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Tahir Wyatt, Shadeed Muhammad and the 'Nation of Islam': Part 1
Filed under: Da'wah
Friday, July 25 2014 - by Manhaj.Com
Key topics: Tahir Wyatt Shadeed Muhammad Nation Of Islam

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After it was brought to light that Tahir Wyatt was hosted via telelink by a radio show (run by "Nation of Islam" people) as part of a series of daily Ramadan reminders, he issued a response via the Madeenah.Com website in order to defend and justify his action. Before we comment on his clarification, here is a screenshot of the website where these reminders are advertised and promoted and this gives you a good idea as to who gained the most benefit out of Tahir Wyatt's participation:

In addition, a promotional poster for the brief lecture of Tahir Wyatt is also displayed on the website. It was designed and promoted (through Facebook and elsewhere) by a strange woman calling herself "Mecca-Donna" and whose profession includes website design for "mosques and churches" (see here) and who retweets Louis Farrakhan (see here) and she also promoted Tahir Wyatt's lecture via her Twitter account (see here):


Tahir Wyatt's Reminder

In order to maintain justice and present all the facts, here is a point by point summary of the 12 minute reminder Tahir Wyatt gave for the show:

  • The importance of gathering for learning more about Islam as it is one of the ways to enter Paradise.

  • The verse, "Only those fear Allah from His servants who have knowledge" (35:28) and then the hadeeth "Whoever sets out on a path seeking knowledge Allaah will make easy for him a path to Paradise."

  • Seeking knowledge is an obligation, the first pillar of Islam is to testify that there no deity in truth but Allaah and that Muhammad bin Abdillah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is His slave and Final Messenger, then the verse "Know, therefore that none has the right to be worshipped but Allaah, and seek forgiveness for your sins" (47:19).

  • Greatest favour is that Allaah completed this deen, He taught the Prophet the Quran and interpretation of the Quran. Hadeeth of the Jewish man who came to Umar about the verse that speaks about completion of the deen and how they would have taken it as a day of celebration. The verse "This day have I perfected for you your religion..." (5:3).

  • With completion of the deen, we have a way of life, we just need to follow, no need to go to the right or to the left, all we have to do is to follow the revelation revealed to his Prophet, the final Messenger Muhammad, it will give us happiness and tranquility in this life and the next and will make you from the inheritors of Paradise. The verse, "Whoever choose a deen other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he will be from the losers" (3:85).

  • The deen is complete and the Meessenger taught both the recitation and the meanings. The verse, "He is the one who sent a Messenger to the unlettered, reciting His signs to them, purifying them, and teaching them the book and the wisdom..." (62:2). It is upon them to find those meanings and implement them in their lives.

  • "And there is one message I would you to hold on to and that is do your best in what remains of Ramadan, seek out the meanings of the Quran and implement them in your life because Allaah has informed us, "Verily we have sent down the remembrance and we will preserve it" (15:9) Allaah did not leave the preservation, the recitation of the meaning, to men as He did with previous nations where books were distorted, but in this nation, Allaah has preserved this book, its recitation and its meaning and I pray that we are from the people who are given the understanding of the Qur'an and that we be people of the Qur'an, those people who are closest to the Messenger in Jannah."

Tahir Wyatt's Clarification

After a Youtube video (Tahir Wyatt, Promotional Tool for Louis Farrakhan's "Nation of Islam" - see here) pointed out how Tahir Wyatt is being used as a promotional tool for the Nation of Kufr, Tahir Wyatt issued a 12-page clarification which can be broken down into the following main points:

Tahir Wyatt began his clarification with the following: There is no doubt that giving advice is a cornerstone of our religion. However, this advice should be sincere and related to what one has actually erred in. What is sad is when you see deceitful and malicious attempts to vilify a Muslim's character and shamelessly attack his honor, especially when it is done in the blessed month of Ramadhan. What is even worse is when it based on inaccurate information and a distortion of facts. So this is an attempt to clarify my stance to those brothers and sisters who have genuine questions about why I spoke on a radio station that was supposedly "designed to promote Farrakhan".

He then stated That calling to Allaah is an obligation and virtue (41:33), (12:108), (16:125) and the opening verses of Surah al-Abasa used to show that the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) was admonished for turning away from someone who was trying to learn more about Islam. He then explained that giving da'wah is not restricted only to scholars, (3:187) which mentions the covenant taken by Allaah from those given the scripture that they shall not conceal it and make it clear to the people and the hadeeth, "Convey from me, even if it be only one verse" and commentary of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymin on this hadeeth indicating that a person calls with whatever he is proficient in and has knowledge in, and that he does not have to be of a high level of knowledge, or be a student or a scholar.

