Tag: religion

  • That Thing Called Free Will

    It occurred to me tonight that it is entirely in the interests of atheists to discount, or at least attempt to disprove the reality of free will. In the absence of free will, it’s easy to argue that our actions and decisions are nothing more than elaborate sequences of instinctive behaviour hard wired into our brains. The more we experience, the greater our ability to present individuality because of the increased variables that influence our behaviour.

    However, such a theory falls far short of explaining the reason why we are able to actively and consciously choose between multiple outcomes of equal benefit. It also fails to address the reason behind us being able to consciously act against our instinctive responses. In fact, in the absence of free will, can we even claim to be conscious beings? Being conscious, being aware, being lucid all imply that there is an intelligence that allows us to acquire, grasp, and process information, and then do something meaningful, or at the least, something deliberate with that information. Even choosing not to act when action is prompted is further proof of this free will that we have.

    In considering all this, I find it somewhat amusing that many, especially atheists who pride themselves in being scientifically grounded, find it necessary to first prove that we have free will through scientific means despite the evidence that we live out on a daily basis that confirms our ability to choose independent of instinct.

    It reminds me of the ridiculous approach that we take towards life and health these days. For centuries we’ve known that chicken soup is healthy and aids in our recovery from cold or flu symptoms. Yet it was denounced by the ‘scientifically adept’ community of health professionals because no scientist took the time to understand and therefore prove the benefit that it provides. Don’t believe me? Read this. Yet if I were to take every atheist and scientist seriously, I’d have to discard the wisdom of the ages that was not grounded in scientific research, and wait patiently for them to come up with remedies that actually deal with the root causes of illnesses rather than their creative ways of dealing with the symptoms instead.

    Atheists, in all my discussions with them to date, have proven to be extremely myopic in their view of the world. They insist that their independence of religious dogma (which can also be argued to be a false notion of theirs) raises them above the ‘sheep’ that subscribe to theistic scriptures and principles. If I were to take the example of the chicken soup a step further, such a simple matter that took scientists possibly millennia to figure out benefited millions of people in the meantime. How? Through simple observation and common sense. So to apply this to the concept of creation, and therefore a creator, why should I abandon my belief system in there being a god until such time as some scientist in a distant time and place is able to confirm what I knew all along through simple observation and common sense?

    It simply doesn’t make sense, does it? The atheistic mind set that is. Abandon all knowledge unless scientifically proven and acquired, and collaborate with your peers to determine what is best for society because morality has no divine basis. The argument is so flawed that it’s almost entirely ludicrous.

    Oh, in my ramblings I forgot to make the point I started out trying to make. Why is it convenient for atheists to discount free will? Simple. If we have free will, it implies intelligent design. Intelligent design implies intelligent creation. And, you guessed it, intelligent creation implies an intelligent creator. It all flies in the face of the parts of the theories of evolution that suggests that we simply evolved into intelligent beings after originating from a single celled amoeba, or some crock like that. Even that single celled amoeba has a specific function and purpose, and I challenge any atheist to explain what cause an amoeba to be an amoeba. And when they explain that, I’d like to hear them explain what causes the cause of the amoeba to be an amoeba to be the cause of the cause of the amoeba. See how ridiculous infinite regression and the insane theories of causality can be?

    Yet atheists fancy themselves as being the only intelligent free thinking beings around. I beg to differ.

  • A Rant About The Petty Impotence of Muslims

    We had an interesting incident at work today. It was related to a new prayer facility that we managed to obtain from the company in recent months. The pettiness and irrationality of today’s incident made it clear why the Ummah is in the state that it’s in. This might sound overly dramatic, or it might even sound petty in its own right, but the underlying principles struck me as exceptionally concerning because of the way it plays out in much greater issues than what took place today.

