From the Words of 'Abdullah 'Azzam...

[Abu Sabaya]

This is a thread I've been working on on the other forums for quite some time. I thought I'd transfer it over to here, for the added benefit:

This thread will consist of various quotations of al-Imam 'Abdullah 'Azzam - a man who truly deserves the title of 'Imam,' if anyone does. In addition to being a scholar and Mujahid, he also fulfilled the seldom-fulfilled role of being a brilliant murabbi - his immensely deep insight, coupled with his decades of experience in the fields of both Da'wah and Jihad, made him a priceless asset to the youth of his time and beyond.

So, we will present here various words of advice and stories of remembrance taken from his works - both written and recorded - so that we may benefit from his legacy, if Allah Wills.

[Abu Sabaya]

The Qur'an:

"So, it is upon you to tend to the Qur'an - the pillar of the heart, the light of the chest, the remover of sadness. And this time period is the period of memorization of the Qur'an. I started in and benefited greatly from the days of training in 1969 (when fighting in Palestine). I benefited greatly from the memorization of the Qur'an, and it was the period of golden purity of the heart and spirit. So, it is easy for you to memorize here; very easy...yes. I had a large-print Mushaf, and during the time in which I would stand guard at night, I would repeat what I had memorized during the day. So, if I mispronounced a word, I opened it, and I would read it using the light of the Moon. As for now, I cannot even see using the light of the Sun, so, we ask Allah to strengthen our eyesight...

So, try to memorize five verses of the Qur'an everyday, and start with 'al-Anfal.' Everyday, after the morning prayer, make for yourself a sitting with the Noble Qur'an. Memorize five verses of 'al-Anfal,' and review the five verses from the previous day. You can memorize it in fifteen days: seventy-five verses, five verses each day...this should be very easy on you...

Our brother, Khalid Qablan - who was martyred two days ago in Khost, Abu al-Walid, from Riyad - was martyred on Friday, at 2:30 p.m. I visited his brothers after his martyrdom, not knowing that he had been martyred, and everyone who was around him said that everything about him indicated that he was preparing for the Hereafter. They said that he would choose to stand guard from midnight to 1:00 a.m., then he would stay up in prayer until the Fajr. He would make the adhan for Fajr, then pray. After that, he would begin his adhkar. He would fast every Monday and Thursday - continuously - and the White Days (13th, 14th, 15th day of each month), and the six days of Shawwal. They also said that on the night before Friday - and it was the final night of his life - he stood guard from midnight to 1:00 a.m., stayed up in prayer until the Fajr, made the adhan for Fajr, prayed, made his morning adhkar, then we moved to the location of the battle for that day. On the way there, he recited 'al-Kahf,' and increased in his invoking of peace and blessings upon the Prophet. When we arrived - his companion from Yemen narrates - "I asked him if he had finished his recitation of 'al-Kahf,' and he said: "Yes." Then, we started firing the mortar rounds, and the nineteenth shell exploded inside the mortar, and many pieces of shrapnel entered his body. He gasped only twice, then he submitted his soul to the Lord of the Worlds.""

['Fi at-Tarbiyah al-Jihadiyyah wal-Bina''; 2/40-42]

[Abu Sabaya]

Give People the Credit They Are Due:

"And the labels fill your pockets. Every pocket is labelled with a characteristic or title; this pocket is filled with labels that say 'Disbeliever,' and everytime you see someone that you don't like, you hand him a label. Another pocket is filled with labels that say 'Innovator,' and a third pocket is filled the labels that say 'Poor,' and another says 'Ignorant,' etc. This way, you have given everyone a label from one of your labels...

There are families in Peshawar who cannot find enough Clorox bleach in the marketplaces, so, they send off to Islamabad to purchase this bleach, so that they can use it to clean their clothing and the clothing of their families. So, you are also in need of searching for bleach; you are in need of success in finding that which will clean your heart and purify your insides. If you are part of a particular Islamic group, then beware of assuming that all of the truth rests with that group, and that all falsehood rests with everyone else, as some of the earlier zealous people said: "All of our statements are correct, with a possibility of a mistake, while all the statements of others are mistaken, with a possibility of being correct." This is the destructive type of allegiance! How many groups have been torn apart, and how many people who were close to each other became divided because of such a mindset?!

