Nasīhatu Ahli Az-Zamān authored by Shaykh Mujaddid `Uthmān Dan Fodio rahimahullāh 07

🕌 *SHARH SESSION*
الحمد لله رب العالمين
والعاقبة للمنقين
ولا عدوان إلا على الظالمين
والصلاة والسلام على من بعث رحمة للعالمين
وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين

Assalāmu Alaykum Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh
Honored brothers and sisters
Bārakallāhu fīkum

We shall continue from where we stopped yesterday in our explanation of the book _Nasīhatu Ahli Az-Zamān_
Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio was reminding the brothers of the bounties of Allāh upon them in their time for guidance, knowledge and understanding
That we may understand the immensity of revival on the Dīn carried out by Shaykh Uthman, let us hear what was said of him by the Shaykh and Allāmah in his time, Shaykh Waladīd who passed away 1000 years after the Hijrah
قد أظلكم زمان ولي من أولياء الله يظهر في هذه البلاد، يجدّد الدين، ويحي السنة، ويقيم الملة، فمن أدركه فليتبعه، فعلامته
أنه يجاهد أولا باللسان، حتى يتبعه أكثر الموفقين، ثم يجاهد بالسنان، ويملك هذه البلاد، وليخرجنّ أمير من داره كما أخرجونا من ديارنا، ويملكها”.
These were words he foretold his followers before the coming of Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio, of the things which Allāh bestowed upon him by intuition

“A time is about to approach you, that has a Wali among the Awliyā of Allāh who will appear in this land. He will renew the Dīn, revive the Sunnah and establish the Millah. Whosoever meets him, let him follow him. His signs will be that he will fight firstly with his tongue, occupy the land and expel an Amir from his land the same way he has expelled us from our lands and then occupy it.”_
Likewise the Pious Mu’allimah Umm Hānī – rahimahullāh – said about him
_”There will arise a man in this land of ours, the black continent, a Wali among the Awliyā of Allāh who will renew the Dīn and revive the Sunnah…”_
About him, his brother Shaykh ‘Abdullah Dan Fodio – rahimahullāh – said
“..وحصل لي بحمد الله التبصّر في الدين من فيضان نوره، ومن تؤاليفه المفيدة العربية والعجمية، فما ألّف كتابا من أول تؤاليفه إلى الآن إلا كنت أول من نقله عنه غالبا، وصحبته حضرا وسفرا؛ ما فارقته مذ أنا يافع إلى أن حصل لي الآن قريب من خمسين سنة، والحمد لله على ذلك”.
_”And I was fortunate to acquire insight in the Dīn from the illuminating abundance of his light, and from his beneficial Arabic and non-arabic writings for he did not author any book right from he began authorship to date except that most times I was the first to copy it from him. I accompanied him in resident and on journeys. I never parted with him since I was little to what has approached me now of almost fifty years. And Praise is due to Allāh for that.”_
In these illuminating words are a model and an example of faithfulness, piety and dutifulness to a teacher, a brother and a mentor.
In it are lessons for students of knowledge.
It is not that Shaykh ‘Abdullah Dan Fodio was not an Ālim. He was. And he was one in his own right. And many times he differed with his elder brother on matters returning to Fiqh and Ijtihād. This did not prevent him from been dutiful to his elder brother and teacher

Now, the Shaykh attributed his following to the Party of Shaykh ‘AbdulQādir Al-Jilānī
Rahimahullāh
Who is Shaykh AbdulQādir Al-Jilānī – rahimahullāh?
He was an Imām among the Imāms of the Dīn who devoted their lives in servitude to Allāh, Ibādah, seeking of ‘Ilm and calling towards it
The Ulamā of his time submitted leadership to him in piety, scrupulousness, knowledge and thoroughness in research
He always followed the Sunnah and called to it, warning against the Innovations and calling against them
But as a human, he fell into some errors in some of the writings attributed to him and many of his followers fell alongside into some of those errors
They attributed to him a particular way of worship and followed that in line strictly and abandoned the Sunnah for this way of theirs
They led such a life and called themselves the followers of the Qādirī Order of Sufism
We ask Allāh to be merciful to Shaykh Al-Jilānī
How much there is difference between his life and the lives of these claimants to his path and struggle?
Shaykh Al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah – rahimahullāh – dedicated much time to explaining his person in the Majmū’ah
In fact, the Ulamā of Sunnah mentioned that in all the matters of Al-Asmā Wa As-Sifāt, Allāh guided him toward the Path of the Salaf
About him, Imām Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbalī – rahimahullāh – said
وكان الشيخ عبد القادر متمسكاً في مسائل الصفات والقدر ونحوها بالسنة مبالغاً في الرد على من خالفهما…
_”And Shaykh ‘AbdulQādir was firm in his hold unto the Sunnah in the matters of Sifāt, Qadr, and its like. He was stern in his rebuttal of those that disagreed with those…”_
And Ibn Al-Athīr – rahimahullāh – said
As-San’ānī – rahimahullāh – said
_”He was the Imām of the Hanābilah and their Shaykh in his era. A faqīh, pious, upright in the Dīn, excellent in character, always in Dhikr, always meditating and quick to weep for the fear of Allāh…”_
May Allāh be merciful to him
This is to draw the attention of the Youths today who are not able to differentiate between a slip of an Ālim and his misguidance
They take every slip as a misguidance
And every misguidance as an exit from the Band of Sunnah
This is not the Path of the Imams of Islām
And we should know that Shaykh Uthman Dan Fodio was of the Imams that called to the fighting of Bid’a as whosoever knows his writings would attest to
Therefore, he followed the Qādiriyyah Sufi order but called to holding unto the Sunnah as Imām AbdulQādir
May Allāh forgive them both, āmīn

We shall pause here for the day
Bārakallāhu fīkum
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أم لا إله إلا الله نستغفرك ونتوب إليك
Assalāmu Alaykum Warahmatullāh Wabarakātuh