The "Triangle Effect"
"What is the Triangle Model?
When planning activities for youth, you must keep in mind the fact that all youth are not interested in the same things. There will be some youth who are interested in having Islamic study circles where they learn about the Qur'an, Seerah, etc. It is likely however that a larger amount of youth would like to participate in social events such as basketball games, dinners, etc. As leader of your youth group you have to know how to balance these activities by planning social activities where Muslims can meet each other and at the same time placing importance on acquiring Islamic knowledge. If we look at the life of the Prophet, there were activities that all the Muslims participated in. Participation in battles, building the masjid, going to Friday prayer required a strong commitment to Islam. The strong and the weak Muslim alike however could fulfill these duties. However other activites required an enormous dedication to pleasing Allah. Staying awake throughout the night in prayer, giving all of ones wealth in the path of Allah or even brushing the teeth everyday, were activities not required of all Muslims. The Prophet, saws, encouraged all to do these things, but understood the different levels of spiritual development in his community. The majority of the people need time to develop before they start activities that require a great deal of taqwaah to do.
LEVEL ONE:
In the Triangle Model, the bottom layer is activities for the largest number of people. Those are activites that are enjoyable by all levels of the community. They satisfy the need for social interaction with other Muslims and build the brotherhood or sisterhood in the youth group. These activities are structured according to the Quran and the Sunnah (no unsupervised intermingling between members of the opposite sex, for example.) Since these activites attract the largest amount of people, they should be your most publicized events. During these activites, you must try to attract people to activities in level two or above. The more the youth are willing to come to higher levels of commitment, the stronger your youth group will become, inshaAllah. examples: dinners/iftars, sports events, eid festivals, demonstrations, after jummah lunches.
LEVEL TWO:
Once the spark of interest has been lighted in a young Muslim, you must do your very best to involve him or her in higher level activities. Level two activities require a little more commitment of their time and resources. However these activities are still fun for the majority of youth. examples: bake sales, islamic culture fairs, masjid cleaning/recycling project, selling t-shirts, Islamic tapes etc.,
LEVEL THREE:
This level requires a bit more commitment and knowledge about Islam. Activities in this level are designed for members who have a growing interest in seeing Islam prosper among the youth as well as the community at large. These activites also give the youth a chance to do thing that are encouraged in Islam. examples: presentations in highschools, distribution of information about Islam, sponsoring orphans, feeding the homeless, lectures on "hot" topics- marriage, women, politics, etc.
LEVEL FOUR:
Activities for youth who wish to increase their Islamic knowledge are the main focus of level four. These activities are very beneficial not only for those youth who are interested but for the members of the executive board of your youth group as well as adults who wish to build ther knowledge of Islam. examples: lecturs on tafseer, aqeedah, seerah, etc, memorization competetions, interfaith meetings.
LEVEL FIVE:
This is the highest level of commitment. Most often 5% or less of the members of your youth group attend these activites. These activities should be very useful to the members of the leadership. As a leader, you should try to participate in these activities to the best of your ability and constantly encourage others to participate. examples: Islamic all-nighters, Tarbiyyah/halaqah program, intensive arabic courses, intensive courses in Islamic sciences.
This triangle model gives you a basic idea of the types of activities you should have and the number of people you should expect for them. This model, however, will vary from community to community...An effective youth group will be able to cater to the needs of these different groups."
-Muslim Youth of North America's 'Lets Build A Muslim Youth Group'
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Resisting The Urge To Compromise
Resisting The Urge To Compromise
By: Ibrahim Abu Khalid
The word Hikmah (wisdom) has been misinterpreted for too long. It means to approach people in the best way possible, to act in the most appropriate way taking the particular situation into account. It has never meant to give a false image of Islam for personal or community welfare. When Muslims are willing to compromise in all aspects of their life, we lose the favour of Allah, emit an image of weakness to our enemies, and lose that dignity in the sight of our Creator.
All praise is due to Allah, the Just, the Bestower, and peace and blessings upon our beloved and humble Prophet Muhammad.
The most popular catch-cry of today's generation is the word "compromise". The weak consider it as harmless, the ignorant hold it as beneficial, and the astray count it as essential. Seems too powerful a conclusion, but that's the reality.
In Islam, there is absolutely no room for compromise. There is no evidence that the Prophet (s.a.w) ever did so, nor did his companions, nor does the Qur'an provide scope for it. This stance also makes rational sense to those who sincerely dwell upon this topic. A person suffering from a heart condition will be foolish if he chose to consume half of the medicine prescribed, and then took sugar lollies as substitutes for the rest of the tablets. Who is he cheating? Not the doctor, who sought the best possible solution for his condition, nor the pharmacist, who supplied the medicine. The patient is the one at loss. Surely, Allah, in His Wisdom and Mercy chose Islam as the medicine for the ills of our society: the cancer of interest and woes of politics, the mistreatment of women and the division of society, the stinginess of man and his unsatiable desires.
WHY DO WE COMPROMISE?
There appears to be three main reasons why people will willingly compromise the elements of Islam, will choose those orders Allah has enforced us to follow according to their own desires, and substitute the rest with man-made systems.
1. "We are living in hard times, in a difficult society, and thus Allah permits us to compromise, because ( now wait for it)...' Islam is easy, not hard' ". A Hadith also quoted is that narrated by Aisha (r.a.a), who said that when the Prophet (s.a.w) had the choice between two actions, he chose the easiest course.
True, Islam is easy to follow, but not to the extent that we are permitted to change the rules set by Allah for our own convenience. When asked what their proof is that we can compromise, they claim that our condition today is similar to that during the Makkan period of the Prophet's mission. We should bear patiently like he did then, and act as he did in those circumstance.
The fallacy of this argument stands clear when we study the reasons why the Prophet (s.a.w) acted as he did back then, and how later on he acted differently. We are now living in the Madinah era, the era where the Qur'an was completed. The Makkan period could be seen as a temporary stage where the companions were trained and prepared in that special environment. But Islam was completed, finalised with the ayah: " This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." Islam was then perfected, so by retracing our steps all the way back to the Makkan era is illogical.
A cup full of fresh milk will be spoilt if only a drop of blood were to fall in it. Allah has never asked us to go beyond our capacity to please him , thus arguments such as " I must work in a Haram field because I have no choice" is an invalid argument. If our women must mix with men in a Haram way in the workplace, Allah never asked them to go to such extents. If we eat food which is declared Haram, don't expect automatic forgiveness, because no excuse remains.
Where as most people use their own rationale to substantiate their weak claims, I have the Word of Allah:
"Such is Allah, your Lord in truth. So after the truth, what else can there be, save error"[S.10;V.32]
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error"[V.33, V.36]
Do you consider our current situation to be much worse than that suffered by the Prophet (s.a.w) and his companions, or the other prophets before him? Surely this is the same code enjoined upon the Prophet (s.a.w) and upon us. Yusuf (a.s) went through many tortures, but never compromised, but instead turned to his Creator: "O my Lord! Prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me"[S.12,V.33].
It was not in the nature of Yusuf, nor in any of the Prophets, nor in any of the righteous servants of Allah, to compromise in order to gain some worldly benefit. Yusuf preferred jail to falling for the lusts of women.
2. Another false argument is the apologetic one: "We want to show people a religion which is easy and doesn't require much effort, not to make people run away from Islam."
In truth , people have been running to Islam because, when shown in its real light, Islam provides the solutions people have been seeking. They do not want a mixture of Islam with the Kufr they fled. Showing Islam in a "moderate" or "soft" light will only give the wrong image of an already perfect religion.
3. The third argument is that we must compromise in order to strengthen Islam. We must enter and join these institutions, join hands with the non-Muslims who are our partners in this life. This way, we can spread Islam, and live happily ever after.
WRONG!!! Again, there is no proof in the Shariah for this view, but rather to the contrary. Surah al -Kafirun is a prime example of this:
Say: "Disbelievers! I do not worship what you worship nor do you worship what I worship. I shall never worship what you worship neither will you worship what I worship. You have your own religion and I have mine."
Muhammad (s.a.w) declared his religion to be that of Ibrahim. The unbelievers thus argued that there was no reason for them to leave their own beliefs and take up that of Muhammads (s.a.w), seeing they were of the same religion. They sought to compromise with him, proposing that he should prostrate before their gods in exchange for them prostrating before Allah, and he could demand whatever he wanted from them. This Surah was revealed in an uncompromising tone, clearly dividing tawheed (monotheism) from shirk (polytheism), establishing a true criterion, allowing for no further wrangling.
This wasn't the only situation. When the Prophet's uncles felt that he was getting too powerful, they tried to bribe him with the gifts of this world. They offered him the leadership of Makkah if that was what he desired, wealth if that was his purpose, the most charming wife if that was what pleased him, yet he refused all these, because he only desired that only the truth prevailed. Under such harsh and luring circumstances, he commented that if the sun were to be given in his right hand, and the moon in his left, never would he leave this cause until Allah will elevate it, or he would die striving for this cause. This was his prime opportunity; if it were in his nature to compromise, he could have accepted the leadership, secretly hid his true convictions, and later spread Islam after being confident and powerful enough.
Rasulallah (s.a.w) was known as the Trustworthy. He was thus able to kindle the fire of Arab nationalism and would thus have united them. They would have responded gladly to his call, tired of their tribal warfares. Thereafter, he could free the Arab lands from the domination of the Romans and the Persians. He could have easily established an Arab state in this way, instead of bearing thirteen years of pain and torture. He could have made the people bow initially before his authority, then he could have used his position of authority to impose the belief in the unity of Allah, and bow before the True God. This was not what Allah desired though, and that is not Islam. Islam seeks the destruction of all forms of evil, through pure ways, not the manipulation of evil to reach a pure goal. This is not possible, nor permissible.
Even in a life or death situation, we are told of the rewards if we persevere and bear patiently. Ibrahim (a.s) chose to burn in the fire prepared by his own father, rather than to hide his religion, leave the area, and spread the Word of Allah.
NO EXCUSE
Alhamdulillah, we are given all the necessities of life. We have enough money to purchase halal products and these are available everywhere, so we need not compromise in terms of our food. We can freely wear the required clothing asked by Allah, so we have no excuse not to. We can choose our work, our partners, our lifestyle, yet we consider ourselves fighting some imaginary "Jihad" of the nafs. Indeed, you never initially had an excuse, and you certainly do not now, so stick to the path chosen by Allah, to all of it, for that is the only way we can dig ourselves from this rotten trough we have fallen in, because we prefer to attribute orders to Allah which He never asked for.
"Say you (O Muhammad ): ' This is my way; I invite unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me with sure knowledge. And Glorified and Exalted be Allah. And I am not of the Mushrikun.' "[S.12,V.108]
"And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not other paths, for they will separate you away from His path. This He has ordained for you that you may become pious."[S.6,V.153
By: Ibrahim Abu Khalid
The word Hikmah (wisdom) has been misinterpreted for too long. It means to approach people in the best way possible, to act in the most appropriate way taking the particular situation into account. It has never meant to give a false image of Islam for personal or community welfare. When Muslims are willing to compromise in all aspects of their life, we lose the favour of Allah, emit an image of weakness to our enemies, and lose that dignity in the sight of our Creator.
All praise is due to Allah, the Just, the Bestower, and peace and blessings upon our beloved and humble Prophet Muhammad.
The most popular catch-cry of today's generation is the word "compromise". The weak consider it as harmless, the ignorant hold it as beneficial, and the astray count it as essential. Seems too powerful a conclusion, but that's the reality.
In Islam, there is absolutely no room for compromise. There is no evidence that the Prophet (s.a.w) ever did so, nor did his companions, nor does the Qur'an provide scope for it. This stance also makes rational sense to those who sincerely dwell upon this topic. A person suffering from a heart condition will be foolish if he chose to consume half of the medicine prescribed, and then took sugar lollies as substitutes for the rest of the tablets. Who is he cheating? Not the doctor, who sought the best possible solution for his condition, nor the pharmacist, who supplied the medicine. The patient is the one at loss. Surely, Allah, in His Wisdom and Mercy chose Islam as the medicine for the ills of our society: the cancer of interest and woes of politics, the mistreatment of women and the division of society, the stinginess of man and his unsatiable desires.
