Abu Talhah Dawud Burbank and his Wife have Died

[AbuKhadeejahSP]

Abu Talhah Dawud bin Ronald Burbank and his Wife Have Died
May Allaah have Mercy upon them both

Abu Talhah Dawud Burbank and his wife passed away earlier today, Tuesday 1st November 2011 (5th Dhul-Hijjah 1432H) - may Allaah shower them both with His abundant Mercy.
(Their Janaazah will be prayed at the Haram Masjid in Makkah, after Fajr on Wednesday 6th Dhul-Hijjah, inshaa'Allaah)

The eyes shed tears, there is sadness and grief in the heart, but we only say things pleasing to our Lord. Indeed we are saddened by the passing away of our brother Abu Talhah, rahimahullaah and his wife (rahimahallaah).

"Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji'oon."
"Indeed to Allaah we belong and to Him we shall return."

Allaah, the Most Perfect and the Most High, said,

"And give glad tidings to the patient - those who, when afflicted with a calamity, say 'Indeed to Allaah we belong and to Him we shall return.' It is those who will be rewarded with blessings and mercy from their Lord. And it is those who are the guided ones."

(Al-Baqarah 2:155-157)

Allaah's Messenger (salallaahu 'alayhi wassallam) said: "To Allaah belongs what He took, and to Him belongs what He gave. Everything is recorded with him for an appointed term.." (Ahkaamul-Janaa'iz of Al-Albaanee)

Both Abu Talhah and Umm Talhah were in a state of Ihraam, calling out the talbiyah wherein the Tawheed of Allaah, the sole right He has of worship is called out with an audible voice. The Messenger of Allaah (salallaahu 'alaihi wassallam) stated on an occasion when a Companion died in a state of Ihraam:

"Wash him with water and sidr (lotus), and shroud him in two garments. Do not embalm or perfume him, and do not cover his head or face. He will be resurrected on the Day of Judgment making the Talbiyah."
[Bukhaaree and Muslim]

They passed away in this month of Dhul-Hijjah on their way to Hajj in these, the most virtuous days in the world, as the Prophet (salallaahu 'alaihi wassallam) stated - days in which righteous deeds are most beloved to Allaah, the Most Merciful, the Most Majestic.

The bus they were on caught fire, and both of them were killed in the fire. Allaah's Messenger (salallaahu 'alaihi wassallam) stated:

"Death from burning is a Shahaadah (martyrdom)…"
[Declared hasan by Shaikh al-Albaanee in Ahkaamul-Janaa'iz, p.55]

I have known Abu Talhah and his family (Umm Talhah) for twenty years. He has been my teacher, my friend, my confidant, an adviser, a support for myself and my family throughout this time. In the depths of battles practically throughout the whole of the nineties he stood firm against the people of misguidance and bid'ah, translating material in clarification of the haqq and propagating the haqq, without any compromising or fearing the blame of the blamers. He stood firm against the Soofees, the Ash'arees, the Khawaarij and the Shi'ah - he translated the works of the scholars both past and present, making clear the path of Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jamaa'ah. He defended the honour of the scholars such as Shaikh Ibn Baaz, Shaikh Shaikh Al-Albaanee, Shaikh Muqbil bin Haadee and Shaikh Rabee al-Madkhalee when the partisans and the innovators in the West tried to dishonour and discredit them. He became a symbol and a sign of Salafiyyah in the West, and we do not praise anyone beyond Allaah, the Most High.

He translated scores of books of the Scholars, he translated 'At-Tawassul' of Shaikh al-Albaanee (rahimahullaah) and thereby clarified the belief of Ahlus-Sunnah in opposition to the grave worshippers and Soofees. He translated 'The Reality of Soofism' of Shaikh Muhammad bin Rabee al-Madkhalee (hafidhahullaah), he translated 'The Explanation of the Three Principles' of Shaikh Ibn Uthaimeen (rahimahullaah), he translated 'The Methodology of the Prophets in Calling to Allaah' of Shaikh Rabee' al-Madkhalee (hafidhahullaah), he translated 'The Explanation of the Creed' of Imaam al-Barbahaaree (rahimahullaah), and much more besides.

In the nineties, when the da'wah was in its infancy, many people left the Salafi Manhaj, preferring the paths of innovation - Dawud (rahimahullaah) saw them come and saw them go, but he would not join them in their opposition. Rather he would advise those who were once with us upon this path of Sunnah, he would show great concern for them so that they not become misguided. He would make du'aa for them, and then leave their affair to Allaah, and stop his association with them, only for the sake of Allaah. He would not compromise with them, nor praise those who opposed this blessed Manhaj. He was the first person to translate the rudood (refutations) of Shaikh Muqbil, Shaikh al-Albaanee and Shaikh Rabee' against Jam'iyyah Ihyaa Turaath al-Islaamee - he stemmed and almost cut off their bid'ah in the UK by way of these translations (by the permission of Allaah). Allaah had blessed him with skills of translation that I have not seen equaled in the West, and Allaah knows best.

The Scholars loved and praised him and spoke highly of him, and were saddened at his passing away as has been narrated from Shaikh Muhammad bin Haadee, Shaikh Rabee', Shaikh Muhammad al-Anjaree, Shaikh Ahmad as-Subay'ee and Shaikh Falaah bin Ismaa'eel. In fact, Shaikh al-Anjaree (hafidhahullaah) called me himself seeking news about Abu Talhah and his wife - he made du'aa for them and praised them for their nobility and virtues, and then he made du'aa for their children and ended by giving me some valuable advice.

