Tag: sects

  • Quote – Suhaib Webb

    We are like firemen, fighting about which hose to use, while the house burns down.

    Suhaib Webb (via thetruthsiren)

  • Scholarly Debates Gone Wrong

    Here’s a very interesting article that a sister shared with me today. It provides some much needed context on the four madhabs. However, the most interesting part for me was the extended debates at the end of the article in the comments section. A few really important points that I liked are quoted below:Imam Al Qurtubi mentions towards the end of his commentary on these verses in hisAl Jami’ Li Ah’kam Al Qur’an:

    These people claiming to be fixing the conditions are only assuming so, while in reality they’re sowing corruption. Furthermore, the people of meaning say: “whoever makes a claim has lied”, which is true.

    Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah had put it during the 2011 Deen Intensive Rihla in Turkey:

    The crisis of the Muslim community is a crisis of adab, i.e. a crisis of character and manners

    It’s narrated that a man came to Imam Malik and was trying to argue about a certain matter. Imam Malik quickly responded with:

    As for me, I’m in a state of certainty from my Lord about what I’m doing. As for you, you’re in doubt, so go find someone else in doubt like yourself to argue with

     

    Scholarly Debates Gone Wrong

  • Debate About Sunnis and Shias Hating Each Other

    Beautiful Struggle: Anonymous asked: do you pretty much hate all sunnis?

    <a href=”http://remorsecode.tumblr.com/post/17044553106/beautiful-struggle-anonymous-asked-do-you-pretty-much”>remorsecode</a>:<blockquote><a href=”http://the72sects.tumblr.com/post/17042519292/beautiful-struggle-anonymous-asked-do-you-pretty-much”>the72sects</a>:<blockquote><a href=”http://remorsecode.tumblr.com/post/17039769889/do-you-pretty-much-hate-all-sunnis”>remorsecode</a>:<blockquote>Okay I might as well talk about this more in depth since I’m worried people might get a misconception that the Shia somehow hate all Sunni people. This is not true whatsoever. As the saying goes, hate the sin, not the sinner. This is all just my personal beliefs. I don’t have…</blockquote>

    The number of generalisations in this post is in stark contrast to the very same intellectual pursuits that the original poster talks about. But set aside all the generalisations and whether there is or isn’t truth to the aspersions against Sunni’s, or whether it even cements the argument that Shia’s are supposedly on the right path, or not. The lingering thought I have in my head, the same way I think about every other ridiculous post about these Sunni/Shia differences is simply this…how does any of the facts contained in the post actually strengthen your Imaan? If Imaan is purely about your sincerity of belief in the oneness of Allah, and not ascribing any partners to Him, and accepting His decree, then what does it matter what historical facts have been perfectly preserved or horribly twisted?

    If we weren’t there to witness it, and the available knowledge has contradictions, then let it be. It has no impact on who we are as Muslims right now, because in Islam right and wrong is clear. Anything that causes doubt in between should be avoided. Simple. Why complicate  beautiful way of life with these annoying attempts to convince everyone about whose history is more accurate?

    </blockquote>I truly don’t like participating in “debate” however you’ve asked questions and I feel like I should answer them, despite the fact I sense a lot of rhetoric and sarcasm contained within them.<strong>“how does any of the facts contained in the post actually strengthen your Imaan?”</strong>Because I am of the belief that knowledge is what leads to certainty and through gaining knowledge, my Imaan increases. History is also a branch of knowledge I am fond of.<strong>“If Imaan is purely about your sincerity of belief in the oneness of Allah, and not ascribing any partners to Him, and accepting His decree, then what does it matter what historical facts have been perfectly preserved or horribly twisted?”</strong>As I’ve implied many times throughout that post and on my blog in general, Imaan is gained through knowledge. I don’t understand why people hold this belief that somehow history is history and you should leave and let die.

