are many other important vestiges that were either eliminated or defaced and changed.  Regarding the razing of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari’s ® house the Shaykh says:   You wreaked destruction on the house of the great Companion Abu Ayyub al-Ansarî ® who hosted the Prophet – Allah bless and greet him and his Family – upon his arrival in Madîna al-Munawwara before the building of his noble apartments. All the periods that preceded yours have preserved this vestige, including your immediate predecessors. But you destroyed this most noble vestige which used to be in the qibla of the most prayer-niche (mihrâb) of the noble Prophetic Mosque on the pretext that “the polytheist Muslims” derived blessings from it!!    The Shaykh also writes about the Wahhabi destruction of an invaluable library near the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari ®:    You destroyed, near the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansarî  ®  the library of Shaykh al-Islam ‘Arif Hikmat which was filled with priceless books and manuscripts.^[12] Its fine Ottoman architecture was unique. You destroyed all of the above when it was far from the enlargement of the Sanctuary and had nothing to do with it.   Finally he sums as follows regarding the destruction of Madina Munawwara:  

You also destroyed the well of Bir Ha’ inside the enlargement area, leaving no trace of it nor marker indicating its former existence. The Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) entered it as mentioned in Sahîh al-Bukhari and elsewhere.^[13] You spared none of the vestiges of al-Mustafa (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) and his Companions ® in Madîna, only the Prophetic Mosque.

Even regarding the Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) Mosque and the Green Dome a Wahhabi named Muqbil ibn Hadi al-Wadi who was a student of the Islamic University of Madina submitted his research paper entitled About the Dome Built over the Grave of Messenger (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam).  This was sponsored by Hammad al-Ansari, "the defunct Shaykh of the anthropomorphists in Madina and a venal mercenary from Mali" according to Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa`i.   In this paper Muqbil openly and shamelessly advocated that the Noble Grave be brought out of the Mosque since he deemed the presence of the Grave and the Noble Dome there as major innovations and asks that both be destroyed.   This man was granted high marks by the authorities.  Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa’i points out that this was the man who had directed hundreds of  his likes, followers and imitators to bear arms and destroy the graves of pious Muslims in Aden and Yemen a few years ago when they roamed the land spreading corruption and ruin, digging up the graves of the dead with picks and spades until they brought out the bones of some of the dead and violated their sanctity.  They caused a deaf and blind dissension….The Shaykh thunders at the Najdi Ulema in his Nasiha:     Do you honor those who challenge the Messenger of Islam, the Beloved of Allah, the Mercy to the Universes and His Intimate Friend?!

Again, how this upstart Wahhabi came to the conclusion that building the dome was a bida‘ or that the grave needed to be taken out of the Masjid-e Nabawi needs a critical review.  Is he more knowledgeable about Islam than the illustrious Sahaba ® of the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam), who did not object and in fact paid great respect to the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) by visiting his grave? Further, why should two of  his closest companions should choose to be buried next to him.   Does Muqbil ibn Hadi know more than Hadrat Abu-Bakr ® and Hadrat Umar ®?

The question that Muslims must ask is:  what right do the Saudis have to do whatever they like to these sites? The Saudis do not own the Haramayn; they are usurpers of the Arabian Peninsula, whose name they have illegally changed to “Saudi” Arabia. This is bida: Allah's Messenger named this land the Arabian Peninsula (Jazeerat al-Arab).  In their zeal to impose their own distorted version of Islam on everyone, they have embarked on wholesale destruction of Islam's historical sites.  In the recent past, the city planning board of Madinah changed the colour of the famous Green Dome of the Prophet's (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) Mosque and painted it silver. The green dome identifies and symbolizes the Prophet's (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) grave; due to the Mosque's expansion, it has now been surrounded, yet it is a unique visual focal point. Was the purpose to pave the way for its destruction, since most Muslims might not even realize what had happened if they hear or notice that a silver dome has been destroyed in Masjid-e Nabawi? After all, a number of silver domes in the Masjid-e Nabawi have already been obliterated using the pretext of expansion and renovation.   Intense protests by concerned citizens forced the board to restore the Dome to its original color, but it would be wrong to conclude that the Wahhabis have realized the error of their ways.

Regarding the ploy of the Wahhabi Ulema to stop people from visiting the Janntul Baqi, the Shaykh addressed the Ulema of Najda further as follows:   “You strove to commit a major innovation in which none preceded 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 place of idolatry and innovations,” as you put it, so as to stop people from entering al-Baqi‘ and visiting whoever is in it of the Prophetic relatives, the Companions, the Successors, and the rest of the Righteous. Allah (swt) brought your endeavors to nought, causing someone to inform King Fahd, the Custodian of the Two Sanctuaries, of this plan. Whereupon he rejected what you were planning and ordered that al-Baqi‘ be enlarged so as to eliminate your pretext that it became too full to accommodate more Muslim burials.”   