Pay attention to your heart, beware of raising yourself above others, and beware of belittling others. How many of these people have given for the sake of this Religion - but have kept it secret between them and the Lord of the Worlds - from he whose statement is belittled and his appearance mocked, and he might even have given more for this Religion than an Earthful of people like you ever would? So, pay attention to yourself, and may Allah have Mercy on a man who knows his limits and stays inside those limits. The virtuous people are those who acknowledge the virtue of the people of virtue, especially the scholars, and especially those who are old in age, and especially the parents...

So, my brother, it is enough for your good deeds to be annulled that you look to your actions as if they are great, as Allah Said:

{"Woe to al-Mutaffifin! Those who, when they have to receive by measure from men, demand full measure, and when they have to give by measure or weight to men, give less than their due."} [al-Mutaffifin; 1-3]

So, if he mentions himself, he only mentions his good deeds, and if he mentions the others, he only mentions their mistakes, as the Prophet said: "One of you sees a small speck of dirt in the eye of his brother, but fails to see the large piece of dirt in his own eye." ['at-Targhib wat-Tarhib'; 3/236]...

Just because you are part of a particular group doesn't mean that you are better than the people. Just because you read a particular book doesn't mean that you are better than the people. There is some good with the Ikhwan, and there is some good with the Tabligh, and there is some good with the Salafiyyah; every one of them has a portion of the good, so, try - if you are able - to collect all of the good from these groups. They used to study from a large group of the scholars, so, his Hadith instructor is different from his Tafsir instructor , and his instructor in spiritual nurturing is different from his Arabic language instructor. Take from the Tabligh their manners...and imagine if we were to follow their path in respecting the people, and their manners with the scholars... The Tabligh have very good speech, as they convey what they say and work magic on the hearts with their manners, and cause any envy one might have against them to vanish. Take from the Ikhwan their historical movements and revolutionary ideas, and take from the Salafiyyah their beliefs. Collect within yourself all that is good, become a student, and do not restrict the truth to your own shaykh... Take from this person, and take from that person; respect the people, and give them the credit they are due, and put them in their proper categories..."

[From a khutbah entitled 'an-Nas Asnaf' (People Are of Various Types), given on September 26, 1986]

[Abu Sabaya]

Let Them Find Harshness In You:

"...And because of this, they said to Ibn Hajar al-Haythami: "Is it allowed for the Muslim to extend his hand when greeting a Christian, so that he could shake it?" He answered: "No, because the Christian will feel at peace when he is shaking your hand. So, it is not allowed for you to extend your hand for him to shake."

...It was narrated to me by the leader of the Islamic Movement in Jordan - our teacher, Muhammad 'Abd ar-Rahman Khalifah:

"I learned the meaning of honor from a story. When I was young, the judge of as-Salt (a town in Jordan) became ill. I was in my sixth year of elementary school, and I decided to go visit him. So, I went and rang the doorbell. He came to the door, and I said to him: "I am the son of 'Abd ar-Rahman Khalifah, and my father has sent me to come visit you." The judge said to me: "Please come in, my son."

So, I entered to find that the heads of the Christian community had all come to visit him because of his illness. There was the priest of the Orthodox Church, and the Latin Church. Anyway, these were two churches in as-Salt. When I entered the room - and I was only a young boy at the time - he said to the head pastor: "Get up and sit over there," and he said to me: "Come, my son, and sit next to me." He then looked to the pastor and said to him: "This is how my religion commands me to behave with you, so, if I come to visit you, then behave with me as your religion commands you."

Muhammad Khalifah then told me: "At that moment, I realized that the Muslim is noble, and that he is the most honorable of people.""

