KHUTAB XII: 18. HUSSEIN AL-MOAYYAD, THE SUNNI CONVERT
18. HUSSEIN AL-MOAYYAD, THE
SUNNI CONVERT
Introduction:
Shaykh
Hussein al-Moayyad (حسسين المؤيد, Ḥusayn al-Mu’ayyad) was an Iraqi Shia-cleric, who has reached
the highest level of education, an Ayatollah and a Shia marja‘ , but
left Shiism, openly denounced it, and declared his conversion to the Sunnah. He
belonged to Kāẓimiyyah family, and his former wife was the daughter of ‘Abd
al-‘Azīz and the sister of ‘Ammār al-Ḥakīm, the Head of the Highest Court. He
feared that they might have interfered with his conversion to the Sunnah and
would cause problem with him, and therefore, he took refuge to Saudi Arabia
alone, leaving them behind in Iraq.
His Early Life and Education:
Ayatollah
Shaykh al-Moayyad was born in Baghdad on 16 Ramaḍān 1384/10 January 1965. He
was raised in a fanatic Shii family in the holy city of al-Kāẓimiyyah in Baghdad
where the seventh Shii imām Mūsā al-Kāẓim (d. 183/745) was buried, and
the area was named after him. His late father Dr. ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Mu’ayyad was
a specialist physician and a poet, had a collection of poetry and a book
entitled ألأُمًّ اثنَاءَ الْحَمْلِ وَ النِّفَاس (“The Mother during Pregnancy and Delivery”). His mother was
the daughter of the late scholar and the religious judge al-Sayyid Muḥammad
Hādī ’l-Ṣadr. From his mother’s side the family appeared to be symbolic figures
and leaders of Shii marāji‘ (religious authorities). Consequently, he
was raised and educated on Shia, so that his intellectual personality, the
setting up of his belief, ideology, concept, and behaviour based on the Shii
precept. Then he became enthusiastic in explaining, disseminating, and
defending Shiism.
Shaykh al-Moayyad
studied religion at al-Kāẓimiyyah in Baghdad, then he wished to continue his
study in Najaf, but the condition in Iraq after 1979 was not favourable for
him. He insisted on migrating from Iraq after consulting the Qur’ān where it
appeared the following verse:
وَاذْكُرُوا إِذْ أَنْتُمْ قَلِيلٌ مُسْتَضْعَفُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ
تَخَافُونَ أَنْ يَتَخَطَّفَكُمُ النَّاسُ
فَآوَاكُمْ
وَأَيَّدَكُمْ بِنَصْرِهِ وَرَزَقَكُمْ مِنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
(الأنفال:٢٦)
And remember when you were few and were reckoned
weak in the
land, and were afraid that men might kidnap
you, but He
provided a safe place for you, strengthened
you with His
Help, and provided you with good things
so that you
might be grateful. (Q. 8:26)
So he left Iraq in 1982, and
after spending several months in Damascus he frequented the scholar al-Sayyid
Jamāl al-Dīn who praised him and wished him a bright future in seeking
knowledge. Then he moved to Qom and studied from leading scholars of Shia,
until he obtained the level of al-ijtihād al-muṭlaq (unrestricted
al-ijtihād) in 1405/1985 at the age of twenty-one. It was considered the highest scientific
degree in the religious centre, as he was no longer allowed to use taqlīd (adopting
legal decision of a school, in this case the Shia). Moreover, it could take for
years to achieve this degree, even after reaching the age of forty. Since then
he was given a position of teaching known as al-baḥth al-khārij (“External
Research”) which was the highest scientific levels of teaching in the religious
centre attended by students of various nationalities which lasted for eighteen
years. In 1409/1989 he published his first argumentative juristic book entitled
دِرَاسَاتٌ
فِي الْعُرْوَةِ الْوُسْقَى (“Studies on al-‘Urwat al-Wusqā”), a collection of
lectures delivered to his students on juristic external research as
commentaries on al-‘Urwat al-Wusqā.[1]
His conversion to the Sunnah.
