New Website For Authentic Fatwas

An email from Abu 'Abdullaah (Fatwa-Online/E-Fatwa mailing list):

http://www.alifta. com

Now Website for Authentic Fatwas

The Presidency for Scientific Research and Religious Edicts (Dar Al-Ifta), the Riyadh-based organization comprising prominent Islamic scholars that issues fatwas, has set up a website for its religious rulings. The site (www.alifta.com) provides quick access to the fatwas issued by Dar Al-Ifta, which is affiliated to the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars headed by Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh.

The site features fatwas issued by prominent Islamic scholars and has devoted a section for the fatwas of Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz, the former mufti who died in 1999.

Visitors to the new website will be able to ask questions on various topics and get replies from well-known scholars. The launch of the website comes in response to calls for the authentication of religious edicts in Saudi Arabia. Certain radical groups sometimes issue sketchy fatwas urging Muslim youths to take part in jihad. The website is aimed at giving Muslims a place to review authentic and widely accepted fatwas issued by the Islamic authority in the Kingdom.

On the main page of the site, one can find the fatwas of the permanent committee for ifta, fatwas of Sheikh Bin Baz, and of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars as well as the Islamic Research Magazine.

The site also contains some of the Hadiths reported by prominent women followers of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) including Khadeeja, Safiya, Zainab, Hafsa, Aisha, Fatma, Asma bint Abibakr, Um Salama and Um Dardaa.

Saudis and expatriates in the Kingdom welcomed the new fatwa website and said it would help the public to receive authentic religious rulings and opinions on various issues.

Mohammed Habeeb, director general of the Dawa Center in Al-Salama district in Jeddah, said Dar Al-Ifta’s site is very informative and would benefit a large number of people worldwide. However, he stressed the need for further developing the site with interactive facilities.

“People have been waiting for this site for quite a long time,” Habeeb told Arab News. “It is a nice website containing religious edicts made by prominent scholars like Bin Baz and Bin-Othaimeen.”

He called upon Dar Al-Ifta to translate the religious rulings into English and other major languages. “There is a multi-language website set up by Egypt’s Al-Azhar. Many foreigners make use of it.”

Saudi Arabia has emphasized the need for the compilation of religious edicts in order to unite Muslims. In a previous statement, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal underscored the important roles that Islamic institutions, such as the Islamic Fiqh Academy, play in protecting Islamic beliefs and ideology.

So now the Jamaah at-Tabligh (also known as Tablighi Jamaat) is described as a "radical Islamic sect" and linked to the Deobandi movement.. This really came as a surprise to me.. Although I never see the Tablighi Jamaat as being upon the Qur-aan and Sunnah as understood by the Salaf, it never really crossed my mind that it would become a radical or hardline movement..

However, in a breakfast session with Muis President Mr Alami Musa, along with tertiary Malay-Muslim leaders, I did voice out that Muis should monitor the activities of the Tablighi Jamaat, especially when they bring in preachers from India or Pakistan or elsewhere.

Here's something we should read and analyse:

Radical Islamic sect 'has half of Britain's mosques in its grip'

Last updated at 09:36am on 7th September 2007

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Hardliner: Riyadh ul Haq preaches contempt for non-Muslims

A hardline Islamic movement, whose leading UK imam preaches anti-Semitism and calls on Muslims to "shed blood for Allah", is controlling almost half of Britain's mosques, a police report has found.

The influence of the ultra-conservative Deobandi sect, which is characterised by its total rejection of western values, has grown to such an extent that police now believe it runs more than 600 of Britain's 1,350 mosques.

The revelations will put further scrutiny on plans for a "mega mosque" in east London by a group called Tablighi Jamaat, who are closely linked to the Deobandi movement.

The £100 million plan to build the "Islamic village" next to the Olympic site is already mired in controversy after intelligence services said the group was a recruiting ground for al Qaeda.

The Deobandi- controlled mosques are predominantly found in the Midlands and the North - such as the Tablighi Jamaat mosque which 7/7 bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer were known to attend.

But about 170 London mosques are classified as Deobandi-run compared with less than 100 run by the moderate Sufi-based Barelwi movement.

Seventeen of Britain's 26 Islamic seminaries are also run by Deobandis, producing 80 per cent of clerics trained here.

The most vocal preacher in Britain, Sheikh Riyadh ul Haq, supports armed jihad and is openly contemptuous of Christians, Jews and Hindus.

Mr ul Haq, 36, who runs an Islamic academy in Leicester, gained notoriety with a series of outspoken lectures after 9/11 when he was Imam of Birmingham Central Mosque. He has since travelled the world preaching that America and its allies are seeking to wipe out Islam.