Shaikh Muqbil (rahimahullaah) heard of the excellence of Dawood and wrote a tazkiyyah for him nearly fifteen years ago! Shaikh Abdus-Salaam Burjiss Aal Abdul-Kareem (rahimahullaah) used to sit with us and advice us with the importance of knowledge and adhering to the Salafi Manhaj - he loved the company of Abu Talhah as did Shaikh Muhammad bin Haadee upon their several visits to Birmingham. There has not been a time that I have met with Shaikh Muhammad bin Haadee except that he would ask about the welfare of Abu Talhah. I recall back in 1999 when I was in Kuwait sitting in a gathering of mashayikh and they had heard that one of the children of Abu Talhah had become ill - they spoke well of him and made du'aa for his child. Then they asked me to convey their salutations to him. When Shaikh Abdus-Salaam Burjiss (rahimahullaah), a former judge and scholar of Riyadh, would visit us from time to time in Birmingham along with Shaikh Muhammad bin Haadee, he would bring gifts - he knew the shyness of Dawud, and would ask me to pass the gift to him on his behalf.

He started teaching regularly in the mid 90's upon the advice of Shaikh Muhammad al-Anjaree. This was after Shaikh al-Anjaree saw that the people of partisanship had left us and scattered, and we were few in number who remained upon the Sunnah and Salafiyyah. So Shaikh al-Anjaree encouraged him to step up and teach the people what he possessed of knowledge and call the people to Salafiyyah. So we set up classes, and only a handful sat in those duroos of ours in the early days - as this was in the era of the split from JIMAS and after Ihyaa Turaath (with the help of Suhaib Hasan and Green Lane) had poisoned many of the people with their hizbiyyah. But Abu Talhah persisted and continued not flinching from the immense task ahead of him. Shaikh al-Anjaree requested from me to remain close to Abu Talhah, to support him, encourage him and strengthen him in his determination.

Slowly but surely the numbers grew, the da'wah spread, the opposers were silenced, the truth became clearer and clearer. The da'wah of the scholars took root, wal-hamdulillaah. Abu Talhah would teach from the well-known books, such as 'Kitaabut-Tawheed' of Shaikh ul-Islaam Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhaab, 'Al-Aqeedatul-Waasitiyyah' of Ibn Taymiyyah, 'Riyaadhus-Saaliheen' of an-Nawawee, 'as-Saheehah' of Shaikh al-Albaanee and many others. With these efforts and the efforts of others, and by the Grace of Allaah, Birmingham became a destination for Salafis in the UK, an island of Salafiyyah in this land. People traveled and moved with their families to Birmingham. The scholars heard of the efforts being made and when asked about the da'wah in Europe, they would praise the efforts of the brothers in Birmingham at 'Salafi Publications', and encourage co-operation with them (such as Shaikh Muqbil) and even living amongst them, if one could not migrate to a Muslim land (such as Shaikh Ubaid, Shaikh Falaah and Shaikh al-Anjaree). We worked collectively and tirelessly in disseminating the Salafi da'wah: Abu Talhah, Abu Hakeem, Abu Iyaad (and others), and there is no doubt regarding the prominent and exceptional role Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah) played in conveying this da'wah over the last 20 years.

Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah) continued and never stopped calling the people to the aqeedah and the manhaj and the fiqh and the akhlaaq and the adaab of the Salaf - not for one moment have I known him to be upon anything other than that. He was firm upon the Sunnah, not compromising - if he knew something to be the haqq, he would hold to it with his molar teeth. Though he lived far from the Masjid, he would still walk miles to reach the Masjid as-Salafi, hoping for the reward from Allaah and a removal of sin for every step that he took, rahimahullaah. I would ask him, "Dawood, why do you not learn to drive?" He would respond, "No thank you, I'm fine walking," and we would laugh. He would not carry a mobile phone, and had no interest in having one, as he knew it would occupy him away from "more important matters". He would rarely travel out of Birmingham for da'wah, and on several occasions he would seek our advice before traveling. He was a loving and caring husband and father, with a beautiful sense of humor. He was full of information, and we would talk for hours sometimes about the Deen and worldly matters of interest, but never was he lewd or foul ever. He was conscious of time and being on time and not wasting time. In the trips to visit the Mashayikh of Saudi Arabia, I would share the hotel room with him, we would talk for hours about the affairs of da'wah - sometimes he would disappear, and we would not see him for hours - then he'd reappear clutching bags of books that he had picked up at some obscure bookshop in Makkah or Madinah, then he'd sit down flicking through them for hours. He'd return to the UK, quite often with overweight luggage! We'd have fun discussing the various scenarios to expect at the airport when our bags are weighed. He would say, "Well if Abu Hakeem can get away with it, so will I... inshaa'Allaah!". In 2001 before Hajj, Abu Talhah called me and said, "I've got some news.. I'm going Hajj, inshaa'Allaah." I replied, "Maashaa'Allaah Dawood! Excellent news!" He said, "Would you like to come along?" I responded, "Love to Dawood, but can't really afford it right now. Maybe next year." So he said, "I will arrange the tickets.. just say yes." I said, "I don't want to put anyone through difficulty." He said, "So you're coming, inshaa'Allaah." I said, "Yes! Inshaa'Allaah." Generous and giving till the last, rahimahullaah. It was the most enjoyable and memorable Hajj I have performed. We stayed in some strange apartments (!!), and never left each others side throughout the nearly four weeks, and we used to often recall that Hajj (and reminisce and smile) - that we performed alongside several other brothers: Abu Amaan, Abu Hammaad, Jamaal ad-Deen, Abu Abdul-Kareem, Maqsood, Abdul-Hameed and others. After that Hajj, there was never a time that Abu Talhah went to Makkah and Madinah except that myself, Abu Hakeem and Abu Iyaad accompanied him.

He was from the founders of al-Maktabah as-Salafiyyah and a pillar of its early success, as his translations and research were an invaluable part of the da'wah. It is amazing looking back at where we began in the early 90's and how much we have gone through - and all praise is due to Allaah - that Salafiyyah has tens and thousands of adherents now in the UK, and to think that Allaah had decreed Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah) to be a leading figure in that call, and we praise no one beyond Allaah. My brothers and sisters, make no mistake, he (rahimhullaah) remained steadfast till the last.