Shaykh al-Moayyad had passed three phases in his life
before he became Sunni. The first phase was when he became fanatic in Shiism,
when he believed in it with unshakeable faith. The second phase was when he
became reformational Shii when he defended it against the criticism of the
Salafi. In 1998 one of his students
returned from ḥajj (pilgrimage to Makkah) with a book containing three
volumes entitled أصول
مذهب الشيعة الإمامية الإثني عشرية – عرض ونقد (“The Principles of the Twelver Imamate Shiite
School of Thought – an Overview and Critique”), a doctoral dissertation by Dr. Nāṣir Ibn ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Alī al-Qaffārī. He
asked Shaykh al-Moayyad to counter it, as it contained sharp criticism against
the Shia which contained superstitions and heresies. It was an extensive
analytical study of the Shia based on the Qur’ān, the Sunnah and reason, and
probably the most comprehensive critique on the Shia that has ever been
written. There has never been any critique like this before. In the past the
critique was in two ways: (a) the Shia scholars mentioned the Sunni critiques
selectively, and they replied briefly with a kind of scenario, so that the readers
would think that they had given satisfactory replies. But this book of Dr.
Qaffārī inflicted him real doubt, from 1998 till 2003. Then he made his
intensive verification of the book from 2003 till 2005. (b) books written by
some scholars of al-Azhar. These books did not destroy the Shii principles, as
their readers would have an impression of the existence of difference between
the Sunni and the Shii, as if it was only a discrepancy in understanding the nuṣūṣ
(divine texts), and not fundamental difference, but rather in understanding
through ijtihād. Shaykh al-Moayyad found out later that the content of Dr. al-Qaffārī’s
book was that of Ibn Taymiyyah’s Minhāj al-Sunnah presented in academic
form as a doctoral dissertation.
The third phase started
after 2005 when Shaykh al-Mu’ayyad left the Shia belief and started his
research, which was the phase of complete conversion into the belief of Ahl
al-Sunnah wa ‘l-Jamā‘ah around 2008. He said that he had spent seven years
in doing research, verification, and close examination. Eventually, he ended up
with deep-rooted and enthusiastic satisfaction that the adherence to sectarian
Shia doctrines was false, and its principles were false. Any reform attempt
made on Shii doctrine would be limited and useless. The difference between the
Shia and the Sunnah was not in understanding the nuṣūs, but rather in manhaj
(method, program) and principles. For this reason, he left the Shia.
In
order to obtain the truth, Shaykh al-Moayyad mentioned two obstacles: (1) the
ability of a person to identify the truth through intellectual liberation from
education and what he has learned since his childhood from his house, his
family, his community and learned environment, until the curtains which
obstruct his insight are removed in order to see the truth, and (2) his
submission to the truth which involves an effort and mental struggle against passion
which prevents him from submitting to the truth.[2]
Speaking about the idea
of Hidden Imām whether it involves total absence of ‘aql (reason,
intellect, mind) among the Shia, Shaykh al-Moayyad said that this question
could be posed to people who follow heretical and corruptive beliefs. If we ask
the follower of Hinduism how he satisfies himself in venerating the cow even in
seeking a blessing from its urine, we find that an Indian of high education
with Ph.D. degree from Oxford University when he returned to India he would
stand in a long line waiting to get the cow’s urine seeking a blessing from it.
Here there is doubleness of case between his knowledge and his belief, so that
there is no harmony between his belief and the level of knowledge he has
obtained.[3]
Speaking about the significance
of self-flagellation[4]
whether it involved guilty feeling, Shaykh al-Moayyad said they did it not do
it because of guilty feeling. On the contrary, they imposed the responsibility
on the whole Muslims in general and the Sunnis in particular of what had
happened to Ḥusayn. What they were doing in the acts of ritual self-harm was a
kind of consolation and participation in the pain and an expression of it. This
kind of practice and rituals were introduced from those of Christians, Hindus
and Buddhists, and eventually adopted by the Shiis.[5]
Shaykh al-Moayyad’s conversion caused him to face
pressures and threats of assassination and abduction, not only from the Shiis,
but some from gangs and militias, and others from political and religious sides
as they considered him an apostate. It is like moving from one religion to
another, from Shiah to Islam. They say that our Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.
will not enter Paradise except with permission from ‘Ali r.a., that the wilāyah
was offered to the sun, and it accepted it, so that it shone, and it was
offered to the moon, but it hesitated, although it did not totally reject it,
so it became dark. It was also offered to the vegetables and fruit, so that all
sweet fruit have accepted it, whereas non-sweet fruit have rejected it.[6]
All these are misguidance and superstition.
