15 June 2011 By Markaz Kavkaz Question to Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi:
It has been narrated to us from Abdullah that
Abi Thana Abd ar-Razaq narrated from al-Munther bin
Nu'man al-Aftas that he said: "I heard Wahb narrating
that Ibn Abbas said, the Prophet (pbuh) said: 'An army
of twelve-thousand will come out of Aden-Abyan. They
will give victory to Allah and His messenger; they are
the best between myself and them'." Our honorable Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi,
may Allah protect him, and our brothers in the forum
of at-Tawhid wal Jihad: May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon
you. *** Answer by Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi::
All praise be to Allah and peace and blessings upon
the Messenger of Allah. As to what follows: May Allah love you, the one you loved me for His
sake. I ask Him, the Exalted, that He keeps you and us
firm. May He use us in giving victory to His religion and
not replace us. This hadith reported by Imam Ahmed in
his collection and Tabarani in his Mu'jam al-Kabir and
others by way of Ibn Abbas that he said: The Prophet (pbuh) said: About that hadith the honorable Sheikh Sulayman ibn
Nasir al-Ulwan - may Allah hasten his release - said
that the hadith's chain is good and its narrators are
acceptable. Imam Ahmad narrated it in his collection and Ibn
Abi Hatim in al-Jarh wa Ta'dil; and at-Tabarani
mentioned it in al-Kabir. All of them by way of Abd
ar-Razaq from al-Munthir ibn an-Nu'man al-Aftas that
he said: "I heard Wahb narrating that Ibn Abbas said...
and he mentioned the hadith and then said: Abu Ya'ala
narrated it in his collection from the hadith of Abd
A'la ibn Hamad an-Narsi from Mu'tamar ibn Suleyman
from the one who related it". Ibn Adi narrated it in al-Kamil and Ibn al-Jawzi in
al-'Alal al-Mutanahiyya by way of Muhammad bin al-Hasan
bin Atsh as-Sana'ani from the one whom related it.
Muhammad bin al-Hasan was disputed about although
Abu Zar'a and others have authenticated him. However
al-Aqeeli, ad-Darqatni and others have weakened him.
He didn't narrate it alone since more than one
narrated it from amongst the memorizers from whom
related it. Al-Munthir bin an-Nu'man al-Aftas said Abu Hatim
said, "Mu'tamer bin Suleyman and Hisham bin Yusuf
and Abd ar-Razaq and Muhammad bin al-Hasan bin Atsh
and Mutrif bin Mazin (the judge of Sana'a) and ibn
Ma'een said about him that he is a trustworthy
(narrator)". Additionally, al-Bukhari mentioned it in at-Tarikh
al-Kabîr and he didn't mention about it any of the
Jarh or Ta'dil; nonetheless Ibn Habban mentioned it in
his trusted ones. Al-Haythimi said in Majmu' az-Zawaid that Ibn Ya'la
and at-Tabarani narrated it and he said "from Aden,
they are coming", and their men (i.e.,
narrators) are authentic ones. Other than Munthir al-Aftas - and he is trustworthy
(narrator) - his words finished there, may Allah keep
him firm. His saying: "They are the best between
myself and them". That is an indication to their
righteousness, religion and goodness which the Prophet
(pbuh) approved of, as being the best between him and
them. Also this could be a reference to the place i.e.,
they're the best between his place which is Medina and
between Aden-Abyan. Or it could be a reference to time and there is no
doubt that this is greater. Meaning, they're the best
between his time and the time of their emergence, and
Allah knows best what's correct. This is the blessing of Allah, He gives it to
whomever He wills. Some of those who spoke about this hadith said that
in it there is a pleasant indication that the
Caliphate could initiate in Aden-Abyan and that Yemen
would be the capital of the Caliphate because armies
usually move out from the headquarters of the
Caliphate. This is what they said and it is not necessarily
the case. It might also mean that the Caliphate will
be assisted by Yemen or that its people and fighters
will come to the aid of Muslims or that it would
recruit fighters and prepare such an army to repel the
oppressive enemies in some of the Muslim land or to
drive away an occupier or an apostate. The hadith confirms what is mentioned in other
ahadith regarding the description of the people of
Yemen that they are the reinforcement for the people
of Islam, they are the supporters of the truth and the
people of Yemen are continuing to be so. We have seen their assistance in Afghanistan, Iraq
and in each field of the fields of jihad you see their
crowds rushing to support the people of Islam. They're distinguished with a sense of honor,
rigidity and with taking upon themselves the
initiative of supporting the people of Islam. Today
the numbers in their crowds and assistance (towards
jihad) have increased with goodness. This is so
because they are endowed with insight about the
believers path and are aware about the path of the
criminals. And it is also due to their abidance by the banner
of Tawhid and not being deluded by anything else.
