My Memoirs part no. 9
Sheikh ‘Abdul ‘Azīz bin ‘Abdullah bin Bāz
Men fill the whole world but in Quranic
terminology “men” (Rijāl in Arabic) in the eyes of Allah Almighty are a race of
some specific qualities. For example, the Quran mentions the Houses of Allah as
a manifestation of His light where “men” of a certain kind are mentioned:
It says:
فِى بُيُوتٍ
أَذِنَ ٱللَّهُ أَن تُرۡفَعَ وَيُذۡڪَرَ فِيہَا ٱسۡمُهُ ۥ يُسَبِّحُ
لَهُ ۥ فِيہَا بِٱلۡغُدُوِّ وَٱلۡأَصَالِ رِجَالٌ۬ لَّا تُلۡهِيہِمۡ
تِجَـٰرَةٌ۬ وَلَا بَيۡعٌ عَن ذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِ وَإِقَامِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ وَإِيتَآءِ
ٱلزَّكَوٰةِۙ يَخَافُونَ يَوۡمً۬ا تَتَقَلَّبُ فِيهِ ٱلۡقُلُوبُ وَٱلۡأَبۡصَـٰرُ
“In houses (mosques), which Allah
has ordered to be raised (to be cleaned, and to be honoured), in them His Name
is remembered. Therein glorify Him (Allah) in the mornings and in the
afternoons or the evenings. Men whom neither trade nor sale diverts them from
the Remembrance of Allah nor from performing the Salat (prayer) nor from giving
the Zakat (Charity). They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will be overturned.”
[Surah Al-Nūr 24:36-37]
In Surah Al-Ahzāb 33:23, they are described in a praiseworthy
way:
مِّنَ
ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ رِجَالٌ۬ صَدَقُواْ مَا عَـٰهَدُواْ ٱللَّهَ عَلَيۡهِۖ فَمِنۡهُم
مَّن قَضَىٰ نَحۡبَهُ ۥ وَمِنۡہُم مَّن يَنتَظِرُۖ وَمَا بَدَّلُواْ
تَبۡدِيلاً۬
“Among the believers are men who
have been true to their covenant with Allah, of them some have fulfilled their
obligations, and some of them are still waiting, but they have never changed.”
[Surah Al-Ahzāb 33:23]
No doubt that our Sheikh, our
mentor was among such “men” of an esteemed high calibre. Though he lost his
eye-sight at the age of nineteen but Allah awarded him instead such an insight
which excels a thousand eye-sights. In this article, I endeavour to present
such aspects of his life to which I was a witness or as they came to my
knowledge through other sources.
The Sheikh was brought up in Najd
(central province of Saudi Arabia) where the teachings of Sheikh Muhammad bin
‘Abdul Wahhāb based upon the pure teachings of the Quran and Sunnah were deeply
rooted, where the innovations had been buried and vanished and the Sunnah was
manifest and flourishing.
He became the champion of this
Da’wa and passed his whole life in propagating it.
Though he was trained in Hanbali
fiqh, he set a glorious example in following the evidence from the Book and the
Sunnah along with the practice of the companions. For example, unlike his
contemporary scholars, he adopted the opinion of Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn Al-Qayyim
concerning the issue of triple divorce declaring it as one revocable Talaq as
it used to be during the times of the Prophet ﷺ. Similarly, he invalidated a divorce
pronounced to a wife while she was menstruating in the light of the hadith of
‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar.
A journalist, Fahd Al-Bakran, the editor of the Fatwa corner in
‘Al-Da’wa’ magazine of Riyadh once wrote:
“A few months ago, we have published a Fatwa with a sentence in the
beginning which says: ‘it is reported in Madhab so and so’ and we attributed
this Fatwa to the Sheikh. Once it was brought to the knowledge of the Sheikh,
he asked us about the above-mentioned sentence and made it clear that ‘we do
not say that this is what Madhab says but we just say that this is what Allah
Al-Mighty has said and his Messenger ﷺ
has said.’”
It shows very clearly the Manhaj (methodology) of the Sheikh in issuing
a Fatwa i.e. not following a particular Madhab but relying totally on the
evidences from the Book and the Sunnah.