I invited him to my home only a few weeks ago, him and his family and his children. They spent the day with us till just before Maghrib. We spoke about the early days of the da'wah when we were isolated, yet stood firm and we spoke of the duroos in those days, classes that were based around the manhaj of tasfiyyah and tarbiyyah. How the people abandoned us, prevented us and how the Mashayikh stuck by us and would advise us, and then we would return back 're-charged' and enthused with energy, walhamdulillaah, Shaikh Muhammad bin Haadee, Shaikh Rabee' and Shaikh al-Anjaree being the most instrumental in encouragement! May Allaah bless and preserve our mashiyikh.

We spoke of the sittings with the scholars, when Abu Talhah, Abu Hakeem, Abu Iyaad, Hasan as-Somaalee and myself would go regularly to Saudi Arabia and sit with the scholars; the hajj and 'umrahs that we made together - happy times and tough battles, memories that we cherished dearly. And how we have grown into middle-age upon this da'wah, and how many scholars have passed away; and how old the living ones have become. We spoke about Shaikh Rabee' (hafidhahullaah) a lot, and Abu Talhah expressed how much love he had for the Shaikh, and how angered he is at those who speak ill of him, and of Shaikh Ubaid and Shaikh Muhammad bin Haadee (whom he loved greatly). We spoke about natural health and issues related to natural medicine, as he was a proponent of natural foods and healthy living. He loved our brother Abu Iyaad and would praise him often for his efforts in the da'wah and his translations, and in bringing to the forefront the importance of Prophetic medicine and healthy living by eating healthily. We spoke in this visit of his to my home about where to get hold of organic and raw food, we exchanged websites of organic suppliers - his sons sat, listened and participated in our discussions with polite and useful comments, showing the excellent tarbiyyah of the parents upon their children. We spoke for hours, in the pleasure of each others company.

Umm Talhah (rahimahallaah) was a caring and careful mother - a joyful character who loved her children and cared immensely for the Sunnah and its implementation in the home. A day before she left for Hajj, she rang our home and spoke to my wife about how she was so overjoyed that Allaah, the Most Perfect and Most High, had given her another opportunity to perform Hajj, this endeavour for Allaah's sake. May Allaah unite these two loving parents with their children once more in the highest and most noble company, in the highest level of Jannah.

Wallaahi, my brothers and sisters, I have do not know of anyone in the West more meticulous in acting upon the Sunnah than Abu Talhah - he would know fine details of how the Messenger (salallaahu 'alaihi wassallam) walked, talked, ate and behaved and he would follow him in that precisely. He was from the shyest of the people, from the most humble and with the least concern for the world and its glitter. I do not say this out of flattery for anyone, nor to raise a person above his level, but rather from my truthful knowledge of him. And this is something that was witnessed by Shaikh Muhammad bin Haadee, Shaikh Falaah bin Ismaa'eel and Shaikh al-Anjaree amongst others. They would mention this to us about Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah) in his absence and praise his humbleness. Myself and Abu Hakeem have heard this from our mashayikh.

There is no doubt that we are saddened at the loss of our brother and his wife, especially those of us in the arena of da'wah! My brothers such as Abu Hakeem, Abu Iyaad, Hasan as-Somaalee, Kashiff Khan, the Shoorah of al-Maktabah as-Salafiyyah (Abu Junaide and Abu Fudayl) and others, may Allaah preserve them all, as well as those who attend the duroos and frequent the Masjid - all have expressed their sadness at the departure of this beloved brother and his wife. Myself and Abu Hakeem have received calls and messages from all across the UK, and the USA, Canada, KSA, Kuwait, the Caribbean, and Sri Lanka (to name a few) mentioning their sadness at the loss of our brother and sister - yet we utter only those words which please our Lord, the Mighty and Majestic.

O Allaah! Forgive Abu Talhah and forgive Umm Talhah, elevate their position amongst the guided ones, and raise good successors for them from their offspring. Forgive us and them, O Lord of the worlds, expand and illuminate their graves, for them both. Allaahumma Ameen!

Abu Khadeejah 'Abdul-Waahid Alam
Birmingham, UK.

[Abu.Husam.Mouhanad]

Assalam alikum wa rahmatullah wa baraktuh...

Jazakum allah khairan our noble brother Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Waahid. Brother Abu Khadeeajah, I love you for the sake of Allah.

O Allaah! Forgive Abu Talhah and forgive Umm Talhah, elevate their position amongst the guided ones, and raise good successors for them from their offspring. Forgive us and them, O Lord of the worlds, expand and illuminate their graves, for them both. Allaahumma Ameen!

Allaahumma Ameen!

[Shamsuddin.Prowse]

As-salam Alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh.

May the blessing of Allah azza wa jal be upon the prophet Muhammad sallallahu wa salam and be upon his family and all the rightly guided Amin. I testify that Allah is the one God and that no other gods have any right to be worshipped and that Muhammad is the prophet and Messenger of Allah.

"Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji'oon."
"Indeed to Allaah we belong and to Him we shall return."

He will be remembered as a good man, may Allah ta'ala shower him with HIS mercy and give strength and patience to his family Amin.

Shamsuddin Bin Albert Prowse

[Abu.Fatimah.Salahuddin.Ali]

Bismillaahir-Rahmanir-Rahim,

May Allaah Suban wa Ta'ala give them Jannah Firdaus, ameen.

[albaseerah.com]

AssalamuAlaikum Wa Rahmatullah

We have been informed that the Janazah has been performed and our brother Abu Talha Dawood and his wife have been buried, Rahimahumullah. We ask Allah to make their questioning easy and to grant them firdous. May Allah make them a reminder and make us reflect on our actions and our state of affairs. May Allah make our ending good. We ask Allah to make their children strong and grant them ease.

To Allah we belong and to Him is our Return.

