A Muslim Convert Once Before

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ) wrote, in his Fatawa al-Haditsiyyah , “There are two groups of deniers: in the case of those we mentioned, their intention was not to show pure good counsel to Muslims, but pure fanaticism, which is why they believed whatever they believed.  They were overcome by a kind of envy and the desire to be different from others in their time, in order to be distinguished from them by means of these unusual things and to gain the reputation that they disapprove of any reprehensible matter without fearing anyone, and the like of such corrupted intentions which contains not the slightest portion of sincerity.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The first shaykh of Ghawts al-A’azham , Shaykh Muhyi ad-Din Abu Muhammad ibn Abu Swalih ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani ( q.s. ), was Khwaja Abu Ya’qub Yusuf ibn Ayyub al-Hamdani ( q.s. ), who was the quthb of his time.   Khwaja Yusuf al-Hamadani (q.s.) was the 9 th shaykh in the Naqshbandi Haqqani Golden Chain, and the first of the Khwajangan , the Masters of Central Asia.   It is recorded by Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-ʿAbbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ), in al-Fatawa al-Haditsiyyah .   Imam Abu Sa’id ‘Abdullah ibn Abu ‘Asrun ( r.a. ), the imam of the Shafi`i madzhab of his time, said “When I began a search for religious knowledge, I kept company with my friend, ibn as-Saqa’, who was a student in the Nizhamiyyah , and it was our custom to visit the pious.   We heard that there was, in Baghdad, a man named Yusuf al-Hamadani who was known as al-Ghawts , and that he was able to appear whenever he liked, and was...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ) wrote, in al-Fatawa al-Haditsiyyah , “The ‘man of bid’ah ’ means one whose beliefs differ from the Ahl as-Sunnah creed.  The Ahl as-Sunnah creed is the creed of Imam Abu Manswur al-Maturidi, and Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari, and those who followed them.  One who brings forth something which is not approved by Islam becomes a man of bid’ah .”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ) wrote, in Fatawa al-Haditsiyyah , “Criticising the Sufis is a mortal poison, and a pitfall from which one does irremediable damage to one’s belief, and we seek Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) Protection from that.”

‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ) wrote, in Fatawa al-Haditsiyyah , “The gatherings of mawlid and adzkar , which take place during our time, are mostly confined to good deeds.  For example, in them swadaqah are given, adzkar is done, swalawat and salaam is sent upon the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) and he is praised.”

‎ بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Imam Shihab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Qasthalani ( r.a. ), in al-Muwahib al-Ladunniyya bi al-Minah al-Muhammadiyyah , referencing the intercession of the different categories of awliya’ , said, “When ordinary people fall into trouble, first of all, the akhyar supplicate for them, then turn by turn the nobility, abdal , the abrar and the nuqaba’ .  If their supplication is granted, well and good.  Otherwise, the saint of the highest rank, ghawts , supplicates for them, and before he winds it up, his prayer is Granted.”   Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ) recorded, in his Fatawa al-Haditsiyyah , the experience of Shaykh Abu ‘Abdullah al-Qurayshi ( q.s. ) that Allah’s ( s.w.t. ) friends help people after death just as they helped them in life, and the value of their benefit is not in the least reduced.  Shaykh Abu ‘Abdullah al-Qurayshi ( q.s. ) said, “A severe ...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The Shafi’i jurist, Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami ( r.a. ), wrote in his Fatawa al-Haditsiyyah , “ibn Taymiyyah is a servant which Allah Forsook, Misguided, Blinded, Deafened, and Debased.  That is the declaration of the a’immah who have exposed the corruption of his positions and the mendacity of his sayings.  Whoever wishes to pursue this must read the words of the mujtahid imam , Abu al-Hasan as-Subki, of his son Taj ad-Din Subki, of the imam al-‘Izz ibn Jama’ah and others of the Shafi’i, Maliki, and Hanafi shuyukh .”   He continued, “It must be considered that he is a misguided and misguiding innovator and an ignorant fanatic whom Allah Treated with His Justice.  May He Protect us from the likes of his path, doctrine, and actions!  Know that he has differed from people on questions about which Taj ad-Din ibn as-Subki and others warned us.”

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ Regarding the vision of the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) in a waking state, Imam Shibab ad-Din Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajr al-Haytsami, ( r.a. ) said, “This matter has been denied by some and upheld by others who are correct.  This has been mentioned by those amongst the righteous who are not found blameworthy.  As well as reported in the hadits found in Swahih al-Bukhari , ‘Whoever has seen me in their sleep will see me in a waking state.’ by his eyes, or his heart.  The meaning, that this is a reference to the Day of Reckoning, is a stretch as there is no point in constricting the meaning to this as all of us will see the Prophet ( s.a.w. ) on the Day of Reckoning, those who have seen him during sleep and those who have not.   ibn Abu Jamrah, in his commentary on the ahadits he selected from the collection of al-Bukhari, held this particular hadits to have a general meaning of both during the Prophet’s ( s.a.w. ) life...

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ The hadhrah is permissible in all the madzahib .  There may be elements in a ruling where there is khilaf , such as the use of musical instruments mentioned below. These elements may be the general opinion within a madzhab or the opinion of certain scholars within a madzhab .   The hadhrah is a form of group dzikr where the attendees most often stand in a circle.  Depending on the particular Sufi order, it can contain elements such as singing, dancing, and music.  The ruling on an issue derives from its conceptualisation is a maxim of classical logic.  It means that before one can pass judgement on an issue, one has to properly understand it.  Whatever has been decisively proven as impermissible is not permitted, and whatever has been decisively proven as permissible is permitted.   If the hadhrah contains something impermissible, then attending it is forbidden.  Some Shafi’i scholars are of the opin...