In the perfect Name of Allaah...
Please forward this and post these important words to your mailing lists, as some speakers at Green Lane masjid have involved themselves in the scandalous cover up of the mistakes of Yusuf Estes.
Some of our honest and unsuspecting brothers and sisters in Islam who have been affected or even outright victimized by the deviance of Yusuf Estes and his acrobatic co-stars at Huda TV may have a number of concerns regarding Yusuf Estes himself, his errors, the information in this article, or its author.
1. Too harsh, not done with wisdom.
While it is possible for any reader to have his/her own conclusion(s) about the tone of the clarification, whatever conclusion that is reached must not stop the reader from recognizing the truth and following it.
What is strange is that the claim is coming from one of Yusuf's Huda TV co-stars, Abu Usamah ath-Thahabi, someone known for exaggerations and sensationalism in his speech, with an unhidden (almost) 20 year record of imbalanced flip-flopping and disgraceful behavior in communities in the West.
This is a man who I used to respect and look up to in my early years of study. About 10 years ago, he came to Makkah to translate for an umrah group, and we worked together to translate. I had just finished the first year of my BA studies at Umm al-Qura. Despite all the warnings coming out against Abu Usamah at that time, I still respected him and considered him oppressed. I honestly thought there was a group of "super Salafees" trying to take him out, and that he was a senior student and daa'ee who I should seek advice from.
During that two week period of lectures we translated together, he guided me to a book and placed it in my hands, a book about abandoned Sunnahs by "Mahmood al-Haddaad". Yes, THE HADDAAD to whom the sect is ascribed, the haddaadees, for their excessive attacks of the scholars, making tabdee' on them, etc.
And wal-hamdulillaah, in 15 years of seeking knowledge in Saudi Arabia, NO ONE I have EVER sat with or communicated with in ANY way has EVER recommended that I ever read a book by Mahmood al-Haddaad, let alone PUT THE BOOK IN MY HAND and encourage me to read it, OTHER THAN ABU USAAMAH ATH-THAHABEE.
While we should have been busy pre-reading and reviewing for our lessons every day, studying from great scholars and top students of knowledge, we were busy reading al-Haddaad's book of misguidance behind the scenes and planning how we were going to confront the mashaayikh about the issues raised in that book.
One stupid issue that my "shaykh" Abu Usamah focused on was the "abandoned Sunnah of leaving your shirt buttons open" and Mahmood Haddaad was refuting the scholars and attacking them because they would not agree with him on that issue being a Sunnah. We took the issue to one of our shaykhs who said that undoing the buttons was a custom not a Sunnah. We looked at each other like we knew the reality. Wallaahi, I thank Allaah that He saved me from the true Haddaadiyyah that Abu Usamah was trying to mislead me into, and that He opened my eyes to the reality of this man.
Now, he attacks the Salafee du'aat, calling them haddaadees. Interesting...
Now, he defends Yusuf Estes, saying he's got something to offer, and he's somehow like Mujaahid ibn Jabr the great early imam of tafseer?
Now, when placed in front of the choice to aid the distinction of the aqeedah of ahlus-Sunnah from the filth of the Jahmiyyah, he takes an opportunity to defend the complete ignoramus spreading Jahmiyyah, tashbeeh, mockery of the hudood, Quranic justification of George Bush invading Afghanistan, etc. and to speak against the "wisdom" in how he was dealt with.
Al-hamdulillaah the One who showed me his deviance ten years ago, and helped me get away from him and all those like him. And there is nothing like safety in Islam.
While I am open to all those who have advised me about being more wise in dealing with the mistakes of Yusuf Estes, and I am thankful to everyone who has emailed me or called me with advice, and I thank Allaah that I am able to open my heart and try to find good in every email I read, I just find it hard to take Abu Usamah seriously in this matter, quite honestly.
2. This clarification is against Islamic manners, since Yusuf Estes has not been advised.
I assure you that Yusuf Estes has been advised much, regarding this and many other issues. He has not shown a desire to correct his ways, but instead, a love for his reputation that prevents him from rectifying his errors. Besides, whether or not Yusuf Estes has been advised before does not prevent you – right now – from recognizing the truth in this clarification and adopting the correct Islamic beliefs if you have been affected by his teachings.
And while those who speak with this claim, that we are not allowed to clarify our religion until we have advised the offending person first, aside from their inability to actually prove this obligation, they are the first of the people to violate it, as who is speaking openly against the clarification of Yusuf Estes' errors without first advising privately. Hypocritical double-standards.
3. Yusuf Estes is not a scholar, nor has he claimed to be one, and he makes mistakes like everyone else.
No one is perfect in their da’wah work, and people do make mistakes. We are however required to identify and rectify mistakes attributed the perfect Religion of Allah, especially when they are as offensive as the atrocities committed by Yusuf Estes in the passages quoted in this clarification.
Furthermore, any person who speaks on behalf of Islam is required to speak with knowledge. Speaking about Allah without knowledge is a heinous crime, as mentioned in this clarification. When considering the gravity of the mistakes mentioned in this clarification, a logical conclusion can be reached - Yusuf Estes was simply not qualified to speak on behalf of the Religion in the first place.
It should also be known that Jahm ibn Safwan himself, the one to whom the Jahmiyyah Cult is ascribed, was a common man with no Islamic knowledge. It was only after debating with atheists in attempts to call them to Islam that he developed his line of thinking and began to spread it and then became popular. The wicked beliefs of the Jahmiyyah have since plagued the Muslim Ummah for over 1300 years and they have been the reason for some of the worst trials in the history of Islam! All of this came originally from an ignorant man with no Islamic knowledge! So we must not underestimate the level of harm that an ignoramus can create, even while he intends good.