Once he issued a Fatwa giving the permissibility of marrying a Kitabiya
(a Jewish or Christian woman) with certain conditions. A student of knowledge said
to the Sheikh that some of the companions did not approve such a marriage.
Sheikh simply replied by saying: Will the Book and the Sunnah be bound by the
saying of one companion?
Once he was addressing through a tele-conference our gathering at
Masjid Al-Tawhid, London when I asked him this question: Here some Salafi youth
judge a person through the eyes of his Manhaj (methodology) and not through his
Aqeedah (belief)? Sheikh replied: They are both the same. What is our Aqeedah
(i.e. the Book and the Sunnah along with the practice of the companions) is our
Manhaj as well.
He was a man of many shades; Exegetist of the Quran, Narrator of
Hadith, a jurist, a speaker, an administrator but he excelled in the field of
Da’wa.
He used to begin his speech with an admonition to acquire Taqwa (fear
of Allah) followed by an emphasis on sincerely directing all forms of worship
to Allah alone. He had a lot of verses and ahadith in store condemning Shirk
(associating deities with Allah). Then he used to highlight the importance of
acquiring good characters:
i)
A deep profound insight in the matters of
religion
ii)
Complete sincerity
iii)
A good knowledge
iv)
Good character
And he was equipped with all
these four. He was the one to be chosen to be the first rector of the Islamic
University at Madinah since the day of its inception. During his patronage, the
university enjoyed teachers of great skill and knowledge in each and every
subject. For example:
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Amin
Al-Shanqiti of Mauritania who had no match in the subject of Tafsir and Fiqh.
Sheikh Muhammad Nasiruddin
Al-Albani who was there for three years as a teacher of Hadith. There had been
none similar to him in our times in the science of Hadith and the reporters of
Hadith.
Hafiz Muhammad Gundalwi of
Pakistan who did not stay more than one year in Madinah but his circle in the
Prophet’s mosque attracted not only the students but the teachers of the
university as well.
My father, Sheikh ‘Abdul Ghaffar
Hasan had a great honour to teach there continuously for sixteen years. He
taught Hadith, the Usul Hadith and Isnad. A number of teachers took pride in
acquiring Ijaza of Hadith from him, i.e. through his Isnad to the Prophet ﷺ.
There were teachers of par-excellence in each and every subject like:
Sheikh ‘Abdul Muhsin Hamad Al-‘Abbad in the subject of Tawhid (Aqeedah:
faith)
Sheikh ‘Abdul Qadir Shayba-tul-Hamd in Hadith and comparative religion.
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Majzub in the Arabic literature, prose and poetry.
Sheikh ‘Abdul Ra’ūf Al-Lubadi in Arabic grammar and linguistics.
Sheikh Muhammad Mukhtar Al-Shanqiti in Fiqh and Usul Al-Fiqh
Sheikh Muhammad ‘Umar Falata in Hadith and Tawhid
Sheikh ‘Atiyya Muhammad Salim in linguistics and the subject of Balagha
(eloquence)
Later two more great scholars of these two subjects: Muhammad Nazim
Nadawi from Pakistan and Taqi ud Din Hilali of Morocco joined this
unprecedented galaxy of the knowledge and art.
It was due to the sincerity of the Sheikh that his product, the
graduates of this Jami’a are found everywhere in the world spreading the
knowledge of the Quran and Sunnah.
After serving the Jami’a for fourteen years, when he moved to Riyadh
(1975) as a Head of Dar-ul-Ifta, he was given the task of supervising all those
Mab’ūth (delegates) in the field of Da’wa. Dar-ul-Ifta was no more a seat for
the issuance of Fatwa, it was turned into the Presidency of the scholarly
research, Ifta, Da’wa and guidance.
In 1967, one year after my graduation, that Dar-ul-Ifta of Riyadh,
Saudi Arabia, then supervised by Mufti Sheikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim, a direct
descendant of Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab, was commissioned to take care
of Da’wa abroad. As advised by Sheikh Muhammad Nasir Al-‘Aboodi, the registrar
of Jami’a, who embarked upon a lengthy tour of Africa for this purpose, the
Muslims of the countries of Kenya, Uganda and Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe)
accepted to host the delegates.
I was among the four who were selected for this job.
