After I settled in Tetouan, I started a monthly magazine called Lisān al-Dīn (the Voice of the Religion) through which I published numerous articles. In these articles, I explained the inaccuracies of the Ashʿarī ʿAqīdah, which the people of al-Maghrib have espoused since the time of Muḥammad Ibn Tūmart and the rule of the Muwaḥḥidīn. In fact, the spread of the Ashʿarī ʿAqīdah is the fruit of their daʿwah up until today. Before that, the people of al-Maghrib were upon the ʿAqīdah of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ (the Righteous Predecessors) such that when the book Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn of Abī Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī reached the lands of al-Maghrib, the scholars arrived at a general consensus to burn it. The scholars of both Andalūs and al-Maghrib (who were adversaries at the time) agreed to this due to the rhetorical argumentations (ʿIlm al-Kalām) that it contained. An example of this is al-Ghazalī’s statement, “There is nothing which exists in the realm of possibilities more unique than that which was.” Meaning that it is not possible for Allāh, the Most High, to create a world superior to the existing world. Al-Ghazalī stated that if this were possible and Allāh reserved this hypothetical creation, it would be oppression and thus contradict the concept of justness.
I paraphrased the general meaning of his words so that the broad readership could understand them. In his statement, he sought to avoid attributing what he supposed was Allāh, the Most High, oppressing and by doing so, he actually attributed inability to Allāh’s Infinite Power. Free is Allāh from any imperfection or inability.
The last Moroccan dynasty that adhered to the ʿAqīdah of the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ was the Murābiṭūn Dynasty, who were also called “the Veiled Ones” and “al-Limtūniyīn”, which was an ascription to the ‘Limtūna’ Berber tribe. Concerning this, I wrote some lines of poetry wherein I stated,
O People, my belief forever is that of the Limtūns
Even if you demean my intellect or deplore me.
The following line contains words in four languages: Arabic, English, Spanish and German, and it means, if you do not agree, then come with or without your books and debate me. Poetry consisting of several languages together is something that poets considered a rarity.
I explained in the aforementioned articles that Imām Abū al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (may Allāh have mercy upon him) is innocent of the belief that is commonly attributed to him because he repented from it. (Proof of this fact is that) he authored the book entitled, Maqālāt al-Islāmiyīn wa Ikhtilāf al-Muṣallīn. In this book, he elucidated the fact that he espoused the ʿAqīdah of the People of Ḥadīth and the Salaf al-Ṣāliḥ, from the Companions and the imāms of Ijtihād (scholarly deduction). He specifically named Aḥmad Ibn Ḥanbal (may Allāh have mercy upon him). Likewise, he penned the book entitled, Al-Ibānah ʿan Uṣūl al-Diyānah. Along the same lines, the scholar al-Hāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir wrote the book entitled, Tabyīn Kadhib al-Muftarī fī mā Nusiba ilá Abī al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī (Clarifying the Lie of the Fabricator Concerning What has been Attributed to Abī al-Ḥasan al-Ashʿarī).
The sect that calls itself “Ashʿarī” have disregarded his books that demonstrate his repentance from those beliefs and they adhere to the ʿAqīdah of the Kullābiyyah and the Muʿtazilah, which he was upon before his repentance.
These previously mentioned articles were circulated as well as the book entitled, Mukhtaṣir Hadī al-Khalīl fī al-ʿAqaʾid wa ʿIbādah al-Jalīl, which is a concise book I authored for my Salafī brothers who requested that I do so. It contains the correct belief as well as legislative rulings regarding issues of worship derived from authentic narrations. After writing it, some imprudent individuals who claimed to be scholars of Fiqh thought that they had found a means to stop my daʿwah efforts and went to Moulay al-Ḥasan Ibn Mahdī (the ruler of Tetuoan at the time). They told him that al-Hilālī is disparaging the ʿAqīdah of your righteous forefathers and has accused them of being misguided. However, the prince was a man of sharp intellect and great fortitude. Due to this fact, he did not accept their claims and instead, invited the prominent writer, literary scholar, prodigy, and the pride of Morocco during his time, al-Ustādh ʿAbd Allāh Kannūn who was also a member of the Assembly of Scholars in Cairo. The prince asked him about what had reached him concerning the claims of those foolish individuals. ʿAbd Allāh Kannūn responded, “Your highness, do not listen to their claims as there is no semblance of doubt that the ʿAqīdah that al-Hilālī calls to is the ʿAqīdah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), the Righteous Predecessors, those after them who traversed their path, and from them are your noble grandfathers. This fact (of the early rulers of Morocco being upon the ʿAqīdah of the Salaf) was expounded upon by the Imām Muḥammad Ibn ʿAbd Allāh al- ʿAlawī, the scholar from the kings and the king of the scholars, in his books.” Thus, with that response, their plots were ruined.
1. Tetouan is a city in the northern part of Morocco approximately 60 km from Tangier and is the city in which the Shaykh settled and taught after his return to Morocco.
2. This is a praiseworthy term derived from the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd wherein the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) stated, “The best of people is my generation, then the next one and then the next.” [al-Bukhārī, (no. 3651), Muslim, (no. 6472)]. Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned, “The methodology of the People of Ḥadīth is that of the Salaf from the first three generations and those who traversed their path from later generations.” [Majmūʿ al-Fatāwá, (v.6, pg. 355)]