Shaykh al-Moayyad contends that there is no room in
the Qur’ān for the idea of religious or political imāmah as understood
by the Shia. He cites the following verse:
وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِلَّ قَوْمًا بَعْدَ إِذْ
هَدَاهُمْ حَتَّى يُبَيِّنَ لَهُمْ
مَا يَتَّقُونَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
(التوبة:١١٥)
And Allah will never lead a people astray after
He
has
guided them until He makes clear to them as
to what they should avoid. Verily, Allah is
All-Knower of everything. (Q. 9:115)
By examining the
above verse closely he says that we find that there are four kinds of ittibā‘
(following; adherence to) mentioned in the Qur’ān, as follows:
1. Following
the Prophet s.a.w. Allah says:
...فَآمِنُوا
بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ النَّبِيِّ الْأُمِّيِّ الَّذِي يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ
وَكَلِمَاتِهِ وَاتَّبِعُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ
(الأعراف:١٥٨)
… So believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad)
the
Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e.
Muhammad), who believes in Allah and His Words
[(this
Qur’ān, the Tawrāt (Torah) and the Injil (Gospel)
and also
Allah’s Word: “Be!” –and he was, i.e. ‘Īsā
(Jesus) son of Maryam (Mary)] and follow him
so that
you may be guided. (Q. 7:158)
2. Following
the Glorious Qur’ān. Allah says:
...فَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِهِ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَاتَّبَعُوا
النُّورَ الَّذِي
أُنْزِلَ مَعَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ (الأعراف:١٥٧)
… So those who believe in him (Muhammad),
honour him, help him, and follow the light (the
Qur’ān) which has been sent down
with him, it
is they who will be the successful. (Q. 7:157)
3. Following
the foremost to embrace Islam of the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār.
Allah says:
وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ
مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُمْ
بِإِحْسَانٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ
عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ... (التوبة:١٠٠)
And the foremost to
embrace Islam of the Muhājirūn
(those who migrated from Makkah to al-Madīnah)
and the Anṣār (the citizens of al- Madīnah) and also those who followed them exactly (in Faith). Allah is
well-pleased with them as they are well-pleased with Him… (Q. 9:100)
4. Following
the believers’ way. Allah says:
وَمَنْ يُشَاقِقِ الرَّسُولَ
مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُ الْهُدَى وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ وَسَاءَتْ
مَصِيرًا (النساء:١١٥)
And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the
right path has been shown clearly
to him, and follows other than the believers’
way, We
shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and
burn
him in Hell—what an evil destination! (Q. 4:115)
Shaykh al-Moayyad says further that there are two
things only to which Muslims have to hold firmly: to Allah and to the Qur’ān
(Islam). Allah says:
...وَمَنْ
يَعْتَصِمْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ هُدِيَ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ (آل عمران:١٠١)
… And whoever
holds firmly to Allah, (i.e. practically
follows Islam – Allah’s religion, and obeys
all that
Allah has ordered), then he is indeed guided
to a Right Path. (Q. 3:101)
وَاعْتَصِمُوا
بِحَبْلِ اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا... (آل عمران:١٠٣)
And hold fast, all of you together, to the rope of
Allah (i.e. this Qu’rān), and be not divided among
yourselves, … (Q. 3:103)
Shaykh al-Moayyad also says that in case of the
existence of dispute among Muslims they are ordered to refer it to Allah and
His Messenger. Allah says:
...فَإِنْ
تَنَازَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ... (النساء:٥٩)
… (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves,
refer it to Allah and His Messenger, … (Q. 4:59)
Allah also says:
يَا
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الصَّادِقِينَ (التوبة:١١٩)
O you who believe! Be afraid of Allah, and be
with
those
who are true (in words and deeds) (Q. 9:119).[7]
Allah has explained in the above verse what will save
us from going astray. If the imāmah is one of the principles of Islam, Shaykh
al-Moayyad wonders, then why the Qur’ān keeps silent of it.
His Activity in the field of da’wah (Islamic
propagation)
Shaykh al-Moayyad has released and uploaded 250 videos
on various topics regarding the Shia in three Playlists: (a) قناة
الشيخ حسين المؤيد (his own channel): 139 videos; (b) صناعة التشيع : 15 videos; and (c) به سوا هدايت (in Arabic
with Persian translation): 86 videos. In one of his statements to show the
difference between the Shia and the Sunna he said:
The closer you bring a
Shii to the Qur’ān the
further away he will be
from Shiism. It is because
the Qur’ān and Shiism
are on the opposite sides.
