Tag: Rituals

  • Reflections on Islam as we know it

    The more I learn and experience and the more I witness with my own eyes, the more I realise that Islam is not nearly as monolithic as many would like to believe it is. Far too often I come across many sahih ahadith (authentic narrations) that are seldom quoted when I see the raging debates about whose manhaj (path) is more correct.

    These are ahadith that refer to social interactions, differing forms of worship that many are keen to dismiss as an innovation, and many other contentious issues. And it leaves me wondering how many times do we engage in ferocious debates aware of only the mainstream view of the subject without being aware of the body of knowledge that supports many alternate views?

    I’m not suggesting that we should suddenly become liberals in our tolerance of the views of others, but consider that there are over 600,000 ahadith that have been narrated. Of that amount, how many have you actually seen quoted to substantiate differing opinions of how to worship Allah? Given the number of times that I have consistently seen the scholars get it wrong regarding principles versus rituals, I’m loathe to assume that every differing view, except where it blatantly contradicts direct injunctions from the Qur’an or Sunnah, is actually a heretical view.

    The tendency for the scholars to selectively refer to principles at times and dismiss principles in favour of rituals at other times is also concerning. The issues pertaining to the sighting of the moon versus calculation of salaah times, and the use of those pagan symbols without any significant opposition by all the leading scholars is just two simple examples that I as a layman has been able to identify. Why then is it so difficult to believe that Islam is not merely what is presented by the scholars, or their blind followers that have been so effective in driving divisions in the Ummah, and even in communities?

    Recently the Islamic school that my daughter attends issued a newsletter indicating that the parents will be given the opportunity to visit the teacher to review their child’s progress. However, the meeting will commence at 09h30 and continue for the rest of the school day. This is directly aimed at encouraging mothers only to attend such discussions since most men are at work during this time, and only women from traditional Muslim homes are available. This despite the fact that all schools in the area hold parent meetings in the evenings to accommodate those parents that are in full time employment. What’s more irksome about this is that there are clear ahadith that confirm that the provision of education is the right of the father over his children. So why is the Islamic school system so mother-centric?

    This is just another example that further cements my concerns that we’re getting it wrong. We’re indulging in excessive ways and interpretations because of this perpetual focus on individual piety and we’ve completely lost the plot regarding social cohesion in Islam. We establish barriers and divisions under the guise of modesty and negate the fact that free movement and interaction with mahrams present is not outlawed. Yet we insist on husbands and wives sitting separate from each other at social gatherings because we want to pre-empt the individual actions of a few deviants. Whenever this happens, I always recall the hadith where Rasulullah (SAW) was present with Aisha (RA) at a public gathering where entertainers were performing. Rasulullah (SAW) sat there with his wife while she watched, and he turned away from the entertainment because he disliked it. (May Allah forgive me if I am quoting this incorrectly, but I will search for the original hadith as soon as I am able to, insha-Allah).

    My point is, the constant focus on individual piety, and same sex groupies is eroding the community. Women and men both play an integral part of the Muslim community, jointly, not separately. But just because we’re afraid of encouraging illicit relationships, we establish boundaries that are unnatural and disruptive to the harmony of the community, whilst the very same fitnah that we aim to prevent continues unabated.

    The very same groups where hijab is strictly enforced, separation of sexes is strictly enforced, and most women are in full niqab are the same groups where I have either witnessed first hand or heard reports from credible sources, the degradation and outright disgusting behaviour of many. This is not to suggest that they are worse than others that don’t observe such boundaries or attempts at modesty. Instead, this proves that our excessive efforts at establishing unnatural boundaries not supported by the Sunnah is in fact pointless, and quite possibly attracts ridicule towards the Sunnah rather than embedding its wisdom in the hearts of those that observe it in practice.

    We always seem to focus on excess in a negative light on those actions that are blatant innovations, but we fail to realise the excess in our actions that are intended to achieve piety. Excess of any form is forbidden for Muslims because Allah does not love excess. Yet we label those that encourage moderation, and elevate those that encourage excess in forms that are apparently above reproach.