WHY DO WE COMPROMISE?
There appears to be three main reasons why people will willingly compromise the elements of Islam, will choose those orders Allah has enforced us to follow according to their own desires, and substitute the rest with man-made systems.
1. "We are living in hard times, in a difficult society, and thus Allah permits us to compromise, because ( now wait for it)...' Islam is easy, not hard' ". A Hadith also quoted is that narrated by Aisha (r.a.a), who said that when the Prophet (s.a.w) had the choice between two actions, he chose the easiest course.
True, Islam is easy to follow, but not to the extent that we are permitted to change the rules set by Allah for our own convenience. When asked what their proof is that we can compromise, they claim that our condition today is similar to that during the Makkan period of the Prophet's mission. We should bear patiently like he did then, and act as he did in those circumstance.
The fallacy of this argument stands clear when we study the reasons why the Prophet (s.a.w) acted as he did back then, and how later on he acted differently. We are now living in the Madinah era, the era where the Qur'an was completed. The Makkan period could be seen as a temporary stage where the companions were trained and prepared in that special environment. But Islam was completed, finalised with the ayah: " This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion." Islam was then perfected, so by retracing our steps all the way back to the Makkan era is illogical.
A cup full of fresh milk will be spoilt if only a drop of blood were to fall in it. Allah has never asked us to go beyond our capacity to please him , thus arguments such as " I must work in a Haram field because I have no choice" is an invalid argument. If our women must mix with men in a Haram way in the workplace, Allah never asked them to go to such extents. If we eat food which is declared Haram, don't expect automatic forgiveness, because no excuse remains.
Where as most people use their own rationale to substantiate their weak claims, I have the Word of Allah:
"Such is Allah, your Lord in truth. So after the truth, what else can there be, save error"[S.10;V.32]
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error"[V.33, V.36]
Do you consider our current situation to be much worse than that suffered by the Prophet (s.a.w) and his companions, or the other prophets before him? Surely this is the same code enjoined upon the Prophet (s.a.w) and upon us. Yusuf (a.s) went through many tortures, but never compromised, but instead turned to his Creator: "O my Lord! Prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me"[S.12,V.33].
It was not in the nature of Yusuf, nor in any of the Prophets, nor in any of the righteous servants of Allah, to compromise in order to gain some worldly benefit. Yusuf preferred jail to falling for the lusts of women.
2. Another false argument is the apologetic one: "We want to show people a religion which is easy and doesn't require much effort, not to make people run away from Islam."
In truth , people have been running to Islam because, when shown in its real light, Islam provides the solutions people have been seeking. They do not want a mixture of Islam with the Kufr they fled. Showing Islam in a "moderate" or "soft" light will only give the wrong image of an already perfect religion.
3. The third argument is that we must compromise in order to strengthen Islam. We must enter and join these institutions, join hands with the non-Muslims who are our partners in this life. This way, we can spread Islam, and live happily ever after.
WRONG!!! Again, there is no proof in the Shariah for this view, but rather to the contrary. Surah al -Kafirun is a prime example of this:
Say: "Disbelievers! I do not worship what you worship nor do you worship what I worship. I shall never worship what you worship neither will you worship what I worship. You have your own religion and I have mine."
Muhammad (s.a.w) declared his religion to be that of Ibrahim. The unbelievers thus argued that there was no reason for them to leave their own beliefs and take up that of Muhammads (s.a.w), seeing they were of the same religion. They sought to compromise with him, proposing that he should prostrate before their gods in exchange for them prostrating before Allah, and he could demand whatever he wanted from them. This Surah was revealed in an uncompromising tone, clearly dividing tawheed (monotheism) from shirk (polytheism), establishing a true criterion, allowing for no further wrangling.
This wasn't the only situation. When the Prophet's uncles felt that he was getting too powerful, they tried to bribe him with the gifts of this world. They offered him the leadership of Makkah if that was what he desired, wealth if that was his purpose, the most charming wife if that was what pleased him, yet he refused all these, because he only desired that only the truth prevailed. Under such harsh and luring circumstances, he commented that if the sun were to be given in his right hand, and the moon in his left, never would he leave this cause until Allah will elevate it, or he would die striving for this cause. This was his prime opportunity; if it were in his nature to compromise, he could have accepted the leadership, secretly hid his true convictions, and later spread Islam after being confident and powerful enough.
Rasulallah (s.a.w) was known as the Trustworthy. He was thus able to kindle the fire of Arab nationalism and would thus have united them. They would have responded gladly to his call, tired of their tribal warfares. Thereafter, he could free the Arab lands from the domination of the Romans and the Persians. He could have easily established an Arab state in this way, instead of bearing thirteen years of pain and torture. He could have made the people bow initially before his authority, then he could have used his position of authority to impose the belief in the unity of Allah, and bow before the True God. This was not what Allah desired though, and that is not Islam. Islam seeks the destruction of all forms of evil, through pure ways, not the manipulation of evil to reach a pure goal. This is not possible, nor permissible.
Even in a life or death situation, we are told of the rewards if we persevere and bear patiently. Ibrahim (a.s) chose to burn in the fire prepared by his own father, rather than to hide his religion, leave the area, and spread the Word of Allah.
NO EXCUSE
Alhamdulillah, we are given all the necessities of life. We have enough money to purchase halal products and these are available everywhere, so we need not compromise in terms of our food. We can freely wear the required clothing asked by Allah, so we have no excuse not to. We can choose our work, our partners, our lifestyle, yet we consider ourselves fighting some imaginary "Jihad" of the nafs. Indeed, you never initially had an excuse, and you certainly do not now, so stick to the path chosen by Allah, to all of it, for that is the only way we can dig ourselves from this rotten trough we have fallen in, because we prefer to attribute orders to Allah which He never asked for.
"Say you (O Muhammad ): ' This is my way; I invite unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me with sure knowledge. And Glorified and Exalted be Allah. And I am not of the Mushrikun.' "[S.12,V.108]
"And verily, this is my Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not other paths, for they will separate you away from His path. This He has ordained for you that you may become pious."[S.6,V.153
Ethics of Disagreement
From: Syeda Fatima Naqvi snaqvi@students.miami.edu
Ethics of Disagreement
Assalamu-alaikum everyone.insha'allah I hope that everybody is well and with strong Iman. Ok, I had attended the sez leadership training conference this october and I took notes on the lectures and I thought that it would be a good idea to perhaps write about the lectures so that those who could not attend could benefit from all the knowledge as well, Insha'allah. I have only gotten around to writing about this lecture but I thought that I'd send it to you all and later, when I finally do get around to writing about the other ones, send those as well.
Insha'allah. ok, please keep in mind that the words are solely mine and not the Imam's , this is a praphrased version of his lecture so if there is a problem it is not due to the Imam but myself. Those of you who attended, if you see any discrepancy or incorrect info, PLEASE let me know Insha'allah. Take care everybody,may Allah SWT be with you and may He love us all, wassalam, your sister in Islam, Syeda (Feiza)
(This was a lecture given by Imam Masri from Orlando,Fl. Ma'shallah he spoke very well.)
*******************************************
ETHICS OF DISAGREEMENT
Looking through any hadith book , I am sure that we are well aware of the fact that the Sahaba themselves had many disagreements and differences in opinions. Each of them would have valid points based on their own individual interpretations which, naturally, tended to vary from person to person. Thus from this and life itself, we can definately surmise that disagreements are a very natural thing and that differences of opinions are not some anomaly or a deviation from the norm. However, even though the Sahaba would have disagreements, they would NEVER, to the best of our knowledge, Allahu-Alim, succumb to the pettiness of belittling each other, of being sarcastic, of hurling insults, or anything else for that matter (no food fights for them:) ), and of taking things way out of proportion to such an extent that the very brotherhood of the Muslims was endangered.
Today, nearly 1400 years later we all sit here, "reminiscing" on their lives, and trying to discover the secret to their overwhelming success, but we often times tend to forget the real reason behind it all. The sahaba were great people, yes, but they were not superhuman beings. They were real, as real as you or I and they all had their individual strengths and weaknesses. What made them so successful was the fact that the Quran for them was not simply a book to browse through occasionally when one had time. No, to them it was a "How To " manual on life, or the written instructions on how to fight a jihad against the self. Their attitude thus was akin to a soldier's to their general in the midst of war: "We hear and we obey" They felt that it was incumbent upon them to carry out every instruction that they read and it is for this reason that so many of them would only memorize ten ayahs of the quran at a time . Now, in terms of disagreements, their Iman sustained them throughout and if we want to be like them in their closeness to Allah SWt, we must keep the following things in mind when we are disagreeing w/anyone.
1.Sincerety: Do not disagree just for the sake of disagreeing. Don't argue just because you don't happen to like someone or something. whenever you argue, make sure that you are sincere in your intentions and that your intention is not to cause problems but to help your brother and sister in Islam.
2. Patience: We must be very patient with all of our brothers and our sisters. Do not argue over silly or trivial issues and have enough patience to not get angry. Stay calm and sincere, remember that people listen much more willingly when they are not being yelled at. Remember also just how patient Allah SWT is w/ us. He did not just destroy all of humanity whenever we did something awfully wrong, no He sent us Rasool after Rasool, time after time, to guide us to bring us back to Him. look in the Quran and see that when talking about Pharoah, Allah SWT tells Moses (AS) to "speak to Pharoah a soft word" when this human actually had the audacity of saying " I am your lord most high" !!!!! If Allah SWT can be sooooo patient w/ an inidividual as awful as pharoah, surely our brothers and sisters in Islam deserve atleast a fraction of our patience.
3. Tolerance and Mercy: If you disagree with someone, it is not necessary to insult or to bombard a person. Be tolerant and merciful for you can not force someone to agree w/you. Remember that in the Quran, Allah swt told Rasoolallah SAW to say to the Qureish, "Hey, if I am wrong in what I beleive and am sinning, then you are free from blame." Basically, let me do what I want, and you do whatever you want. He never said,"Be muslim or die." now if he could be tolerant about this extremely important issue, just so should we be tolerant about issues much less vital. Respect other opinions and points of views and remember that just because someone does not agree w/ you, does not mean that they are wrong.
4. Wisdom: Prioritize issues. Ask," Is this argument REALLY worth it?" Do not waste time arguing over unimportant issues or issues that have already been decided by Allah SWT and Rasoolallah SAW.
5. Give sincere Naseehah(advice),which has it's own rules.
1. Be sure of your information or what you are going to say. Verify it . Don't just assume that the person is wrong, but make sure that you know about all the different valid ways and possibilities of looking at an issue and that you are 100% sure that the person is wrong and in need of sincere Naseehah
2. Wisdom/strategy: Think about what is the best way to change the actions of that person? What approach can/ should be used w/ the person. Everyone responds in different ways. For some, a gentle word is enough while with others, a more agressive approach is necessary. However, regardless of the method, remember that your naseeha must never be given in such a way as to hurt anyone. For example, Hasan and Hussein (RA), grandchildren of Rasoolallah SAW once saw an old man doing wudu incorrectly. Though very young, they were very perturbed and talked amongst themselves on how to best correct their elder w/o any disrespect. So, they decided to tell the old man that they were having a contest between them on who could do wudu in the best way and ask him to be their judge. The man agreed and so both of them proceeded to do wudu exactly in the same, correct way. The old man, realized his mistake and said," You both are correct." Al-Humdulillah, soo much children can teach us if we only let them.
