Abu Talhah Dawūd Burbank, a Founder and Key Pillar of Al-Maktabah as-Salafiyyah’s Success

Shaykh Abu Hakeem Bilal Davis and Shaykh Abu Talhah Dawūd Burbank (may Allah have mercy on him) have also been snubbed for not having fully completed their studies at IUM. However, the very fact that some of the most senior Salafi scholars have acknowledged and praised their achievements and efforts in the revival of Islam and Salafism in the West, speaks for itself. No doubt, both shaykhs were not only staunch defenders of the Salafi Da‘wah during the 1990s/2000s onwards, but they were key figures who maintained a strong connection to the Scholars through times of adversity whilst also striving hard to teach others the importance of the role of the Scholars as guardians of the faith. Indeed, it has been said of Abu Talhah Dawūd Burbank that he had been ‘blessed by skills of translation’ that have not been ‘equaled (by anyone) in the West’.[1] And whilst Salafis do not say of him that he reached the level of a great Scholar, they do argue that there is not a ‘Salafi in the West who could doubt his worth and importance, (for) he left behind a legacy of calling others to the correct Creed…and that those who really knew him, know that he was a source of khair (goodness) for the Muslims of the West generally, and the people of the Sunnah specifically’.[2]

Tragically, Abu Talhah Dawūd Burbank (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away with his wife whilst on their way to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in November of 2011. News of their sudden death whilst both were in a state of ihrām was received with shock and an outpouring of grief from Salafis globally. The wave of sadness which reverberated across the world with the tremendous loss of a man whom even the Scholars such as Shaykh Rabee’, Shaykh Muqbil (may Allah have mercy on him) and Shaykh ‘Ubayd (may Allah have mercy on him) loved and praised was evident from the eulogies written immediately by those who knew them personally, not to mention the outpouring of financial assistance offered to their eight children. Indeed, for those in the field of da‘wah such as Abu Khadeejah, Abu Hakeem, Abu Iyād, Hasan As-Somāli, Kashiff Khan, Anwar Wright, Abul-Hasan Mālik, Abu Junaide Yusuf Bowers, Abu Fudayl Abdur-Raqeeb, and the community served by Al-Maktabah As-Salafiyyah—all acknowledged that Abu Talhah Dawūd Burbank was ‘from the founders of the Maktabah and a pillar of its early success’.[3]

[1] Abu-Talhah-Dawud-Burbank-and-his-Wife-have-Died, 1^st January, 2001. Source: Source: SalafiTalk.net.

[2] Ibid: p3,4.

[3] Abu Talhah Dawud Burbank and his Wife have Died, 1^st January, 2001. Source: Source: SalafiTalk.net.