“Ahbash” and their “Pesudo- Sunni” Beliefs

Ubah Abdusalam Seid

In this note, I listed down some points on which “Ahbash” differs from the whole “Ahlu Sunnah wal-Jama’a" (Sunni Muslims). I list this points according to what I read in their texts especially “Mukhtasar Sheikh Abdullah Al-Harari”, the discussion I made with the group members, and some audio tapes I listened. 
1. All Sunni Muslims believe Allah speaks. He speaks to his creatures as He likes. For example, He indeed spoke to Musa (a.s.). There is no difference on this. And we don’t enter to deep speculation on how he speaks, in what language he speaks, what is his sound etc..But the Ahbash believe that Allah doesn’t speak in a language, and He doesn’t have a sound since these are all human characters. “Any one who says so will become Kafir” (But they don’t have answer if you ask them “What about His speaking to Musa?”) 

2. Ahbash believe that “Begging Allah to save all Muslims from the hell fire is “kufr”. In this sense, reading the Ayats of Al-Qur’an such as ayah 201 of Surah Al-Baqarah is “Kufr”. But All Sunni Muslims believe that making such du’a in jama’a is very eesential. 
3. On Sahaba, I put down two points.

a)      Ahbash believe, “Allah said in the Qur’an “Abubaker was the Sahib (friend) of the Prophet. So anybody who says or believes “Abubakr was not a Sahabi (friend) of the prophet will become a Kafir because he has believed against the Qur’an”.

I don’t know why the Sheikh picked up this point and wrote down in his book called “Mukhtasar”. But it seemed as if it mean “you can criticize other sahabas to the extent that they were not the friends of the prophet”. This point has relation to the following one (read the next).

b)      As I wrote once, Ahbash believe “the slandering of Sahaba is forbidden. But this doesn’t include the Sahaba who rebelled against the Khilafa of Ali ibn Abi Talib”. That means you can curse or slander Sahabas like our mother A’isha, Al-Zubeyr ibn Awwam, Talha ibn Ubadullah, Moawiyah bin Abu Sufiyan, Amr ibn Al-As (r.a- all of them) etc..

But all “Ahlu Sunnah wal Jama’a” don’t differ on their stand of Sahaba. A Muslim can not criticize or curse any Sahaba of the prophet. But this doesn’t mean talking about the great “Fitna” that followed the death of Khalif Uthman ibn Affan (r.a) is forbidden. We can talk and teach their history. But critique, slandering, blsphemy, cursing, etc.. are forbidden.

5  4. They believe that non-Islamic practices like shrine veneration are very essential for Muslims. They say "Shrines of saints are places where prayers are accepted by Allah and his Barakah is abundant. But the Sunni Muslims believe "We can visit graves of Muslims. But we can't venerate the graves. Even we can't build a shrine on graves of Muslims." '
    5. Their view on "tawassul" (intercession) and "tabarruk" (seeking blessings of Allah) totally opposes Islamic Monotheism. It leads to shirk. 
F  6. Ahbash believe that there is no Zakat on paper money. They say "Zakat is given only from accumulation of gold and silver, agricultural products, cattle, sheep, goats, camels and commodity in trade."

6  7.  I hear that they believe taking interests from banks owned by non-Muslims is allowed. I didn’t hear this directly from their members and I don’t remember if read it from their texts. But as I read this on many Sunni websites, and I heard it from many people who are close to them, I may take it as their true belief.

7  8.  They believe using the Qur’anic ayah and expressions inside normal talking is “kufur” unless you are saying them for Da’wa or similar purposes. For example, if you see a cup filled with a tea and you say “And a full cup” (Sura Al-Naba’i: 34), you will become a Kafir. (remember that I am referring to the Qur’anic Ayahs in their Normal Arabic form. I don’t mean the translations. ).

This belief is true in one sense that the Qur’anic Ayahs must be respected and treated properly. However, I believe that we can use Qur’anic expressions in our speeches as long as we don’t do it for joking.

9   9. They believe “Sirat”, which is a bridge like path spread on “Jahannam”, is not as thin as a hair and as sharp as a blade as it is described in “Hadith”. The narration that described “Sirat” in that way is only to warn people against the terrorizing punishment of “the bridge”. But all Sunni Muslims believe “Sirat is exactly as it is described in Hadith”.

1  10. They believe that a person should take “Shahada” when he reaches the age of 15 (adolescence age). But we Sunni Muslims believe that this is the age when a personal duty of Ibada and Shari’a (“Fard Ayn”) will lay on a Muslim. A boy/girl who was born and raised up in Islam is already a Muslim. There is no need to take Shahada again.

