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Questions from the Salafis of Toronto to Shaykh Rabīʿ ibn Hādī and a Clarification and Elucidation upon Adnān ʿArʿūr

al-ʿAllāmah Rabīʿ ibn Hādī al-Madkhalī

In the Summer of 2000, Khālid Ibn al-Walīd Masjid (Toronto, Canada) invited the quṭbee, Adnān ʿAr’ūr to Toronto in addition to Muḥammad al-Jibālī and Bilāl Philips. With the intention of safeguarding the Muslim community against the harm of the enemies of the sunnah such as `ʿAr’ūr, the daʿwah centre (TROID) distributed a cassette refuting ʿAr’ūr with 13 Scholars exposing his errors in addition to this clear refutation by al-ʿAllāmah Rabī ibn Hādī.


The Fitnah surrounding the Adnaan ʿAr’ūr’s visit to Toronto

Since this tape clearly exposed ʿArʿūr as the Shayṭān that he is (note: we call him Shayṭān since an alim has preceded us in this statement as one will hear on the tape) and incriminated the masjid as an affiliate of ḥizbiyyah (partisanship) and qutubiyyah, the spin-doctors of the masjid began to respond with lies and fabrications in order to delude the people from truth. Stated Afrāz Baksh upon the minbar, “…Where are the people who are distributing tapes and statements as if this is the daʿwah and what they should be doing.” [note: Yes Baksh, you who aided the shayṭān, Adnān ʿArʿūr. This is what the Salafīyyīn should be doing when they see a masjid in the city that falsely claims salafīyyah deluding people away from the truth and the insightful speech of the Scholars!]

This fīble khuṭbah aimed at pulling the wool over the eyes of the Muslims wasn’t enough. The masjid then began to present to the community with ancient taskiyyaat (recommendations) from Imām al-Albānī (raḥimahullāh) praising ʿArʿūr in addition to praiseworthy commentary by Imām Ibn Bāz (raḥimahullāh). For most people, their taqlīd (blind-following) and ḥizbiyyah (partisanship) of the masjid was enough to reject any speech from outside the realm of Bashīr Shill/Afrāz Baksh and whomever they recommend. For others, the old ta’deel (praise) from Imām al-Albānī (raḥimahullāh) confused them greatly since they didn’t understand the principles of Jarḥ wa-al-Taʿdīl. The community in general didn’t understand what to do in a situation where there is an old, general praise and a new criticism of the same man, so most of them sided with the majority rather than looking to the Scholars.  A brother stated, “they have a proof and you have a proof”, another stated, ‘they have Imām al-Albānī and you have Shaykh Rabīʿ, I am with al-Albānī’.

Ironically, Usāmah al-Qūṣī personally warned Bashīr Shill, the Imām of the masjid not to bring the qutbee shayṭān, Adnān ʿArʿūr. Nonetheless, this abominable conference took place despite the advice of Shaykh al-Qūṣī, the taped refutation of 13 Scholars of al-ʿArabīa refuting ʿArʿūr and the plea to the masjid to contact the ʿUlamāʾ before proceeding.

In light of the ʿArʿūr Conference continuing to take place, a brother contacted the noble shaykh, al-ʿAllāmah Rabīʿ Ibn Hādī al-Madkhalī. The one whom Imām al-Albānī praised as ‘The Imām of Jahr wa-al-Taʿdīl’. The noble Shaykh was presented the following questions regarding ʿArʿūr and the masjid that invited him:

The Questions to al-ʿAllāmah Rabīʿ Ibn Hādī

[Q1]: ‘O Shaykh, with regards to the brother Adnaan ʿArʿūr, is it true that he took back his statements?

[Q2]: ‘O Shaykh, what is your advice to the brothers who will invite him to this community? They are aware of the tapes from the ʿUlamāʾ that refuted him (ʿArʿūr).

[Q3]: ‘O Shaykh, with regards to the people here in Toronto (some of them), they play down the word ‘Jarḥ wa-al-Taʿdīl’ (disparaging and confirming the reliability of men) and they show animosity to anyone who transmits statements from the Scholars when they warn against certain people. Also, what do you advise to the people who say ‘if a person who is Salafī falls into some errors, then we are all humans who fall into error’ (referring to the likes of ʿArʿūr and other callers to innovation)?

[Q4]: As regards to some callers who used to call to salafīyyah, then they split when they refused to take a position of opposition to Adnaan ʿArʿūr or Abū Muslimah for example. They began opposing the Scholars with their actions and by refusing to take a position in opposition to them (callers to bidʿah) and by refusing not to sell their tapes. They say there is no harm to sell their tapes. As for those who transmit the statements of the scholars such as Shaykh Rabīʿ or Shaykh Muqbil (raḥimahullāh) refuting those people who were warned against, they say ‘this person has hardness in his heart, this is back-biting, why don’t we spend time rectifying ourselves first’.

[Q5]: Some brothers say, ‘Why do you ask Shaykh Rabīʿ only, why not ask the assembly of major scholars in Saudi al-ʿArabīa?’

[Q6]: Right now Abū Muslimah’s mistakes have been pointed out but some brothers say, ‘why can’t we listen to his other tapes on hijab…?’.

[Q7]: We shouldn’t listen to a tape (i.e. by Abū Muslimah) that even Ṣalāt (is is the topic)…?

Please listen to the audio for the answers.

Why was there such confusion in the community?

The lack of understanding of manhaj in the community is a direct result of the ongoing plots of the masjid to guise their ḥizbiyyah and to disconnect the people from the Scholars as this would certainly expose countless errors and remove the taqlīd (blind-following) of Bashīr Shill as a Scholar. Whenever anyone dares to ask questions related to manhaj, they are often told to concern themselves with ʿibādah and taqwá thus subtly indoctrinating the people with the Ikhwānī principle of ‘working together in the good’ and leaving off refutation entirely. This false principle was recently exposed by al-ʿAllāmah Zayd al-Madkhalī in his response the Bashīr Shill’s statement, “The Refutation of so and so, the refutation of so and so, the refutation of so and so, this takes one away from the religion of Allāh.” This qutubee brainwashing has left the majority of the community feeling that the daʿwah centre is a refutation centre filled with hatred, obsessed with refutation and devoid of knowledge of the uṣūl. In addition, the embellishment of al-Qūṣī’s ignorant and unjust statement praising Shill as the muhaddith of Canada by the likes of Afrāz Baksh has left the community confident that they are in the presence of a true Scholar in Bashīr Shill.

We ask those who have doubts about this masjid to carefully examine the statements of al-ʿAllāmah Rabīʿ Ibn Hādī regarding ʿArʿūr, the statements of al-ʿAllāmah Zayd al-Madkhalī and the statements of the late Imām Muqbil Ibn Hādī which are to follow. We will continue to make the affair of this masjid and its mouthpieces known to the people as this is necessary to defend the sunnah and to defend salafīyyah. This is not an attack as some claim rather this is a defence of the haqq, it is those who attack and detach themselves from the scholars, propagating the speech and books of Ahlul-Bid’ah who are the attackers. Rather, we are defending the sunnah and connecting the community to the Scholars.

We ask Allāh to guide the community to that which is correct, amīn.

Published: June 15, 2000
Edited: January 28, 2023