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.
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.
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