Tapes of his sermons reveal an open hatred of Western culture, an admiration for the Taliban and a passion for martyrdom - although he does say in one lecture that "British Muslims should not rise here".

A favourite talk of his, however, warns Muslims of the perils of befriending the "kuffar", or non-believer. He says: "The Koran teaches Muslims not to follow in the footsteps of the Jews and the Christians, yet of our own choice we decide to live, act, work, behave, enjoy and play just like the kuffar".

"Do not befriend the kuffarî was Allah's warning to Muslims, and Muhammad told his companions "to distance themselves and fear this alignment with the kuffar in every way, even to the manner of dressing".

Moderate forces within Britain's Muslim community say they are doing all they can to counter the influence of preachers like Sheikh Riyadh ul Haq.

Ghayasuddin Siddiqui of the Muslim Parliament said: "There is no doubt the Deobandi movement became more influential in Britain's mosques in the Nineties and this went largely unchecked. The situation now is of great concern as almost all Islamic extremism originates from the Deobandi thinking".

A Department for Communities spokesman said: "We have a strategy to ensure imams represent mainstream moderate opinion and promote values like tolerance and respect of the law. We never said the challenge from extremism is restricted to those coming from overseas".

[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=480470&in_page_id=1770]

Informing The Authorities Of Terrorist Plots

Informing The Authorities Of Terrorist Plots.

The Salafi position with regarding those who incite or plan terrorist acts such as suicide, kidnap or bombings is that Muslims should inform the authorities of their activities. This is regardless of whether these acts are perpetrated in Muslim or non-Muslim countries. Muslim communities must be at the forefront of stamping out these non-Islamic acts that are done falsely in the name of Islam. The Messenger of Allaah stated: “Whoever sees an evil, let him change it with his hand. If he is not able to do that, then let him change it with his tongue [by speaking]. And if he is not able to do that, then let him [hate it] with his heart, and that is the weakest of faith.” (Reported by Muslim)

The Scholars have stated that forbidding with the hand is done by the governments and the authorities, so they hold and punish and imprison the evil doers. If they withhold from this duty, it does NOT fall into the hands of the citizens to take the law into their own hands. Rather they remain patient. As for speaking against the evil in terms of refuting the false ideologies, then that it for the scholars and the people of knowledge, not for ignorant, and there has never been a time in the history of Islam, except that the scholars have spoken out against evil ideologies and doctrines as a safeguard for Islam, and this will not stop up until the final Hour is established. As for the general person then he forbids only in accordance to his knowledge and ability in line with the rulings of the true scholars of the Sunnah based upon the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. As for hating with the heart, then this for the one who recognizes evil, but does not have the knowledge nor the ability to speak against this, so he distances himself from it and keeps away from it. So as it relates to the terrorists, then it is known by the one possessing knowledge as well as the one who is devoid of it, that these acts are evil and condemned by the Muslim scholars based upon the texts of the Qur’aan and authentic Sunnah. So both, the one possessing knowledge and the general person, informs the authorities of those that incite or plan terrorist acts.

And this is from the aspect of forbidding evil and thereby earning the reward of Allaah, the Most High. Indeed it is a distinguishing trait of this nation that they enjoin the good and forbid the evil. Allaah states, “Let there rise from amongst you a group that call to good and they enjoin the good and forbid the evil. And indeed they are the successful.” (Qur’aan 3:104) Indeed nations that came before were cursed upon the tongues of the Prophets due to them not forbidding the evil when it appeared. Allaah, the Most High, states, “Those amongst the Children of Israel were cursed by the tongue of Dawood (David) and Eesaa the son of Maryam (Jesus son of Mary), because they used to transgress the bounds. They used not to forbid one another from evil which they committed…” (Qur’aan 5:78-79).

So Muslims should take heed from this great verse. Additionally the Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu alaihi wassallam) stated: “There are not a people amongst whom sins are committed, and they are stronger than those who commit them yet they do not prevent them, except that Allaah sends His punishment upon them all.” (See Tashabbuhul-Khasees of adh-Dhahabee, and the hadeeth is authentic) Another reason why these terrorists and their ideology must be stamped out is due to the fact that they are innovators who have attributed to Islaam, that which is Islam is free of, and it is impermissible to accommodate them or defend them or protect them, due to the statement of the Prophet (salallaahu alaihi wassallam), “Whoever innovates or accommodates an innovator, then upon him is the curse of Allaah, His Angels and the whole of mankind.” (Reported by Bukhaaree and Muslim). And there is not a shadow of a doubt from an Islamic perspective, that these terrorist ideologies are innovations and these perpetrators are innovators, and it is not permissible to protect them or give them refuge.

