By: JayshAllah

JayshAllah — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:15:54 +0000

Shaheen–I will dispute the charges of disbelief against him.

I have seen the article written against him which is posted on Islamic Awakening and promoted by Abu az-Zubayr.

Now, before I begin, I want to make it clear that I do not agree with the words of Imam Warith Deen on many of these points. HOWEVER, my point is that these allegations are NOT enough to pronounce takfeer of a fellow Muslim.

I certainly am not a scholar or even a student of knowledge. But from what little I know about Islam, the scholars have said that in order to make the blood of a Muslim halal (i.e. accuse him of apostasy), there must be CRYSTAL CLEAR proof, statements on which majaz cannot be done! So with this in mind, I will reply to the quotes being used against Imam WD, and show how easy it is to do majaz on them, ESPECIALLY since it is HIGHLY LIKELY that Imam WD did in fact mean something metaphorical, as it is well known that he did not claim to be the Son of God, God Incarnate, the Imam mehdi, etc.

So let us begin…quotes will be in bold.

Quote:
1975- Publicly declares himself “the Manifestation of God”. “Yes, I myself am an Immaculate Conception. You say, “This man is crazy.” No, I’m not crazy… After we explain it to you, you’ll know that I’m not crazy. The world has just been in darkness. I can truthfully say that My physical father was not My father. I have never had a physical father…You say, “Who is your father?” Speaking in the language of the New Testament, My Father is God…I am the Manifestation of God.… All praise is due to Allah.” [1]

RESPONSE:

Firstly, we notice the date of this statement, which is 1975. This is during the transition period, from NOI to Islam. This alone gives shubha (doubt) away from doing takfeer and making his blood halal.

Secondly, there are many ellipses (…) in this quote. Most times when people do this, it is in order to take the quote out of context.

Thirdly, recognize that this is proof that Imam Warith Deen repudiated his father, a false prophet.

Fourthly, Imam Warith Deen clearly said “Speaking in the language of the New Testament”, which means that he is doing majaz. If you open up the New Testament, you will see that the believers are called the children of God. This is what Imam Warith Deen was speaking of. I *know* for a fact that he does not believe that he is the Son of God like Jesus [as] is said by the Christians to be the Son of God.

Fifthly, yes this seems like a strange usage of the word ‘father’, and why would Muslims use the New Testament style of speaking? Well, this is in 1975, and you are unfamiliar with the situation amongst blacks.

In conclusion, this ‘proof’ is REJECTED of you. The blood of a Muslim cannot become halal based on a quote full of ellipses and doubt!

Quote:
1976- Claims he is recipient of divine revelation. “The Book (Bible) says that there is another kind of water (sweet water) which is not salty, that comes from above: that is divine revelation. The water that God gives is divine revelation and He reveals it to His prophets.” [2] “I am baptizing you with the water that God has given me. It is the water of revelation, of divine knowledge.” [3]

RESPONSE:

This quote does not say that he claims to be a recipient of divine revelation. This is a deceptive juxtaposition of quotes! Imam Warith Deen left his father because of his father’s claim that he revealed revelation!

It is much more likely that Imam Warith Deen was talking about the Quran here.

Again, too vague and isolated of a quote to make his blood halal.

Quote:
1977- Claims Islamic plural marriage is haram. “The teaching of Muhammad and the teaching of the Qur’an is that “one is better for you if you but knew.” No other Prophet did this for the polygamist mankind. It was Prophet Muhammad who worked against polygamy.” [4]

RESPONSE:

2+2 does not equal 75.

It is interesting that you couldn’t just provide the quote directly, but had to insert your commentary to muddy the water.

The fact that Imam Warith Deen said that the Prophet [s] worked against polygamy does not mean that he (Warith Deen) thinks that polygamy is haram. Don’t many people claim that the Prophet [s] worked against slavery, but not that it is haram?

I disagree with Imam WD and I believe that polygamy is mildly recommended in Islam. But this is not a matter of kufr.

Quote:
1978- Denies miracles of the prophets. “Moses, being pursued by Pharoah’s army, struck the water and the Red Sea parted, so the Book says, and Moses and his people walked across on dry land… Brother and sister, you will never convert intelligent people to religion today with unrealistic symbolical stories like that [5]

RESPONSE:

This is not clear at all. It is not clear if he denied the miracle. Rather, he said that you will not convert people with such stories, which is his own personal opinion based on the non-muslims he talks to.

