A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 600 years ago, Hafizh ‘Imad ad-Din  Abu al-Fida’   Isma’il ibn ‘Umar ibn Katsir ( r.a. ) wrote, in his al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah , “If the Khwarij ever gained power, they would corrupt the entire land, Iraq and Syria.  They would not leave a boy or a girl or a man or a woman, for in their view the people have become so corrupt that they cannot be reformed except by mass killing.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Hafizh ‘Imad ad-Din  Abu al-Fida’   Isma’il ibn ‘Umar ibn Katsir ( r.a. ) described the admonitions of Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ), in his tarikh , al-Bidayah wa an-Nihayah , saying, “He enjoined the people to do what is good and abstain from what is evil.  His admonitions addressed caliphs, ministers, people in authority, judges, companions and the masses.  Standing on the pulpits of the mosques, he reprimanded them in the presence of witnesses as well as during his public addresses.  He disavowed the civil appointment of any unjust person, chose Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Blessings over anyone else’s wrath, and was not affected by any reproach.”  This was quoted, by Shaykh Muhammad al-Akili, in the preface to his translation of al-Fath ar-Rabbani .

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ According to Hafizh ‘Imad ad-Din  Abu al-Fida’   Isma’il ibn ‘Umar ibn Katsir ( r.a. ), Imam Abu ‘Abdullah Sufyan ibn Sa’id ats-Tsawri ( r.a. ) related that Jesus ( a.s. ), the son of Mary ( a.s. ), said, “Love of this world and love of the next world can never reside in the heart of a believer simultaneously, just as fire and water cannot be contained in a single vessel at the same time.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Hafizh ‘Imad ad-Din  Abu al-Fida’   Isma’il ibn ‘Umar ibn Katsir ( r.a. ) was a muhaddits , and a student of  Shaykh Taqi’ ad-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Halim ibn Taymiyyah  ( r.a. ).  Hafizh ibn Katsir ( r.a. ), in the last days of his life, wrote a book entitled Mawlid Rasulullah , which was spread far and wide.  That book mentioned the permissibility and commendability of celebrating the Mawlid .  Hafizh ibn Katsir ( r.a .) wrote, “The night of the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) birth is a magnificent, noble, blessed, and holy night, a night of bliss for the believers, pure, radiant with lights and of immeasurable price.”