That Islam should be conveyed to all people, in all times and ages. Tahir Wyatt says: Giving Da'wah is not restricted to sitting in the comfort of your masjid and speaking only to those who come and listen to you or who already agree with you. The Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) used to go to the Ka'bah, which was surrounded by idols, and call the people to Islam. He went to the top of Safa, which was used by everyone in Makkah to make announcements, calling the people to Islam. He traveled to Taif and was forced out while trying to take his message to the people. The Prophet's (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) da'wah was never restricted to places that only the Muslims used. As Muslims living in non-Muslim lands, it is upon us to take advantage of the platforms available to give Da'wah, even if this means going into churches or other places of worship, especially when we are invited to do so with no strings attached.

Then he cites fatwas from the Permanent Committee regarding entering churches for the purpose of da'wah. In these fatawas it is clarified that it is not permissible to enter churches unless it is for a legislative benefit or to call them to Allaah, then there is no harm in that. And in another fatwa, that it is permissible for the people of knowledge to enter churches in order to invite the people there to Islam, though entering them just to look around should be avoided due to there being no benefit therein. After this Tahir Wyatt remarked: "So even if I had entered a Nation of Islam temple, or one of their other venues, to teach them about Islam, there is evidence to justify that. But that is not what happened. I was actually sitting in my car when I called into the radio program."

After this Tahir Wyatt explains the background to his appearance on the radio show, and an important observation about this is made in the notes below.

After lecturing in Maryland on Sunday, July 13, 2014, a middle-aged man approached me and said that he needed help giving da'wah. He proceeded to say that he follows the way of the salaf, but that he used to be a member of the Nation of Islam, and is now involved in an initiative to teach them the sunnah. He informed me that this program is held at 5:00 every morning in Ramadhan and that they host a speaker who talks for ten minutes to about two thousand listeners (many, but not all, of them members of the Nation of Islam)

After this, Tahir Wyatt presented a summary of the talk he gave for the radio show and made a few final points.

In summary, Tahir Wyatt's clarification is that da'wah is an obligation, and can be done by anyone who has knowledge in the matter being called to, and that Islam should be conveyed to all people in all times, and that it is permissible to enter churches and synagogues to give da'wah. That he was told about "an initiative to teach Sunnah" and that the program takes place every morning in Ramadan. That his reflections on the verse "He frowned and turned away" (Abasa 80:1) led him to become involved in this initiative and that from the evidences he cited earlier (fatawa about entering churches for da'wah) his action was legal, legislatively, and that he addressed the creed of the "Nation of Islam" in his lecture. Finally that it is those who do not want Islam to spread that do not want him to give da'wah.

Comments

01. Tahir Wyatt began his clarification with his statement "What is sad is when you see deceitful and malicious attempts to vilify a Muslim's character and shamelessly attack his honor, especially when it is done in the blessed month of Ramadhan" beginning with righteousness and piety, protesting against vilification of a Muslim's character and attacking his honour. Only to seal his article by implying takfir of those who first raised issues about him being hosted by the "Nation of Islam" via telelink as part of series along with many other speakers. Tahir Wyatt states, "Take a minute to think: who is it that wants us NOT to give da'wah? The logical answer: those who do NOT want Islam to spread.." He provides us with the logical reasoning that it is those who do NOT want Islam to spread who want (him and his likes) not to give da'wah. This is implying major nifaaq (hypocrisy) which is takfir [one of the six types of nifaq akbar (major nifaq) is to dislike the dhuhoor (spread, preponderance) of Islaam]. And it is here that those words of Ibn Qudaamah (rahimahullaah) come to mind, towards the end of his refutation of Ibn Aqeel in his excellent work "Tahreem al-Nadhar Fee Kutub Ahl il-Kalaam":

Within which there occurs:

O you who is a teacher of others. Why are you yourself not one that is taught? Do you want to impregnate our minds with the attribute of guidance whilst you are devoid of guidance? Do not prohibit from a quality and then bring its like. The blame upon you when you do that is great. Begin with your own soul, and prohibit it from its offence. So when you have desisted from it, then you have become wise. Only then will you benefit (others) when you admonish and [only then] will your saying be followed and will your teaching benefit.

And also:

O Admonisher of the people, you have become suspect when you criticise them for matters you bring yourself. Like the one who wears the gown of nudity, his private parts all but apparent to the people despite trying to conceal them. And the greatest crime after Shirk - alongside [the soul's] blindness to its own faults - is its knowledge of the sins of the people which it sees, yet does not know the fault that lies with it.