  • 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.

  • Sighting versus Calculating the New Moon

    the72sects:

    It might be a bit premature for a post like this given that Ramadaan is still a few months away, but this issue has been playing on my mind for a long time now. I was reminded about it again just now when I was delayed in my performance of my Dhuhr salaah, which nearly overlapped with the time for Asr. How did I know it almost overlapped? Not through measuring the length of the shadow of an object relative to the object itself, or from going out to try to determine the angle of the sun. I identified the overlap like almost every other Muslim these days, and that is that I looked at a perpetual salaah timetable that has been published by various Islamic bodies throughout the world, and that is available on the internet, on my mobile phone and in various printed formats. 

    So we’ve got access to this amazing wealth of knowledge that we know only stems from Allah because Allah has established this universe in due proportion with an order about everything. It makes everything predictable if we only apply our minds. Everything except the weather of course. And women. But I digress. 🙂

    Despite knowing the exact minute when the moon will be born, and despite knowing exactly how old it has to be before it is possible to be seen with the naked eye, we still insist on the physical sighting of the moon to establish the beginning of a new lunar month, when we go from day to day and establish our salaah according to a calculated timetable! Is it just me or is there a distinct contradiction in that? The moon sighting sagas has not only made the Muslims a laughing stock of the world on more than one occasion, but it has driven divisions in communities because of the ridiculous debates that rage around it.

    So in our collective wisdom, in South Africa for example, we agree that if the moon is not sighted in Johannesburg, but it is sighted in Cape Town, then the Muslims in Johannesburg are allowed to commence fasting in line with the people in Cape Town. So I ask myself this simple question; during the time of Rasulullah (SAW), how would it have been possible for a message to be sent in a single night from one town to another town to confirm the sighting of the moon when those towns were in fact days of travel apart? So is this then yet another contradiction in the practice of insisting on the sighting of the moon for Ramadaan?

    It simply doesn’t make sense. All it does is it confirms yet again the ridiculous gap in knowledge of those that perpetuate such logic because once again we fail to note the difference between ritual and principle. Ritual would be the sighting of the moon. Principle would be the changing of the month based on the birth of the new moon. Both of which is clearly guided by the measurements defined by the Sunnah. If these measurements can be accurately confirmed without the use of the naked eye, then the same way that we don’t look for the distinction between a black and white thread at the time of dawn to commence Fajr salaah, we should not be looking for the crescent of the new moon to confirm the commencement of a new Islamic month. When we get this right, the ridicule in the below image can finally be put behind us, so that as an Ummah we can stop being distracted with such ridiculous pettiness and instead focus on the real issues that face the Muslims today. 

  • Muslim vs. Mu’Min

    One thing that always annoys me about these endless debates about sects and madhabs is simply this…how much of what you’re debating has any impact on your Imaan? Given that the majority of Muslims are focused on the rituals of Islam and most don’t understand or appreciate the principles behind it, it’s easy to see why the debates are always around the practises rather than the principles. 

    It’s tiring being a Muslim at times, but forever rewarding to be a Mu’min. There’s too many Muslims and too few Mu’mins. And that’s not just a play on words, because at some point it may be worth noting that Allah refers to the followers as Mu’min in the Qur’an more than ever referring to them as Muslims. There’s wisdom in that. I wish that all our wannabe scholars will apply this at some point so that we stop getting bombarded with these exhausting debates and in fact can start sharing true naseeha about how to deal with life rather than how to interpret history. 

  • Islam Is NOT a Cult!

    We’re so prone to deferring all questions or concerns about the interpretation or implementation of Islam in our lives to the scholars that we’re actively stifling any intellectual or meaningful engagement in the process. It’s as if we’ve been indoctrinated to believe that questioning the ‘elders’ is tantamount to disbelief!

