Sensing the Storm Before It Breaks: Imam al-Wādiʿī’s Counsels Against Fitnah

One of the most striking qualities of the great Imam of Yemen in this era, Shaykh Abū ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī (1352-1422 AH/1933-2001 CE), was his acute perception of the early signs of fitnah (trial and discord). Whenever he sensed the first stirrings of unrest, division, or confusion, he would move swiftly to advise the Muslims, warning them against becoming entangled in it and urging them to shut every door that might lead to strife.

Many of these valuable admonitions have been preserved in his books and fatāwā, and have since been gathered on his official website. Although delivered in response to specific events of his own time, their guidance remains timeless.

Today, these words feel more relevant than ever. In an age marked by mounting turmoil and confusion, it is fitting to return to the Shaykh’s counsel and reflect once more on his sincere advice: avoid discord, keep clear of trials, and hold fast to the Qurʾān, the Sunnah, and the path of the Salaf.

On Security and Avoiding the Trial of Killing and Fighting

“By Allah’s grace, the People of the Sunnah are the first to oppose anyone who tries to cause corruption, because we are commanded to preserve security, our daʿwah and our teaching cannot succeed unless security is in place.” (Al-Wādiʿī, al-Bāʿith ʿalā Sharḥ al-Ḥawādith, pp. 66-67)

“You know how, here in Yemen, people fight each other over the smallest things. For us, a single Sunni is worth more than the whole world. We must sincerely advise one another, never expose ourselves to fitnah, and never expose ourselves to confrontation, not with a tribesman, not with the state, not with anyone.”

قُلْ هَـٰذِهِ سَبِيلِي أَدْعُو إِلَى اللَّهِ ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا وَمَنِ اتَّبَعَنِي ۖ وَسُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَمَا أَنَا مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ ۝

“Say: ‘This is my way; I call to Allah upon clear knowledge, I and those who follow me. Glory be to Allah, and I am not of the polytheists.'” (Sūrat Yūsuf 12:108) (Aṣ-Ṣulaybī, Min Fiqh al-Imām Abī ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī, 1/56)

“May Allah bless you, we constantly advise our brothers that, since Allah has blessed our daʿwah, we have no need to clash with a Ṣūfī, a Shīʿī, or a government.” (Al-Wādiʿī, Tuḥfat al-Mujīb ʿalā Asʾilat al-Ḥāḍir wa al-Gharīb, p. 409)

“The People of the Sunnah hate disputing and discord. That’s why, when the reckless push forward, they hold back, they don’t want to clash with a Muslim who testifies there is no god worthy of worship but Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Your blood, your wealth, and your honour are sacred to one another, as sacred as this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours.'” (Al-Wādiʿī, Ijābat as-Sāʾil ʿan Ahamm al-Masāʾil, p. 24)

“We are not prepared to clash with them, even if they call us cowards. If they want a debate, we’re ready to debate them. But as for fighting or killing, they are Muslims and we are Muslims; we do not consider their blood, wealth, or honour permissible to violate.” (Concerning the Shīʿah) (Al-Wādiʿī, Ijābat as-Sāʾil ʿan Ahamm al-Masāʾil, p. 56)

“Around that time, a committee led by Judge Yaḥyā al-Fusayyil, the Minister of Endowments ʿAlī as-Samān, and brother ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-ʿImād set out to mediate, but they didn’t manage to bring full reconciliation. What they did issue was a decision: that the Shīʿah would not object to the People of the Sunnah, and the People of the Sunnah would not object to the Shīʿah. Even though the Sharīʿah does not fully endorse this decision, since there are matters one is not permitted to stay silent about, as scholars know well, it still opened a real door of good for the Sunnah, because it was now acknowledged as permissible to operate this way in a land that had known nothing but Shīʿism for a thousand years or more. We ask Allah to unite the Muslims upon the truth.” (Al-Wādiʿī, al-Makhraj min al-Fitnah, p. 167)

“Our brother the President, may Allah reward him well, tells us: ‘Call people to Allah, command good and forbid evil, but don’t try to change things by force, so that no trials arise.’ And it was I myself who added that phrase, ‘so that no trials arise.’ So I say: we have not reached the point of changing things by force; we believe daʿwah is more effective than changing things by force, in fact, we believe daʿwah is more effective than artillery and machine guns. We are in a Muslim land, and the Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Faith is Yemeni, and wisdom is Yemeni.'” (Al-Wādiʿī, al-Bāʿith ʿalā Sharḥ al-Ḥawādith, p. 73)