    Do you know how many prophets are mentioned in the Qur’an? 25 and all of them with their relevant story and history. It’s a strange phenomenon that people imply history should just be left alone yet the very book we all turn to for guidance is for the vast majority, history. The lesson? History repeats itself and nothing is a greater teacher than the knowledge of the past. That’s why historical facts are necessary and required to be fully understood, weaved away from the falsehood.<strong>“It has no impact on who we are as Muslims right now, because in Islam right and wrong is clear.”</strong>I find no other word to describe what you are saying as other than completely ironic. The history of Islam has absolutely everything with who we are as Muslims today because history is what defines the current events.It is even more absurd that you claim “right and wrong is clear” yet your very own blog title is called “The 72 sects” ??? I’m sorry for my ignorance, maybe I just do not understand what you’re trying to say, but I see nothing but double standards in what you’re telling me.

    </blockquote>In light of your ‘rebuttal’, please allow me to clarify my views. Whilst there may have been a healthy dose of rhetoric in some of what I said, sarcasm was certainly not intended. I respectfully disagree with your view that the stories contained in the Qur’an are intended to hold historical value. Allah states several times that it is through parables that Allah guides us so that we may understand. A lot of the historical evidences in the Qur’an was intended to confirm what was revealed before, and not simply as a history lesson. Also, your assumption about my views on history ignores another statement of mine in the same post that said:<blockquote>If we weren’t there to witness it, <strong><em>and the available knowledge has contradictions, </em></strong>then let it be<strong><em>.</em></strong></blockquote>

    The Qur’an does not contain such inaccuracies or contradictions, and therefore cannot be used as an example to substantiate your objection to my statement. Again, with due respect, Imaan is not dependent on what our views are of historical events, or respected personalities. Imaan is about our belief and reliance on Allah alone. The only unforgivable sin is Shirk, and the belief in questionable historical facts has no bearing on this. Let’s assume for a second that your statement about history is correct relative to Imaan. Would you then please explain how the knowledge of A’isha (RA)’s age at the time of marriage strengthens your Imaan?

    As for my blog url, it relates to the hadith that reminds us of the 73 sects that will form amongst the Muslims of which only one will be rightly guided. So my url is a reminder to me about the fact that the vast majority of sectarians are misguided. I’m not sure how that is supposed to reflect irony or double standards. Like I said above, not just to you but to everyone that engages in these types of debates, how has it strengthened your Imaan? Has it established or encouraged unity in the Ummah? Has it brought you closer to Allah? Or has it simply filled a gap of knowledge that was being fed by curiosity, or dare I say ego?

    Edit: After a final exchange via ‘Ask’ with the OP, let’s just say we agreed to disagree. This debate was going nowhere fast, so it’s best to leave it at that, iA.

  • Madhabs…why?

    honeststrangers:

    “Rasulullah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Make things easy! And do not make them complicated! Be cheerful! And do not be repulsive.””

    —

    Bukhari (via oneislam)

    This hadith echoes the thoughts in my head right now. Whenever I find myself delayed in the performance of my dhuhr salaah, I have to fight the tendency to want to debate (in my head) whether I should refer to the Shaf’i or Hanafi madhab to determine whether or not it is still permissible for me to perform dhuhr. 

    I’ve chosen to follow the Shaf’i view on this. My reason being that I cannot see how it would be possible for two Muslims (a Shaf’i and a Hanafi) to be standing side by side, with one performing Dhuhr and the other performing Asr at exactly the same time, and have both of their salaah accepted as having been read within the prescribed window for that prayer. It’s illogical!

    Islam always makes sense to me. Logical sense. This situation defies logic. So for this reason (amongst others) I find it impossible to respect these differences between the madhabs. If the Shaf’i followers believe that they are acting within the bounds of the Sunnah, and the Hanafi followers also believe that they’re acting within these same bounds, then is it not possible that in fact a combination of the two madhabs are in fact within the bounds of the Sunnah anyway? 