[From a lecture given in a camp on the Afghan-Pakistani border, October 29, 1987]

[Abu Sabaya]

Give Advice Without Causing Offense:

"...and because of this, the Prophet exposed for us those who please us with their tongues, when he said: "Throw dirt in their faces," meaning, the faces of those who praise people to their faces. Likewise, he said to the one who praised his brother to his face: "You have broken your brother's back." So, praising your brother to his face is disliked - if not forbidden - except in the case that you are trying to point out some of his faults. In such a situation, there is no problem in you mentioning some of his praiseworthy traits, such as saying to him: 'Brother, you are very intelligent, and you are a man who is loved by the people, and you are a person who is considered a leader. However, I see in you such-and-such a fault, so, is it possible for you to correct these faults?' And if the person that you wish to advise has a position of authority over you, is older than you, or is your parent, then there is no problem in sending him a message, for example.

Hasan al-Banna - may Allah have Mercy upon him - said: "We used to follow this way of commanding the good and forbidding the evil. We had a shaykh who used to teach us and guide us, so, one day, I saw him praying between the pillars of the mosque. So, I wanted to advise him that praying between the pillars of the mosque is disliked (makruh). So, I wrote him a letter, and addressed it on behalf of 'A Doer of Good,' saying: "O Shaykh, I saw you praying between the pillars of the mosque, and this is disliked, as the Prophet said." I then signed it 'A Doer of Good,' and sent it to him by mail. He got the letter and read it, then he said: "O youth! I have received a letter from a man who advised me not to pray between the pillars of the mosque, and I did not previously know that this is disliked, so, don't do it.""

Hasan al-Banna added: "I was amongst the youth that he was addressing. So, we were able to fulfill a good action without causing any insult or offense to our teacher...."

Therefore, commanding the good and forbidding the evil requires a person who loves the people; a person who looks at the bigger picture; a person with a gentle tongue. Do not come to one and say: 'I hate you for the Sake of Allah because you do this or that.' Are you not able to say, instead: 'I love you for the Sake of Allah, my brother! However, I saw a simple and small mistake from you.'

By Allah, a brother described to me the following: "Someone came up to me and said: "I hate you for the Sake of Allah."

So, I said to him: "Why? Why do you hate me for the Sake of Allah?"

He replied: "Because your father is from the Ikhwan al-Muslimin.""

There is no might nor power except with Allah. What Islam is this? I hate him for the Sake of Allah - for what? Because his father is from the Ikhwan al-Muslimin. Sufficient is Allah as the Disposer of our affairs, and this person considers this to be commanding the good and forbidding the evil and a proclaimation of the truth, and he thinks that he will have some reward as a result of this, as a result of his putting off the Muslims..."

['Fi Dhilal Surat at-Tawbah'; p. 75]

[Abu Sabaya]

Zeal Alone Is Not Enough:

"By Allah, one of the youth came to me, and he would always visit me. He loved me, and he was Jordanian. He took Shukri Mustafa as a leader, and became fascinated by his ideas. I never saw a youth holding onto his faith as tightly as this one. He was a pharmacy student, and he would sometimes come to break his fast with me in Cairo.

One day, after he met Shukri Mustafa, he came to visit me. He started to speak, and I began to enter into a discussion with him. Suddenly, it was time to pray. I noticed that he was reluctant to pray behind me, so, I said to him: "Please, lead us in the prayer." So, he stepped forward and led us. Afterwards, everytime I would step forward to lead the prayer, he would say that he was travelling (so that he would lead, instead). So, I asked him, in a straightforward manner, "What do you think of me?"

He asked: "Do you want me to be frank with you?"

I said: "Yes, be frank."

He said: "I consider you to be a disbeliever."

I asked: "Why, son? What is the issue?"

He replied: "You are from the Ikhwan al-Muslimin."

I said: "OK."

He went on: "Everyone in the Ikhwan al-Muslimin is a disbeliever."

I asked: "Why?"

He said: "Because they do not make takfir of al-Hudaybi, the disbeliever [*]."

