A lecture by the Shaykh, "Ayyad 'Abassi," on the importance of our Islamic history and the distortions of the enemies of Islam and Muslims regarding it.

Eid Abbasi : ... We praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own souls and the badness of our deeds. Whoever Allah guides, no one can mislead, and whoever He misleads, no one can guide. And I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger, , , . As for what follows:
Indeed, the best of speech is the Book of Allah, and the best of guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). The worst of matters are their innovations, every innovation is a religious innovation, every religious innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in the Fire.
This is a brief word on Islamic history, which may contain benefit, if Allah wills. In its simplicity, it is a reminder of matters that concern every Muslim who calls to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). First, everyone knows that history is a subject concerning the study of the history and news of past nations. This study is not for amusement or entertainment, but the primary purpose that nations aim for behind this study is to educate current generations so that in the future they will be the best builders of this nation's history and the best creators of a bright future in which they achieve their goals and hopes. This is the lesson from studying history. The lesson is not merely to look at past events for the sake of looking, but to take benefit and learn from the experiences and events of those who came before, in order to build a good reality and future, as educators wish and as the sound, thinking human being wishes.
Therefore, the verses of the Noble Book and the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are filled with the explanation of much of the news of past nations and many of the events of people and groups in previous eras. All of this is so that present generations take the lesson and benefit from it to build their reality and be the best nation brought forth for people, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.
Allah (Mighty and Majestic) explicitly states this purpose in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): "for the believers." So, these events that fill the verses of the Clear Book, the stories of the prophets, the stories of past peoples, the stories of the righteous, the struggle of the believers with the disbelievers; this conflict between truth and falsehood that filled the history of humanity and which history continues until Allah resurrects the earth and those upon it, all of this gives us the study of this entire history, the purpose of which is to take the lesson and the benefit, to explain these admonitions that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) wants to teach people. There is no doubt that all these admonitions revolve around this idea: that the path to happiness, righteousness, and salvation in this world and the Hereafter is the path of guidance brought by the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them), and especially our Messenger, their seal, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
This path is the saving path, this path is the path of happiness, the path of success, the path of victory for the individual and the group in this world and the Hereafter. This is what the Qur'an explicitly states in more than one place, such as His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): ; with these lessons, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) concludes many of the Qur'anic stories, so .
Likewise, the hadiths of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are filled with these events; for this reason, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, among other things: . And among the most numerous hadiths are those of the Children of Israel, their stories, the events that happened to them, the news, the wonders, all of which illuminate the path for the human being and clarify for him the straight path that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is pleased with, and which saves him in his worldly life and his Hereafter.
This history, the history of the Muslims since the appearance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to several centuries, is something we take pride in and are most proud of and most honored by: the history of the three excellent centuries about which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) praised them when he said: . These three excellent centuries were an example for the generations that walked upon the guidance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). No generation in the history of humanity was righteous in its number, its level, its mindfulness of Allah, and its correct faith like the generation of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Some even called them the ideal generation that thinkers, reformers, and philosophers dreamed of; that first Islamic generation that learned at the hands of the noble Messenger Muhammad (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him).
We consider this history to be one of the brightest in human history, or it is actually the brightest if we exclude the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them). The Noble Qur'an testified to the righteousness of these noble Companions, praising them in more than one place, including His saying (Mighty and Majestic): .
This brilliant Islamic history produced for us geniuses in all sciences, all arts, all human purposes, and all fields of life: in knowledge, in Islamic jurisprudence, in politics, in war, in economics, in character, in mindfulness of Allah. You will not find a science or a field of life in which you do not find among the Companions of the noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), especially, and among their successors and followers generally, the best examples and the finest models that are a role model for us and for the rest of the generations in righteousness, uprightness, sincerity, and mindfulness of Allah. In war, you find men like whom no one has been found in the history of humanity: Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, the conqueror of Iraq, and Khalid ibn al-Walid, the conqueror of the Levant, and Abu 'Ubaydah and 'Amr ibn al-'As, and many like them in the arts of war were among the best found on the face of the earth.