And also:

You so describe piety as if you possess it. Yet the smell of sins rushes forth from your garments.

Whoever has followed the activities of Madeenah.Com from 2005 onwards from the height of their plots through the period of decline [after Shaykh Ubayd and Shaykh Muhammad bin Haadee exposed them, declared many of them liars and as people of tribulation] will not fail to make this observation (see this series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.0, Part 3.1, Part 3.2). They come out in the name of gentleness (rifq), wanting to counter the harshness as they claim, and they lay bare their hypocritical behaviour in plain sight (just as Ibn Qudaamah indicates above), bringing an even greater harshness than the alleged one they were trying to remove. At the same time, with respect to everyone else, from the Hizbiyyeen and Mubtadi'ah, those upon whom the evidence has been made clear by the scholars, there is nothing but silence towards them, if it is not actual cooperation, or only the weakest and feeblest of attempts in trying to correct them.

Further, Tahir Wyatt made great the lie and revealed the shamelessness (safaahah) of his aql (intellect) when he wrote straight after, "What better way to hinder the spread of Islam than making it appear that giving da'wah is blameworthy, and discouraging people from calling to Allah?!" This is a mighty lie upon those who initially criticized you and stated accurately and appropriately that you have been used as a tool of promotion by the followers of Farrakhan. Tahir Wyatt is answerable to Allah for these disgraceful lines he has written in order to rouse those from his readership who will not penetrate his sophistries, see through his shallowness and lack of humility in acknowledging what everyone else can see in plain sight: The Nation played you and took your food. Thereafter, disgracefully, he resentfully describes those who criticised him with the traits of the disbelieving hypocrites and utters the fabrication that they hinder the spread of Islam by making it appear that giving da'wah is blameworthy. This is fujoor (wickedness and diversion in argument).

The best way for Tahir Wyatt to end Ramadan is to announce his recantation and repentance for implying al-nifaq al-akbar upon those who pointed out the consequence of his misjudged action and to hastily apologise to them.

02. Tahir Wyatt claims, "After lecturing in Maryland on Sunday, July 13, 2014, a middle-aged man approached me and said that he needed help giving da'wah. He proceeded to say that he follows the way of the salaf, but that he used to be a member of the Nation of Islam, and is now involved in an initiative to teach them the sunnah. He informed me that this program is held at 5:00 every morning in Ramadhan and that they host a speaker who talks for ten minutes to about two thousand listeners (many, but not all, of them members of the Nation of Islam)." It is clear that a lie has been told, and from whom or where this lie originated Allaah knows best. However, Tahir Wyatt has failed to acknowledge that he was lied to (if we are generous and blame the unnamed middle-aged man) or worse still, it may be the case he knows he needs this lie to form the backbone of his defence in his PDF clarification. Why is what this middle-aged man told him a lie? Take a look at the website screenshot above. Does that really look like "an initiative to teach the Sunnah to the Nation of Islam"? Also a strange woman going by the name of Mecca-Donna (?) is the one who produced the promotional leaflet and also posted it to her Facebook timeline on the 15th July. This means that within 2 days, Tahir Wyatt had been hooked up by this mystery man, the promotional materials were prepared by a clear "Nation of Islam" sympathizer who designs websites for "mosques and churches" and Tahir Wyatt was ready to participate in the alleged "initiative to teach the Sunnah."

03. Here is the reality: Tahir Wyatt got used (no matter whatever intentions were flowing around in either the mind of the unknown person who approached him in Maryland or his own mind). He ended up as one amongst 25 or so speakers with a very strong "Nation of Islam" presence amongst them, alongside some Jahmites, Ikhwanis, entertainers and other orientations. In each radio show, just before the telelink, the radio host routinely speaks about each speaker as a black person who has achieved something in life, in terms of religious accomplishment. The theme and undertones of black nationalism are very noticeable - and that's part and parcel of the "Nation of Islam's" teachings. Tahir Wyatt gave his 12-minute talk and reminder for Ramadan within which he made a casual pass-by mention of Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) as the final Messenger. The general topic was the importance of seeking knowledge, knowing the deen is complete and reflecting upon the meanings of the Qur'an and acting up its teachings. And in passing, casual reference was made to Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) as a final Messenger - for which Tahir Wyatt applauds himself through the received feedback that it was "done with wisdom". If we accept Tahir Wyatt's pleading in his clarification and accept the statement of his intentions it still does not make things easier for Tahir Wyatt for the following reasons:

