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The Misguided Ikhwani Shadeed Muhammad: Part 3 - The Prophet is Not Referred to as an 'Alpha Male' and His Marriages are not Explained by Lack of Maternal Love
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Friday, September 08 2017 - by Abu.Iyaad
Key topics: Shadeed Muhammad

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We shall address the content of these tweets in this article, but before we do that, we need to provide some background to our response, and for this we turn to a clip in which Shadeed Muhammad speaks of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) as 'an alpha male' and also speaks of himself as "we [alpha males]." To describe the Prophet with this term "alpha-male" is not befitting and reduces him from his lofty, noble, humble, upright, truthful character.

In a video interview published 8 August 2017, the subject of which is polygyny (a male having more than one wife) Shadeed speaks of love and how it operates on its own frequency and as an emotion, it is not supposed to make sense. He quotes Shakespeare, "Vain is the person who believes that emotions are supposed to make sense" and he mentions this in the context of a non-Muslim woman (female singer, rapper) who said that, in order to keep her partner (a stand up comedian and actor), she would be willing to accept him having another relationship, because of her love for him . He then speaks of love as a weakness, a vulnerability and how it requires you to let your walls down and how people keep the walls up, put on a facade, an outer show, with which their partner falls in love, instead of the real person they are. Over the next five minutes or so he speaks with respect to relationship, love and its manifestation, and the topic moves to whether men express love differently (to women).

At the 8:30 mark he speaks about how there are different ways of expressing love, based on a book he read, and from them are giving gifts, and service and spending money. It is here where we Shadeed moves on to mention the 'alpha male' (listen to mp3 audio):

Some people like to spend their money, you know they spend money and they buy things and this is usually the way that men, you know, especially alpha males, this is the way that we, because alpha males are not necessarily in tune with their emotional side... an alpha male is that lion in the pack, leader of the pack... a man's man, absolutely, Prophet Muhammad (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) was the epitome of an alpha male, but he was from a select few of alpha men who was in touch with that emotional side...

Then in the same clip above he continues to say that the upbringing of the Prophet who lost his mother at six years old and the numerous wet nurses in his life, that this upbringing had an impact upon him going into polygyny.

Had the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) grown up in an environment where he had his biological mother and had a more profound connection, this maternal love, would he have even gone into polygyny the way that he has? Can we say that his upbringing had no impact or no bearing on him going into polygyny later on in his life? I would say that it did have an impact.

On the above two issues there are a number of points:

  1. First, the term "alpha male" represents a disputed concept and has with it conceptual baggage which is negative and degrading. It is now considered false by many and David Mech, the biologist whose study on wolves popularised the term in the 1970s, has changed his views and recognises his research was flawed and drew conclusions that were not accurate (see his page, with links to his latest research). It refers to the notion of a domineering male within a group, or a socially dominant man who is thereby more able to mate with females due to use of aggression. The concept was developed after observations and studies of animals, though the initial research that gave rise to the concept has been challenged and disputed. The basic idea is that alpha males dominate other males, and an alpha male lion by way of example, dominates his territory, he has the right to hunt in the territory over all others, he will eat first, he also has, by way of his domineering quality, access to sexual relations with all females, he also fights off all other lions for these rights of food and sex. He is competitive, vocal and so on. Among wolves (the study of whom gave rise to the concept of alpha male), alpha males chase off other males that try to mate with females. An alpha male imposes his will on others, dominates, fends off... so we get the general idea.

    On the back of this idea a whole industry has been spawned in the self-development, psychology field catering to weak men, there is a lot of commercialisation and much of it relates to dating, relationships and sex, with the use of the 'alpha male' term as a metaphor.

  2. It is not permissible to refer to the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) with such terms which comprise concepts and refer to traits which are blameworthy and degrading, terms which were coined after the study of wolves and primates such as chimpanzees, gorillas, monkeys and macaques. Rather, that which we know about the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) is his freedom and innocence from the blameworthy, lowly traits that are comprised in this term (alpha male).