If we follow these points while at the same time keeping Islamic Adab (manners or conduct) in mind,especially in terms of being respectful to your elders when when disagreeing, etc, Insha'allah with Allah SWT's help we should, atleast in this area, be just as faithful and as successful as the Sahaba.
*************************************************************
Ok, dear sisters, this is all on this topic. I felt that cosidering all the insults and all the remarks about "that was a stupid comment' etc, that were flying around, that this was an important reminder. Anything wrong or offensive is from myself and I ask both Allah SWT's and your forgiveness. I luv you all very much and send you hugs, wassalam, your loving sis in Islam, Syeda
p.s. forgive the typing mistakes please, not to mention spelling:):)
Ethics of Disagreement
Assalamu-alaikum everyone.insha'allah I hope that everybody is well and with strong Iman. Ok, I had attended the sez leadership training conference this october and I took notes on the lectures and I thought that it would be a good idea to perhaps write about the lectures so that those who could not attend could benefit from all the knowledge as well, Insha'allah. I have only gotten around to writing about this lecture but I thought that I'd send it to you all and later, when I finally do get around to writing about the other ones, send those as well.
Insha'allah. ok, please keep in mind that the words are solely mine and not the Imam's , this is a praphrased version of his lecture so if there is a problem it is not due to the Imam but myself. Those of you who attended, if you see any discrepancy or incorrect info, PLEASE let me know Insha'allah. Take care everybody,may Allah SWT be with you and may He love us all, wassalam, your sister in Islam, Syeda (Feiza)
(This was a lecture given by Imam Masri from Orlando,Fl. Ma'shallah he spoke very well.)
*******************************************
ETHICS OF DISAGREEMENT
Looking through any hadith book , I am sure that we are well aware of the fact that the Sahaba themselves had many disagreements and differences in opinions. Each of them would have valid points based on their own individual interpretations which, naturally, tended to vary from person to person. Thus from this and life itself, we can definately surmise that disagreements are a very natural thing and that differences of opinions are not some anomaly or a deviation from the norm. However, even though the Sahaba would have disagreements, they would NEVER, to the best of our knowledge, Allahu-Alim, succumb to the pettiness of belittling each other, of being sarcastic, of hurling insults, or anything else for that matter (no food fights for them:) ), and of taking things way out of proportion to such an extent that the very brotherhood of the Muslims was endangered.
Today, nearly 1400 years later we all sit here, "reminiscing" on their lives, and trying to discover the secret to their overwhelming success, but we often times tend to forget the real reason behind it all. The sahaba were great people, yes, but they were not superhuman beings. They were real, as real as you or I and they all had their individual strengths and weaknesses. What made them so successful was the fact that the Quran for them was not simply a book to browse through occasionally when one had time. No, to them it was a "How To " manual on life, or the written instructions on how to fight a jihad against the self. Their attitude thus was akin to a soldier's to their general in the midst of war: "We hear and we obey" They felt that it was incumbent upon them to carry out every instruction that they read and it is for this reason that so many of them would only memorize ten ayahs of the quran at a time . Now, in terms of disagreements, their Iman sustained them throughout and if we want to be like them in their closeness to Allah SWt, we must keep the following things in mind when we are disagreeing w/anyone.
1.Sincerety: Do not disagree just for the sake of disagreeing. Don't argue just because you don't happen to like someone or something. whenever you argue, make sure that you are sincere in your intentions and that your intention is not to cause problems but to help your brother and sister in Islam.
2. Patience: We must be very patient with all of our brothers and our sisters. Do not argue over silly or trivial issues and have enough patience to not get angry. Stay calm and sincere, remember that people listen much more willingly when they are not being yelled at. Remember also just how patient Allah SWT is w/ us. He did not just destroy all of humanity whenever we did something awfully wrong, no He sent us Rasool after Rasool, time after time, to guide us to bring us back to Him. look in the Quran and see that when talking about Pharoah, Allah SWT tells Moses (AS) to "speak to Pharoah a soft word" when this human actually had the audacity of saying " I am your lord most high" !!!!! If Allah SWT can be sooooo patient w/ an inidividual as awful as pharoah, surely our brothers and sisters in Islam deserve atleast a fraction of our patience.
3. Tolerance and Mercy: If you disagree with someone, it is not necessary to insult or to bombard a person. Be tolerant and merciful for you can not force someone to agree w/you. Remember that in the Quran, Allah swt told Rasoolallah SAW to say to the Qureish, "Hey, if I am wrong in what I beleive and am sinning, then you are free from blame." Basically, let me do what I want, and you do whatever you want. He never said,"Be muslim or die." now if he could be tolerant about this extremely important issue, just so should we be tolerant about issues much less vital. Respect other opinions and points of views and remember that just because someone does not agree w/ you, does not mean that they are wrong.
4. Wisdom: Prioritize issues. Ask," Is this argument REALLY worth it?" Do not waste time arguing over unimportant issues or issues that have already been decided by Allah SWT and Rasoolallah SAW.
5. Give sincere Naseehah(advice),which has it's own rules.
1. Be sure of your information or what you are going to say. Verify it . Don't just assume that the person is wrong, but make sure that you know about all the different valid ways and possibilities of looking at an issue and that you are 100% sure that the person is wrong and in need of sincere Naseehah
2. Wisdom/strategy: Think about what is the best way to change the actions of that person? What approach can/ should be used w/ the person. Everyone responds in different ways. For some, a gentle word is enough while with others, a more agressive approach is necessary. However, regardless of the method, remember that your naseeha must never be given in such a way as to hurt anyone. For example, Hasan and Hussein (RA), grandchildren of Rasoolallah SAW once saw an old man doing wudu incorrectly. Though very young, they were very perturbed and talked amongst themselves on how to best correct their elder w/o any disrespect. So, they decided to tell the old man that they were having a contest between them on who could do wudu in the best way and ask him to be their judge. The man agreed and so both of them proceeded to do wudu exactly in the same, correct way. The old man, realized his mistake and said," You both are correct." Al-Humdulillah, soo much children can teach us if we only let them.
If we follow these points while at the same time keeping Islamic Adab (manners or conduct) in mind,especially in terms of being respectful to your elders when when disagreeing, etc, Insha'allah with Allah SWT's help we should, atleast in this area, be just as faithful and as successful as the Sahaba.
*************************************************************
Ok, dear sisters, this is all on this topic. I felt that cosidering all the insults and all the remarks about "that was a stupid comment' etc, that were flying around, that this was an important reminder. Anything wrong or offensive is from myself and I ask both Allah SWT's and your forgiveness. I luv you all very much and send you hugs, wassalam, your loving sis in Islam, Syeda
p.s. forgive the typing mistakes please, not to mention spelling:):)
The Ummah is a stalled car
Picture yourself piling into a car with your fellow MSA members, about
to embark on yet another road trip to an Islamic conference. Everyone
is excited about hearing their favorite speakers, meeting old friends,
making new connections. But what would happen if this buoyant
busload came to a screeching halt?
Think of how your group would behave if suddenly you were stuck on the
road, while dozens of cars raced by. Would you be disappointed,
disillusioned, dormant, or determined to get your vehicle running again?
I am reminded of a wonderful parable, laden with meaning and smacking with
a painful truth, that a wise Muslim once told me.
The Muslim Ummah is a stalled car.
Sadly, this is our current state. At the most, we are idling on the shoulder
of the road, and even that is a generous description. It seems we have
forgotten the glorious early days of Islam when the proverbial Muslim
engine was running at maximum efficiency. Not a single dedicated Muslim
remained idle. They used all available means to establish Islam and
keep the momentum going.
One brilliant example of Muslim ingenuity involves Sultan Muhammad II,
who at a very young age assumed the throne of the Ottoman empire. The
Sultan achieved what many considered impossible, including building
a fort in just three months when even his closest advisors told him
that it would take no less than three *years*. Perhaps his most notable
accomplishment came when he and his Muslim army captured Constantinople
in a spectacular victory over the formidable Byzantine empire and its
allies. Even after a severe setback in that war, the Muslims came back
as an even stronger force when Sultan Muhammad implemented a most unique
plan to pull the entire Muslim navy over a mountain on greased
wooden planks. Thus, victory for the Muslims was sealed, Alhamdullillah,
and Sultan Muhammad earned the title of Al-Fatih, the Conqueror.
But today, we remain in the stalled car that is our Ummah and wonder
what can be done. After awhile, we notice four very distinct groups
of people begin to emerge. The first group is inspecting the car and
trying to fix whatever went wrong. The second is asleep inside the car.
The third bunch is standing off to the side watching, but doing nothing
more. Finally, we have the fourth group which is trying to ensure
that the car remains broken. Clearly, these groups each need help
if the car is ever to move again.
** What can we do?**
The members of the first group have the right attitude, but they need
better coordination. Progress will not be made if one person is
trying to fix the engine while another is attempting to push the car
along. Before they can begin to fix the car, they must first determine
what is wrong. After discovering the problem, they must agree on a plan
of action. Once an agreement is reached, their individual forces can
combine positively instead of cancelling each other out.
The second group, the sleepers, are a burden and must be roused. Once
awake, they must be informed of the problem and made to realize its
gravity. Then they need to be told what they can do to ameliorate
the situation.
The fourth group (hindering the effort) cannot be dealt with as easily
as the first two. When a group such as this is actively trying to undo
the hard work of others or shouting unconstructive criticism, a
number of factors need to be taken into consideration. First of all,
do not expect to change their minds quickly and easily, or even at all.
Often times, it is like arguing with a donkey - you waste your breath
and annoy the donkey! Gentle education is preferable and nasiha (advice)
is a duty of one Muslim to another, but if they persist in hindering
your progress, do not allow them to distract you from your task.
Your energies are required elsewhere.
It is also necessary to be cautious with the fourth group. Watch out,
they may try to push the car in the opposite direction, setting everyone
even further back than initially. But even if they do that,
remember to deal with them Islamically, for if they are dealt with
harshly, it will only cause fitna and confusion among all the groups
and you will go nowhere fast. The overall process is a jihad of sorts.
Ironically, it is the third group (standing and watching) which is the
most complex and problematic. You must first determine why they are standing
by. Are they lazy? Do they think the car cannot be fixed, or do they
not trust those who are trying to fix the car? Maybe they think the
car is not necessary to reach their destination. These are all very
serious concerns. Unfortunately, it seems the bulk of the Ummah falls
into this group. There is no quick remedy for the third group. But
bear in mind that a small spark in the engine may be what these people
need, either as a warning that if something is not done, their entire
journey will go up in smoke (literally) or that there is hope that the
vehicle can be fixed.
Others among the group of idlers simply lack confidence in their ability
to contribute. If this is the case, a gentle nudge (occasionally, an
outright shove, done nicely) in the right direction may be the much needed
catalyst. This step must be followed by education and training, which
will, inshaa'Allah give them faith in themselves and others, as well as
a solid foundation on which to operate.
They must also learn that they should not waste time waiting around for
a tow truck or a mechanic. Maybe all the car needs is a good push. If
nothing else, they can hand tools to the workers. The fact is that a
really good mechanic might not show up for a very long time and the
people in the car must make do with each other.
We are at a stage where not a single Muslim can be wasted. Every hand
must contribute, in its own way, to restarting the Ummah. This may
involve small sacrifices of doing what is *needed* rather than what we
want individually. We need to hone our skills, yet be diverse enough
in our abilities to perform a variety of functions.
Every once in a while, we need a jump start, a rejuvenation of our iman
which will enable us to feel the spirit of Islam coursing through
us. We also need spiritual nourishment (filling ourselves with Qur'an,
Sunnah, and other Islamic knowledge) on a regular basis, as well
as the occasional tune-up to ensure that we are functioning the
way a strong Ummah should.
This ongoing metaphor makes me wonder which group each of us falls into.
Are we eager to help but lack direction and coordination? Are we in a
state of dormancy? Perhaps we are quiet observers who wait, in vain,
for a tow truck to lift us into action. I sincerely hope none of us is
trying to destroy the hard work of others. Regardless of which group
we identify with, we are crippling the Ummah and will continue to be
a liability until we get our act together.
