Explanation of the reason for the Shaykh's imprisonment in Syria on two occasions, one of which resulted in the abridgment of Sahih Muslim.
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The questioner : Now, regarding the first and second times you were imprisoned in Damascus, Syria, when you did the abridgment of Sahih Muslim, I think!
The Shaykh : Yes, in one of them.
The questioner : The first one or the second?
The Shaykh : The second.
The questioner : Okay, what were the circumstances?
The Shaykh : One was on the occasion of the Jewish planes bombing Damascus. You know when this was, right?
The questioner : They bombed it many times.
The Shaykh : No, but I mean the first action was this, so it appears that the state feared the scholars would revolt: "And there is no pain in a wound on a dead man", so as a precaution against any movement, they arrested the scholars. Yes, and I do not know how they considered me one of the scholars.
Yes, that was one time, and the other time.
The questioner : The first time was three months, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : By Allah, I no longer remember some of the details.
The second time, they summoned me; the intelligence services summoned me. It appears they had planned something and wanted to create a reason, so they said to me: What is your opinion of the rulers today? I said to them, casually: I do not know them. They said to me: What is your opinion of the ruling system, do you support it? I said: No. He said: Why? I said: Because it contradicts Islam. They interrogated me and put me in a Land Rover, and moved me from place to place, a police station.
The questioner : ... or before that?
The Shaykh : Before Him.
They put me in a police station on the basis that they would bring two police officers to take me, I do not know where. One of my compatriots, who are called the Arnauts, passed by me. I said to him, look at what the group is asking for. By Allah, the man got enthusiastic and went in. He told me: These are deciding to deport you to al-Hasakah, meaning northeast Syria. I said to him: Immediately do a favor and go directly to my son at the shop, and tell him: Go to the Yarmouk camp, and bring me in a bag a copy of *Sahih Muslim*, and a pen and a pencil and an eraser, and so on.
The questioner : The tools of the job.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The tools of the job.
The Shaykh : The tools of the job, yes, and he should catch up with me here, or catch up with me at the car departure point to Aleppo. By Allah, the man—may Allah reward him with good—I will never forget it for him. He went to my son, and my son also hurried and went to my house in the Yarmouk camp, and took everything and put it in the bag, and caught up with me at the car departure point. The car was reversing to start, so he climbed up to me, greeted me, embraced me, and bid me farewell. The car departed with us to Aleppo, and from Aleppo to al-Hasakah. Al-Hasakah has a new prison, from the virtues of your support, a very large prison, high, several times this height.
The important thing is they put me in, and glory be to Allah, meaning[Al-An'am 6:96] into a very long corridor, and there were young Muslim men from the Tahrir Party, and their leader used to attend my lessons in Aleppo, a Salafi, meaning, then he deviated with the Tahrir Party. We said: Perhaps a harm is a benefit, and I used to see us day and night in discussion with the group.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is nothing at all, but I brought my provisions and I want to work. Where is the lamp? They put it up there near the ceiling, and the ceiling is very high, I do not benefit from it at all. I spoke with our friend who was a Salafi, his name is Shaykh Mustafa, and it was that they had spent in prison, unfortunately, about two years, and because of the long stay there, they became friends with the prison director, and the prison director is from Hauran, and it appears he has something of the idea, even though he is Ba'athist, meaning, so he actually responded to Shaykh Mustafa and these Muslims, and helped them as much as possible, and they shared the food, the prison food, meaning "sustenance that does not kill" only, meaning, so they shared with each other. I joined them and they were making the food. The important thing now is we need electricity. He spoke with the prison director that we have, I do not know what he said, meaning the scholar Shaykh al-Albani, and he wants to work, he brought his books with him. So by Allah, the man turned out to be kind, but what we want, we will bring it for him, but at his expense. Okay, what do you want?!
They want wires to bring down what? The lamp from up to down. We told him: Easy, bring what we want to pay. There was a bed, of course, for me, so the lamp came down from up there to exactly above my head. I was comfortable, and I did not feel any strangeness or imprisonment at all. And as was said, what did Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, say?