It is mentioned in another hadith that, "You
will fight in the Arabian Peninsula and Allah will
open it for you, then you will fight Persia and Allah
will open it for you, then you will fight the Romans
(i.e., the West) and Allah will open it for you and
then you will fight Dajjal and Allah will open it for
you". We reached a stage where we came back from where we
first started. Now the Arabian Peninsula is governed
and dominated by the apostates. Security is given to
secularists, crusaders, disbelievers and atheists. War
is waged against those who believe in the oneness of
Allah. Righteous people are killed and prisons are filled
with them as a result of their jihad which was
disrupted and fought by its rulers who have taken the
Christians and apostates as helpers and protectors...
And what is happening now is that the Arabian
Peninsula has become in need of a new opening... And
today we are delighted by seeing the pure banner of
our brothers in Yemen and they're of those fighting
under the banner of Tawhid and keen on doing such
things and I ask if it wasn't those men then who is
it? In the collection of Imam Ahmed and Sunnan Abu
Dawud, Ibn Hawala said: "The Prophet (pbuh) said: "The matter will be
that you'll be fighters: fighters in Sham and fighters
in Yemen and fighters in Iraq". In this hadith it says that a time will come upon
the Muslims that they will be equipped fighters in
each land, so it isn't for the sincere Muslim except
to join the fighters in their country so that they
would become from among the equipped Muslim fighters,
and in the hadith the fighters of Yemen were
mentioned. May Allah keep their fighters firm and give
them victory and use them in giving honor to the
religion. Today the enemies of the religion are enraged and
frightened of the fighters of Yemen, up to the point
that I have heard comments by crusader leaders a few
days ago which showed their worries and fears about
what they consider to be a danger that is really
threatening their interests. This is especially when they consider the
geographic locality of Yemen to be a sensitive
position of high importance. Their press and news agencies reported: And regarding the airstrikes that the Americans
directed to some places in Yemen, the press reports:
So it isn't strange that we hear from time to time
news about the spread of American airstrikes and the
flying of spy planes or the attacks on positions with
cruise missiles. That's because all of that proves
from one side the extreme fear that Yemen's fighters
bring to the crusaders and their allies and it proves
from another side that the rulers in these places are
just as others nowadays: they're nothing but agents
for the Americans, they have no rule or dominion over
their own land, sea or air except through directions
and coaching from their masters. It is not a secret anymore that America is
concentrating on this area (Yemen), follows its
updates closely, sends special forces to train the
Yemeni army and backs up the apostate regime there
against whom they call terrorists. And in exchange for this alliance and support
between those who disbelieve and whom Allah the
Almighty said about: "And those who disbelieved are allies of one
another. If you do not do so [i.e., ally yourselves
with other believers], there will be fitnah [i.e.,
disbelief and oppression] on earth and great
corruption". (The Holy Quran, Surah 8. "Spoils Of War", verse
73) It is known that in Yemen, its fighters and its
people have special virtues which awaken one's desire
to ally, support and urge the one to favor them and
increase their numbers. To the extent that Imam Muslim
categorized in his sahih a chapter on "Competing for
superiority amongst the people of iman and the
predominance of the people of Yemen in it". From it: - From their virtues is the hadith of Jubeer bin
Mut'am from his father that he said: While we were
walking with the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in the road
of Mecca, he said: "They will come upon you the
people of Yemen. They are like the clouds; they are
the best of those on earth". - And from them is the hadith of Abu Hurairah. He
said: The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: "There
will come upon you the people of Yemen. They are the
most soft-hearted and compassionate. Iman is in Yemen,
wisdom is in Yemen and fiqh is in Yemen. And the head
of disbelief is before the direction of the East".