In the sciences, you find among them jurists, judges, fair rulers, politicians. Who is like 'Umar in his scrupulousness, in his mindfulness of Allah, in his justice, in his equality?! He was even used as a parable in the East and the West. And Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and 'Uthman, and 'Ali, and Mu'adh, and Ubay, and Zayd ibn Thabit, the first mujahideen from the preceding Companions: Bilal, Khubayb, Suhayb, 'Ammar, and many, many like them. And so were those who confronted the rulers and said to them the word of truth, and those who delved into the fields of knowledge, deriving rulings and becoming well-versed in jurisprudence. This brilliant Islamic history, the history of the Rightly Guided, we observe—with regret—in our present reality, since the colonizers took control of the lands of Islam until today, we observe—with regret—that this history of theirs has been distorted, altered, and corrupted. You hardly find it in the school books in which our sons and daughters are taught the truths of this history as they came in the authentic books with established chains of narration.
And among the most regrettable things is that you see the general direction in schools in various Islamic lands—except what Allah has shown mercy to—find this direction focused on neglecting Islamic history. And with this neglect, they distort it, corrupt it, and tamper with its interpretation and analysis. One of the observations in this regard is that they have placed the study of this Islamic history in the years when the student isThe student : young in age, not yet mature enough to understand the realities of life so that he is affected by it, stirred up, carries it in his mind, and calls for it in his reality and behavior. You find them, for example, in the second year of preparatory school or something similar, whereas in the grades where he has maturedThe student : and risen and become affected to build his thought and his path in life, you find it either filled with the history of ancient nations, the origins of the Pharaohs, the Hyksos, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Amorites, and the like, or with modern history that is filled with the nationalistic trend and the Western secular Masonic influence in the lands of Islam. So all of this covers up what he studiedThe student : of Islamic history.
As I said, a simplified, distorted, and altered version of it is taught in these early years when the child is still closest to naivety and superficiality; then the histories of subsequent eras come along to cover up that previous information and cause it to fade away.
This is the first criticism: that they make the study of Islamic history take place in years when the student is not yet intentionalThe student : and has not yet matured, nor has he reached the sound level at which he is influenced, benefits, and builds his personality upon it.
The second thing is that they have distorted this history. The proof of this is that if you review the history books that teach Islamic history, specifically in school books up to our present day in most Islamic countries, you will find that they interpret it according to the interpretation they inherited from the West and took from the East, here and there. Some interpret it according to the economic view and communist philosophy, some according to nationalist philosophy, and others according to a social philosophy and the like, all of which distorts this history, changes its facts, and corrupts the lesson from which we can build a righteous generation that takes the correct direction and sound lessons from this history.
Most school history books, for example, and university references, their greatest source is the books of the Orientalists and their students, even at the university level. I remember this from when I was studying at the university about fifteen years ago; we had a subject called Islamic History in a year called General Culture, which was later abolished. In the subject of history from books of Islamic history and history in its different eras, I used to read from these books a book by "Shaker Mustafa," and you know his influence, which still remains. He transfers events and news from those eras; imagine to what degree the dependency and intellectual decline have reached! He transfers news from the famous "History of al-Tabari," which is from the greatest of Muslim historians, transferring phrases and news from "History of al-Tabari" from a book by an Orientalist, I think "Von Kremer" or "Flahausen," whose name is mentioned in the book. He says, for example: "From the book of 'Flahausen' or 'Von Kremer' about 'History of al-Tabari' such and such!!" And this is in more than one place. So I was amazed by this. If you look past the analyses with which they analyze events, and the interpretations with which they interpret them, you will see something amazing. These are the great historians, those who teach history; as you know, the university history teachers are those from whom all the secondary school history teachers will graduate. These are their professors in this manner!!
Another professor who taught us, for example, gave us a well-known incident, the incident of "al-Abbas," the sister of "al-Rashid." He took the same words written by a famous historian known for his hostility to Islam and his distortion of Muslim history, named "George Zaydan." This book is known for its narratives of Islamic history in all its chapters and regions; it distorts this glorious Islamic history to make it stories like the history of previous nations. Great and wonderful events in which faith and sincerity to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) are manifested, he portrays them as being driven, for example, by the love of a woman, or, for example, by passion, or worldly incidents, or the like.
