Reminder to Myself, Al-Markaz As-Salafi, Markaz Rabee, Headteachers of the Qur’an Schools, Saturday School, Tuition Clubs, and All Staff Members

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Allah, The Most High, said:

يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ قَدۡ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡكُمۡ لِبَاسً۬ا يُوَٲرِى سَوۡءَٲتِكُمۡ وَرِيشً۬ا‌ۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقۡوَىٰ ذَٲلِكَ خَيۡرٌ۬‌ۚ ذَٲلِكَ مِنۡ ءَايَـٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَذَّكَّرُونَ

O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts, etc.) and as an adornment, and the Libas at Taqwa (raiment of piety), that is better. Such are among the Ayat (proofs, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah, that they may remember (i.e. leave falsehood and follow truth ). [Al-A’raf. 26]

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:

Allah informed us that the Libas at-Taqwah (the raiment of piety) is far superior to wealth, leadership, and outward beautification. Allah created His slaves and beautified their outward appearance in the best form, and He beautified their hearts and souls by guiding them to the right path. So, Allah granted mankind two types of beautifications: beautification of the body by way of clothing and beautification of the heart by way of piety- outward beautification and inner beautification, outward perfection and inner perfection”. [1]

Abdullah Ibn Mas’ud, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, supplicated:

اللهم كما حَسَّنْت خَلْقِي فَحَسِّنْ خُلُقِي

O Allah! Just as You made my external form beautiful, make my character beautiful as well.

Al-Allamah Salih Al-Fawzan, may Allah preserve him, said:

The first image is called Al-Khalq and the second is called Al-Khuluq with the vowel Dammah on the letter khaa and laam. The human being is made up of these two images. There are people whose visible image and manners are beautiful, such as Allah’s Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and those Muslims whom Allah has blessed with it. There are those whose visible image is evil and their manners are evil, and this one is the most repugnant of people. There are people whose visible image is unsightly and the people do not consider him to be anything (i.e. give him no importance), but his unseen image is good. This person is also good and his unsightly appearance does not harm him if what is concealed in him is good. There are people the opposite and that is one whose visible image is good looking and his unseen image is ugly. This person resembles a hypocrite, and Allah’s refuge is sought. This person is repugnant. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, supplicated for the two things: the beautiful visible image and beautiful unseen image, so he said:

اللهم كما حَسَّنْت خَلْقِي فَحَسِّنْ خُلُقِي

O Allah! Just as You made my external form beautiful, make my character beautiful as well.

He was the most perfect person in his visible image and manners. Therefore, in this regard one has to follow the example of the Messenger, and that a Muslim supplicates to Allah with this supplication. He does not consider himself perfect and says, “I don’t have shortcomings”, but rather he turns to Allah by asking for the beautification of his visible image and unseen image. And Allah knows best”. [2]

Imam Adh-Dhahabee, may Allah have mercy upon him, stated in the biography of Abdul Azeez Bin Yahyaa Al-Kinaanee Al-Faqee, may Allah have mercy upon him, that he had an unsightly appearance. Abee Aynaa said, “Abdul Azeez came to Al-Mamoon (i.e. the Khaleefah) and his appearance was very unsightly, so Abu Ishaaq Al-Mutasim laughed”. He (Abdul Azeez) said, “O leader of the believers! Why is this person laughing? Indeed Allah did not choose Yusuf, peace be upon him, due to his handsomeness; rather He chose him for His religion and clarification (of the truth)”. Al-Mamoon laughed and was amazed by him. [3]

Allah, The Most High, said:

وَتَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْبِرِّ وَٱلتَّقْوَىٰ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا۟ عَلَى ٱلْإِثْمِ وَٱلْعُدْوَٰنِ

Help you one another in Al-Birr and At-Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); but do not help one another in sin and transgression. [Al-Maa’idah. 2]

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: This verse contains all the Masaalih (things that will bring about benefit and repel harm) for the servants of Allah in their worldly affairs and in the Hereafter – amongst themselves or reharding their relationship with their Lord. This is because every servant of Allah finds himself within two circumstances and obligations – either to fulfil the obligations owed to Allah or the obligations owed to Allah’s creation. As for the obligations owed to the creation, they include (righteous) association, companionship, aiding one another in Allah loves and obedience to Allah, and that is the goal behind one’s search for happiness and success in the afterlife. There can be no happiness in the afterlife except through Bir and Taqwaa because it is basis of all affairs of the religion. [4]

After our visit yesterday to attend the beneficial lecture delivered by Shaikh Abu Iyaad, may Allah preserve him and all our Mashayikh in the East and the West, I wish—as we do from time to time—to remind myself and you all about the purpose of Al-Markaz As-Salafi.

The Masjid was established in the beginning of the 2000s, after years of struggle with Ahlul Bidah. At least for myself, this struggle started from 1995 to 2002, and others experienced it prior to myself. All praise and thanks be to Allah that we have been safeguarded from the Fitna of the Mubtadi’ah and the Fitna of those who do not recant their mistakes. May Allah grant the senior scholars of Ahlus Sunnah abundant reward for their clarifications during all those Fitan, as well as all the teachers in the West who transmitted the clarifications of the scholars through articles and lectures whenever Fitna occurred. There is nothing more precious and valuable than this blessed Salafi Manhaj.

