Amjad Rafīq: "it does not mean that ʿArafāt and company are clean. Hence, I never raised or promotedthese individuals"

🎓 ʿAllāmah ʿUbayd al-Jābirī - raḥimahullāh - was asked:

Question: Our Shaykh, may Allāh preserve you and bless you. Some youth criticize Shaykh ʿArafāt bin Ḥasan al-Muḥammadī, saying that you people have exaggerated his status and elevated this Shaykh unjustly. What is your guidance regarding this matter, and what do you know about Shaykh ʿArafāt? May Allāh protect you, Shaykh❓

🅰️nswer: In the name of Allāh, all praise belongs to Allāh, and may He raise the rank of and grant peace to our Prophet Muḥammad, his family, and all his companions.

As for your question, our brother, companion, and student Dr. ʿArafāt bin Ḥasan al-Muḥammadī has been known to me for almost ten years, give or take. ¹ From the time I have known him, he has been a consistent student of ours, Shaykh Rabīʿ bin Hādī al-Madkhalī - ḥafiẓahullāh - and Shaykh Muḥammad bin Hādī al-Madkhalī ² - ḥafiẓahullāh. He has also remained consistent with Shaykh ʿAbdullāh bin ʿAbdur-Raḥīm al-Bukhārī - ḥafiẓahullāh.

We have always known him to be a person of Sunnah and understanding. Yes, criticism, insults, mockery, and unwarranted judgments spare no one, beginning with Muḥammad - ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam.

Therefore, such things do not harm our brother, Dr. ʿArafāt. As I have mentioned to you, I testify that he is a man of Sunnah, understanding, and knowledge. And all praise belongs to Allāh.

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¹ This audio was recorded in the year 1436/2015. Shaykh ʿArafāt - ḥafiẓahullāh - remained close to Shaykh ʿUbayd - raḥimahullāh - until his passing in 1444/2022, a consistent companionship lasting for almost two decades❕

² Who later deviated and was subsequently warned against by Shaykh ʿUbayd himself, as well as by other scholars and mashāyikh❗

🌐 Source: youtu.be/lweNM0p9_vE?fe…

✍🏼 Translation: Zubayr ʿAbbāsī