1  9. The Ahbash jma’aa believe the following famous Muslim scholars were either “Kuffar”, or “Zindiq”, or“Khawarij”.

a.)    Sheikhul Islam Abul Abbas Ahmad Taqi’uddin ibn Taymiyyah:-He is the most hated figure in the teachings of Ahbash. They say he has started the greatest “Fitna” in the Muslim world. They even accuse him for what he had never said or thought.

b.)    Imam ibn Qayyim Al-Jawaziyyi:- is also highly hated by Ahbash.

c.)    Imam Al-Dhahabi is also highly cursed.  But I don’t know their stance of Imam Ibn Kathir. (Remember that Ibn Kathir, Ibn Qayyim and Al-Dhahabi were students of Imam Ibn Teymiyyah).

e.)    Sheikh Muhammad Ibn Abdulwahhab is also a highly cursed scholar by Ahbash.

f.)     Shahid Sayyid Qutb:- The Muslim scholar of 20th century whom the Ahbash hate more than anyone. He is preceded only by Sheikhul Islam ibn Teymiyyah.

g.)    Abul A’ila Mawdudi: Another Muslim scholar of the 20th century cursed by Ahbash.

i.)      Contemporary Sunni scholars like Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qardawi, Sheikh Nasruddin Al-Albani, Mufti Ibnu Baz, Sheikh Al-Utheymin etc are also cursed.

These are some beliefs in which “Ahbash” differ from “Ahlu Sunnah Wal-Jama’a”. We hate them not for having these beliefs, but for their saying “If you don’t believe in what we say, then you are “Kaffir”, or “Khawarij”. They recently declared “Takfir” on scholars like “Dr. Zakir Naik” and Dr. Abu Amina Bila Philips out of this blind extremism.

Ahbash and the Shia: Which one is better?

By Ubah Abdusalam Seid

 The Pseudo-Sunni group called “Ahbash” has been compared to the Shia Muslim faction by many viewers. However, it is a mistake to conclude the group as a pro-Shia despite its many Shi’a like beliefs. In some grounds, for Sunni Muslims, I truly believe that the Shi’a Muslims are better than “Ahbash”. To show this, let me list some of the similarities and dissimilarities between “Ahbash” and the Shia. 

1.       Similarities: “Ahbash” and the “Shia” have similar stands on the following points.

A.)   “Ahbash” highly argue about “tabaruk” (seeking the blessing of Allah by the Prophets, the saints, the Holy Qur’an, the good deeds etc…) and “tawasul”(intersession of prophets and saints between Allah and the believer) The same Shia.

B.)    Ahbash highly promote visiting, praying and making supplications around shrines. According to “Ahbash” teachings, building and decorating of shrines (especially the graves of the saintly figures) are among the highly rewardful deeds of a believer. The Shia have almost the same view.

C.)    On the Sahaba (companions of the Prophet- s.a.w),  the Ahbash teach “You can’t slander the Sahaba. But you can criticize and slander the Sahaba who rebelled against the Khilafa of Ali Ibn Abi Talib”. And you can hear them openly cursing the Sahaba included in this category such as the mother of the believers Ai’sha bint Abubakr, Al-Zubayr ibnul Awwam, Talha ibn Ubeydullah, Mo’awiya ibn Abu Sufiyan, Amr ibn Al-As etc (r.a). The Shi’a have also the same stance (But the Shi’a’s cursing extend to the three Khulafa’u Rashidin and some older Sahaba such as Khalid ibn Walid).

D.)   In Ramadan evenings, when most of the Muslims run for the “Taraweeh” prayer, “Ahbash”  disseminate an amazing confusion. They say “Tarweeh” is “nawafil” (supplementary) prayer. But education is “Fard” (obligation). So rather than making people busy on “Taraweeh”, it’s better to teach and learn knowledge”. So almost all of them don’t go to “Tarweeh” prayer. What do the Shi’a say? (Shi’a of course says “Taraweeh is ordered by Umar, not the prophet. So it is rejected”. But the Ahbash don’t say this straight forward. They bring another reason.)

E.)    The Ahbash’s chief Sufi order is Rifa’iyyah. This order is said to be founded by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Rifa’i (12^th century).  The silsila (spiritual chain) of the order joins Sheikh Ahmad Al-Rifa’i to the Prophet (r.a) through Ali ibn Abu Talib (r.a). And as you count the spiritual figures of the chain, you will come to the twelve Imams of the Shi’a (at the end).

