Did Sheikh Muqbil Make Takfeer of ‘Abdullah ‘Azzaam?
Did Sheikh Muqbil Make Takfeer of ‘Abdullah ‘Azzaam?
Sheikh Muqbil bin Haadee al-Waadi’ee, may Allah have mercy on him, was asked:
“One of the people said to me that indeed you have declared ‘Abdullah ‘Azzaam [1] a disbeliever. What is the correctness of this statement and what is your reply to it?”
So, he replied:
“As for takfeer (declaring someone a disbeliever), then Ahlus-Sunnah are the furthest of the people from it. However, I (did) say that he was an innovator, and when it reached me that he used to say: ‘Pray as the Afghans pray’ [2], I said: This is the speech of a person who does not give importance to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (sallalahu alaihi wa ‘ala aalihi wa sallam), and the intent is that I have attacked him in more than a (single) cassette. However, Ahlus-Sunnah do not declare the Muslims disbelievers, and the Messenger (sallalahu alaihi wa ‘ala aalihi wa sallam) said:
“Whosoever says to his brother O’ disbeliever, then it is as he said or it returns back upon him.”
And I feel pity whereby the one who said this does not differentiate between declaring someone an innovator (tabdee’) and declaring someone a disbeliever (takfeer). And I feel pity for where this ignorance has taken them. Then, they claim that they are callers to Allah and they (actually) deceive the people, and Allah is the One from Whom aid is sought. So, here I am, I say he was an innovator, and here I am, I say that he didn’t give importance to the Sunnah and that he was a man who was a staunch hizbee (partisan). And as for disbelief, then no, and I say: May Allah have mercy on him despite what he had with from innovation, for perhaps he has attained that for which he put forward.”
1. Qam’-ul-Mu’aanid Wa Zajr-il-Haaqid-il-Haasid, page 324, Daar-ul-Hadeeth Bi Dammaaj, Dammaaj, 1st Edition, 1413/1993. Translated and compiled by Abu Yusuf Sagheer bin ‘Abdir-Rasheed al-Kashmeeree.
2. Translator’s note: ‘Abdullah Yusuf ‘Azzaam was a Palestinian engineer who was a member of the modernist group, Al-Ikhwaan-ul-Muslimoon (The Muslim Brotherhood). He gained notoriety for his relocation to Pakistan to support the Afghan people during their struggle against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the late 70’s and 80’s, and he is widely believed to have been the mentor of the infamous kharijite, Usama bin Laden. His staunch partisanship for The Muslim Brotherhood led to him spreading the lie that the great Sheikh, Sheikh Muhammad Naasir-ud-Deen al-Albaanee (may Allah have mercy on him), had declared Sayyid Qutb (a major figure head of the Brotherhood) to be a disbeliever! This issue of declaring Qutb a disbeliever, which ‘Azzaam had spread about the Sheikh, was clarified by Sheikh al-Albaanee (as being a lie against him) and it was conveyed back to ‘Azzaam. However, he still persisted in repeating it until it spread everywhere. ‘Azzaam was assassinated in 1989 in the Pakistani city of Peshawar when unknown assassins detonated a bomb on the road where his vehicle was moving.
3.Translator’s note: Meaning, pray according to the way of the Hanafee school of thought, as the majority of the people in Afghanistan follow this school of thought.
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The Prophet ﷺ said:
❝Whoever invites to guidance will be rewarded like those who follow him in guidance are rewarded, and that will not decrease the reward of those who have followed him❞. [Muslim]