Death is a reminder
No doubt Death is from amongst the greatest reminders of the temporary nature of this Duniya. At the same time it is a way to reflect on our affairs as individuals. "You don't know what you got until its gone." Only last week our brother Abu Talha travelled to Manchester to teach the people in that city. And how often do our brothers and callers travel to various cities to teach the people. And this knowledge is not accumulated to be carried on the backs. It is attained to gain closeness to Allah, to attain the taqwa of Allah. How many of us sit and regret now how much benefit we missed all those years that Abu Talha was teaching on our doorstep. Let us reflect upon this loss and strive in learning, acting upon that knowledge, calling others to it and being patient upon its trials.

Next time there are gatherings of knowledge in your city then race towards reaching it and bring others. For you may learn something from it, act upon it such that it will bring you nearness to Allah azzawajal.

We ask Allah to make our speech and our action seeking the face of our Lord.

[Amar.Abu.Yahia]

May Allah have Mercy on him and on his wife.

[Abu.Iyaad]

May Allaah the Exalted grant Abu Talhah and his wife mercy, forgiveness and the loftiest place in Paradise. As has been mentioned by many of the brothers and sisters above, Abu Talhah and his wife were travelling to Hajj, were in ihraam, were making the talbiyah, and were both caught up in fire, being killed by it. Their funeral prayer was in Haram of Makkah, after Fajr prayer, with at least hundreds of thousands of people praying over them. What greater signs could there be of a good end than this? As the Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said, (وإنما الأعمال بالخواتيم) "Verily, [all] the actions [of a servant (are judged)] in accordance with the actions [his life] is sealed [with]," and the actions with which his life was sealed - in what is known to those who knew him - (and we do no purify and praise anyone over and above what Allaah knows of him) were representative of the actions with which he was known to us during his life, a befitting recompense. The Messenger (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) said (فإن أحدكم ليعمل بعمل أهل الجنة حتى لا يكون بينها وبينه إلا ذراع ، فيسبق عليه الكتاب ، فيعمل بعمل أهل النار فيدخل النار . وإن أحدكم ليعمل بعمل أهل النار ، حتى ما يكون بينها وبينه إلا ذراع ، فيسبق عليه الكتاب ، فيعمل عمل أهل الجنة فيدخلها), "Verily, one of you certainly works the deed(s) of the people of Paradise until there remains but an armspan (between him and it) and the Book (the decree) over takes him, and thereby he works the deed of the people of the Fire and enters the Fire. And verily, one of you certainly works the deed(s) of the people of the Fire until there remains but an armspan (between him and it) and the Book (the decree) over takes him, and thereby he works the deed of the people of Paradise and and enters it." So it is clear that Allaah honoured him with the greatest of signs of a good, noble (and envious) end, may Allaah shower him and his wife with abundant mercy. I recall exactly 20 years ago when Abu Talhah came to Middlesbrough to participate in a mini-conference, and he was ill and had been vomiting. I saw him lying outside (the venue) on the grass, on his side, vomiting, and then he was resting and he was totally content. That was the first time I saw him, I recall that picture vividly in my mind. As for Abu Talhah's character, he was the most loveable of people, and the most pleasant to share company with. As for the humility and abstinence of Abu Talhah, as an illustration, when we would go to Umrah together and would share a room or a flat, he would say, and it would be known by the rest of us, that as long as he has a place (on the floor) to sleep and some running water, he is satisfied and he cares not about anything else of the comforts and luxuries. Never, would you hear him complain about the circumstances. This is something known to those who have travelled with him and is in contrast to the generality of the people who start complaining, forgetting the bounties of Allaah. The people are tried not in ease, but in times of difficulty where some sacrifice is required, and it is here that those who worship Allaah, seeking His face and pleasure are distinguished from those who worship Allaah as if on an edge, and we ask Allaah to make us from those who seek His face and pleasure. I was informed by Abu Maryam Tariq yesterday that both his sons, Talha and Sa'd, showed great patience throughout the ordeal - may Allaah grant them patience and firmness, and make them follow in their father's footsteps - and that in this ordeal they behaved according to the Sunnah, (whereas others may have struggled to handle and overcome what they had witnessed). Abu Talhah was a man who venerated the Sunnah, was knowledgeable regarding and acted upon it, he possessed the best of characteristics, and was one of the humblest of people that I have known and met. No doubt, the characteristics of a man reflect in his children, so may Allaah reward him greatly for his efforts, and make his children inherit his legacy. I am certain this thread will be filled with many things about the character of our noble brother Abu Talhah and his great impact upon the da'wah, I ask Allaah once more to shower His abundant mercy upon Abu Talhah and Umm Talhah (rahimahumallaah).

[S.bint.Ahmed]

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Wa laykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa baraktuhu,

إنا لله وإن إليه راجعون
آمين
We praise none above Allaah.

No amount of words can encompass the immense personal pain, grief, sorrow that so many people are feeling now both silently and shared and what a tremendous loss to the dawah, Allahul Musta'aan.

We ask Allaah that Allaah grants them Jannatul Firdous and saves them from every affliction in the grave and hereafter. That their children are Protected and Helped by Allaah in all their affairs,that they are a sadaqah Jarriyaah for their parents. That their children can feel that so many people loved them for the Sake of Allaah because of the khair (good) they bought to peoples daily lives, deen and as models.
That Allaah grants us a good ending upon the best of deeds, in the best of places and the best of ways.
He joins us with them; those whom they loved and those who loved them for the
Sake of Allaah in Jannatul Firdous. Ameen thumma ameen.

Is this not a sign from Allaah that the people of truth and striving have a good ending.
Allahu Akbar!!

O Allaah have Mercy upon us and them, ameen.

[Chidr.bin.Malik]

Salamu 'Aalaykum Warahmatulah

O Allaah! Forgive Abu Talhah and forgive Umm Talhah, elevate their position amongst the guided ones, and raise good successors for them from their offspring. Forgive us and them, O Lord of the worlds, expand and illuminate their graves, for them both. Allaahumma Ameen!

