[12] These people are either unaware of or concealing some realities regarding the legacy of Erudite Salafi Imam Abdul Azeez Bin Baaz
In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Bestower of Mercy.
The Prophet [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] said: “Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets, for the prophets do not leave behind a dinar or a dirham for inheritance, but rather, they leave behind knowledge. So whoever takes hold of it, has acquired a large share (i.e. of inheritance)”. [(1)]
The anonymous writers at Wikipedia stated: “In 1966, when Ibn Baz was vice-president of the Islamic University of Medina, he wrote an article denouncing Riyadh University for teaching the “falsehood” that the earth rotates and orbits the sun. In his article, Ibn Baz claimed that the sun orbited the earth, and that “the earth is fixed and stable, spread out by God for mankind and made a bed and cradle for them, fixed down by mountains lest it shakes”. As a result of the publication of his first article, Ibn Baz was ridiculed by Egyptian journalists as an example of Saudi primitiveness, and King Faisal was reportedly so angered by the first article that he ordered the destruction of every unsold copy of the two papers that had published it. In 1982 Ibn Baz published a book, Al-adilla al-naqliyya wa al-ḥissiyya ʿala imkān al-ṣuʾūd ila al-kawākib wa ʾala jarayān al-shams wa al-qamar wa sukūn al-arḍ (“Treatise on the textual and rational proofs of the rotation of the sun and the motionlessness of the earth and the possibility of ascension to other planets”). In it, he republished the 1966 article, together with a second article on the same subject written later in 1966, and repeated his belief that the sun orbited the earth. In 1985, he changed his mind concerning the rotation of the earth (and, according to Lacey, ceased to assert its flatness), when Prince Sultan bin Salman returned home after a week aboard the space shuttle Discovery to tell him that he had seen the earth rotate”. [End of quote]
Response:
First of all, if the Imam did reprimand someone at Riyadh University for claiming that the earth rotates, then that was undoubtedly a justifiable rebuke against those who oppose what has been established based on divine texts.
Second, the Imam’s position that the sun rotates is a fact rather than a claim since everything stated in the divine revelation—the Qur’an and Sunnah—is an unquestionable fact and reality, not a statement of opinion. Read on the links:
https://abuiyaad.com/a/bin-baz-motion-sun-around-earth
http://www.aqidah.com/creed/articles/auazc-disbelief-of-the-one-who-denies-suns-motion-around-the-earth.cfm
https://abukhadeejah.com/the-motion-of-the-sun-around-the-earth-and-the-islamic-belief/
https://abuiyaad.com/a/motion-of-the-sun-timelapse
Third, if it is true that Egyptian media made fun of the Imam, then it is not at all unusual for learned Salafi scholars to face scorn from ignorant people when they present real evidence. Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal [may Allah have mercy upon him] said: “All praise is due to Allah, who in every age and interval between the Prophets, raises up a group from the people of knowledge, who call the misguided to guidance, patiently bear ill-treatment and harm. With the Book of Allah they give life to the dead and with the Light of Allah they give sight to the blind. How many a person killed by Iblees (the Devil) they have revived, how beautiful their effect has been upon the people, and how vile the people have been towards them! They remove from Allah’s Book the alterations of those going beyond bounds, the false claims of the liars, and the false interpretations of the ignoramus- those who uphold the banner of innovation and let loose the trials and discords, who oppose the Book and agree upon opposing the Book. They speak about Allah and his Book without knowledge, argue about what is ambiguous in the Book, and deceive the ignorant ones with such ambiguities. We seek refuge in Allah from the trials of the misguided ones”. [(2)]