Myself and Ibrahim Khalil to Nairobi and Mombasa respectively, Sirajul
Rahman Nadawi to Kampala, and ‘Abdul Rahman Mubarakpuri to Salisbury (Harare
presently).
I stayed in Kenya for nine years (to be discussed in detail in my
coming parts of the blog) until 1976 when because of some unpleasant events, I
decided to leave the country. I visited the Sheikh in Riyadh and told him about
my desire to leave Kenya for good. Not even for a moment he hesitated but
simply asked me where I want to move? “To Pakistan, to the U.K or to the U.S.A?”
I chose Britain viewing that I would be able there to pursue my
post-graduate studies as a part-time student as well. It was an honour for me
to be among the first batch of delegates to Africa and the first one to be
delegated to a European country.
During those days another
institution by the title of “Al-Ta’wiy al-Islamia fi Al-Hajj (Islamic awareness
during Hajj)” had been established. Invited by them, I got the opportunity to
visit Makkah almost every year for many years to come. These annual visits,
included those to see my parents in Madinah till 1980, allowed me to visit the
Sheikh regularly and witness his esteem character of nobility and generosity
from a very close end.
He used to pass his days with a regular routine unchanged whether he
was in Riyadh or Makkah or Madinah or Ta’if. A piece of admonition after Fajr
prayer followed by Zikr individually till the rising of the sun.
He would attend his office at the appointed time. Normally his spacious
office will be abounding with visitors including applicants for help or seekers
for a Fatwa even before his arrival.
Two of his secretaries, with piles of papers, would sit on both sides.
A telephone set would be within his reach on a coffee table before him. Each
one of them would read a paper to him and then record his verbal instruction on
it. Very seldom the phone bell would start ringing and he would answer the
phone. The person on the other end might be a man or woman who would be keen to
get an answer to his/her question directly from the mouth of Sheikh. All the
applicants in the room would be patiently waiting for their papers to be
presented to the Sheikh for his instruction. A phone call or a new visitor’s
greeting and shaking hands with him would interrupt him again and again. Sheikh
had to attend them all.
I would be very fortunate if my paper was presented to him any time
before Zuhr prayer. If not, I had a little chance to get it presented within
the last hour of his sitting after Zuhr before he rose to the dinner sheets
spread in an adjacent room to which everyone was invited.
Dr. Sa’ād Al-Shuwai’r, his personal secretary remarks in his article,
that “quite often delegates from abroad would come to visit the Sheikh. They
would enter that spacious Diwan of the Sheikh where visitors were seated on the
chairs arranged by the three walls of the room (leaving the front wall for
entrance). They would start shaking hands with each sitting person, beginning
from the right and after greeting all, they would take their seats at the end.
Then some of them would ask me when the Sheikh would arrive for whom they had
come a long way to visit. “
Dr. Al-Shuwa’ir, pointing towards the Sheikh would say, “This is the
Sheikh, right in front of the phone, with whom you have just shook your hands
in greeting.”
Al-Shuwa’ir said that many a dignitary, after experiencing this sight
of humbleness and humility on the part of Sheikh came to tears. They said that
our scholars lived with pride and arrogance and you could hardly see them
without making a prior appointment but Sheikh was unique. He would ask the
visitors how was he and his family. If he was someone from abroad, Sheikh would
ask him to sit next to him and start conversing with him to have a full
introduction of him.
An amazing aspect of him to recognise a person with his voice. Often you
greet him saying ‘‘Assalam-u-Alaikum’’ and he would greet you back with your
name. When I used to meet him after my father left Madinah in 1980, he would
ask about the health of my father and then about Sheikh ‘Abdul Rahim Ashraf of
Lyallpur (present Faisal Abad) because of his close association with my father.
He in his generosity was Hātim Tā’ī of our times. Once you say Salam to
him, he would invite you by saying “Lunch today is with us.” Once you reach his
house for lunch, you will see a big crowd of people, students, teachers and a
number of dignitaries, all who have been invited. Sheikh ‘Abdullah bin Māni’,
one of his close friends said that Sheikh’s daily expenditure was no less than
two thousand Riyals (approximately £400), most of his salary goes to meet the
needs of the poor and needy along with the entertainment of the guests.
