Deen al-Qayyim: The Aboriginal Religion of Mankind

 TO EVERY PEOPLE WE HAVE APPOINTED RITES

Allah SWT says in the Qur’an a;-Hakim

22:67. To every People have We
Appointed rites and ceremonies
Which they must follow:
Let them not then dispute
With thee on the matter,
But do thou invite (them)
To thy Lord: for thou art
Assuredly on the Right Way.

68. If they do wrangle with thee,
Say, "God knows best
What it is ye are doing."

69. "God will judge between you
On the Day of Judgment
Concerning the matters in which
Ye differ."

In these ayaat from Surah al-Hajj, we learn a very important concept – religious tolerance.  Many acts of aggression of man upon man have been justified through religion.  We have used the fact that our beliefs differ from those of another group to whip up anger and hate, and manufacture a reason to kill the other group.  But Allah SWT has made it clear to us through revelation that killing others for other than murder or hirabah is haram. 

5:32.  On that account: We ordained
For the Children of Israel
That if any one slew
A person—unless it be
For murder or for spreading
Mischief in the land—
It would be as if
He slew the whole people:
And if any one saved a life,
It would be as if he saved
The life of the whole people.
Then although there came
To them Our Apostles
With Clear Signs, yet,
Even after that, many
Of them continued to commit
Excesses in the land.

This is not to say that Islam advocated passivity.  Islam recognizes that there are times when one must respond to aggression by repelling it with equal aggression.

22:39. To those against whom
dhulm is made, permission
Is given (to fight), because
They are wronged;—and verily,
God is most Powerful
For their aid;—

40. (They are) those who have
Been expelled from their homes
In defiance of right,
(For no cause) except
That they say," Lord
Is God". Did not God
Check one set of people
By means of another,
There would surely have been
Pulled down monasteries, churches,
Synagogues, and mosques, in which
The name of God is commemorated
In abundant measure. God will
Certainly aid those who
Aid His (cause);—for verily
God is Full of Strength,
Exalted in Might,
(Able to enforce His Will).

Allah SWT teaches us several things in these ayaat.  First, war and fighting is haram.  It is absolutely haram, unless under the conditions in which Allah SWT has granted us permission to fight back.  The first criteria is that fighting is only permitted in response to dhulm – oppression.  In the previous ayat we learned that includes murder , which is the killing of another individual, as well as hirabah, which is killing perpetrated by one group against another.  This includes tribal warfare, and today, gang violence, and also nation against nation.

Moreover, expelling others from their homes, their land, their “dar” or dwelling place, is haram, and it is even more of a sin when a tyrant does so only because of the beliefs of the displaced group.  But notice also that Allah SWT does not justify aggression simply because one is expelled, but only when the displacement is due to the beliefs of the people – especially the belief in the One God, Allah SWT. 

Freedom of belief is essential in Islam.  La Ikraha fi Deen.  If we are not free to choose to obey Allah, then our worship has no real value.  It has not depth or reality.  The greatness of man is his ability to voluntarily turn to Allah and worship Him.  If we are forced, then what is the point.  Allah SWT tells the angels, “I know what you do not.”  He know that despite not being able to see Him, despite all the attractions of this life, hayat al duniyyah, we can believe in Him and turn to Him freely.  Think of how amazing that is.  Can you imagine a creature like us being able to overcome the testimony of our limited senses, and foregoing the apparent pleasures of this immediate life, to accept the dominion of a being we cannot have any certainty regarding His existence, but whom we are capable of loving, freely serving and obeying.  All this on trust… on faith. 

But out of that is our greatness.  And from that initial free act, Allah SWT gives us many rewards in this life and the next, and reveals His Ayaat to us in this life and in the next we will perceive Him even more clearly. 

Allah SWT teaches us why He has given us permission to fight.  He tells us that if He did not then dhulm would overwhelm the earth and places of worship, including those of all faiths, would be destroyed.  The forces of oppression despise all faith, because faith calls us to love and unity, and condemns all aggression and hate.  Any faith is dangerous for dhulm, for all faiths cry out against oppression.  This tempts some tyrants to hijack religion to serve their own purposes.  They understand its power, and they distort teachings to try to portray the other side they want to fight as the oppressors, the kafirs etc etc. 