On Denying Opportunity to Those Who Incite Discord

“And after that, beware, beware, lest some Communist, Baʿthist, Nasserist, or anyone else from the people of misguidance come and try to set you against each other, O worshippers, over the word ‘āmīn’, or over the phrase ‘come to the best of deeds’ in the call to prayer, or over placing the right hand over the left in prayer. You are brothers. Your Lord is one, your Book is one. Whoever practises these ijtihādī matters is rewarded for it, and whoever doesn’t, even after learning of them, risks sin and punishment for neglecting them.

But that Communist, or that person who tries to disrupt the congregational prayer and stir up trouble between worshippers, is gloating over us, O people of the beards! He wants to keep laughing at us, saying: ‘Look, the religious ones came to blows in the mosque, fighting over “come to the best of deeds”!’ Yes, ‘come to the best of deeds’ in the call to prayer is an innovation, and you personally shouldn’t call to prayer with it. And saying ‘āmīn’ aloud is a recommended practice, go ahead and say it. But your brother who does call to prayer with that phrase, or who doesn’t say ‘āmīn,’ or who doesn’t place his right hand over his left in prayer, he is still your Muslim brother, even if he’s mistaken on this point. We must not keep quarrelling in the mosque over this. I’m not telling you to go and practise the innovation, and don’t think I’m giving you permission to do so. I’m not telling you to let your hands hang loose in prayer, or to stop saying ‘āmīn,’ or to call to prayer with that phrase.

But don’t make an enemy of your brother over it. Who is the real enemy of you both? It’s the Communist and the Baʿthist. So be wise, O callers to Allah, leave them to burn with their own rage. Don’t create chaos and uproar. The Messenger ﷺ said: ‘Mosques were built only for the remembrance of Allah,’ and he said: ‘Beware of the noise and commotion of the marketplaces.'” (Al-Wādiʿī, Ijābat as-Sāʾil ʿan Ahamm al-Masāʾil, pp. 59-60; a similar passage appears in Qamʿ al-Muʿānid wa Zajr al-Ḥāqid al-Ḥāsid, p. 423)

“I’ve been told that the innovating Shīʿī Minister of Endowments now wants to encourage the People of the Sunnah to take over some of the bankrupt Brotherhood’s mosques. No, we will not let this Shīʿī come between us and the bankrupt Brotherhood. The People of the Sunnah have patience and broad hearts. They may well be wronged, but Allah will avenge them.”

وَإِن تَصْبِرُوا وَتَتَّقُوا لَا يَضُرُّكُمْ كَيْدُهُمْ شَيْئًا ۝

“‘And if you are patient and mindful of Allah, their scheming will not harm you at all.'” (Sūrat Āl ʿImrān 3:120)

“So praise be to Allah, the People of the Sunnah are victorious regardless, even if their mosques are taken from them, even if they end up studying in the streets and alleyways.” (Al-Wādiʿī, al-Bāʿith ʿalā Sharḥ al-Ḥawādith, p. 19)

“Shaykh Rabīʿ called me and said: ‘Someone has sworn by Allah that he’s going to stir up trouble between you and me, so be on guard.’ My Shaykh replied: ‘Even if the mountains were to collide with one another, we would not fall out, so long as the Book and the Sunnah govern us.'” (Related orally by the author of the essay; cf. Ghārat al-Ashriṭah ʿalā Ahl al-Jahl wa as-Safsaṭah)

On Not Exposing the Daʿwah to Gloating or Disputes

“We must never be the cause of our own daʿwah‘s defeat, nor help the enemies bring that about. We should move slowly, with gentleness and softness, gentleness only ever adorns whatever it’s found in, and its absence only ever spoils whatever it’s missing from.” (Al-Wādiʿī, al-Bāʿith ʿalā Sharḥ al-Ḥawādith, p. 74)

“By Allah’s grace, this is your time now, O People of the Sunnah, but let your daʿwah be gentle, soft, and full of insight. Allah Almighty says to His Prophet ﷺ:”

نَّحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُونَ ۖ وَمَا أَنتَ عَلَيْهِم بِجَبَّارٍ ۖ فَذَكِّرْ بِالْقُرْآنِ مَن يَخَافُ وَعِيدِ ۝

