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:26)
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 a 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:115)
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:158)
… 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:157)
… 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:100)
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:115)
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:101)
… 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:103)
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:59)
… (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:119)
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, in spite of 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’an, it keeps silent on it. They
hate the majority 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 sufficient
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:129)
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:24)
“… 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:25)
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:112-113)
(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:8)
(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:9)
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 human kind. 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:105)
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
a number of 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: 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 it 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:6)
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://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:72) “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).
