When we launched simplysalafiyyah.com around 2012 - nine years ago, Ikhwah - one of the first things we avoided was making him prominent on the site because of the hullabaloo that might follow that - I mean this kind of Fitnah, though I doubt if many of those jumping and down in the crisis now were in the Sunnah then. May Allaah forgive me for this, may Allaah forgive me again.
Ealier in 2011 when I wrote 'Message to the Intelligent' - the book against the Hizbees and Hizbiyyah - Shaykh Halabi's books such as 'Ad-Da'wah Ilaa Allaah...' and his Fatawa Series of the A'imah were many of our good sources. Perhaps you would recall that Salafi Publications once translated and published the book too.
By Allaah, we were aware of some the scholars' take on him. And we did not just pass those allegations over as nothing but fervently praying things would normalise.
So also when I wrote 'Demystifying the Laa Jama'ah Label' of recent which was a counter to a rejoinder to 'Message to the Intelligent', Shaykh Halabi's Ad-Da'wah Ilaa Illaah was copiously used. In fact I had to make clear the reference in the bibliography, amaanatan.
Meanwhile, Shaykh Rabee's Jamaa'atu Waahidah was the bedrock of my 'Demystifying the Laa Jama'ah Label', in fact, I took time to smash the Madkhaliyyah tag in the book.
I can also recall that Online Publication of mine on Ahkaam Eeidayn, it was a complete adaptation of Shaykh Halabi's Ahkaam Eeidayn. I was just referring to him as 'the author of Ahkaam Eeidayn said...' I was cocksure that many of the English audience did not know it was Shaykh Halabi that wrote it. Yet we concealed his name to forestall a Fitnah in this region becuase we believe our Da’wah is still very nascent hence we should be careful of what could jeopardise it.
So when Shaykh Halabi died, all that changed.
Ikhwah, his death was one of the genesis of this melee.
Some brothers were pained that he was exceedingly praised. Why must people be praising a person declared as a mubtadi by the Senior Scholars? Our brothers wondered. They forget that Allaah has ways of doing things. Even Shaykh Rabee felt for Halabi at death!
Then the plethora of criticism and counter- criticisizm began.
I could recall when a brother composed an audio poem eulogising Shaykh Halabi and making mockery of others. We checked him alhamdulillaah the audio disappeared till today. May Allaah reward the brother.
Ikhwah, Halabi is dead. May Allaah forgive him. What he can say or do has stopped. You would say what of the effects of what he was accused of? Even when those accusations are proved beyond all reasonable doubts, which are not now, may Allaah forgive me, may Allaah forgive me, if it is an error from me. He can't stampede the Da'wah. This Da'wah is clear, the books of the Salaf are there. So we should belabour ourselves less about his matter.
You can prove me wrong, it is only in this part of the world people are still at one another's necks over his matter. The other world has passed that stage.
We are not saying you should not warn the people about what you are convinced as his errors, fine. But know that many other people would not see it as you do. It is the nature of human beings.
So please let's have our peace back.
Baarakallaahu feekum.