    The incident involved the installation of carpets in our new facility. The carpets are specifically designed for mosques, so it has patterns that guide the rows that we stand in to perform salaah. The fact that there is real cause for concern regarding the direction that the carpets face relative to what was previously agreed to be the direction of the qibla is a separate issue. However, in the installation of the carpets, the project manager forgot to set aside a section at the entrance to the room to be tiled so that we could enter the room before removing our shoes. As a result, the practice for the last couple of weeks was to remove our shoes outside the room in the common use area which is a high traffic corridor shared by all employees, and then step into the room with shoes in hand to be placed in the provided shoe racks.

    Last week we agreed to place down a strip of tape to demarcate the salaah area from the entrance to the room so that it was easy to determine which area could be stepped on with shoes, and which not. After salaah today the changes were announced. I later received an email advising me that some ‘brothers’ took exception to this common sense approach. They apparently didn’t feel it was right to step on the carpeted area inside the door because it was a single piece with the area that we performed salaah in. Is it just me, or is this seriously ridiculous logic?

    So I asked what the basis for such a decision was, since I’m quite certain that it has absolutely no basis in the Sunnah and in fact inconveniences the Muslims that wish to use the facility, and I was told that it would just make it easier for those that were using the facility, so we should just accept it. Makes it easier? Really? According to some nameless/faceless ‘brothers’?

    The underlying principles that I complained about at the beginning of this post relates to the willingness to give way to common sense in the enforcement of petty personal preferences. It has a distinct undertone of extremism that has no basis in Islam, and cannot be justified in any reasonable manner. But we’re loathe to object because of our need to pacify those that hold sway, rather than speak out against such pettiness.

    This same inclination to give in to personal preferences over what is specifically allowed or forbidden in Islam is exactly the source for so many contaminants of culture that have soiled the simplicity of Islam. I wondered about the precedent already set in almost every other mosque where a single piece of carpet extends between the official boundary of the mosque and what is deemed to be the outside of the mosque for purposes of i’tikaaf, and it simply caused me to struggle even more with the ridiculous logic being subscribed to in this instance.

    This must seem really petty, but it’s the pettiness of it that seems to carry the theme of the Ummah these days. We’ll strike out in full fury to defend the honour of Rasulullah (SAW) when some idiot makes a second rate movie that received almost no attention prior to our mob-like behaviour, but remain silent when innocent Muslim men and women are assaulted, harassed, murdered, abused, raped, molested, mutilated and worse. Is it because we’re incapable of behaving honourably, that we find it necessary to seek honour in defending something in a manner that is not even sanctioned in Islam? It’s this same mindset that has created suicide bombers and indiscriminate attacks on unarmed civilians including women and children and the elderly, simply because this same irrational logic that we allow to perpetuate in the Ummah is used to justify our actions where cowardly acts are easier to enforce than having a backbone and taking a principled and bold stand against the injustices that we profess to want to avenge.

    Muslims have earned the scorn and contempt of the disbelievers, most definitely not because Islam is prone to attracting such vile criticism, but simply because we’ve become petty and impotent to the point of having inane debates about simple logic and sectarian bull, while pretending to be defenceless when faced with the responsibility of protecting the honour and dignity of those we are responsible for.

  • On Atheists, Cartoons, And Muslim Mobs

    There is nothing so bad that there is no good in it. This has proven to be true in every challenge or struggle I’ve ever experienced in my life. Most recently it has once again proven true in my engagements with a group of atheists on Facebook. I’m constantly cautioned by those around me that engaging with them is a futile exercise and will only create doubts in my own mind about what I believe to be true. I respectfully disagree.

    By engaging with these atheists, I am forced to rationalise my beliefs, my faith, my subscription to a set of laws that have proven to transcend specific periods of time, and in this there is much to be gained. It confirms that man-made laws have to constantly be adapted to cater for the changes in society, but laws based on sound principles are applicable at every stage of human development.