Many had great hope in non-violent resistance to dhulm.  Gandhi inspired many, as did Dr. King.  But non-violence only works if the other side has a conscience.  Recently, the Dalai Lama, a great proponent of non-violence, stated that, unfortunately, aggression is necessary in certain situations if to continue to allow the dhulm to persist would only lead to more and more killing and only an aggressive response would stop further death.  In doing so, he reprises the words of Allah that without this permission, many places in which the name of Allah is remembered would be destroyed. 

So Islam calls us to religious toleration, because all mankind must be free to find a relationship with Allah.  In Surah al-Hajj, He reminds us that He has appointed rites and beliefs for all.  He sent prophets before our Rasul.  We only know some of their names.  The important point is not to wrangle about what we believe.  We must respect one another.  It is Allah SWT that will determine the truth of the matter between us.   So we should never fight over beliefs.  We should respect others and discuss things calmly and politely, and leave judgment to Allah. 

3:64. Say: "O People
Of the Book! come
To common terms
As between us and you:
That we worship
None but God;
That we associate
No partners with Him;
That we erect not,
From among ourselves,
Lords and patrons
Other than God."
If then they turn back,
Say ye: "Bear witness
That we (at least)
Are Muslims (bowing
To God's Will)."

3:66 Ah! Ye are those
Who fell to disputing
(Even) in matters of which
Ye had some knowledge!
But why dispute ye
In matters of which
Ye have no knowledge?
It is God Who knows,
And ye who know not!

 THE ISLAMIC CALL TO RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

3:72. A section of the People
Of the Book say:
"Believe in the morning
What is revealed
To the Believers,
But reject it at the end
Of the day; perchance
They may (themselves)
Turn back;

73. "And believe no one
Unless he follows
Your religion."
Say: "True guidance
Is the guidance of God:
(Fear ye) lest a revelation
Be sent to someone (else)
Like unto that which was sent
Unto you? Or that those
(Receiving such revelation)
Should engage you in argument
Before your Lord?"
Say: "All bounties
Are in the hand of God:
He granteth them
To whom He pleaseth:
And God careth for all,
And He knoweth all things."

Clearly tolerance is proscribed by the Qur’an, but we are also taught that we are on the guidance of Allah, and that Islam is our deen.  Allah SWT tells us He has perfected our deen, and we should strive against oppression until it is no more the and deen is for Allah alone.  

Two points are important in understanding this.  First, what is the Deen of Allah; the Deen al Qayyim?  Allah makes that very clear. 


2:62. Those who believe (in the Qur-ān),
And those who follow the Jewish (scriptures),
And the Christians and the Sabians,—
Any who believe in God
And the Last Day,
And work righteousness,
Shall have their reward
With their Lord: on them
Shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

Allah repeats this ayat twice in the Qur’an, once in Surah al Baqarah and once in Surah al-Maida.  He tells us many times in the Qur’an that those who believe in Allah, and the last day and do righteous deeds will be rewarded and they will have no fear, neither will they grieve.  Despite some opinions to the contrary, these ayaat are not abrogated.  Any permission given to fight is permission to fight dhulm, to fight those who force beliefs on others, who tear down houses of worship and kill priests, rabbis, and monks, and Muslims.  Allah SWT says as to those who believe in one God, that He will deal with the ways in which we differ, and we should cling to unity in toleration of ikhtilaf. 

29:46. And dispute ye not
With the People of the Book,
Except with means better
(Than mere disputation), unless
It be with those of them
Who inflict wrong (and injury):
But say, "We believe
In the Revelation which has
Come down to us and in that
Which came down to you;
Our God and your God
Is One; and it is to Him
We bow (in Islam)."

This ayat is very clear.  Do not dispute with those who believe in one God.  We must respect their deen and they should respect ours.  We are permitted to “jidaal” or wrangle and argue with those who commit dhulm against others.  And truly, no one commits dhulm if he is a true believer.