Nowadays, when we enter Al-Markaz As-Salafi (Manchester), besides the Shurah, the old friends, and some other few beloved brothers, we hardly know anyone due to the many new faces—beloved Shabab upon the Sunnah. May Allah protect us and them from every evil. May Allah unite our hearts upon everything beloved and pleasing to Him. Amin.

With regards to the Masjid Committee—people with whom I have shared many times of hardship and ease, besides respect, loving for them what I love for myself, and sharing the most precious thing (Salafiyyah)—I do not reserve any frank speech for them. They are the last people I would feel shy to tell exactly what is expected from us, and they likewise do so to me.

After three years of miscommunication, from 2002–2005, first and foremost, Allah facilitated ease for us through mutual understanding, then through the advice given by all the teachers in the West whenever we needed advice. This – alhamdulil lah – continues to this day, for indeed, cooperation upon good is not an option, but rather a command. Also, we make no differentiation between the upright Mashayikh—all the students of the scholars in the East. For whoever has good advice based on clarity and is given to us, we’ll examine it through broad consultation with well-known people of sound judgement before implementation. We should never lose this communication.

In this regard, we ask Allah to continue protecting us from poor communication and conflicts of interest, because the latter itself leads to an atmosphere similar to workplace politics: an environment of covert influence-seeking, gatekeeping, manipulation, the evasion of responsibility, and dysfunctional behaviour.

In such circumstances, there is no frankness when decisions are made, and concealment of involvement becomes a strategic evasion of responsibility. Blame-shifting becomes rife, allying with one another for convenience, abandoning one another for convenience, as well as employing the tactic of plausible deniability, deliberate deception, triangulation, scapegoating, and the use of intermediaries as shields, instrumentalisation, and exploitation. May Allah protect us from all of this filth because it does take place when an organisation expands. No one should be treated in a manner where they are trusted when useful, excluded when inconvenient, and kept ignorant about who is manipulating them. Also, may Allah protect us from placing ourselves in a situation where we are made to confront a choice. Rather, from the beginning of every matter, let us continue to communicate clearly and frankly among ourselves and with others based on clear proof- no speculation or ambiguity.

May Allah protect us from a situation where anyone—within or outside any of our institutions—is made to resemble a political pawn who is used by other people to advance their interests, sometimes without fully recognising that he is being used. Also, may Allah protect us from using anyone in the manner in which a factional operative is used, who carries the interests, grievances, or agenda of a particular faction into our institutions. In this regard, our relationship should continue being established upon frankness and substantiated proof when dealing with others, together with the compassion, gentleness, and mutual advice that is owed to all people of the Sunnah—free from selective rage, selective punishment, and selective accountability. And one of the most important things in this era is robust verification, careful deliberation, uncompromising truth-telling, robust impartiality, and hatred for oppression. Otherwise, we’ll send a wrong message to the youth in our institutions. We have witnessed how cutting and pasting the words of a person from audios has led to much evil, rancour and oppression. Had it not been for the mercy of Allah, we would have been from those afflicted with this sin. Reminder below:

Everyday: In These Times of Competing Narratives, We Value Fair Play, Context and Verification

Why – these days – we investigate thoroughly and employ extra caution when people dispute?

[2] Why, in the Current Climate, We Insist to Every Mancunian Youth We Meet That They Establish Thorough Verification

Why – these days – we investigate thoroughly and employ extra caution when people dispute?

In saying all this, our reference points are all our beloved scholars in the Muslim lands, and our beloved Mashayikh in the East and the West, based on broad consultation and clear proof whenever needed- no trial by proxy or background deliberations in times of disagreement, but rather inclusive frank discussions based on love, compassion and eagerness to give everyone their rights. The Messenger, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: “Whoever would love to be delivered from Hellfire and admitted into Paradise, let him meet his end whilst believing in Allah and the Last Day, and let him treat people as he would love to be treated”.  [5]

There are no go-betweens or barriers between us and the upright, trustworthy people of knowledge, wherever they may be.

Finally, we remind ourselves that Allah sees, hears and knows everything we do. Read:

Profound Contemplation Before We Open Our Mouths In Private Or Public

And Allah knows best

Your brother:

Abu AbiBakr (Abu Mu’awiyah) Abdullah Jallow

[1] An Excerpt From ‘Badaa’i at-Tafseer Al-Jami Limaa Fassarahu Al-Imam Ibnul Qayyim. 1/383-384

[2] An Excerpt from “Tasheelul Ilmaam Bi-Fiqhil Ahaadeeth Min Bulooghil Maraam”. 6/318-319

[3] Tarikh Al-Islam 17/231

[4] An Excerpt from Bada’i at-Tafsir Al-Jaami Limaa Fassarahu Al-Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah. 1/307. Publisher: Daar Ibn Al-Jawziyyah 2nd Edition. 1431AH]

[5] https://salafidawahmanchester.com/2026/10/10/treat-others-as-you-would-love-to-be-treated-admonitions-by-senior-scholars/