Tag: shafi

  • Still The Distracted Ummah

    The sad reality of this Ummah is that it is prone to being divisive while crying for unity. We find it so simple to speak disparagingly about the personal perspectives that some adopt, and choose to openly mock them in their absence, thinking that not mentioning names is sufficient to free us of the hypocrisy of that action.

    We find it easier to highlight the shortcomings of every sect, every community, every sub-culture, or any person, but find it extremely difficult to celebrate the common ground, to build on the positive aspects that we share, or to jointly pursue beneficial programs that will contribute towards the unity of the Ummah rather than constantly hammering down on that wedge that sectarianism has created.

    A strong and united Ummah doesn’t happen on its own, nor does it miraculously form through dua. Dua unaccompanied by action is fruitless, hence the very plain instruction that guides us to tie our camel AND trust in Allah, not just trust in Allah blindly without any action.

    A united Ummah is a result of a united society. A united society is not possible without united communities. United communities will never be established if we have internal bickering and political agendas that make the American government look saintly. Unsurprisingly, united communities require united families to establish its foundations. A united family is not possible without committed individuals striving for harmony and understanding within the family unit. Finding the required common ground on which to build this entire structure that we all so achingly yearn for requires individuals committed to these holistic goals before they find reason to commit to selfish objectives that undermine these goals.

    The simple truth is that it starts with us as individuals before it becomes a global problem. Every global problem is a result of a critical mass of idiots that contribute towards the universality of the issues that result in said problem. We need to stop pacifying ourselves against the shortcomings of others. We need to stop being creative in introducing western concepts and western agendas into Islam under the guise of progressiveness, liberation, feminism, or similar such euphemisms that belie the true nature of the courses being pursued.

    Political correctness has no place in this Ummah. It has no place in Islam either. Political correctness breeds insincerity, and insincerity is at the heart of hypocrisy and disunity. If we’re forever prone towards counting our troubles and taking for granted our blessings, it’s hardly likely that our generation will see the Ummah progressing towards the noble status that we inherited from Rasulullah (SAW) and subsequently destroyed because of nothing more than infighting and selfish pursuits.

    Talking about the need for a reawakening is only a distraction from actually doing it. The time to talk about the strategies is long gone. We have strategists and intellectuals crawling out of the woodwork in droves, but very few who are willing to put into practice the knowledge that they so fervently seek to acquire.

    I’m often reminded of the prophecy that says that a time will come when the Ulama will be despised, and I realise that the basic assumption is that this will be so because people will despise the religious teachings that the Ulama try to establish. However, it is also entirely possible that the Ulama will be despised in the same way that unprincipled leaders are despised by their subjects. We have factories churning out Ulama by the dozens, online universities making the acquisition of Islamic knowledge easy and convenient, western institutions offering degrees in Islamic studies, and of course we have access to entire collections of ahadith and Qur’anic commentary through mediums that allow a layman to develop a critical and informed opinion on almost any aspect of Islam without leaving their favourite arm chair. Despite this massive and unfettered access to information, including students and scholars alike that have years of studies applied to acquiring this knowledge, the Ummah is in a state so despicable that we are impotent in the face of blatant persecution and abuse throughout the world, not least of which includes the so-called Muslim lands.

    Yet we still have time to point out the errors of our brothers and sisters, and we also still have the presence of mind to judge who is deviant, who is kafir, and who is damned to hell, while Muslims are starving themselves to death to get us to notice that there is a bigger issue that the Ummah needs to deal with beyond the pettiness of liberalist agendas and personal preferences. May Allah have mercy on us for our distracted state, and may He guide us towards a path of conviction in the beauty that we all profess to hold in our hearts. That is the beauty of Imaan. Ameen.

  • Ever see a non-aligned extremist?

    Just a thought…ever see a Muslim ‘extremist’ that didn’t belong to a specific sect? That’s the thing with sects, or aligning with specific sub-groups of Islam, or giving your iman a label. It’s the same with nationalism, or pledging allegiance to any specific sub-group of a broader movement. You’re automatically inclined to defend the specific view points of that sect rather than remaining objective and neutral in your application and compliance with the rulings and principles of the movement itself.

    The same is true for the raging debates between different sects and different schools of thought. You’ll be hard pressed to find someone that sincerely debates to arrive at the truth, rather than debating to defend their allegiance and adopted perspectives from the sect that they’re a part of.

    I can’t see anything other than three specific states of iman. We’re either guided Muslims, misguided Muslims, or non-Muslims. All the nuances and differing opinions around issues that do not take one out of the fold of Islam are simply whisperings of Shaytaan that successfully sow discord amongst Muslims by instilling a sense of pride or superiority in us about our alignment with what is considered by some to be a superior manner of practising Islam, not realising that our pride and haughtiness, no matter how we disguise it, could easily negate all our efforts in the process. 

  • Engage, Not Just Condemn

    partytilfajr:

    It is great to identify problems, but the issue I have is that, especially in the West, we have fallen into a “culture of condemnation,” in which in order to be exempt from criticism, we simply must condemn “Issue X” or “Issue Y,” and therefore, we have shown, through mere words, that we are “acceptable” or “good” through our condemnation.

    I am sorry, I think that is terrible and lazy; it is easy to condemn something, it is far more difficult to change something. Great, you identify a problem, but the larger question is: are you prepared to take the necessary steps to change it?

    This is also true for the behaviour by many Muslims that profess to be on a rightly guided path compared to everyone else, then promptly go about condemning others because that’s easier than engaging meaningfully around the specific issue at hand.

    It’s also easier to dismiss everything a recognised scholar says just because of where he comes from, or who he may be affiliated with, than it is to understand that scholar’s perspectives and focus on unwrapping that.

    The easiest of all is to assume that your level of piety, your level of understanding, or your level of sincerity in practice is greater than anyone else that does not subscribe to your exact school of thought or interpretations, while emphasising the advice about hating for the sake of Allah, and completing neglecting the advice of good manners in speech and moderation. 

    When faced with the arrogance, condescension, and inconsideration of the majority of Muslims I see these days, both on Tumblr and in real life, my heart sinks, not only because of how steeped we are in our individual piety without any consideration for our collective responsibility, but also because I see more effort applied towards forming divisions and intolerance rather than establishing understanding and unity amongst all who profess the Shahadah. 

  • 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.

  • 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. 

  • 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.