A visit to Shaikh Mustapha Mabram

In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.

Allah [The Exalted] says:

 فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

Statement of the visitors as follows:

Alhamdulillāh this evening we’ve had a beneficial sitting with Shaikh Mustafa Mabram hafidhahullāh— Abu Ukkāshah, Abū Talhah Ibrāhīm, myself and some other brothers.

He admonished us regarding the Taqwā of Allāh, and not being from those who seek Uluww and Fasād in the Earth — rather that we should aim to worship Allāh upon piety and staying away from his prohibitions.

I asked the Shaikh regarding those who are easygoing with regards to the affairs that are Makrūh, and they say that “it’s not harām, just makrūh”.

He referred back to his original advice regarding Taqwā, and added to it this statement of Al-Hasan Al-Basri rahimahullāh:

ما زالت التقوى بالمتقين حتى تركوا كثيرا من الحلال مخافة الحرام

“Taqwā has not ceased within the Muttaqīn, so long as they abandon much of that which is halāl, out of fear of Harām.”

The Shaikh said: “It is unanimously agreed upon that the affairs that are Makrūh are to be abandoned.”

He also said: “Even if something is mubāh — much less Makrūh or harām — the khatīb, the dā’ī, and the one who has some stake in Da’wah should look at the ta’thīr (effect) that this action has upon him, and how he affects the people, and how his call affects the people. [Allah the Most High said]: ‘They will bear their own burdens in full on the Day of Resurrection, and also of the burdens of those whom they misled without knowledge.'”

“Even if it the evil effect does not affect you, or those around you, what about your offspring and the generations that come after you?”

“There are those who still have with them the remnants of Ikhwāniyyah. So they aim to appear to the kuffār as not being extreme, so they become lax regarding these issues and then accuse their brothers of Tashaddud!”

“They would have you looking like the kuffar, and I fear that they would have you resembling the “مغضوب عليهم” and the “ضالين” — either resembling them directly in their asl (origin). Or resembling those who resemble them from the Fasaqah (open sinners) amongst us — so they have resembled the far’ (branch).”

Abu Ukkāshah asked him about those who say that there is a Qā’idah that the origin as it relates to the forbiddances in the Sharī’ah when it comes to ādāb (etiquette) and clothing, is that it denotes Karāhah and not tahrīm, and that people use it to allow Qaza’ and Isbāl and so on.

He said: “If you want to be upon every evil then follow the license and mistake of every scholar.”

And he added to that mention of a book that gathered the allowances of the scholars and was presented to one of the rulers of the Salaf, as evidence for that ruler that should he desire to partake in these allowances, he had precedent from various scholars before him. Upon this, the ruler said: “If we were to do this we would fall into zandaqah (heresy).”

The Shaikh said: “There are those from the scholars — even though they are not to be considered and our scholars have overcome them — who allow the cutting of the beard. And there are some who say that it is permissible to eat with the left hand.”

And he said: “The People of Kūfah allowed Nabīdh, the people of Makkah allowed Sarf — and so on. By merely following them, they would be sinful.”

I asked: “So is this Qā’idah a Qā’idah in reality? Does it have a basis?”

He said: “No! This Qā’idah is not correct.”

Written by Abdullah Abdul-Wahid Alam
Tuesday 26th March 2024 — 17th Night Ramadan 1445

Present were:
– Abu Ukkāshah Abdul-Hakeem
– Zakariyyah Adam
– Abdullah Abdul-Wahid Alam