The best way to guide a
Shii is when he opens
his mind and heart to
the teachings of the Qur’ān.
When he does it, he
will automatically leave the
Shiism, because he will
find beliefs in Shiism which
have no backing from the Qur’ān, or opposing
the Qur’ān. Therefore, it would be meaningless
in adopting beliefs contradictory to the
Qur’ān,
as well as in adopting beliefs which have
no backing from the
Qur’ān.
(www.anti-majos.com)
In a special series of Wiṣāl channel (uploaded
on June 17, 2014) Shaykh al-Moayyad states that the struggle is not between the
Shia on one side and Abū Bakr and ‘Umar on the other, but rather between the
Shia and Allah and His Messenger. For the Shia it seemed that Allah and the
Prophet have failed, and the Prophet was a weak leader who was not able to
consolidate the faith which Allah had ordered him to do. To counter it, the
Shiis refer to esoteric interpretation of the Qur’ān, even some of them say that
the Qur’ān has been distorted. Shaykh al-Moayyad says that he has never
believed in this, despite being an extremist Shia, as the Qur’ān would never be
like the Torah and the Gospel which had been distorted. Therefore, he says that
either you become Shii and neglect the Qur’ān or leave the Shia.
Shaykh al-Moayyad says further that the view saying
that the imāms know the ghayb (unseen, divine secret), that they
received wilāyah takwīniyyah for the universe, that Allah had given them
full power in the affairs of the creation are all contradictory to the Qur’ān.
The imāmah originally does not have any Qur’ānic covering. The Qur’ānic
verses they used to make up for the imāmah came later. Therefore, Shiism
in its origin and details is either contradictory to the Qur’ān or misses the
Qur’ānic covering.
After becoming Sunni Shaykh al-Moayyad said that he
loved Ahl al-Bayt more than before. It was love which was in harmony
with reason, not distorted with the blemish of exaggeration and leaving the
precepts of the Islamic law. It was not love based on emotion which could make
people blind from seeing the truth. For the Shiis, he said, loving them means
believing in their imāmah and, whereas for him, love is one thing, and
believing in their imāmah is another.
Imāmah according
to the Shia is one of the principles of Islam without which one’s good deeds
would not be accepted, and one would not be admitted to Paradise. It is the
criterion which distinguishes between Muslim and non-Muslim. However, imāmah,
unlike the principles of Islam and īmān which have been clearly
mentioned in the Qur’ān, it keeps silent on it. They hate most of the
companions, especially Abū Bakr and ‘Umar. But if a Shii scrutinizes the
position of the ṣaḥābah in the Qur’ān it would be enough for him to
leave the Shiism, because it is based on regarding them as traitors.
Compared to companions of other prophet we will find
out that the companions of the Prophet are better and well-known throughout
history. There are five prophets called “those who have full determination”
(ذووالعزم), namely, Nūḥ
(Noah), Ibrāhīm (Abraham), Mūsā (Moses), ‘Īsā (Jesus), and Muḥammad. Prophet Nūḥ
called his people for 950 years, but only a few of them believed in him.
Prophet Ibrāhīm despite his struggle to make people believe in him, but no
companion for him was mentioned, and he himself represented an ummah.
Prophet Mūsā, despite miracles shown to his people, they lacked faith in him,
and complained:
قَالُوا أُوذِينَا مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ تَأْتِيَنَا
وَمِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا ... (الأعراف:١٢٩)
They said: “We
(Children of Israel) had
suffered troubles
before you came to us, and
since you have come to us.” (Q. 7:129)
Moreover, they worshiped idol
(the cow), and did not want to join him in the fighting. They said to him:
...