You might be saying that I am doing taweel of his words, but is this not what we must do before we pronounce takfeer and make his blood halal to us?!? Is it not said by the Islamic scholars that the statement must be clear without any other possible meaning behind it?!

Quote:
Endorses false prophet Rashad Khalifa. Offers followers “20% discount” on purchase of Khalifa’s works. [6]

RESPONSE:

Just your words. No quote.

In any case, promoting the works of a group does not mean wholesale approval of said group. Secondly, oftentimes people sell the books of certain groups because they are unaware of the beliefs of said group. For example, at ISNA there was a Qadiani group but most people didn’t realize who they were, so would buy books from them! This doesn’t mean that whoever bought books from them is Qadiani!

Quote:
Receives Rabbi in “brotherhood”, has him address Muslims from the mimbar. [7]

RESPONSE:

So what?

I even heard that he let some non-muslims pray in the mosque. Oh wait, that was the Prophet [s]!

Quote:
Endorses Qadiani translation of Quran. [8]

RESPONSE:
No quote, and not clear kufr either. Many people use the translation of Quran by non-Muslims. I wouldn’t recommend it or approve of it, but I don’t think it is a matter of kufr.

Quote:
1979- Denies return of Jesus and proclaims himself, “Masih-Mahdi”. “Jesus did his work… he’s not coming back here–never! That’s not the way of God. But his type has to return, another birth like his has to happen, has to happen, to produce his type again. So that his type will be able to see, the lies that have been told concerning his birth. It’s not him but its the same as though he’s the original. I know how Jesus is born because I’ve been born that way! So you can’t tell me how Jesus was born, I’ve been born that way!”

“…well then you’re a Prophet; no I’m not, well you’re a Messenger of God, no (laughing) I’m not, well what are you? I am Masih-Mahdi, I am the Christ-Mahdi–believe it or not! … You know, for a long time people have been hoping to fulfill the prophecy. The prophecy of the return of Christ or the return of the son of Mary and the presence of a Mahdi who would bring the religion to its original purity… they’ve been looking for that, it’s here now, what they’ve been looking for is here now–But can they appreciate it?”
This would be a very incriminating quote, but wait a second, it’s one of the only ones without a source at all!!!

Quote:
1980- Proclaims himself, “the Mujeddid” [9] ,

RESPONSE:

He was a reviver of the faith in America, bringing more people to Islam than any other American in history. Thousands and thousands–nay, millions–have converted to Islam because of him.

Anyways, I would think it is weird if someone calls himself a mujadid since it is showing off, but I don’t think it is proof for kufr.

In any case, I would like to see the direct quote, instead of just your paraphrasing.

Quote:
states, “If you want all the hadiths, then you should leave this community because I’m telling you, right now, I don’t accept all the hadiths. They have made too much trouble and confusion in the Muslim society.” [10]

RESPONSE:

Nobody believes in all of the hadeeths. There are some hadeeths which are dhaeef and mawdoo.

Quote:
1981-Claims those who desire plural marriage are, “cursed by God.” [11]

RESPONSE:

Provide the full quote.

Every time you provide such a small snippet, it usually means you are hiding something.

Quote:
Claims women’s hair is their hijab. “It is believed in the circle of learned scholars in the religion that the hair on women should be covered… Here in our community…we don’t make any big to-do about it. If some woman is seen with her hair uncovered we don’t raise the roof, because I understand that where there is some sex appeal in women’s hair, there is also religious symbolism attached. This symbolism is good but I don’t think we should enforce these laws too fanatically. If we do we might cause people of higher intellect to underestimate our intelligence. They might think we are superstitious or fanatical people and we don’t want them to think that.” [12]

RESPONSE:

Nowhere did he claim that women’s hair is their hijab. He clearly says that the scholarly opinion is that women should cover their hair. And he is merely saying that we don’t make a big deal if a woman doesn’t do this, because they don’t want to come across as fanatical. Perhaps this is a matter of giving time to people to adjust to the faith, or to focus on more pressing concerns such as people on crack cocaine, which is a more relevant problem to the black community.

Again, no clear cut kufr.

Do I disagree with minimizing the hijab? No. Do I think these quotes are crystal clear proof of kufr? No.