Imagine! With such ease! I said to him: "Come, let me tell you: ash-Shafi'i and Ahmad bin Hambal differed over the disbelief of the one who abandons the prayer out of laziness. ash-Shafi'i said that he is not a disbeliever, and Ahmad said he is a disbeliever, and then they debated over it, with none of them declaring the other to be a disbeliever."

Subhan Allah! Because of his extreme zeal and emotion, he said to me, in his exact words: "If I was present, and had debated ash-Shafi'i, and he had refused to make takfir, I would have declared ash-Shafi'i to be a disbeliever."

I said: "There is no might nor power except with Allah. We are finished. Get out of here. If it has gotten to this point, then we are finished."

And yes, he eventually became entagled with Shukri Mustafa, and received a fifteen-year sentence, and he is still in jail until now. They, because of their lack of knowledge, are simply youth with much zeal, and the hearts of these youth were made to follow their desires."

['Fi Dhilal Surat at-Tawbah'; p. 104]

[*] al-Hudaybi (may Allah have Mercy on him) was a scholar from the Ikhwan who was arrested by 'Abd an-Nasir. Although he himself considered 'Abd an-Nasir to be a disbeliever, when he was being tortured in prison, and was asked if 'Abd an-Nasir was a disbeliever, he would reply: "What would we gain if we did or didn't declare him to be a disbeliever?" - saying this out wisdom, in order to avoid having anything damning recorded against him by his own tongue. So, Shukri's group made takfir of al-Hudaybi because of the answer he gave, which didn't contain explicit takfir of 'Abd an-Nasir. They then went even farther, declaring the Ikhwan to be kuffar for not making takfir of al-Hudaybi.

[Abuz Zubair]

he also fulfilled the seldom-fulfilled role of being a brilliant murabbi

There was this charisma about him which continued to live in his books and tapes even after his martyrdom.

Often when you listen to his tapes and read his books, (actually tapes more than books), it is as if he is speaking directly to your heart... After him everything went into chaos in Afghanistan...

He really taught the brothers, how to live as brothers and how to cherish brotherhood. Amazing man...

[Abuz Zubair]

MashaAllah... you're bringing nice memories back...

By Allah, a brother described to me the following: "Someone came up to me and said: "I hate you for the Sake of Allah."

So, I said to him: "Why? Why do you hate me for the Sake of Allah?"

He replied: "Because your father is from the Ikhwan al-Muslimin.""

As far as I remember this happened with Abdullah Azzam himself, or something very similar.

Someone came to visit him in Peshawar from Saudi and after treating him well, etc etc etc... he told his son to drop him off at the airport. So at the airport he told him: I hate you for the sake of Allah because your father is from al-ikhwan al-muslimin!

[Abuz Zubair]

Actually, this happened with me once...

Long time ago there are some exchange of heated emails between Abu Khadija, Idrees Palmer and myself... After Abu Khadija got annihilated by Idris Palmer he came to my uni to blast me with an emotional lecture... and as usual, none from the Uni attended except his own mob from Brixton Mosque. After the lecture, I thought, 'let's calm him down and speak about these issues rationally'. So I went up to him, said Salam and took his hand and said, 'brother... I love you for the sake of Allah...' He goes to me: 'and I hate you for the sake of Allah!'... I was like... 'errm... Okay!'

Thereafter, I learnt my lesson and refused to begin with these madkhalis with Salam, because a Sunni should not allow himself to be dishonoured by a bida'i.

From then on, my idea has been to give them the taste of their own medicine. So before he can pull out his Jarh and Ta'dil gun, I take him by surprise and say: 'I don't sit with deviants like you!'... And he's left confused... 'What?! That's my line! You got the script wrong! What am I supposed to say now?!'

[Abdullah al-Shishani]

He said: "I consider you to be a disbeliever."

I asked: "Why, son? What is the issue?"

He replied: "You are from the Ikhwan al-Muslimin."

La hawla wala quwata illa billah,