فَاذْهَبْ أَنْتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَا إِنَّا هَاهُنَا قَاعِدُونَ (المائدة:٢٤)
“… So, go you and your Lord
and fight you two,
we are sitting right here.” (Q. 5:24)
Prophet
Mūsā complained to Allah:
قَالَ رَبِّ إِنِّي لَا
أَمْلِكُ إِلَّا نَفْسِي وَأَخِي فَافْرُقْ بَيْنَنَا
وَبَيْنَ الْقَوْمِ الْفَاسِقِينَ
(المائدة:٢٥)
He said: “O my Lord! I have power only over myself
and my brother, so separate us
from the people who
are the fāsiqūn (rebellious and
disobedient to
Allah) (Q. 5:25)
Prophet ‘Īsā’s companions called al-ḥawāriyyūn
despite their faith they still wanted another evidence for his truthfulness as mentioned in the Qur’ān, as follows:
إِذْ قَالَ الْحَوَارِيُّونَ
يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ هَلْ يَسْتَطِيعُ رَبُّكَ أَنْ يُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا مَائِدَةً
مِنَ السَّمَاءِ قَالَ
اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ. قَالُوا نُرِيدُ أَنْ نَأْكُلَ مِنْهَا
وَتَطْمَئِنَّ
قُلُوبُنَا وَنَعْلَمَ
أَنْ قَدْ صَدَقْتَنَا وَنَكُونَ عَلَيْهَا مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ (المائدة:١١٢-١١٣)
(Remember) when Al-Ḥawāriyyūn (the
disciples) said:
“O ‘Īsā (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary)! Can
your Lord
send down to us a table spread (with food)
from heaven?”
‘Īsā (Jesus) said: “Fear Allah, if you are
indeed believers.”
They said: “We wish to eat thereof and to
satisfy our
hearts (to be stronger in
Faith), and to know that you
have indeed told us the
truth and that we ourselves
be its witnesses.” (Q. 5:112-113)
As for the companions (ṣaḥābah)
of the Prophet they said to him that they would never abandon him. They
suffered thirteen years in Makkah and took refuge to Ethiopia. When he ascended
to heaven and reached Sidrat al-Muntahā (the lotus tree in the Seventh
Heaven) they never asked any evidence.
Allah
mentions the noble position of the ṣaḥābah who emigrated and took refuge
to Madinah, as follows:
لِلْفُقَرَاءِ
الْمُهَاجِرِينَ الَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ وَأَمْوَالِهِمْ يَبْتَغُونَ
فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا وَيَنْصُرُونَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ
الصَّادِقُونَ (الحشر:٨)
(And there is also a share in this booty) for the poor
emigrants, who were expelled from their homes
and
their property, seeking bounties from Allah and
to please
Him, and helping Allah (i.e. helping His
religion—Islamic Monotheism) and His Messenger (Muhammad
s.a.w.).
Such are indeed the truthful
(to what
they say) (Q. 59:8)
Allah also mentions the noble position of
the ṣaḥābah among the Anṣār, the people of Madinah who
welcome the emigrants as follows:
وَالَّذِينَ
تَبَوَّءُوا الدَّارَ وَالْإِيمَانَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ
وَلَا
يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِمَّا أُوتُوا
وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ
بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَمَنْ يُوقَ
شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ (الحشر:٩)
And
those who, before them, had homes (in al-Madinah)
and had adopted the Faith love those who
emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they
have been given (from the booty of Banū ‘l-Naḍīr), and give them (emigrants)
preference over themselves even though they
were
in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his
own
covetousness, such are they who will be
the successful (Q. 59:9)
Shaykh al-Moayyad said further that the Prophet passed
away without assigning his companions to conquer land, but to disseminate Islam
to the remotest parts of the earth. In the time of Abū Bakr and ‘Umar something
happened which had never happened before in the history of humankind. Within
fourteen years the ṣaḥābah conquered the Persian empire and defeated the
Roman empire.