Quote:
1983- Endorses Christmas. “During the season, I do send “Season’s Greetings” cards to Christians who are my friends, or my in-laws and relatives…and I send them to my Christian relatives and friends on Christmas Day. If any Muslim gives their relatives gifts on Christmas, I don’t think they should worry about it- they shouldn’t have any bad feelings because they are celebrating Christmas.” [13]

RESPONSE:

This is not “endorsing Christmas”. Such sensationalism. If a Christian gives a Jew a gift on Hannukah, does this mean that he is endorsing the holiday? No, not necessarily. Yes, I understand that the scholars have said that giving gifts might make them think we approve, but here we are talking about the intention of the individual; it is possible to give gifts without endorsing. People do it all the time in America and Western countries.

Anyways, the scholars have allowed us to receive gifts on their holidays, and I believe they have even discussed about giving gifts although the ruling is against that. Whatever the case, this is based on a wrong understanding, and not a case of clear cut kufr with which we can kill hm.

Quote:
Claims Christians need not follow Islam. “There are some scholars… I’ve heard some people who call themselves scholars in the religion say recently and I have heard this,… that the scriptures I quote referred to earlier times and later scriptures came and cancelled that. That now if anyone rejects our religion, he doesn’t go to paradise. I disagree. I simply disagree. [14] … I don’t feel that all Christians have to have my religion to improve their lives. I don’t feel that… I feel that some Christians are living very good lives. They have very good morals, they have a good sense of direction and I wouldn’t want to disturb that for them. As long as they are doing well I’d like to see them continue to do well.” [15]

RESPONSE:

Again, 2+2 does not equal 234. He did not claim that Christians don’t need Islam. This is your assertion based on inductive reasoning, which is not valid for killing someone for apostasy.

He could be talking about Ahl al Fatrah, which could include Christians who may go to Paradise when they are tested in the next life. Again, make excuses and see if there is any way to ward off takfeer!

[quote]Claims, “The word has come down from heaven–follow Imam W. Deen Muhammad. Either do that or wear the dog collar and eat dog biscuits.” [16]

RESPONSE:

Need to provide the entire quote. I don’t think he was speaking literally. It is an odd and inappropriate wording, but we must inquire ‘what is meant by it’.

Quote:
Claims, “If Jesus had lived to see 40, he would have died to Jesus and become Prophet Muhammad.” [17]

RESPONSE:

I don’t even understand this. How can I do takfeer on a statemnet I don’t even understand?

Quote:
Claims, “The Quran doesn’t say that Prophet Muhammad is a messenger to the angels or Jinn, but to the people… Prophet Muhammad was sent to Naas, not to the Jinn.” [18]

RESPONSE:

I don’t know if the Prophet [s] was a messenger to jinn, and I don’t think a lot of Muslims know this matter. This is the first time I even thought about the matter.

Quote:
1984- Calls for establishing his own school of thought: “…we are going to have a school of fiqh and that school is raising up, or growing up right now with the growth of this community, under the leadership of your Imam and my Imam Warith Deen Muhammad. Yes, Imam Warith Deen Muhammad.” [19]

RESPONSE:

Is this even his quote??? It sounds like a quote of someone else speaking about him.

In any case, so what? Is it haram to think of creating your own school of thought? Imam Abu Haneefa [ra] did it. Sure, Imam WD is horribly unqualified for this, but the intention itself does not constitute kufr.

Quote:
1986- Claims, “The Muslim community also has a community obligation to serve the best interest of other communities: Christian, Jewish and even the Socialist community.” [20]

RESPONSE:

So what? Now your extremist bias is coming to play. This is just your ideology. We Muslims in America believe that Muslims should benefit all of humanity.

Quote:
Denies existence of Jinn: “Muslims do not believe that there are some foreign worlds existing out there somewhere. We don’t believe that there are some foreign creatures sharing space with us. We don’t accept the notion of other creatures in another dimension whose nature is not like ours. We don’t believe that there are creatures who can do things to us but we cannot reach them unless we find some way to plug into their foreign dimension. The real Muslim cannot accept that kind of idea. You cannot work voodoo on a Muslim because the Muslim is not vulnerable to superstition.” [21]

RESPONSE:

I looked at the source of the quote. Since when can you kill someone for kufr when the source of the quote has been passed down to three or four people before it is relayed to you?!