With such an expenditure, Sheikh was always found in debt by the end of
each month but there would always be someone, an individual or from the royal
court who would pay off his debt.
By the time the midday meal is over, the time for ‘Asr prayer becomes
due. Sheikh would rest till Maghrib, then he would deliver a lesson, explaining
one of the books in Hadith or Fiqh in one of the mosques.
During my stay in Riyadh, for a specific task concerning the review of
the translation and footnotes of ‘Abdullah Yusuf ‘Ali, I found him occupied
with more than one book during that time. A student would read the text from
the Book and Sheikh would explain exhaustively whatever was needed to be
elaborated. Then comes the term of the second and the third book and so on and
so forth until ‘Isha Azan was announced.
Some of his close associates told me that Sheikh used to remain awake
sometimes till midnight totally engrossed with the books; reading, looking for
references, preparing a paper or writing an article through his secretaries or
helpers. With all these engagements, he never missed his night prayers.
He created a special fund for the help of the poor and needy. The money
used to pour in from a great number of philanthropists from among the wealthy
businessmen and individuals. Because of their blind trust in the Sheikh, the
fund used to always be ripe with money.
His family reported of a certain woman who sent their condolence
message from Bosnia. We asked her “how did you come to know the Sheikh?”, she
said “how should I not know him while I kept on receiving my expenses from him
regularly.”
Two years before his death, I witnessed him during Hajj time welcoming the
President of Chechnya. Sheikh had a cordial lengthy meeting with him and hosted
him at the midday meal. Before he gave him farewell, the entry of his treasurer
of the private purse revealed to me that Sheikh must not have seen him off
without honouring him.
Let me mention another event of his most humble character to which I
stand a witness, that I, during that visit, requested him to honour us after
Hajj by his visit to our caravan of pilgrims, known as ‘’Labbaik’’ from London
and address them in person. Sheikh accepted my request and gave me an
appointment at a certain day after Hajj after Maghrib prayer.
The day arrived and I was very worried how could I be able to approach
him while he was always surrounded by the people, visitors and applicants,
wherever he was found. I hastened to his mosque in Shisha, Makkah before the
prayer.
As soon as the prayer was over, Sheikh, escorted by his personal body
guards slipped through a special gate, erected by the side of the Qibla to ride
his car. Hurriedly I went through the main gate, rushed towards the guards and
reminded them of my appointment with the Sheikh. May Allah bless the Sheikh. He
heard my voice and directed the guard to allow me accompanying him in his Jeep
which in turn escorts Sheikh’s car to the south of ‘Aziziya where our
delegation was camped in a three-storey building. Because of an ailment in his
leg, Sheikh preferred to address the delegates at the ground floor hall. The
organisers of the caravan, a charity team from Kuwait and the pilgrims were
glad to see the Sheikh among them.
What a great honour for them to have the Grand-Mufti of Saudi Arabia
honouring them with this unprecedented visit. I was there, sitting next to him
and translating his speech into English. I will never forget that great noble
gesture when he accepted my request in spite of his busy schedule and an ailing
leg.
People from all around the globe used to contact him in the matters of
religion. In matrimonial disputes, many couples would not be satisfied until
they receive an answer from him. In matters of divorce, people would prefer to
get his advice which used to satisfy both the husband and wife.
How often a princess from the royal family would phone him asking
advice about their matrimonial matters. It seems that Sheikh knows each and
every member of the Royal court. So before answering, he would ask her about
her husband, her children and other members of the household. He never used his
personal acquaintance with them to gain any benefit but only to meet the needs
of those in distress or in deep trouble.
It is reported that when he was appointed as a Qazi in Al-Kharaj
district at the age of twenty-seven after accomplishing his studies, he used to
write letters to the King and the ministers and the princes, interceding for
people in need beside his official role as a Qazi. When it became a routine
matter with him, he was told by the higher authorities that his role was
confined to judge among the people and not to write letters of recommendation
for them. Sheikh responded by saying that you wanted me to judge between the
people concerning their camels, oxen, cows and goats only and should not
intercede in matters which deserve attention while the Prophet ﷺ said “Intercede and get reward (from Allah).” He said, “If someone
meets his need because of my intercession, I will be happy to have served
someone and even if the person doesn’t get what he wanted, my reward with Allah
will reach me one day.”
