SHAH ALAM - The Malaysian Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) warns Malaysians to be wary of individuals claiming to be the direct descendant of Prophet Muhammad.
The alert by Jakim was issued in response to a question by a Facebook user who raised the matter -- on its official Facebook page -- following the arrival of a popular Morrocan preacher who claimed that he is the 38th generation of Prophet Muhammad.
"So far Jakim has never made any official statement regarding the particular individual's background.
"However, Jakim advises the public to take precautions on the claims over his background," said the department.
Though no names were mentioned, it is believed that the contentious preacher is one Muhammad Amin Al Idrisi Al Hasani Al Maghrobi who was given a VIP treatment, bassed on several videos that had gone viral on social media.
One of which, was a video of a local peeling off the skin of some shrimps before serving it Muhammad Amin.
In its response, Jakim also noted that Muhammad Amin had been attending a number of religious programmes in several states across the country.
"We believe that the state Islamic authorities are well aware of the programmes involving this individual," read Jakim.
Last week, the Selangor Department of Islamic Religious Department (Jais) had banned a Maulidur Rasul programme which was set to feature Muhammad Amin.