For example, from the stories of "George Zaydan," there is a story about the conquest of Andalusia; I forgot its title. It is one of the incidents of the conquest of Andalusia. We all know that it was faith that drove those peoples to conquer those lands and spread Islam in them, and spread the Muslim civilization and Islamic culture. This great goal and objective all fades away in the portrayal of "George Zaydan," and the entire conquest becomes due to the victory of "Tariq ibn Ziyad" because of a woman. The summary of a long series of incidents is that the King of the Goths, "Ludwig," had a commander named "Aurelian" who was in love with a woman who loved him. The relationship between him and "Ludwig" deteriorated because he wanted to assault this wife or mistress of his, so she fled from him to a city, I think "Ceuta." The Muslims were in Ceita, and either this commander or the Muslims went to conquer Andalusia. The two armies met, and this woman, as if she missed that man "Aurelian," advanced close to the fighters and began searching for "Aurelian" in the army of "Ludwig." Suddenly, she found him from a distance and pointed to him. In the heat of the battle and in the midst of the war, because of his attachment to her, and having found her in the ranks of the Muslims while she was still a Christian, he withdrew with a large part of his army to join the Muslim army. And thus victory was achieved, the Muslims won, and Andalusia was conquered because of two lovers, each on one side. He joined his army, and "Ludwig" was defeated a terrible defeat.
This is one of many stories containing distortion, change, and alteration, as their desires please them and as Satan whispers to them. We do not doubt that their hostility to Islam is what drives them to this distortion. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) warns us with the strongest warning not to trust a disbeliever or take our knowledge from an open sinner. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) says, for example: .
And the prohibition of allegiance in many things . And among the forms of allegiance is that we take from them our history, our culture, our literature, and the sources of our sciences. So we must know that these are our enemies. As He (the Exalted) said, and He is the most truthful of speakers: , . These have become our sources, they have become our references!! If you stand up to one of them and say: "This, for example, is a Christian, this is not a Muslim," they accuse you of being reactionary, stagnant, bigoted, and sectarian. Yet they themselves, these Christians or Jews, you will not find one of them taking a source from a Muslim or studying under a believer. Perhaps you remember when the Europeans were influenced by Muslims in their civilization during the Crusades and in the contact of Muslims with Andalusia, what did the Europeans do? This is a lesson for us. Look: they took all the worldly sciences from the Muslims, but as for their religion, their culture, and their ideas, they did not take them.
They were among those who came to study in the Islamic universities, priests and popes. I remember more than ten popes who graduated from the Muslim universities in "Cordoba" and "Andalusia," and none of them took from the Muslims their religion or their culture. He would come to take the culture he wanted and the worldly sciences, and the Greek philosophy, which is the philosophy of his ancestors and forefathers, and return to his nation to raise it anew on the basis of its ideas and culture, without being influenced by the culture of those from whom he took the knowledge and the culture.
So these disbelievers did this. Why is it that when our children, our sons, go to study in the lands of Europe, one of them comes back a believer, or from a Muslim family, having adopted disbelieving, atheistic ideas, ideas that contradict Islam from its foundation? He accuses his fathers, his history, and his nation of being stagnant and reactionary. This nation, for which you will not find a parallel in the history of other nations in its justice, its fairness, its uprightness, its scrupulousness, and its morals, is accused by these people of being reactionary, backward, and bigoted.
We dare the entire world to find in its history a just ruler like 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), who lived and died in poverty, sleeping on the ground in the simplest of conditions among his Muslim brothers. When the year of famine came, he went hungry just as his brothers did. It is narrated that once he was so hungry his stomach growled, and he said to his stomach: "Growl as much as you want; you will not taste meat until the Muslims are full," or as he said (may Allah have mercy on him). This is the man who would check on the people and stay up at night, searching for the poor, the orphan, and the widow to care for them, support them, treat them well, and improve their circumstances. We dare the world to find someone like him in this justice, this fairness, and this uprightness.
Our commander, the conqueror Khalid, we dare the world to find anyone comparable to him—for example—in his stance when he was dismissed and Abu 'Ubaydah was appointed. What did he do but remain fighting as a soldier among the Muslim soldiers, saying: "I fight for the sake of Allah, not for the sake of 'Umar. I am a soldier, whether I am a soldier or a commander, in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)."
