Refuting the Habashi's Claims
By Dr. Gabriel Fouad Haddad
Bismillah was-salat was-salam `ala rasullillah:
as-salamu `alaykum.
This is a series of articles regarding those who in a
recent post accused Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani of negating Islam -- may Allah
Himself clear him of the allegations of the ignorant. They are known as the
"Habashis" and they call themselves "Association of Islamic
Charitable Projects." Their words can be found at: http://www.aicp.org/Graphics/Qubrusi/Qubrusi.htm
I originally intended to visit them and debate them
concerning the slanders and fabrications that I found issuing from them.
However, upon re-reading what they have said, and after receiving some
information about them from concerned brothers, I decided that my complaint
with the author of these slanders, Samir al-Qadi, and his friends was beyond
the benefit of a public debate.
Therefore I will content myself to post on the
Internet some of what I wanted to state publicly, and I pray that Allah will
accept this from me as my hujja that I did not stand idly by when I saw his
awliya' attacked, slandered and lied upon.
Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani, Shaykh Hisham Kabbani, and
Grandshaykh `Abdullah al-Daghistani rahimahullah -- although Allah does not
need me as their defender, and Allah is the best Defender of His Friends.
The table of contents of the Habashis' slanderous page
against Shaykh Nazim has a list of several small chapters. It will be seen
insha Allah from touching on the first three of these, that the Habashis
committed a grave sin by attributing to the Shaykh ludicrous positions which he
never held. A child will be able to see that their method consists in putting
words into the mouth of others. They do this both explicitly (#1 and 3 below)
and implicitly (#2). This is lying and deception in both cases. Not too
strangely their lie can very often be established by internal proofs from their
own words, without needing to bring testimony from outside of what they
themselves say.
Chapter 1:
The first of the Habashis' slanderous chapters against
Shaykh Nazim -- may Allah grant him the good deeds of his adversaries -- bears
the title:
Al-Qubrusi's First Statement:
"Follow your Sheikh and do not object to him--even when he contradicts the
Rules of the Religion."
If I write: X says: "..." Then I am
reporting X's words in the direct discourse without paraphrasing. This is a
rule of style in any language, not only English. By writing the above, the
Habashis put forth a claim that Shaykh Nazim said those words verbatim.
I bear witness that Shaykh Nazim never said anything
of the sort, and if one wades through the verbose text of the chapter that is
posted under the above title, one will not find the words that they put in
quotation marks and attributed to the Shaykh.
What they do quote, buried in their long chapter, is
the Shaykh's words: "In order to follow us you must follow without judging
or objecting." And this is nothing new or strange, on the contrary, it is
a rule for every novice of a master, and every student.
To make an analogy, when a sick man goes to the doctor
and gets a prescription, he is hardly in a position to argue with the doctor on
the appropriateness of the prescription. Similarly one who follows a Shaykh of
guidance is by definition trusting him for guidance. To question him supposes
that he knows as much or better than him, so either don't follow him, or don't
question him. There is too much evidence to that effect from the words of the
Sufis. Ibn `Ajiba summed it up in Iqaz al-himam p. 134: "The shaykh's
"mistake" is more correct than the murid's "correction.""
If they knew anything about adab al-murid they would know this. But that is a
different issue altogether, since I just showed that what they attribute to the
Shaykh is the lie that you should follow someone who destroys the Shari`a. May
Allah destroy anyone who claims this.
Chapter 2
The second of the Habashis' slanderous chapters
against Shaykh Nazim -- may Allah grant him the good deeds of his adversaries
-- bears the title:
Al-Qubrusi's Second Statement:
"The orders of the Supreme Sheikh [= Qutb] are the Orders of Allah."
The rest of their chapter shows a deceptive claim that
Shaykh Nazim meant that the Qutb equates Allah, or that the Qutb is ma`sum.
Hasbuna Allah wa ni`ma al-Wakil. Allah, Alone, is our Lord.
What is meant by the statement "The orders of the
Qutb are the Orders of Allah" is: "The orders of the Qutb never seek
to uphold other than the orders of Allah." And this applies, long before
the Qutb, to the Prophet himself first and foremost, then to his inheritors the
true scholars of the Religion. It does not mean that the Qutb is identical with
the Prophet; only that he is better than anyone else at following him.