04. One would expect that if Tahir Wyatt was assured - as he says in his clarification, "After asking some other questions, I was assured that there were no restrictions on what I could say..." one would expect that Tahir Wyatt, a graduate of Madeenah University and a PhD candidate in aqidah would give a lecture that would distinguish the teachings of Islam and the Sunnah from the teachings of the "Nation of Islam" for the thousands who were listening in a clear and apparent way such that no ambiguity remains. This is what we find from our scholars who state that if you are speaking on a platform owned by Ahl al-Bid'ah [and we are dealing with Ahl al-Kufr] you must make the truth clear in an unambiguous way. Tahir Wyatt mentions Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) as the final messenger, but failed to expose the false prophets of the Nation who claim they are messengers. He mentioned the Day of Judgement, but failed to clarify that it is kufr to deny that it is a physical resurrection (the Nationers believe in a mental resurrection). He referred to Allah, the Exalted, many times and worshipping Him, but failed to deny He is a black man walking on the earth. As we said earlier, if we accept Tahir's good intentions (everyone has those, even Christians and grave-worshippers), the reality is that he either got played due to his naivety, or in light of evidence from over the years, it is the Tamyee'ee manhaj in action again. As a side point, his associate, Shadeed Muhammad, (another person that was part of the Madeenah.Com agenda), does not shy away from retweeting Louis Farrakhan. These affairs show the weakness of these people in methodological issues that allow them to be used in a way (if it is not something they actually choose to get involved with in the first place), the end result of which is that whatever message or good they think they are achieving, will be slapped into oblivion because of the nature of the platform they participated in or ended up on due to their naivety, ignorance or indifference (tamyee') as has preceded. In turn, they end up giving tactical support to the people of innovation (or kufr) - and then in their ignorance try to justify their actions with evidences and verdicts that do not fit the situations they got themselves into and the way they got into it. And that's in addition to the fact that the good job they claimed to have done is a deficient half-done one, if that, failing to fulfil the desired legislative objective.

05. Ibn al-Qayyim (rahimahullaah) comments on the verse, "And thus do we explain the signs in detail so that the path of the criminals becomes plain" (6:55) in al-Fawaa'id (pp. 157-162):

And Allaah, the Exalted, has explained in His Book the path of the Believers in detail and the path of the criminals in detail, the end-result of both these and the end-result of those, the actions of these and the actions of those, the allies of these and the allies of those, His granting success to these and His desertion of those, the means through which He granted success to these and the means through which He deserted those. And He, the Sublime, made the two affairs apparent in His Book, He uncovered them, clarified them and explained them in extreme (detail) unti the visions (of the eyes) witness them like the witnessing of the eyes of light and misguidance...

So those who work by Allaah's (aid), His Book and His Deen, know the path of the Believers with detailed knowledge and the path of the Criminals with detailed knowledge and the two paths have become evidently clear to them just like the path which leads to a person's goal and the path that leads to his destruction (both) become clear to him. So they are the most knowledgeable of the truth, the greatest in benefit to them, and most sincere in advice to them, and they are pointers, guides (for the creation).

And the Companions excelled (in this regard) over all of those who came after them until the Day of Judgement. For they were raised in the path of misguidance, disbelief, polytheism, and the paths that lead to destruction, and they knew them in detail. Then the Messenger came to them, and removed them from those darknesses to the paths of guidance and the straight path of Allaah. So they came out of the severe darkness to complete guidance, from Shirk to Tawhid, from ignorance to knowledge, from misguidance to guidance, from injustice to justice, from confusion and blindness to guidance and insight. So they knew the worth of what they had attained and were successful (victorious) with it and they knew the worth of what they used to be upon. For the goodness of an opposite is made clear by its opposite, and the realities of things are made clear by their opposites. So they increased in their desire and love for what they had moved to (of guidance), and aversion and hatred of what they moved away from. And they were the most loving of people for Tawhid, Eemaan and Islaam, and the most hating of people for its opposite, knowing the path in detail.