If he had been in any other nation and had reached this peak of glory and greatness, to the point where people were almost tempted by him and believed that victory was tied to him, then when he reached this level and was dismissed, if he had been in another nation, he would have risen up with the army to stage a coup, take over the rule, and remove all his opponents. He had the public, he had popularity, and he had the people who were captivated by him. But his faith held him back, and he said: "I fight in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)." What nation has men like these? In knowledge, in scrupulousness, in mindfulness of Allah, who stand before sultans and speak the word of truth, fearing none but Allah (Mighty and Majestic)? In all areas of life, if you went to them, you would find them the highest example and the brightest role model. And yet, the slaves of the West and the East look down on these men, accusing them of being backward, and they make their role models... those people whose only concern is this world, whose concern is leadership, whose concern is selfishness, position, and fame. You find in their biographies gaps, slips, and mistakes that are intolerable, and it is not fitting for one who possesses these traits, or in whose life they are found, to be a commander in any way.
"Marx," "Bonaparte," "Lenin," "Mao," or "Duri" and the like, "Ruit." If you read about their personal biographies, you will find, as I said, major flaws and shameful slips.
Among the phenomena or things in which these enemies have distorted the history of Islam is this radiant Rashidun history. And unfortunately, some of the sons of Muslims, who are of our own flesh and blood, agreed with them in this, and I mean by them the sects of the Shi'ah. These people participated, intentionally or unintentionally, in achieving the objectives of these Orientalist enemies of Islam. And unfortunately, many of our books are also influenced by the Shi'ah tendency in school books and the like. You find that when they deal with the Rightly Guided Caliph Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them)... they describe him, in the best of cases, as a righteous caliph but weak. They say he loved his relatives, appointed them, employed them, even though they were not qualified. They say he did such and such, listing all the accusations that the Shi'ah direct at this Rightly Guided Caliph, without these authors and writers verifying whether these accusations are true or false, what their source is, what the historians said about them, or what their chains of narration are. No, it is pleasing to them to do so. Why?
To cast doubt on the history of Islam and to achieve a goal of the disbelievers in this history, so that they may reach the conclusion that this great religion which you, O Muslims, have adopted is evil. It cannot be applied, at best. If you say: "It is good," we say: "Yes, but it is only fit to be placed on a shelf, not to be applied." Because these are the best of generations; look at their history. There is nothing in the history of the Rashidun except wars and fitnah: the War of the Camel, the wars of Uthman, the Battle of Siffin. As for Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), for example, he held the caliphate for thirteen years. Read the school books; what do they teach from his history? ... Immediately the fitnah, the appointment of his relatives, his weakness, and the disagreement of Abu Dharr with him. They judge according to their desires to reach the point of casting doubt on him, and thereby casting doubt on Islam itself. It becomes as if it is a mass-transmitted fact, whether they state it explicitly or not, that the reality of people's situation, and often the reality of their words, is: "My brother, if we believe that Islam is good, but as you see, it is idealistic and imaginary, not fit to be applied." So in the best of the eras in which Islam flourished and in which people were raised on its principles, look, it cannot be applied. It was not applied except in the era of two caliphs: Abu Bakr for two years, and 'Umar for ten years. Because they distorted the history of Uthman, and 'Ali was entirely fitnah, and they also distorted his history. So two caliphs means this is an imaginary, idealistic history, meaning an imaginary, idealistic religion that cannot be applied. It is good, but it is placed on the shelf because it is not realistic!
And this result, as you see, is a dangerous result that affects the ideas of the youth, turning them away from Islam in the first place. So they seek another principle that is suitable for their reality, that fits their children, their future, and meets their requirements. And you have these Western ideas, these Eastern ideas, and of course, they are dearer to people because they agree with their desires and their interests. They do not have these restrictions by which the Shari'ah restricts the servants of Allah and binds their desires and instincts, so that they may be as Allah loves and is pleased with.
So the Rightly Guided Caliph Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) has been wronged for all these years and many generations, and his biography has been treated badly. And we, as people who call to the methodology of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them), believe that Uthman is among the best of our righteous Salaf. It is sufficient that he is among the ten promised Paradise (may Allah be pleased with them), and that he is the son-in-law of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), who married him to his two daughters. If there had been any fault in him, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not have... approached him with such closeness and married him to two daughters (may Allah be pleased with him).
