Praise be to Allāh, the Lord of the Ālamīn (mankind, jinn, and all that exists), and May Allāh raise the rank of the Messenger of Allāh and grant him peace, his household, and all his companions.

Thereafter,

The brothers in Nigeria have given me the glad tidings of the opening of a masjid in the name of our Shaykh, Al-Allāmah ‘Ubayd Al-Jābirī, may Allah have mercy on him. On this occasion, I congratulate all the brothers on this great project and advise them and myself with a number of advice:

First, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said: “He who is not grateful to the people is not grateful to Allāh.”

This action of yours is magnificent, as you have named this masjid after our Shaykh ‘Ubaid Al-Jābirī, (may Allah have mercy on him), who played a prominent role among the people of the Sunnah in spreading knowledge and Tawheed (monotheism). This affair requires us to have Ikhlāss (sincerity) to Allāh, (and) to continue on the path of our ‘Ulāmaa Ar-Rabāniyyīn (firmly-grounded senior scholars) in spreading Tawheed, Islām, and the Sunnah, and teaching the people.

There is no doubt that building masājid is an affair that Allah (عز وجل) has legislated and urged in His Book, and our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has encouraged, as Allāh عز وجل said {And the mosques are for Allah (Alone), so invoke not anyone along with Allah}

In this, there is an indication that the masājid should be established upon at-Tawheed, and for this purpose, they were legislated because Allah عز وجل created the creation (mankind) to worship Him and to (direct all acts of worship) to Him alone, as Allah عز وجل said { And I did not create the jinns and humans except to worship Me (Alone)}. For this reason, the first thing the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did when he migrated from Makkah to Medīnah was to establish a masjid for him to pray therein with the Muslims and to teach the people Tawheed, Eemān (Belief) and what Allāh revealed to him (صلى الله عليه وسلم).

Masājid (mosques) are only maintained with the remembrance (of Allah) and (teaching and spreading) knowledge. Maintaining the masājid is by spreading knowledge, Tawheed, and the Sunnah, and this was the practice of the Sahābah (Companions) and the Salafus-Sālih (the righteous predecessors). The scholars used to sit in the masājid (mosques) to teach the people knowledge, such as Ibn Abbas and Ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنهم).

Likewise, the Imāms such as Abu Hanifa and Imām Malik Ibn Anas, the Imām of Dar al-Hijrah, who used to teach in the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah (r), and Imām al-Shāfi’ī, may Allāh have mercy on him, who used to teach in Egypt and other towns, as well as Imām Ahmad Ibn Hanbal and other than them from the scholars of the People of Sunnah and Islām up to our time, from the Ulāmaa Ar-Rabāniyyīn (firmly-grounded senior scholars) who revive the Houses of Allāh and the masājid with His remembrance and (beneficial) knowledge. This is an affirmation and obedience to the command of Allāh, عز وجل, when He  عز وجلsaid, as in surah At-Tawbah: {The Mosques of Allah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day; perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and give Zakat and fear none but Allah. It is they who are expected to be on true guidance.}

So, the masājid (mosques) were legislated for the purpose of spreading knowledge, establishing as-Solawāt (the five daily obligatory prayers), worshipping Allahعز وجل , and performing what Allāh has made obligatory upon the Muslims, such as the five daily prayers and all other prescribed prayers, the Friday prayer (Jum’ah), the eclipse prayer, and other than it that Allah عز وجل has prescribed in His Book and upon the tongue of His Prophet, may Allāh bless and grant him peace.

And our Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), urged us to build masājid (mosques) in order to establish the remembrance of Allāh and for the (sake of ) Allāh, as the Prophet r, said: (Whoever builds a mosque for Allāh, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise) and in another narration: (Whoever builds a mosque for Allah, even if it is as small as a sandgrouse’s nest, Allah will build for him a house in Paradise). His r saying: Whoever builds for Allāh, that is, sincerely for Allāh, not seeking to be seen nor seeking to be heard, and not for any worldly pursuits.

I congratulate you on this great project and I advise you to fear Allāh, and the greatest fear of Allāh is establishing at-Tawheed in yourselves and in your da’wah, because Tawheed is Islām and Islām is Tawheed, and a person’s ‘Ibādah (acts of worship) is of no benefit except if it is built upon Tawheed.

Today, the reality of the Muslims is that they are ignorant of At-Tawheed. How many people observe prayer, perform Hajj, and give charity, but their deeds are wasted in vain because they established these acts of worship upon Shirk (associating partners with Allāh), (while they still engage in) worshiping graves, seeking help from the saints, slaughtering for them (the saints), and seeking closeness to them by sacrifices and vowing (to them), and all of this is Shirk (associating partners with Allāh).

Allāh  عز وجلdid not send His prophets, from Noah u to the seal of the Prophets, Muhammad r except to spread at-Tawheed, as Allāh عز وجل said (And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): “Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities, etc. i.e. do not worship Taghut besides Allah).”) Hence, every prophet came to his people proclaiming (“Worship Allah, you have no other Ilah (God) but Him”) and this is as Noah u said to his people, he lived among them for nine hundred and fifty (950) years calling them to at-Tawheed and the worship of Allah (alone). This is the path of the Prophets and the methodology of the Prophets in calling to Allāh.

It is mandatory for the students of knowledge to tread the path of the Prophets in calling to Allāh and to be keen on spreading the ‘Aqeedah of the Salaf (the righteous predecessors) from the companions and tābi’een (the students of the companions) and their followers (students of the tābi’een). And they (the students of knowledge) should spread the ‘Aqeedah (creed) of the saved sect among the Muslims so that the servants of Allāh would be upright and righteous; for there is no rectification for the servants except by establishing at-Tawheed and Islam and following the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Allāh  عز وجلsaid (And whatsoever the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) gives you, take it, and whatsoever he forbids you, abstain (from it))

I ask Allāh عز وجل to bless your efforts and make you cooperate in righteousness and piety, so be keen on calling to Allāh and teaching, and be united and compassionate and reconcile and be tolerant and cooperate in righteousness and piety.

For indeed, unity is a foundation from the fundamental principles of the people of Islām and from the greatest things that please the Lord of the Ālamīn (mankind, jinn, and all that exists), as the Prophet r said: “Indeed Allāh is pleased with three things for you (and He is displeased with three things for you). He is pleased that you worship Him alone and do not associate anything with Him, and that you hold fast to the Rope of Allāh all of you together and be not divided among yourselves, and that you advise (privately) whomever Allāh has appointed over your affairs.”

When Abu Musā al-Ash’arī and Ali Ibn Abī Tālib or Muadh ibn Jabal went (to Yemen), the Prophet r sent them to Yemen and advised them to be united and not to differ. This is what is obligatory because Shaytān (Satan) is keen to stir up fitnah (trials, disorder, discord, etc.) among students of knowledge and to stir up envy and tribulation. This is what is obligatory upon students of knowledge because if they differ and dispute, their power will be weakened and their strength will dwindle, so cooperate in this great matter and be sincere to Allāh in your da’wah and establish your da’wah upon Islamic knowledge from the Book and the Sunnah and what the predecessors of this Ummah (nation) were upon.

I ask Allāh عز وجل by His Kindness and Generosity, to bless your efforts and to spread through you at-Tawheed, Islām and the Sunnah.

May Allāh raise the rank of our prophet, grant him peace, and bless him.

Shaykh Abdullāh Ibn Salfīq Adh-Dhafirī
(may Allāh preserve him)
Date: Saturday, 28th Shabān, 1445H – 9th March 2024CE.

Translated by Abu ‘Umar ‘AbdulHakeem and Abu Tayyib Sādiq