    Muslims generally avoid taking a critical view of Islam because of the fear-mongering Imams that discourage such questioning. If you believe in something blindly, can that really be called faith or iman? Assuming that it can be considered as iman, how is blind belief ever going to strengthen that iman? Will that iman not then stifle and be fragile the moment it is challenged rationally by one that does not hold Islam in such high regard? Isn’t it then true that by not rationalising or clarifying your beliefs or at least trying to understand the logic behind the Islamic injunctions, you’re actually exposing yourself to a greater risk of misguidance or deviation, let alone the risk of being ‘convinced’ that your belief system is not credible, thereby resulting in you either holding on because of the fear of letting go, rather than holding on because you actually believe? Worse still, doesn’t it then expose you to the very real possibility of having that iman stripped away from you because of doubts that others could sow in your heart?

    I strongly oppose the views of many that suggest that we must simply do and not question. How we question is the critical differentiator. But that we must question is unquestionable. That we must understand is undeniable. Yet we have mobs of Muslims running through the streets destroying private property in their display of outrage in defence of the image of Rasulullah (SAW) whilst at the same time being oblivious to the fact that Rasulullah (SAW) himself or his companions never responded in such a despicable or barbaric manner when the very person of our beloved prophet was directly and infinitely more abused and attacked by the disbelievers in Mecca and Taif and so many other incidents. When the entrails of a goat was thrown on Rasulullah (SAW) he didn’t pronounce the death sentence over those that did it. When he was stoned out of Taif and had the opportunity to have the entire town destroyed, he made dua for them to be guided and didn’t rally the companions into mobs to harass or destroy the property of anyone that got in the way of their ‘protest’.

    This dignity and patience is absent in the mobs that profess to be protesting in the name of defending the honour of Islam and the Prophet (SAW). All they’re doing is revealing their barbaric tendencies and ignorance of the true values that Islam inculcates in us. I still maintain that the Muslims are directly responsible for the tarnished image of Islam today. If we conducted ourselves with integrity and dignity in line with Islamic principles, we would be above the reproach that is being levelled against us, because it would have been easy for the layman atheist to even determine that any such unfounded criticism against us is exactly that, unfounded.

    It’s time to stop blaming cartoonists and pathetic attempts at sensationalism for the attack on Islam, and start looking inwardly at our own communities and personal behaviour that maligns the honour of the Prophet (SAW) much more than any despicable cartoon or video could ever do.

  • Bemoaning the state of Muslims

    It’s one of those days when sprawling before me on my keyboard is a world of nothingness. A simmering anger, disbelief at the stupidity of the world, and contempt for the state of the Ummah is all that pervades my thoughts right now. Watching and listening to the ridiculous behaviour of Muslims allowing themselves once again to be used as pawns in the war of the nefarious gluttons of the west leaves me disenchanted as always. We lay claim to a heritage of the greatest personality that ever walked the face of the earth, yet behave in a manner that contradicts the very essence of the beauty of that same personality.

    I’m deflated tonight. Exhausted and deflated. Mob justice, unbridled anger, and barbaric behaviour was never condoned even at the height of the struggle of the Muslims against the retards of the Quraysh. Yet now while being steeped in superstition, indecency, and indignity, we run through the streets destroying property of those from our own neighbourhoods, and kill soft targets in the name of defending the beloved of all beloveds, all the while forgetting that our behaviour will only draw the scorn of the one we profess to love so dearly.

    The beauty of Islam is lost in the putrefaction of the decaying morals and ethics of the Ummah. We’re more adept at heaping scorn on each other because of differences of rituals and historical perspectives than we are at assembling a group of rational thinkers to expose the hypocrisy of the west in their use of peasant pawns to further their own agendas. Our individual piety and overt religiosity scares into seclusion the very ones that have the presence of mind and conviction to stand up to this onslaught against the Ummah because each time a voice of reason rises above the clamour of the masses and the bigoted media, it’s quickly drowned out by the undeniable examples of idiots that tarnish the course of Islam by behaving in such an abrasive and crude manner that even the disbelievers of the dark ages appear dignified by comparison.

