Home
Discover Islam
Quran Recitations
Lectures
Fatwa
Articles
Fiqh
E-Books
Women
Boys & Girls 
Enter Question
View By Subject
Fatwa Of The Week
Selected Fatwa
Fatwa CenterJamal-ud-Deen Al-Afghani and his disciple Muhammad Abdu
Question
I am inquiring about the personality of Jamal Edeen Al-Afghani and his disciple Muhammad Abdu. They claimed to be following the Salafi way but I read a book lately that claims that they were free masons (Masonic). Please clarify.
Answer
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.
Muhammad Abdu is one of the personalities that marked the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries Hijri. He studied in Al-Azhar and became Mufti of Egypt as he became also a judge. Many people wrote about him. Some praised him while others criticized and even dispraised him. Sheikh Rashid Ridha wrote a book about him entitled: “The history of the Teacher and Imam”. He praised him a lot in that book. But, this is not astonishing as Muhammad Ridha was one of Muhammad Abdu’s disciples.
Nevertheless, other people dispraised Muhammad Abdu claiming that he had some connections with the Freemason as well as the British colonizers of his time. They stated that he had particular relations with Lord Kramer and Mr. Blunt who were both from the British colonial staff in Egypt in that time. Among the writers who made this claim was Muhammad Muhammad Hussein in his book: “Islam and the Western civilization”. It is a good book on this subject. Muhammad Abdu was known for his liberal opinions. His disciples followed that trend.
One of the most famous of his students is Ghasem Ameen who was the leader of Woman Freedom. What was said about Muhammad Abdu also applies to Al Afghani. But some people say that they both gave up their allegiance with the free masons when they discovered their true face.
Allah knows best.
Search Fatwa
Fatwa Subject
