By Ousman Mbowe
It is rather amazing, yet astonishing that a human being who came into this world without any power, without any strength, being carried and moved about from place to place, and couldn’t do anything for himself except with the help of others, can stand up one day and claim the position of Allah, making himself an authority over something which only Allah has the right to do, and making himself someone who has the power to make decisions which Allah has reserved only for Himself. Very often we find in the world that there are many people, unfortunately Islamic scholars, who think that Islam is theirs, behaving as though their fathers and mothers were the ones who discovered Islam. They go to the extreme of thinking that they can dictate how Islam is run, believing that Islam is theirs to control, and giving themselves the right to permit or deny anyone from joining its fold.
Man, as powerful and strong as he may think of himself, often easily becomes forgetful of his nature when reflecting further backwards, before even being born. Man was not just a helpless being, but an insignificant substance about which Allah described as “There has certainly come upon man a period of time when he was not a thing spoken of. We have created man from a mingled sperm-drop that We might try him; so We made him hearing, seeing.” (76:1-2).
This, being the reality behind the nature of man, it often becomes baffling when someone stands proudly, giving himself so much power and authority, to the extent of overstepping the rights which Allah reserved only for Himself, taking up the roles, authority and mandate of the most High God—Allah.
This is perfectly what we see being consistently done by Imam Abdullah Fatty and his mates, the most recent of which took place on Wednesday, 10th May 2017, when Abdullah Fatty made a statement on the Standard Newspaper, claiming that the Supreme Islamic Council (SIC) which he affiliates himself with, does not recognise the Ahmadis as Muslims, and further recommends that the SIC write to the government showing their stance that they do not recognise Ahmadis as Muslims.
His ignorant words depicts three things about him:
- He thinks he is a god, more powerful than Allah, so much so that he can make statements which has more authority than the divine words of Allah regarding the ability to accept or reject someone’s affiliation to the religion of Islam, and having the ability to judge what is in the hearts of men despite openly proclaiming and acting on the true teachings of Islam on a daily basis.
- He thinks of himself a new prophet who receives new revelation that completely falsifies the blessed words of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw).
- He is just a lousy parrot like Abu Jahl (the father of the ignorant), making noise only to overshadow the truth, talking senselessly just to create confusion, commotion, hatred, strife and disorder just as described by the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) that:
“The Scholars (of this age—the latter days) will be the worst of creation under the canopy of the heavens; all strive will originate from them, and to them shall it return.” (Miskat, Kitabul ‘Ilm; Al-Faslith thaalith; Kanz-ul-Ummal).
Despite the fact that Ahmadi Muslims proclaim with their mouths that they are Muslims, practicing the five pillars of Islam, firmly believing in all the six articles of faith, Abdullah Fatty and his ilk deliberately and insistently accuse the Ahmadi Muslim of Kufr (disbelief), claiming that all their actions and proclamations are merely a deception aimed at deceiving the Muslims, further alleging that even the Islamic Kalima which Ahmadis proclaim is just lip-service but does not reach their hearts.
I will not spend much time here trying to buttress on who a Muslim is, for I think that is the simplest thing to ascertain according to Allah and His blessed Prophet Muhammad (saw). My focus is primarily on making clear what Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (saw) say regarding the proclamation of Kufr (disbelief) against someone who proclaims and professes his faith in Islam.
Allah and His beloved Messenger Muhammad (saw) are the only two authorities worth following as stated by Allah in the Holy Qur’an:
“O ye who believe! Obey Allah and obey His Messenger, and those who are in authority among you. And if you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger if you are believers in Allah and the Last Day. That is best and most commendable in the end.” (4:59).
If however any demi god, self-made prophet or a lousy parrot like Abu Jahl in the person of Imam Abdullah Fatty, decides to disregard the words of Allah the Supreme or those of His most honoured creation—Muhammad Mustapha (saw), then it is up to his ilk to believe and follow him to the wide road of destruction.
To avoid every form of complexity on this matter, I will just present the simplest narration of our beloved Master Muhammad Mustapha (saw) regarding the validity of the Islam of anyone, when he said in a Hadith:
“Umar related that the angel Gabriel came to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and said: ‘O Muhammad, tell me what Islam is?’ The Holy Prophet (saw) said: ‘Islam is that you testify that ‘Laa ilaaha Illallah (there is no god but Allah), and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and keep up prayer, give in charity, fast the Ramadhaan, and perform the Hajj if you are able to.” (Sahih Muslim, Book of Faith).
Another Hadith narrates:
“When the time of Abu Talib’s death approached, the Messenger of Allah (saw) came to him and found with him Abu Jahl Ibn Hisham and Abdullah Ibn Abi al-Mughaira. The Messenger of Allah said to Abu Talib: ‘O Uncle! Say Laa ilaaha Illallah’, I shall bear witness for you to Allah about this…” (Sahih Bukhari, Vol. 1, Chapter of Funerals).
In addition, another narration reads:
“Abu Bakr said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is salvation? The Holy Prophet said: He who accepts the Kalima (Laa ilaaha Illallah) which I put before my uncle [Abu Talib], but which he rejected, that is the means to salvation.” (Mishkat al-Masabih, Book of Faith, Ch.1).
From the Holy Qur’an, Allah reminds us similarly what it takes to be a Muslim when He said:
“And when I inspired the disciples to believe in Me and My Messenger, they said: ‘we believe, and bear Thou witness that we are Muslims.’” (5:111).
This is the only prerequisite which validates the Islam of any individual as far as Allah and His noble Messenger Muhammad (saw) are concerned. But then, very often, demi gods and self-made prophets like Abdullah Fatty believe that they know Islam more than Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (saw), so much so that they openly claim that “despite” the fact that Allah and the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said that whoever proclaims the Kalima is a Muslim, it still does not validate the Islam of an individual because he may be falsely professing the Kalima without sincerity, just as they allege in the case of Ahmadi Muslims. Out of his mighty powers, Abdullah Fatty with his mates claim that they can tell what is in the hearts of men, and that is the reason why they accept or reject anyone’s application to join Islam, whereas Allah, the Only true God, the All-Knowing and Wise God, said in very clear terms that:
“Do you not know that Allah knows what they conceal and what they disclose? (2:77).
And
“Surely, thy Lord knows best those who are astray from His way; and He knows best those who are rightly guided.” (6:117).
If Abdullah Fatty and his ilk make these baseless statements, it only shows their level of arrogance, ignorance and indulgence in idle and useless talk.
Moving further on whether a mere verbal proclamation of the Kalima is sufficient to validate the Islam of someone according to my beloved master and model—Muhammad Mustapha (saw), let us take a look at the following narrations, and see whether they are in conformity with the words of the demi God and self-made prophet Abdullah Fatty and his ilk. It is quoted in the Ahadith:
“Once a man from among the Ansar was talking confidentially with the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw). Suddenly the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said loudly [about someone]:
“‘Does he not bear witness that there is no god but Allah?’
The Ansari said:
‘Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah, but his testimony cannot be trusted.’
The Holy Prophet said:
‘Does he not accept that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?’
He again replied:
‘Yes, he professes it but his profession cannot be trusted.’
The Holy Prophet said:
‘Does he not pray?’
He again said:
‘Yes he does, but his prayer cannot be trusted.’
The Holy Prophet said:
‘God has forbidden me to kill such people.’
(Musnad Ahmad bin Hanbal; Mu’atta Imam Malik)
Abdullah Fatty and co., can’t you see that the Ansar quoted above paved the way for you to wake up from your midnight slumber? Would you still judge Ahmadi Muslims based on what you presume lies in their hearts or would you follow the beautiful Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) and mind your business whilst think of what you send forth for your meeting with Allah after destroying Gambia with your greed and putting the entire Muslims of this nation to shame with your unscrupulous and disgraceful attitudes. But anyway, I forgot that you have no regard for the words of Allah and His Messenger Muhammad (saw) as you have either become a demi god, a self-made prophet, or a lousy parrot.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) warned Muslims strictly regarding Takfir (calling someone a Kafir [disbeliever]):
“Ibn Umar reported that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: ‘Withhold from those who say ‘Laa ilaaha Illallah’ (there is no God but Allah)—do not call them Kafir (disbeliever). Whoever calls a reciter of ‘La ilaaha Illallah’ as a Kafir, is nearer to being a Kafir himself.” (At-Tabarani).
Finally on this issue,
“The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: ‘Three things are the basis of faith: to withhold from one who says ‘Laa ilaaha Illallah’ (there is no God but Allah)—do not call him Kafir (disbeliever) for any sin, nor expel him from Islam for any misconduct.” (Abu Dawud, Book of Jihad, 15:33).
Mr. Abdullah Fatty, I honourably congratulate you and your folks for qualifying yourselves under the category of disbelievers from the words of your own mouths, as validated by the verdict of the most noble Messenger—Muhammad (saw).
Just for you to know, no single individual Ahmadi Muslim wants or waits for your approval for them to be part of Islam; we care less about who you are and what you think.
A wise woman, my dear and blessed mother once said to me, ‘a vehicle ahead does not bother horning the vehicle behind it continuously, for it is far ahead of it; however, a vehicle behind, because it is behind, will always be horning at the one ahead of it’. So Abdullah Fatty, keep horning whilst Allah give you air to breathe. But by Allah, you will horn, bark and howl, but Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at will forever prosper whilst you will constantly be faced with disgrace and humiliation.
Finally, Abdullah Fatty, I will end my write-up with a verse of the Holy Qur’an where Allah said:
“And the servants of the Gracious God are those who walk on the earth in a dignified manner, and when the ignorant address them, they say, Salaam.” (25:64).
So Abdullah Fatty, SALAAM!