BaarakAllahu Feek for this beautiful Du'a brother Abu Khadeejah, may Allah make their grave spacious, grant them Jannat ul-Firdaus and strengthen the children in this difficult time. Ameen. Indeed, this is a great loss for Ahlus-Sunnah in the West.

[Spubs.Com]

DONATIONS TO HELP THE FAMILY
- May Allaah protect and preserve them -

Alhamdulillaah, many people have asked whether they could financially help with donations for the eight children of Abu Talhah and Umm Talhah (rahimahumallaah), both from the UK and abroad.

The answer is yes, you can help. We will collect any payment made for the family of Dawood Burbank (rahimahullaah) and will forward any amounts to them. This will be for the benefit of their children. You may donate into the following bank account:

PLEASE make sure you add the reference: 'Dawud Burbank' to the transfer so we know!

Account Name: Salafi Bookstore & Islamic Centre
Bank name: LloydsTSB
Account Number: 00231260
Sort Code: 30-93-09

Additional information for overseas donations:

BIC: LOYDGB21282
IBAN: GB14 LOYD 3093 0900 2312 60
……………………………………………………………………

PayPal Donations:

Orders@salafibookstore.com

Please refer the payment as a Gift Payment otherwise Paypal will charge us the fee.

We have a new project to disseminate Abu Talhah's translations that he had done over the last 20 or so years (to be announced shortly). This will be a continuous reward for him, after his passing away, inshaa'Allaah.

[Hodo.Bint.Yusuf]

May Allah 'azzawajal grant them both Jannatul Firdaws and may He allow us to return to Him before it is too late, ameen. Alhamdulillah our brother left behind many works and benefits for us to utilise which will be a means of sadaqa jariya for him. He was well known for his humbleness and excellent manners, wala uzaki alallaahi ahada. I leave you with this reminder:


It is reported that Imâm Ayyûb [Al-Sakhtiyânî] – Allâh have mercy on him – said, “When I hear of the death of a man from Ahl Al-Sunnah, it is as if I have lost a part of my body.”

Al-Lâlakâ`î, Sharh Usûl I’tiqâd Ahl Al-Sunnah wa Al-Jamâ’ah, Vol.1 p46.

[Spubs.Com]

A man who defended the Sunnah!

FACT: Abu Talhah translated Shaikh Muqbil's refutations on Abdur-Rahmaan Abdul-Khaaliq and Ihyaa Turaath in 1996, 'The Blazing Meteor' series.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated Shaikh Muqbils' refutation on Abdullaah as-Sabt of Ihyaa Turaath in 1997.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated Shaikh Muqbil's refutations on Suhaib Hasan and al-Hidaayah in 1997.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated Shaikh Rabee's first critique of Suhaib Hasan and Turaath in 1997 after Hajj.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated sections from Shaikh Rabee's 'Jamaa'ah Waahidah Laa Jama'aat' in refutation of the head of Ihyaa Turaath, Abdur-Rahmaan Abdul-Khaaliq in 1998.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated portions of Shaikh Abdus-Salaam Burjis's 'Mu'amalaat al-Hukaam' in refutation of the Qutubees and those who called for revolt and revolution in the mid to late 1990's.
FACT: Abu Talhah prevented any amalgamation with Muhammad Suroor after he had read 'as-Sunnah' magazine of this takfeeree in the early nineties, and found it to be in contradiction to the Sunnah!
FACT: Abu Talhah translated portions of the book 'al-Qutubiyyah' in refutation of the Qutubees such as Safar al-Hawaalee and Salmaan al-Awdah who were attacking the major scholars.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated the fatwa of Shaikh Ibn Baaz (rahimahullaah) calling the authorities to prevent Safar and Salmaan from delivering lectures, classes and their tapes from being distributed.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated many of Shaikh Rabee's refutations against Syed Qutub and al-Mawdoodee; 'Manhaj al-Anbiyah' is point and case.
FACT: Abu Talhah translated Shaikh al-Albaanee's refutations on Ihyaa Turaath and Abdur-Rahmaan Abdul-Khaaliq.
And much more besides. Documented in his own handwriting, rahimahullaah.

[Abbas.Abu.Yahya]

Bismillah as-Salatu wa as-Sallamu ala Rasoolillaah
Amma Badu’

Our hearts are in severe pain and our eyes cannot contain their tears, the whole Salafi community globally is saddened by the demise of our beloved Dawood and his wife. Condolences are coming in from those who have only heard of him, imagine how those of us who have known him most of our lives feel, Allaah’s aid is sought.

Due to the hadeeth of the Messenger –SallAllaahu alayhi wa Sallam- in Saheeh Muslim: ‘You are the witnesses of Allaah on the earth.’ I feel that it is imperative for me to inform my brothers and sisters in Salafeeyah how Allaah had blessed this man, and only Allaah has knowledge of the hearts.

[Saheeh & Da’eef]

I remember the weekend (in the late 80’s) when Dawood finally came back to England from Madina University, after having met him during his holiday breaks. I eagerly asked one of the brothers what Dawood was saying, he answered that Dawood is saying you can’t follow any Ahadeeth, you have to follow those Ahadeeth that are authentic.

He was the first person – by Allaah’s permission - to introduce us to this distinction between Saheeh and Da’eef hadeeth. This was the beginning of us taking the correct path in learning the Sunnah correctly – may Allaah keep us on the correct path. This is probably the main reason why our hearts are in so much pain, and Allaah knows best.

[Tawheed]

The importance to Tawheed was given immediately, I remember he began translating benefits from Kitab al-Tawheed, and he gave it a lot of attention, which was something we had not done previously we had not taken it as seriously.

[Salafeeyah]

The Salaf used to regard being guided to the Sunnah as the greatest blessing upon them, Alhamdulillaah, after us having been guided to the Sunnah, Salafeeyah was injected – by Allaah’s permission – into our community through Dawood.