No doubt this practice continued with him till he breathed his last.
Allah knows better, with his intercessions how many poor people got their house
established, how many students came to achieve their targets, how many captives
saw the light of freedom and how many jobless amongst them were crowned with
jobs.
In addition, there had been no account of such Mosques, schools,
orphanages and charities that owe their existence to Sheikh’s help and personal
intervention.
An incident of this nature came to my knowledge recently through social
media. A narrative by Salah Isma’il, a student of doctorate at the Jami’a in
Madinah:
It was night time when a group of four Somali students came to him
almost crying with grief. They were very worried because of an alarming news
which they heard that evening. Siyaad Barre, the
dictator of Somalia had announced that he is going to execute six local Islamic
activists (delegated as Da’iya by Saudi Arabia) at the Fajr time next morning.
Salah took his friends to Sheikh Abu Bakr Al-Jazairi at around 11 PM. They woke
him up from sleep and reported to him the sad news. He cried with them in grief
and despair. Then he said that ‘’We had none to contact except one person, a
father figure to us, none but Sheikh Ibn Baz.” He phoned his secretary Ibrahim
Al-Husayyin who was reluctant to wake the Sheikh who already retired to his
bedroom at his house in Riyadh. Looking at the seriousness of the matter he
eventually woke him up. Sheikh was himself aggrieved and was in tears after
listening to the news. He told Sheikh Abu Bakr to wait for his call.
Straight away he phoned crown prince ‘Abdullah at his palace in Riyadh.
Again, it was not easy for anyone in his royal office to wake him but Sheikh
said in a warning tone that he would be coming by himself if they did not
connect him to the crown prince. Then the response came from the prince and
when he knew the whole story he retorted, “How dare that man (i.e. Siyaad Barre)
execute the delegates who were sent by you to teach and propagate Islam.”
Within an hour he reported to the Sheikh that the matter had been settled and
he made Siyaad Barre pardon all of them, not only them but all other prisoners
of the same kind. And this is how the joyful news, because of the timely
intercession of Sheikh Ibn Baz, came to the awaiting group of Somali students
in Madinah in the early hours of the morning when Sheikh rang them and said,
“Have good news, relief has come, relief has come.”
Let me narrate another case of his extreme generosity and fear of
Allah.
Once an applicant from an African country approached him for help.
Sheikh instructed his secretary to write at the bottom of his request paper a
note directing his treasurer to give him two thousand Riyals (around £400). He
was given this note to deliver it by hand to his treasurer seated at another
office. The man on his way to the office read the note and added one zero to
the amount making it twenty thousand Riyals. The treasurer became a little
suspicious and rang the Sheikh whether he really ordered twenty thousand Riyals
for the man in question? Sheikh received the call himself. Now look at his
reaction. He started crying and asking forgiveness from Allah. Then he said, “I
seek forgiveness from Allah as I did not encompass his real need and gave him
less than what he required. Give him the amount of twenty thousand Riyals.”
No doubt any other person in the place of Sheikh could have turned the
world upside down on this fraudulent activity but the Sheikh was different.
As I said earlier, how many Mosques, schools, orphanages and other
numerous types of projects had seen light because of his own donation or
through his noble intercession.
One such example is that of the purchase of a corner house, meant to be
turned by me and my colleague to Masjid & Madrasa Al-Tawhid in Leyton,
London in 1984. That could only be possible because of the donation that came
from him. This is why I consider that mosque as a charitable act of Sheikh Ibn
Baz.
Those familiar with the sessions with Sheikh know that how frequently
he used to say ‘‘Subhan Allah’’ while he was engaged in his daily routine work.
If someone is found to be a bit annoyed and bitter in speech, Sheikh would say
‘’Sabbih Sabbih (say Subhan Allah)” He used to say Salah upon the Prophet ﷺ a lot. Another dhikr ‘’La Hawla wa la Quwwatta illa Billah’’ was always
on his tongue.
His close friends were asked, had he ever been in anger and if he was,
till what extent?