    But in all this to-ing and fro-ing between the questioners and the followers of the scholars, we fail to ask what qualifies one as a scholar to begin with. We assume that in the present day if someone completes the mandatory 5-7 year course at an Islamic institute to earn the title of Sheikh, or Aalim, or Maulana, it automatically makes them a scholar and because they studied the Hadith in a formal and rigorous setting, under informed instruction, they’re automatically empowered to make fatwas and decide who is being a heretic or a kaafir, and who is a sincere Muslim on the path of the righteous. 

    Unfortunately my personal experiences with men and women of such ilk has proven otherwise. I’m often reminded of the words of another admired scholar that says, “of what use is it to acquire more knowledge if we don’t practise on the knowledge we have?” Another point I’m constantly reminded of, and the irony of this is that this reminder is a result of the very same people that blindly quote what the ‘scholars’ proclaim, is that every single Hadith, without fail, has never once made mention of any sahabi via a title like the ones that we have endowed on our own scholars! Not once have I seen a hadith narrated by Mufti so-and-so, or Sheikh so-and-so, yet these were the stars of the Ummah by which we can accept guidance! So are our scholars suddenly more meritorious than the illustrious companions of our beloved Nabi (SAW) that we have to refer to them by titles? Obviously not. 

    Coupled with this is the fact that our scholars have gotten it wrong several times…’several’ being a substantial understatement. We’re so busy trying to prove whose version of Islam is more correct that we forget the simple principles that made Muslims great on this earth when they followed the principles and not the rituals! We have great scholars recognised by their peers and other blind followers as being great scholars who write great big kitaabs and produce other magnificent literature and content to educate the Awwaam (the masses) while they still believe that preventing women from going to the masjid is acceptable, and that the moon and star is not a significant bid’ah that needs to be dealt with decisively. 

    These are the same scholars that I’m supposed to trust blindly when they first issued fatwa after fatwa that TV was haraam, and then established and/or supported Islamic TV channels, and also issued fatwas that suicide bombings are acceptable, yet cannot show a single shred of evidence that suicide under any circumstances is permissible in Islam, let alone the indiscriminate killing of women, children, the elderly and unarmed civilians under the guise that they may take up arms against the Muslims at some point in the future, and other whimsical excuses!

    We have a clergy that lacks back bone. One of the signs of the hour is that the Ulama will be despised, and the usual assumption is that this will be because of a lack of understanding or humility amongst the Awwaam! I believe it’s because the Ulama will lose credibility because of their double standards and ignorance in defining fatwas due to their ignorance of present day realities, let alone their contempt for western technology. 

    It amazes me to see how many times we are so ready to reminisce about the great days of the past when Muslims contributed so magnificently to science, medicine, technology and almost every field of engineering and other intellectual pursuits, yet we don’t question the overwhelming ignorance and impotence of the Ummah in all these fields today. Exceptions exist, but that’s all the Ummah has offered in recent decades/centuries. Exceptions! Muslims were the leaders in all these fields as the norm, not the exception. But then we became arrogant and turned Islam into a cult rather than a way of life. We created hierarchies that prevent an ordinary Muslim from standing close to the Imam around the Haram in Makkah because those places are reserved for royalty or those close to them! (I have experienced this first hand!) We’ve created clerical structures that are not dissimilar to the structures of the grossly misguided Catholic Church and we revel in the order and pomp and splendour that exists in these structures. 

    I’m constantly reminded of the Hadith that encourages us to share our knowledge even if it is only a single verse, yet if scholars today are to be believed, then you’d be obliged to check with them before you quote anything or provide any advice unless of course such advice or quotes are in fact a re-quote of their words. The Ulama are disconnected from the Ummah, and the Ummah is disconnected from the Ulama. We’re in a sad state, yet we persist in excessive debates and interpretations of matters that are simple and straight forward. Matters that don’t affect the Iman of a person, but in fact, are only compromised by the intention of the believer, the sincerity of which can only be determined by Allah alone. 

