THE ASSOCIATE of Maḥmūd al-Ḥaddād, ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Bāshmīl, claimed that the Shaykhs of Madīnah, such as Shaykh Rabīʿ bin Hādī (رحمه الله) were calling to a deviant political methodology in complete secrecy built upon the errors of Shaykh al-Albānī (رحمه الله). He accused them of being infiltrators, working on the inside for political objectives. He also claimed that they were following the ways of the Ikhwānīs by not making tabdīʿ of certain callers in Saudi Arabia. These Ḥaddādis had exaggeration in matters of tabdīʿ and tajrīḥ, aiming to incite discord and chaos within the ranks of Ahl al-Sunnah. To support their claims, they attached themselves to well-known scholars in Saudi because they opposed Shaykh al-Albānī in various issues, and they leveraged this attachment to attack Shaykh Rabīʿ and others. Bashmīl is from the first wave Ḥaddādīs of the 1990s, and even though Maḥmūd al-Ḥaddād is the origin, and he disappeared into obscurity after being expelled from Saudi, Bāshmīl became the main promulgator, spokesman and caller to the ideology. After them, came the second wave Ḥaddādīs in the 2000s such as Fāliḥ al-Ḥarbī, then Fawzī al-Baḥraynī and they carried on the methodology with their own infusions.

Shaykh Rabīʿ (رحمه الله) provides a very important and enlightening summary of the First Wave Ḥaddādī enterprise in the late 1990s, and as we said earlier in this series, it is important for the reader to abstract beyond the originating circumstances, leaving behind the names, locations and events, and observing only the methods, behaviours and processes, so that the quintessence of Ḥaddāḍiyyah can be precipitated and crystallised and seen, smelled, touched and tasted directly, similar to the precipitation and crystallisation of salt and sugar, save that unlike salt and sugar which have benefits, the Haddādī essence is noxious, toxic and corrosive and should not be approached, post-precipitation.

We present a translation of the summary and to facilitate the precipitation and crystallisation processes some appropriate commentary is provided, (bracketed titles are for ease of reading and organisation):^[1]

[Hunting for Mistakes]

Shaykh Rabīʿ bin Hādī (رحمه الله) said in 1419H (1998), concluding his treatise on Bashmīl and his falsehoods:

Comment: Given that Ḥaddādism is founded upon exaggeration of slips, mistakes, or contrary views, the end goal being tabdīʿ and taḍlīl, the Ḥaddādīs start out looking for fuel for their fire, and that is by investigating books, cassettes, lectures and writings of their targets. They do not find clear cut deviations in creed or methodology, and hence have to rely upon slips, mistakes or contrary views in areas of controversy and differing, and if not, then lying, deception, distortion and treachery in citation.

And whereas Ahl al-Sunnah are people of good, clean intentions, integrity and justice, and do not hunt out mistakes of Ahl al-Sunnah with this outlook or objective, if they happen to come across slips and mistakes, or they become apparent in the course of things, they treat the individual and his error in the appropriate way, upon the Salafī methodology. As for genuine and unintended slips and errors in religion, which no one is free from except the chosen Prophets, then Allāh, from His mercy, conceals them for the believers, and they may simply pass, be forgotten and never surface in the ordinary course of things. However the Ḥaddādī methodology seeks to tear apart this cover which Allāh mercifully provided to His servants, thereby taking the affairs in an irregular direction, in order to disturb the peace and instigate tribulations.

[Lies and Fabrications]

Comment: Bāshmīl was unable to find clear deviations in foundations, such as the innovations of the Khārijiyyah, Jahmiyyah, Rāfiḍah, Ṣūfiyyah, Muʿtazilah, Ikhwāniyyah, Tablīghiyyah and so on, so he resorted to lying, fabricating, clipping and distorting in order to arrive at outrageous accusations that are wholly contrary to everything known from Shaykh Rabīʿ and his writings.

These accusations were based on clipping and extraction from cassette recordings or audios, and the refutation of these claims are in the very same recordings themselves. The aim behind all of this is to justify tabdīʿ and taḍlīl in order to cause splitting and division in the ranks of Ahl al-Sunnah.

That’s the type of conduct that Shaykh Rabīʿ was alluding to over a quarter of a century ago, and he provided us diagnostic means to help us identify it and its various stages, which includes splitting and splintering of Salafīs through such methods (audio):

However, the Ḥaddādī methodology devised an antidote for those clear signs, and it is in the form of intellectual terrorism:

[Intellectual Terrorism For Silencing and Coercive Submission]

Comment:

Shaykh Rabīʿ pointed out that Ḥaddādī methodology had been evolved—even in its early first wave—to a degree that it made life difficult, because a hostile, aggressive atmosphere was nurtured and cultivated which if not openly and firmly challenged and countered, allows the predominance of intellectual terrorism the goals of which are:

• To stifle voices, making them fearful of speaking the truth.
• To shatter the souls, meaning to demoralise them, by incessant, continuous hostility, to make them give up and just say, “pay no attention to them, leave them to their ways, do not reply to them”. Shaykh Rabīʿ, some years later, in his refutations of Fāliḥ al-Ḥatbī and Fawzī al-Baḥraynī, said that he was given this advice by others. But ultimately, there was no escape from addressing their lies and dealing with these individuals head on and exposing them, else they become a systemic risk.
• To paralyse their hands and tying their tongues, which follows on from the demoralisation. Meaning, to make them unable and unwilling to respond or do anything.