May Allah (swt) guide us all to aid in the mobilization of our Ummah.
to embark on yet another road trip to an Islamic conference. Everyone
is excited about hearing their favorite speakers, meeting old friends,
making new connections. But what would happen if this buoyant
busload came to a screeching halt?
Think of how your group would behave if suddenly you were stuck on the
road, while dozens of cars raced by. Would you be disappointed,
disillusioned, dormant, or determined to get your vehicle running again?
I am reminded of a wonderful parable, laden with meaning and smacking with
a painful truth, that a wise Muslim once told me.
The Muslim Ummah is a stalled car.
Sadly, this is our current state. At the most, we are idling on the shoulder
of the road, and even that is a generous description. It seems we have
forgotten the glorious early days of Islam when the proverbial Muslim
engine was running at maximum efficiency. Not a single dedicated Muslim
remained idle. They used all available means to establish Islam and
keep the momentum going.
One brilliant example of Muslim ingenuity involves Sultan Muhammad II,
who at a very young age assumed the throne of the Ottoman empire. The
Sultan achieved what many considered impossible, including building
a fort in just three months when even his closest advisors told him
that it would take no less than three *years*. Perhaps his most notable
accomplishment came when he and his Muslim army captured Constantinople
in a spectacular victory over the formidable Byzantine empire and its
allies. Even after a severe setback in that war, the Muslims came back
as an even stronger force when Sultan Muhammad implemented a most unique
plan to pull the entire Muslim navy over a mountain on greased
wooden planks. Thus, victory for the Muslims was sealed, Alhamdullillah,
and Sultan Muhammad earned the title of Al-Fatih, the Conqueror.
But today, we remain in the stalled car that is our Ummah and wonder
what can be done. After awhile, we notice four very distinct groups
of people begin to emerge. The first group is inspecting the car and
trying to fix whatever went wrong. The second is asleep inside the car.
The third bunch is standing off to the side watching, but doing nothing
more. Finally, we have the fourth group which is trying to ensure
that the car remains broken. Clearly, these groups each need help
if the car is ever to move again.
** What can we do?**
The members of the first group have the right attitude, but they need
better coordination. Progress will not be made if one person is
trying to fix the engine while another is attempting to push the car
along. Before they can begin to fix the car, they must first determine
what is wrong. After discovering the problem, they must agree on a plan
of action. Once an agreement is reached, their individual forces can
combine positively instead of cancelling each other out.
The second group, the sleepers, are a burden and must be roused. Once
awake, they must be informed of the problem and made to realize its
gravity. Then they need to be told what they can do to ameliorate
the situation.
The fourth group (hindering the effort) cannot be dealt with as easily
as the first two. When a group such as this is actively trying to undo
the hard work of others or shouting unconstructive criticism, a
number of factors need to be taken into consideration. First of all,
do not expect to change their minds quickly and easily, or even at all.
Often times, it is like arguing with a donkey - you waste your breath
and annoy the donkey! Gentle education is preferable and nasiha (advice)
is a duty of one Muslim to another, but if they persist in hindering
your progress, do not allow them to distract you from your task.
Your energies are required elsewhere.
It is also necessary to be cautious with the fourth group. Watch out,
they may try to push the car in the opposite direction, setting everyone
even further back than initially. But even if they do that,
remember to deal with them Islamically, for if they are dealt with
harshly, it will only cause fitna and confusion among all the groups
and you will go nowhere fast. The overall process is a jihad of sorts.
Ironically, it is the third group (standing and watching) which is the
most complex and problematic. You must first determine why they are standing
by. Are they lazy? Do they think the car cannot be fixed, or do they
not trust those who are trying to fix the car? Maybe they think the
car is not necessary to reach their destination. These are all very
serious concerns. Unfortunately, it seems the bulk of the Ummah falls
into this group. There is no quick remedy for the third group. But
bear in mind that a small spark in the engine may be what these people
need, either as a warning that if something is not done, their entire
journey will go up in smoke (literally) or that there is hope that the
vehicle can be fixed.
Others among the group of idlers simply lack confidence in their ability
to contribute. If this is the case, a gentle nudge (occasionally, an
outright shove, done nicely) in the right direction may be the much needed
catalyst. This step must be followed by education and training, which
will, inshaa'Allah give them faith in themselves and others, as well as
a solid foundation on which to operate.
They must also learn that they should not waste time waiting around for
a tow truck or a mechanic. Maybe all the car needs is a good push. If
nothing else, they can hand tools to the workers. The fact is that a
really good mechanic might not show up for a very long time and the
people in the car must make do with each other.
We are at a stage where not a single Muslim can be wasted. Every hand
must contribute, in its own way, to restarting the Ummah. This may
involve small sacrifices of doing what is *needed* rather than what we
want individually. We need to hone our skills, yet be diverse enough
in our abilities to perform a variety of functions.
Every once in a while, we need a jump start, a rejuvenation of our iman
which will enable us to feel the spirit of Islam coursing through
us. We also need spiritual nourishment (filling ourselves with Qur'an,
Sunnah, and other Islamic knowledge) on a regular basis, as well
as the occasional tune-up to ensure that we are functioning the
way a strong Ummah should.
This ongoing metaphor makes me wonder which group each of us falls into.
Are we eager to help but lack direction and coordination? Are we in a
state of dormancy? Perhaps we are quiet observers who wait, in vain,
for a tow truck to lift us into action. I sincerely hope none of us is
trying to destroy the hard work of others. Regardless of which group
we identify with, we are crippling the Ummah and will continue to be
a liability until we get our act together.
May Allah (swt) guide us all to aid in the mobilization of our Ummah.
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION : A CAUSE OF WEAKNESS
DIFFERENCE OF OPINION : A CAUSE OF WEAKNESS ?
1. Introduction
The most talked about topic amongst the Muslims is undoubtedly the issue of unity. The manifestation of disunity and proliferation of problems is there for all to see. Difference of opinion is seen by some to be the main cause for this. It is reckoned that until and unless Muslims can not agree on simple matters like prayers, as well as other 'simple' matters, unity can never be achieved. "If there is a right and a wrong how can two differing answers both be correct ?", is a common question posed when the issue of disunity is discussed. Thus some see the difference of opinion amongst the Muslims as a major source of weakness and an obstacle on the path to unity.
To clear the confusion surrounding difference of opinion and the issue of Muslim unity, a number of questions need to be answered.
2. Is it Wrong for Muslims to Differ ?
In short, No. Evidence for this is an incident in which the Prophet (SAW) witnessed the companions disputing, but did not rebuke them for doing so. The incident relates to the dispute regarding the 'Asr prayer on their way to Bani Qurayzah. The Prophet instructed the companions to go and fight the Jews. He said, "Do not pray until you get to Bani Qurayzah". On route to Bani Qurayzah the time for 'Asr was drawing to a close. A dispute ensued. One group understood the prophet's command metaphorically, thinking that the Prophet (SAW) meant hurry up. A party of the believers prayed there whilst the others prayed after 'Asr time when they arrived at Bani Qurayzah.
When they next met the Prophet (SAW) they asked him who was right and who was wrong. It is important to note the response. Only one of them could have been right, but the Prophet (SAW) did not point out who that was, rather he said, "Whoever performs ijtihad and errs will receive one reward. Whoever performs ijtihad and arrives at the correct answer gets double the reward."
Had it been haraam to differ, the Prophet (SAW) would have rebuked those differing from the correct opinion and praised those who were right. This example teaches us to tolerate opposing Islamic opinions which are arrived at by those qualified to do so after performing ijtihad.
The scholars in the past recognised this; "The most learned amongst the people is also one who is most knowledgeable of the difference amongst the people" (Ghazali, Shawkani, Abu Zahrah)
Before performing Ijtihad it is a prerequisite for a scholar to be aware of all the differences on the issue at hand.
3. What Causes Differences ?
They can occur due to a number of factors which include,
a) Hadith Criteria. Different Muhaddith adopt different criteria of classifying hadith. For example Imam Shafi didn't take narration from people who use to eat while walking as he did not consider this as the characteristic of a just person.
b) Adoption of usool. Scholars differed on the usools they adopted. Imam Malik regard the consensus of the people of Madinah as indication of the Prophet's sunnah, other scholars like Abu Hanifah and Ahmed bin Hanbal did not.
c) Interpretation (literal/metaphorical). Like in the example of the Asr prayer, a difference can occur depending on the meaning taken from a word. The word 'Touch' in the Qur^Òan gave rise to a difference on the issue of cleanliness when touching a woman. Abu Hanifah said touch meant intercourse, where as Imam Shafi said the touch was the literal touch and not the metaphorical one, thus if a person touched the hand of a woman. he would lose his wudu.
d) Arabic Language. A word can give rise to a number of meanings. The word Quru, can be understood as the period of impurity or the period in between as the word carries both meanings.
4. Where Does it Occur. This does not mean that difference can occur in all matters. There are two types of differences. Those that may arise and those that are invalid
Difference can only occur where ijtihad is necessary, i.e. where either the text is not definite or the meaning is not definite. If both are definite, ijtihad is not permitted. A difference in this case would not be valid and would be rejected.
Thus, there is no difference of opinion about not drinking alcohol, not eating pork, ruling only by the Shari^Òah or having only one leader for the Muslim ummah.
In areas where valid differences may occur, it be can further be divided into two:
a) Where differences may arise and are permitted to exist, i.e. differences regarding personal worships.
b) Where differences may arise and are not permitted to exist, i.e. societal matters like buying and selling.
In the former case, companions differed on various matters, but the companions as a whole, did not condemn the issue of having differing opinions.
In the latter case for example Abu Bakr and Umar (RA) differed on issues relating to divorce and the distribution of money amongst the Muslims (i.e. societal matters). Regarding the divorce. Abu Bakr held that if talaq was said three times in one sitting it was only considered as one divorce. He maintained that it must be said on three separate occasions for it to be considered as three talaqs. Umar (RA) on the other hand said, saying it three times in one sitting was considered as three talaqs.
Such a difference cannot be allowed to exist, otherwise if a husband and wife adopted different opinions, a situation could occur in which one would consider themselves married whilst the other would regard themselves as divorced. Only one opinion must exist for the qadi to judge with, otherwise many disputes would go unresolved.
5. How Does Islam Deal with Differences ?
If differences occur on definite matters, the Khalifah can use his authority to put a stop to this. An example of this is when a false prophet emerged claiming that Muhammed (SAW) was not the final prophet, Abu Bakr sent an army to remove this division. This is the Islamic way to solve these kinds of disputes.
In those areas where differences may arise due to ijtihad but will lead to disharmony, it is the right of the Khalifah to adopt an opinion which he believes to be correct and for the believers to obey. Two Shari^Òah principles exist which state this :
- IMAM'S DECREE SETTLES DISPUTES
- IMAM'S DECREE IS OBEYED OPENLY AND PRIVATELY
This is the mechanism for resolving such disputes in Islam. This is the way disputes were resolved between Umar and Abu Bakr. When Khalifah Abu Bakr adopted his opinion, Umar followed. When Umar became the Khalifah, he adopted his opinion and the believers then obeyed him.
Differences have existed during the time of the Prophet (issue of Bani Qurayzah), during the time of the companions, during the period of the great scholars (like Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi and Imam Hanbal) up until today. It is not a new phenomena. These differences however, did not stop the Muslims from being the leading nation in the world. Neither was it or should it be a cause for division.
The differences and division of the ummah today exist not because of difference of opinion but the lack of the mechanism which resolves disputes, namely the Khalifah, the only one who has been given the right to enforce an opinion and resolve disputes. No leader, no imam, no personality other than the Khalifah has been given the authority to resolve disputes by adopting an opinion for the people to follow.