F.)    Ahbash has strong argumentations for Mawlid (celebrating the birth day of the prophet-.s.a.w). They promote even the Mawlid of “Fatima Zahra” (daughter of the prophet- s.a.w) and other saints. Shi’a have also the same view of Mawlid. (Remember that Mawlid was introduced to the Muslims not by the Sunni scholars, but the Fatimid rulers of Egypt around 10-11 century. And the Fatmid were not Sunni, they were Isma’ili Shi’a.)

G.)   On their creeds of the Qur’an, the Shi’a believe that Qur’an is created and not eternal (Unlike Sunni Muslims who believe Qur’an to be Uncreated and Eternal Speech of Allah). But Ahbash take a mid way between the two. They Say “Although Qur’an is Uncreated and Eternal speech of Allah, this doesn’t refer to the Qur’an we read today because Allah doesn’t speech in human language, and His Speech doesn’t have a letter or sound”.

H.)    Ahbash highly curse and criticize Sheikhul Islam ibn Ibn Teymiyah. They also curse Sheikh Muhammad ibn Abdulwahhab and Imam Ibn Qayyim Aljawziyyi. The Shi’a have no difference from Ahbash on their view of these leading Sunni scholars.

2.        Dissimilarities: “Ahbash” and the “Shia” have differences on the following aspects.

A.)   Ahbash believe Muslims never struggle to form an Islamic State. They believe that an era of forming Islamic caliphate (or any form of Islamic state) already passed. Therefore, a Muslim must live a moderate life wherever he is. Participating in any group or association which calls for Islamic reform or state formation, being a member of Muslim political party, marching for the “Jihad” with Islamic combatant force etc… are invalid. However, the Shi’a has a contrary view to this. They say “a Muslim must be ready to defend his religion and the Islamic state in all ways”. And they never deny Muslim’s participation in politics.

B.)    Ahbash highly curse and hate the revivalist scholars like Sayyid Qutb, Abul A’ila Mawdudi, Jamaluddin Afghani, Rashid Rida etc... But the Shi’a has very positive views of these scholars. (For example, the Shi’a highly praised Abul A’ila Mawdudi for his effort to narrow the gap between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.)

C.)    Ahbash is highly fanatic as compared to Shia. For Ahbash, a Muslim who doesn’t follow their teaching is either a “Kafir” (infidel) or “Khawarij” (the ousted one) or “Zindiq”( heretic). But the Shi’a don’t believe so. All what they say to other Muslim dominions is “they are misguided”.

D.)   Ahbash highly cooperate with non-Muslims than the Muslims. It’s ready to deal with enemies of Islam to attack other Muslims. But the Shi’a don’t have this behavior. They deal only with themselves (even, it’s very difficult to know the secret of the Shi’a because they don’t share any secret with all non-Shia people).

E.)    The Ahbash believe their chief enemies are those whom they call “Wahabiyya” and the “Muslim brotherhood”. But the Shia believe their chief enemy are the Zionists.

So who is better? It’s on the eye of the beholder. But for me, the Shi’a have more passion for Islams and Muslims than Ahbash.

“Ahbash”, Ethiopia and the West: Can They Win Their Deal at Minimum Cost?