Likewise, his stances in supporting Islam and the Muslims in his era, the flowering of the conquests, and in his era also, prosperity spread, and people found security and abundance. People began to enter the religion of Allah in large groups, and Persia was conquered, and the conquests that had begun in the time of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) continued.
Then some of the good deeds of this great caliph they make into bad deeds. For example, the gathering of the Qur'an, its writing, and its sending to the provinces, they count this among the bad deeds. I remember that among the causes of the revolt they narrate against Uthman is that... the musahafs (copies of the Qur'an) were something new that had not existed before, even though it is a merit for him (may Allah be pleased with him). By such an action, the Noble Qur'an was preserved, and Allah (Mighty and Majestic) protected it from being lost, as the books of previous nations were lost.
Among some of the faults they mention about him are human things from which no person is free. For example, what the rebels took issue with him for, as these books narrate, is that he lost the ring, which was the ring of the Messenger (peace be upon him), in a well.
I do not know if this incident is true?

The Shaykh : It is valid.

Eid Abbasi : And what if a person makes a mistake unintentionally? Will he be held accountable for it? By what law, by what reason? This is one of its defects! Then they portray him as if he were a capitalist, an enemy of the workers, an enemy of the peasants; that he opposed Abu Dharr in his view regarding wealth. Perhaps you have heard of this view, the view of Abu Dharr, about which many people make a great fuss, distorting it and portraying it as the socialism they call for and take pride in, whereas it is a jurisprudential opinion and a specific ijtihad (independent legal reasoning) belonging to Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him). We must also know that this ijtihad was wrong, because it contradicts the correct evidence from the Book and the Sunnah, as it contradicts the opinion of the rest of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all), who were more knowledgeable and more numerous than him, and among them were some of the Rightly Guided Caliphs who said this in their time, such as Uthman and Ali.
The summary of Abu Dharr’s statement is that he held that it is not permissible for a person to hoard wealth that exceeds his need, and he called it hoarding, applying the noble verse to it, His saying (Mighty and Majestic): . This noble verse he interpreted through his ijtihad (may Allah be pleased with him) as a severe warning for everyone who possesses wealth in excess of his need, whether he pays its zakah or not. This opinion, as we said, was unique to Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), and it contradicts the correct evidence from the Book and the Sunnah and the practice of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with him). It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: .

The Shaykh : .

Eid Abbasi : Yes, or Kamil said (peace and blessings be upon him).
There is also a report from Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) to the same effect, in which it is established that there is no harm in saving and storing wealth if its zakah is paid, and that there is no punishment for it, and that this punishment is sufficient, meaning that Islam, which is observed in its various legislations, encourages the utilization of wealth, its development, participation in it, and its circulation in the hands of people. So if one fears for his wealth or desires to save and store it, let him bear the cost of giving the annual zakah from this wealth: two and a half percent from money, and what is detailed in the books of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) from other things. This is like a penalty for hoarding, and after that, nothing is required of him, as he has given the poor their share and given what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) obligated upon him.
This hadith is supported by the practice of the righteous Salaf (may Allah be pleased with them) in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and after him. In his time (peace and blessings be upon him), there were the rich, the merchants, and the owners of wealth, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would see their wealth and their prosperity and did not disapprove of it, nor did he punish them, nor did he denounce them and confiscate their wealth. In that time of the Messenger (peace be upon him), Uthman was also trading and had acquired a great deal of wealth. And Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) visited him and he had covered himself with a blanket, fearing it might be the illness of death, asked the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): "I have a great deal of wealth and I have no one but a daughter; should I give all my wealth in charity?" The first question...

The Shaykh : ... .

Eid Abbasi : He said: . He said: "One-sixth of my wealth?" He said: . He said: "One-half?" He said: . He said: "One-third?" He said: .
And likewise Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and others, to whom came trades and caravans full of wealth, so they had vast sums of money. Naturally, they knew the right of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in it, and they gave charity, saved, and enjoyed the lawful, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) never disapproved of that. Otherwise, if it were forbidden for a person to save more than his need, why did Allah (Mighty and Majestic) legislate the zakah of wealth, the zakah of the two metals, and others? There is nothing that exceeds the need, because one of the conditions of zakah is that a lunar year passes over it; this means that there is saved wealth over which a year has passed until the zakah is demanded from it.