Al-Baghawi said in Sharh as-Sunnah: "This is praise
for the people of Yemen due to their hastening towards
iman and their good admittance to it". - And this previous hadith has an addition which
Imam Ahmed mentioned in his collection that a Bedouin
came to Abu Hurairah and said: O Abu Hurairah narrate
to us from the Prophet (pbuh) so he said: The Prophet
(pbuh) said: "Verily, iman is in Yemen, wisdom is
in Yemen and I find the relief from your Lord coming
from the direction of Yemen". The addition of: "I find the relief from your
Lord coming from the direction of Yemen", was
disagreed about in terms of authenticity because of
its exclusivity to Shabib Abu Ruh as no one attested
to him except Ibn Habban. From the people of hadith, those who authenticated
it and from them who weakened it. On the evaluation of
its solidity is the explanation of what Sheikh
al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said: "...the saying ‘from Yemen' clarifies the meaning
of the hadith that Yemen doesn't have any specialty in
the attribute of Allah - the Almighty - lest to assume
otherwise, but from it (Yemen) came those whom Allah
loves and they love Him, those whom Allah said about:
"Whoever of you should revert from his religion
- Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people
He will love and who will love Him". (The Holy Quran, Surah 5. "The Table Spread", verse
54) And it was related that when this verse was
revealed, it was asked about those mentioned in the
verse. So he (pbuh) referred to them as being the
people of Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, and the authentic
ahadith were mentioned like his (pbuh) saying:
"There will come upon you the people of Yemen. They
are the most soft-hearted and compassionate. Iman is
in Yemen, and wisdom is in Yemen". And those are
the ones who fought the people of apostasy and opened
the lands. In them the most Merciful relieves the
agonies of the believers..." Al-Qurtubi says in his tafsir: "It was narrated
that the Prophet (pbuh) said: "Verily, I find the
relief from your Lord coming from the direction of
Yemen", and in it there are two interpretations:
one of them is that it is a relief because of them
successively converting in crowds, and the second
meaning is that Allah, the Almighty, relieved the
sufferings of his Prophet (pbuh) using the people of
Yemen and therefore they are the helpers (al-Ansar)".
Ibn al-Atheer said: "He (pbuh) meant by that the
helpers (al-Ansar) because Allah relieved in them the
sufferings of the believers and they're Yemenis
because they're from al-Azd". - Additionally, there's the hadith of Abu Hurairah
where he said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh)
say: "Pride and arrogance is found in al-Fadadin
(people of loud noise coming out from their cattle and
cultivation) - the Camel-herders and tranquility is
found in shepherds, and iman is in Yemen and wisdom is
in Yemen". Abu Abdullah said: "It is called Yemen because
it is on the right side of the Kaaba". - And the hadith of Ibn Mas'ood who said: The
Messenger of Allah (pbuh) pointed with his hand
towards Yemen and said: "Iman is over there. Verily
harshness and hardheartedness is in al-Fadadin (Camel
herders) by the origin of the tails of cows where the
horns of shaytan emerge in Rabee'ah and Muder".
- And from them is the hadith of Abdullah ibn Umar
that the Prophet (pbuh) said: "O Allah! Bestow Your
Blessings on our Sham and our Yemen". They said:
"And our Najd". He (pbuh) said: "O Allah!