When the Prophet (SAW) passed away and the companions were busy appointing the first Khalifah, a suggestion was made to have two leaders, one from the Ansar and one from the Muhajireen. Abu Bakr (RA) replied by saying that this will cause divisions and infighting, as well as people making bidah and would cease to refer to the Prophet's example in conducting there affairs. Abu Bakr (RA) had the insight to realise that without the one leader, problems would arise. So the many 'problems' that exist today are merely the symptoms of the MAIN problem, that being the absence of the leader of the Muslim ummah.
6. Conclusion
Difference in opinion in itself is not a bad thing. It ensures that the ummah will never agree on an error. It also encourages the Muslims to exert themselves to seek knowledge and become qualified scholars, so they can recognise weak opinions and errors in ijtihad. Forbidding ijtihad in the past has led to the intellectual stagnation of this ummah as well as being unable to produce Islamic judgments on various modern day problems effecting the ummah.
We should thus reject differences relating to opinions not arising from Ijtihad or those which are relating to definite matters, tolerate Islamic differences emanating from Ijtihad relating to individual matters and work to establish the Khilafah to resolve those disputes which exist only the Khalifah can resolve. Only by reestablishing the Khilafah and by appointing a Khalifah can the ummah be unified, since it is only he, who has the authority and the power to do so.
Mazhar Khan Pathan
Mkpathan@aol.com
1. Introduction
The most talked about topic amongst the Muslims is undoubtedly the issue of unity. The manifestation of disunity and proliferation of problems is there for all to see. Difference of opinion is seen by some to be the main cause for this. It is reckoned that until and unless Muslims can not agree on simple matters like prayers, as well as other 'simple' matters, unity can never be achieved. "If there is a right and a wrong how can two differing answers both be correct ?", is a common question posed when the issue of disunity is discussed. Thus some see the difference of opinion amongst the Muslims as a major source of weakness and an obstacle on the path to unity.
To clear the confusion surrounding difference of opinion and the issue of Muslim unity, a number of questions need to be answered.
2. Is it Wrong for Muslims to Differ ?
In short, No. Evidence for this is an incident in which the Prophet (SAW) witnessed the companions disputing, but did not rebuke them for doing so. The incident relates to the dispute regarding the 'Asr prayer on their way to Bani Qurayzah. The Prophet instructed the companions to go and fight the Jews. He said, "Do not pray until you get to Bani Qurayzah". On route to Bani Qurayzah the time for 'Asr was drawing to a close. A dispute ensued. One group understood the prophet's command metaphorically, thinking that the Prophet (SAW) meant hurry up. A party of the believers prayed there whilst the others prayed after 'Asr time when they arrived at Bani Qurayzah.
When they next met the Prophet (SAW) they asked him who was right and who was wrong. It is important to note the response. Only one of them could have been right, but the Prophet (SAW) did not point out who that was, rather he said, "Whoever performs ijtihad and errs will receive one reward. Whoever performs ijtihad and arrives at the correct answer gets double the reward."
Had it been haraam to differ, the Prophet (SAW) would have rebuked those differing from the correct opinion and praised those who were right. This example teaches us to tolerate opposing Islamic opinions which are arrived at by those qualified to do so after performing ijtihad.
The scholars in the past recognised this; "The most learned amongst the people is also one who is most knowledgeable of the difference amongst the people" (Ghazali, Shawkani, Abu Zahrah)
Before performing Ijtihad it is a prerequisite for a scholar to be aware of all the differences on the issue at hand.
3. What Causes Differences ?
They can occur due to a number of factors which include,
a) Hadith Criteria. Different Muhaddith adopt different criteria of classifying hadith. For example Imam Shafi didn't take narration from people who use to eat while walking as he did not consider this as the characteristic of a just person.
b) Adoption of usool. Scholars differed on the usools they adopted. Imam Malik regard the consensus of the people of Madinah as indication of the Prophet's sunnah, other scholars like Abu Hanifah and Ahmed bin Hanbal did not.
c) Interpretation (literal/metaphorical). Like in the example of the Asr prayer, a difference can occur depending on the meaning taken from a word. The word 'Touch' in the Qur^Òan gave rise to a difference on the issue of cleanliness when touching a woman. Abu Hanifah said touch meant intercourse, where as Imam Shafi said the touch was the literal touch and not the metaphorical one, thus if a person touched the hand of a woman. he would lose his wudu.
d) Arabic Language. A word can give rise to a number of meanings. The word Quru, can be understood as the period of impurity or the period in between as the word carries both meanings.
4. Where Does it Occur. This does not mean that difference can occur in all matters. There are two types of differences. Those that may arise and those that are invalid
Difference can only occur where ijtihad is necessary, i.e. where either the text is not definite or the meaning is not definite. If both are definite, ijtihad is not permitted. A difference in this case would not be valid and would be rejected.
Thus, there is no difference of opinion about not drinking alcohol, not eating pork, ruling only by the Shari^Òah or having only one leader for the Muslim ummah.
In areas where valid differences may occur, it be can further be divided into two:
a) Where differences may arise and are permitted to exist, i.e. differences regarding personal worships.
b) Where differences may arise and are not permitted to exist, i.e. societal matters like buying and selling.
In the former case, companions differed on various matters, but the companions as a whole, did not condemn the issue of having differing opinions.
In the latter case for example Abu Bakr and Umar (RA) differed on issues relating to divorce and the distribution of money amongst the Muslims (i.e. societal matters). Regarding the divorce. Abu Bakr held that if talaq was said three times in one sitting it was only considered as one divorce. He maintained that it must be said on three separate occasions for it to be considered as three talaqs. Umar (RA) on the other hand said, saying it three times in one sitting was considered as three talaqs.
Such a difference cannot be allowed to exist, otherwise if a husband and wife adopted different opinions, a situation could occur in which one would consider themselves married whilst the other would regard themselves as divorced. Only one opinion must exist for the qadi to judge with, otherwise many disputes would go unresolved.
5. How Does Islam Deal with Differences ?
If differences occur on definite matters, the Khalifah can use his authority to put a stop to this. An example of this is when a false prophet emerged claiming that Muhammed (SAW) was not the final prophet, Abu Bakr sent an army to remove this division. This is the Islamic way to solve these kinds of disputes.
In those areas where differences may arise due to ijtihad but will lead to disharmony, it is the right of the Khalifah to adopt an opinion which he believes to be correct and for the believers to obey. Two Shari^Òah principles exist which state this :
- IMAM'S DECREE SETTLES DISPUTES
- IMAM'S DECREE IS OBEYED OPENLY AND PRIVATELY
This is the mechanism for resolving such disputes in Islam. This is the way disputes were resolved between Umar and Abu Bakr. When Khalifah Abu Bakr adopted his opinion, Umar followed. When Umar became the Khalifah, he adopted his opinion and the believers then obeyed him.
Differences have existed during the time of the Prophet (issue of Bani Qurayzah), during the time of the companions, during the period of the great scholars (like Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi and Imam Hanbal) up until today. It is not a new phenomena. These differences however, did not stop the Muslims from being the leading nation in the world. Neither was it or should it be a cause for division.
The differences and division of the ummah today exist not because of difference of opinion but the lack of the mechanism which resolves disputes, namely the Khalifah, the only one who has been given the right to enforce an opinion and resolve disputes. No leader, no imam, no personality other than the Khalifah has been given the authority to resolve disputes by adopting an opinion for the people to follow.
When the Prophet (SAW) passed away and the companions were busy appointing the first Khalifah, a suggestion was made to have two leaders, one from the Ansar and one from the Muhajireen. Abu Bakr (RA) replied by saying that this will cause divisions and infighting, as well as people making bidah and would cease to refer to the Prophet's example in conducting there affairs. Abu Bakr (RA) had the insight to realise that without the one leader, problems would arise. So the many 'problems' that exist today are merely the symptoms of the MAIN problem, that being the absence of the leader of the Muslim ummah.
6. Conclusion
Difference in opinion in itself is not a bad thing. It ensures that the ummah will never agree on an error. It also encourages the Muslims to exert themselves to seek knowledge and become qualified scholars, so they can recognise weak opinions and errors in ijtihad. Forbidding ijtihad in the past has led to the intellectual stagnation of this ummah as well as being unable to produce Islamic judgments on various modern day problems effecting the ummah.
We should thus reject differences relating to opinions not arising from Ijtihad or those which are relating to definite matters, tolerate Islamic differences emanating from Ijtihad relating to individual matters and work to establish the Khilafah to resolve those disputes which exist only the Khalifah can resolve. Only by reestablishing the Khilafah and by appointing a Khalifah can the ummah be unified, since it is only he, who has the authority and the power to do so.
Mazhar Khan Pathan
Mkpathan@aol.com
Unity Among Western Muslim Communities by Ja'far Idris
Shaikh Ja`far Idris: Unity Among Western Muslim Communities
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Innal hamdalillaahi nahmaduhu wa nasta`eenuhu wa nastaghfiruh,
wa na`oodhubillaahi min shuroori anfusinaa wa sayyi'aati
a`maalinaa, wa may yahdi llaahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may yudhlil
fa lan tajida lahu waliyyan murshidaa, thumma ammaa ba`d:
I think I better start by giving you the characteristics of the
ideal Muslim community, as far as unity is concerned. And the
ideal Muslim community is, of course, that of the Companions of
the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam. So if we aspire to
be united we should have that ideal in our mind. We might never
attain to that high level, but we should at least keep it as a
goal, and as a criterion by which we judge how far towards the
unity we have gone. The community of the Companions of the
Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam was united.
The characteristics of that community are:
First, `aqeedah. And I don't need to go in the details of that,
you are experts in this, being the Salafis. You have one of the
Shaikhs of the Salafis here, so...And I like, in fact, when
speaking about Muslims, I like to use the word eemaan instead of
`aqeedah, because this is the word that is used in the Qur'aan
and in the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
The word `aqeedah was introduced later on when the Muslims felt
that they need to study beliefs of others, of non-Muslims, and
compare these beliefs with those of the Muslims. So they looked
for a word which is more general than eemaan. They confined the
word eemaan to the Muslims. So, we can say the first
characteristic is that of eemaan, eemaan that is according to
the Qur'aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa
sallam, no deviation at all.
This eemaan had as its natural result brotherhood. Because, as
Allaah subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa told the Prophet sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam, "Lau anfaqta maa fil arDi jamee`an maa
allafat bayna quloobihim wa laakinna-llaaha allafa baynahum"
[8:63]. Had you spent all the wealth on the earth, you would
not have been able to bring their hearts together, to make them
brothers, but it was Allaah who made them brothers and Allaah
made them brothers by showing them how to believe in Him as the
Creator and how to worship Him. Once this belief enters the
heart, then those people in whose heart faith has entered, they
become brothers. They don't have to make any effort to become
brothers. This is not something that you do by lectures or by
organizations, this is something that comes naturally as a
result of eemaan entering your heart.
Secondly, `ibaadah. Their `ibaadah was also according to what
the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam told them, what they
found in the Qur'aan. No bid`ah, they didn't add or deduct
anything from what the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
said. And `ibaadah is important for eemaan, it nourishes
eemaan. Eemaan is not something you can have once, and say, if
I am a mu'min today, I will be a mu'min forever. You can't say
that. You can't be sure. You might be a mu'min today and
become a kaafir tomorrow. One way of preserving your eemaan is
`ibaadah and especially salaah. "Wa la-dhikrullaahi akbar"
[29:45].
Third is akhlaaq, moral behavior, and this is the fruit of
eemaan and `ibaadah. That is why the Prophet sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam said, "akmalul mu'mineena eemaanan ahsanuhum
khuluqan" [at-Tirmidhee.] The best of the mu'mins in eemaan is
the best of them in moral behavior. In Arabic, akhlaaq is
confined to the way of treating people. Some brothers disputed
with me on that issue, but that will not make them non-Salafis,
eh [laughs]? Neither it will make me non-Salafi if I'm proven
to be wrong. I think that the word khuluq is not equivalent to
morality. Because akhlaaq is confined only to the way of
treating people. Morality is more general than this. So,
"akmalul mu'mineena eemaanan ahsanuhum khuluqan." The best of
the mu'mins in eemaan is the best of them in treating people".