As for those who came after the Companions, amongst them were those who were raised in Islam, not knowing its detail in opposite and some of the details of the path of the Believers became confused with the path of the criminals to him. Confusion occurs when knowledge of the two paths becomes weak, or one of them, just as Umar bin al-Khattaab said, "The handholds of Islam will break one by one when a people are raised in Islam not knowing Jaahiliyyah." And this is from the perfection of knowledge of Umar (radiyallaahu anhu), because when a person does not know Jaahiliyyah and it ruling - for every time he opposes what the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) came with, then is from Jaahiliyyah because it is ascribed to ignorance - and everytime he opposes the Messenger, then it is from ignorance. So whoever does not know the path of the criminals, it will not be clear to him, or if he doubts and presumes that some (part) of the path (that he is in) is from the path of the Believers, as occurred to some of this ummah in many affairs pertaining to creed, knowledge and action, which were in reality from the path of the criminals and disbelievers, enemies of the Messengers. Such a one who does not know that they are from the path (of the criminals) will enter them into the path of the Believers, and will call to them, and will declare whoever opposes them a disbeliever, and will make lawful (with respect to them) what Allaah and His Messenger made unlawful, as occurred from most of the people of innovation from the Jahmiyyah, Qadariyyah, Khawaarij, Rawaafid and their likes, from those who innovated and called to (their innovation) and declared as disbelievers those who opposed it.

And the people in this subject are of four groups

  • The first: He to whom the path of the Believers and the path of the criminals has become clear in detail, in knowledge and practice, they are the most knowledgeable of creation

  • The second group: He who is blind to both paths from those who resemble the animals, they are unique in the path of the criminals and greater followers of it.

  • The third group: He who turned his concern to knowing the path of the Believers (in detail) as opposed to its opposite, he knows its opposite in general terms and as regards to its opposition (to the path of the believers), and that everything that opposes the path of the Believers is futile, even if he does not conceive it in detail...

  • The fourth group: A group that knows the paths of evil, innovation and disbelief in detail and the path of the believers in general...

The intent is that Allaah, the Sublime, loves that the path of His enemies should be known so that it can be avoided and hated, just as He loves that the path of His allies can be known so that it can be loved and traversed. And in this knowledge there are such benefits and secrets that only Allaah knows, of the knowledge of the generality of His Ruboobiyyah, the Sublime, and His wisdom, the perfection of His Names and Attributes, and their connection to what they relate to (in matters of creation), and what they bring about of effects and things necessitated by them. All of that (comprises) the greatest of evidences for His Ruboobiyyah, His dominion and His Uloohiyyah, His love and hate and His reward and punishment.

There are many great benefits in the above statement of Ibn al-Qayyim and many of the scholars have highlighted them in their writings - it is outside the scope of this article to detail them. Our purpose from the above passage is to briefly show the nature of the call of the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and of the Companions (radiyallaahu anhum) and of the Salaf and of the Salafi scholars in that they make the two paths clear and do not suffice with a generalization of one path only in the course of calling people to either Islam, or Sunnah and Salafiyyah or warning from Shirk, Kufr and Bid'ah. This is even more so when we are dealing with the specific type and nature of the kufr that is with the "Nation of Islam" because they are similar in many respects to the Baatiniyyah Zanaadiqah who openly ascribe to Islam whilst concealing disbelief and many of those who follow the "Nation of Islam", from those who are ignorant are misled by the likes of these, not knowing the falsehood of the dajjaals that lead and direct them and deceive them through their Baatini-type ta'weelaat (interpretations) and distorted explanations of the creed of the Muslims. So when a person addresses them in generalities (and calls this "wisdom in da'wah") then he has not truly grasped, understood and appreciated the reality of what the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) came with of making tahqeeq (ascertainment) of the haqq and ibtaal (invalidation) of the baatil such that the path to Jannah and the path to Jahannam are visually and vividly apparent to the one being called to. See the point below from Tynetta Muhammad (wife of Elijah Muhammad) to understand the significance of what has just been mentioned and you will immediately see the naivety of Tahir Wyatt.

06. The fatwas Tahir Wyatt cited from the Permanent Committee relate to a person who enters a church in order to speak to Christians and call them to Tawhid, informing them that what they are upon is Shirk, that it clashes with what Eesaa (alayhis salaam) brought and will enter them in the Fire and he clarifies the true status of Eesaa (alayhis salaam) and so on. Tahir Wyatt tried to use these fatwa's to justify his action, along the lines that if going into a church for giving da'wah is permissible, then how about what I did, when I did not even enter any premises or share a platform with any speaker? This is either from his naivety or he is pretending to be ignorant of the difference between what is in those fatwas and how he got used (whatever his intentions might have been in the process). If Tahir Wyatt entered a ministry amongst the ministries of the "Nation of Islam" in order speak to individuals amongst them to call them to authentic Islam, his use of those fatawa would have been appropriate, and even then, it is still not exactly the same. This is because there is a difference between a Church where it is clear that these are non-Muslims whereas with a Nation of Islam mosque or ministry, the common folk see them as Muslims, which means the ambiguity and confusion is greater, despite them being greater disbelievers than the Christians. Thus, if one is going to make da'wah within their places, circles of platforms (which includes radio stations), then their kufr better be made as clear as the daylight sun, without any ambiguity, "so that the path of the criminals is made evident". But what do we have? A "Nation of Islam" orientated group featuring Tahir Wyatt, doing posters for him, presenting him as a black person from the ghetto becoming a big achiever, alongside 24 others participating in the month-long program who are mostly ministers from the Nation, or Jahmiyyah, or entertainers or Ikhwanis, all of them being highlighted as achievers coming from the black community (undertones of black nationalism that the "Nation of Islam" is known for) and then Team Farrakhan boasts about the spirit of unity shown by Bro. Tahir, then that is a different scenario altogether. Rather than admitting that he got played and used for the tactical benefit of the Nation of Kufr (irrespective of his good intention), Tahir Wyatt is trying to pull the wool over our eyes by distorting and twisting texts and verdicts and hinging his entire defence on what turns out in retrospect to be a blatant lie as has preceded (the alleged "initiative to teach the Sunnah").