By Ubah Abdusalam Seid, an independent Writer
The Ethiopian government broke the heart of its Muslim citizens by allowing the Lebanon
originated “Ahbash” group to control the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs of the country.
(The group calls itself “Association of Islamic charitable Projects” but others call it simply
“Ahbash” because of the Ethiopian origin of its founder called Sheikh Abdullah ibn Muhammad
Al-Harari Al-Habshi). By doing so, it went against its promise of abstaining from religious affairs
(as stated in the federal constitution of the republic). But why the government of Ethiopia
decided to foster this controversial group and enabled it to indoctrinate its beliefs which most
of the Muslims see as heretical? I think the following is the reason.
We know that government of Ethiopia (or its state officials) doesn’t have deep know how on
Islam and the different Muslims views prevailing around the world. So it is unlikely to think this
government by itself initiated the program of fostering “Ahbash”. And it seems that the main
motive came from external influence. For this, we can speculate two sources. One is USA and
the West. As their primary agenda of the last ten years was the so called “War on Terror”, they
were influencing all countries of the world to accept their policy of combating “Militant
Islamism’” (This is a rude word to use. But it is they, not me who says so). Therefore, it’s likely
to suppose that they were breeding and nursing the version of “Islam” they want in Ethiopia.
Second is Israel and its allies. This unhealthy and skeptical state has never stopped to follow up
the life and moves of the Muslims through out its existence. Its usual claim is “Islamists are
dangerous for the very existence of the Hebrews”. So it’s also likely to assume that “the Zionist
state is behind the veil”.
All what is needed by the three forces (Ethiopian government, USA and Israel) is to set back the
growing influence of Ethiopian Muslims in the socio-economic realm. And this demand seems
to me the long existing one. For this, I can mention the directives prepared to “secularize the
Ethiopian schools and colleges” (formulated before 4 years). But due to high opposition from
the Muslim citizens, the former leaders of the council of Islamic affairs and different scholars,
the Ethiopian government decreased the speed at which the plan was to be implemented.
I feel that the government had many studies on the issue latter on. And it consulted its
collaborators repeatedly. Advisers were selected from those who had a big experience on the
Ethiopian affairs (like Hagai Erlich of Tel Aviv University, David Shin of George Washington
University and Paul B. Henze of CIA). And at last, all parties concluded that rather than applying
different rules at different times, cultivating and promoting “Anti- Ismalism” groups can satisfy
their need. For this to happen, they selected the aforementioned “Ahbash”. And before going
to the full application of their plan, they were doing many pre-application works. “Ahbash”
appeared with its full energy following those pre-application works. (The pre- application works
include “the iftar”/fast breaking programs hosted by the Embassy of USA in Addis Ababa, in the
Ramadan months starting from 2008. Only the supporters of “Ahbash” were allowed to
participate on those programs).
The forces behind “Ahbash” don’t care about the theological dogma or the doctrinal validity of
“Ahbash”. What they need is, as I see, its readiness to satisfy their demand. To understand this,
I list few points about the group’s features in relation to the western’s and Ethiopian
government’s demands.
1. The group officially says it doesn’t fight to build Islamic state. And it condemns those
who organize themselves to found Islamic state (either through gradual political system
or military combats).
2. It officially condemned and gave the label “Kaffir” for some outstanding Muslim writers
and teachers hated by the westerns such as Sayyid Qutb, Fathi Yakun, Abul A’ila
Mawdudi for their promoting Muslims to achieve Political independence from westerns
and building their self reliance. (The westerns call this writers as “the doctrinal fathers
of the Islamists” ).
3. The group’s chief enemies are “Wahhabiya” whom the westerns blindly accuse of
nursing “Militant Islamism”. (Whenever you attend “Ahbash” lectures, you hear the
word “Wahhabiya” more than any other word. They make most of their comparisons
with “Wahabiyya” than any other religious group).
4. The group’s due emphasize on “Haqiqa” and “Batinya” (in the field the group calls
“Sufism” which is practically too different from the traditional “Sufism” we know ) than
the “Islamic Shari’a” which governs a day to day life of a Muslim. (We can assume that
the westerns like this stand because it paves a free way for the secularism they want to
happen in the Muslim world.)
Here is a critical question: Can the Ethiopian government and westerns achieve their demand
by fostering “Ahbash” as a representative of Ethiopian Muslims? It is difficult to answer. But I
boldly say for myself “this will be a short existing deal”. I have three reasons to say so. One is
that “Ahbash” is intolerant of others by its nature. Its easily issued “fatwas” which label a
Muslim “infidel” can’t allow it to live long in its current state. Second, the world wide “fatwas”
issued on the “doctrines” and movements of “Ahbash” can’t make the path easy for the group.
We know that “Ahbash” is declared “Non- Islamic” and “a deviant group” by both Sunni and
Shi’a scholars. Third is its controversial nature which alarmed many Muslims to be suspicious of
its activities. For example, the group has strong collaboration history with non-Muslims than
the Muslims (many Ethiopian Muslims already went on saying “it’s a Jewish driven faction”).
Accordingly, it seems to me that by selecting “Ahbash” as a representative of all Muslims, the
Ethiopian government and its western allies can not achieve their objective of “checking back
Militant Islamism in Ethiopia” at a minimum cost. We will see the validity of my claim in the
next few years.
Ubah A. Seid

የፍትሕ ጥያቄያችን ከግቡ እንዲደርስ

Ubah Abdusalam seid

እኛ የኢትዮጵያ ሙስሊም ወጣቶች “አህባሽ”ን የምንታገለው አንጃው ከኛ የተለየ አመለካከትና የእምነት ፍልስፍና ስለያዘ አይደለም፡፡ የትግላችን መነሾዎች