In Medina, of the seven mosques at the site of the Battle of the Trench (Jabal al-Khandaq), where Sura al-Ahzab was revealed, only two remained. The others have been demolished and a Saudi bank’s cashpoint machine has been built in the area. The remaining mosques were to be demolished as soon as the new mosque being constructed is ready to replace them.  One of the mosques slated for destruction was Masjid Fath, the mosque and rock of victory, where the Prophet stood during the battle of the trench praying for victory.  On the rock is where he received God’s promises of victory and of the conquest of Mecca.  On 10 September 2004, after the demolition of the famous Seven Mosques of Fatimah,‘Ali,Salman al Farisi, Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, al Qiblatayn and al Fath, Muhammad al Dubaisi writing in al Madinah highlighted that the “destruction of these mosques has deprived Madina Munawwara of one pillar of its immortal history”.  In response, Salafi writer Saleh al Fawzan justified the destruction of the historic mosques.^[10]

On the al-Muwajaha al-Sharifa or the Jali Mubarak on the Roza-e-Rasool Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam)  the words YA ALLAH  YA MUHAMMAD were visible for centuries.  The Wahhabis have mutilated YA MUHAMMAD in a way that it now reads as YA MAJEED.  On the Qibla side, the brass partition that is divided into three sections between two columns, the authorities have also tried to cover the famous two verses inscribed in the east from the story of al-‘Utbi as mentioned by Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir. “O best of those whose bones are buried in the deep earth, and from whose fragrance the depth and height have become sweet! May I be the ransom for a grave in which you dwell, where purity, bounty and munificence.” There are qasidas written by rulers of the Muslim world, such as Sultan ‘Abd al- Hamid. Many verses of the famous Burda of al-Busayri had also been painted over. If one raises his head a bit, he will see on the first section of this partition a green banner, on which the words of the Almighty are framed in yellow:  O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, may blessings and peace be upon him and his family, nor speak aloud to him in talk, as you speak aloud to one another, lest your deeds be rendered fruitless while you perceive not. (Qur’an 49:2)

The Sacred Chamber has four exterior doors: on the south, Bab al-Tawba (The Door of Repentance), on thenorth, Bab al-Tahajjud (The Door of Night Prayer), on the east, Bab Fatima (the Door of Fatima), and on the west, Bab al-Nabi (The Door of the Prophet)—also known as Bab al- Wufud (The Door of Delegations).  These gates have been present since the year 668 AH except for the Gate of the Night Prayer, which was installed in 729 AH. Inside there are two gates, one on either side of the triangular part of the interior compartment. All of these doors are covered by brass shelves holding Qur’ans, an attempt to prevent the public from looking inside the Sacred chamber.  Outside, the police are on the look out for the visitors who raise their hands as in Fateha or those who remain unduly long before the Rowza-e-Rasool (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam). They remain with their backs to the Jali Mubarak of the Rauza-e-Rasool all the time without an iota of respect for the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam).  As Shaykh Yusuf al-Rifa’i  picturesquely  points out in his Nasiha to the Najdi Ulema:  “You have brought hirelings and ignoramuses whose only skill is frowning and placed them at al-Muwajaha al Sharifa with their backs turned to the Elect Prophet, peace and greetings be upon him. They turn their backs and rear ends to him, facing his visitors and all Muslims with sour faces full of spite, giving them sinister looks and taunting them with charges of idolatry 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 of Allah, { O you who believe! Raise not your voices above the voice of the Prophet, nor shout when speaking to him as you shout to one another, lest your works be rendered vain while you perceive not. Lo! They who subdue their voices in the presence of the Messenger of Allah, those are they whose heart Allah has proven unto righteousness. Theirs will be forgiveness and immense reward. Lo! Those who call you from behind the private apartment, most of them have no sense." [49:2-4].”   As for women, they  are forbidden by the Wahhabis from reaching the Muwajaha Sharifa and greeting the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam).
  

Also, near Sayyiduna Ameer Hamza ® burial grounds, there is a Masjid on the “Mihrab” (prayer niche) of which there are two inscriptions which originally read in Arabic  as “ALLAH” on the right and “MUHAMMAD” on the left.  Today, the name “MUHAMMAD” has been scribbled out.   (Please watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpynlYeM-H4) The commentator while addressing the Wahhabis rightly puts a poser: Will you able to drop the name of MUHAMMAD from the Kalima  or from the Holy Qur’an too!  Abandon ye the works of the Devil!  The former Masjid at Uhud was destroyed by the Wahhabi brigands. 

Shaykh Sayyid Yusuf al-Rifa'i puts three questions  to the Najdi Scholars:  "Why did you not turn to Khaybar and other places? And is it permissible to imitate the Jews who destroy and eliminate every Islamic vestige in al-Qudus al-Sharif , by erasing our own vestiges in al-Madina al-Munawara?  What have you left of our glorious heritage for future generations?" 

To continue, Insha Allah…

NASIR