07. As for Tahir Wyatt's analogy with the incident of the blind man, then the action of the Messenger (sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) was that he turned away from that which was beneficial to what he thought was more beneficial, though attending to the poor blind man would have been better because he was more open to guidance than the affluent nobles amongst the Quraish and the benefit would have been clearly attainable. The scholars have derived from this incident a principle which is (لا يترك أمر معلوم لأمر موهوم) "A known matter is not abandoned for an imagined one" and (ولا مصلحة متحققة لمصلحة متوهمة), "Nor a certain, attainable benefit (abandoned) for an imagined one" (refer to Tafsir al-Sa'dee). Appearing on a radio station operated by the "Nation of Islam" where your 12 minute message will be drowned and washed ashore in just the next few minutes, let alone, hours or days is not a type of benefit whose attainment is certain. [Immediately after Tahir Wyatt's telelink a female ("Sister Neesa") comes on the show to promote an event in Detroit where Nation ministers and Louis Farrakhan will be attending, encouraging the listeners not to miss the event.] The benefit the verse is speaking of is about one who comes to you, is open to guidance, wanting to know, seeking it and coming to you for it. Tahir Wyatt on the other hand was approached by some unknown middle-aged person and ended up being a participant in a program that cannot be considered anything but a promotion of "Nation of Islam" and its activities - far from "an initiative to teach people the Sunnah" - a lie Tahir Wyatt is relying upon to construct his defence. Once more, to make it clear, if we take Tahir Wyatt upon his claim of good intentions, the reality is Tahir, that you got set up, you got played and used for the tactical benefit of those running the show and Team Farrakhan spelt it out for you in their "unity" tweet on the 19th July. Either you were lied to by the unnamed individual in Maryland or there is more to the story that you are not revealing. At the time of writing your clarification, it would have been clear to you that you had been lied to and that you were not appearing as part of "an initiative to teach the Sunnah". However, you needed this bit of information (that you knew to be a lie at the time of writing) to formulate the backbone of your defence. This means you knowingly used what you would have reasonably known by that time to be a lie (because you observed the criticism against you) and around that lie you utilized the texts and verdicts of the scholars, being too proud to admit you got played by the Nation of Kufr. Nothing to be surprised about that when we realize that you are from the people of tamyee'.

08. There are numerous talbeesaat (deceptions) in Tahir Wyatt's writing which he thought would go unnoticed - founded around the lie which he requires to be true ("an initiative to teach the Sunnah") in order for his clarfication to hold water. Let's take the following as just one illustrative example:

If one is allowed to give dawah in churches and synagogues where kufr is preached night and day, then a radio program where some speakers may say things contrary to Islam is permissible a fortiori.

