We are reminded of the statement of Allāh Subḥānahu wa Ta'ālā,

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Percival Terry
5 years ago
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Who Claims That Not Promoting Him and His Translations Amounts to Stopping the Voices of the Scholars Being Heard in the West Over the last five or so years, the Salafī Da'wah in the West has been

1 Who Claims That Not Promoting Him and His Translations Amounts to Stopping the Voices of the Scholars Being Heard in the West Over the last five or so years, the Salafī Da'wah in the West has been affected by individuals of dubious and previously unknown backgrounds appearing on the scene and constantly portraying the Salafī Da'wah in the West as one of disarray, confusion, splitting and chaos. In reality, these individuals are often instigators of many of these said problems, whereas Salafī communities in the West have been working hard during that time to bring about an unprecedented level of love, unity and cooperation in da'wah. That being said, there is an article circulating written by the individual named Hishām Abouzeid of the so called Ulama Audio wherein he precariously tries to show that I, Abū Zaynab Yūsuf Diab, have been using the name of our brother Abū Muḥammad al Maghribī to warn against him. Aside from this being an outright fabrication, he craftily coins the title Debunking the Rumors of Those Who Wish to Stop the Voice of The Scholars in the West. This is yet another dubious attempt to concoct the notion that Mpubs and those whom we affiliate with are somehow trying to disconnect the people from the scholars because we do not give him, and those like him, a platform. It is also a feeble attempt at self authentication on his behalf, as he seems to allude to the notion that if anyone questions his translations and academic abilities then they are attempting to stop the voice of the Ulamā` in the West. I remind this brother that Allāh is not in need of anyone for His Dīn; neither him nor myself, and we are the ones in need of Allāh. Allāh will spread this Blessed Da wah with or without us. We are reminded of the statement of Allāh Subḥānahu wa Ta'ālā, 1

2 إ نح ن ن زل ن ا الذ ك ر و إ ل ه لح اف ظ ون Verily It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'ān) and surely, We will preserve it. [Sūrah al Ḥijr 15:9] And the authentic ḥadīth of The Messenger, عن ثو ن قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لا تزال طاي فة من أمتي ظاهرين على الحق لا يضرهم من خذلهم حتى تي أمر الله There will not cease to be a group from my Ummah manifest and upon the truth not being harmed by those who forsake them until the hour is established. And as our brother and teacher Ḥasan Ṣumālī once mentioned, that Shaykh Muqbil would always quote the beautiful and profound statement of Shaykh al Islām Ibn Taymiyyah, "Even if Bukharī and Muslim had not been created, the religion of Allāh would not have diminished in the least." This inept and ineffectual article is an unimpressive, yet devious plot by another scheming trouble maker to stir up dissension within the ranks of the Salafīs and make it appear as if the Salafīs are divided and split. The mere conniving and calculative use of the title Debunking the Rumors of Those Who Wish to Stop the Voice of the Scholars in the West shows the maliciousness of this person, trying to imply that he is from the first to connect the people to the scholars and that I, Yūsuf Diab, Mpubs, and those whom we cooperate with wish to separate the people from the scholars. Anyone who knows Mpubs, or myself, knows that we have been at the forefront in connecting many areas in the Western lands to the scholars. Furthermore, who is he referring to when he says...those Who Wish to Stop the Voice of the Scholars...? 2

3 Is it our brothers Ḥasan Ṣumālī, Abūl Ḥasan Mālik, Anwar Wright, Kashiff Khan, Abū Muhammad al Maghribī and those in the US with them? Or is it the brothers, Abū Khadījah, Abū Ḥakīm, Abū Iyāḍ, Abū Idrīs, Abū Mu'ādh Taqwīm and those in the UK with them? I spoke to Abū Muḥammad regarding his brief conversation with Hishām as it relates to this issue and these are some points of irregularities, inconsistencies and clarification with regard to Hishām s speech in the aforementioned article: Abū Muḥammad said he was contacted by the individual Hishām Abouzeid while he (Abū Muḥammad) was about to board the flight on his way to the conference at Masjid ar Raḥmah on Thursday 28th July, and Hishām stated that there was a brother circulating some speech on the Whatsapp groups and other social media platforms that Abū Muḥammad was warning against him (Hishām). He then went on to insinuate that I, Yūsuf Diab, was somehow connected with those responsible for this narration. Firstly, for the record, I did not tell anyone that Abū Muḥammad warned against Hishām Abouzeid. Secondly, Abū Muḥammad stated that he did not encourage Hishām to write any such warning and/or mention my name in any of that speech, in a manner to show that he is displeased with me in any way. Thirdly, Abū Muḥammad did mention that he knew me, but not very well, and he met me in Philadelphia and commended me for my efforts in spreading the Da wah. He (Abū Muḥammad) did not expect that Hishām would use his speech in such a cleverly compiled article to suggest that he (Abū Muḥammad) was disparaging me, Yūsuf Diab. Abū Muḥammad was, in fact, very discontented that Hishām spread his speech in such a mischievous and malevolent manner. 3