    I despise every person that judges a Muslim because of their apparent labels rather than their individual actions. I despise every Muslim that is steeped in arrogance based on historical or scholarly affiliations. I despise every Muslim that drags the banner of Islam through the sewers each time they open their vile mouths and utter slanderous remarks about personalities they have no claim to ever know beyond the jaundiced narratives of the secularists. I despise every Muslim that sits idly by while watching Islam being hijacked by the ones with big mouths and empty heads. Worst of all, I despise my inability to change any of this seeing how easily it is that we provide the fuel that feeds the fire of hatred and condescension that rages against Muslims the world over.

    May Allah have mercy on us and save us from our pathetic selves, Ameen.

  • Before you judge others…

    We are collectively responsible for the extremists that have hijacked Islam for their own personal agendas and political motives. If we had established the unity that is demanded of Muslims, the non-Muslims would never have the gap to produce plausible blame regarding atrocities often instigated by a third force that knows full well that Muslims are in too much disarray to provide any meaningful response.

    Each time I try to engage with a non-Muslim about the true essence of Islam versus what is reported in the main stream media, I am immediately hit with a barrage of comments and examples of how Muslims do not act in line with what we claim is the beauty and essence of Islam.

    But who cares, right? We need to focus on establishing sects and madhabs and Allah knows what else to define our superiority relative to others so that we can feel affirmed in our spirituality, while missing the point completely. I’m sick and tired of reminiscing about the glory days of Islam while our present actions make a mockery of that same legacy that everyone is quick to claim as their own.

    So here’s a few questions that I’d like to ask my fellow Muslims:

    1. Have you ever accused someone of being a kafir because of the way they behaved, rather than because they openly proclaimed not to believe in Allah and the last Prophet Muhammed (SAW)?
    2. Have you ever conducted yourself in a manner that would make it difficult to identify the Muslim in you when compared to another individual of the same ethnic origin?
    3. Have you ever put off doing the right thing because you didn’t think it was anyone else’s business how sincere your efforts at being a Muslim is, or is not?
    4. Have you ever engaged with a non-Muslim and made excuses or apologies about some aspects of Islam because you felt ashamed of what they questioned simply because you didn’t have the knowledge or appreciation of the issue to provide them with a reasonable response?
    5. Are you looking for affirmation and inclusion from the non-Muslims and celebrating our inclusion in the world sporting events rather than realising that we’re pandering for attention at the expense of our integrity?

    There are many more questions, and I have no doubt that some may interpret these questions as arrogance on my part. But I’m not here to appease anyone. I’ve been excluded from the Muslim community more times than I care to remember simply because I challenged their ritualistic approach to Islam that was almost always tainted with a healthy dose of cultural bias. We have turned Islam into a cult and the we cry that we’re being oppressed!

    I for one am tired of watching kids raised with the fear of non-compliance rather than the appreciation of the beauty and value that the adoption of Islamic principles offer us. I’m also sick of the hypocrisy of overt inclusion but distinct prejudice when it comes to accepting Muslims as Muslims regardless of their ethnic origins or caste. Being of Indian descent in South Africa, the sickening stench of the caste system still very much permeates the Ummah, and given the stories that people share from around the world about their challenges in finding a marriage partner because of this, it’s obvious that this is not restricted to South Africa only.

    We’re impotent. We are the generation of the Ummah that is a fulfilment of the statement of Rasulullah (SAW) that says that we will be large in numbers but weak like the foam of the ocean. So before you thumb your nose at a seemingly lesser Muslim, consider that you are part of this despised and contemptible Ummah, not because Islam is contemptible, but because our selective use and abuse of Islamic injunctions to suit our personal fetishes and fancies is what is making us contemptible.

    Audhubillah min dhalik…May Allah save us from ourselves, and may He save others from us. Ameen.

  • Atheists and Me

    It’s disappointing, yet almost unsurprising to note that the very same behaviour atheists accuse theists of, they’re guilty of themselves. I was recently invited into a closed group on Facebook with the assurance that it was a mature environment in which constructive and objective debates are held to test the various views of either side in order to seek to understand each other better. Again, unsurprisingly, the kind of attacks and arrogance that I encountered on other blog sites prevailed there as well.

