Muhammad Al-Munajjid
Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid is a Saudi scholar known for founding the website IslamQA. Al Jazeera indicates that Al-Munajjid is considered a respected scholar in the Salafi movement. IslamQA.info is one of the most popular websites and is according to Alexa.com the world's most popular website on the topic of Islam generally.
Towards the end of September 2017, Al Munajjid was arrested by the Saudi Government along with other famous scholars, causing an outrage in the Muslim world. As of 25 January 2019, his release had not been reported.
Early life and education
Al-Munajjid was born to Palestinian refugees in Aleppo, Syria in 1960, and raised in Saudi Arabia. He graduated from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, with a bachelor's degree in Industrial Management. Al-Munajjid studied Islamic law under the scholars 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baaz, Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen, Abdullah Ibn Jibreen, Saleh Al-Fawzan, and Abdul-Rahman al-Barrak. He is the imam at the Umar ibn Abd al-'Aziz mosque in the city of Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia and was the first person to launch a website representing Islam in Saudi Arabia.Activities
Teaching
He has taught a number of classes, such as:- Tafsir Ibn Kathir
- Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari
- Fataawa Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
- Sharh Sunan at-Tirmidhi
- Sharh Kitaab at-Tawheed by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab
- Sharh ‘Umdat al-Ahkaam fi’l-Fiqh by al-Haafiz ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi
- Sharh Kitaab Manhaj as-Saalikeen fi’l-Fiqh by Shaykh as-Sa‘di
He has shows on the al-Qur’an al-Kareem radio station called Bayna an-Nabi wa Ashaabihi, broadcast on Saturdays at 2.05 p.m., and Khutuwaat ‘ala Tareeq al-Islaah, broadcast on Wednesdays at 1.00 p.m., repeated on Mondays at 6.45 p.m.
He has appeared in a number of TV shows and videos presenting various lessons, a total of more than 4500 audio hours over a span of 23 years.
IslamQA.info
In 1996, Al-Munajjid launched a question and answer Islamic website, IslamQA.info. The website states that "All questions and answers on this site have been prepared, approved, revised, edited, amended or annotated by Shaykh Muhammad Saalih al-Munajjid, the supervisor of this site." IslamQA.info was banned in Saudi Arabia due to the fact that it was issuing independent fatwas. In Saudi Arabia, the kingdom's Council of Senior Scholars has sole responsibility and authority for issuing fatwas. The Council was granted this sole authority to issue fatwas by a royal edict issued in August 2010 ; this move was described by Christopher Boucek as "the latest example of how the state is working to assert its primacy over the country's religious establishment."As of May 2015, Al-Munajjid had 820,000 followers on Twitter. In 2020, Alexa listed IslamQA.info as the world's most popular on the topic of Islam.
Views
Homosexuality
Al-Munajjid believes that "The crime of homosexuality is one of the greatest crimes, the worst of sins and the most abhorrent of deeds, and Allah punished those who did it in a way that he did not punish other nations." Homosexuals should be executed although the method has been disputed including burning, having a wall dropped on them, being detained until death in the "foulest place", being stoned, or being thrown from the highest building. Those who are forced into the act or were minors are exempt from punishment.Women
Al-Munajjid states that Muslim women are required to cover their entire body including the face and hands. This ruling is obligatory. It varies depending on if the woman is around Mahram or non-Mahram men. Around Mahrams they are not required to observe niqab. Women are required to stay in their houses unless they are in the company of a mahram and are forbidden to drive cars as "it leads to evil consequences" such as being "alone with a non-mahram man, unveiling, reckless mixing with men, and committing haraam actions because of which these things were forbidden."Statues and images
Al-Munajjid asserts that it is obligatory to destroy statues and idols that may tempt or confuse the people, whether they are buildings, people, animals or inanimate objectsIslamic theology
Al-Munajjid believes that the Mu`tazila, the Ash'ari, and Maturidi schools of Islamic theology are wrong in applying Ilm al-Kalam to explain the Quran and are contradicting both the Quran and the Sunnah. Attributes that Allah ascribes to Himself require neither explanation or interpretation instead a Muslim should neither deny the divine attributes nor liken Allah to His creation but accept the statements of Allah in the Quran without questioning.Slavery
In a January 2016 fatwa, Al-Munajjid stated that a man is allowed to have intercourse with a slave that he owns whether he is married or not; and that his wife or wives has no right to object. A Muslim wife "has no right to object to her husband owning female slaves or to his having intercourse with them The scholars are unanimous in this assessment, and no one is permitted to view this act as forbidden, or to forbid it. Whoever does so, is a sinner, and is acting against the consensus of the scholars."Al-Munajjid states that slavery necessarily came about because of Jihad against the kuffar and the need to determine what to do with those who have been taken prisoner and thus become property; noting that "In principle, slavery is not something that is desirable" as Islam encourages the freeing of slaves for the expiation of sins. Slaves are to be treated in a "just and kind manner" including: the provision of food and clothing the like of which is given to family members; preserving their dignity; and allowing them to lead their masters in both religious and worldly matters if they possess the ability.