1.  አንጃው የሀገራችን ሙስሊሞች ሁሉ የጋራ ተወካይና መንፈሳዊ መሪ መሆኑ የሚታመንለትን የኢትዮጵያ እስልምና ጉዳዮች ጠቅላይ ም/ቤት በሞኖፖል በመቆጣጠሩ በኑፋቄና በጥመት የተወገዘውን የእምነት ፍልስፍናውን በመላው ኢትዮጵያ የሚሰራጭበት እድል በመፈጠሩ
2. አንጃው ባለው የፅንፈኝነት ባህሪ ከርሱ ጋር የማይጣጣሙትን ሁሉ “ከፍራችኋል” (ከኢስላም ወጥታችኋል ) እያለ በወንድማማቾች መካከል የጥላቻና የሽብር መርዝ ሲዘራ እንደነበረ በስፋት ስለሚታወቅና “ይህንን ድርጊት በሀገራችን መድገሙ አይቀርም” ብለን ስለሰጋን
3. አሜሪካ “የወሃቢያን እንቅስቃሴ ለመቆጣጠር” በሚል ሽፋን በሙስሊሞች ላይ ለከፈተችው ኢ-ፍትሐዊ ዘመቻ ይህን በኑፋቄና በጥመት የተወገዘ የአህባሽ አንጃ ፊታውራሪ አድርጋ ማሳለፏ  በበቂ ማስረጃዎች በመረጋገጡ 
4. የአንጃው ጽንፈኛ አመለካከቶች በሙስሊሙና በሌላ ሀይማኖት ተከታዮች መካከል ለረጅም ዘመናት ጸንቶ የቆየውን የመተባበርና የመቻቻል ባህል ያደፈርሳል ብለን ስለሰጋን እና ሌሎችም ምክንያቶች ናቸው፡ 
8. በመሆኑም ይህ አንጃ በእምነታችንና በሰላማችን ላይ የደቀነውን አደጋ ለመቀልበስ በምንችለው መንገድ ሁሉ ለመታገል ቆርጠን ተነስተናል፡፡ ትግላችንን የምናካሄደው በህጋዊና ሰላማዊ መንገድ ብቻ ነው፡፡ ግባችንም በሀገራችን ህገ መንግስት የተረጋገጠልንን የእምነት ነጻነት መብታችንን ማረጋገጥ ነው፡፡

 የእስከዛሬው ትግላችን የአንጃውን የኋላ ታሪክ፤ በኑፋቄ የተሞሉ የእምነት ፍልስፋናዎቹን፤ የጽንፈኝነት ባህሪውን፤ የስርጭት አድማሱን፤ ወዘተ… በማጋለጥና ለወንድሞቻችንና እህቶቻችን በማሳወቅ ላይ ያተኮረ ነው፡፡ በዚህ ሳምንት ያየናቸው አንዳንድ ድርጊቶች ግን ትግላችን ማስፋት እንዳለብን የሚጠቁሙ ናቸው፡፡ ለዚህም ልዩ ልዩ ስልቶችን መከተል ያስፈልጋል፡፡ በዚህ መሰረትም የሚከተሉት የትግል ስልቶችን መንደፍ አስፈላጊ ሆኖ ታይቶኛል፡፡

1.   መንግስታትን በሚመለከት

1.1. የኢትዮጵያ መንግስት አካላት (ባለስልጣኖችም ሆኑ ተቋማት) ስለ አህባሽ ምንነት በቂ መረጃ ያላቸው አይመስለኝም፡፡ የአንጃው የእምነት ፍልስፍና አጠቃላዩ የዓለም ሙስሊም ህብረተሰብ ከሚከተላቸው የእስልምና  አስተምህሮዎች የቱን ያህል እንደሚራራቅ በደንብ አያዉቁትም፡፡ ስለዚህ አህባሽ በብቸኝነት በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ትምህርቱን እንዲሰጥ መፍቀድ ማለት “እስከዛሬ ድረስ የምትከተሉትን እምነት ቀይሩ” የማለት ያህል እንደሆነ ለሁሉም የመንግስት አካላት በምንችለው መንገድ ሁሉ ማሳወቅ አለብን፡፡

1.2. ከዓለም አቀፍ ፖሊሲ ትንተናው በመነሳት “አህባሽ”ን  ለኢትዮጵያ ሙስሊሞች መሪነት ለመረጠው የአሜሪካ መንግስት ትንተናው የተመሰረተው በተሳሳተ ግምገማ ላይ እንደሆነ በሚቻለው መንገድ ሁሉ ማሳወቅ አለብን፡፡ (ለምሳሌ የአሜሪካ መንግስት እንደሚለው የአክራሪነትና እና የጽንፈኝነት አመለካከቶች በሀገራችን ውስጥ መሰረት እንደሌላቸው ማሳወቅ አለብን)፡፡