Quote:
1987- Declares, “But my position is this: in our society, I have learned by experience, so I have differed with shiekhs, I have differed with leaders of Al-Islam, I have learned by experience in this community, that there is no guarantee, that a Muslim marrying a non-Muslim woman is going to have anymore success in bringing these children to Al-Islam, than a woman will be marrying a non-Muslim man… ” [22]

RESPONSE:

Again with the ellipses!!!! In this quote he is not saying that a Muslim woman can marry a non-Muslim man. If he did, then bring up that quote! But until then, we reject this as evidence to shed his blood!

Quote:
Declares, “I have no problems with the Pope; I respect him and honor him.” [23]

RESPONSE:

So? You can find similar quotes from many Muslim scholars. Do you pass takfeer on all of them?

Quote:
1988- Denies prophetic miracles. “We know that as much as man fears the fire, we know that Mo..Abraham was put in the fire. That not right? Yes, Abraham was put in the fire. And when they looked in the, when the those who put him in the fire came to see how he he was fairing, how he was doing there, whether he was ashes or not, they found him there unaffected. Fire hadn’t touched him, fire hadn’t bothered him a bit. Instead, instead of him experiencing heat, see God made the flame cool on Abraham. (laughter) Now we know that’s metaphorical, that’s symbolic.”

RESPONSE:

No source cited. No attempt even made to cite it.

Quote:
1989- Proudly shows off grandchild from marriage of his daughter to a non-Muslim. [24]

RESPONSE:
So!???!?!?!

Quote:
Declares Islamic scholar Muhammad Ibn Uthaimeen, a “suspect of heresy” for referring to non-Muslims as kaafirs. Says Ibn Uthaimeen is “a worse enemy on the Muslim than the Christian or the Jew.” [25]

RESPONSE:

A horrible and ugly statement, but we see such statements made by our Sufi brothers all the time. It is not enough to declare them kufaar.

Quote:
1991- Proclaims: “We consider President George Bush to be an honorable man. We commend his actions in ordering the surgical strikes on Iraqi military installations. These efforts to avoid excessive loss of human life are appreciated.” [26]

RESPONSE:

A politically stupid statement, yes. But have not our Ulema said similar things, like Shaykh Al-Albani [ra] saying that the Palestinians should abandon Palestine, etc?

Quote:
Declares: “We (Muslims) are obligated to seek peaceful co-existence with Christians and people of Faith..the similarities are so much more important that we need not focus on the differences. We see Christians and Jews as people of the Book. We should not ask them to take their shahadah…” [27]

RESPONSE:

Ellipses!!!

Quote:
Endorses homosexuals during American Public Radio (APR) interview. [28]

RESPONSE:

No quote provided.

Quote:
1992- Endorses Farrakhan: “I will never denounce him as long as he says he wants to be a Muslim.” [29]

RESPONSE:

This clearly shows that he thinks of Farrakhan as a kaafir. He just doesn’t want to condemn him, for fear that this will make him flee from the religion.

Quote:
Declares, “We love our distinction as a people, our racial distinction…we want racial dignity and racial distinction. We want cultural distinction. We want that. Even within Islam we want that. We don’t want to copy the culture of another Muslim…we also stress that we owe an allegiance to the Christian people. Also we have to understand that our religion did not come to establish itself over everybody else.” [30]

RESPONSE:

Nothing to rebut here. Nothing which is clear cut kufr.

Quote:
Speaking at ISNA headquarters: “Mohammed says he does not favor intermarriage between indigenous and immigrant Muslims because African-Americans have suffered greatly at the hands of white America, and they need time by themselves as a race for the psychological scars of racism to heal.” [31]

RESPONSE:

Is he speaking in third person again!?

In any case, does this constitute kufr? No. In fact, we have Muslims who claim that Arabs should not marry non-Arabs.

Quote:
1993- Declares: “If we look at the broad definition for Muslim, we have to say that even though a Christian may be worshipping Jesus the Christ Prophet more than he is worshipping Allah, he or she may be Muslim in their spirit. They may still be Muslim, though the orientation has now dominated their Muslim urge. The person carrying a heavy cross may be a Muslim inwardly. So it is for a Jew, or a Communist, or a Buddhist, or a Hindu.” [32]

RESPONSE:

Again, he might be speaking of Ahl al-Fatrah, and the idea that some people might have a grain of Iman in their heart even though they do not say it with their tongues.

Quote:
Declares: “Farrakhan respects Islam and he does a lot of good, he is friendly with us and we should be friendly with him.” [33]

RESPONSE:

So what?