    There are few, and I mean few that actually do try to present a well considered view of various issues and despite how lengthy the debates can be at times, they stick to the point, and don’t turn it into a mud slinging match in their efforts to try to bully the theist into agreement or submission. It appears that the lack of maturity that atheists are quick to criticise in theists is just as common place amongst their own ranks. Their insistence on not subscribing to a formal structure or singular view of their atheistic philosophy is starting to appear as extremely convenient because it allows the perpetual graceful exit that suggests that they’re not organised religion, and they have no dogma.

    Engage with any number of atheists and the dogma disguised as science is quick to show through. The assumed arrogance and selective qualifications of their statements is forced as the only reasonable approach to the subject when issues like infinite regression and impossible-to-prove theories are highlighted. There’s a stubborn claim that science is all that matters, but a quick deflection when questioned about how science deals with spirituality, or the spiritual needs of their communities. Blatant assumptions are made about the ideology of the first man/woman that set foot on this earth despite there being no proof to confirm it either way. So claims that we are inherently atheistic are supposed to be believed and accepted without question by theists, although atheist have no way of proving this. We’re supposed to accept blindly that infinite regression questions based on their own theories of causality do not apply beyond the current time and universe constructs, even though there is no objective authoritative source to confirm this, which makes it just another theory.

    Authoritative source is dismissed when asked to present one, since such a thing does not exist. The absence of this resulting in personal biases and theories being the order of the day appear to be accepted as factually accurate amongst their ranks, although there are very few that are willing to acknowledge that this glaring gap in their rationale does suggest that there must be a cause that set the creation of this universe in motion. What that cause is, or what form it takes, is entirely open to conjecture for obvious reasons.

    So the sum total of my experiences to date is that the very same extremism, rigidity, blind faith and dogma that atheists claim plagues religion is very much rampant in their own circles. Trying to find a middle ground, at this point, appears to be a pointless endeavour. But I am the anal optimist, so I will persevere for a while longer before I decide if throwing in the towel is as inconsequential as persevering in my efforts to understand the rationale of the atheistic mind set. In fact, I don’t think it’s an attempt to understand the rationale, because I’m already quite convinced that that is as flawed as any argument a theist can present to prove the existence of God. If it was possible to prove the existence of God, we would not need faith to believe in God because the proof would render faith irrelevant. Unfortunately this is a point that many theists and atheists alike fail to understand.

    The fact remains that atheists cannot, with hard evidence, disprove the existence of God, and theists cannot prove it either. But until they get past this blatantly obvious fact, and set aside the arrogance that accompanies such a debate, not much progress will be made in finding mutual understanding, respect or common ground between the two.

  • Doubting Your Intentions

    The question is often raised about giving up on a good act because we’re afraid that we’re doing it for the wrong intention. I think it’s easy to get caught up in the whole internal debate about whether or not I’m sincere enough, or am I doing this for show, or am I doing it because I enjoy the high opinion others would have of me, etc. But isn’t that exactly the kind of doubt that Shaytaan has vowed to sow in our hearts?

    I think that giving up on an optional act out of fear of having the incorrect intention is one thing, but giving up a compulsory act cannot be as easily dismissed.

    The first thought that came to mind when I read a post earlier about this issue was that sometimes a good thing needs to be legislated for people to be compelled to practice it before they will willingly adopt the practice. After practising it out of compulsion, they realise the value of it and then adopt it willingly as their own choice. Strangely enough, I drew this analogy from apartheid and the steps taken to root out racism in South Africa. But I think the same principle applies here.

    However, like anything new, if we’re constantly reminding ourselves about why we shouldn’t be changing the way we’re doing something, it will be that much more difficult to adopt new ways to get rid of bad ones. Unless we truly believe in the good of the new act that we need to adopt, we’ll keep resisting it and will probably only ever do it if we have no choice in the matter. But when we do something out of compulsion, the force that compels us to do it is usually what we’re trying to appease, right?