When Shaykh al-Moayyad
was asked what he would like to say to the Shiis he said that he called them to reconsider, re-examine their beliefs
and open his mind to the truth. He felt pity for them, felt compassion with
them and wished for them that one day they might be guided to the truth,
nothing else. This means that he had no ill-feeling towards them. To support
his statement, he cited the following Qur’ānic verse:
يَا
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ لَا يَضُرُّكُمْ مَنْ ضَلَّ إِذَا
اهْتَدَيْتُمْ
إِلَى اللَّهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ جَمِيعًا فَيُنَبِّئُكُمْ
بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (المائدة:١٠٥)
O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If
you follow the (right)
guidance [and enjoin what is right
(Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders
one to
do) and forbid what is
wrong (polytheism, disbelief and
all that Islam has forbidden)] no hurt can
come to you
from those who are in error. The return of you
all is
to Allah, then He will inform you about (all)
that which you used to
do. (Q. 5:105)
Besides tv/video presentations Shaykh al-Moayyad also released
several books and articles in his website www.almoaiyad.com containing:
(1)
Sections on news of him and his activities starting from the ‘Ied
celebration in on 16 November 2010 till about 2013. Among these activities are:
the publication of his book Itḥāf al-Sāil on 19 July, 2012; an article
entitled في طريق الاصلاح (“On the Way to Reformation”), and
a project entitled مشروع
بيان شرعي مقترح على كبريات المرجعيات السنية بشأن التصريح ببطلان التعبد بالتشيع المذهبي (“A Project of Legal Statement Proposed
to Heads of Sunni Maraji‘ Concerning the
Declaration of the Invalidity of Worshiping with Shiite Doctrine.”)
(2)
His book al-Islām Minhāj al-Ḥayāh
(“Islam the Way of Life”). It
contains his fatāwā (personal views) on various subjects.
(3)
Questions and Requests for Formal Legal Opinions. It contains questions
dealing with the Qur’ān, general beliefs, the Prophet’s wives (“the mothers of
the believers”), the ṣaḥābah (companions of the Prophet), Shii legacy
and concepts, general questions concerning various sects and schools, question
on Islamic jurisprudence, etc;
(4)
Thirty-two articles and essays, such as his explanation on the ḥadīth
أَنَا
مَدِيْنَةُ الْعِلْمِ وَ عَلِيٌّ بَابُهَا (“I am the city of knowledge, and ‘Ali
is its door”), الرد على محاولات
منظري التشيع المذهبي لرمي أهل السنة بالقول بتحريف القرآن الكريم “Refutation against
the Attempts of the Exponents of Doctrinal Shiism for Accusing the Followers of
the Sunnah of Stating the Distortion of the Noble Qur’ān”, and الرد على استدلال
الشيعة بحديث "علي مع القرآن و القرآن مع علي" “Refutation against the Shii’s Evidence
with the Ḥadīth ‘‘Alī is with the Qur’ān, and the Qur’ān is with ‘Alī.’”
(5)
Eight
researches and studies, such as: الأساس القرآني
لتعظيم أمهات المؤمنين “Qur’ānic
Basic for Glorifying the Mothers of the Believers”, محاضرات الإمام المؤيد فى أصول الفقه تعليقا على
كتاب المستصفى للإمام الغزالي “Lectures
of Imām al-Mu’ayyad on the Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence as Commentary
of Imām al-Ghazālī’s Book al-Mustaṣfā”,
and معالم التغيير المجتمعي في الإسلام “Characteristics of Social Change in Islam.”
(6)
Forty-seven statements and
declarations, including his congratulations on 30 December 2003 to the Muslims
and the Christians on the occasion of the ‘Ied and Christmas celebrations, his
condolences on the death of Pope John Paul the Second in al-Zamān Journal on 7 April, 2005, of the
death the great poet Nāzik al-Malā’ikah on 21 June, 2007, and of the death of
Shaykh Jamāl al-Dīn, the Mufti of Iraq on 17 June, 2007.
(7)
The draft of the National Charter containing: نص مشروع الميثاق الوطني (“The Text of the Draft of the National Charter”), إعلان مشروع الميثاق الوطني (“The Declaration of the Draft of the National Charter”); صدى الإعلان عن الميثاق و بيانات التأييد (“The Echo
of the Declaration of the Charter and the Statements of Support”); and الإستفتاء على المشروع الوطني (“The Plebiscite on the National Draft”).
(8)
Interviews and dialogues and statements made in newspapers, starting
with الحوار الأول الذي أجرته صحيفة "العرب
اليوم" الأردنية مع الإمام المؤيد المنشور فيها بتاريخ 29/5/2005 (“The first press-interview
conducted by al-‘Arab al-Yawm” newspaper with Imām al-Moayyad publish in
it in 29 May, 2005”) ending with صحيفة الشروق التونسية تحاور الإمام المؤيد, 25/10/2011 (“The Tunisian al-Shurūq
newspaper conducts an interview with Imām al-Moayyad dated 25 October, 2011”).
