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  • May Allah guide us and make us of those on the straight path, who also don’t rush to wrongly accuse others of deviance without proper investigation.

    leenabaleena:

    by Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
    Source: Lecture “Alaykum Bissunnah”*

    From his [the Prophet] sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam’s statement,

    “Whoever lives amongst you will see much differing, so adhere to my Sunnah”,

    It can be learnt that if parties (ahzaab) within the ummah emerge in increasing numbers then one should not affiliate himself to a party (hizb). In the past, many groups have appeared; Khwaarij, Mu’tazilah, Jahmiyyah, Shee’ah, even Raafidah. Then there appeared, later on Ikhwanis, Salafis, Tablighis, and all those like them. Put all of them to one side and take [the path] ahead. Which is what the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam guided to, “Adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs.” No doubt, it is obligatory for all Muslims to adopt the way of the salaf as their madhhab, not affiliation to a specific party (hizb) named, “The Salafis”. It is obligatory for the Islamic Ummah to adopt the way of the salaf as-salih as their madhhab, not bigotry to those called “the salafis”. Pay attention to the difference: There is the way of the salaf, and there is a party (hizb) called “the salafis”.

    What is the objective? Following the Salaf. Why? The salafi brothers are the closest sect to that which is right, no doubt, but their problem is the same as others, that some of these sects declare others as being misguided, they declare them to be innovators and as being sinners. We don’t censure this, if they deserve it, but we censure handling this bid’ah in this way. It is obligatory for the leaders of these sects to get together and say, “Between us is the book of Allah, and the Sunnah of His messenger, so lets us judge by them and not according to desires, opinions and not according to personalities. Everyone makes mistakes and achieves correctness no matter what he has reached with regards to knowledge and worship. Infallibility is [only] in the religion of Islam.”

    In this hadeeth the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam guided to the way in which a person secures himself. He doesn’t affiliate him to any sect, only the way of the salaf as-salih, to the Sunnah of our Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallaam and the rightly guided caliphs. 

    Footnotes:

    *The tape is part of his Sharh of An-Nawawi’s 40 hadeeth, in the sharh of the hadeeth of Irbaad ibn Saariyah (no.28).

    I couldn’t agree more.

  • I sit here and witness the endless cycle that has played out so many times before. First the engagement, then the enlightenment, the burst of enthusiasm coupled with commitment to common goals, followed by empowerment, only to be destroyed by shameless politics. This is the cycle that my career has gone through on more occasions than I care to remember.

    And so it is again. Having spent the last year unravelling the chaos in this place, we established much needed controls and protocols to achieve a level of stability and predictability of IT systems never before achieved in this organisation, but as always, the lack of a comprehensive people change management programme threatens to undermine all the work that was done simply because the naysayers and whiners that refuse to break out of their comfort zones will hang on for dear life to every last strand of their political connections to try to undermine the changes that are sweeping through their backyards.

    This is a rant about corporate governance, corporate politics, and spineless incompetence that plagues most organisations these days. In such a climate, it’s never about hard work, nor innovation, creativity or taking one for the team. It’s only ever about towing the line according to the political will and appetite of the ill-informed.

    The kind of stuff that complacency is made of.

  • I love the compassion of the Arabs. This sign was on the locked balcony door of our hotel room in Dubai.

    (c) Cynically Jaded

  • Idiot Privilege

    In the almost two weeks that I stayed away from Tumblr, the one recurring thought that plagued me was the level of victimisation and victim-consciousness that seems to pervade most contentious debates. The problem with aggressive victims though is that they’re so defensive in their bid to appear in control, that they fail to see how obtuse they often are in being able to grasp another perspective. 

    Apparently, suggesting that the victim-conscious state of mind even exists is a neo-liberalism attempt at some or other bullshit to subjugate a people blah blah blah (or so I’ve been told in very colourful language, I might add). Every single situation I’ve ever encountered in life where a conflict of ideas or principles presented themselves resulted in one party being a victim and the other a master. The only way you can possibly part as equals while holding opposing views is if both parties have the maturity to agree to disagree after presenting rational arguments to substantiate their views.