The Habashis claim they are Sufis, but when they hear
the words of an authentic Sufi Shaykh they oppose him. Yet they will not find,
in the definitions of the Qutb by the authorities in tasawwuf, anything except
what confirms the statement related from Shaykh Nazim.
al-Munawi said in al-Tawqif p. 586: "The Qutb is
the one who is the locus of Allah's Gaze in every time in history. Allah gave
him the greatest authority, directly from Him."
al-Jurjani said the same thing in Kitab al-ta`rifat p.
177.
al-Tahanawi said in Kashshaf istilahat al-funun p.
1167: "The Qutb is the one who is the locus of Allah's Gaze in every time
in history. He is a creature who is of one heart with the Prophet, blessings
and peace upon him."
And Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir al-Gilani said of the Qutb in
Futuh al- ghayb, 33rd discourse: "There is no station above this man's
station except for Prophethood... Look out for him... for safety lies in what
he has to say, and in his presence."
I am not qualified to dwell on this high topic, and I
will just repeat that Allah is the best Defender of His Friends, and I ask His
forgiveness if I said anything wrong.
Chapter 3
The third of the Habashis' slanderous chapters against
Shaykh Nazim -- may Allah grant him the good deeds of his adversaries -- bears
the title:
Al-Qubrusi's Third Statement:
"The Queen of England is like Allah."
Again, I bear witness that Shaykh Nazim never said
such an enormity, and you will not find it in the body of their chapter
following this buffoonish title. What you do find, is the quotation from a book
of transcripts from Shaykh Nazim whereby he said: "Allah Almighty called
the Prophet to His Divine presence, and the Prophet went as ordered, just as a
dignitary is received by the Queen of England." Is this the same as
saying: "The Queen of England is like Allah"?
O Allah, I bear witness that these people have
slandered Shaykh Nazim by rephrasing the terms of his comparison so as to
attribute shirk and anthropomorphism to him, when all his quoted statement
contained was a comparison of the visit to Your divine court to the visit to
the court of a monarch. O Allah, You know best whether they did this and the
rest deliberately to sow hatred for one of Your pious servants.
This goes on for fourteen or fifteen chapters which
they added to the polluted matter which can be found abundantly on the
Internet. Is this the contribution of the Habashis to the cause of Islam
through this new medium? Then may Allah save us from such contributors and
their devices.
I will not pursue the examination and refutation of
these childish lies so as not to give them further importance. Insha’ Allah,
the remainder of my three posts should complete the picture for those who seek
more information as to the nature and method of these Habashis. For my part I
ask Allah to accept my intention that I sought to defend the reputation of
Shaykh Nazim, and not to spread division and enmity.
Mr. Samir al-Qadi and his friends should be happy that
they even heard of such as Shaykh Nazim al-Haqqani but once in their lifetime.
They should repent of having lied against him, and they should take back their
slanders if they fear Allah and the Last Day. I say this without rancor towards
any.
Imam Bukhari in his Sahih narrated that the Prophet
said that Allah said: "Whoever shows enmity to one of My Friends, I
declare war upon him."
And Abu Dawud in his Sunan, Kitab al-adab, related
that the Prophet said: "No man will desert a Muslim in a place where his
respect is violated and his honor attacked without Allah deserting him in a
place where he will wish for His help; and no man will help a Muslim in a place
where his honor is attacked and his respect violated without Allah helping him
in a place where he wishes his help."
And he said: "Avoid envy, for envy devours good
deeds just as fire devours wood or dry grass."
And Imam Malik in his Muwatta' related that the
Prophet said: "If the Lord should protect a man from the mischief of two
things, he shall enter Paradise: firstly, from that which is between his two
jaws [i.e. his tongue], and secondly, from that which is between his two loins
[i.e. his genitals]."
And he was asked: "Can a believer be a
coward?" He said: "Yes." He was asked again: "Can a
believer be a miser?" He said: "Yes." He was asked again:
"Can a believer be a liar?" He replied: "No."
And success is from Allah.
Blessings and Peace on the Prophet, his Family, and
his Companions.