The questioner :"My prison is seclusion".
The Shaykh :"My prison is seclusion", we go to pray.
The questioner : And we continue, my Shaykh, after!
The Shaykh : Continue for five minutes?
The questioner : We continue to!
The Shaykh : Yes, in one of them.
The questioner : The first one or the second?
The Shaykh : The second.
The questioner : Okay, what were the circumstances?
The Shaykh : One was on the occasion of the Jewish planes bombing Damascus. You know when this was, right?
The questioner : They bombed it many times.
The Shaykh : No, but I mean the first action was this, so it appears that the state feared the scholars would revolt: "And there is no pain in a wound on a dead man", so as a precaution against any movement, they arrested the scholars. Yes, and I do not know how they considered me one of the scholars.
Yes, that was one time, and the other time.
The questioner : The first time was three months, my Shaykh?
The Shaykh : By Allah, I no longer remember some of the details.
The second time, they summoned me; the intelligence services summoned me. It appears they had planned something and wanted to create a reason, so they said to me: What is your opinion of the rulers today? I said to them, casually: I do not know them. They said to me: What is your opinion of the ruling system, do you support it? I said: No. He said: Why? I said: Because it contradicts Islam. They interrogated me and put me in a Land Rover, and moved me from place to place, a police station.
The questioner : ... or before that?
The Shaykh : Before Him.
They put me in a police station on the basis that they would bring two police officers to take me, I do not know where. One of my compatriots, who are called the Arnauts, passed by me. I said to him, look at what the group is asking for. By Allah, the man got enthusiastic and went in. He told me: These are deciding to deport you to al-Hasakah, meaning northeast Syria. I said to him: Immediately do a favor and go directly to my son at the shop, and tell him: Go to the Yarmouk camp, and bring me in a bag a copy of *Sahih Muslim*, and a pen and a pencil and an eraser, and so on.
The questioner : The tools of the job.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The tools of the job.
The Shaykh : The tools of the job, yes, and he should catch up with me here, or catch up with me at the car departure point to Aleppo. By Allah, the man—may Allah reward him with good—I will never forget it for him. He went to my son, and my son also hurried and went to my house in the Yarmouk camp, and took everything and put it in the bag, and caught up with me at the car departure point. The car was reversing to start, so he climbed up to me, greeted me, embraced me, and bid me farewell. The car departed with us to Aleppo, and from Aleppo to al-Hasakah. Al-Hasakah has a new prison, from the virtues of your support, a very large prison, high, several times this height.
The important thing is they put me in, and glory be to Allah, meaning
That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.
ذلك تقدير العزيز العليمThe questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : There is nothing at all, but I brought my provisions and I want to work. Where is the lamp? They put it up there near the ceiling, and the ceiling is very high, I do not benefit from it at all. I spoke with our friend who was a Salafi, his name is Shaykh Mustafa, and it was that they had spent in prison, unfortunately, about two years, and because of the long stay there, they became friends with the prison director, and the prison director is from Hauran, and it appears he has something of the idea, even though he is Ba'athist, meaning, so he actually responded to Shaykh Mustafa and these Muslims, and helped them as much as possible, and they shared the food, the prison food, meaning "sustenance that does not kill" only, meaning, so they shared with each other. I joined them and they were making the food. The important thing now is we need electricity. He spoke with the prison director that we have, I do not know what he said, meaning the scholar Shaykh al-Albani, and he wants to work, he brought his books with him. So by Allah, the man turned out to be kind, but what we want, we will bring it for him, but at his expense. Okay, what do you want?!
They want wires to bring down what? The lamp from up to down. We told him: Easy, bring what we want to pay. There was a bed, of course, for me, so the lamp came down from up there to exactly above my head. I was comfortable, and I did not feel any strangeness or imprisonment at all. And as was said, what did Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, say?
The questioner :"My prison is seclusion".
The Shaykh :"My prison is seclusion", we go to pray.
The questioner : And we continue, my Shaykh, after!
The Shaykh : Continue for five minutes?
The questioner : We continue to!