Dawood introduced us to Salafeeyah – by Allaah’s blessings – and also to taking the understanding of the Salafi scholars. When he first brought this principle we thought he had lost his mind, but this was the beginning of Allaah turning our hearts due to which we began to adhere to the correct understanding of Islaam – may Allaah keep us firm upon the way of the Salaf.

He introduced us to Shaykh Albaani and Shaykh Bin Baz, and we were amazed by this wonderful new wealth of knowledge.

[His Destination]

Allaah takes His slaves with His Mercy and Wisdom when and as He wishes, being parted from a beloved person is extremely difficult to bear but Allaah’s Wisdom is all-Perfect. Allaah returned him from where he made him.

From Abdullaah ibn Eesaa [who said]: Yahyaa al-Bukaa narrated to us from Ibn Umar that an Ethiopian was buried in Madeenah. So the Prophet of Allaah صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
دُفِنَ فِيْ الطِّيْنَةِ الَّتِي خُلِقَ مِنْهَا

“He was buried in the clay from which he was created.”

And it has a supporting narration from the hadith of Abdullaah ibn Ja’far Najeeh [who said] my father narrated to me [saying that]: Unais ibn Abu Yahyaa narrated to me from his father from Abu Sa’eed [who said]:

‘That the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم passed by Al-Medinah and saw a group of people digging a grave. So he asked about it.

So they said, ‘An Ethiopian who came [here] and then died.’

So the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, ‘None has the right to be worshipped except Allaah. He was led from his land and his sky to the soil that he was created from.’

Shaykh Albaani said:

‘So in my opinion, through all of its chains of narrations, the hadith is hasan. And Allaah knows best.’

As-Saheehah 1858.

We ask Allaah to have mercy on our Dawood and Umm Talha, and unite us with them in the gardens of Paradise, along with the Prophets, the righteous people and the martyrs.

[Abu.Iyaad]

Back in the early 90s, in the days of JIMAS, Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah) was the one who was providing the knowledge, and I remember that whenever any issue came up of jurisprudence or otherwise, we would see Abu Talhah's distinctive, impeccable handwritten translations, that would be passed around. I am certain there are literally hundreds, if not scores of people up and down the country who will have in their possession the handwritten responses of Abu Talhah for he used to respond to people in writing through the post. In those days, Abu Muntasir (JIMAS) was really riding on the back of Abu Talhah's efforts from a knowledge point of view, as he was the person with real knowledge, and he was always in the background. As for JIMAS, for those who are in the know and have baseerah, it was a hizbee organization upon the doctrines of Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Khaliq who combined democracy and pluralism with Islam, and followed the ways of Hasan al-Banna in attempting to unite the sects of Islam under one huge mass and then use the ways and methodologies of non-Muslims to establish the Haakimiyyah of Allaah upon the earth (as they claim), following two simultaneous tracks, either to effect revolutions, first through ideological means, hoping by that to effect physical revolutions and second to use whatever political apparatus already existed within a nation as a means to climb to the throne of power. Any connection to Salafiyyah and assertion of a Salafi creed was largely academic (i.e. it never trascended above and beyond mere academic discussion). What we saw after 1990 was a revival of the methodologies of Hasan al-Banna and Sayyid Qutb, both of which were founded upon the assumption of the absence of any Muslim society on the face of this earth, which implied generalized mass takfir. In the West, JIMAS, those associated with it and their counterpart organizations in the US were pushing these methodologies. Just prior to the mid-90s saw the split away from this nominal type of Salafiyyah. In the West, Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah) played an instrumental role in that regard through his efforts of supporting and defending the manhaj of Imaam Ibn Baaz, Imaam al-Albani, Imaam Ibn Uthaymeen, Imaam Muqbil, and the rest of the Mashaayikh of Salafiyyah, from them Shaykh Rabee, and Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan and others. He was instrumental in translating and disseminating from the works of those great scholars to show the difference between what these Scholars were upon and what the Harakiyyeen were upon. In this decade there was great confusion but by its end walhamdulillaah, all of the major Scholars who were alive had convicted the figureheads who were pushing these ideologies, and the truth became manifest. Prior to this, the Harakiyyeen had a trend of using certain statements from the major scholars (which had history and context), in order to put up a defence for themselves and their figureheads, but that was no longer sustainable after a certain point. This was when all the major scholars, Albani, Bin Baz, Ibn Uthaymeen had statements (by the year 2000) which clearly convicted the main figureheads of this movement. When the deceptive use of the earlier commendations of these scholars for those errant figureheads proved of little utility, and the Harakiyyoon were hard-pressed to find answers as to why Albani, Ibn Baz and Ibn Uthaymin (in particular) had strong criticisms of them (by the end of the decade), these Harakiyyeen started a trend of accusing these sames Scholars (Albani, Ibn Baz, Ibn Uthaymin etc.) of being "revisionists," claiming they had departed from what the earlier scholars were upon in certain fields such as takfir, and da'wah and islaah, and were revising these fields to something new and unknown. If you are a person in the West who is upon Salafiyyah, I can say without any hesitation and with full conviction that you will have benefited in some way from the writings of Abu Talhah, or from his books, in the fields of aqidah, or manhaj, or fiqh or tafsir. And you should be grateful to Allaah first and then thankful to Abu Talhah that you were saved from the hamaaqah (foolishness) of the Harakiyyeen, in one way or another, or to some degree or other (through the clarifications in methodology). I see no difference between the hamaaqah (foolishness) of the Ahl al-Kalaam who thought they could establish Tawhid (as they understood it) by the conceptual tools of Greek Philosophy, and between the Harakiyyeen of today who think they can establish Tawhid (as in al-Haakimiyyah, upon their narrow constricted understanding) by the ideological and practical tools of Western philosophies (represented in the approaches of Banna and Qutb) whilst shunning the methodology of the Prophets in calling to Allaah. It's too boring and dry for them, just as the revealed texts were too boring and dry for the Ahl al-Kalaam, a hindrance more than an advancement. In the same way, following the methodology of the Prophets in calling to Allaah is a hindrance rather than an advancement to these people, as their actions clearly give testimony to. But the main point in this post was to say that alhamdulillaah, I have not seen except good remarks from all directions and quarters for Abu Talhah. I have not seen negative remarks or statements from anyone thus far (with one exception) and everyone has asked for mercy upon him and his family, has acknowledged his virtue and excellence and even from the opposers are those who acknowledge that they have benefited from him and his works, and they have nothing but good to say. However one remark was brought to my attention yesterday, which I would like to address in order to exonerate the honour of our brother Abu Talhah (rahimahullaah), and this will be done on an appropriate platform in due course inshaa'Allaah.