It is like saying “Will Smith respects Islam and he does a lot of good, he is friendly with us, and we should be friendly with him.”

Quote:
Declares, ‘If any revelation I receive, anybody else can get it, just read Qur’an and God will show us revelation if we’re sincere.’ [34]

RESPONSE:
This goes back to the earlier quote, which shows that he meant the Quran, not specific revelation down to him. And he is talking metaphorically here anyways, not in the sense that you will get another book of revelation to you. I believe he means ‘inspired’ by God.

Quote:
1994- Implies prophethood to Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, calling them, “men of divine wisdom” who predicted the future “in the name of God”. [35]

RESPONSE:

Implies prophethood? What sensationalism! Whoever claims that Imam WD thought of MLK or Frederick Dogulass as prophets of God, needs to be shot in the head.

Quote:
Denounces interracial marriage and women’s hijab. “Imam Mohammed said he would not encourage mixed marriages. “Marry your own race and people you are acquainted with.”…

RESPONSE:

Just like how some Muslims say that Arabs should only marry non-Arabs.

Quote:
Covering hair in the mosque for prayer is needed, the Imam explained, but in the public when out shopping it is not a big deal. He noted that a sister can be more seductive with her hair covered than uncovered.” [36]

RESPONSE:

Again, no clear quote of him saying that hijab is not mandatory. Rather, he might just be saying that the sin is not a big deal which someone should dwell on. I disagree again, but not enough proof to declare kufr.

Quote:
1995- Sends condolences and prayers for deceased Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin. [37]

RESPONSE:

Just PR.

Quote:
1996- Denies miracles of Allah. [38]
No quote.

Quote:
Declares: “We are very proud of the strength of Prime Minister Shimon Peres.” [39]
RESPONSE:

Could be just based on Imam WD’s faulty understanding of the situation in Israel-Palestine and fooled by Shimon Peres’s peace initiatives.

Quote:
1997-Expresses deep love for bishop. “Looking Bishop Burke in his eyes, he said, “I leave a piece of my life with you and I take a piece of your life with me each time I come and I’m loving it more and more!” [40]

RESPONSE:

Not clear cut kufr.

Quote:
1998- Says paradise is on earth. “In the beginning, God put us in paradise and so shall it be in the end,” Mohammed said. And, pointing a finger to the sky, he added, “Not necessarily up there.” [41]

RESPONSE:

We have Muslims who deny that Allah [swt] is above the seven heavens!!

Quote:
Responding to charges from Jews and Christians that Muslims are enslaving Christian blacks in Sudan and Mauritania: WD tells the Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), “I think now the evidence is so convincing that I have to, it is my obligation to get with those who are sincere about finding the truth and doing something about it.” [42]

RESPONSE:

Umm, so what? Abu Bakr [ra] freed slaves!

Quote:
Mourns at Jewish burial grounds in Auschwitz, Poland, where he is invited by the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding: “As a Muslim I felt very comfortable there.” [43]

RESPONSE:

So!?!

Quote:
1999- Celebrates “Savior’s Day” with Farrakhan. “I couldn’t resist coming here knowing that (The Nation of Islam) was observing this day. I haven’t lost my friendship with Minister Farrakhan.” [44]

RESPONSE:

Imam Siraj Wahhaj explains that all of this is just a matter of trying to persuade more NOI and black people to accept true Islam. Imam WD converted THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people to Islam, and this was because he REALLY thought about how to do this. If he had just come out all guns firing against Elijah and WD Fard, then he would have been killed and nobody would have converted. So instead, he was trying to transition the black people to true Islam, even spreading the story that WD Fard converted to Sunni Islam under the name Abdullah. All of this was a matter of reconciling the hearts.

Quote:
Prays for “peace” at Jewish Wailing Wall. [45]

RESPONSE:

So? Salah al-Deen [ra] made peace with the Crusader states. We should all pray for peace. Yes, I believe in the abolishment of the state of Israel, but I also believe in peace ruling supreme in the end.

Quote:
2000: Selected to lead Washington Area Muslims for Eid Al-Fitr Prayer at DC Armory.

So what? So he doesn’t follow the UK version of Islam, so what? Not everyone lives in a ghetto on welfare.

This article completely reminds me of those written by madhkalis against Syed Qutb trying to show how Qutb [ra] was a kaafir for mocking the prophets, etc…again, an issue of quotes out of context.

edited for personal attacks

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