    Nonetheless, there is never a shortage of Ulama ready to proclaim who is kafir and who is not. I shudder at the thought of making such a statement even with people I know well, and whose outward appearance is blatantly un-Islamic, because again, I’m reminded of the hadith that teaches us that if one person claims that another is a kafir, then one of them is. We’ve lost our way. That is why people are turning to Islam in droves, not because we’re setting a great example, but because Allah is raising a nation to protect His deen like He promised He would. 

    Islam is NOT a cult. It is not about ritualistic ideals and blind faith! And it certainly is not about an elite group of self-proclaimed scholars who rarely demonstrate the principles of Islam in their lives, other than what is obvious in their physical appearance. Many sincere believers who are knowledgeable and well-read on many aspects of Islam have been demonised and ostracised because they didn’t subscribe to this cult-ish version of Islam, yet those individuals have demonstrated a greater commitment to the true values of Islam than the scholars that compete for attention on a daily basis.

    The day our Ulama have the courage to openly condemn the spineless acts of suicide bombings, the unfathomable atrocities of killing innocent women and children, the disgusting embellishment of the houses of Allah with those pagan symbols of the moon and star, and so many other blatantly haraam issues, that is the day that they may enjoy the respect and loyalty of the Awwaam. 

    For the record, as I stated previously, I despise this term ‘Awwaam’, but I use it to remind myself of the condescension with which the Ulama refer to those people that are not part of their circles or their structures. I doubt very much that Rasulullah (SAW) ever used such a condescending or derogatory term on even the most unkempt of Bedouin that may have approached him for advice. 

  • Rituals versus Principles

    When you practice the customs and rituals of Islam, you will grow closer to people. When you apply the principles of Islamic teachings in everything that you do, you will grow closer to Allah. These are just stray thoughts that occurred to me today. I noticed this in many different aspects of my life, especially in how easily I aligned with people or groups in the community by dressing a certain way, or engaging in specific activities.

    However, when I took exception to something they did as a matter of principle, and I tried to engage with them about it, I received the most terse and abrupt responses, and was not indulged in any open discussions about the issues that I had raised; this despite me having presented objective views and evidence to support my concerns, with them insisting that unless I was an Aalim, Sheikh, Maulana or some other recognised title holder of religious scholarly degree, I would not be allowed to engage with the people in authority to begin with.

    Seems like a far cry from the way in which our beloved Prophet (SAW) engaged with the poorest of the poor on the most sensitive of personal issues without showing them an ounce of scorn or denigration.

  • toobaa:

    Our use of the phrase ‘The Dark Ages’ to cover the period from 699 to 1000 marks our undue concentration on Western Europe… From India to Spain, the brilliant civilisation of Islam flourished. What was lost to Christendom at this time was not lost to civilisation, but quite the contrary… 

    —- Bertrand Russel, History of Western Philosophy, 1948

    This is the kind of context that is usually missing, not only in the western media or other spheres of western influence, but it’s also almost entirely absent in the discussions of Muslims when they’re trying to explain the beauty and benefit that Islam has brought to this world. We’re so busy trying to justify our existence relative to every other religion that we become unconsciously apologetic. Worse still is that in the absence of the above realisation, we lose the very essence that made the Muslims respectable in the first place. When Muslims were sincere in establishing the principles and not just the rituals of Islam in their lives, we flourished in every sphere of science, medicine, physics, philosophy, etc. When we became ritualists focused on individual piety, we lost the plot…and have been searching for it ever since. 

    (Source: http://MattTheSamurai.deviantart.com/art/Fire-Masamune-91536135)

  • The day we question the sincerity, intention and motivation of our own leaders as much as we question this about the western nations, that is the day that the Ummah may arise from its slumber, Insha-Allah. Until then, we will continue to follow blindly, establish our identities ritualistically, and be oblivious to the principles and logic that Islam has blessed us with.