Bestow Your Blessings on our Sham and Yemen". They
said: "O Messenger of Allah! Our Najd as well!"
Then I think that he (pbuh) said in the third time:
"(In Najd) There will appear earthquakes and
afflictions, and from there the horn of shaytan will
emerge". - And from them is the hadith of Thawban that the
Prophet (pbuh) said: "Indeed, I am in the midst of
my pool pushing people away for the people of Yemen. I
hit with my rod until it flows on them".
An-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "This
is a karamah (high repute) for the people of Yemen in
their preceding to drink from it: a repayment for
their good actions, their preceding in Islam and the
assistance from Yemen. So he (pbuh) pushes the others
until they (Yemenis) drink as they pushed in this
dunya the enemies and harms away from the Prophet
(pbuh)". - And the hadith of Imran ibn Haseen who said: Banu
Tameem came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) so he
said: "Glad tidings". They said: "You gave
us glad tidings so give us something". So his face
changed and then the people of Yemen came, so he said:
"O people of Yemen accept the glad tidings as Banu
Tameem didn't accept it". So they said: "We
came to seek knowledge of the religion and to ask you
about this matter". - And in the hadith of Abu Hurairah that the
Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: "Allah turned me
towards ash Sham and directed my back towards Yemen
and said to me: ‘O Muhammad! I have made for you what
is in front of you as spoils and as a means of living,
and what is behind your back as a support and yet
Islam is still increasing and shirk is reduced and its
people until the two women walk as they don't fear
anything except injustice'. By whom my soul is in his
hands, days and nights won't pass by until this
religion reaches the status of the star". - And the hadith of Anas ibn Malik that he said:
the Prophet (pbuh) said: "The people of Yemen have
approached and they are more softhearted than you".
Anas said: "And they are the first to come with
handshaking". - And in the tafsir of the verses: "When the
victory of Allah has come and the conquest, and you
see the people entering into the religion of Allah in
multitudes". (The Holy Quran, Surah 110. "Succour,
Divine Support", verses 1-2) that when it was
revealed, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
"There will come upon you the people of Yemen; they
are the most soft-hearted. Iman is in Yemen, fiqh is
in Yemen, and wisdom is in Yemen". - And in the Qur'an, Allah, the Exalted, says: (The Holy Quran, Surah 5. "The Table Spread", verse
54) Regarding the reason of this verse's revelation,
Ayad al-Ash'ari said: "When this verse was revealed,
the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) pointed at Abu Musa
al-Ash'ari using something that was with him and said:
‘They are his people'." Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in his book:
*** "And the support of Yemen whom Allah, the Almighty,
said about: "Allah will bring forth [in place of
them] a people He will love and who will love Him"
at the time of Abu Bakr and Umar, crowds were coming
from Yemen to fight for the sake of Allah. So greetings are to those crowds, greetings to
those supporters, greetings to those who help them and
greetings to their grandsons whom we are pleased with
of their revival in da'wah, jihad and the emergence of
their banner in these days. I find myself obliged with the news of Yemen's
fighters - which are reported to us nowadays as a
result of the visibility of their banner - to support
them with inspiring (others), calling to help them and
working to increase their numbers. In mention of more virtues (of Yemen's people), the
scholar of Yemen ash-Shawkani said: "If you recognize that this verse is revealed about
them in these ahadith, then know that it has contained
the virtues of the people of Yemen: The first of them: The exclusivity of
Yemen's people to this great quality that Allah, the
Almighty, will bring them forth at the time when
others apostate from among the Arab tribes that live
in the Peninsula and this is to show their high status
as they are the party of Allah at a time when others
leave this religion. The second virtue: Allah's saying: "He
will love [them] and they will love Him". There is
nothing beyond this high reputation and honor from
Allah, the Almighty, because whomever Allah loves,
they attain such happiness which no happiness can
resemble. They have been honored such an honor that
can't be measured by the likes. They have succeeded in
such achievements that aren't equivalent to others and
they have been given a great repute that can't be
matched. The third virtue: Allah's saying, "And
they will love Him". This is a magnificent status
and a beautiful attribute. When the inconsiderable
slave is loving to his Lord then that is the utmost
objective in faith which is the reason behind winning
an eternal bliss and it is the reason for being
rescued from the painful punishment. From the
greatness of loving Allah, the Almighty, and the signs
of its authenticity is following the Messenger of
Allah (pbuh) in his sayings, in his actions and by
imitating him and embracing the noble guidance that he
came with. The Almighty Allah says: "Say, [O
Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me,
[so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.
