พิมพ์

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Interview conducted By:
Sis: Maha bint Husein Ash-Shammari & Published in "Al-Mutamayyizah" Magazine; Issue No. 45, Ramadhan, 1427.

Confirmed & Presented in English By:
Dr. Saleh As-Saleh

Transcribed From The Audio Presentation By:
Br. Abu Abdullah al-Amreeki

Reviewed and finalized by
Dr. Saleh As-Saleh (January 7, 2007)

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All Praise is due to Allaah, and may the salaah and salaam be on Prophet Muhammad , his household, the noble companions, and those who follow them until the Day of Resurrection.

The following is an interview with Umm ‘Abdullaah, the wife of our Shaykh, Muhammad ibn Saleh al-‘Uthaimeen ( :ra: rahimahullaah).

The interview was conducted by Sis. Maha bint Husein ash-Shammari & Published in "Al-Mutamayyizah Magazine," Riyadh, KSA; Issue No. 45, Ramadhan, 1427.

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Question 1:
Was there any change in the motivation of the Shaykh regarding ‘ilm (knowledge), dawah, and worship between his youth and his elder years?

Answer:
I did not find any diminishing or weakness in his motivation () in knowledge, dawah, and worship despite his progress in age.
On the contrary, his busy schedule continued to increase with time, as was the case with his worship and call to the extent that during his intense illness, he :ra: was not negligent with one moment; he would spend every second in remembrance of Allaah, worshipping Him, teaching, or directing.

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Question 2:
What did you see that was amazing in the Shaykh’s :ra: life?

Answer:
His life was an example to follow, especially his patience and motivation to seek the knowledge as well as teach and dissipate it. Also, his piety :ra: was something that those who were not close to him may not have known about.

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Question:3:
How did the Shaykh interact with his children in their private lives?

Answer:
His dealings with his sons and daughters fell into two stages.

First, in their childhood,
he :ra: was keen to be close to them, take care of them, raise some of the Islamic principles in them, and follow their educational chievements.

In addition, he made sure to direct, admonish, and incite them.
For instance, he would sometimes take the children with him to the Masjid to perform some of the fard prayers.

Also, he would encourage them to fast some of the days of Ramadan.

Furthermore, he would incite them to memorize some of the short surahs of the Qur’aan and reward them on that.

In the stage of youth and maturity,
he :ra: was firm concerning their fulfilling of the religious obligations and in discipline in cases of negligence.

He would couple that with direction and leniency.

At certain times, he was not hesitant to do what was sufficient to change or correct their mistakes.

In addition, he :ra: used to put full trust in them to do certain things so they could learn to depend upon themselves;
he used to continuously encourage them on righteousness and check on them regarding that.

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Question 4:
Why did the Shaykh :ra: not use henna on his beard?

Answer:
Maybe he did not have the time to do that.

I think I heard him saying something to this effect.

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Question:5:
When did the Shaykh anger intensify, and how did he deal with your anger?

Answer:
His anger used to intensify if the inviolable matters of Allaah were violated.

Regarding my anger with the children, he would try to calm me down first and then give the admonition to the one that was mistaken.

In general, he :ra: was quiet and did not anger quickly;
when he :ra: did, his anger would quickly dissipate, and this is from the favors of Allaah upon him,
something which I wished for the like of his condition.

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Question:6:
How did he :ra: get up from his sleep? Did he depend on an alarm clock, or would he ask someone to wake him?

Answer:
He used to depend upon Allaah , then the alarm clock and then us.
Usually he awoke before the alarm and before I would go to wake him.

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Question:7:
Would the Shaykh :ra: ever go outside with his family for a picnic?

Answer:
Yes, the family used to have a weekly picnic on Fridays after salaat al-Jumu’ah; we would go to an area in the wilderness close by and bring our lunch.

He utilized this time to share in some activities with the children, like foot racing and solving puzzles.

Also, he would bring a small rifle and compete with his children in aiming and shooting.

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Question:8:
How did the Shaykh fast during the year?

Answer:
The Shaykh :ra: consistently fasted three days each month throughout his life.

In addition, he would fast six days in Shawwal, the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah,and the day of ‘Aashooraa’.

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Question:9:
How did the Shaykh select the names of his children?

Answer:
He used to choose names like ‘Abdullaah and ‘Abd ar-Rahman1; he left the rest for consultation amongst us.

We would pick a name and present it to him; he would either agree or ask us to select another.

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Question:10:
What were some of the things that would please the Shaykh :ra:?

Answer:
There is no doubt that the Shaykh’s :ra: happiness used to increase whenever he saw the strength of Islam and Muslims.

Regarding happiness at home, it was manifested in meetings with his family and children.

You would also see the signs of pleasure and happiness on him upon receiving his grandchildren.

He used to open his cloak to allow them to enter underneath and then inquire about them a few times before reopening it; he would do this several times.

Later, he would take them to his library where he kept a special kind of sweets they used to call “halawat abooye” (my father’s sweets).

We were keen to ensure that they would not find it, except with him.

In addition, despite his busy schedule, he made sure to visit his grandchildren at their homes or in the hospital if any of them were ill; this would have a great influence on them and their patents.

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Question:11:
How many children did the Shaykh :ra: have?

Answer:
The Shaykh had five sons and three daughters.