    The hadith of Abu Saeed al-Khudree: "The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) was more shy than a virgin behind her veil. When he saw something which he disliked, we could perceive it on his face." Bukhari and Muslim. The Prophet was not a controlling, domineering person (88:22), he was gentle and not harsh (3:159), he was not motivated by food, lust or power, he was guided by revelation and so on, he was described in the Torah as one who does not shout or raise his voice in the streets or markets. We could bring at this point many texts, from the Qur'an and the Sunnah to show that the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi waasallam) is free from the degrading aspects of this term, 'alpha-male', from the conceptual baggage associated with this term. Shadeed's speech also implies the Companions were 'alpha males' as well. As this is only a short article and not a full response, we are only making quick, concise points. But we could bring lots of texts here which describe the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and describe the Companions (radiyallaahu anhum).

  3. Now of course, there will be some traits and qualities within this term which on their own--outside of the context in which the "alpha male" term was coined--are praiseworthy, such as courage, boldness, leadership and so on. It is possible for Shadeed to come back, to respond and say that he is highlighting positive meanings, and we are not denying there are traits that are positive when isolated from the general concept of an 'alpha male' and when they stand on their own right. So this is the issue, the term "alpha-male" is an entire concept that was coined within a specific context, which is the study of primates, animals, and within this term are degrading qualities and traits, it has conceptual baggage which is degrading. So, if we grant this to Shadeed, that he intended something positive, then we are still justified in criticising Shadeed for using this particular term, this choice of words. And the reality is that there is a pattern, Shadeed uses less than desirable words to refer to the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam), he lies against the Prophet's wife Aa'ishah (radiyallaahu anhaa) and gives ammunition for the Raafidah, he speaks ill of the scholars today who defend the methodology of the Prophets in da'wah to Allaah from the deviations of Hasan al-Banna and he is one of those who is clearly following the methodology of Hassan al-Banna in da'wah and misguiding his audience to whom he has marketed himself as a social reformer who will relieve them of their ills and and fight injustices, just like Hasan al-Banna. So all of these are clear signs that Shadeed is misguided in his statements and his actions, there is a pattern. We see a clear orientation.

  4. It is as if Shadeed Muhammad refers to himself as part of that group of alpha males, because he says, "and this is usually the way that men, you know, especially alpha males, this is the way that we,..." And if he says that the word "we" was referring not to alpha males but the previous clause, "and this is usually the way that men"... meaning referring to men in general, then in that case we are still justified in saying that Shadeed considers himself an alpha male by virtue of the two tweets that are pictured above. In them, Shadeed is showing what he believes are 'alpha male' qualities, making threats and being aggressive and saying that the "game is on". That, at least, is role playing the 'alpha male'.

  5. Also, Shadeed Muhammad is essentially saying that due to the lack of a profound connection in childhood, due to a shortage of maternal love (because of his mother passing away at six) that this led the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) to enter into polygyny later in his life. Who gave you this specific knowledge that this lack of maternal affection and attention impacted the Prophet's entering into polygyny? Is this the way you speak about the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam)?! This again is the type of speech and language you expect from non-Muslims This opens the door to casting aspersions about the character of the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) and his actions, wherein social, psychological and political reasons and explanations are given behind his Prophethood and his actions and choices. All of this speech is the type of speech used by disbelieving Orientalists and social anthropologists, wherein they try to give reasons and explanations of behaviours from a purely materialistic points of view. And this is again, is not befitting, it is not permissible to speak about the Prophet (sallallaahuu alayhi wasallam) in this manner.

    The Prophet's two marriages to Sawdah and Aa'isha (radiyallaahu anhumaa) were after the death of Khadeejah (radiyallaahu anhaa) and his uncle Abu Taalib who had been a source of protection for him against the Quraysh. That was a difficult time period. Then his other marriages had objectives and wisdoms behind them, involving humanitarian considerations, issues of facilitating teaching of the religion, cementing tribal relationships (in order to weaken enmity towards him) and fostering peace and so on. How can you come along and say that the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) entered into polygyny because he did not have a profound maternal connection and was absent maternal love after the death of his mother?! This is evil speech, built upon ignorance, it is the type of speech you would expect from atheists, evolutionists, anthropologists and so on. And in reality, this type of speech comes from Shadeed is because this is the type of material he is reading, to make himself appear smart, refined, educated and intellectual to his audience.

This now brings us back to Shadeed's threats in his tweets:

And upon this are a number of points:

  1. Is Shadeed trying to act like an alpha male here? These are threats, "Whoever you are, you have my attention. And trust me, this is not gonna end well for you." In the original study of David Mech, he concluded that, aggression was part and parcel of the way an 'alpha male' wolf behaves in the field.