Shaykh Rabīʿ said that they achieve this if their opponents just give up, which is the actual goal behind all of this aggression and hostility, which few are wise to.

This is why the Ḥaddādī methodology is most dangerous. It makes inroads into the Salafi daʿwah with the claim of loyalty to and defence of scholars. It uses the glucose of deception, lying, cunning. It accuses others of Ḥaddādiyyah as a deflection and protective shield (so as not to be identified and thereby, evade T and NK cells and macrophages). Further, as it gains followers and supporters (cells, capillaries and arteries), it becomes embedded and difficult to treat, like late stage cancer, which has been allowed to advance due to ignorance, neglect, indifference and violations in diet, habits and lifestyle, meaning, not taking the right actions at the right time.

Shaykh Rabīʿ (رحمه الله) went through all of these great efforts back then to warn Ahl al-Sunnah of this danger, and he continued doing so all the way to the fitnah of Muḥammad Ibn Hādī, some years after fitnah of Yaḥyā al-Ḥajūrī, so that people pay attention to the early warning signs.

[Hateful and Malicious]

Comment: The Ḥaddādi methodology is founded upon malice, contempt, anger and resentment, and they see their adversaries as obstacles. Hence, they detest that anything positive or good should be made known about them, and strive to belittle them and mention them with evil, emphasise their errors and faults, whether genuine, exaggerated or fabricated. And even if a person has great efforts in aid of the Sunnah and Salafī methodology, they despise that this should even be hinted at.

The reason behind this is that they have underlying goals and objectives, whether political in nature, through affiliation with the aḥzāb, or domination and ascendancy, or grievances of sorts, or resentments surrounding their figureheads who were spoken against, or they have bigotry around particular views in religion wherein scholars have differed (such as certain issues connected to Īmān) which serve their goals and which they wish to enforce upon others. These are the types of affairs that bubble beneath the surface, leading them to operate out of malice and hate, and to swerve from justice.

[Duplicity, Two-Faces]

Comment: From the tactics used by Bāshmīl were to openly disavow the Ḥaddādiyyah and to claim that he is not from them, yet everything observed from him screamed Ḥaddādiyyah if one was wise to its signs. This was all done out of great duplicity, lying and treachery.

As we said earlier, one of the means of deflection and shielding used by the Ḥaddādīs was to accuse their opponents of being Ḥaddādīs, and this is why they infuse and encourage tabdīʿ (upon other than sound principles) in the Salafī ranks so that it can used in a number of ways. First, to create confusion and chaos in the midst of which they themselves thrive while Ahl al-Sunnah become embroiled with each other, and second, to be able to accuse their opponents of Ḥaddādiyyah to provide themselves cover. She accused me of her own iniquities and slipped away.

It is important for the reader to conceive the ground realities of the time in order to fully understand Ḥaddādiyyah and its associated traits and behaviours.

As we said before, one should not necessarily think of the Ḥaddādiyyah and Mumayyiʿah as distinct groupings, but more as a set of variable traits, behaviours and tactics that enable pursuit of interests. A person can display traits of Ḥaddādiyyah and Mumayyiʿah at the same time. Hence, you may find them making tabdīʿ of Salafīs on the one hand, while having affection, praise and defence of innovators on the other, which are contradictory. It is the underlying interests that govern the traits and behaviours, and these behaviours vary according to circumstances

[Feigning Respect for Scholars]

Comment: The feigning of respect for scholars was a means to an end for Bāshmīl, because it served a purpose, and it occurred in the context of geopolitical events and the differences regarding them. So when one group of scholars and their views were conducive to these ends, Bāshmīl made display of love, respect and defence of those scholars, as it is an effective means of winning support, sympathy and loyalty from those who genuinely love and respect the scholars.

[Unrivalled Vileness]

Comment: Ahl al-Sunnah are not harmed by the groups and sects of innovation and nor their heads and callers more than they are harmed by the Ḥaddādī methodology and its promoters. There is a natural suspicion, aversion and distrust of the innovators, their enmity is open and clear, and Ahl al-Sunnah are on guard.

As for Bāshmīl, and those who followed his way, they operate from within the ranks, showing jealousy and zeal for Salafiyyah, and for some of its scholars. They focused around particular issues to display that protective jealousy, but it was all a cover, because their real aim was to give breathing space for the aḥzāb (political factions) where their real sympathies lay, while causing turmoil in the ranks of Ahl al-Sunnah.