The answer came from one of his companions that once a Bedouin asked
him whether he could go back to his wife while he divorced her at three
separate occasions. Sheikh said that this was a case of absolute irrevocable
divorce where there was no room for getting back to his wife. The man
reiterated asking for any solution. His answer was no different. He said,
“Please do find a solution for my sake!” To this, Sheikh reacted in a great
anger. He said, “Bring me my stick, it is not a joke.”
That was the limit of his anger. He did not mean to actually use the
stick.
Many a time he wrote refutations to those who opposed him but his
writing used to be totally void of any vulgarity towards his opponents from
among Ahl-us-Sunnah. He would simply say, “Our brother so and so.” Or “Sheikh
so and so, may Allah forgive him said…” If the opponent is found to be from
among the people of innovation or an evil belief, Sheikh would not add more
than these words, “May Allah treat him the way he deserves.”
He was not devoid of humour at all. To his visitors, especially those
of his age from Arabia, and those from non-Arab countries where polygamous
marriages are not practiced, he would say, “Why not a second wife? How many
wives have you got? Why not another one?” Someone would reply by saying, “We
are Muwahhidūn (i.e. confining to one only).” To which he would reply, “No but
you are ‘Kha’ifūn (full of fear).” If someone presented an excuse not to
respond to his invitation for the dinner, he would say, “It seems that you fear
your wife a lot and this is why you are reluctant to accept my invitation.”
If a child was brought to his meeting place, he would rub his head with
his hand, ask his name and that of his father. Then he would ask him what were
the pillars of Islam and why Allah Al-Mighty created man. If he replied
accurately, he would ask him, “Tell me the evidence from the Quran about it.”
As he was keen for every child to know the fundamentals of Islam. That was his
mission, to give sincere advice, to which he stood true to the last breath of
his life.
Dr. Salih Al-Munajjid reported that when the court in Egypt, at the
directive of the then President, sentenced Sayyed Qutb to death, Sheikh was
found very aggrieved. He called upon his personal secretary and dictated the
telegram to the President which ended with verse no. 93 of Surah Al-Nisa:
وَمَن يَقۡتُلۡ مُؤۡمِنً۬ا مُّتَعَمِّدً۬ا فَجَزَآؤُهُ ۥ
جَهَنَّمُ خَـٰلِدً۬ا فِيہَا وَغَضِبَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيۡهِ وَلَعَنَهُ ۥ
وَأَعَدَّ لَهُ ۥ عَذَابًا عَظِيمً۬ا
“And whoever kills a believer intentionally, his recompense is Hell to
abide therein, and the Wrath and the Curse of Allah are upon him, and a great
punishment is prepared for him.”
Look how the Sheikh in spite of his difference of opinion with a
certain school of thought to which he kept on advising them in the past, stood
to comfort them in their state of being victimised innocently. The difference
of opinion did not lead him to speak ill of a person of knowledge.
Sheikh was very concerned on the matters of enjoining what was good and
forbidding what was evil but he preferred to talk to the rulers, King, princes,
governors and others in privacy in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. All such noble steps implemented by the government like maintaining
Islamic values in the Kingdom, treating the people of knowledge around the
world with esteem respect, establishing a lot of religious and educational
institutions locally and abroad, sending Da’iya and teachers to the four
corners of the world, was not possible without the insight and guidance of the
Sheikh.
Whereas innovations and impressions of Shirk had become a norm of the
society wherever you go in the Muslim World, nothing of that sort is seen or
witnessed in the Kingdom. Undoubtedly that might be a fruit of the reformatory
movement led by Sheikh Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab two centuries ago but to
maintain these reforms till present times when the doors of Saudi Arabia were
kept fully open for all sorts of people with diverse thoughts and opinions,
could only be possible because of the efforts and integrity of a person of
great conviction and valour who could stand as a solid barrier against all
waves of evil, innovations and promiscuity in the name of culture and
liberalism. Show me any country where activities such as cinema to promote
obscenity, theatre, prostitution, bars and gambling do not enjoy the state
approval and encouragement except for Saudi Arabia. (Notice that these lines
were written originally around eighteen years ago in an Urdu article). Now I
can add; this had been the legacy of Sheikh Ibn Baz and it is an obligation on
the part of his contemporary scholars and his students, to preserve and enhance
this legacy. If they fail to maintain it, the blessings the land enjoys would
fade away as well.