  2. Shadeed adds a hashtag "#gameon". Sorry, the religion is not a game. You were criticised for many legitimate reasons: Your disdain of the affair of Tawhid (see article), your Ghuluww and jahl in speech (see here), your blatant Ikhwani methodology (see here) and your lies upon the Companions (see here) and there is much more. The scholars have spoken of your errors and criticised you, as did Shaykh Ubayd who said of you "daall, mudill", a misguided strayer who misguides others, (mp3 audio). So this is not a game, its only a game in your mind, a fantasy, wherein you are wrongly presuming that you are an alpha male lion in the field of your social media followers. Dream on.

  3. We are not cowards walhamdulillaah. We have stood against deviants who were smarter, more intelligent, coherent and upright than you, such as Ali Timimi in the 1990s and his likes who were nowhere near the misguidance that you are upon. You are much further down the scale because of your disdain of the role of Tawhid in rectification and your soft stances towards Batini Kafirs like Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Kufr and your scorn for white men who refute them and expose their lies, kufr and shirk, just because they are white and those being refuted are black. This is tremendous corruption of the heart and shows defect in al-walaa wal-baraa which itself can only stem from the lack of veneration of Tawhid in your heart. And from Tawhid is to make baraa'ah from shirk and its people, and there are no greater mushriks than the Baatinee Kafirs of the Nation of Kufr who believe that black men are divine.

  4. As for your statement: "A coward throws a punch and hide behind his friends. A man stands on his own two feet and faces what is in front of him." We understand this language well, as did our Salaf. It is the language of deviants who--when their falsehood and misguidance is exposed--wish to engage in debate and disputation so that they have an opportunity to clothe their falsehood and make it appear palatable and to defend it and promote it. The Salaf did not debate Innovators and deviants, and this is our methodology. The aathaar of the Salaf could be quoted here (which to your allies and supporters would not amount to dalil in any case). We refute opposition to the truth and to the Salafi methodology. If you want to polish your ego and repair your image and develop those 'alpha-male' qualities, go and do it in the mirror, or go and join those wolves, lions, chimps and gorillas in their natural habitats.

  5. It is plainly obvious that Shadeed was not moved and stirred by his clear and serious errors, but only because his errors have been pointed out and because it has been shown that he is not upon the Salafi methodology, rather he is an Ikhwani, and he harbours hate and resentment against those who defend the Salafi methodology from his deviations. So this now is the ego, it is Shadeed's ego that has been mobilised, making threats and treating this issue as if it is "game on" in the field, just like lions and wolves and chimps and monkeys, the 'alpha males' among them, how they behave in the field, according to the theory. As for us, then we are followers of the manhaj of the Prophet and his Companions, we speak the truth and do not fear the blame of the blamers and nor those who boast about being alpha males or exhibit that type of behaviour. This show of bravado will avail you nothing when you are in opposition to the path of the Messenger in your statements, your methodologies, your actions.

In summary, the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) is free and innocent of the description of 'alpha-male' it is not befitting for him and the term itself leads to a slighting of his loftiness. Rather he should only be spoken with using terms in the Book and the Sunnah, that is most befitting. Likewise, it is not permissible to speak about the Prophet (such as in the issue of his upbringing and polygyny) in the way that non-Muslims, Orientalists, anthropologists and their likes speak, because that is speaking without knowledge, it is lying, it is speculating and it opens the door to evil.

As for Shadeed who is either happy to refer to himself as an 'alpha male' (a pseudo-scientific concept) or tries to act like one in front of his social media audience, then as we said, this concept is challenged and it is not accurate, and perhaps Shadeed will benefit from the words of Neuroscientist Dean Burnett in his article for the Guardian, 'Do Alpha Males Even Exist?'

Maybe the supposed human alpha male is a combination of disgruntled male wish fulfilment and borderline-pseudoscientific justification for resorting to bullying, intimidation and generally all-round unpleasant behaviour by men hoping to impose their will on a world they find too complex and unnerving so revert to their baser instincts to get what they want, despite knowing deep down they don't deserve it and shouldn't have it?