[Amar.Abu.Yahia]

BarakaAllahu Feekum for sharing all these stories with us. We all have to thank people like Abu Talha for their great effort. May Allah have mercy on him and his wife. And may Allah preserve all the Scholars and Students of Knowledge of our time.

[Umm.Musa.bint.Muhammad]

innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji'oon

may Allah shower our brother and sister with His Vast Mercy, and make them from the saabiqeen and shuhadaa, and enter them into the highest of heavens in Firdaws, with no hisab nor punishment, and may Allah join us with them soon, ameen.

Allah certainly had tremendous mercy on them during their lives, their deaths, and even thereafter, Allahu akbar. surely our Lord is Most Merciful, Most Kind, so biithnillah they are in bliss now, and we make du'aa for them

one of the very first books, if not the first book, of 'aqeedah that i read when i was just introduced to salafiyyah was the Explanation of the Creed by al-Barbahaaree, and i just realized that the translator was our brother Abu Talha.

this is just to show the great mercy that Allah had on him, and surely He made him a means of much khayr.

may Allah shower us with His Mercy and raise more leaders in our community who will be helpers and defenders of the Sunnah by His Permission; surely He is our Mawla and Naseer, alone with no partners

[Maher.ibn.Ahmad.Attiyeh]

Bismillaah Al-Hamdulillaah wa salatu wa salaamu 'ala rasulullaah
Amma-ba'd

Dying Upon The Sunnah

Student Abu Hasan Maalik relayed the following:

Hammaad Ibn Zayd (d.181H, rahimahullaah) mentioned that Ayoob as-Sakhtiyaanee (d.131H, rahimahullaah) said: "When I am informed of the death of a man from the people of the Sunnah, it is as if I have lost one of my limbs." Refer to Sharh Usoolul-I'tiqaad of al-Laalikaa`ee (1/66).

Student Aboo Soohailah 'Umar Quinn relayed the following:

'Abdullaah ibn al-Mubarak Maroodi (rahimahullaah) said: "

Know, ya akhee (my brother) that death is a gift from Allaah for whoever meets Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'aala upon the Sunnah of Muhammad (salallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam). And we complain to Allaah Subhanahu wa Ta'aala concerning the death of our brothers, and the fewness of those who support the religion, and the appearance of many innovations in the religion."

Student Aboo 'Abdilaah Hasan as-Somali relayed the following from Sharh Usool I'tiqaad Ahl Us Sunnah Wal Jamaa'h:

Mu'tamir Ibn Sulaymaan (rahimahullaah) said: "I entered upon my father and I was sad. So he said to me, 'What is wrong with you?' I responded, 'A friend of mine passed away.' He said, 'Did he die upon the Sunnah?' I said 'Yes.' He said, 'Don't feel sorry for him.'"

Mu'aafah Ibn 'Imraan (rahimahullaah) said: "Do not praise a man until death, as he will either die upon the Sunnah or die upon innovation."

Al-Fudayl Ibn Iyaad (rahimahullaah) said: "Tooba is for the one who dies upon Islaam and the Sunnah. If it is like this (i.e. a person dies upon Islaam and the Sunnah), then frequently say, 'Maa Shaa` Allaah.'"

'Awn (rahimahullaah) said: "Whoever dies upon Islaam and the Sunnah, then for him are glad tidings of all that is good."

[troid.ca]

Bismillaah wal-Hamdulillaah was-salaatu was-salaam 'alaa Rasoolullaah

This is indeed a tremendous loss, Qadr Allaah, I think few knew, behind the scene, how important a role Abu Talhah had in influencing the da'wah in the West (which have now been exemplified in this discussion). As difficult as this is for the community of Birmingham and the UK at large, and for all of us. It was a tremendous blessing to benefit from Abu Talhah's efforts over the last twenty or more years, for that we are greatly appreciative and have fond, happy memories. He has touched the lives of practically every salafee in the West, through his translations, lessons or by the influence and teaching he gave to others, particularly in the UK, which reveberated worldwide. I can't imagine how this would have affected the da'wah if it happened say in 1994 when JIMAS and IANA where distorting the reality of salafiyyah, a time when most of us had yet to understand the clarity of this blessed da'wah, and many of those who ascribed to it - didn't understand manhaj. So we have to be thankful for the time benefited from him and Allaah is the best of planners.

Insha'Allaah, between the experienced du'aat left behind and the new wave of young students that you have in the UK, the da'wah will continue, strong and firm insha'Allaah, salafiyyah without compromise, an encouragement to the younger du'aat to step up to the challenge and to continue good efforts that have been laid by your predecessors. Like many who commented, we spent some time with Abu Talhah, here and there (the last time being in al-Madeenah in May), and over the phone, he always displayed excellent behaviour and this is the most important thing we will try to take away from his legacy; salafee, steadfast, upright, uncompromising (with the haqq) but mannerly and easy-going (not letting life's ups and downs weigh on his disposition) such that his enemies always struggled to pin something negative on him, they had to grin and bear it! Amazingly, even those who fight against the very organisation he helped found and was a key part of, up until his death (Salafi Publications), have mentioned him with goodness now (something they should ponder deeply).

To the brothers at the Maktabah (Birmingham) and to the communities around the UK, remain steadfast, continue serving Allaah (ilal-yaqeen), the da'wah will continue insha'Allaah, be bright, cheerful and industrious!