Jahm was not an imam of innovation by way of knowledge, rather he became an imam because of the number of followers. The founder of the Jahmiyyah cult was just a regular man with no Islamic knowledge who began using philosophy to call some non-Muslims to Islam. So he became considered an imam of misguidance because of the number of people he misled. This is VERY comparable to Yusuf Estes for those who look at the issue with fairness and balance.
There is an excellent response to the false propaganda that Yusuf Estes does not claim to be a scholar, as stated by Assim al-Hakeem, a self-contradictory TV star plagued with the same disease as Yusuf Estes, constantly speaking above his level of understanding. One of the most obvious examples of this is recommending people to listen to Ibn Baaz and Ibn Uthaymeen instead of Rabee' al-Madkhalee. Both Ibn Baaz and Ibn Uthaymeen (like the other well-known scholars of today) praised al-Madkhalee highly and encourage the masses to benefit from him. Furthermore, his personal website contains several misleading, mistaken fatwaas devoid of any evidence. A quick review of his website shows that. He expects that the people refer back to him as a scholar for fatwaas, and while they even ask for evidence, they only get yes and no answers with no evidence.
The specific response to this man's false propaganda about Yusuf Estes not claiming to be a scholar can be reviewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Dw9qIFgggQ and it shows just how much he knows about the issues he talks about!
While the whole idea that Yusuf Estes doesn't have any claim to knowledge is just a smoke-screen anyway... The issues remain. The man has taught Jahmiyyah and other beliefs of KUFR (by consensus) for the last ten years, whether he's excused because of ignorance or not.
4. This article is the result of hunting for mistakes, like some kind of “witch-hunt”.
I said this three weeks ago in the original PDF:
When scholars and students of knowledge identify and warn the Muslims of deviant beliefs that oppose the consensus of Ahlus-Sunnah in basic matters of Islamic belief, they must not be demonized or slandered. Instead, you should pray for their success and think well of them, as they are fulfilling an essential need of the Muslim nation.
And quite simply, whether the article is the result of a “witch-hunt” or not, this must not prevent you from identifying false beliefs of apostasy and shunning them.
(No need to update this point! Assim al-Hakeem actually comes three weeks later to announce that the clarification is the result of a "witch-hunt"!!)
5. The mistakes of Yusuf Estes are small, excusable errors, and people are blowing them out of proportion.
No honest Muslim with knowledge of aqeedah and the errors of Yusuf Estes could possibly say that.
Go back and read the clarification. By Allah, someone who speaks like this has simply not read or tried to understand the clarification. Or they are filthy hizbees trying to help in their ikhwaanee cover-up.
6. This kind of clarification is ghuluw (religious extremism or going overboard).
Religious extremism is clearly found in the excessive attachments that some Muslims have to popular personalities, which interfere with their ability to view issues with balance and identify falsehood and shun it.
This article invites the reader to identify a number of serious false beliefs being attributed to Islam, and to take the appropriate position on them. This is the furthest thing from ghuluw (religious extremism).
7. The critic has mistakes, too.
Agreed. However, it is Christianity where people must be “free of sin before they cast the first stone.” In Islam, we are required to forbid evil when it appears, while no one is perfect.
Furthermore, the mistakes of the author of this clarification (may Allah forgive him) must not prevent you – right now – from following the truth when it comes to you and shunning falsehood once it becomes known to you.
8. Yusuf Estes has done so much good, and we have to be fair.
Agreed. Muslims are required to be fair and just. The author of the clarification has made no attempt to belittle any good work done by Yusuf Estes. No one’s good deeds are being rejected, ridiculed, criticized, undervalued, or looked down upon in the clarification.
Having said that, the reality is that Yusuf Estes is currently in danger of losing the potential rewards for his good deeds due to his words of apostasy. It is this very article, a bitter dose of live-saving medicine, that could save him from the end result of the horrible path he has chosen, by Allah’s Permission. May Allah give him the strength and courage needed to put aside his personal pride, humbly embrace the correct beliefs of Islam, and abandon the vile statements of apostasy that he has fallen into and spread.
Furthermore, warning the Muslims against what could draw them into the Hellfire could never – in any way whatsoever – be considered an act of injustice.
9. Yusuf Estes has repented and retracted those mistakes.
Actually, while we were hoping for this, fully ready to help him and back him up when he retracts, the exact opposite has taken place. In the last three weeks, he has changed some of his beliefs openly, like saying the Quran is actually a book, yet he adds, "as we have always believed."
So there is no retraction actually being offered. Only deception. He is lying about his legacy of teachings, and everyone who has seen his teachings over the past ten years knows this clearly.
10. The critic has gone overboard in following Yusuf Estes' every move.
Assim al-Hakeem claims that I have included information about Yusuf Estes' every move, every five minutes, and that he has gone to the bathroom at such-and-such time. This is a clear lie. Those around him should advise him to be honest and stop lying. And it was the worst kind of lie, one to make the people laugh. In Sunan Abee Daawood there is a hadeeth that means, "Woe to him, woe to him, woe to the one who lies to make the people laugh."
Not only was it a clear lie to make people laugh, but laugh at what? An issue that is a central point of belief in Islam, one that identifies a Muslim from a kaafir.
The original clarification that - by Allaah's Permission - has corrected the aqeedah of many Muslims, including Yusuf Estes himself (to some degree, whether he admits it or not), and many of his dedicated followers:
http://www.bakkah.net/en/serious-errors-of-yusuf-estes-in-basic-muslim-creed.htm
And follow this website for updated information about the latest information, smoke-screens, scandals, and lies about the Yusuf Estes clean-up efforts:
http://www.yusufestesquran.com/
And Allah knows best.
Moosaa Richardson
via Maktabah-alFawaaid yahoogroups email list