Freedom of religion
Al-Munajjid states that Muslims who support the building of churches in Islamic countries in response to mosques being allowed to being built in non-Islamic countries are "ignorant" as Islam does not permit the promotion of anyone worshipping other than Allah.Controversial statements
- On the cause of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami: "The problem is that the holidays are accompanied by forbidden things, by immorality, abomination, adultery, alcohol, drunken dancing, and … and revelry. A belly dancer costs 2500 pounds per minute and a singer costs 50,000 pounds per hour, and they hop from one hotel to another from night to dawn. Then he spends the entire night defying Allah. "Haven't they learned the lesson from what Allah wreaked upon the coast of Asia, during the celebration of these forbidden? At the height of immorality, Allah took vengeance on these criminals. "Those celebrating spent what they call 'New Year's Eve' in vacation resorts, pubs, and hotels. Allah struck them with an earthquake. He finished off the Richter scale. All nine levels gone. Tens of thousands dead. "It was said that they were tourists on New Year's vacation who went to the crowded coral islands for the holiday period, and then they were struck by this earthquake, caused by the Almighty Lord of the worlds. He showed them His wrath and His strength. He showed them His vengeance. Is there anyone learning the lesson? Is it impossible that we will be struck like them? Why do we go their way? Why do we want to be like them, with their holidays, their forbidden things, and their heresy?"
- In 2008, Munajjid stated that mice are "one of Satan's soldiers" and make everything they touch impure; and that depictions of the creatures in cartoons such as Tom and Jerry, and Disney's Mickey Mouse, have taught children that they are in fact loveable. Although he was quoted as saying that Mickey Mouse should be killed, he later qualified his statement stating: "What I said was not a fatwa for Mickey Mouse to be killed, no rational person would say such a thing....The true subject being discussed was harmful rodents and mice, not Mickey."
- Munajjid condemned the Beijing Olympics as the "bikini Olympics", stating that nothing made Satan happier than seeing female athletes dressed in skimpy outfits.
Books written by Saalih al Munajjid
- Koonu ‘ala al-Khayr A‘waanan
- Arba‘oona Naseehah li Islaah al-Buyoot
- 33 Sababan li’l-Khushoo‘
- Al-Asaaleeb an-Nabawiyyah fi ‘Ilaaj al-Akhtaa’
- Saba‘oona Mas’alah fi’s-Siyaam
- ‘Ilaaj al-Humoom
- Al-Manhiyaat ash-Shar‘iyyah
- Muharramaat istahaana biha Katheer min an-Naas
- Madha taf‘alu fi’l-Haalaat at-Taaliyah
- Zaahirat Da‘f al-Eemaan
- Wasaa’il ath-Thibaat ‘ala Deen-Illah
- Ureedu an Atooba Walaakin…
- Shakaawa wa Hulool
- Siraa‘ ma‘a ash-Shahawaat
External sources
- in PDF-format
- https://twitter.com/almonajjid
- https://twitter.com/almonajjid_EN