عن زيد بن خالد الجهني رضي الله عنه أن النبي صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قال: من فطر صائماً كان له مثل أجره غير أنه لا ينقص من أجر الصائم شيئاً. رواه الترمذي
Zayd bin Khālid al-Juhānī (May Allāh be pleased with him) narrates the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said, “He who gives a fasting person something to break his fast with, receives a similar reward as him, without anything being reduced from the reward of the one who fasted.” [at-Tirmiẓī]
I start with this Ḥadīth. If it does not trouble you that contrary to feeding others, there are supposed Muslims who can gleefully try and blockade the food of other fasting Muslims during Ramaḍān, then indeed you are far too sophisticated for me. I respectfully ask you not to read any further and leave me to simple people who have some heart.
Disclaimer
- Firstly, I state at the outset that I am not going to be presenting some behind the scenes inside news, I do not have such news.
- Secondly, I am presenting two Ḥadīths applicable to the two parties at loggerheads. These are intended to understand the parties involved in terms of their general character, nature and motivations. I do not claim for an instant that either Ḥadīth refers to the current crisis definitely or specifically.
Two Camps – Their Histories
Najd is the central part of Arabia, to the east of al-Ḥijāz, the western coastal strip which included Makkah and al-Madīnah. The House of Saʿūd is based in Najd. They first appear in history less than 6 centuries back in ad-Diriyah in Najd. The Saʿūd later relocated to their present capital, Riyāḍ, which is also in Najd.
Whilst 6 centuries may seem long, in terms of Arab lineages this is nothing and in fact presents a problem. Whilst other royal families can trace their lineages back to the tribes which were contemporary to Allāhs Messengerصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ the Saʿūdīs cannot. There are sometimes claims of Banū Ḥanīfah, sometimes of ʿAnazah but they are not conclusively proved. Where they irrefutably originated from before 6 centuries ago remains a mystery. This played into the hands of Egypt which was in conflict with the Saʿūdīs during the 1960s. Ṣawtul ʿArab radio boldly broadcast that they were not Arabs at all, but Jews. On the other hand, in other lands, the current and historical Arab kings could trace their lineage to actual Arab tribes (e.g. the Jordanian king is Ḥāshimī, Qurashī and the Rashīdīs who represented the Ottomans and fought against the Saʿūdīs are from Kindah, i.e. Kindīs). My teacher who taught in Makkah for several years mentioned that when a newspaper raised this question, the government’s reaction was to angrily demand how they could even question them, rather than simply produce their family tree.
Whatever the reality, the Saʿūdīs cannot conclusively be identified with any tribe mentioned in the Ḥadīth, only a region. Since the others have a distinct tribal identity, often outside the region (e.g. the Rashīdīs as Kindīs originate from Yemen) from the other angle, the region of Najd is symbolic of the House of Saʿūd who have lived there and currently rule there. From there they spread out and contaminated the Ḥijāz.
The people of Qaṭar too are not native to their present land. Three centuries ago the tribe of Banū Tamīm left Najd for Qaṭar where they reside to this day. Although, like any other tribe, there are Tamīmīs scattered throughout the modern world, it is only in Qaṭar that they form a cohesive tribal unit ruling over an independent land. The ruling family, the Āl Thānī, is descended from Qaʿqaʿ bin ʿAmr at-Tamīmī, who fought under Khālid bin al-Walīd (may Allāh be pleased with him) at Yarmūk. (On a side note, it irks me when journalists and even scholars cannot distinguish between al (the) and āl or aal (family of). That laymen do not know that it is Sūrah Āl ʿImrān not al-ʿImrān is understandable. For the learned not to exercise their brains is another matter). In short the ʾĀl Saʿūd are identified with Najd whilst Qaṭarīs have a primary tribal identity, documented right to the era of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ , the Banū Tamīm, which can be separated from the residential or regional identity.
Two Ḥadīths
There is a Ḥadīth related to Najd. It is narrated by ʾal-ʾImām ʾal-Bukhārī under the Chapter of Fitan (tribulations before the end of the world). It speaks of the region in relation to the tribulations, not any tribe, i.e. whilst Kindah, Tamīm and many other tribes may have passed through at various stages in history, the prophecy refers to certain people who actually inhabit Najd at the time of the tribulations. If Allāh wills these tribulations to be contemporary to our times, then there can be only one candidate the Ḥadīth refers to – the ʾĀl Saʿūd. Tamīm has vacated Najd. The Ḥadīth is as follows:
حدثنا علي بن عبد الله حدثنا أزهر بن سعد عن ابن عون عن نافع عن ابن عمر قال ذكر النبي صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ اللهم بارك لنا في شأمنا اللهم بارك لنا في يمننا قالوا يا رسول الله وفي نجدنا قال اللهم بارك لنا في شأمنا اللهم بارك لنا في يمننا قالوا يا رسول الله وفي نجدنا فأظنه قال في الثالثة هناك الزلازل والفتن وبها يطلع قرن الشيطان
ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar (may Allāh be pleased with father and son) narrates that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ prayed, “O Allāh! Bless us in our Syria, O Allāh bless us in our Yemen.”