1.3. “ሽብርተኝነት”ን ለመዋጋት መፍትሔው በቀድሞው የሊባኖስ ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትር ግድያ ከተወነጀሉት የሽብር ግበረ-ሃይሎች አንዱ የሆነውን “አህባሽን” ለኢትዮጵያ ሙስሊሞች መሪነት መምረጥ ሳይሆን ሽብርተኝት በኢስላም ሃይማኖታዊ መሰረት እንደሌለው የሚያውቁትን ሙስሊሞች በጋራ ማንቀሳቀስ እንደሆነ ማስረዳት አለብን፡፡ (ኢስላምን አስታከው ድብቅ አጀንዳቸውን ማራመድ የሚፈልጉ ሃይሎች ካሉ ሙስሊሙ ራሱ ሊቆጣጠራቸው ይችላል)፡፡

2.   አህባሾችን በተመለከተ

2.1. አህባሾች በአራት ክፍል እንደሚመደቡ መታወቅ አለበት፡፡ እነርሱም

ሀ/. ዓለም አቀፍ አህባሾች ፡- እነዚህኛዎቹ በሀገራችን ውስጥ በብዛት የሉም፡፡ ሆኖም በማእከሎቻቸው በአስተማሪነት ይመደባሉ፡፡ እነዚህ ሰዎች በእምነት ስም በሌላው አለም (በተለይ በሊባኖስ) የለመዱትን በመርዝ የተለወሰ የጥላቻ ትምህርት በሀገራችን እንዲያስፋፉ የሚፈቅድላቸው የህግ አንቀጽ የለም፡፡ (ሰላማዊ ስብከት እንጂ “እገሌ ካፊር ነው በሉ”፤ “ከወሃቢ ጋር ቡና አትጠጡ፤ ምሳ አትብሉ፤ ትከፍራላችሁ” እያሉ እንዲያስተምሩ የሚፈቅድላቸው የህግ አንቀጽ የለም)፡፡ ስለዚህ የጥላቻ ዘመቻቸውን ማጋለጥና በህጋዊ መንገድ መታገል ይገባል፡፡ (እነ ዶ/ር ዛኪርን በ”ኩፍር” የወነጀሉት እነዚህ አለም አቀፍ አህባሾች ናቸው፡፡)

ለ/. በዜግነት ኢትዮጵያዊ የሆኑ ጽንፈኛ አህባሾች፡- እነዚህኛዎቹን በኢስላማዊ አስተምህሮች እየተከራከሩ መመለሱ በእጅጉ ይከብዳል፡፡ ስለዚህ ብዙም ባናተኩርባቸው ይሻላል፡፡

ሐ/. ኢትዮጵያዊ የሆኑ ለዘብተኛ አህባሾች፡- እነዚህኛዎቹ ከሌላው ሙስሊም ጋር ይቀራረባሉ፡፡ ከኛ ጋር በጀመኣ አንድ መስጊድ ሊሰግዱም ይችላሉ፡፡ (በ”ለ” የተጠቀሱት ግን ጁምዓ እንኳ ለብቻቸው ካልሆነ በስተቀር ከኛ ጋር አይሰግዱም)፡፡ ስለዚህ በዚህ ስር የሚጠቃሉትን የአህባሽ ሰዎች እስከምንችለው ድረስ መምከርና ለመመለስ ጥረት ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል፡፡

መ/ “አኩራፊ አህባሾች”፡- እነዚህኛዎቹ በኛው አያያዝ ተናደው ወደ አህባሽ የተጠጉ ናቸው፡፡ ለምሳሌ አንዳንድ የሀገራችን ሙስሊሞች ከባህል የወረሷቸውና በእስልምና ተቀባይነት የሌላቸው በርካታ ልማዶች ይታይባቸዋል፡፡ እነዚህን ወገኖች ዳዒዎች በለዘብታ ቃላት ማስተማር ሲገባቸው በከረረ ቃላትና ወቀሳ (አንዳንዴም በስድብ) ይወርዱባቸዋል (“ሙሽሪክ” ብሎ የሚወነጅላቸው ሰውም አለ)፡፡ በመሆኑም እነዚህ ወገኖች ያኮርፉና ወደ “አህባሽ” ጎራ ይገባሉ፡፡ ስለዚህ ዳዒዎች ማስተካከል ያለባቸውን ግድፈቶች ማረምና ወገኖቻችንን ማስተማር አለባቸው፡፡

