Thursday 15 January 2009

Question posed to Sh.Fawzan concerning Mutah Beale

In The Name of Allah The Most Beneficent The Most Merciful

Sheikh Abdur Razaq Ibn Abdul Muhsin Al Abbad (Hafithahullah) was asked: “There is a particular brother from amongst us who used to be involved in the music industry, namely the “Outlawz” (The sheikh laughed and said “Now he is a Muslim?!” His name is Muta and was previously known as “Napoleon” So the sheikh said “After the oppressive French military General?” So the questioner said: “Yes sheikh, Barakallahu feek” He has accepted Islam and acknowledges Salafiyah as the correct Aqeedah and Minhaj. Many of the youth, including many of the Saudi youth, continue to listen to his music. He is involved in giving da’wah targeting these youth by explaining to them how he accepted Islam and the dangers of the music industry, as well as the impermissibility of music. The brother asks if it is permissible for him to spread his story by way of a DVD recording. This question is due to the fact that many have begun to question and scrutinize the permissibility of this. He also asks would this be considered publicizing his sins after accepting Islam? Please benefit us may Allah reward you.

The Sheikh (Hafithahullah) replied by saying: First of all, convey my salaams to the brother and tell him that I convey the salaams on behalf of all the scholars here and welcome him to Islam. The scholars today are not like the scholars of yesterday, and what I mean by this is, during the time of the scholars like Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim, Sheikh Uthaymeen and Ibn ul Baaz, may Allah have mercy on them all. They used to sit with the people and address their needs and were accessible due to the fact that the dunya had not yet opened its wings. However, today the scholars are very busy and do not have the time necessary to address the brothers and sisters in the West except by way of telephone conferences. This preoccupation is even seen in their level of knowledge and the way in which they answer questions today and we seek assistance with Allah. I truly apologize to the brothers and sisters in the West for any short comings on the part of the scholars and the lack of time we have to facilitate knowledge to them.

Nevertheless, Subhanallah! I am Amazed at the brothers and sisters who come from the West with absolutely no attachment to Islam and then accept the religion and become so vigilant and dedicated to propagating Islam, even more than those who were born and raised in the religion of Islam! The Brother should learn the Tawheed of Allah and spend a great deal of time establishing a relationship with Allah. He should not give talks about the detailed issues of the religion, rather he should leave that to the scholars and the students of knowledge. He should not utilize this opportunity to dazzle the people by entertaining them with his story, rather he should always tie his story in with Tawheed and establishing a relationship with Allah. As is relates to using the T.V. as a means of spreading Islam. Some of the scholars differ about this matter but the position that I incline towards is the position of the major scholars that came before me namely, Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim, Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Salih Al Uthaymeen and sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baaz, that if it is for the purpose of spreading Islam then we should take advantage of it and not leave it as an empty void to be filled by the People of Desires and Innovation.

As it relates to sharing his story being a means of publicizing his sins, this is not the case, rather he should not speak about what he did in the past with much detail, nor should he speak about it in a manner of glorification. We have books which contain the biographies of the salaf, some detailing who and what they were prior to Islam. So how did we get this information except that they exposed some of it, as a means of education not as a means of entertainment and glorification. One vivid example of this is the story of one of the salaf by the name of Fudhayl Ibn Iyaadh (Rahimahullah) who was on his way to commit zina (i.e. fornication) with a woman and in the process of climbing the wall to her house for this purpose, he heard some of the Muslims performing salat, and he heard the verse:

Has not the time come that the hearts of the believers tremble with fear for the remembrance of Allah and what He has revealed of the Haqq (i.e. truth)…”

And he said: “Yes indeed! Here I am about to fornicate with someone’s daughter and the Muslims are there performing prayer to get closer to Allah!” He abandoned this act and later became one of the most influential and renowned scholars of his time may Allah have mercy on him. And we find this profound story in books like Imam Ath Thahabi’s Seeyer A’alam An Nubalaa’ and other books which concentrate on compiling the biographies of the salaf and Allah knows best. Also tell the brother to send me a copy of the DVD and perhaps we can set up a program where he can speak to some of our youth here in Saudi.

Taken From: Napoleon Outlawed

7 comments:

BintSabirah said...

Masha'allah.

Jamilah said...

Asalamu Alaikum Sister

I hate to admit it, but this is the first I've heard of this brother's story. Alhamdulilah! Its so nice to see someone not only embrace Islam, but embrace the way of the companions so firmly.

May Allah swt guide and protect him.

Naimah said...

Wa alaykum assalam Jamilah, I remember Mutah came to Cardiff(wales,uk) a year or so back to give a talk about his life before and after Islam, prior to that I'd come across his story online somewhere. Masha'Allaah it was a good turnout, but alot of people turning up for the wrong reasons, just bcos he used to be a rapper, but I've heard Allaah guided some people across the country who listened to his story, Alhamdulillaah. It's very inspiring masha'Allaah.

And yes, it's so nice to see that he's following Islam according to the way of the prophet sallallaahu alayhi wa sallaam and his companions, insha Allaah.

Ameen to your du'a.

Jamilah said...

I saw on his blog that people were commenting on his posts asking if he knew who killed Tupac... ugh!

Naimah said...

Jamilah - SubhanAllaah what a question, and even if he did know, as if he's gonna tell all on his blog. All that stuff is behind him now alhamdulillaah, he's got a better life and from what he said in his talk before, he's much happier and content. People should look at that, instead of the past.

Jamilah said...

Sis Naimah

I think that most of the people asking about Tupac were not muslim at all...but yes its crazy that they can't leave it alone.

Naimah said...

Yes, I had a feeling it was. Insha Allaah, they'll ponder on the reason he left that life behind.