Have great hope for Abu Talhah and Umm Talhah, we are so sad but subhan'Allaah, we can only smile when thinking about his life, his works, his noble children, and his end.

[Abu.Hammaad.Yunus]

Posted on behalf of the brothers of Philadelphia, Abu Zaahid Jalil Meekins and Abu Suhayl Anwar Wright

As Salaamu alaykum

It brought us great sorrow and many tears when we were informed of the passing of Abu Talha and his wife. He was our elder and a mountain in the West. It was well known by all that he gave his life to implimenting the Sunnah and striving against Bidah, and how many groups were silenced in the West by way of his detailed translations? We don't say he reached the level of a scholar but by Allah there isn't any Salafi in the West who could doubt his worth and importance. Abu Talha left behind a legacy of calling to the correct Creed and I ask Allah to make his departure from us a means to be raised up in the company of the Prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the pious. In conclusion I attached a file written by our noble brother Anwar Wright about our beloved elder Abu Talha Dawud bin Ronald Burbank.

Your brothers from America
Abu Zaahid Jalil Meekins

Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem

To be honest, after the words of our noble brother Abu Khadeejah and Abu Iyadh, what can one mention that has not already sufficed us regarding our dear brother Abu Talha Dawood Burbank, may Allah have mercy upon him. However, just as has been reported by the messenger of Allah, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam

“ The likeness of the believer in their mutual love, their togetherness and the mercy they have between one another is the likeness of one body. If one of the body parts complains, the rest of the body calls out with fever and sleeplessness.”

So I say when the news reached me regarding the passing of Abu Talha and Umm Talha, it felt like I loss a close relative. Even though I only met Abu Talha once, I loved him for the sake of Allah due to what had reached me from the likes of our brother Abu Idris Muhammad ibn Aslam and Abu Ummayah Abdul Mateen from the firmness of Abu Talha upon the sunnah, and his zuhud in worldly affairs and his consistency in the call to tauheed and salafiyyah. I remember sitting in high school in the heart of North Philadelphia, reading the beneficial translation of The three fundamental priniciples by Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen.

I met Abu Talha if my memory serves me correct in the summer of 2004 in front of Shaykh Rabee’s – may Allah preserve him- house. I did not know who he was because I never saw him before and he was standing alone, shy and humble with his head down. One of the brothers I was with, Yusuf Eritree from Sweden, recognized Abu Talha due to him travelling to Birmingham before and mentioned to me that that was Abu Talha, so we went and embraced him, and he smiled and I felt nothing but sincere brotherhood from him, Rahimahullah. Just recently where I work in the prison I was going through with the brothers there the abridgement of the Prophets prayer described. During my preparations I would stumble through some words and I would return back to the translation of Abu Talha and he would hit the translation right on the mark. I ask Allah with His perfect names and Lofty attributes to reward Abu Talha with a good reward and make him and his wife from those who are raised up on the day of resurrection reciting the talbiyyah and to continue to bless his children to be upon righteousness and steadfastness upon Tauheed and Sunnah. Ameen.

Wa salla Allahu wa sallam ala nabiyyanaa Muhammad.

Abu Suhayl Anwar Wright

[Spubs.Com]

He Died in Prayer!
Article by Abu Hakeem Bilaal Davis

Bismillahi wal hamdillillah was salaatu was salaamu alaa rasoolillah
Ammaa ba’d:

After arriving for hajj with the premier hajj group yesterday, alhamdullillah so far Allah has facilitated ease in the performance of the hajj. With the expected crowds and Hujjaaj in their millions the Hajj is now well underway.

While driving from the airport to Makka I could not help reflecting on my dear brother and companion Daawood Rahimahullah .

I thought about how Allah fulfilled for him a wish of his I remember hearing him say more than once:

‘I don’t want to die here’

It made me think about my own loved ones and how much we take them for granted.

I reflected upon the manner in which he spent his life teaching the Sunnah and spreading it and it brought to mind something mentioned in the biography of Al imaam Ash shaikh Muhammad ibn Abdil Wahaab Rahimahullah. And it is that he used to make the dua ‘Allahumma ijalnee mubaarakan’ (Oh Allah! Make me Mubarak) that is Oh Allah make me a source of blessings for those who come in contact with me.

And those who really knew him will know that he was a source of good and khair for the Muslims of the west generally, the people of Sunnah specifically.

I met a brother today from the UK in Mina who when we spoke of Abu Talha he wept and said that I was carrying out various acts today and I realised that most of what I know and practice of the Sunnah I learnt by way of Abu Talha, and the reality is that many in the west if they reflect will share the sentiment

Even after his death there is no one that knew him that I meet except that he says that this has caused him to look at himself and think about what deeds he will leave, realise how much he needs to improve and question what type of end he will have

I also spoke to his sons who are fine examples of young men upon the Sunnah not leaving the Sunnah even in adversity. From the shrouding to the movement of the body to the burial their concern has only been whether or not it has all been in accordance to the Sunnah. They were invited to the house of the deputy minister of Hajj in Saudi Arabia who gave them pieces of the Kiswa (the cloth that covers the ka’bah) for them and their siblings

As far as the our brothers Janaaza then it was honourable, having a police convoy similar to the funerals of Saudi dignitaries having more than 2 million worshippers praying over him with Ameer Naa’if being among the attendees

But possibly the profound thing that has reached me so far is what many people don’t know and that is just before the accident Daawood had started praying dhuhr in the coach and soon after (in literally seconds I’m told by the brothers who were there) it was engulfed in flames!

When they went to view the body they realised he died with his right hand over his left hand over his chest!

We ask Allah to forgive them both and bless us with a husnul khaatima (good end)

Wa sallallahu ‘alaa nabiyinaa Muhammad

Abu Hakeem Bilaal Davis

http://ah-sp.com/2011/11/04/he-died-in-prayer/