From 'Abdul-'Aziz ibn Abdullah bin Baz to every Muslim who happens to be acquainted with this statement - may all Muslims be protected by Allah with Islam - and may He guard us as well as all Muslims against the evil of the lies fabricated by the ignorant rabble-rousers, amin.
Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah unto you, and now to our topic:
I have known of a few words reportedly written by a Shaykh Ahmad, attendant of the Sacred Shrine of the Prophet entitled 'This is an admonition from Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, by Shaykh Ahmad attendant of the Sacred Shrine of the Prophet.' In these words he says: "I was sitting up late at a Friday night, reciting the Glorious Qur'an. Having finished reciting the Holy Attributes of Allah, I was prepared for going to bed, when I saw Sayyidinah Muhammad the Apostle of Allah - with his radiant countenance, peace be unto him, who brought to us the Qur'anic Verses and the holy orders of the shari'ah as mercy to the universe. He said: 'O Shaykh Ahmad.' I replied, 'Here I am - Labbayk - O Messenger of Allah, O noblest creature of Allah.' He said to me, 'I am so ashamed of the vile deeds of people that I could meet neither my Lord nor the Angels, since from Friday to Friday, a hundred and sixty thousand people died without faith in Islam.' " Then the Prophet allegedly mentioned some of the sins committed by people, adding that this admonition is mercy bestowed upon them by the Almighty. The Prophet then allegedly alluded to some portents of the Day of Judgement till he said, "Tell them this admonition, O Shaykh Ahmad, since it is transmitted by the Pen of the Almighty from the Guarded Tablet. He who writes and communicates it from country to country and from place to place shall have a palace built for him in the Heaven, but in case he does not do such an act he is to be deprived of my intercession on the Day of Judgement. And whoever writes it, Allah shall enrich him if he is poor, settle his debts if he is indebted, or pardon him and his parents if sinful; thanks to the blessings of this admonition. He who does not write it, his face shall blacken both in this world and in the Hereafter." Shaykh Ahmad then swore thrice by the name of Extolled Allah that he says the truth, and that if he was a liar, he would die as an infidel. He concluded that whosoever believes it, shall be delivered from the torment of the Fire, and who denies it shall become an atheist.
This is a resume of the false admonition trumped up against the Apostle - unto him be the peace and blessings of Allah. We have frequently heard of this fabricated admonition several years ago. It has been spreading out from time to time, and propagating among a lot of common people, with some difference in its versions. The author, according to one version, says that while he was sleeping, the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - appeared to him in a vision, and entrusted to him this admonition. In the other version, as contained in this recent handbill mentioned above, the slanderer claims to have seen the vision of the Prophet - peace be unto him - as he was prepared for going to bed, and not while actually sleeping.
That is to say, the vision of the Prophet appeared to him while being in a state of wakefulness. The liar claimed in this admonition a lot of things, which are among the most lucid lies, and the most obvious falsehoods, against which I am soon going to caution you, Allah willing. I have been warning against them, during the last years, and have explained to the people that these things are the most vivid lying, and the most distinct untruth. Having been informed with this recent handbill, I was reluctant to write anything about it for its clear untruthfulness as well as for the great deal of boldness on the part of its fabricator in the field of lying. I could not conceive that its falsehood could fool anyone possessing the least power of mental perception or sound disposition. Yet several brethren informed me that it fooled many people among whom it was rife, and some of them gave it their credence. On this account, I saw that it was the duty of persons such as myself to write about it, so as to throw light upon its falsehood, as well as to demonstrate that it was invented against the Apostle - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - so that no one may be deceived by it, and whoever of the cognizant and faithful considers it, or those possessed of sound disposition and sound mind, should come to know that it is nothing but pure lying and falsehood in many respects. I have inquired of some relatives of Shaykh Ahmad about this lie of admonition ascribed to him. They replied that it is invented against Shaykh Ahmad, adding that he, by no means, said it, and that the so-called Shaykh Ahmad had died quite long ago.
