What I Witnessed In England

Author: Shaikh Abu ‘Abdir-Rahmaan Yahyaa bin ‘Alee Al-Hujooree

Source: Al-Manhaj
Translator: Abu Maryam Isma'eel Alarcon

Published: Thursday 30th July, 2015



The Condition of the Muslims in England

As for the condition of the Muslims in England – then Allaah is the One whom we ask for Help. I am speaking about the Muslims in general. When we were in Cardiff, we were far from the masjid, so we had to go out for the Jumu’ah khutbah. One time, there was a woman whose appearance was that of a British woman – she was wearing pants – you would not think that she was anything but British. So she began to look at us with an intense look of grief and the custom of the British women is not to stare with that kind of look. However, this woman was looking at us because we were wearing Arab garments. So I said to one brother there, who was called ‘Umar, may Allaah reward him – a Salafee brother: “What’s wrong with this woman that she stares at us?” He said: “This woman has a story.” She used to live in his neighborhood and she heard that he was called ‘Umar.

He said: “So she came to me one day and said: ‘Is your name ‘Umar?’ I replied: ‘Yes, my name is ‘Umar.’” So she said: ‘My father’s name is ‘Umar.” He said: “How is your father’s name ‘Umar when ‘Umar is one of the Muslim names and you are a non-Muslim Christian?” She said: “No, my father is a Muslim from Yemen and I too am a Muslim.” So he said: “How are you a Muslim when you are married to a Christian and your appearance is that of a Christian, as can be clearly seen?” She replied: “I am a Muslim. I know that because my father circumcised me.” So she didn’t know anything about Islaam except that her Christian husband told her that Muslims circumcise while non-Muslims do not circumcise. So she didn’t know anything about Islaam except circumcision!

What was the reason for this woman’s residing in these lands? The reason is because her father was a sailor who used to work in the sea and Britain is an island. So her father died (while he was there), and his daughter stayed there being raised by disbelievers. So she married a Christian and she didn’t know what Islaam was until now.

I said to the brother: “May Allaah reward you. Send her some translated tapes and books perhaps Allaah will guide her. And perhaps her looking at that will remind her of her father and she will remember her father’s appearance and that her father was Yemeni, wallaalhul-Must’aan!”

Also – we say this feeling grief, and Allaah knows the condition of our Muslims brothers over there – one of the brothers informed me that once he went to fix his car at a British Christian mechanic. So this man said to the car owner who was Yemeni: “Where are you from?” He said: “We are Arabs.” He said: “I know you are Arabs, my girlfriend is an Arab.” He said: “We are from Yemen.” He said: “My girlfriend is from Yemen too.” The brother said to him: “How long have you been together?” He said: “Ten years.” He said: “Do you have any children together?” He said: “Three children.” He asked: “Did you marry her?” He replied: “No, her father is not pleased with her marrying me until I accept Islaam.” Her father is not pleased with her marrying a Christian man yet she remains all that time fornicating with him!

We found our Yemeni brothers in Birmingham and also in Cardiff like this, but it was not just the Yemenis, but rather all of the Muslims there lamented from this condition. This is such that a person is not able to discipline his own wife or his daughter or son. So if you were to hit your son or your daughter, and the police were called a first time, a second time and a third time, they may take your child away from you and you will not see him until you die! The brothers are the ones who informed me of this. Also, if your daughter wants a husband or a boyfriend and she has reached the age of maturity and you prevent her – whether Muslim or non-Muslim [1] - she can complain about you and they will come and take her away, give here a home and spending money and she can then take her boyfriend, and good-bye (to you)!!

One of our noble Moroccan brothers said to me: “I came (here) with two sisters. One of them was fifteen years old and she ran away from home. She went and got a boyfriend and had three kids with him.” After that, his other sister found her one day on the street, after ten years had passed, and brought her home. So she began to belittle her brother and accuse him of being gay. And her brother was Salafee – why didn’t he get a girlfriend? He wasn’t with anyone except one wife, only. But this girl was straight because she had several boyfriends! And she was a Moroccan from Morocco, a Muslim. Her family was Muslim. But look at the effects of residing amongst disbelievers?

Likewise, you are not able to discipline your wife there. Even if she strikes you with her shoes, you have to say to her – as is commonly said amongst them: “I’m sorry” and that’s it. But if you were to hit her and she were to complain to the police, they would discipline you. So it is never permitted to hit women according to them.

And the money that they give every week to those people who are homeless and unemployed, which is known as weekly expenditures, they take it out from the remaining portion. So they give them the total amount, but withhold from them rent money for two rooms, a kitchen and a bathroom, for example like fifty Sterling pounds every week, [2] which they give to the Council. This is because delaying the rent for homes is not tolerated. And on top of this, they give them other benefits and entitlements.

As for the person who cannot find work, they tell him: “We will find you work.” But they go and find him a job in liquor warehouses or something like that. We even found some Yemenis selling pork, in fact some Muslims, such as those from Pakistan and other places (were doing this). But I am speaking about the Yemenis here because I know that some of them are deluded by that land.

And we found the elder Muslims from the inhabitants of Cardiff, some of them have reached eighty years of age and they still shave their mustaches and beards, and some of them wear ties and pants. And you would not be able to tell he is Muslim except by his coming into the masjid. And you wouldn’t be able to tell if he is Yemeni or not, due to his residing there for such a long time. Unfortunately, most of them are from the area of ash-Shameer. There are around five hundred Yemenis in that land now.

The elders there do not have anything but tasbeeh beads only. And they brought for them an ash’aree Egyptian to teach them. This person introduced Sa’tar and some other innovators to them. They do not caution against acts of Shirk, innovations and false concepts. I think Sa’tar came to them during the time that I was present there, and another time, of which I don’t know if it was before that or not, according to what I was informed.