2.2.  በማንኛውም ወቅት የአህባሽ ጎራ ተከታይ ከሆነ ሰው ጋር ከቃላትና ከጽሁፍ የዘለለ ክርክር ማድረግ የለብንም፡፡ (ለግጭት በሚጋብዝ ሁኔታ መከራከር አይገባንም)፡፡

2.3.  የአህባሽ ተከታዮችን እራሳቸው ካልፈለጉ በስተቀር ከማህበራዊ ኑሮ ማግለል አይገባም፡፡

3.   የሀገራችን ሙስሊሞችን በሚመለከት

3.1.     የሀገራችን ህዝብ ሙስሊም ስለ አህባሽ በቂ መረጃ እንዲያገኝ ማድረግ አለብን፡፡ ለዚህም አሁን ከጀመርነው የኢንተርኔት መስኮት በተጨማሪ ሌሎች መንገዶችንም መጠቀም አለብን፡፡

3.2.     የሀገራችን ምሁራን በትግላችን እንዲሳተፉ መጋበዝ አለብን፡፡ (ለምሳሌ ከዚህ ቀደም በተክፊር ወል-ሂጅራ በተበላው ጠማማ ቡድን ላይ በርካታ መጽሀፍት እንደተጻፉት ሁሉ በአህባሽም ላይ ተመሳሳይ ድርሰቶች መጻፍ አለባቸው፡፡)

3.3.     ታዋቂ ግለሰቦችም ድምጻቸውን ማሰማት እንዲችሉ መቀስቀስ ይገባል፡፡

3.4.     የሙስሊም ጋዜጦቻችን የጀመሩትን አህባሽን የማጋለጥ ዘመቻ አጠናከረው ሊቀጥሉበት ይገባል፡፡    

4.   ከሀገራችን ውጭ ያለውን ህዝበ ሙስሊም በተመለከተ

4.1.    በዲያስፖራ ያሉት ኢትዮጵያዊያን ሙስሊሞች በሰላማዊና ህጋዊ ትግላችን እንዲሳተፉ መቀስቀስ አለብን፡፡

4.2.    ይህ ጉዳይ የኢትዮጵያዊያን ሙስሊሞች ጉዳይ በመሆኑ ሌሎች መንግስታትና የውጪ ሀገር ዜጎች በቀጥታ የሚሳተፉበት ምክንያት የለም፡፡ ሆኖም አህባሽ በዓለም ዙሪያ ተሰራጭቶ ሙስሊሞችን እየበጠበጠ ያለ ቡድን በመሆኑ ስለ አንጃው ድብቅ ታሪኮችና እንቅስቃሴዎች፤ ስለእምነት ፍልስፍናው መሰረቶች፤ ስለ ማሳሳቻ ስልቶቹ፤ የዓለም ሙስሊም ምሁራን የሰጧቸውን ፈትዋዎ፤ የአንጃውን እንቅስቃሴ ለመገደብ የወሰዷቸውን እርምጃዎች ወዘተ… በመሳሰሉት ላይ ሃሳባቸውን በማጋራት ለመተባበር ከፈለጉ በደስታ እንቀበላቸዋለን፡፡

ይህ የትግል ስልት ለውይይት የቀረበ ነው፡፡ ማንኛውም ሙስሊም አባል ሃሳቡን ሊሰጥበት ይችላል፡፡

አላህ ይርዳን፡፡ ወሰላሙ ዓሌይኩም ወራሕመቱላህ

ኡባህ አብዱሰላም

The Ahbash-Syria File : Unexplored Face of the Mystery

Ubah Abdusalam Seid

I once wrote that Ahbash share many beliefs with the Shi’a Muslims. But it is still a mystery for me to reach at the source of their inclination to Shia. And it notable that for Sunni Muslims, the Shi’a are better than Ahbash in many ways (by Shia, I mean both “Zaidi” and “Ithna Ashari”). On the other hand, their blending formula in theology (Aqida) and Jurisprudence (Fiqh) is very confusing. They claim Shafi’i Mazhab but they totally violate the rule of Shafi’i school. So I found it better to look into the historical development of this controversial group.