So, Islam commands us to respect religious freedom and to respect the beliefs of others.  In a time when people are becoming increasingly unethical, it is imperative that those who seek to be ethical find a way to come together and work together to overcome oppression and hate.  The hour is late, and we need all the unity and support we can muster to show humanity the way to true happiness and success.  As the Prophet says, we must find a “just way of common assent.”  His respect for the Negus of Ethiopia, the Maqaaqqis of Egypt and the people of Najran shows that such cooperation is part of the Sunnah, part of our Deen.  

Some might see the ayat which states that we must struggle until the deen is only for Allah, is a command to fight until there is no other deen in the world.  But what is the Deen of Allah?  The deen of Allah is to believe in one Allah, in the last day, and that we are held accountable for our actions.  

AL DEEN AL QAYYIM

Every major religion holds this in some manner; this is the Deen al-Qayyim.  What we have added on, and what we often fight about, are the inventions of imagination, and not the guidance we were actually given.   

The Deen of Allah is not that we perform worship exactly the same way, even our madhaahib do not do that, but that we worship one God – what ever name we use.  And we strive to put the teachings we have been given into practice, and that we understand that some acts are evil and some good, and that we are held accountable for those acts.  If we believe this, then on us is no fear, nor shall we grieve.  Allah SWT will instruct us in the matters in which we differ.  We should never use these differences as an excuse for fitnah and fighting. 

We must all seek to follow the Deen al-Qayyim, the Aboriginal Religion of Mankind, and thereby, we will find the unity within our diversity that will enable us all to defeat our common enemy, and succeed in this life and in the next.

Egypt: Mamluks or Maliks

Al-Bukhaari, Book 41, Number 6902:

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) many ahadith and one of them was this: The last Hour will not come until the two parties (of Muslims) confront each other and there is a large-scale massacre amongst them and the claim of both of them is the same.

Al-Bukhaari, Book 41, Number 6898:

Ahnaf b. Qais reported: I set out with the intention of helping this person (Hadrat 'Ali) that Abu Bakra met me. He said: Ahnaf, where do you intend to go? I said: I intend to help the cousin of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him), viz. 'Ali. Thereupon he said to me: Ahnaf, go back, for I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: When two Muslims confront one another with swords (in hands) both the slayer and the slain would be in Fire. He (Ahnaf) said: I said, or it was said: Allah's Messenger, it may be the case of one who kills. but what about the slain (why he would be put in Hell-Fire)? Thereupon he said: He also intended to kill his companion.

Is the Arab Spring Turning into the Arab Fall?

 The Arab Spring began in Tunisia, but it was in Egypt that it showed its promise.  Where is that promise now?  What began as an amazing showing of brotherhood - Muslims, Christians, Secularists - standing together against a tyrant, has devolved into sectarian violence. We recall the scene of the Jumu'ah Prayer led by Imam al-Qaradawi in Tahrir Square.  It was truly a wonder and a hope.

What began as a proud moment has become a source of confusion and shame.  And the military, who initially showed amazing restraint and acted in a manner that no other military force has, by remaining out of the political fray, has now jumped in with a vengeance. 

Despite the sectarian bias of the hadith above of Ahnaf b. Qais, the basic message has been transmitted by others. 

al-Bukhaari, Book 41, Number 6904:

Thauban reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Allah drew the ends of the world near one another for my sake. And I have seen its eastern and western ends. And the dominion of my Unimah would reach those ends which have been drawn near me and I have been granted the red and the white treasure and I begged my Lord for my Ummah that it should not be destroyed because of famine, nor be dominated by an enemy who is not amongst them to take their lives and destroy them root and branch, and my Lord said: Muhammad, whenever I make a decision, there is none to change it. Well, I grant you for your Ummah that it would not be destroyed by famine and it would not be dominated by an enemy who would not be amongst it and would take their lives and destroy them root and branch even if all the people from the different parts of the world join hands together (for this purpose), but it would be from amongst them, viz. your Ummah, that some people would kill the others or imprison the others.