“‘We know best what they say, and you are not there to compel them. So remind, by means of the Qurʾān, whoever fears My warning.'” (Sūrat Qāf 50:45)

“So your reminders should be Qurʾānic verses and Prophetic aḥādīth about the merit of reciting the Qurʾān, the merit of remembrance of Allah, the merit of sending blessings on the Prophet ﷺ, the merit of Yemen, and the topic of monotheism, in a way that opens no problems. Call people to Allah with gentleness and softness. We haven’t even fulfilled our duty toward the people who are inviting us to speak, so let’s not go and clash with these schemers! I say to my brothers in Allah: it troubles me deeply when you come back from a trip having caused us a problem! No, if there are going to be problems, there are other mosques, and Allah’s earth is vast. Praise be to Allah, the People of the Sunnah are in demand across every Muslim country, not just Yemen, and we haven’t even covered a fraction of what’s needed.” (Al-Wādiʿī, Ghārat al-Ashriṭah ʿalā Ahl al-Jahl wa as-Safsaṭah, vol. 2, p. 140)

On Warning Against Those Who Would Drag the Daʿwah Into Trials

The daʿwah is not made victorious through problems and confrontations.

“My advice to you is: go slowly. The Prophet ﷺ stayed in Makkah for thirteen years calling people to Islam, and another two years in Madīnah before fighting was permitted, only then was permission given. So how can you say: ‘If I hold back on this, the daʿwah will be defeated’? No, I want you to hold back, and hold back, and hold back again. Don’t drag the daʿwah into conflict. Don’t follow your own ego, the ego often wants to win through confrontation. No, you must be patient and move slowly, and praise be to Allah.” (Aṣ-Ṣulaybī, Min Fiqh al-Imām Abī ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī, 1/54)

“We must all make sure not to give troublemakers any foothold in the daʿwah, they will tear the community apart, and you will see that I was right.” (Al-Wādiʿī, as-Sayr al-Ḥathīth Sharḥ Ikhtiṣār ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth, p. 438)

“I also advise those leading the daʿwah there not to act rashly, and not to let reckless people provoke them, because reckless people are the reason daʿwahs get crushed! The daʿwah was crushed in Syria because of some reckless individuals! The daʿwah was crushed in Egypt because of some reckless individuals! And the daʿwah suffered its worst blow because of the group at the Sacred Mosque in Makkah! As for these reckless people who keep wrecking daʿwahs, they are nothing but a disaster for the daʿwah, and on top of it, they accuse their own brothers of cowardice!” (Al-Wādiʿī, Ghārat al-Ashriṭah ʿalā Ahl al-Jahl wa as-Safsaṭah, vol. 1, pp. 305-306)

“For Allah’s sake, make sure your concern is to benefit people. ‘Be eager for what benefits you, seek Allah’s help, and don’t give up.’ We must never light the fire of fitnah in the mosques. You know your daʿwah has succeeded when you leave and the good people, or most of the mosque, are saying: ‘May Allah reward you well.'” (Aṣ-Ṣulaybī, Min Fiqh al-Imām al-Wādiʿī, 1/55-56)

“And if they throw us out of the mosque, we’ll simply teach in the street, and that itself counts as daʿwah, in fact some of the very best daʿwah! People will end up saying: ‘Why are you teaching in the street when there’s a mosque right next to you?'” (Ākhir Fatāwā al-Wādiʿī, p. 47)

“Beware, beware of pushing ordinary people away from the daʿwah of the People of the Sunnah! ‘Give good news, don’t drive people off; make things easy, don’t make them difficult.’ If a matter is more than people can bear, don’t get into it. When you arrive in a town, ask your brothers there: ‘What should I speak about?’ Even if you find them very keen and they tell you to speak on a particular topic, the choice is yours to speak on whatever you judge will actually benefit people and will frustrate the enemies. And the enemies are most frustrated when a lecture goes well, without any quarrelling. Allah alone is the One we ask for help.” (Aṣ-Ṣulaybī, Min Fiqh al-Imām Abī ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī, 1/50-51)

Conclusion

These are the counsels and admonitions of our Shaykh and teacher, Imam Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī, may Allah have mercy on him, addressed to his students and brothers among the People of the Sunnah in general, and in Yemen in particular, concerning the trials and conspiracies devised against them in order to weaken and undermine their daʿwah and its centres by drawing them into the turmoil of conflicts and discord engineered by their adversaries.