Supposing that the so-called Shaykh Ahmad or anyone of even much higher standing than he, had in fact claimed that the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - appeared to him in a vision during sleep or wakefulness, and assigned to him this admonition, we would be convinced that he is a liar, or that it was the Devil rather than the Prophet - peace be unto him - that told him so, in many respects. Among other things, the Apostle - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - after his death, never appears in a vision to a wakeful person. He of the ignorant Sufis, who claims that he sees, while being vigilant, the vision of the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - or that the vision attends the (mawlid) or the like, would have been guilty of the foulest error, and have been exceedingly obscured. He would also have made a big mistake, and have gone against the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the consensus of scholars; due to the fact that the dead never rise out of their graves in this world save on the Day of Judgement; as has been mentioned by Allah in connection with the attributes of believers:
"And then at length you will certainly die and again on the Day of Judgement you will be raised up."
Thus Allah has informed us that the resurrection of the dead would take place on the Day of Judgement, and not in this world. Whosoever holds an opinion contrary to this is either an obvious liar or an obscured blunderer, who has failed to perceive the truth recognized by our pious ancestors, and pursued favourably by the companions and followers of the Apostle - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him.
As for the second aspect, the Apostle - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - never said untruth, either during his lifetime or thereafter. This admonition goes openly counter to his shari'ah in many respects such as follows. The Prophet - peace be unto him - might be seen during sleep, and he to whom he appears in his holy figure during slumber has actually seen him, since the Devil never finds visual expression in the shape of the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - as has been stated in the authentic ahadith (holy prophetic traditions). The whole consequence, however, depends upon the faith of the visioner, his truthfulness, honourable record, correctness, creed, trustworthiness, and whether he saw the Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - in his own countenance, or not. If it even happened that a tradition was imputed to the Prophet - peace be unto him - as being said by him during his lifetime, and it came down to us not through the equitable and reliable sources of good reputation, it would not be an authoritative and reliable tradition. Supposing that the tradition was transmitted through the reliable equitable sources of good reputation, yet it happened to be in conflict with another tradition which was passed on by a better and more reliable memorises, and the difference was too enormous to reconcile both traditions, one of them must be abrogated and ineffective, and the other is abrogative and valid wherever possible and in conformity with its conditions. Should this be impossible, and both traditions could not be reconciled, the one passed on by the less memorising and less equitable is anomalous as well as invalid. Just imagine how much less is an admonition whose transmitter (who reported it from the Apostle, peace and blessings of Allah be unto him) is anonymous, not to mention the fact that his impartiality and trustworthiness is unknown. Such being the case, it deserves to be rejected without consideration, even if it is devoid of anything incompatible with the Revelation. And how much less, if the admonition contains many points demonstrating that it is invalid and trumped up against the Apostle - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - and comprising the start of a new creed unheralded by the Almighty Allah. The Prophet - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - said, "He who imputes to me something which I have not said, let him settle down in the Fire." The man who invented this lie against the Apostle - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - said what the Prophet did not say, invented against him an open and grave lie. How proper for him this severe threat is, and how more deserving of it he is, unless he hastens to turn to Allah in repentance, and announces publicly that he had fabricated this admonition against the Apostle - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - since whoever publicizes untruth imputing it to religion, his repentance is not true unless it is announced publicly and made clear, so that people might know that he retracted his lie and refuted himself. Allah - glory be to Him - says:
"Verily, those who conceal the clear Signs and the Guidance which we have sent down, after we have made it clear for the people in the Book, they are the ones cursed by Allah and cursed by the cursers. Except those who repent and make amends and openly declare [the Truth which they concealed]. These are the ones whom I will accept their repentance. And I am the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful."
In this holy verse, Allah - praise and glory be to Him - made it clear that he who conceals any part of the Truth his repentance of this shall not be right, save after correction and exposition. Allah - praise and glory be to Him - has perfected the true religion for his human beings, and brought about for them His grace by sending us His Apostle Muhammad - peace and blessings of Allah be unto him - as well as the perfect Revelation He sent down with him. Allah made him die only after consummation and demonstration; as Allah - praise and glory be to Him - says:
"This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion Al-Islam."