Muqbil al-Wadi'i | |
|---|---|
مقبل الوادعي | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1933 Northern Yemen |
| Died | 21 July 2001 (aged 67-68) |
| Resting place | Mecca,Saudi Arabia |
| Nationality | Yemeni |
| Main interest(s) | |
| Alma mater | University of Medina |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Jurisprudence | Ahl al-Hadith |
| Creed | Athari |
| Movement | [1] |
| Muslim leader | |
Influenced by | |
Influenced | |
Muqbil bin Hadi al-Wadi'i[a] (c. 1933 – 21 July 2001) was aYemeni-bornIslamic scholar. He was the founder of the Dar al-Hadith al-Khayriyya, amadrasa in the northern town ofDammaj which became one of the main centres for theSalafi ideology in the country.
Born in northernYemen to aZaydi Shia family, al-Wadi'i converted toSunni Islam in his young age. He travelled toSaudi Arabia where hestudied Islam under renowned Salafi scholars such asIbn Baz,Ibn Humayd,Hammad al-Ansari, Muhammad al-Sumali, Abd al-Aziz al-Najdi and several others. In December 1979, al-Wadi'i was arrested by Saudi authorities after having been falsely accused of involvement in theseizure of the Grand Mosque byJuhayman al-Utaybi and his supporters. Upon the insistence of Ibn Baz, al-Wadi'i was released a few months and deported to Yemen where he began propagatingWahhabism and laid foundation to the Dar al-Hadith al-Khayriyya in 1980.
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Al-Wadi'i was born inc. 1933 near the city ofSa'adah in northernYemen. He beloneged to the al-Wadi'i tribe and was initially a Zaydi Shia.[2] He left Yemen as a young man and travelled toSaudi Arabia to work and became acquainted withSunni works of Islamic scholarship, specifically Wahhabism.[3][page needed]
After finishing his primary education in Yemen, al-Wadi'i spent roughly two decadesstudying Islam in Saudi Arabia. In 1963 he began by studying[3] at the Salafi teaching centre developed byMuhammad ibn al Uthaymeen inNajran before then being accepted to study at theIslamic University of Madinah where he attendedHalaqas led byHadith scholarMuhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani andAbdul-Ghaffar Hasan Al-Hindi as well as formerGrand Mufti Abd-al-Aziz ibn Abd-Allah ibn Baz while also studying under Muhammad al-Sumali.[4][5] Al-Wadi'i is said to have graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah with a master's degree in the science of hadith.[3][page needed]
In 1979, his stay in Saudi ended abruptly when he was indicted on suspected involvement in theGrand Mosque Seizure.[1] After spending a few months in prison, Grand Mufti ibn Baz negotiated his release, though al-Wadi'i was forced to return to his home country where he would eventually become known as the father of the modern Salafi movement within Yemen.[3] It was there that he began to spread the SalafiDa'wah in Yemen, with much initial opposition from the localShafi`is,Ismailis andZaidis.[5]
Al-Wadi'i went on, soon after his return to his native region, to found and establish an institute that he named Dar al-Hadith al-Khayriyya inDammaj. It would become one of the most important and influential educational institutions forSalafism in the world, teaching tens of thousands of students ranging from theArab world toAfrica toSoutheast Asia and theWestern world.[6][3] It was during this time that Wadi'i, along with Ja'far Umar Thalib, established close ties between Yemeni andIndonesian Salafis.[7]
In the 1980s, al-Wadi'i accepted grants from various sources such as Ibn Baz and the Saudi government of 15,000 Saudi Riyals every two months. However, his continued critique of the Saudi monarch, due to his believed wrongful imprisonment, led him to be more independent in the financing of the institute's operations. He stated that managing the mosque and institute in Dammaj required little funding and was easily covered by local donations andzakat.[6][3] Al-Wadi'i was opposed to the rapid expansion of theMuslim Brotherhood movement across Yemeni schools in the 1980s. He conceived the Dar al-Hadith as part of an offensive to rebut such Islamist movements.[8]
The Salafis who studied in Dammaj reportedly pursued an aggressive "policy of provocation" towards the Zaydis who inhabited the surrounding area, often accusing them ofapostasy and sometimes even destroying theircemeteries.[1] Despite this, the school enjoyed the support of both the Saudi andNorth Yemeni regimes. This situation helped sow the seeds for mounting discontent among the Zaydi population and ultimately Zaydirevivalist movements such as theHouthis.[1]
In 2014, the Dar al-Hadith would be shut down after a longSiege of Dammaj by Houthi rebels. The manager of the institute,Yahya al-Hajuri, as well as thousands of foreign students were forced to relocate toAl Hudaydah Governorate.[9]
After a prolonged illness, and hospital treatment in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, al-Wadi'i died on July 21, 2001, from eithercirrhosis or liver cancer. His funeral prayer was performed in theMasjid al-Haram inMakkah and he was laid to rest in the Al-'Adl cemetery close to the graves of Ibn Baz andMuhammad ibn al Uthaymeen.[3][10]
Al-Wadi'i made a number of statements against terrorism[6][11][12][13] and attempted to adviseOsama bin Laden against it, whom he blames - along with older movements like theMuslim Brotherhood - for many of the problems Muslims face today; he further commented in an interview:[14]
I did in fact send my advice and warning (to bin Laden) but only Allah knows if it actually arrived or not. However, some of those people did come to us, offering their help and assistance in preaching and calling to Allah. Afterwards, we found them sending money, requesting that we distribute it among the leaders of various tribes; they were trying to buy rocket-launchers and machine guns. But I refused them and told them to never come to my house again. I made it clear to them that what we do is preach only and we don’t allow our students to do anything but that.