وَمَكَرُوا وَمَكَرَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَاللَّهُ خَيْرُ الْمَاكِرِينَ ۝

“And they plotted, but Allah also planned, and Allah is the best of planners.” (Sūrat al-Anfāl 8:30)

It remains for the People of the Sunnah to take these counsels seriously and to guard against being provoked by the reckless, against whom Imam al-Wādiʿī repeatedly warned, for they are the very cause of daʿwah being struck down and drawn into the snares of trial and conspiracy.

We further advise recourse to scholars, with due reverence and respect, as the People of the Sunnah in Yemen are advised to turn to those scholars whom Imam al-Wādiʿī himself counselled them to consult in times of crisis and grave events, for they possess the clearest understanding of the circumstances, trials, and conspiracies occurring in their own lands. As the saying goes, the people of Makkah know its mountain passes best, and the people of a house know best what is within it.

And with Allah lies all guidance. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, and upon his family and all his Companions.

References

As-Sidʿī, Nūr ad-Dīn ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdullāh, Min Naṣāʾiḥ al-Imām al-Wādiʿī li-Ahl as-Sunnah fī al-Yaman tijāh al-Fitan wa al-Muʾāmarāt (Maʿbar, Yemen: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 17 Shawwāl 1435 AH), drawing on as-Sidʿī’s earlier work al-Imām al-Wādiʿī wa Juhūduhu fī Tajdīd as-Sunnah an-Nabawiyyah, chapter “Ḥankat ash-Shaykh fī al-Ḥifāẓ ʿalā ad-Daʿwah as-Salafiyyah wa as-Sayr bihā ilā al-Amām.”

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī (1352-1422 AH/1933-2001 CE), al-Bāʿith ʿalā Sharḥ al-Ḥawādith, 2nd edn (Ṣanʿāʾ: Maktabat Ṣanʿāʾ al-Athariyyah, 1425 AH/2004 CE), pp. 19, 66-67, 73, 74.

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī, Tuḥfat al-Mujīb ʿalā Asʾilat al-Ḥāḍir wa al-Gharīb, 1st edn (Ṣanʿāʾ: Dār al-Āthār), p. 409.

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī, Ijābat as-Sāʾil ʿan Ahamm al-Masāʾil, 2nd edn (Cairo: Dār al-Ḥaramayn, 1420 AH/1999 CE), pp. 24, 56, 59-60.

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī, Qamʿ al-Muʿānid wa Zajr al-Ḥāqid al-Ḥāsid, 1st edn, 2 vols (Dammāj, Yemen: Dār al-Ḥadīth, 1413 AH/1993 CE), p. 423, pp. 534-535.

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī, al-Makhraj min al-Fitnah, 1st edn (Ṣanʿāʾ: Maktabat Ṣanʿāʾ al-Athariyyah, 2002 CE), p. 167.

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī, Ghārat al-Ashriṭah ʿalā Ahl al-Jahl wa as-Safsaṭah, 1st edn, 2 vols (Cairo: Dār al-Ḥaramayn, 1419 AH/1998 CE), vol. 1, pp. 291, 305-306; vol. 2, p. 140.

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī, as-Sayr al-Ḥathīth Sharḥ Ikhtiṣār ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth, transcribed and annotated by ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh al-Ḥammādī, 1st edn (Ṣanʿāʾ: Dār al-Āthār, 1428 AH/2007 CE), p. 438.

Al-Wādiʿī, Muqbil ibn Hādī, Ākhir Fatāwā al-Wādiʿī (Ṣanʿāʾ: Dār al-Āthār), p. 47.

Aṣ-Ṣulaybī, Abū Muḥammad Sāmī Ṣāliḥ, Min Fiqh al-Imām Abī ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān Muqbil ibn Hādī al-Wādiʿī (Dār al-Mustaqbal, n.d.), vol. 1, pp. 50-51, 54, 55-56, 56.

Al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, Sūrat Yūsuf (12:108), Sūrat Āl ʿImrān (3:120), Sūrat Qāf (50:45), Sūrat al-Anfāl (8:30). Translation of the meanings by Muḥammad Taqī ad-Dīn al-Hilālī and Muḥammad Muḥsin Khān, The Noble Qurʾān (Riyadh: King Fahd Complex for the Printing of the Holy Qurʾān).