Wajih Elsallal, a senior engineer at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, co-founded Hampshire mosque Inc. in 2004 with Chaplain Mohammed Abdelaal of Egypt in order to …
… please Allah through adherence to the teachings of the Qur’an and the methodology of the Sunnah of [his] prophet Mohammad.
Mr. Elsallal was born in Aleppo, Syria in the mid 70s, when the rise of the ‘Muslim Brotherhood‘ was being brutally repressed by the Syrian government – and entire Sunni Palestinian towns were wiped out by Assad, father of the current Shia Muslim dictator.
King Faud University Graduating Class
No Women of Kafirs Allowed
Mr. Elsallal continued his education at King Faud University in Saudi Arabia. Here the Sunnah of Mohammed is strictly observed, and students do not have to tolerate the presence of women or be offended by other unclean things like kafirs (non-Muslims), urine, feces, blood, corpses, or semen.
Coming to America
Wajih Elsalaal at UMass in 2004
After 9/11, in order to further please Al’lah, Mr. Elsallal co-founded Hampshire mosque with another Muslim Brotherhood supporter, Chaplain Abdelaal, to help make Hampshire County, like his Alma-Mater, into …
“an environment where respect and sensitivity to Islamic teachings and practice will be observed, without any violations of and/or offensive behaviors to the principles of Islam based on the Qur’an and Sunnah. ” – Hampshire mosque Bylaws
Mr. Elsalaal’s clean shaven look might give Westerners the false impression that he has forsaken the Sunnah of Mohammed and the Sharia, since shaving of the beard is strictly forbidden for Muslims.
It is considered a major sin unless, of course, it is part of a stratagem against the infidel, in which case it is permissible.
“Thus, a Muslim who shaves or shortens his beard is like a hermaphrodite, his Imamate near prohibition, his evidence is not valid, he will not have the right to vote or being voted for. Shaving and shortening the beard is the action of non-believers.”
Continuing Struggle For Allah
America - Land of Opportunity
Mr. Elsallal currently resides in Cedar Rapids near his family. He is also a founder of Amerab, Inc. – a Florida corporation registered to facilitate international trade with partners in the Middle East.
He is an active member of the Board of Directors of Hampshire mosque, Inc.
Wajih Elsallal – Secular Muslims are not righteous!
Name Wajih Elsallal
Profession MSA officer, student
Question
As-Salamu `alaykum wa rahamtu Allah wa Barakatuh.
I am in a Muslim community in the U.S. that has a mix of righteous, and secular people. I am writing to you as an officer in the Muslim Student Association (MSA) and have a feeling that it is my duty before Allah to make sure that things are done according to Allah’s likings per the Qur’an, Sunnah, the Companions of the Prophet and/or a clear fatwas by well known Scholars.
There is a demand among the community to open an electronic discussion room (by emails) that allow public of Muslim (students, family members and professionals) to ask questions and hold debate about issues in Islam. The problem is that it may let students answer each others based on their understanding with lack of full understanding of the meaning of ayahs (Qur’anic verses) and Hadith.
See such topics might have a good intention to seek the truth, but the other face of the cube is that there is a possibility to create a fitnah and make people doubts something in Islam out of ignorance. Especially if those people are just listening to what is said in e-mail and don’t consult and research or ask scholars to verify the truth.
It may be their problem and fault not to consult, but are we (MSA officers) going to be responsible before Allah that we allowed such thing to occur. We are trying to adopt a policy of the discussion that is similar to one of our fellow MSA’s guidelines: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/clubintro /postingguide.html
The main root of the problem is the absence of a scholar or a full time knowledgeable person to islamically moderate the discussion and stay engaged in the debate.
I have asked the local Masjid Imam and he said this is not allowed. Questions about Islam has to be hold with a presence of a knowledgeable person. Apparently, some officers don’t value the opinion of that Imam, or try to challenge it so I am looking for a second thought or fatwa by a scholar.
I can provide you with examples of what 4 of 11 happened in the past, but for sake of brevity, I won’t include them here.
My questions are that:
1. Is it ok to have a mass e-mail discussion without a presence of a scholar to actively moderate any dispute?
2. Are we going to be accountable before Allah if something has went wrong because we allowed this discussion?
3. With the absence of an active scholar, is it ok to have a mass e-mail discussion without a scholar to conclude on any dispute?
Please advice, Wajih Elsalaal
ANSWER
If it is a matter of halal and haram, then it is necessary that a qualified person answers these questions. But if it is general discussion where people talk about the social and moral aspect of Islam, then Muslims can discuss this, but one should not say something or present something as Islamic without having proper knowledge.
As for the second part of the question, yet, those who give fatwa without knowledge, they are accountable before Allah for it is forbidden to give fatwa without having a good knowledge of the Shari`ah. Allah Almighty knows best.
