Assim Al-Hakeem

Assim bin Luqman al-Hakeem (Arabic: عاصم بن لقمان الحكيم; born 23 November 1962) is a Saudi cleric of Indonesian descent. He is based primarily in the city of Jeddah, where he hosts programs dealing with Islam. He mostly uses English, and has been described as an Islamic fundamentalist.

Sheikh Assim al-Hakeem
عاصم الحكيم‎
Al-Hakeem in 2017
Personal
Born	Assim bin Luqman al-Hakeem (1962-11-23) 23 November 1962 Khobar, Saudi Arabia
Religion	Sunni Islam
Nationality	Saudi
Alma mater	King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (dropped out) King Abdulaziz University Umm al-Qura University
Occupation	Cleric
Senior posting
Influenced by Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baaz Muhammad ibn al Uthaymeen Muhammad Al-Munajjid Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab

Early life and education

Al-Hakeem was born on 23 November 1962 in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, to a family originally from Indonesia. When he was 12, he and his family moved to Jeddah. From a young age, he was interested in Islamic studies. He finished high school in 1980 and subsequently enrolled at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, but eventually dropped out. He later enrolled at King Abdulaziz University, majoring in English literature, and graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor of Arts. He then continued a high diploma in Islamic studies at Umm al-Qura University in 1998. He also spent several years studying the works of Saudi Arabian religious scholar Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymin.

Career

Al-Hakeem began his career as a high school English teacher in 1988. He has been an imam in Jeddah for the last 20 years, where he delivers weekly sermons before Friday prayer and lectures on various Islamic sciences.

He mostly preaches in English, delivering Islamic programs on social media channels, including Questions and Answers (ASK HUDA), Umdatul Ahkaam, Youth Talk, and Mercy to the Worlds. He also preaches on television and radio channels, such as Huda TV, Zad TV, Peace TV, Iqraa, and Saudi 2.

Views

Islamic jurisprudence

Quran as alternative medicine

Further information: Prophetic medicine

Al-Hakeem has said of the Islamic practice of ruqyah, a form of incantation associated with the exorcism of evil spirits in Islam, that "it is the recitation of the Qur'an, seeking of refuge in Allah, remembrance and supplications that are used as a means of treating sicknesses and other problems, as the Qur'an is a source of healing". He has also advocated reciting the Qur'an over water and then drinking and washing with it as a means of healing.

Shortening or combining prayers

Al-Hakeem has said that, with regards to the Islamic practice of shortening or combining prayer during travel, a person who travels daily or frequently "will not be considered a traveller for the purpose of shortening of Salah and combining them unless a valid reason exists."

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Al-Hakeem has critiqued Islamic pilgrims taking pictures of themselves while on the hajj, stating: "Taking such selfies and videos defy the wish of our prophet. It is as though the only purpose of this trip is to take pictures and not worship."

Politics and societal issues

Democracy

Further information: Islam and democracy

In 2013, Al-Hakeem said democracy is "a big lie and it is against Islam". In 2016, the then opposition Maldivian Democratic Party called Al-Hakeem a "fundamentalist preacher" who has used Islam to "justify hatred, excuse the government’s crackdown on dissent, and legitimize authoritarianism".

Women

Further information: Women in Islam

He does not believe women can be political leaders.

While acknowledging that disagreement exists among Muslim scholars, Al-Hakeem considers female circumcision recommended and not forbidden or mandatory. He holds that women are not allowed to work in mixed-gender environments.

When asked about the legality of concubinage in Islam, Al-Hakeem considered the enslavement of prisoners of war humane, iterated the rights afforded to slaves in Islam, and affirmed the legality of concubinage.

Protests

Al-Hakeem has claimed that all forms of protest are prohibited in Islam, a view that aligns with the Madkhali strain of Salafism.

This view was expressed in his opposition to protests against Islamophobia and the 2023 Quran burnings in Sweden. He characterized the reactions to the Quran burnings as "doing marches, protest, burning shop and attacking the police as protest" with protestors "falling into his trap, playing his game, and achieving his objective" and that such protests will backfire on Muslims with bans on the hijab, mosques, among others. He further criticized a Swedish Imam who called for protests in front of an embassy as propagating un-Islamic teachings.

Assim instead considered criticism of the Quran burnings, spreading the teachings of the Quran, and the boycott of Swedish products as appropriate alternatives responses. He praised Kuwait's distribution of 100,000 copies of the Quran in Swedish.

Antisemitism

Al-Hakeem has been known for Antisemitism. When discussing the religious status of Ruhollah Khomeini (explaining that he is a Kaffir who corrupted the aqeedah, a murderer of Sunnis, a person who made a fruitless war with Iraq and drained resources from the adjacent countries), he said that Iran's leadership are "enemies of Islam, they want to undermine the true Islam and tarnish its reputation...backed by lobbies from the jews" and who "never had any beef with the Jews, they are allies." When discussing Muhammad's interactions with the Jews, he started off by saying, "the Jews whom we all hate".

When asked about differentiating between Jews and Zionists, he responded: "Well, such a difference has only surfaced lately. Zionism is a racist movement...so it's not related to a religion, (to my own humble understanding,)...but to try to polish the image of the Jews and say that they're not Zionists, this most likely won't work. The Jews are the People of the Book, they're all not the same shade: there are of the who are Zionist, there are of them who are open enemies of Islam, and there are those who are not fighting us, not forcing the Muslims out of their homes, so we can try to get closer to those. But in general, the majority of them are against Islam and the Muslims, therefore this is the default until proven otherwise, not the other way around. Allah mentioned the Jews in the Quran and described them to us, so do you think we are going to believe what the media is trying to polish nowadays, and neglect our Quran and the Sunnah? No matter who comes...If they come and say '...the Jews are fine. The Holocaust was a horrible thing,...we have to teach it to the Muslim children in schools, we have to omit and remove verses of Jihad, verses that describe the Jews in the Quran,' ...don't say that this is Islam. This is all part of the global movement to change Islam..."

When discussing conspiracy theories and the movements associated with them (such as the Freemasons and the Illuminati), Al-Hakeem explained that despite the fact that knowing about such things is not fundamentally useful in Islam and could even be potentially harmful since attributing inordinate power to such groups makes Muslims feel weak, "We acknowledge that through history the Jews collaborating with the hypocrites had many conspiracies against Islam...the collaboration and the fingerprints of the Jews, the hypocrites, and the Rafidah is evident. And this does not prevent them from collaborating over the centuries to continue their dirty work."

When discussing the relationships that Christians and Jews have with Muslims, Al-Hakeem said, "Allah...mentioned in the Quran that the most in hatred and enmity to the Muslims are the idol worshippers and the Jews. This is in the Quran. And the closest to the believers are the Christians. So this is mentioned in the Quran in the sense that the Christians share a lot with us Muslims, and they're more soft-hearted than the idol worshippers or the Jews...and what's happening in Gaza is a clear indication, a clear sign of their hatred and enmity. It's in their DNA; we have to admit."

Cryptocurrency

Al-Hakeem considers bitcoin haram. He had pointed out it's anonymous and ambiguous nature and said it could be used for illegal activities such as money laundering and drug money, and has warned against people using such transactions as the nature of seeking to gain money quickly in such a manner (via a means akin to gambling) is fundamentally un-Islamic.

Personal life

Al-Hakeem said he had Indonesian descent because his grandfather was a native of Medan who worked as a judge in the sultanate at that time. Al-Hakeem's grandfather sent Luqman (Al-Hakeem's father) who is mujahid to Saudi Arabia to study religion, and later he obtained Saudi citizenship; thus, Al-Hakeem was born in and grew up in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.