Fourthly, if the cretins at Wikipedia are correct in their claim that King Faisal [may Allah have mercy upon him and enter him into Jannatul Firdaws] was angered by the Imam’s position, then indeed the upright Scholars are an example of how the rulers are treated in that they are not obeyed in anything that is contrary to the Shariah, but rather they are advised in private and have supplications made for them. No one is to be obeyed in disobedience to Allah, as Imam Al-Barbahaaree [may Allah have mercy upon him] stated, “From the Sunnah is that you do not help anyone in disobedience to Allah, whether they be parents or any of the creation. There is no obedience to a human in disobedience to Allah and no one is to be loved for that; rather all of that is to be hated for [the sake of Allah], the Blessed and Most High”. Al-Allaamah Saalih Al-Fawzaan [may Allah preserve him] stated: This is a fundamental principle from the fundamental principles of Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaa’ah that has been derived from the statement of the (Prophet) that, “There is no obedience to the creation in disobedience to the Creator”. And he [peace and blessings of Allah be upon him] said, “Obedience is only in that which is good”. So, whoever commands disobedience to Allah is not to be obeyed. He is not to be obeyed in disobedience, whether your father, mother, or from the closest of the people to you, or a Ruler or a King. He is not to be followed in disobedience. [(3)]
Regarding the statement that the Imam reaffirmed his position in 1982 that the sun rotates and the earth is stationary, it is true that the upright Scholars do not forsake any evidence in order to appease others or follow the crowd. As for the claim by the unknown writers and cretins at Wikipedia that “In 1985 the Imam changed his mind concerning the rotation of the earth (and, according to Lacey, ceased to assert its flatness) when Prince Sultan bin Salman returned home after a week aboard the space shuttle Discovery to tell him that he had seen the earth rotate”, then indeed, the burden of proof is on the claimant, and the cretins at Wikipedia must present a statement from the Imam for what they attribute to him because the only position known from the Imam till his death was that the earth does not move and that it is the sun and moon that rotate.
As for the statement of the Imam regarding the flatness of the earth, he himself stated as follows: “According to the scholars, the Earth is spherical. Ibn Hazm and a group of other (scholars) have transmitted that the scholars hold a consensus that it is spherical. Meaning: Some of it is joined together with some and rolled up like a ball. However, Allah spread out the top of it for us and placed on it firm mountains, animals, and seas out of mercy for us. This is why Allah says: [وَإِلَى الأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ – And at the earth, how it has been spread out (to facilitate habitation and travel)?] It is flat and visible to us (i.e. the top) so that people can live on it and be calm (without worry). The fact that it is spherical does not exclude that its surface is not flat because if a large, great thing is flat, it will have a wide back”. [(4)]
May Allah enter the Imam into Jannatul Firdaws! His remark is quite obvious for everyone to see. Them read Shaikh Abu Iyaad’s (may Allah preserve him) article on the link for more information about the statements of other Scholars regarding the shape of the earth. “Ibn Taymiyyah on the Shape of the Heaven and Earth and the Concept of Time and Related Issues:
https://salafitalk.net/st/printthread.cfm?Forum=6&Topic=1859
If after reading Shaikh Abu Iyaad’s post in the aforementioned link you believe that the explanation offered by the other scholars is more persuasive or that the Imam’s position is incorrect, then you should know that every upright Mujtahid is rewarded for striving to reach the correct position, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “If a Mujtahid gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is correct, he will receive a double reward, and if he gives a verdict according to the best of his knowledge and his verdict is wrong, even then he will get a reward”. [Bukhari Number 7352]
Finally, as for the debate that people have been able to reach the moon, listen here:
To be continued…InShaaAllah
[(1)]: Sunan At-Tirmidhee 2682
[(2)]: Ar-Radd Alal Jahmiyyah Waz-Zanaadiqah. page 2
[(3)]: An Excerpt from It-haaful Qaaree Bitta’liqaat Alaa Sharhis Sunnah Lil Imaam Barbahaaree. 2/297-299
[(4)]:
https://binbaz.org.sa/fatwas/5966/%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B6#:~:text=%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%A8%3A%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%B6%20%D9%83%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A9%20%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%AF%20%D8%A3%D9%87%D9%84,%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%87%D8%B1%20%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%20%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%B4%20%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%87%D8%A7%20%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3