Advice from the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia to the Muslims in

America
All praise is for Allah, the Lord of everything that exists, and may the peace and
blessings of Allah be upon His final Prophet and Messenger, Muhammad Ibn Abdullah,
and upon his family and companions.

As to what proceeds,

On Saturday morning September 25th 2010, corresponding to the 17th of Shawwal 1431,
Allah afforded me the opportunity to meet with the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh
Abdul Aziz Ali Shaykh (May Allah preserve him) to speak with him regarding the recent
turn of events affecting many Muslims in America.

When I sat with him, I said: “Shaykh my name is Shadeed Muhammad; I am an

American who graduated from the Islamic University of Madinah. I graduated in 2007
and returned to America. In the process of giving da'wah, it appeared to me that there
was an issue plaguing our communities, and it actually has a connection to Saudi
Arabia.” He asked: “And what is it?” I said: “Many students graduate from the Islamic
University and return to America to give da’wah. Any mistake he makes, there is always
a group of brothers who take these mistakes back to some of the scholars here in Saudi
Arabia. In some cases, the information they convey may be erroneous or, even worse, a
complete lie. A ruling is passed on them, without hearing both sides, and it creates
turmoil and confusion amongst the masses of Muslims there. They begin to boycott one
another and separate from one another showing Wala’a wal Baraa’a (i.e. allegiance and
disassociation) to the statement of that particular scholar, can you please offer some
advice?”

And to be completely honest, it was as if the Shaykh had heard the question a million
times already. It was as if this type of behavior follows a pattern well known to the
Shaykh.

The Shaykh said: “Brother Shadeed! Fear Allah! Call to Allah’s religion and don’t
busy yourself with the likes of these individuals and their Fitnah )‫(أمثال هؤالء وفتنتهم‬.
Leave these brothers alone! There is no end to their fitnah and no end to these
affairs that they are involved with! Even if you try to defend yourself against
them, it only opens up another door for them to attack you! Busy yourself with
giving da’wah and teaching the people!”

I asked him: “Shaykh do you have some general advice for the communities in
America?” The Shaykh said: “Yes. Tell the brothers and sisters in America to fear
Allah! And don’t busy themselves with these affairs! Tell them to busy
themselves with seeking knowledge of the religion!”
The Shaykh then asked me if I had a personal question pertaining to myself that I
wanted to ask and I replied in the affirmative. I said: “Shaykh I have been warned
against by one of the scholars and he says I shouldn’t be giving da’wah because…” The
Shaykh interrupted me before I could finish and said: “Like I said previously brother
Shadeed, leave these individuals alone and busy yourself with calling to Allah’s
religion! There is no end to their fitnah! Teach the people what you have learned
from Allah's religion, Baarakallhu feek (i.e. may Allah bless you).” And this ended
our conversation.