My roots are Carolinian. It is the soil of my father and grandfathers. I spent many summers there as a child, reuniting with those who gave us our names. This was years before accepting Islam, and I do not recall ever seeing a Muslim there in those days. Out in “the country” as a boy feeding the hogs, I never imagined recounting those trips in the mountains of Yemen.
One afternoon in Dammaj, I was late for the Sahih al-Bukhari class after Asr prayer. One of the students informed me that our Shaykh, al-Allamah Muqbil b. Hadi al-Wadi’ – Allah grant him mercy – had called on me. When the opportunity arose, I announced my presence to the Shaykh. “Come forward,” he said, summoning me to his desk at the front the masjid. I was puzzled. Was I in trouble for being late? As I made my way through the rows of students, the Shaykh said, “Where is ‘Abd al-Rahman?” A Shami brother, too, rose and advanced toward the desk. The Shaykh smiled. “Your brother wants to debate you,” he said to me.
“On what subject, O Shaykh?” I said.
“On the nature of pig skin.”
‘Abd al-Rahman began to deliver a litany of quotations about pig skin from several works of fiqh. I waited patiently for him to finish. When he did, I said, “Shaykh, when I was young, I spent many summers on my family’s farm in North Carolina. They had pigs.” I then gave first hand knowledge of the subject. My interlocutor, who had never actually seen the animal, tried to continue, but the Shaykh interjected, “The facts speak for themselves,” he said laughing.
My last trip “down South” was eight years ago. My grandmother had passed, and we went to commiserate with family. On the trip, my sister and I went to a local supermarket and were surprised when we heard the greetings: “Al-Salam Alaykum,” a woman said. We returned the salutations. Remembering my days there as a boy, those were the last words I expected to hear. It reminded me of Allah’s (ﷻ) statement,
وَ رَأَیۡتَ ٱلنَّاسَ یَدۡخُلُونَ فِی دِینِ ٱللَّهِ أَفۡوَاجا
“And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes” (al-Nasr 110:2)
Now, eight years later, I return to the state, Allah willing, to attend a lecture series on the reality of the Salafi methodology. This weekend is something of a homecoming for me and a chance to witness the efforts of Ahl Sunnah to establish a masjid on previously untrodden ground. May Allah (ﷻ) bless the community there and continue to make them sources of good. Indeed, Allah (ﷻ) is the Hearer of supplication.
Abu al-Hasan Malik al-Akhdar
19 Rabi’ al-Awwal 1445 AH
Camden, NJ