    Similarly, with emotions, you’re either a victim or a master of your emotions. Victims are prone to tantrums, angry outbursts, mood swings and defeatist behaviour, among many other similarly destructive traits, while those that even attempt to master their state are by nature optimistic, albeit morbidly so at times, and proactive. This is a gross over simplification of this issue, but my point is simple. Every single troll out there is a moron who has a severely dented ego and therefore needs to reaffirm their worth through slamming someone else. It’s only in their assumed ability to abuse someone else that they find any self-worth.

    And so I coined the phrase that titles this post. Idiot privilege. It’s a privilege earned by idiots who believe that inflexibility and indoctrination through fear and reprisal is the only way to win an argument or further a cause based on the regurgitation of quotes and philosophies of scholars and historians and war heroes that probably wouldn’t wish to be in the same room as them because of the stench of their ignorance. Unfortunately it’s this very same type of behaviour that sways the masses, which is why trolls and morons will always have groupies, while those attempting to sincerely unravel the complexity of life and the human psyche will remain flabbergasted at the audacity of those that know not.

  • Sometimes

    sometimes, they’re just beaten into submission

    and we assume their lifelessness is actually death

    when in fact, they’re just cowering out of fear

    hoping that no one will notice them

    but then they wither away because they were not noticed.

     

    sometimes, we find that the smallest things have the greatest impact

    but fail to notice that the small things were actually the big things

    but we were too distracted to notice.

     

    sometimes, life happens while we’re making other plans

    sometimes, death happens while we’re making other plans

    sometimes…we over-think life while forgetting to live

  • Frustration is that feeling you get when you see idiots waging arguments about issues that are distorted by their anger and inbred prejudices and sincerely wanting to correct them, but knowing that any attempt at reasonable discourse will fall on selectively deaf ears inviting nothing but venomous drivel in return. 　

  • The anonymity of the url has bolstered some people’s egos to the point where they believe that if their url is known, and they’re not deliberately anonymous, then it makes them sincere. Tumblr has effectively redefined the minimum requirements for sincerity and integrity. 　

  • roxygen:

    I have quite a difficult time sifting through the judgmental tendencies of people though most people are guilty of that sometimes (I’ve done it), but I often think that the speed, anonymity and false sense of ‘space’ online makes it easier for some people to attack one another. 

    Its so easy to say that stuff to another Muslim online but would you do it in the more tangible community that includes your family, friends and colleagues right to his or her face?  

    Do you honestly care as to whether or not they will be affected by your “advice” or are you blowing off some steam? Its not going to make you feel much better. At the end of the day, no matter how much time you waste here, these exercises are futile. The most they can do is hurt you.

    These sort of webs that we create for ourselves and ensnare one another in are not often the most accurate representations of reality, let alone sources of pertinent and nuanced information that we can actually apply to our own contexts and practical affairs.

    Lots of truth in that. I’ve often pondered much on the same issue. People that are so proud and arrogant in their proclamation of who is or is not deviants, which scholars are misguided, and who’s kafir would barely say a word if they came face to face with the people they so easily accused of all these things online. The anonymity of the url has bolstered some people’s egos to the point where they believe that if their url is known, and they’re not deliberately anonymous, then it makes them sincere. 

    What a delusion. Sincerity can only ever be truly tested face to face, if then also. The manners and etiquette that many display online would land them in fist fights and well-deserved beatings in real life if they displayed such gall or callousness to their adversary’s face. Tumblr, if nothing else, is a good litmus test of your iman. Act with impunity under the guise of standing up for what is right without due consideration for the feelings of a fellow Muslim, and it will be a very real reflection of the void in your soul that should have been filled with the love for Allah and what He loves. 

    We delude ourselves all the time, while Shaytaan sits behind us giggling his butt off watching us plot and plan his next move because he has so successfully made us believe that our arrogance is in fact rooted in piety. What a disappointing joke.