“O Allāh’s Messenger!” exclaimed [some people from Najd], “And in our Najd!”
[The Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ again] prayed, “O Allāh! Bless us in our Syria, O Allāh bless us in our Yemen.”
“O Allāh’s Messenger!” [they again] exclaimed, “And in our Najd!”
I [Ibn ʿUmar] think it was after the third time that he replied, “Over there will be tremors and tribulations. Over there does Satan’s horn rise.” [al-Bukhārī]
Syria is to the north of ʾal-Ḥijāz, while Yemen is to the south. She has no western neighbour, other than the Red Sea. Najd, to the east, was intentionally omitted from the prayer of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . What does that tell you?
On the other hand, what does the Ḥadīth say of Banū Tamīm, i.e. the Qaṭārīs? ʿAl-Bukhārī narrates the following as well, in ʿal-Maghāzī :
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال لا أزال أحب بني تميم بعد ثلاث سمعته من رسول الله صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يقولها فيهم هم أشد أمتي على الدجال وكانت فيهم سبية عند عائشة فقال أعتقيها فإنها من ولد إسماعيل وجاءت صدقاتهم فقال هذه صدقات قومي
Abū Hurayrah (may Allāh be pleased with him) states:
I have always loved the Banū Tamīm since I heard Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ saying three things about them. “They will be the severest of my nation against Dajjāl.” Furthermore ʿĀishah had a captive from amongst them. So he said, “Free her, for she is from the descendants of Ismāʿīl.” When their charity arrived, he said, “These are the charities of my people.” [al-Bukhārī]
So there you have it. The people from where Satan’s horn rises have imposed a blockade on those who will be the severest against the Anti-Christ, the descendants of ʾIsmāʿīl (peace be upon him), the people of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ .
- Is it not Satanic for supposed Muslims to cut off the food of other Muslims during Ramaḍān of all times?
- Is it not Satanic to expel Muslims, separating mixed families, father from children, husbands from wives?
- Is it not Satanic to threaten 15 years imprisonment for those who express sympathy for their brethren in Qaṭār? (To be fair it is their ally, UAE)
Or are these Saʿūdī acts, sometimes I forget the difference between Satan and Saʿūd…
Track Record
I have no right to impose my interpretation of Ḥadīth on others (unlike some people), you may disagree, as long you do not endanger your faith by disputing Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ himself. Yet I would dare suggest that if you are honest and look at recent history it should be clear as to who wears the badge of Satan’s horn and who opposes the forces of the Anti-Christ.
Most certainly we can find fault with Qaṭārīs, as we can find in ourselves. Yet on the balance, Qaṭār is a nation which assists the poor and their shortcomings are human shortcomings, not deliberate assaults against Islām and Muslims, which their neighbours are guilty of.
The ʾUmmah has remained silent for far too long. It is close to a century now that Makkah and al-Madīnah have had to endure the Saʿūd rule initiated with the shedding of Muslim blood and the deliberate obstruction of the effort to revive the Khilāfah which the Turks had just abandoned. Also, who amongst the educated did not know that they were in the pay of the British? These should have been warning signals, but that was another generation. It may be that they had no full information and being under colonial rule, were desperate for any ruler who claimed the banner of Islām.
But that was then. Time has moved on and news is no longer the privilege of a few.
Yet the Saʿūd slavery to American interests was now known but overlooked.
The princes’ spending the Ummah’s wealth on gambling and prostitution was overlooked.
The utter destruction of the Islāmic heritage was overlooked.
The imprisonment and torture of opposition figures, including scholars were overlooked.
The deliberate interference amongst foreign Muslim communities in their Masājid, instead of inviting non-Muslims to Islām, was overlooked.
The deliberate ritualisation of Ḥajj and the segregation of Muslim for the first time were overlooked.
The inviting of Christian and Jewish troops to tramp on the sacred soil of Arabia was overlooked.
That not even extremist Shīʿah rulers had had the guts to disobey that final command of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was overlooked.
The collaboration in overthrowing the only pious ruler modern Egypt has known and was democratically elected was overlooked.
The funding of Pharaoh Mubārak and Pharaoh Sīsī to help the Zionist besiege Ghazzah was overlooked.
Thus the deaths in Ghazzah resulting from the Saʿūdī-Egyptian siege were overlooked.
Now as we approach the century mark, our leaders will overlook the assault on another Muslim people whom Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ has praised. They are assaulted not by America or the Zionists, but by the “Custodian” of the Ḥaramayn.
Why? They do not have the same excuse as the previous generations. The reality is that Saʿūdī petrodollars and visas buy their silence. Just how much will Saʿūdī petrodollars and visas help them in their graves?
May Allāh bless Shaykh Salmān an-Nadwī, who has fearlessly denounced the Satanists err.. Saʿūdīs.
I shall not say, “Enough is enough!” That time passed by years ago. If your only concern when visiting the Ḥaramayn is which is the best perfume and clothing shops, then I can only pray that at least the Qaṭar siege will make you a more sensitised slave of Allāh.
سليمان الكندي
Twitter: @sulayman_Kindi