All of our sources say Ahbash became so popular in Lebanon after the Syrian troops entered to the ruined Beirut in 1991. Then, the “liberating” army of Syria became the patron of Ahbash. Within few years the group was equaled to other political and socio-religious factions of Lebanon. On what base the Ahbash-Syria connection was made is still unclear for me. But while I was exploring internet, something came to my mind.

Syria is dominantly a Sunni Muslim nation. But the country is ruled by the vague “Alawi” sect. This group, called also Nusayris, claims a Shi’a type of Islam. However, the Shi’a consider them “Kaffir”.  Both Hafiz Al-Asad and the current President of Syria, Bashar Al-Asad, belong to this sect. And most of the top military and civil officials of Syria are Alewis.

The Alewi sect is very strange. They say “We are Muslims”. But it’s shameful to hear this from them. They totally violate Islam. For example, they have the following descriptions.

• Their religion is not pure (orthodox). It blends Shia Islam with Christianity, Persian paganism, Budhism and other many faiths.

• They believe “Ali ibn Abu Talib” is the God incarnated in human form (just as Gautama Buddha is said so in Buddhism).

• Our Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) has less rank than Ali (r.a). The third rank is allowed for Salman Al-Farsi

•  They have trinity type formula. They call it “ain, mim, sin”. (“ain’ stands for “Ali”,’mim’ is for Muhammad, and “sin” is for Salman Al-Farsi).

• They celebrate Christian festivals such as Christmas and Epiphany and some of the old Persian festivals.

•  They keep their religious tenets very secret. Even we may not understand their identity. (They may appear to us as Sunni Muslim because they hide themselves wherever they are the minorities). 

You can read the details of Alewi sect from the following links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alawi

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-alawi.htm

Ahbash had approached the state ruled and owned by an Alewi family of Hafiz Al-Asad which have the beliefs I aforementioned. So is that why they share many beliefs with the Shia?

I am so suspicious. I say this because of some extra reasons. For example,

1.       Even though the Ahbash jama’a share many beliefs of the Shi’a, they are in big disagreement with the mainstream Shi’a Muslims. So it is likely to assume that the Alewis may be the source of those beliefs.

2.       The Ahbash were suspected for the assassination of Prime Minister Rafiq Al-Hariri of Lebanon from the beginning. The recent investigative report by the UN also mentions Ahbash as one of the plotting parties. Even when the people of Lebanon demonstrated and forced the Syrian troops to be out of their country right after the death of Hariri, the Ahbash were they only group who objected the motive. Therefore, we can infer that the Alewis didn’t stop pushing Ahbash from behind the veil even though they nominally turned to the side of Hezbullah.

3.       From among the Muslim Scholars, a famous “fatwa” was verdict against Alewis by Sheikhul Islam ibn Teymiyyah (r.t) whom the Ahbash see as their eternal enemy (read the fatwa of Ibn Teymiyyah on the following link http://shaykhulislaam.wordpress.com/2009/08/13/ruling-on-the-nusayrialawi-sect/).  Ibn Teymiyyah said

“Even the Christians and Jews are better than these pagan Alewis”

So why Ahbash are so nervous about Ibn Teymiyyah? Are they in the revenge for the “fatwa” he issued against the pagan Alewis?

4.       In the first paragraph of this article, I said Ahbash used a blending formula to set up their teachings. The Alewi is also a sect blended from Islam, Christianity, paganism etc…

So did Ahbash learned so many heresies from the pagan Alewi ? Is heresy a reflection of their paying the cost for which the Alewite state of Syria nourished them?

Allah knows the truth. But I won’t leave you on this. I will share with you one of the most interesting information I got about Ahbash.

Today (September 24), right after Maghrib prayer, I started to explore internet as usual. And I read a warning note about Ahbash from the website of the Sunnah Foundation of North America. It’s titled “Muslims be aware of Abdullah Habashi” (you can get the note on this link http://sunnah.org/fiqh/muslims_beware.htm )

The note lists many of the deviances of Ahbash. But the most interesting part of the note is found at the end. I quoted it below.

“To sum up, if the "Habashis" are not going to keep quiet and repent, and offer an apology to all those they accused of kufr and called unbelievers, we are going to expose the dealings of their rank and file with the Nusayris, who are a radical sect of Shi'ites who live in Syria”.

(The Nusayris is another name of the Alewi sect).

Have you seen how interesting the last statement is? I don’t know whether the owners of the website exposed the Ahbash’s dealing with the Alewis or not. But if we can get it, I think it will be the most precious resources to invalidate the Ahbash, the Pseudo-Sunni group of our era. Let us search that precious note. I am searching it on my side. Insha Allah we will get it.