So the important point is this, and as I said, in all the other Islamic periods, the practice was to allow saving with the obligation of zakah.
This view of Abu Dharr, they exaggerate it and glorify it, and make it a basis for confiscating wealth and insurance and the like, and they attack all the Companions who opposed this view, who were in the right. He (may Allah be pleased with him) exerted effort and erred, and he has a reward for that, and it is in any case an opinion of his. Nevertheless, he is a Muslim believer who builds this opinion and others on the fear of Allah, and he wants people, behind this view of his, to leave the world and its adornments, materialism and its requirements and aspects, and to turn to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and to devote their bodies to the Hereafter. This is his purpose. So where are these people from him, when their only purpose is materialism and the world? And these who glorify his view and call to it, you see in their behavior and their works that they are the most contrary to this view, because they are materialists and worldly in their private lives...?
The disagreement of Abu Dharr with Uthman, they also make it a great criticism of him and a major point of attack. And so, regarding the appointment of relatives, we do not deny that Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) appointed some of his relatives. Naturally, we must seek accuracy in these reports that are narrated about these Rightly Guided Caliphs (may Allah be pleased with them) and the rest of the Companions; we must seek precision and authenticity, so we look at the chains of narration and verify the texts. And after that, what is established from these reports, we understand that they exerted effort in it and interpreted it; if they erred, they have a reward, and if they hit the mark, they have two rewards (may Allah be pleased with them). Far be it from Allah that they were carried away by their desires or by what people, or most people in our time, are carried away by.
The appointment of relatives, for example, some of it was right; he appointed some of his relatives, but most of them were competent for this work. And loving relatives is a human nature, and it is also something that Islam directed a person to be dutiful to his relatives and those close to him in kinship, but with justice, without oppressing them and without giving them more than they deserve.
And even these Caliphs whom these people admire, like Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) or Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), we find that Ali also appointed his relatives. Look at his governors in the provinces: Qutham ibn al-Abbas, Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas, his cousins, and Ubayd Allah also; all of them were governors whom these people do not look at, they avert their eyes from them. Why? Because they have a bias against them. And especially, as I said, these are all endorsements from the Shi'ah. They do not investigate that Ali appointed his relatives, even though we do not attack Ali because he appointed his relatives, because we believe that he appointed the most competent among them. And who is more competent than Abd Allah ibn al-Abbas in what he appointed him to, and his brothers?! But why do you justify for Ali the appointment of relatives and do not justify for Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) the appointment of relatives? And why do you assume good intentions there and do not assume good intentions here? This is bias, and this treatment involves a difference in the scale that is not permissible to come from a believer ever. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: .
The Orientalists and their students have also distorted and defaced the history of Islam. In it is the history of some of the Muslim caliphs, other than the Rightly Guided Caliphs, such as Harun al-Rashid, for example, and some of the later Ottoman sultans, such as Sultan Abdul Hamid. These are, of course, far removed from what we desire of the Muslim ruler by many degrees. However, these enemies should not lead us to mistreat their history or to deface and distort it. Rather, we must acknowledge the truth in it, and we must also acknowledge what is wrong in it, while also holding a good opinion of them and considering them to be human beings who err and who hit the mark. In the view of many writers and historians who drew their biographies from it and depicted its news to the people, al-Rashid is... and what is their source for that? The book *One Thousand and One Nights*, this fictional book whose author and origin are unknown, which was made to be an amusement and entertainment for people. Many mention that some of the Mamluk rulers in their time, in order to distract people from their evils and problems, instructed some writers to publish such books so that people would be amused. We still remember to this day in the large coffeehouses in Damascus and elsewhere, where they read these stories in the cafes, amuse themselves with them, and they occupy their minds, their time, and their attention, distracting them from the conditions of the Muslims and the evils of the officials, so that those [enemies] may achieve what they desire.
So, in their view, al-Rashid is a man whose concern is women, whose concern is his pleasures, whose concern is his concubines. They accuse him of drinking intoxicants, of drinking wine, of spending his time with the open sinner Abu Nuwas and his like. As for what is narrated of al-Rashid's righteousness, of his jihad, of his battles, of his pilgrimage, and of his faith, they turn a blind eye to that. And as I said, the story of al-Abbas, al-Rashid's sister...