4 I, Yūsuf Diab, say that if I was ever asked about Hishām Abouzeid then my statements were always consistent with advice to the one asking, based on my experience with Hishām as a former translator for Mpubs. I never made tabdī of anyone or said anyone was not Salafī. I did not compel anyone not to take knowledge from Hishām or his website so called Ulama Audio. I simply offered my sincere advice about the individual based on our two or so years of working with him. That advice comprised the explanation that Mpubs and Hishām stopped cooperating due to a number of reasons. One of the main reasons being our realization that many of the new, self proclaimed translators trying to impose themselves in the academic Salafī world today have never studied properly with the Ulamā`, do not have a proper command of either Arabic or English, and/or they have malicious agendas in what they translate for a specific, purposeful intent. Many of these self proclaimed translators/students also do not have established, long term ties with the Ulamā` and have no working relationship with the Students of Knowledge known to the Ulamā` in their area or region. Instead, they act and operate on their own and seek to carve out their own platforms and audiences. Another one of the reasons we stopped working with Hishām was his support for an individual by the name of Alī al Filisṭinī, who has been exposed by our brothers Abū Ḥakīm, Abū Khadījah and others, for opposing the Salafī Usūl in da wah, particularly in Trinidad. From the most major of oppositions committed by Alī al Filisṭinī is him accepting salaries to teach at masājid in Trinidad that are under the control of, or heavily influenced by al Ikhwān al Muslimīn, under the guise that they are masājid of the laymen. This has proved, in many evident cases, to only increase the strength and numbers of these ḥizbī masājid, causing great harm and confusion to the Salafī Da'wah in 4

5 Trinidad. Proof of this, in one particular case, is that after his contract expired in the last masjid (where he had applied this Ḥalabī principle of cooperation with ḥizbīs) and he and his followers claimed this masjid had been converted to Salafīyyah, those at this masjid resorted to pure Ikhwānī ways, cooperating with the head Ikhwānī callers in Trinidad. They even rival their seminars and lectures with the seminars of the Salafīs corresponding to the visits of the brothers from Salafī Publications. Another reason we stopped working with Hishām was his (Hishām s) dissatisfaction with the financial compensation afforded to him from Mpubs for his translation duties. Here is a quote of my exact speech when asked about whether we still cooperate with Hishām, and concerning his website, so called Ulama Audio that still had audios of the refuted Yemenī Mashāyikh (May Allāh rectify their affair and return them to the truth): <begin quote> Wa Alaykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatahu. No we no longer cooperate with him for several reasons. The main one being that he supports Ali al Filistinee a caller who is warned against here in Trinidad by Abu Hakeem, Abu Khadeejah, Abu Idrees and Hasan Somali. Firstly, I never warned against the translator, I simply said he is an unknown and does not cooperate with our Salafi brothers in America like Hasan Somali, Abu Hasan Maalik and others. My advice is that one asks Hasan Somali or one of the other well known, recommended duaat in America about him, as Hisham is also in America. (Ask Ahl Makkah about it's streets). Secondly, Shaykh Ubayd did declare Shaykh Muhammad al Imaam an innovator. He, Shaykh Ubayd, also told us at Mpubs to drop all of the mashaayikh in Yemen who supports Muhammad al Imaam. Thirdly I mentioned a list of those main ones who are with Muhammad al Imaam that are still being promoted on ulama audio like Shaykh 'AbdulAzeez al Buraa'ee, Shaykh 5

