Presentation of some questions that came from Somalia in a letter received by Shaykh al-Albani

The student: Our Shaykh, your time is limited. Some of the brothers from Somalia called me!

The Shaykh : Yes.
The student: And you were in the hospital, so you spoke with me. They wanted to talk about the disbelief of declaring something permissible. I told them, I...

The Shaykh: Yes.
The student: Later, later, when it starts... When I told them that the Shaykh is currently too tired to answer, then they called me a second time and said we want to send the questions written on paper, and I will present them to the Shaykh, because we are in a very difficult situation, and the two disputing parties... agree to hear from Shaykh al-Albani words that will resolve what is between them, and therefore now we do not want to move, may Allah be pleased with you, but I want to read the questions to the Shaykh quickly, because the Shaykh is now...

The Shaykh: on an appointment.
The student: on another appointment. Do you want to leave? ...

The questioner: Praise is to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our souls and the badness of our deeds. Whom Allah guides, none can misguide, and whom He misguides, none 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, the truest speech is the Book of Allah, the best guidance is the guidance of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the worst of matters are their innovations, every innovation is misguidance, every misguidance is in the Fire. Our Shaykh, may Allah bless you, reward you, prolong your life, benefit the Ummah with you, and make us and you, if Allah wills, among those who drink from the Pool, whose owner the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) gives a drink from his noble hand, a drink after which we shall never thirst, if Allah wills. Some of the brothers from Somalia called me and asked me to present to you questions in which their circumstances have become narrow, and they are in disagreement regarding the answers among themselves, so this one responds to that one, and that one perhaps becomes harsh with the other, and the dispute is intense between them to a severe degree, such that you would think that what is happening between them is as if it is happening between disbelievers and Muslims.

The Shaykh: Allah is the Greatest!

The questioner: And this is part of the affliction that has befallen the Ummah in all corners of the lands of Islam, and we ask Allah to save us from this affliction, and to lift this fitnah from us, and to return the Ummah to the path that our righteous predecessors followed, following the Master of the Messengers (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him). And before we direct the questions to you, I would like to read the letter they submitted with these questions, in which they explained and clarified the existing situation at their location. They said in that letter: "In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate. Praise is to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. As for what follows: May the peace of Allah be upon the scholar al-Albani from his Salafi brothers in Somalia. We would like to present to your excellence questions, and before presenting them, we would like to briefly depict the reality that produced the questions and necessitated them. In the land of Somalia, there is a Muslim people, and there are no disbelieving minorities. And there was, four years ago, a tyrannical, shifting government, which turned its face sometimes toward Bolshevism, and sometimes toward the White House, driving the people like a herd of sheep, not considering in them any kinship or covenant, nor the honor of the Ummah, trampling on their necks, and violating their honor." This is what the letter says, meaning.

The Shaykh : Yes, yes.

The questioner: "Until the matter reached the point of tampering with the Book of Allah, violating whatever it wished and denying it as it pleased, until it denied the system of family and inheritance in Islam, and the president claimed that this was a remnant of colonialism.

The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah.

The questioner: And minor opinions, this is what the letter says.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: When the injustice reached its limit, and the oppression reached its peak, groups or fronts were formed against it, composed of tribes, with their heads being the tribal notables. Confrontations also began between these fronts and the government army, and they continued for years until the government was forced to withdraw from the regions and governorates, and it concentrated in the capital. Then violent confrontations occurred inside the capital, and they lasted for a month, and the regime used all lethal weapons, but they did not benefit it, and the victims of this war numbered in the tens of thousands.

The Shaykh: There is no power nor strength except with Allah.

The questioner: Of men, women, children, and elders. To Allah we belong and to Him we return. Until the capital almost became a mass grave. The fronts triumphed over him, and he left the capital with the remnants of his army, dragging the tails of defeat.

The Shaykh : This is...

The questioner: No, no, our Shaykh, this...

The Shaykh: And he said they descended in...

The questioner: This, our Shaykh, either before or after, meaning the American government has now withdrawn its forces.

The Shaykh: Yes, but we know that...

The questioner: By Allah, it is not early in any case, perhaps it is mentioned in this letter.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner: Something, but he, this letter is as it is, meaning.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: When he was expelled from the capital, the people scattered in all directions, and every tribe migrated to its original region, and the youth of the Awakening belonging to each tribe followed them, for the necessity of security and economy, and perhaps da'wah. The tyrant and some of his close army members settled in a village inhabited by a tribe, and they gathered, or the remnants of their army gathered in another city. And there were Islamic movements in Somalia, such as the Muslim Brotherhood movement, with its local and international branches, and the Tabligh movement, and the Somali Islamic Union movement. This last one mentioned in its basic constitution: that its methodology is the Book and the Sunnah according to the understanding of the righteous Salaf, while benefiting from the Islamic heritage, both old and new.

The Shaykh: What is its name, did you tell me?

The questioner: The last party, our Shaykh? The Islamic Union.

The Shaykh: What is it?

The questioner: Its name is the Islamic Union.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner: Yes, and its goal, meaning this group, this Union.

The Shaykh: The Union.

The questioner: Establishing the rule of Allah on earth, while using all lawful means to achieve it. Organizationally, it resembles the Muslim Brotherhood in terms of its selection system and the people, and the emirate is obligatory to obey, which takes the motive for its members to their leader in obedience and submission in ease and hardship. During the previous government: the youth would gather or wait for the opportunity, yes, wait for the opportunity to participate in the fighting taking place between the government and the tribes, and they described it as a war between two ignorant parties. So here it becomes... what?
The student: They avoid participating in.

The questioner: They avoid.
The student: Yes.

The questioner: Ah, and during the previous government, the youth avoided participating in the fighting taking place between the government and the tribes, and they described it as a war between the ignorant, and since the Union group is the largest of the movements as it claims, or as it claims: it was suggested to them that they could protect themselves when events unfold, and engage in battles to take power after the bond had broken. So they helped influential groups in that group, their tribes, in some battles, against other tribes, on the pretext that their tribe had pledged to accept the rule of Islam if they were defended. With the participation of their tribe, others were able to expel some fronts from a town they controlled, on the pretext that the expelled were rebels (baghy). They cited a verse in Surat al-Hujurat regarding fighting the rebels. And the leadership of the group decided two years ago, in a manner contrary to their constitution: to seize a wide region of the country, whether by peace or war. So they carried out a coup against those tribes, but they were quickly defeated, so they fled to a mountainous region where they remained besieged for a long time, and they fought bravely to repel the tribes' attacks, until the matter was finally settled, and some wise men sought reconciliation, so the youth put down their weapons. But the da'wah was greatly delayed as a result of what happened. And now another faction of the group is preparing and training to liberate the capital, Mogadishu, from the grip of the tribal fronts. And they were provided, or were provided by the Osama bin Laden group, with some training courses and fiqh lessons, and other groups outside the country help them. And of course, all of this is mentioned, and we are just conveying it.

The Shaykh: Verbatim.

The questioner : Yes, indeed. These young men and their supporters are called, and whenever an incident occurs, and regarding what they intend to do now, they call it jihad in the path of Allah. The leader of that group believes that the people of Somalia are not protected in their blood—Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, to Allah we belong and to Him we return—and that he has vowed to Allah to shed much blood until they adhere to the law of Allah. The young men believe that such a leader must be obeyed and that disobeying him is forbidden. On this basis, they rush to carry out whatever he orders them to do. Finally: these questions are sent by the Salafis in Somalia, who trust the Shaykh and benefit greatly from his books and tapes. They need the answers to be detailed, as heated ideological discussions are taking place in the Somali arena. Here are the questions.