He tries to mix a number of things together and treat them as if they are like for like. The scenario in those verdicts of the Permanent Committee is when you enter into a church to speak to the people and to tell them that what they are doing is Shirk, unacceptable to Allah and will land them eternally in the Fire and that Eesaa (alayhis salaam) was merely a Messenger who ate food and drank water and that worshipping him is futile and that he himself did not call to that and will free himself from that. Tahir Wyatt tries to pretend (remember he is writing after the event and after he has been criticized) that his action can be fitted into the general spirit of these verdicts. Let's just change the scenario a little. Imagine Tahir Wyatt appearing on a Barelwi radio show on day 19 of Ramadan and on the other days we have the likes of Tahir al-Qadir, Pir Saqib Shami and a host of other Barelwi speakers, alongside a few token Ikhwanis, and the out of place Wahhabi. Or imagine Tahir Wyatt appears on an Ash'ari radio show and on other days are mostly Jahmite Ash'aris, Sufis with a few token Ikhwanis and he is the out of place Wahhabi. Now, whether Tahir Wyatt decided to deliver his lecture because a man told him there was an initiative to teach the Sunnah to grave-worshippers, or an initiative to teach aqidah to Jahmites is irrelevant, because, these people have not allowed him to come and address their audience except because they have a tactical benefit for their own organization, which is to make it appear that there is unity and other Muslims are united with them and everything is happy and fine, this being a means to convey legitimacy for themselves and what they profess. This leads to a legitimization of their da'wah and their program. This is what Tahir Wyatt was initially and rightfully criticized for, but pride has got in his way and has clouded his thinking and led him to depend upon what he knew to be a lie at the time of writing his clarification because it's the only basis he could use for a defence of his action.

09. If we ignore all the above and say for argument's sake that Tahir Wyatt was justified in his action and we look at his brief lecture then (according to his claimed objective), it is in opposition to the way of the Prophets and Messengers in clarifying the truth. Shaykh al-Islam Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhaab mentions [in "Six Incidents From the Seerah"] the reason why enmity was shown to the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam):

The second incident: That when he (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) began to warn them from Shirk and command them with its opposite, which is Tawhid, they did not dislike that. Rather they deemed it good (acceptable) and conversed with their souls about entering into it [Tawhid], up until he [the Messenger] made clear revilement upon their religion and declared ignorant their scholars whereupon they rallied to show enmity to him and his companions.

Now, to make it clear, we are not suggesting that a person go and openly abuse and revile the likes of Farrakhan or those deemed as scholars to an audience of Nationers. Rather, the shaahid (point of evidence) in the above is that it is not sufficient just to outline the broad truth in a casual way, without detailing the falsehood, criticising it and showing it to be repugnant, and nor to suffice with a generalized statement (worship Allaah alone) which the invited party is not going to disagree upon (because that's what they believe they are doing) without detailing the falsehood until no ambiguity is left to the person being invited. Stating, casually and in passing (and not as an actual subject matter itself), to the "Nation of Islam" that Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) is the final messenger cannot be defended here as being from wisdom, since they will readily accept this and say "He is the final messenger for the Arabs, but not for us" and other such things. But more importantly, here is the real point: When the "Nation of Islam" explicitly state as one of their beliefs on their official website "WE BELIEVE that Allah (God) appeared in the Person of Master W. Fard Muhammad, July, 1930; the long-awaited "Messiah" of the Christians and the "Mahdi" of the Muslims" - then addressing the finality of Messengership (very casually at that) and ignoring this most manifest kufr is a sign of the weakness of Tahir Wyatt's understanding in fundamental matters and also shows that the self-congratulatory pat-on-the-back by Tahir Wyatt of his own action was a little premature. He is obviously clueless and oblivious to how he got used. The Nation of Kufr made tactical use of Tahir Wyatt presenting him in the show as a black kid from the ghetto who made it big and got himself educated in a prestigious university abroad, it all fits in with the black-centric call of the Nation of Kufr. Other speakers for the show were largely presented in a similar way. The poster for his talk was done by a woman who creates websites for "mosques and churches" and straight after his talk a woman comes on to promote a Farrakhan event in Detroit. Sure, he made a casual reference to the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam's) finality of messengership, but that is going to make little difference and will be drowned out as soon as Tahir gets off the line. The tactical benefit gained by the Nation of Kufr through their month long Ramadan event dwarfs the good that Tahir Wyatt, in his oblivion to realities, thought he could bring about.

10. The wife of Elijah Muhammad, Tynetta Muhammad wrote a piece on the history of the "Nation of Islam" on the official NOI website, within which she states: "This is the Beautiful Community of the Nation of Islam that is coming to birth in America on this Farthest Western Horizon in fulfillment of the Prophecy that God would meet with Muhammad for a second time and reveal to His servant What He Revealed." When the Nation of Kufr teach the likes of this to their followers, then stating very casually that Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) is the final messenger, whether you add "Ibn Abdullah" or not is not going to go a long way in taking these people out of their kufr because whatever you affirm is not disagreeable to them and will fit in somehow within the Baatinee type ta'weelaat that these types of cults are operating upon - and this once more shows the naivety of Tahir Wyatt and also his opposition to the methodology of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) in making plain the truth from falsehood in the course of da'wah. What we are seeing here are the results of operating on that Tamyee'ee slogan "wisdom in da'wah" which is not really wisdom in da'wah as required legislatively, but actions based on some other unrevealed considerations which are then labelled as "wisdom in da'wah" with verdicts and texts twisted in order to justify such actions.