6 Uthmaan as Saalimee, Shaykh Abdullah adh Dhamari, Shaykh AbdulWasee' as Sa'eedi, Shaykh 'Ali ar Razihi and others. Fourthly I mentioned a list of those Yemeni mashaayikh that have freed themselves from Muhammad al Imaam and are with the ulamah like Shaykh Saalim Baamihriz, Shaykh 'Arafat Muhammady, Shaykh Hani Burayk, Shaykh Abu Ammaar Ali Hudhayfee, Shaykh Yaseen al Adani, Shaykh Abbaas al Joona and others. Finally I am not to be returned to in this affair; I merely highlighted the facts concerning ulama audio and offered my advice based on advices from the ulamah given to us. One should return to the ulamah and those brothers in America who are familiar with this person. Wa Allahu Alam <end of quote> This was my exact speech to the individual being used in Hishām s apparent chain of narration that I, Yūsuf Diab, was saying that Abū Muḥammad warned against him. We implore the people to be careful of these shrewd, calculative schemes by the likes of Hishām and all those like him who seek only to legitimize themselves as someone to be returned to in this religion. In the past, we at Muwahhideen Publications (Mpubs) have been very lenient with those whom we used to translate for our regular connections with the Ulamā`, Mashāyikh and Students of Knowledge. However, as per the advice of our senior Ulamā` and some of our brothers from our forerunners in the da wah, we have set for ourselves much more stringent criteria for those we select to translate for us, as it is a heavy responsibility requiring proper academic credibility and astute Islāmic abilities, acquired from a number of years of direct study at the feet of the Ulamā`, constantly being in contact and visiting with them, and being adept at translating in terms of the specific Sharī ah issues being dealt with. 6

7 We say, as our Ulamā`, Mashāyikh and Students of Knowledge have always recommended, that we stick tenaciously to the mashāyikh and students that are recommended by the major scholars and that have sat with the Ulamā` for a number of years, those who have been calling to this blessed Salafī Da wah and weathered through wave after wave of fitnah from those who oppose the Salafī Manhaj. The best advice we can implement and offer others in these tumultuous times is as our Salafī Imām Muḥammad Ibn Sirīn said, Verily this knowledge is Dīn, so look to the one you take your Dīn from. Finally I say, if Hishām believes that by someone questioning his credentials as a translator or not promoting his translations and thus not making his name popular, they are stopping the voice of the scholars from being heard, then I say: 1. This is the epitome of self delusion and self amazement, to claim that the knowledge of the scholars is stopped when his translations are not promoted and sanctioned. 2. Since I do not know of any well known Salafī Masjid, Markaz or Maktabah in the East or the West that promotes the translations of Hishām, then according to him, it goes without saying that they must have all conspired to stop the voice of the scholars from being heard! This assertion of Hishām is sheer nonsense, self amazement and a delusional idea of selfimportance! May Allāh guide him. It is truly sad and astonishing that this brother continuously translates audios pertaining to the problems among the Salafīs, yet is one of the instigators in this whole fiasco, as proven by this irresponsible article, as well as other incidents. Know that I, Yūsuf Diab, and Mpubs have a close working relationship with the Salafī Scholars, Mashāyikh, and our brothers from the Students of Knowledge that are recommended by the scholars, such as Abū Ḥakīm, Abū Khadījah, Abū Iyāḍ, Abū Idrīs, Abū Mu'ādh Taqwīm, Ḥasan Ṣumālī and others, and we do not act or speak independently in matters of the religion. 7

8 We ask Allāh Subḥānahu wa Ta'ālā to continue to bless the Salafīs with unity upon His Book and the Sunnah of His Messenger, upon the understanding of the Salaf al Ṣālih, and those who follow them to this day. We beseech Allāh Ta'ālā to save us from the splitting of the people of desires and their plots to sever our firm grip upon the Rope of Allāh. May He Azza wa Jall expose the fitnah makers and rabble rousers and render their plots naught. I write this clarification seeking only the Face of Allāh, and I ask His forgiveness for any shortcomings therein. May the peace and blessings of Allāh be upon the Prophet Muḥammad, his Family and Companions and those that follow him until the Day of Judgement. And the final word is all praise belongs to Allāh, Lord of all the Worlds. Allāh Ta ālā knows best And with Allāh is success The one in need of Allāh, Abū Zaynab Yūsuf Diab 8

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