(9)
His biography and some views and comments of him:
(10)
الإمام المؤيد في سطور ; السيرة العطرة لسماحة
المرجع الإسلامي العلامة الشيخ حسين المؤيد ; ما كتب أوقيل عن الإمام المؤيد
Shaykh al-Moayyad
was very concerned about the Iranian involvement in building schools and
cultural centres in Iraq. He said on his Twitter account: "The opening of an Iranian school in
the name of Khomeini in the Sunni province of Mosul is a major provocation and an
attempt to impose a sectarian reality on Sunnis."
The Baghdad Post,
Sept. 18, 2017, 11.38 AM was told by observers that Iran was increasingly
establishing Iranian schools in Iraq. It had planned to build hundreds of
schools and cultural centres in all governorates of Iraq. Its purpose was to
help consolidate the false concepts of Iranian revolutionary ideology in the
minds of Iraqi children, and the construction of these schools was under the
direct supervision of a committee connected to Iranian Revolutionary Guards
Corps (IRGC). Those schools also would adopt the Farsi language and promote Iranian
culture.
The Khomeni Primary
school was established in the predominantly Shiite village of Khazna, 40 km
east of Mosul. It was funded by the Iranian Khilani Organization and directly
supervised by the Iranian consul in Erbil. Recently, on Thursday (i.e., September
14, 2017) Niniveh Educational Directorate announced its inauguration.
In central and southern Iraq fourteen Iranian
schools with Iranian teachers teaching special curricula are directly
supervised by the cultural attaché of the Iranian embassy in Baghdad.
The observers said
further: “Most of the religious and historical books distributed to students
contain ideas hostile to Prophet Muhammad’s companions. Khomeini schools give
the students clothes and meals, as well as free educational supplies. The schools allocate money to students, in an attempt
to attract many students in the poor southern provinces.”
About forty educational
centres in the form of religious schools or training centres have been established
by Iran in the capital Baghdad and other provinces. The students will be
brainwashed after gaining their ideological and political loyalty by these
institutions. Some of them are sent to Iran for recruitment for later
intelligent activities in neighbouring countries.
The
reporters warned against their scheme to establish other schools in Sunni
provinces like Anbar, Diyala and Salahuddin. They pointed about the suffering
of the educational institution in Iraq from the growing Iranian influence, such
as the change of the curricula taught in the schools of the Ministry of
Education. In addition, some historic events have been deleted and weak ḥadīths
have been introduced to serve the Iranian schemes.
All these Baghdad Post’s accounts will
cause alarm for Sunni scholars, especially the Iraqis like Shaykh
Almoayyad. However, it is said in
exaggeration that there is nothing really true in the newspaper except its name
and the date of its publication. Newspaper accounts could be misleading,
exaggerating or not telling the whole truth. Embellishment could be made so
that the news looks important and interesting, and we do not know who the
reporters reporting the news are. In this case verification is very important.
Allah in the Qur’ān told the Muslims to verify
news especially from unreliable sources, as follows:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنْ جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا
أَنْ تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا
بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ (الحجرات:٦)
O you who believe! If a fāsiq (liar—evil
person) comes
to you
with any news, verify it, least you should harm
people in ignorance, and afterwards you become
regretful for what you have done.” (Q. 49:6)
In Indonesia the
term tabayyun meaning “verification” derived from the above verse has
become commonly used among scholars and politicians, especially in conducting
dialogues and debates. Statements, especially provoking ones, should be
verified, so that overreaction and hasty conclusion could be avoided. Tabayyun
in his case is extremely important.
(Turner,
18 October 2017)
Bibliography:
https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/ حسين_المؤيد
https://mz-mz.net/268634
http://www.almoaiyad.com/seara/seara.htm
http://www.indianmirror.com/culture/indian-folklore/Self-Flagellation.html
http://www.dd-sunnah.net/forum/showthread.php?t=159949
http://www.ahlalhdeeth.com/vb/showthread.php?t=294261
https://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2007/04/25/33862.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Twelver_Shia_Islam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-flagellation
http://ar.wikishia.net/view/ العروة_الوثقى_(كتاب
https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/قناة_صفا_الفضائية
http://s.thebaghdadpost.com/en/17077//Shiite-schools-Iran-s-plots-to-invade-Iraqi-minds
[1] Al-‘Urwat al-Wusqā is one of the most
important Shia Imamiyyah juristic books by Ayatullah al-‘Uẓmā al-Sayyid Muḥammad
Kāẓim al-Ṭabāṭabā’ī al-Yazdī (1247-1337/1831-1919), one of the prominent Shia
jurist in 13th Century H. The book was arranged in numeric order of issues
reaching 3260 issues on Islamic Shia jurisprudence, divided into sixteen
sections, starting with ijtihād and taqlīd, and ending with nikāḥ
and waṣiyyah. The book was so fascinating that many shurūḥ
(explanations, illustrations, expositions, elucidations, commentaries), ḥawāshī
(marginal notes, super-commentary, footnotes), and ta‘līqāt
(comments, explanatory remarks) were given to it.