And the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam also said,
"Khayrukum, khayrukum li ahlih" [at-Tirmidhee, ad-Daarimee], and
the best of you are the best to their wives. This again is how
to treat people. So this is one main fruit of eemaan and
`ibaadah. And the Prophet, in fact, made it the sign, the
proof. You say in English the tree is by its fruit, so this is
the fruit. If you don't see a person in treating people, and
especially his wife, treating them in a good way, that means
there is something wrong with this eemaan and with his
`ibaadah.
The fourth point is jihaad, and by jihaad here I mean two
things. First, jihaad of how to bring about an Islamic
society. The Muslims were with the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi
wa sallam in Makkah. When they were there, they were in a
minority, they were weak. At that stage they were told to
restrain their hands, not to fight, and then they were ordered
to make hijraa, and then they were ordered to fight. That is,
they were given permission to fight, then they were ordered to
fight. And they continued doing jihaad in the two senses,
jihaad by the word of mouth and jihaad by the sword.
The last point is that of political unity. The Muslims are
supposed to be very distinct from other communities, even in
their political organization. And that is why our `ulamaa used
to say that jamaa`ah, jamaa`at ul-muslimeen, one of the
characteristics, one of the conditions of having a real
jamaa`ah, is that it must be ruled by a ruler who follows the
Sharee`ah, and it must have `ulamaa who know the Qur`aan and the
Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam. Allaah
subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa said: "Wa atee`oo llaaha wa atee`oor
rasoola wa ulil-amri minkum" [4:59]. "Obey Allaah, obey His
Prophet and those who are in authority." And those who are in
authority are, as they say in Arabic, al umaraa' wal `ulamaa',
the rulers and the learned people.
Does this mean that there was no difference at all among these
Companions of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam? There
were differences, but - and this is a big but, as they say - the
differences were individual differences. They were not group
differences, this happened later on. Aboo Bakr said something,
another person disagrees with him, he says no, then the other
person tells him that the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
said so and so, Aboo Bakr says, "OK, I 'm mistaken." He
agrees. `Umar says something, Aboo Bakr differs with him.
`Uthmaan says something, `Alee differs with him. And they might
make ijtihaad also and they differ in their ijtihaad. But today
I am with him on one point, tomorrow I differ with him, then the
next day, we both agree and we differ with another brother and
so on. So, differences are on the individual level, there were
no group differences. This is the ideal thing.
What can we do in our situation? I think it is very important
for Muslims living in the West - let us just confine ourselves
to the United States - it is very important for Muslims living
in the West to be united, because, as I said, I think yesterday,
whether we like it or not, we are all considered as Muslims.
There is only one label, and sometimes even fundamentalist
Muslims. And even those who don't go to the mosque, since they
are Muslims they will be called fundamentalists. And someone
said all Muslims are by definition fundamentalists. So there is
no way of running away from this, we are all Muslims, we are all
fundamentalists, according to some people, and we will be
treated as such, so it is better for us to be united. The ideal
thing is for all the Muslims, all over the United States, to
have one organization, one leadership. And that organization
will include all Muslims, whether they are Salafis, or people
who have some deviation from the Sunnah, because the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam said that this Ummah will be
divided - you know the hadeeth of the Prophet - that they will
be divided, but all those divisions are divisions of Muslims.
They are Muslims. They are divided, but they are Muslims.
One group, one of them, the best one, it's called al firqatun
naajiyah, the one that is saved, that will go to Paradise, in
shaa' Allaah, follows the way of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi
wa sallam and the way of the Companions of the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
The others have deviations, even in matters of `aqeedah, but the
deviations are not so great as to take them out of the fold of
Islaam. They will still be Muslims. And if there is an Islamic
government, they will give allegiance to that government and
they will be treated as Muslims, they will not be prevented from
going and making jihaad with the Muslims, they will not be
excused from giving zakaah, they will not be asked to give
jizyah. They will be treated as Muslims. And the same applies
to Muslims who might be Sunni and Salafi, but who drink wine.
You might wonder how can a person be Salafi and drink wine.
Yes, he might do this because he might be Salafi in his
`aqeedah, he has no deviations in his `aqeedah, but he is weak,
sometimes he drinks wine, sometimes he might be tempted, or she
might be tempted and commit zinaa or so, but still they are
Muslims. They will not be expelled from the Muslim community.
So, the ideal thing, and I don't know whether there is a chance
for it to be implemented in reality, is for all the Muslims to
have this organization. Now, if we cannot have that ideal, then
the second best, there should be coordination among us. If you
have, say, 20-30 organizations, we should have one umbrella
organization where representatives of people belonging to all
these different groups come and discuss things and agree on
certain policies which they deem to be necessary for all of us.
For example, it should not be left to just one group to decide
whether to take part in politics or not. Because if it is only
one group, then it will not have a great effect on the political
situation in this country, but if Muslims have this group that
coordinates all of them, they can give their vote to this or
that person and they can have an effect on the policy of this
country.
If we cannot have even this, then there is something which we
can do, at least we who are here. All people who follow the way
of the Prophet and who are sometimes called Salafis, even if
they have different organizations, they should cooperate. At
least these people. They should treat each other as brothers,
they should not exaggerate the differences among them because
the differences might be just organizational, or differences in
certain political issues, or differences among leaders and so
on. These are very minor differences, so we as people who
follow the way of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
should do our best to act according to these principles that I
have just explained.
We should treat other people as Muslims, even if they have
deviations, whether deviations in `aqeedah or deviations in
conduct. And we should treat them as Muslims, we should
cooperate with them in matters in which there is an agreement,
we should not alienate them, especially in a country like this.
We should do our best to unite the Muslims and this is something
that we can do as a group. We can do [that], in shaa' Allaah.
And here I would like to mention that there are different kinds
of organizations and this applies to Muslims and non Muslims.
There are people who believe in certain principles, you can call
them "principle people", but they are so rigid that they cannot
cooperate with anyone who does not believe in all their
principles. Usually these people do not have much influence on
the society, they will just be pleased with themselves. They
meet, they say nice words to each other, and they feel that they
are the best people, but they do not have any effect on the
society, because they are so rigid. They cannot cooperate with
others. Now, there is the other extreme, people who have no
principles at all and whose main objective is, say, to gain
power or so. These people unfortunately can have great
influence on the society, but one day they are with this group,
another day they are with another group, one day they say
something, another day they say something different, depending
on experience. Whatever furthers worldly objectives, they will
follow that.
Now, there is something in between and these are the people who
can make a good influence on the society, in shaa' Allaah. I
hope you will be among them, people who believe in the truth,
who follow the Qur'aan and Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam, but who are also flexible. They say this is
the truth, this is the ideal thing, we abide by this, but this
group, judging by this criterion is the nearest one to us, so we
cooperate with them. That group is the second nearest to us and
so on. And they will be ready to cooperate even with non
Muslims, on issues which, judging by our Islamic criteria, are
good things. We cooperate with them. There is a statement by
Ibn ul Qayyim in Zaad ul Ma`aad - I wish I could have it with me
- he says that anyone who asks to be helped - something like
this - anyone who asks to be helped on something which we deem
to be good and with which Allaah will be pleased, if a person
asks to be helped, on an issue like this, then he should be
helped, irrespective of whether he is kaafir, or faasiq, or
mubtadi` or whatever. And I liken this to a person who is
making a building and someone comes and says I will help you, I
will provide you with some bricks. You will not say, "you are a
kaafir, I don't accept your bricks," because I want to build and
he is helping me to build the house. I am building the house of
Islaam, so whoever likes to cooperate in this can. If some
people want to wage a kind of war against drugs and they ask me
to cooperate with them, and it is in my capacity to help, then I
do that. And all the vices that are in the society, because the
further the people go from these vices, the more likely they are
to accept the truth of Islaam.
The person who is always drunk, the person who indulges in zinaa
all the time, is further from the truth than the one who is
sober, who is morally upright, even if he is a kaafir. He is
nearer to fitra, nearer to his true human nature and therefore
he is more likely to accept Islaam than a person who indulges in
these vices.
Also, one thing we should avoid, and I'm telling you here from
experience, and I heard brother Zarabozo saying this, I came
only in the last fifteen minutes... Don't be partisan. There is
a difference between working in a group and making a political
party. Especially in your situation, especially at this stage,
especially in this country, don't change your Islamic
organizations into political parties. In fact one of the
complaints that I had against our Islamic organizations in the
Muslim world was that they were changed into political parties
and in fact the worst of the political parties. Not the parties
in the democratic countries, but the parties in the communist
countries. Perhaps many of you might not know, but in a
communist party if the leaders agree on something... there is
what they call the central democracy... 20 or 30 people would
come to discuss - they are free to discuss - then they vote and
whatever opinion is accepted by the party by counting votes, say
by 12 to 8, then that becomes part of the ideology of the
communist party. If you oppose the decision of this committee,
then you will be opposing communism and therefore you will not
be tolerated. If you are fortunate you will be expelled,
otherwise something else will happen to you.
Many Islamic organizations adopted the same thing, the leaders
would come and discuss and make a standpoint, issue a statement
on a certain political issue. All members who belong to that
Islamic organization will be bound by that statement and they
would be expected to defend whatever is written in that
statement irrespective of whether they agree or not.
I told many leaders whom I met that this is not Islamic. In
Islaam you should not defend something in which you don't
believe. And I used to tell my brothers in the Sudan that the
most I can do is just to keep silent, but I cannot go and say "I
believe in so and so", and my heart tells me "you are a liar,
you are a liar, you are a liar." I cannot do this, because
this religion is based on honesty, you cannot tell me to be
Islamic and dishonest at the same time. So you should avoid
this. And it is because of this that differences instead of
becoming individual differences became group differences.
Suppose that there are two Islamic political parties. This is a
party and this is a party and there is an issue they want to do
discuss. The leaders of this group meet and they say our
decision is X. And suppose that they allowed all the people to
vote and the voting was, say, 60 to 40. So you adopt this
position X. These other people adopted the other position,
again by 60 to 40, position Y. Now, this whole group will be
against this group, but if you left it to the individuals, then
the 40 here would be with the 60 here and the 40 here would be
with the 60 here and the difference would not be one group
against another group, but some individuals against other
individuals. So you should avoid this. And that does not apply
to political matters only, even in matters of ijtihaad, minor
matters of `ibaadah - and when I say minor I don't want to say
unimportant or, as some people say, trivial. No, there is
nothing trivial in the religion, Allaah does not send his
Prophet to busy himself with trivial things. Even the cutting
of nails is not a trivial thing. But, of course, it is minor,
compared with salaah, or siyaam or other matters. So we should
not, especially in matters of ijtihaad, we should not quarrel,
we should give room to brothers to express their opinions, to
differ. We agree only on the main principles.
If we know a brother always violates these principles, he always
goes against something which he knows to be in the Sunnah of the
Prophet and this has been explained to him very clearly several
times and he goes against this and on another occasion he goes
against another hadeeth, then we say you are not one of us, you
do not belong to our group, because you have now violated a
principle. But if he makes a mistake and he follows an `aalim
in his wrong ijtihaad in any matter, we don't expel him from our
community, we do not say, "you are not Salafi". We should have
as an ideal, as I said, the community of the Companions of the
Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Innal hamdalillaahi nahmaduhu wa nasta`eenuhu wa nastaghfiruh,
wa na`oodhubillaahi min shuroori anfusinaa wa sayyi'aati
a`maalinaa, wa may yahdi llaahu fa huwal muhtad, wa may yudhlil
fa lan tajida lahu waliyyan murshidaa, thumma ammaa ba`d:
I think I better start by giving you the characteristics of the
ideal Muslim community, as far as unity is concerned. And the
ideal Muslim community is, of course, that of the Companions of
the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam. So if we aspire to
be united we should have that ideal in our mind. We might never
attain to that high level, but we should at least keep it as a
goal, and as a criterion by which we judge how far towards the
unity we have gone. The community of the Companions of the
Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam was united.
