Who is Abu Khadeejah?

Of the earliest from a Muslim heritage background to adopt Salafiyyah in the early 1990s who would later go on to become a founder of SalafiPubs was Abu Khadeejah ‘Abdul-Wāhid, also a ‘Brummie’ and a second-generation British Asian of Pakistani-Kashmiri origin. Having accepted the basic principles of Salafiyyah (Tawheed and Sunnah) in 1988 during his first year at Bradford University, Abu Khadeejah started to practice his religion the year before he graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering from Bradford University in 1992. He swiftly grasped the importance of Shaykh Muhammad Nāsir Ad-Deen Al-Albanī’s (may Allah have mercy on him) concept of Tasfiyah wa Tarbiyah—in other words, the revival of Islam through the ‘Purification and Cultivation’ of the Muslim Ummah—[1] and thus, it was not long before Abu Khadeejah’s own journey as a preacher onto the Salafi Da‘wah scene began.

Hence, by 1995 whilst studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the University of Manchester—an institute which also became a well-known destination for da‘wah activity, Abu Khadeejah would invite (through speeches) the next generation of Muslims (local Mancunians and university students) away from ‘heedlessness’ to the establishment of Tawheed and Sunnah based upon a correct understanding and implementation of the Creed and Methodology as understood by the Pious Predecessors. Consequently, the most popular resource from Manchester University that many recall being in circulation among young people at the time were cassette recordings of lectures, mainly by Abu Khadeejah, Faisal Malik, and Abu ‘Iyād, which carried the label Qur’an and Sunnah Society Manchester University from 1995-6.[2]

Abu Khadeejah recalls that by 1995 he and his companions Abu Talhah Dawūd Burbank, Abu ‘Ubaydah Amar Basheer and Abdur-Razzāq As-San’āni (among others) were able to benefit from several shaykhs and scholars who had started visiting the UK. This included regular contact with Shaykh ‘Abdul Salaam Burjis Aali ‘Abdul-Kareem (may Allah have mercy upon him), a judge and scholar from Riyadh, who visited Birmingham on a few occasions. They also benefitted from others such as the Kuwaiti Shaykh, Hamad Al-‘Uthmān who made regular visits to Birmingham where he did his PhD up until the early 2000s. A student of Shaykh ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy upon him), Hamad Al-‘Uthmān would relate the clarifications of Shaykh Muqbil Ibn Hādi and Shaykh Rabee’ Al-Madkhali when teaching them books of ‘aqeedah, such as the I’tiqād of Abu Bakr Al-Isma’eeli—he also taught chapters from Buloogh Al-Maraam, Riyādh As-Saliheen, and delivered regular lessons on general issues.[3]

Apart from this, Abu Khadeejah (and his companions) were also in direct contact with some other Kuwaiti shaykhs such as Abu ‘Uthmān Muhammad Al-Anjari with whom he completed the study of Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal’s Usool As-Sunnah. Later, he benefitted from the likes of Shaykh Ahmad As-Subay’i and others when he spent a year living and studying in Kuwait. Shaykh Falāh Isma’eel Al-Mundakar (Allah’s mercy be upon him) was the most senior Kuwaiti scholar whose expertise in fiqh also contributed to the Salafi Da‘wah in the UK around the same time.[4] Maintaining contact with these (and other) scholars in a post-Gulf War context was invaluable, especially in clarification on the issue of the Iraqi invasion and the stationing of American and allied troops onto Saudi soil.

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[1] Shaykh Muhammad Nāsir Ad-Deen Al-Albanī’s  (V)) concept of Tasfiyah wa Tarbiyah was being propagated by some of the Jordanian students of knowledge such as ‘Ali Hassan Al-Halabi and Saleem al-Hilāli who had benefitted from the Shaykh [Al-Albanī] and were visiting  JIMAS in the UK around that time.

[2] See author’s (2022) article: The Emergence of Salafism in the UK for a history of contemporary Salafism in the UK. Source: researchingsalafism.com.

[3] Where Did Abu Khadeejah Study? By Abu Khadeejah. 2015. Source: soundcloud.com [and an interview with the author (myself), on Monday 20^th February 2023].

[4] Source: interview with the author (myself), on Monday 20^th February 2023.