One can recognize the ideology of the these evil doers from certain matters that their lectures and discussions always revolve around, from them is that they always call for rebellion and revolution in the Muslim lands and against the Muslim rulers; they declare the Muslim rulers and those who work in the apparatus of government to be apostates and unbelievers; they praise the suicide bombers and terrorists and insurgencies in Iraaq, Palestine and other places and continually justify their actions; they may praise the bombings of 9/11 in New York, 7th July bombings in London or the Madrid bombings. These discussions of theirs may not necessitate that they themselves will organize or carry out terrorist acts but this speech of theirs incites others towards violence. Remember it only takes two or three young men (or women) who have been affected to go out and wreak havoc. The Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu alaihi wassallam), mentioned these renegades (known as the Khawarij) in a narration, “If I am alive when they appear, I will slaughter them with the slaughtering of Aad.” And Aad was a tribe mentioned in the Qur’aan that was punished by Allaah for their evils and transgressions. He also stated, “They are the worst of Allaah’s creation under the sky.” There are many, many other narrations of the Prophet and his Companions describing them, to the extent that Shaikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah and Imaam an-Nawawee, two great scholars of the middle ages, stated the consensus of the great Scholars of the Salaf and Sunnah that these renegades must be prevented and fought against. In fact Shaikhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah (died 728 AH) stated that the Khawaarij are more harmful to Islaam and the Muslims than the Jews and the Christians. And this is due to the fact that these Jihaadis, Takfeeris and terrorists are a cancer within the ranks of the Muslims, destroying the purity of the Religion from within.

So when one looks at the activities of these people such as the killing of men, women and children, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, one sees that they are indiscriminate in their murderous acts. After what has been mentioned above one can see why the Scholars of this noble and blessed Salafi da’wah have issued verdicts calling people to inform the authorities if they know of anyone inciting or planning terrorist acts.

There is NO doubt that those make a link between terrorism and what they term as ‘The Wahhaabis’, intending by that the Salafis, have made a mythical link based upon fallacies and falsehood. The great Scholar Muhammad Ibn ‘Abdul-Wahhaab (died 1206AH), after whom his adversaries invented the derogatory term ‘Wahhaabi’ for anyone who studied his works - then this Scholar was the most fervent in his opposition to deviation and deviant ideologies. Rather the Salafis, whom the opposers term as Wahhaabis, have been at the forefront of combating the takfeeri, Jihaadi and Khariji ideologies, for decades. And this refutation of the Salafi scholars upon these groups was not just a mere response to modern-day events but rather a religious obligation upon them regardless of prevailing circumstances.

So Syed Qutb, the father and reference point of the modern-day Jihadist-terrorist movements, was refuted by the Salafi Scholars for his call to assassinations and violent revolution decades ago and again in the early nineties by the likes of the Salafi scholars such as Shaikh Bin Baaz, Shaikh Bin Uthaimeen and especially in great detail by Shaikh Rabee bin Haadee al-Madkhalee who authored several books in exposition of Syed Qutb. Shaikh Bin Baaz warned and exposed the evil doctrine of Usamah bin Laden back in the early nineties, whilst the Islamic political groups were in praise of him. Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi is another reference point for the modern day violent politically motivated groups, yet the Salafi Scholars such as Shaikh Rabee al-Madkhali, Shaikh Ubaid al-Jaabiree, Shaikh Hammaad al-Ansaaree exposed his errors and warned against his approach. Another example is the warning of the Salafi Yemeni Scholar Muqbil bin Haadee against the HAMAS of Palestine whilst the latter were supporting terrorist attacks on civilian buses in Israel. We also have the Scholarly Salafi stance against Hizbollah of south Lebanon and former leader of Iran, Khomeini such as the statements of Shaikh Bin Baz, Shaikh Bin Uthaimin, Shaikh Ahmad an-Najmi and others. Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen in his now published explanation of ‘Riyaadhus-Saaliheen’ well over fifteen years ago showed his clear abhorrence at the suicide bombings in Palestine. So this is the clarity with which the Salafis speak and have always spoken. Over a thousand years of Salafi authorship, from the time of the disciples of the Prophet until this day, the Scholars of Sunnah and Salafiyyah have been refuting the false ideologies, whether extremist or negligent - Whereas the people of deviation will respond based upon political expediency, but the underlying ideology in support of revolution and suicide attacks remains. How is it possible to be straddle both sides of the fence in this issue, whilst the Qur’aan and Sunnah is so clear upon them?

What is astonishing is that these same people accuse the Salafis, whom they call Wahhaabis, of being responsible for these false extremist ideologies. It reminds us of the lines of poetry: “She accused me of the illness she possessed, and then slipped way!”

http://salaf.com/2007/07/05/informing-the-authorities-of-terrorist-plots/