The characteristics of that community are:
First, `aqeedah. And I don't need to go in the details of that,
you are experts in this, being the Salafis. You have one of the
Shaikhs of the Salafis here, so...And I like, in fact, when
speaking about Muslims, I like to use the word eemaan instead of
`aqeedah, because this is the word that is used in the Qur'aan
and in the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
The word `aqeedah was introduced later on when the Muslims felt
that they need to study beliefs of others, of non-Muslims, and
compare these beliefs with those of the Muslims. So they looked
for a word which is more general than eemaan. They confined the
word eemaan to the Muslims. So, we can say the first
characteristic is that of eemaan, eemaan that is according to
the Qur'aan and the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa
sallam, no deviation at all.
This eemaan had as its natural result brotherhood. Because, as
Allaah subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa told the Prophet sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam, "Lau anfaqta maa fil arDi jamee`an maa
allafat bayna quloobihim wa laakinna-llaaha allafa baynahum"
[8:63]. Had you spent all the wealth on the earth, you would
not have been able to bring their hearts together, to make them
brothers, but it was Allaah who made them brothers and Allaah
made them brothers by showing them how to believe in Him as the
Creator and how to worship Him. Once this belief enters the
heart, then those people in whose heart faith has entered, they
become brothers. They don't have to make any effort to become
brothers. This is not something that you do by lectures or by
organizations, this is something that comes naturally as a
result of eemaan entering your heart.
Secondly, `ibaadah. Their `ibaadah was also according to what
the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam told them, what they
found in the Qur'aan. No bid`ah, they didn't add or deduct
anything from what the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
said. And `ibaadah is important for eemaan, it nourishes
eemaan. Eemaan is not something you can have once, and say, if
I am a mu'min today, I will be a mu'min forever. You can't say
that. You can't be sure. You might be a mu'min today and
become a kaafir tomorrow. One way of preserving your eemaan is
`ibaadah and especially salaah. "Wa la-dhikrullaahi akbar"
[29:45].
Third is akhlaaq, moral behavior, and this is the fruit of
eemaan and `ibaadah. That is why the Prophet sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam said, "akmalul mu'mineena eemaanan ahsanuhum
khuluqan" [at-Tirmidhee.] The best of the mu'mins in eemaan is
the best of them in moral behavior. In Arabic, akhlaaq is
confined to the way of treating people. Some brothers disputed
with me on that issue, but that will not make them non-Salafis,
eh [laughs]? Neither it will make me non-Salafi if I'm proven
to be wrong. I think that the word khuluq is not equivalent to
morality. Because akhlaaq is confined only to the way of
treating people. Morality is more general than this. So,
"akmalul mu'mineena eemaanan ahsanuhum khuluqan." The best of
the mu'mins in eemaan is the best of them in treating people".
And the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam also said,
"Khayrukum, khayrukum li ahlih" [at-Tirmidhee, ad-Daarimee], and
the best of you are the best to their wives. This again is how
to treat people. So this is one main fruit of eemaan and
`ibaadah. And the Prophet, in fact, made it the sign, the
proof. You say in English the tree is by its fruit, so this is
the fruit. If you don't see a person in treating people, and
especially his wife, treating them in a good way, that means
there is something wrong with this eemaan and with his
`ibaadah.
The fourth point is jihaad, and by jihaad here I mean two
things. First, jihaad of how to bring about an Islamic
society. The Muslims were with the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi
wa sallam in Makkah. When they were there, they were in a
minority, they were weak. At that stage they were told to
restrain their hands, not to fight, and then they were ordered
to make hijraa, and then they were ordered to fight. That is,
they were given permission to fight, then they were ordered to
fight. And they continued doing jihaad in the two senses,
jihaad by the word of mouth and jihaad by the sword.
The last point is that of political unity. The Muslims are
supposed to be very distinct from other communities, even in
their political organization. And that is why our `ulamaa used
to say that jamaa`ah, jamaa`at ul-muslimeen, one of the
characteristics, one of the conditions of having a real
jamaa`ah, is that it must be ruled by a ruler who follows the
Sharee`ah, and it must have `ulamaa who know the Qur`aan and the
Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam. Allaah
subhaanahu wa ta`aalaa said: "Wa atee`oo llaaha wa atee`oor
rasoola wa ulil-amri minkum" [4:59]. "Obey Allaah, obey His
Prophet and those who are in authority." And those who are in
authority are, as they say in Arabic, al umaraa' wal `ulamaa',
the rulers and the learned people.
Does this mean that there was no difference at all among these
Companions of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam? There
were differences, but - and this is a big but, as they say - the
differences were individual differences. They were not group
differences, this happened later on. Aboo Bakr said something,
another person disagrees with him, he says no, then the other
person tells him that the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
said so and so, Aboo Bakr says, "OK, I 'm mistaken." He
agrees. `Umar says something, Aboo Bakr differs with him.
`Uthmaan says something, `Alee differs with him. And they might
make ijtihaad also and they differ in their ijtihaad. But today
I am with him on one point, tomorrow I differ with him, then the
next day, we both agree and we differ with another brother and
so on. So, differences are on the individual level, there were
no group differences. This is the ideal thing.
What can we do in our situation? I think it is very important
for Muslims living in the West - let us just confine ourselves
to the United States - it is very important for Muslims living
in the West to be united, because, as I said, I think yesterday,
whether we like it or not, we are all considered as Muslims.
There is only one label, and sometimes even fundamentalist
Muslims. And even those who don't go to the mosque, since they
are Muslims they will be called fundamentalists. And someone
said all Muslims are by definition fundamentalists. So there is
no way of running away from this, we are all Muslims, we are all
fundamentalists, according to some people, and we will be
treated as such, so it is better for us to be united. The ideal
thing is for all the Muslims, all over the United States, to
have one organization, one leadership. And that organization
will include all Muslims, whether they are Salafis, or people
who have some deviation from the Sunnah, because the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam said that this Ummah will be
divided - you know the hadeeth of the Prophet - that they will
be divided, but all those divisions are divisions of Muslims.
They are Muslims. They are divided, but they are Muslims.
One group, one of them, the best one, it's called al firqatun
naajiyah, the one that is saved, that will go to Paradise, in
shaa' Allaah, follows the way of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi
wa sallam and the way of the Companions of the Prophet
sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
The others have deviations, even in matters of `aqeedah, but the
deviations are not so great as to take them out of the fold of
Islaam. They will still be Muslims. And if there is an Islamic
government, they will give allegiance to that government and
they will be treated as Muslims, they will not be prevented from
going and making jihaad with the Muslims, they will not be
excused from giving zakaah, they will not be asked to give
jizyah. They will be treated as Muslims. And the same applies
to Muslims who might be Sunni and Salafi, but who drink wine.
You might wonder how can a person be Salafi and drink wine.
Yes, he might do this because he might be Salafi in his
`aqeedah, he has no deviations in his `aqeedah, but he is weak,
sometimes he drinks wine, sometimes he might be tempted, or she
might be tempted and commit zinaa or so, but still they are
Muslims. They will not be expelled from the Muslim community.
So, the ideal thing, and I don't know whether there is a chance
for it to be implemented in reality, is for all the Muslims to
have this organization. Now, if we cannot have that ideal, then
the second best, there should be coordination among us. If you
have, say, 20-30 organizations, we should have one umbrella
organization where representatives of people belonging to all
these different groups come and discuss things and agree on
certain policies which they deem to be necessary for all of us.
For example, it should not be left to just one group to decide
whether to take part in politics or not. Because if it is only
one group, then it will not have a great effect on the political
situation in this country, but if Muslims have this group that
coordinates all of them, they can give their vote to this or
that person and they can have an effect on the policy of this
country.
If we cannot have even this, then there is something which we
can do, at least we who are here. All people who follow the way
of the Prophet and who are sometimes called Salafis, even if
they have different organizations, they should cooperate. At
least these people. They should treat each other as brothers,
they should not exaggerate the differences among them because
the differences might be just organizational, or differences in
certain political issues, or differences among leaders and so
on. These are very minor differences, so we as people who
follow the way of the Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam
should do our best to act according to these principles that I
have just explained.
We should treat other people as Muslims, even if they have
deviations, whether deviations in `aqeedah or deviations in
conduct. And we should treat them as Muslims, we should
cooperate with them in matters in which there is an agreement,
we should not alienate them, especially in a country like this.
We should do our best to unite the Muslims and this is something
that we can do as a group. We can do [that], in shaa' Allaah.
And here I would like to mention that there are different kinds
of organizations and this applies to Muslims and non Muslims.
There are people who believe in certain principles, you can call
them "principle people", but they are so rigid that they cannot
cooperate with anyone who does not believe in all their
principles. Usually these people do not have much influence on
the society, they will just be pleased with themselves. They
meet, they say nice words to each other, and they feel that they
are the best people, but they do not have any effect on the
society, because they are so rigid. They cannot cooperate with
others. Now, there is the other extreme, people who have no
principles at all and whose main objective is, say, to gain
power or so. These people unfortunately can have great
influence on the society, but one day they are with this group,
another day they are with another group, one day they say
something, another day they say something different, depending
on experience. Whatever furthers worldly objectives, they will
follow that.
Now, there is something in between and these are the people who
can make a good influence on the society, in shaa' Allaah. I
hope you will be among them, people who believe in the truth,
who follow the Qur'aan and Sunnah of the Prophet sallallaahu
`alaihi wa sallam, but who are also flexible. They say this is
the truth, this is the ideal thing, we abide by this, but this
group, judging by this criterion is the nearest one to us, so we
cooperate with them. That group is the second nearest to us and
so on. And they will be ready to cooperate even with non
Muslims, on issues which, judging by our Islamic criteria, are
good things. We cooperate with them. There is a statement by
Ibn ul Qayyim in Zaad ul Ma`aad - I wish I could have it with me
- he says that anyone who asks to be helped - something like
this - anyone who asks to be helped on something which we deem
to be good and with which Allaah will be pleased, if a person
asks to be helped, on an issue like this, then he should be
helped, irrespective of whether he is kaafir, or faasiq, or
mubtadi` or whatever. And I liken this to a person who is
making a building and someone comes and says I will help you, I
will provide you with some bricks. You will not say, "you are a
kaafir, I don't accept your bricks," because I want to build and
he is helping me to build the house. I am building the house of
Islaam, so whoever likes to cooperate in this can. If some
people want to wage a kind of war against drugs and they ask me
to cooperate with them, and it is in my capacity to help, then I
do that. And all the vices that are in the society, because the
further the people go from these vices, the more likely they are
to accept the truth of Islaam.
The person who is always drunk, the person who indulges in zinaa
all the time, is further from the truth than the one who is
sober, who is morally upright, even if he is a kaafir. He is
nearer to fitra, nearer to his true human nature and therefore
he is more likely to accept Islaam than a person who indulges in
these vices.
Also, one thing we should avoid, and I'm telling you here from
experience, and I heard brother Zarabozo saying this, I came
only in the last fifteen minutes... Don't be partisan. There is
a difference between working in a group and making a political
party. Especially in your situation, especially at this stage,
especially in this country, don't change your Islamic
organizations into political parties. In fact one of the
complaints that I had against our Islamic organizations in the
Muslim world was that they were changed into political parties
and in fact the worst of the political parties. Not the parties
in the democratic countries, but the parties in the communist
countries. Perhaps many of you might not know, but in a
communist party if the leaders agree on something... there is
what they call the central democracy... 20 or 30 people would
come to discuss - they are free to discuss - then they vote and
whatever opinion is accepted by the party by counting votes, say
by 12 to 8, then that becomes part of the ideology of the
communist party. If you oppose the decision of this committee,
then you will be opposing communism and therefore you will not
be tolerated. If you are fortunate you will be expelled,
otherwise something else will happen to you.