[2] It is Allah’s guidance to find the truth, but it is
also His guidance that we follow the truth, as not everybody who finds the
truth follows it, let alone the person who does not find it. We used to say in
our prayer, اللَّهُمَّ أرنا
الحق حقّا، وارزقنا اتباعه، وأرنا الباطل باطلًا، وارزقنا اجتنابه, “O Allah, show us the truth as true, and bestow upon us
following it, and show as the falsehood as false, and bestow upon us avoiding
it.” When we recite اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ “Guide us to the Straight Way” (Q. 1:6) at least
seventeen times a day in our prayer we ask Allah to keep guiding us to it.
[3]Krishna Menon (1896-1974), Former Indian Minister for
Defence (1957) was reported to have said that cows were better than our
mothers, as unlike our mothers, they gave us milk without expecting anything
from us in return. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) “Father of India” and Indian
Nationalist and Revolutionary Religious leader was also reported to have said
the same thing.
[4] On 14 June 1994 the Shiite marja‘ Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran
issued a fatwa banning this practice of self-flagellation, self-harm,
suffering and cutting the body with knives or chains during Ashura, and
considered it irreligious and not suitable for good Muslims. The celebration of
Ashura itself, let alone self-flagellation in it, is considered bid‘ah (religious
innovation) by Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328), as well as Abd al-‘Azīz ibn Bāz
(1912-1999). They argue that the Prophet had never instituted or practised
annual mourning occasion either for Ḥusayn or anybody else, and therefore it
has no validity in Islam. It is also said that Ibn Rajab (d. 759/1393) of the Ḥanbalī
school in his Laṭā’if al-Ma
‘ārif was against Ashura, as neither Allah nor the
Prophet had ordered that days when
prophets met calamities or the days of their death be instituted as a day of
mourning. In other words, there is neither “the year of mourning” nor “the day
of mourning” in Islam.
[5]Some Shia Muslims whip themselves on the Day of Ashura
to commemorate the martyrdom of Ḥusayn at the Battle of Karbalāʾ in 680 CE,
while practising self-flagellation, hitting themselves on the chest and on the
back with chains and sharp objects such as knives. Martin Luther (1483-1545), the German
theologian, religious reformist and the founder of Lutheran Church was said to
have regularly practised self-flagellation as “a means of mortification of the
flesh.” Members of the Tractarian movement in the Anglican Communion also
practised self-flagellation. In the 13th century the “Flagellants”
of the Roman Catholics practised this self-flagellation to the extreme but was
banned by the Roman Catholic Church as a cult in the 14th century. In Christianity an instrument known as
“discipline” was used for mild self-flagellation by members of monastic orders
and some members of the Catholic lay organisation. Pope John Paul II was said
to have taken the discipline regularly.
[6]This statement reminds us of the following Qur’anic
verse where amānah instead of wilāyah
was offered: إِنَّا
عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَنْ
يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنْسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا
جَهُولًا (الأحزاب:٧٢) “Truly, We did offer al-amānah (the trust
or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained)
to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it
and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah’s torment). But man bore it.
Verily, he was unjust (to himself) and ignorant (of its results)” (Q.
33:72).
[7] The Prophet s.a.w. said: “Truthfulness
leads to righteousness (al-birr), and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a
man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes a ruthful person. Falsehood
leads to wickedness (al-fujūr), and wickedness leads to the Hellfire. And a man
keeps on telling lies until he is written as a liar before Allah” (Ṣaḥīḥ
al-Bukhārī). The Prophet also said: “The signs of a hypocrite are three:
Whenever he speaks, he tells a lie; and whenever he promises, he breaks his
promise; and whenever he is entrusted, he betrays (proves to be dishonest).”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī).
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