So I came to them and gave them a lecture on Warning against Shirk. And we also mentioned in it the consequence of one who dies upon Shirk and the threat connected to it, as well as cautioning from it. This is since nothing is more appropriate to go with these aspects other than cautioning. We also included something from Tawheed and the result of one who dies upon Tawheed. We also included something from targheeb (incitement towards achieving Paradise) hoping from Allaah that none of them would despair. And we warned them against innovations and incited them towards the Sunnah and towards holding onto it. We said: “Where are your adolescent sons?” Some of them were shy to speak, but some of them said: “He is out with his girlfriends on the streets.” And this is also how their daughters were. I said: “So now you have wasted the chief source of your wealth, about which the Prophet (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

“When a person dies, his actions come to an end except for three: An ongoing charity, some knowledge which is benefited from, and a righteous child that supplicates for him.”


So you can benefit from you child during your life, if he is righteous, and also after you die. Therefore, it is better for you to go back to your (Muslim) country and live there as others live – a good life amongst the Muslims, in which you can hear the Adhaan and apply the rites of Islaam. But as for that land, then you cannot hear the Adhaan except for inside the masjid.

Some of them made excuses for themselves saying: “(If we don’t work), we will die from hunger.” So we mentioned to them some proofs from the Qur’aan that indicate that Allaah is the One who provides and sustains everything. Allaah says:

“And above the heavens is you provision and what you have been promised.” [Surah Adh-Dhaariyaat: 22]


And He says:

“And there is no creature on the earth except that its provision is upon Allaah. He knows its dwelling place and its final end. All of this is in a Clear Book.” [Surah Hood: 6]


One of the brothers there added to this saying: “If someone were to invite you, saying: ‘Come to eat with us tomorrow’, you would believe him and say: ‘I am invited for dinner tomorrow at this person’s house.’ But how about when Allaah says that your provision is with Him, yet you don’t believe the Lord of the Worlds? How can this be?!!” And this was a good example. Allaah says:

“And above the heavens is your provision and what you have been promised. So by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is the truth, just as it is the truth that you can speak.” [Surah Adh-Dhaariyaat: 22-23]


This is a promise from Allaah, but yet in spite of this you can still find those who fear poverty. Whereas if a person were to invite him or promise him something, he would believe him and say: “I am invited to his house tomorrow.” And we ask Allaah for His assistance.

And likewise, the girls who study in the schools, Allaah knows best what will happen to them amongst the Christians, for they teach them music and dancing. We were shown in one place a woman that painted her face yellow, red and black – to the point that her face became different. This is how we saw the youth looking like there – both male and female. And following after them were a group of boys and girls, and they were doing vile acts. At times a girl would kiss a boy and at times he would kiss her. And in this way he wastes time with the girl – and she is big like ten years old. Sometimes she extends her tongue out and sometimes he extends his tongue out! This is how they bring up the Muslim children. And the Muslims are unaware – perhaps one of them may even boast that his child attends school there! Do not ever think that the one who goes there to study will return back pure and clean. Rather he will come back toppled over and weak (in Eemaan).

As for us, then all praise be to Allaah, we came to the Salafees and we walked with the Salafees and we made Da’wah with them. We felt as if we were amongst our Muslim brothers from the students of knowledge in Damaaj – even though there is no comparison to that.

And I swear to you by Allaah that the alcohol pubs over there are more numerous than the restaurants of San’aa. If you enter this street you can find a bar, and in that street there is another bar. This is how you can find them on the streets living the life of animals – and we seek Allaah’s refuge from their evil. So is it possible for a Muslim to be pleased with such a condition? They give him food and drink but yet they snatch his children and his Religion away from him! And some of them have even forgotten themselves – he doesn’t know if he is Arab or not?! He is wasting his life away with the cup. However, we are not calling towards nationalism. We are calling to the Religion, but this individual doesn’t even know what land he comes from! He has forgotten himself, and the Prophet (sallAllaahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said:

“Learn about your chains of lineage that which will make you keep ties with your kin.”


As for the traveling of the Muslims, we were in a very huge airplane, by Allaah, we did not see any of them pray Maghrib and ‘Ishaa. No one prayed except our brothers, the students of knowledge who came with us from here. And the same goes for the return trip. Some of us prayed in our seats and others waited to pray in the airplane’s kitchen area. Sitting next to me on the airplane was a Yemeni who didn’t know even the Arabic language, for he was speaking with weak Arabic. He was a Yemeni and he was eating with his left hand! The food came to him, so he was holding the cup with his right hand and eating with his left hand! So I said: “O brother, are you Muslim?” I had doubts about his being a Muslim. He said: “Yes, I am Muslim.” So I said: “You didn’t pray. Muslims pray.” I also said to him: “It is not permissible for Muslims to eat with their left hands.” So he said: “I thank you for inspecting me” or something like that! Then he continued remaining in that same condition! And when the customs and immigration papers came and it said in it: “What is your nationality?”, he turned to his side and said: “What are they saying? Should I say my nationality is Yemeni (male) or Yemeniyah (female)? Someone who was close by him said: “Say: Yemeni.” This means that he doesn’t know whether he is a male or a female?! So they are at this level where they don’t know how to distinguish between the male and the female!

Yes, O brothers, they waste time and lose their way. It is possible that the eyes of one of them will stand out due to the large amount of alcohol they consume and due to the trials that they go through. So we seek refuge in Allaah, the Most Great, from the evil condition they live in there.

Footnotes

[1] Everyone is subjected to these rules.

[2] Fifty Sterling Pounds equals 11 thousand Yemeni Riyals.


 

Return to “The Later Muslims (1401H-)”