11. The above is what happens when you make zuhd (abstain) from the Ulamaa' who would have kept you in balance and moderation between laxity and extremism and whose clarifications in matters of usool and manhaj and in the arena of da'wah would have given you solid foundations and principles which if implemented would have protected you from being used by Ahl al-Bid'ah, let alone Ahl al-Kufr. A slow and thoughtful read of Shaykh Ubayd al-Jaabiree's "Jinaayat at-Tamayyu' Ala al-Manhaj al-Salafi" (the Crime of Tamayyu' Upon the Salafi Manhaj) would be worthwile before the end of Ramadan (here).

12. It is worthy here to make a note about Shadeed Muhammad (another graduate from the madrasah of Madeenah.Com) who is very open about the direction he has taken. We see him on the platforms of mosques such as Masjidullah in Philadelphia, run by sympathizers of "Nation of Islam" (see poster) and this mosque is known to host Louis Farrakhan (see example event). You can observe the people from Masjidullah sat with Farrakhan (see here). We also see him retweeting the dajjaal, kadhdhaab, false prophet Louis Farrakhan and he has a range of da'wah interactions with these types of people, who are Nation followers and supporters. What is going on? Here it is: People like Shadeed Muhammad and Tahir Wyatt are seeking fresh audiences to project their personalities because the Salafi communities by and large have no trust in them due to their past dealings and history. People are flocking to Salafiyyah because they see clarity, they want clarity. No one is going to pick up the murky glass of water sat next to the clean glass of water. The hearts are naturally inclined to clarity (tafseel) and lack of ambiguity. They recognize where this clarity is coming from and where it can be found. These people (like Shadeed Muhammad, Tahir Wyatt and their counterparts in other countries), because they are not upon this manhaj of clarity and operate in ambiguity (or behind the shadows), know that established Salafi communities are a dead end for them because they are not trusted any more. So they are seeking fertile ground, to acquire new audiences and this is why we see Tahir Wyatt spending a large part of his opening in his 12 page PDF clarification in explaining that the da'wah of Islam should be taken and spread to all people and is not just for the scholar. That is fine - no one disputes that - so long as it is done upon the correct methodology and for clearly attainable benefits. But that is not what we are actually seeing in practice. These people are wanting to make in-roads into new communities to gain new audiences and thus, these types of interactions with the Nation and their sympathizers. In the case of Shadeed Muhammad it is blatant and clear. He is out to develop his celebrity figure within a black-centric milieu (social environment). He was previously laughed at for his pathetic pseudo-intellectual refutations against Salafis whereby he would cite disbelieving black nationalists alongside the speech of Allaah, the Exalted and the speech of the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam). In the case of Tahir Wyatt he got used by the Nation either due to his naivety or because his perceptions and actions are guided by a tamyee'ee manhaj whose outcomes and results he has not yet woken up to, and this incident is the perfect example to illustrate that.

13. Finally, just so that the matters are abundantly clear to people outside of Philadelphia - and to indicate more clearly that people like Tahir Wyatt and Shadeed Muhammad are in cooperation with open sympathizers of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Kufr, in the first picture below, the person wearing the black and white sports top is Kenny Gamble (Luqman Abdul-Haqq) from the United Muslim Masjid (UMM). He is sat with that taghoot, kafir, mushrik, dajjaal Louis Farrakhan (the second person to his right). These are the types of people that Tahir Wyatt and Shadeed Muhammad are cooperating with. Shadeed Muhammad was an Imaam at this mosque (UMM) and Tahir Wyatt gave a lecture there a few weeks ago (see middle picture) and Munir Muhammad is on the role too (see end picture).

These things are out in the open in Philadelphia and may not be known to the rest of us in other cities and lands. The affair of these people is clear for he whose heart Allaah has opened to the truth. We finish by saying that if you see a man walking on water, flying in the sky or even sat in the Prophet's Mosque teaching the people (in the case of Tahir Wyatt), do not be amazed but verify that he is a person of the Sunnah in his qawl (speech), amal (action), da'wah (methodology in to Allaah) and mu'aamalah (dealings), for many have passed in history with great credentials yet they were misguided by Allaah and became callers to misguidance, and that never happened overnight, but in small incremental steps, and refuge is with Allaah. We ask Allaah, the Exalted for safety, ameen.

Written by Abu Iyaad 28th Ramadan 1435H / 26th July 2014.



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