Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Question reagarding scolar named:

Shaykh `Abdul-`Azeez Ibn `Abdullaah Ibn `Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Baaz.

I read about this scolar:

http://www.fatwa-online.com/scholarsbiographies/15thcentury/ibnbaaz.htm

However i also read:

the Saudi state’s well-compensated ulama, lead by Shaykh ibn Baz, issued a fatwa supporting the Saudi royal family and authorizing military intervention in the sacred precincts of the Ka’ba. The fatwa justified the brutal suppression that followed, which culminated in the shedding of blood inside the holy mosque.

http://www.muslimwakeup.com/main/archives/2004/09/wahhabism_and_t.php

This is what a friend of mine describes as a `scolars for dollars`

Now my question is: If he was such a good scolar, why would he give such a fatwa,

and secondly: Is such a fatwaa correct?

And finally: what are your personal views on this scolar?

Jazak Allaah Kheir 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Blood shed in Kaaba

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

The late Shaykh Abdul-Azeez Ibn Baaz is recognized, respected, and accepted as one of the best scholars in Islam of the late 20^th century. From what is known of this scholar is that although he was absolutely blind, he spent his childhood and youth studying and then teaching the sciences of Islam, was highly knowledgeable in the matters of Islamic Law and Fiqh, and he spent his entire life trying to bring the Ummah of believers together, and until his last breath tirelessly served the Cause of Islam.

Your Question: Now my question is: If he was such a good scolar, why would he give such a fatwa, and secondly: Is such a fatwaa correct?

Beloved brother in Islam, we assume that the supposed ‘fatwa’ of the late Shaykh ibn-Baaz conerns the unfortunate incidents that transpired almost 20-25 years ago when a group of armed men entered the Sacred House of Allah in Makkah, declared the advent of a ‘Imam Mahdi’ amongst them, took a number of pilgrims as hostages inside the Sacred Precinct, closed the doors and entrances to the Sacred Mosque, and even killed a number of policemen and guards inside the Sacred Mosque in their efforts to start a rebellion against the regime of the then Saudi Monarch.

Such was the turmoil caused by this rebellion that the Sacred House was completely closed and unaccessible to the pilgrims for a period of almost two weeks, and it was the first time in recorded history that tawaaf and congregational prayers were suspended in the Sacred Mosque in Makkah during this period. Apparently an effort was made by the governing authorities to calm the situation through dialogue with the armed rebels who were holed up in the Sacred Mosque; but when the effort was unsuccessful the rebellion was put down by force.

Your Question: and secondly: Is such a fatwaa correct?

Beloved brother in Islam, one has a right to agree or disagree with the fatwas or legal rulings of any scholar, including the late Shaykh ibn-Baaz….but to try to read into his intentions, or to say of one who is dead that he was a ‘scholar for dollars’ is highly unjustified.

As holy and as sacrosanct the Sacred Precinct of Makkah is, if even today someone were to enter and lay siege the Sacred House of Allah by force, threaten the sanctity of the Holy Precincts, and put the lives of the pilgrims inside at risk…..the law would and should be allowed to take its course and put an end to the unjustified and unprovoked rebellion.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 190-193:

190 Fight in the Cause of Allah those who fight you but do not transgress limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors.

191 And slay them wherever ye catch them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred Mosque unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you slay them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith.

192 But if they cease Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.

193 And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and there prevail justice and faith in Allah; but if they cease let there be no hostility, except to those who practice oppression.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan