Some ten years ago in South-West Nigeria, there arrived a fellow from Egypt en route Lagos and finally landed in a city known for some Islamic presence albeit Soofiyyah, Ilorin. This was a time when there was a resurgence of Sunnah-Salafiyyah in the region. Many youths were very enthusiastic to learn what was new in the Sunnah, and without much ado, would put it into action. This was also a time when many Sunnah-loving youths were freeing themselves from the blindness of hizbiyyah [blameworthy partisanship] that was being promoted by many Sunnah-seeming organizations. There were scholars of Sunnah at the time but they were very handful, or not very prominent, perhaps because the challenge was not really there.
Then the youths began to hear some conundrums from the fellow that arrived from Egypt. Things that were not what the youths were yearning for. Though some of the youths, especially those not really on the knowledge path, as usual, fell for the bait. Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaanee [may Allâh show mercy on him], the writer of the popular Bulooghul-Maraam and the best commentary on Saheeh Bukhaari, was a Kâfir because he was an unrepentant Ash’aree (a person that makes some twistings in some of the Attributes of Allaah). Abu Haneefah [may Allâh show mercy on him] was no Imaam at all, in fact he was an ignoramus that rarely said what was correct whether in jurisprudential matters or ‘Aqeedah; he was a Mur’ji’ [a person that removes actions from belief] so he must be removed from the Four Imaams! Al-Imaam an-Nawawee [may Allâh show mercy on him] was also a Kâfir because he was as guilty as Ibn Hajar [may Allâh show mercy on him]. Al-Imaam As-Suyootee was indeed a Sufi whose comments and scholarly works amounted to nothing. If you eat with your spoon and fork you have come up with an innovation in the Deen and your abode is the hell, do not count on any excuse because there is no excuse in the matters that have to do with Aqeedah! If you have a newborn, and you invite people to it to dine with you, then you are as well as a kaafir. If your wife or daughter or mother does not cover her face then she is a sinner and her sin is nothing but a Kufr act, therefore she will enter the hellfire, no question. All the fathers are unbelievers if they do not hear what we say, hence when we pretentiously ask for the hands of their daughters in marriage and they fail to grant it we shall go ahead and marry them, there is no need for a Sharee’ah Qaadi to permit it, the Qudaat themselves are people of bid’ah and the people bid’ah, as far as we are concerned are Kuffaar, not even the minor Kufr! Kufr is Kufr just as bid’ah is bid’ah all which lands its doer in the hell as a major sin.
By Allâh, we have some youths that imbibe(d) the above false and far-from-the-correct-manhaj teachings, and of course, put them into ferocious actions declaring whomever comes with different stances even if they are more correct as kuffaar mubtadi’oon. May Allâh save the Muslims.
Nobody brought the thoughts we have mentioned to South-West Nigeria other than the fellow that came from Egypt via Lagos. His name is Muhammad Alee Jabata [may Allâh guide him and us to what is correct]. He is indeed a scourge for the Muslims in the South-West Nigeria.
As we said, he had his higher schooling in Egypt. He studied nothing but the course many scholars of Sunnah, past and present, had warned us about, Falsafa [Philosophy] in a university which nobody goes and remains safe in ‘Aqeedah and Manhaj except whomever is shown mercy by Allâh, al-Azhar University, Cairo. Jabata was doing his Master’s degrees when he was sent away from the school for anti-government activities; he was eventually jailed. One of his former first-class students, whom Allâh the Bountiful Lord has saved from him, Abdul-Fattaah Balloo, told us that when they were students under him, Jabata used to boast of being sent out of the Azhari University because of what he claimed were bold steps in saying the ‘truth’ against the government!
One very sad thing, and which has informed this important but short message, is that Jabata goes on today declaring Muslims especially the callers to Sunnah as Kuffaar because of one alleged Bid’ah or the other, in fact, he has openly declared sinners among the Muslims as Kuffaar. For instance, he said whoever eats mutton, chicken, egg, etc, from animals not well-kept have eaten scavengers therefore such a person is a sinner and is guilty of kufr that will land him in the hell fire. His tapes where he says such things are very widely spread.
It was no surprise when he declared a caller to Sunnah [we do not praise anybody above Allâh] in Ibadan as a Kâfir for allegedly permitting bowing to other than Allâh. That allegation remains a big lie.
We would have even kept quiet from writing about him if not very recently when some foot-soldiers of his came out massively online to sell the products of their fateen teacher to the non-suspecting Muslim public at the time when the love for Sunnah and Salafiyyah seems to be soaring very rapidly, all praise to Allâh.
Jabata has made himself an authority in the whole of South West Nigeria. Praise to Allâh who used some scholars and students of the Sunnah in Lagos and Ilorin to cut his wings, that was about seven years ago. Those scholars refuted him so ferociously that he went underground for years. Alhamdulillah, many youths abandoned him and we even thought he had repented from his evil statements. But today Jabata has resurfaced and found a new haven in the old city of Ibadan, the capital of the old western region of Nigeria and the arguably the largest city in Africa, and there are many ignoramuses blindly following him saying ‘he has daleel with him’. Many of these his ignoramus followers do not know how to spell their names in Arabic let alone knowing the matters of Bid’ah, Kufr and Eemaan properly. May Allâh guide all of us and them.
Among the teachings of Alee Jabata are the following:
1. That Allâh only sent the Messenger of Allâh (salaLlaahu alahyi wa sallam) to us therefore there is no need for scholarly explanations in the matters of the Deen this is why he has come up with various theories he had no one as his Imaam. AbdulFattaah Ballo told us that he was there in the class when Jabata began the Da’wah of spoon and fork is bid’ah that would lead to kufr, he said they were reading a Qaradawi book that day when he came across the issue while trying to refute the former. He said he was also present in the Waleemah of the second wife of Jabata where spoons were freely used. In fact, he said, when it seemed the gathering had run out of spoons, Jabata himself had to search for spoons to share between his guests. But just some months after, he said the use of spoon and fork is a bid’ah act that makes one a total Kâfir! That is what he and his followers say there is no exaggeration.
So Jabata believes in no scholar save his unknown teachers. Abdul-Fattaah said, truly Jabata used to quote Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim but he would quote them when they said whatever suited his whims. He believes in himself and himself alone upon the claim that he is following the Daleel! So he is a mujtahid!
2. Similar to the point above is that Jabata does not believe in the legitimacy of the statements of the Sahabah as being useful in the Sharî’ah. He said whether a Sahabi said a thing or not is not what matters, what matters is whatever the Messenger of Allâh (salaLlaahu alahyi wa sallam) said. This therefore qualifies him to look at the issues of Islam the way he feels like since the person of the Messenger of Allâh (salaLlaahu alahyi wa sallam) alone is to be followed! It is not far that this thought of his takes him away from the manhaj of the Salaf even if he and his loyalists make a thousand claims.
Those are the Usool of Jabata known to him and his unknown teachers among whom is the deviant, Mahmood al-Haddaadee, also and Egyptiian, who championed the cause, among other deviant ones, that all the books of Ibn Hajar al-Asqalanee should be burnt because he was a Kâfir! Interestingly Jabata says he is not a follower of Haddaadee. He would sometime want to burst into crying whenever he is attributed to Haddaadee. AbdulFattaah Ballo told us that Jabata once said that Haddaadee himself was a Kâfir to him! We say that it is not new for a bunch of Takfeeris ending up calling one another Kuffaar. One of the scholars has said that if you gather ten Takfeeris in a room, they will end up calling one another kuffaar. There are many other things Jabata would deny whenever he is cornered.
Whether Jabata and his followers like it or not, he is a Haddaadee and a Takfeeri [a person who unjustly declares Muslims as unbelievers because of one sins or the other that sometimes include bid’ah] thus his words are not to be taken. His speeches are to be avoided. Warnings have to go on against him and his followers, until the Deen become Allah’s alone.
As we said in the caption, this is just a glimpse, the false manhaj of Alee Jabata would be tackled blow-by-blow in the subsequent write-ups, Insha Allâh. May Allâh give us the strength and the time to do so, only Him alone knows our intent. May Allâh save you and us from the plots of the evil doers.
Lastly, we think it would not be proper if we fail to bring the concise description made by one of the Shuyookh of Sunnah in South West Nigeria, Ash-Shaykh Najeem Sulayman [may Allâh lengthen his life on goodness], about the person and manhaj of Alee Jabata. The Shaykh said:
جريء على الباطل،متطول لسانه! أقواله كاسدة، عاطلة، فاسدة بل باطلة! لم يشم ريحة الدعوة السلفية فضلا من أن يذوقها. فالله المستعان!
'He is bold on falsehood. His tongue is (always) drawn out. His speeches are unmarketable, rejected even false. He never smelt Da'wah Salafiyyah let alone tasting it. Allaah's aid is sought.'
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