And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful". (The Holy
Quran, Surah 3. "The Family Of 'Imran", verse 31).
Thus whoever loves Allah and follows His Messenger
(pbuh), then they attain the love from Allah, the
Almighty. They have their sins wiped off and their
status raised among the believing slaves of Allah.
The fourth virtue: Allah's saying: "[Who
are] humble toward the believers". This humbleness
towards the people of iman is from the most honorable
characteristics and from the greatest attributes of
the believers. It is this humbleness that is praised
by Allah. It raises its doer in status and in it there
is eradication of many of the evil attributes of which
are arrogance and egotism. The fifth virtue: Allah's saying:
"Powerful against the disbelievers". It is the
result of solidness in the religion, strictness in
acting upon it and the hatred for its enemies and
harshness on those who go astray. The sixth virtue: Allah's saying: "They
strive in the cause of Allah". Indeed jihad is the
head of the Sharia obligations. With it the pillars of
the religion are established, its status is raised and
the circle of Islam is expanded. The sides of kufr
diminishes and its pillars are destroyed. The seventh virtue: Allah's saying: "And
do not fear the blame of a critic". This is the
matter of purity and standing alone for Allah and not
paying attention to what opposes the truth and differs
from the religion. And it came as an indefinite noun
in the context of negation (in the Arabic language),
so it includes all blames that come from any blamer
regardless if they're dignified or miserable, close or
far. What proves this attribute is their action of
commanding the good and forbidding the evil in a way
that even mountains cannot reach their height and it
isn't intimidated by terror. When Allah the Almighty
gathered for them these honorable attributes in this
verse, He reminded them of the greatness of this grant
and the kindness of this favor so He said: "That is
the favor of Allah; He bestows it upon whom He wills.
And Allah is all Encompassing and Knowing". In it
there are implications that He gathered for them of
His blessings which He didn't bestow on other slaves
of His. It is as if this is an answer to whoever
desires to have these great qualities or compete with
them or envy them (in a good way) because of that"
*** So what other virtues can people challenge you with
after this? O grandsons of the helpers of the
Messenger of Allah (pbuh)! Follow the way of your
grandfathers in supporting the religion and lifting
the banner of Tawhid in a time when people betrayed
the religion and Tawhid. And what will harm you after this great blessing
and magnificent reputation even if all gathered to
plan against you and plot? So hasten and prepare yourself. Perhaps Allah uses
you in relieving the sufferings of the Ummah in our
time like He used your grandfathers in relieving the
sufferings of his Prophet (pbuh). Perhaps the Almighty
uses you in giving victory to the religion. Become
helpers in the cause of Allah as your grandfathers
helped His Messenger (pbuh) and became the helpers in
the cause of Allah. Perhaps He uses you in driving
away the people of contemporary apostasy and open for
you the lands like your grandfathers fought the people
of the first apostasy and opened for them the lands.
O Allah, O protector of Islam and its people! Give
victory to the monotheistic slaves of Yours in Your
Sham and Yemen, in the East and West! O Allah gather their lines and unite their hearts,
direct their shooting and raise their banner and
empower them and make them firm. Join us with them,
and make us among those whom You love and they love
You. By Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi Comments 💬 التعليقات |