Shadeed is disgruntled because he was looking for celebrity status and Salafiyyah does not deal in 'celebrityship' it deals in beneficial knowledge and righteous action upon the foundation of Tawhid through a Prophetic/Salafi methodology as a means of rectifying the servant and the land and this by necessity, is a difficult, hard and long path, because the enemies or opposers of Tawhid are many, or those who deviate from it are many such as the Jahmiyyah Soofiyyah, Ashariyyah, Jabariyyah, Baatiniyyah (like the Nation of Kufr),the Ikhwanis and others, and they are out there in the field today. And also for Shadeed, the world, as it relates to al-Khalq wal-Amr (Creation and the Command) and the actions of Allaah and the wisdoms (hikam) behind them, and analysing the world through all of this, is too complex for Shadeed. It is too unnerving for him to read from Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim on these issues, and thus he reverts to baser instincts to get what he wants, as represented by pseudo-scientific babble, trying to be an alpha male.

After the Madeenah dot con conspiracy was exposed and dismantled by 2010, Shadeed came out and acknowledged that conspiracy for what it was and also acknowledged that it had Tahir Wyatt in its background in the meeting he had in Birmingham. We see in some statements he issued in 2010:

After this Shadeed thought that Salafiyyah is a vehicle for celebrityship, which it isn't. It is about beneficial knowledge and righteous action, centred around Tawhid and connecting with scholars for guidance. So he never got what he was seeking and it is after this he learned and coined his oft-repeated terms such as "validation". He began speaking, using this term, disgruntled, resentful, and went to the social sciences to find ways and means with which to intellectually vent his frustration and his resentment.

For that reason, Shadeed abandoned the methodology of the Prophets and sought celebrityship by speaking about matters common to all, to non-Muslims, to everyone, about love, family, racism, injustice, brutality and so on. And so he reads from non-Muslim authors on these subjects and then presents citations and quotes from them in his articles. This focus on these types of issues naturally draws in a lot of people, a large audience, because of their appeal and because most people do not have a good appreciation of issues of methodology and Tawhid and al-Khalq wal-Amr and so on. If you listen to Louis Farrakhan for a while on social issues and injustice, and then you listen to Shadeed Muhammad, then you will not be able to tell the difference, its the same speech. At the same time he belittles the role of Tawhid in rectifying societies, is angered that a white man should refute the Batini Kafirs of the Nation of Islam just because they are black (see here) and the one refuting is white, and he rages against those who venerate the Tawhid of the Messengers and its primary role in rectifying the servant and the land, and he retweets Louis Farrakhans's statements:

One is reminded of the trait of those mentioned in the Qur'an: "So when they turned away (deviated from the path), Allah turned their hearts (from the right path.)" (61:5).

So what has happened is that Allaah has honoured the callers to Tawhid and the callers to the Salafi creed and you can see that tawfeeq that Allaah has given in that this da'wah is growing, and there are masaajid, maraakiz, there is tremendous unity--despite the false portrayals of the haters and jealous--and all of this grieves them and this is why there is a revival of what Abd al-Razzaq al-Shayijee and Ali al-Timimi were doing in the 1990s, what Abu al-Hasan al-Ma'ribi was doing in the early 2000s and what Madeenah dot con set out to do in the mid 2000s and now, we see the same category of people coming out and using the power of social media and the tube to continue the work of al-Shayijee and al-Timimi and al-Ma'ribi and their likes, which is to defame the Salafi scholars and those who follow them upon guidance upon the true Salafi methodology.

And the outcome of all of them was not good, because of the path they took, they swerved from the path and then began to love and hate on the basis of the errant path they chose, and to use the words of Shadeed appropriately and in their proper, truthful context: Trust me, it was never gonna end well for them.

Trust me Shadeed, if you continue down this path, this is not gonna end well for you, and this is not a threat at all, it is sincere advice. Many people have passed before you in the last quarter century whom we have witnessed taking the same path as you, save that your situation is very dire and more serious, and you are nowhere near their calibre. You are studying the social sciences, then you are trying to make the Qur'an and the Sunnah fit into the ideas you are picking up and falling into crimes against knowledge, against the Companions, against the Tawhid of the Messengers. Indeed your situation is a grave one and all we can do is make du'a for you for guidance and for ourselves to be protected from the calamity that you have entered yourself into.



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