committee.

He did not leave his homeland until his stature had risen high, his fame had spread, and his rank was revered by elite and commoner, near and far alike. He had become a leading figure in the country and the object of everyone’s trust.

Eighth: His Journey for Ḥajj, His Settling in the Prophet’s City, and the Scholarly Impact Thereof

The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—set out from his homeland on the seventh of Jumada al-Akhirah in the year 1367 AH, travelling overland to perform the pilgrimage with the intention of returning afterward. That journey was filled with benefits and valuable scholarly debates that bear witness to the Shaykh’s firm grounding and far-reaching expertise. Anyone who reads what he recorded of the trip under the title The Journey to the Sacred House of Allah will attest to this.

After completing the rites of Ḥajj, the Shaykh headed toward the Prophetic City, then resolved to remain and settle there. He—may Allah have mercy on him—used to say, “No work is greater than explaining the Book of Allah in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.”

His residence in that blessed land had a clear effect in broadening his exposure and expanding the scope of his knowledge. In his own country, study had been almost entirely devoted to jurisprudence according to the school of Imam Mālik, together with the sciences of Arabic, uṣūl, sīrah, tafsīr, and logic; the study of hadith did not receive the same attention, for people confined themselves to the Mālikī school alone.