Al-Wadi'i had earlier authored a book as well, referring to bin Laden as the head of all "sectarianism," "partisanship," "division," and "religious ignorance," and accusing him putting money into weapons while ignoring his religion.[15] Additionally he was a huge supporter of the controversial Saudi preacherRabi'i ibn Hadi al-Madkhali.[16] Feircly critiquing theMuslim Brothers, Wadi'i states:
"They [the Muslim Brotherhood] are bankrupt as it relates to knowledge and bankrupt as it relates to Daʿwah... The founder of this group – which is Ḥasan al-Bannā – used to make Ṭawāf around the graves...They [the Muslim Brotherhood] are prepared to cooperate with the Devil against Ahl al-Sunnah.”[17]
Al-Wadi'i was also a staunch critic of the scholarMuhammad ibn Salih al-Munajjid, said that he's a misguided "Sururi".[18] His Dar ul-Hadithseminary andinstitute ofDammaj was known to opposeal-Qaeda and other radical extremist organisations, as Wadi'i himself stated in an interview with Hassan al-Zayidi of the Yemen Times in 2000.[citation needed]
Joint Task Force Guantanamocounter-terrorism analysts prepared Summary of Evidence memos offering justifications for continuing to hold them inextrajudicial detention.[19][20][21] Several of the captives had their detention justified, in part, through their association with al-Wadi'i.[22][23]
In terms ofIslamic jurisprudence, al-Wādi'i did not follow anymadhhab in Islam and opposed the practice oftaqlid (conformity to legal precedence).[24] His views on theprinciples of Islamic jurisprudence were similar to those of theZahiri school; he rejected the usage ofQiyas, or analogical reasoning, in deriving rulings in Islamic jurisprudence entirely, recommending the books of Zahiri scholarIbn Hazm in the principles of jurisprudence for details on the topic.[25] al-Wādi'i was fond of the works of Ibn Hazm, to the point that, when asked about Ibn Hazm's Zahirism, he supposedly advised every Muslim "to be a Zahiri."[26] However, al-Wadi'i declared following amadhhab abid'ah (religious innovation) within Islam.[27]
Al-Wadi'i believed that even the sinful and corrupt leaders must be obeyed by the Muslims while advising the leader must be done by the learned scholar in private. Additionally, the Muslims are commanded to endure hardship and be patient untilGod removes the burden of an oppressive ruler for that of a better one.[3][page needed]
Al-Wadi'i thought that South Yemen's colonial rule by Britain was better than its independence in 1967, due to the fact that independence had allowed a socialist government to come to power and also resulted in the unnecessary death of Muslims. Although claiming to be neutral by assuming a neutral or apolitical stance, al-Wadi'i maintained excellent relations with the Yemeni government after unification. This was in fact done by his de facto support of the Yemeni government via his stances on issues such as not partaking or calling to elections and political parties or candidates as well as cooperating with the Yemeni government against common enemies such as extreme Zaydi militias and the Muslim Brotherhood's local chapter.[28][page needed]
While critical of the Saudi government throughout the 1980s and 1990s, al-Wadi'i never compromised by siding with the Sahwa movement and its preachers. He vocally opposed them and their methods of overtly calling to politics and labeled them withhizbiyyah, or partisanship.[28] He harbored hard feelings against Saudi Arabia up until toward the end of his life, when he would ultimately recant his criticism, speaking highly of the country and its authorities.[3][page needed] As such, the Holy Mosque Establishment of Saudi authorities provided support to many seminaries affiliated with al-Wadi'i.[29]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)If you find a person loving.. Rabee' ibn Haadee, Muhammad Amaan al-Jaamee (rahimahullaah), Muqbil bin Haadee (rahimahullaah), Zayd al-Madkhalee, Ubaid al-Jaabiree and their likes, then know he is a man of Sunnah, for loving them is a distinguishing sign of ahlus-Sunnah. And having hatred and enmity for them is a distinguishing sign of ahlul-bid'ah.
*The detainee attended a mosque in Yemen and at various times listened to sermons urging Muslims to seek a better life for themselves. On one occasion the detainee listened to a sermon given by Sheikh Muqbil al Wadi.
*The detainee studied for six months at theal Dimaj Institute inSadah, Yemen under Sheik Muqbuil al Wadi.
The detainee studied under Sheik Muqbil al Wadi.
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