    So in my mind, if the compulsion we feel to do something is driven by social pressure, or peer pressure, then our focus will be on conforming to the expectations of society or our peers. But if the compulsion we feel is based on our fear of disappointing Allah, or better still, our desire to please Allah, then the yardstick by which we measure the sincerity of our intentions will be very different.

    The challenge is that our pleasing or disappointing Allah almost never yields an immediate repercussion, whereas disappointing people almost always results in an immediate reprisal of some sort. So the fear of being abandoned or excluded is usually a much stronger motivator to do things, than the reality of the consequences of displeasing Allah. That’s when faith and piety come into play, hence the exponentially greater reward for pleasing Allah compared to pleasing people. When we please people, we will reap rewards in this world. But that will be the end of that reward. When we please Allah, we will often not feel any tangible benefit in this world, but what awaits us in the hereafter extends beyond anything you could possibly imagine.

    So the question really is not about intention, but about instant gratification. We’re either slaves to our desires, which demands instant gratification, or we’re slaves of Allah. And this will hold true in every single moment of our lives, because in a single breath we can go from focusing on this world to focusing on Allah and back again. Hence the need to constantly strive, and hence Allah being the Most Forebearing and the Most Merciful, because Allah is fully aware of these weaknesses that He created in us. Allah loves it when we turn to Him for forgiveness or mercy, that’s why the evil deed that brings us closer to Allah is infinitely greater than the good deed that causes us to focus on winning the praise of others.

  • Abouth those Islamic schools of thought

    Something just occurred to me regarding the argument against choosing at will between the rulings of the various schools of thought (or madhahib). I often hear people saying that it is wrong because we’re picking and choosing what suits us in Islam. E.g. choosing the Shafi view about the time of Asr and then choosing the Hanafi view about what may invalidate my wudhu, etc. is frowned upon and has led to many ‘scholars’ declaring innocent individuals as deviants as a result of this.

    Here’s what I don’t get. If it is accepted that each of the schools of thought have taken their rulings from the Sunnah, and each have also confirmed that their scholars have stated that if you find something in the Sunnah that contradicts their teachings, then follow the Sunnah, then what is the problem in picking and choosing between them? Am I not still picking and choosing between acts within the confines of the Sunnah as practised by Rasulullah (SAW) and the salaf?

    What’s more interesting to me is that most of these differences are minor details relating to how the rituals should be performed, and none of the differences differ with the tenets or principles of Islam such that following it takes one outside the fold of Islam. So why must I pick a madhab and stick to it? Why must I label myself as a Salafi to be considered rightly guided? Why must I choose a specific scholar and not others, if each of them that I choose to take advice or guidance from base their views on the same Sunnah that is in line with the established principles of Islam?

    The sectarian mentality has eroded the unity in the Ummah for many centuries now. Like I mentioned in a previous post, I have yet to come across an extremist that was not aligned to any specific sect. The moment we choose an allegiance towards a specific school of thought, we’re immediately compelled to defend that position as being the most correct position because if we don’t, we’ll be suggesting that we’re following a path that is not exactly straight. Our pride won’t allow us to do so.

    Sectarianism feeds our inherent intellectual laziness, while at the same time it intellectualises Islam and loses sight of the essence and principles of Islam. We’ve created a cesspool of differences that have no bearing on the level of taqwa (piety) that we have because we’re so distracted by rituals and the ritualistic implementation of Islamic teachings. Look around you and see how many people complain that we’ve forgotten to be decent human beings despite our intellectual prowess in advanced sciences and the like. That’s what the sectarians have done to Islam. They’ve reduced it to an academic pursuit that has a hierarchy of titles attached to it (something that is never supported in any hadith or Quranic verse) yet profess to be upholding the Sunnah through those structures.

    We’re missing the point it seems.