The justice demands that I should hail the very good and cordial
relations, the King ‘Abdul ‘Aziz Āl-Sa’ūd and his successors had maintained
with the scholars. It had been a part of their weekly activities to have a
meeting with Sheikh Ibn Baz and a number of prominent scholars with him. They
indeed have enjoyed a place of honour and dignity with the Royal court.
Looking at the simplicity, sincerity and the humble way of Sheikh’s
life, we have no hesitation to say that Sheikh had maintained good relations
with them, not for any personal gain or benefit, but only to motivate them to
carry out all what could benefit the Muslims at large and to preserve the
Islamic values of the Kingdom. He used his relations to get the Mosques and Islamic
seminars established, to help the poor and the needy and to intercede where it
was hardly required.
During his last illness, he had been admitted to the military hospital
in Tā’if. According to an authentic source, he always desired to go to the hospital’s
Mosque and offer his prayer there. His well-wishers told him not to endanger
his health by forcing himself to such hectic movements while he was allowed to
offer his prayer in his room. Sheikh replied that ‘’I found myself in a
prestigious position to say a few words of admonition after the prayer to the
congregation.” A task which no one else could dare to carry out. Be it known
that he was in a top security hospital where dignitaries of an esteem position,
both from civil and military quarters could be admitted.
Was it not a great blessing of Allah upon him that though he was about
89 years of age, he enjoyed both his heart and mind till his last days. He
tried to maintain his daily routine in spite of his ailment.
That great love and honour he enjoyed from all and sundry came to light
when the news of his death broke out. People from each and every corner of the
kingdom flocked to Makkah to attend his funeral prayer. The flights from Riyadh
were abounded by travellers. Those who came by cars and coaches flooded the
streets of Makkah as if it was a scene of visitors for ‘Umrah during the month
of Ramadan. The sacred mosque was packing with the people as if was a day of
Hajj.
Indeed, he was the one for whom the avenue of love and acceptance in
the earth had been open as indicated by the Prophet ﷺ, “If Allah loves a person, he would place acceptance for him in the
land.”
I had met him a lot at his offices, in the Mosques and at his
residences in Madinah, Makkah, Riyadh and in Tā’if (during summer months) but
in the end I love to narrate the most inspired meeting with him.
It was October 1998 when I was on a visit to Riyadh. A night before my
journey I saw him in my vision, standing and then lying down on his bed. I saw
myself standing at a distance from him when I said to him these words which
kept on resounding in my ears ever after being awake, “Ana Uḥibbukum
(I love you).”
The next morning, I
visited him in his office, presented to him a brochure on the newly-completed
building of Masjid Al-Tawhid in London. At that point, suddenly I remembered my
dream and in a low secretive voice I narrated this dream to him.
That is the Sunnah,
if you love someone for the sake of Allah, then tell him.
It is narrated that
the Prophet ﷺ said these words to Mua’dh bin Jabal. Then
Abu Idrees Al-Khaulani; a successor, came to visit Mu’adh in the mosque of
Damascus, Syria. Once he found him sitting alone, he addressed him by these
three words, “I love you.” Mu’adh’s face was glowing with happiness. He
embraced him in love and emotion and said, “Is it for the sake of Allah, is it
for the sake of Allah, is it for the sake of Allah!”
After listening to my vision, I could hear, from the lips of Sheikh
those three words as well, “Ana Uḥibbuka (And I love you)”
It was a great moment for me which enriched my mind and soul
vehemently.
As usual he invited me to his midday meal to which I responded. He even
said to me “Please do present yourself at lunch time every day as long as you
are in Riyadh.”
I had to apologise to him on this kind offer as my residence was quite
far from that of the Sheikh.
We all wanted to have the person of Sheikh amongst us as long as it
could be but the decree of Allah had to prevail.
At four in the morning of Thursday 27th Muharram 1420AH (31st
May 1999) he breathed his last. The noble soul returned back to his Creator.
“Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi Raji’ūn.”
(We are for Allah and we are going back to him)
May Allah expiate his worldly shortcomings, forgive him and honour him
with a place in the higher ranks of Al-Jannah with the Prophets, Siddiqīn,
Martyrs and the Pious.
Allahuma Āmin