Many Islamic organizations adopted the same thing, the leaders
would come and discuss and make a standpoint, issue a statement
on a certain political issue. All members who belong to that
Islamic organization will be bound by that statement and they
would be expected to defend whatever is written in that
statement irrespective of whether they agree or not.
I told many leaders whom I met that this is not Islamic. In
Islaam you should not defend something in which you don't
believe. And I used to tell my brothers in the Sudan that the
most I can do is just to keep silent, but I cannot go and say "I
believe in so and so", and my heart tells me "you are a liar,
you are a liar, you are a liar." I cannot do this, because
this religion is based on honesty, you cannot tell me to be
Islamic and dishonest at the same time. So you should avoid
this. And it is because of this that differences instead of
becoming individual differences became group differences.
Suppose that there are two Islamic political parties. This is a
party and this is a party and there is an issue they want to do
discuss. The leaders of this group meet and they say our
decision is X. And suppose that they allowed all the people to
vote and the voting was, say, 60 to 40. So you adopt this
position X. These other people adopted the other position,
again by 60 to 40, position Y. Now, this whole group will be
against this group, but if you left it to the individuals, then
the 40 here would be with the 60 here and the 40 here would be
with the 60 here and the difference would not be one group
against another group, but some individuals against other
individuals. So you should avoid this. And that does not apply
to political matters only, even in matters of ijtihaad, minor
matters of `ibaadah - and when I say minor I don't want to say
unimportant or, as some people say, trivial. No, there is
nothing trivial in the religion, Allaah does not send his
Prophet to busy himself with trivial things. Even the cutting
of nails is not a trivial thing. But, of course, it is minor,
compared with salaah, or siyaam or other matters. So we should
not, especially in matters of ijtihaad, we should not quarrel,
we should give room to brothers to express their opinions, to
differ. We agree only on the main principles.
If we know a brother always violates these principles, he always
goes against something which he knows to be in the Sunnah of the
Prophet and this has been explained to him very clearly several
times and he goes against this and on another occasion he goes
against another hadeeth, then we say you are not one of us, you
do not belong to our group, because you have now violated a
principle. But if he makes a mistake and he follows an `aalim
in his wrong ijtihaad in any matter, we don't expel him from our
community, we do not say, "you are not Salafi". We should have
as an ideal, as I said, the community of the Companions of the
Prophet sallallaahu `alaihi wa sallam.
American Muslims find strength, comfort in unity at conference
American Muslims find strength, comfort in unity at conference
By James Janega and Jennifer Vigil
Tribune Staff Writers
September 5, 1999
Thousands of the Islamic faithful--clerics, scholars, celebrities and ordinary individuals who crossed continents and oceans to heed calls to prayer and community--met at McCormick Place on Saturday for the annual conference of the Islamic Society of North America.
"This is a great context for us to get together for Allah's sake," said Yusuf Islam, the former British pop singer Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam in 1977, changed his name and left show business.
Aside from calls to prayer, Yusuf Islam's comments, which came during a program titled "One God, One Humanity," commanded the largest audience of the day Saturday.
As an imam softly intoned passages from the Koran, hundreds of Muslims at a time filed silently into the room, the verses echoing and tumbling around them in the cavernous exhibition hall at the lakefront convention center.
Outside the hall, hundreds more stood in small groups, speaking languages native to parts of Africa, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Children chased each other around registration booths as old acquaintances rekindled friendships and young people introduced themselves.
As many as 30,000 people were expected to attend the four-day event, which runs through Monday.
"Everybody comes here for their own reasons, but mainly for the unity of it all," said 19-year-old Ahsan, a computer science major at the University of California at Berkeley.
Members of an egalitarian religion unlike many Christian sects in that it has no institutional hierarchy, the North American Muslims had a unique opportunity to listen to and learn from Islamic scholars. Interpretations and modern-day applications of various verses in the Koran could be found in dozens of lectures and among scores of videotapes in nearby meeting rooms and exhibition halls.
But the most common reason for attending appeared to be the camaraderie of being among fellow Muslims.
"Because you're living as a minority in a community, this acts as a focal point," said Ausaf Faruqi, 43, a resident of London and managing editor of the Muslim news magazine Impact International. "Together, there is a sense of belonging, a faith system, a value system."
That theme of inclusion also was extended Saturday to Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.
At a news conference Saturday afternoon, ISNA President Muzammil Siddiqui said the theology of mainstream Islam "is to have good relations with all humanity, regardless of religion, color or gender."
Yet in the past, the Nation of Islam's teachings have equated being white with being evil, a stance some critics have called racist.
But recently, there have been signs Farrakhan is positioning the Nation of Islam to become more acceptable to the larger Islamic community, ISNA Secretary General Sayyid M. Syeed said.
Some of those changes, Syeed said, include observing Ramadan, a monthlong period of worship and fasting, at the same time as other Muslims, and including a Friday day of prayer in the doctrine.
Delegates from the Nation of Islam and other Islamic groups have been meeting recently, Syeed said. Farrakhan, he added, has assured the delegates that "he will make transitions in his beliefs that will be more complementary to traditional Islamic teaching."
Leaders of the weekend conference also were mindful that many Americans' only exposure to Islam is through media reports on Farrakhan's organization or on tensions in the Mideast and Eastern Europe.
They expressed hope that through the conference and other, similar meetings, they would reach non-Muslims and make Islamic holidays as familiar to the general public as such Christian and Jewish holy days as Easter and Yom Kippur.
"We believe the time will come very soon, with the beginning of the new millennium, when news readers will be saying, `Today is Ramadan, Day One,' " Syeed said. "This is the kind of discipline we need in America."
But another kind of discipline is demanded for Muslim youth, said professional basketball player Tariq Abdul-Wahad of the Orlando Magic, who attended the conference to coach children's sports camps. Abdul-Wahad began attending the event a year ago, two years after he converted to Islam in college.
"Now, today, we are dealing with American Muslims," said Abdul-Wahad, 23. "The Muslim youth of America went to American schools, and they're the ones who are going to take Islam to the next level."
But to do so, young people must resist the temptations of a society in which there are what Yusuf Islam called "uncontrollable freedoms." This anything-goes mentality stands in stark contrast to Islamic rules and laws, he said.
Young people could be seen striding through the convention center Saturday, wearing black T-shirts that read "Taking it to the Streets" over street clothes and ethnic garb.
One teenage girl wore a hijaab--a floral-printed scarf of the type worn by most Muslim women--that did not quite cover the logo of her designer-name T-shirt. Other teens wore overcoats or formless dresses called jilbaabs to completely hide their forms.
In a shopping area reminiscent of a Middle Eastern souq, videotaped lectures titled "Debate: Is There Fun in Islam?" and "Strict vs. Moderate" hinted at the diversity among the convention's participants.
Islamic businessmen said the convention offered an unusual opportunity to market their wares to what is typically a disparate population.
Among those doing a brisk business were bookstores, gold and carpet merchants, and even a company catering to Muslim insurance needs.
Tribune religion writer Steve Kloehn contributed to this report.
By James Janega and Jennifer Vigil
Tribune Staff Writers
September 5, 1999
Thousands of the Islamic faithful--clerics, scholars, celebrities and ordinary individuals who crossed continents and oceans to heed calls to prayer and community--met at McCormick Place on Saturday for the annual conference of the Islamic Society of North America.
"This is a great context for us to get together for Allah's sake," said Yusuf Islam, the former British pop singer Cat Stevens, who converted to Islam in 1977, changed his name and left show business.
Aside from calls to prayer, Yusuf Islam's comments, which came during a program titled "One God, One Humanity," commanded the largest audience of the day Saturday.
As an imam softly intoned passages from the Koran, hundreds of Muslims at a time filed silently into the room, the verses echoing and tumbling around them in the cavernous exhibition hall at the lakefront convention center.
Outside the hall, hundreds more stood in small groups, speaking languages native to parts of Africa, the Arabian peninsula, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Children chased each other around registration booths as old acquaintances rekindled friendships and young people introduced themselves.
As many as 30,000 people were expected to attend the four-day event, which runs through Monday.
"Everybody comes here for their own reasons, but mainly for the unity of it all," said 19-year-old Ahsan, a computer science major at the University of California at Berkeley.
Members of an egalitarian religion unlike many Christian sects in that it has no institutional hierarchy, the North American Muslims had a unique opportunity to listen to and learn from Islamic scholars. Interpretations and modern-day applications of various verses in the Koran could be found in dozens of lectures and among scores of videotapes in nearby meeting rooms and exhibition halls.
But the most common reason for attending appeared to be the camaraderie of being among fellow Muslims.
"Because you're living as a minority in a community, this acts as a focal point," said Ausaf Faruqi, 43, a resident of London and managing editor of the Muslim news magazine Impact International. "Together, there is a sense of belonging, a faith system, a value system."
That theme of inclusion also was extended Saturday to Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.
At a news conference Saturday afternoon, ISNA President Muzammil Siddiqui said the theology of mainstream Islam "is to have good relations with all humanity, regardless of religion, color or gender."
Yet in the past, the Nation of Islam's teachings have equated being white with being evil, a stance some critics have called racist.
But recently, there have been signs Farrakhan is positioning the Nation of Islam to become more acceptable to the larger Islamic community, ISNA Secretary General Sayyid M. Syeed said.
Some of those changes, Syeed said, include observing Ramadan, a monthlong period of worship and fasting, at the same time as other Muslims, and including a Friday day of prayer in the doctrine.
Delegates from the Nation of Islam and other Islamic groups have been meeting recently, Syeed said. Farrakhan, he added, has assured the delegates that "he will make transitions in his beliefs that will be more complementary to traditional Islamic teaching."
Leaders of the weekend conference also were mindful that many Americans' only exposure to Islam is through media reports on Farrakhan's organization or on tensions in the Mideast and Eastern Europe.
They expressed hope that through the conference and other, similar meetings, they would reach non-Muslims and make Islamic holidays as familiar to the general public as such Christian and Jewish holy days as Easter and Yom Kippur.
"We believe the time will come very soon, with the beginning of the new millennium, when news readers will be saying, `Today is Ramadan, Day One,' " Syeed said. "This is the kind of discipline we need in America."
But another kind of discipline is demanded for Muslim youth, said professional basketball player Tariq Abdul-Wahad of the Orlando Magic, who attended the conference to coach children's sports camps. Abdul-Wahad began attending the event a year ago, two years after he converted to Islam in college.
"Now, today, we are dealing with American Muslims," said Abdul-Wahad, 23. "The Muslim youth of America went to American schools, and they're the ones who are going to take Islam to the next level."
But to do so, young people must resist the temptations of a society in which there are what Yusuf Islam called "uncontrollable freedoms." This anything-goes mentality stands in stark contrast to Islamic rules and laws, he said.
Young people could be seen striding through the convention center Saturday, wearing black T-shirts that read "Taking it to the Streets" over street clothes and ethnic garb.
One teenage girl wore a hijaab--a floral-printed scarf of the type worn by most Muslim women--that did not quite cover the logo of her designer-name T-shirt. Other teens wore overcoats or formless dresses called jilbaabs to completely hide their forms.
In a shopping area reminiscent of a Middle Eastern souq, videotaped lectures titled "Debate: Is There Fun in Islam?" and "Strict vs. Moderate" hinted at the diversity among the convention's participants.
Islamic businessmen said the convention offered an unusual opportunity to market their wares to what is typically a disparate population.
Among those doing a brisk business were bookstores, gold and carpet merchants, and even a company catering to Muslim insurance needs.
Tribune religion writer Steve Kloehn contributed to this report.
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