    The more I try to rationalise this, the more entangled I feel! But I refuse to apply a label to myself in the process other than being a Mu’min (a Believer!) and nothing else. Unless something was specifically forbidden, I will make it as easy as possible for me to practise my deen. This world is insane enough as it is, let alone the enormous trials that are placed on anyone that resists hedonism or liberalism. Anyone trying to live a decent, respectable, and modest life, regardless of religious persuasion, is fighting against the massive currents of corruption, immodesty, and vulgarity. Add to this the ridiculous burdens placed on top of Muslims to try to determine which one of the madhabs we’re supposed to follow and the numerous debates and arguments and inconsistencies that go with that, and it’s not difficult to understand why the youth are so rebellious these days. 

    We’ve created a legacy of Islam that is prone to ridicule, and we fool ourselves by arrogantly believing that we’re standing out because we’re the strangers that Rasulullah (SAW) referred to. I doubt that we are. I think that the moment we align with a group that considers itself to be of those strangers, we cease to be strangers and therefore cannot ever be certain of our status. Yet we persist in our divisions, and our sects and our folly with words and interpretations and man-endowed titles of scholarly supremacy! 

    Just the thought of it all is horribly disheartening. 

  • All we do is talk talk…

    We spend too much time researching and articulating our differences and too little time on our character. It’s easier to be an armchair critic than it is to be a practising philosopher. Discussing and debating ideals and perspectives is great, but like everything else, only in moderation. If my dashboard is anything to go by, then there is a very definite disparity in the amount of effort applied to practising, compared to discussing and refuting.

    Surely Islam has more to offer than the excessive debates between sects and madhabs? The next time you feel inclined to post something, reflect on whether it is pre-emptive, constructive or simply argumentative? More often than not, it’s argumentative hidden behind the guise of it being an effort to guide a potentially innocent person that may stumble across the misleading interpretation or viewpoints being rebutted.

    I think that if we focused more on practising our deen and less on debating it, we may just find that the true beauty of Imaan is realised rather than the incessant debating that prevents us from uniting.

  • On Choosing A Sect

    These thoughts have plagued me for a long time now, and reading through some posts this morning further cemented my views on whether or not I should choose a specific madhab. 

    I’ve traditionally been raised as part of the Hanafi madhab, but have had significant exposure to the Shafi madhab as well. And given the few contradictions of practices between the two that I have personally experienced, it always left me wondering why should there be two or more different schools of thought to begin with? 

    Perhaps I’m over-simplifying a complex issue, but I would be more inclined to believe that most over-complicate a simple issue. For me it’s quite simple. Unless the action or practice was specifically forbidden, it is allowed. Even the Prophet (SAW) was not allowed to make something haraam that Allah had declared halaal. So how can anyone else come along and profess to know better?

    I once entered a prayer facility where there was a man from the Shafi madhab preparing to pray his Asr salaah, whilst a man from the Hanafi madhab was preparing to pray his Dhuhr salaah. Within the context of their specific schools of thought, they were both right, but surely logic dictates that only one of them could be correct? I could never receive a satisfactory answer to this dilemma, except for a feeble attempt from one Aalim stating that the madhab of the chosen Imam for that salaah between the two of them would prevail. That would mean that the Hanafi follower would potentially miss his Dhuhr salaah if the Shafi follower was Imam?

    It simply doesn’t make sense to me, and I’ve always found Islam to be extremely sensible. Therefore I can only conclude that the intent of the scholars was entirely misconstrued because of excessive interpretations and implementations of their teachings resulting in the mess we have today. The dogmatic application of the schools of thought have done nothing but driven a wedge between communities based on a scholar’s interpretation of the Sunnah.

    For this reason, I have chosen to follow the least restrictive guidelines in any given situation since at no point did anyone prove that either of the madhabs are incorrect. Which to me implies that it was all about context. And because we don’t seem to understand context and principles more often than not, we end up applying rulings out of context and then insist that it’s beyond reproach because the scholars said so. I refuse to limit the scope of my Imaan or my application of the Sunnah to the views of a single scholar, or to fit in with a specific community. 

    Islam is clear about Halaal and Haraam. The rest is open to debate and conjecture and is often defended based on egos and obstinacy. That is the doubtful parts that I will avoid as best as I can. Insha-Allah.