[Refutations and Evidences Remove Confusion]

Comment: Seeing the danger posed by this methodology, the Shaykh went to these lengths to expose the reality of Bāshmīl. How insightful he was, because this methodology has continued to surface again and again in the three decades that have followed since, and it has consumed and splintered the Salafi daʿwah. Ultimately, these plots fade and evaporate, but not without them surfacing again some time later.

Confusion is lifted—after the period of necessary patience has expired—by tackling this methodology head on, calling it out, exposing it and its people, refuting their lies, exposing their deception, unveiling their tactics and cunning methods in a relentless manner, openly rejecting their oppression and calling them to account so that the average Salafi is not deceived by them.

Ḥaddādiyyah is a ferocious methodology which seeks submission and seeks to exhaust its victims. So whoever said, “Leave them, ignore them” after its evil has surfaced and spread never really grasped the first fitnah of the Ḥaddādiyyah in the late 1990s, such that he should have any baṣīrah about it thereafter, and ignoring the malignant disease is not a tried and tested method, unlike the way of Shaykh Rabīʿ towards this very particular ailment.

Concluding Notes

This is the final part of the series on First Wave Ḥaddādiyyah personified by ʿAbd al-Laṭīf Bāshmīl, which provides a broad overview and a summary of Shaykh Rabīʿ’s treatise on the subject. The aim was to turn the abstract into the physical through precipitation and crystallisation, such that the Ḥaddāḍī way acquires physicality, and can be seen, smelled, touched and tasted from the angle of “I learned of evil—not for the sake of evil—but to guard against it.” When things remain in solution, the fluidity of fast-paced events which overwhelm the senses prevents people from seeing things for what they really are, and a great deal can be missed. Its a bit like travelling fast on the motorway and not having enough time to see close objects from the side, perpendicular to direction of travel.

There are some final notes to round things up:

01  The Ḥaddādī methodology appeared alongside the exposure of the Surūrī methodology. They had laid the groundwork for infusing false, destructive principles and behaviours among Ahl al-Sunnah by their position towards Ibn Ḥajar, al-Nawawī and others, which is to dismiss scholars on account of excusable slips and errors and declare them innovators. That allowed them to target and belittle scholars like Shaykh al-Albānī, the real motives being their sympathies with the aḥzāb (political factions) and their grievance that they had been countered and subdued.

So they used the issue of Īmān and Irjāʾ and they picked on al-Albānī’s fiqh positions and made attachment to the scholars in Saudī to attack Shaykh al-Albānī and anyone who held a just and fair position in the matter. They presented themselves as defending the rulers and scholars, and they accused their opponents of being agents for a highly secretive political call working against the rulers and scholars of Saudi Arabia. To create distractions and turmoil, they focused on finding errors and slips, or to fabricate lies, to preoccupy Ahl al-Sunnah and weaken them, so that they can continue unnoticed and untouched. They made tabdīʿ on flimsy grounds and encouraged it as a means of sowing discord, division and enmity. Tremendous deceit, lying and cunning was involved in the process, such as would bewilder most people, thinking it inconceivable and unbelievable.

02  Those who came after Bāshmīl were of types: a) those who added to and developed the methodology further through principles, or b) those who resembled their traits and behaviours without necessarily subscribing to the core ideology and its goals. Such traits and behaviours nevertheless, bring similar destructive effects. They include those who make tabdīʿ of Salafīs on flimsy, baseless grounds and instigate tribulations in their ranks.

03  Due to its very nature, it is a fatal mistake to remain indifferent to the Haddādī methodology and to just “give up” and think it will go away and there will be rain, sunshine and daisies tomorrow. This is naïve, wishful thinking.

Innovations, ideologies and movements, just like men, share characteristics with beasts and animals. There are some animals and beasts you are allowed to kill, such as snakes.

Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) related that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said while on the pulpit: “Kill snakes.” Ibn ʿUmar said: “After that, I would not leave any snake that I saw but I would kill it.”^[2] And Ibn Masʿūd (رضي الله عنه) related that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “Kill all snakes, and whoever fears their revenge does not belong to me.”^[3] The scholars have explained that it is permissible to kill snakes outside the house. As for those inside the house, it is preferable for snakes to be warned before being killed.

Just as there are beasts and animals that can be killed due to their toxic, poisonous, harmful and potentially fatal nature, there are ideologies and methodologies that are toxic, harmful and potentially fatal as well.

Ḥaddādiyyah is one of them. If its not killed quickly enough, it will continue to grow and wreak havoc. It is the height of naivety and foolishness to think that after all the manifestations of this vile, beastly, toxic, barbarous methodology over the past three decades and the tremendous harm it has caused, it can just be ignored after its very obvious and apparent signs have already appeared, fearing its revenge.

Ḥaddādiyyah is a systemic threat and not localised to any particular group or party.

May Allāh reward Shaykh Rabīʿ bin Hādī (رحمه الله) tremendously, with Jannat al-Firdaws for his great efforts in illuminating and safeguarding Ahl al-Sunnah through his valuable writings and guiding them to clarity in these great affairs.

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Footnotes