 As Muslims, we must beware of fitnah.  Fitnah Akbar Min al-Qatl.  Fitnah is worse than killing.  We are forbidden to allow strife and fitnah from destroying our basic unity.  Ikhtilaf is permissible (mubah) in Islam, but fitnah is not, it is haram.  And to kill another Muslim is the gravest of sins.  Allah SWT himself will punish this crime. 

Today, in Syria and Egypt, Muslims, or at least those who call themselves Muslims, are killing other Muslims.  How can anyone who calls themselves of those who have submitted to Allah possibly kill others who have done so.  We must consider who is really benefiting from this fitnah.

When we consider who is benefiting from the fighting, we have to realize that only our enemies are benefiting.  Our biggest enemy, Shaytan, is having a "field day."  He must be laughing at all this killing.  And those he inspires, no matter what their nationality or political affiliation, are laughing at us too. 

We have to consider who is benefiting.  Previously, the West did not want to get involved in Syria.  Now it does.  Why?  The fact that it is proven beyond a doubt that Bashaar al-Assad possesses chemical weapons worries a certain ally of the US, and that ally has a great deal of money with which to lobby the US government to act on its behalf.  When that ally was more worried about the rebels, the US did nothing, but when that ally began to fear that continued civil war would favor the Dawlat al Islami and that extremists might get the chemical weapons, the US decided to do something, which most likely will involve destroying chemical weapons stockpiles and little else. 

We have to consider who is benefiting.  In Egypt, we can also assume this same "ally" is benefiting the most from the strife.  They fear a united Egypt, especially if it has a government that is not thoroughly controlled by itself.  Obviously, an Islamic party would not be so controlled.  However, we have to acknowledge that the Muslim Brotherhood has little experience in statecraft.  How could they; they have been a banned party for most of their existence, and have not been able to gain such experience.  So they made a great many mistakes, did little, and did not clean up the corruption in Egyptian society. 

In fact, few in Egypt have administrative experience.  All but the old guard know little about statecraft, so any new party will fail, unless they are able to get the necessary experience.  The internet generation that led the Arab Spring needs to step up and learn how to serve, not just lead society.

Mamluks or Maliks

One important step is development of Islamic Shura Government.  Elsewhere, we have addressed the concept of Wilayat al Ummah - Islamic Democracy.  Some people think that Islam calls for some kind of dictatorship.  Even if they acknowledge Shura, they insist that there be one leader, and that that leader consult in shura.  But this is not the governance practiced by the Prophet SAW.  He practiced Wilayat Al Ummah.

Although Sayed Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr felt there was no evidence for the use of shura by the Prophet SAW, he has neglected certain clear events in the Seerah.  The first is the Shura at the time of the Battle of Uhud.  The Prophet SAW met with the Sahabi and discussed what to do about the army of Quraish marching toward Madina.  Some were eager to go out and meet it.  Some wanted to stay in Madina and defend it.  The Prophet SAW favored this view.  A third group suggested going out to Uhud.  This option was finally agreed upon because it satisfied the urge of those who wanted to go out, but it also satisfied those who wanted to prepare defenses for the battle and to remain near Madina to come to its defense, if necessary.  When asked later if they should have followed the Prophet's original opinion to stay in Madina, he said no.  Once a decision is made in Shura, we understand that Allah SWT will support us.  Allah SWT has said He will not allow us to agree on an error.

The second time shura was used was in the division of the booty/anfal from the Battle of Hunain.  Here, the booty was not divided until after the Seige of Taif, when the Hawazin Tribe had become Muslim.  So the Prophet SAW instructed the people to meet with their amirs and naibs and let them know if they preferred to keep either the captives or the property taken at the battle.  All but two groups said they would return the captives and keep the property.  When the two groups heard of this, one also decided to return the captives, but one held out and the Prophet SAW ransomed the captives himself. 

Finally, the Prophet SAW set up the community in Madina into Saqa'if or Saqifahs, each with an amir or naib.  This is similar to affinity groups in consensus governance.  In fact, Shura is consensus governance.  Some have translated Shura as consultation, but consensus is a better translation.  Consensus is not unanimity or ijma.  Consensus means that everyone 'can live with' the decision, even if they would prefer something else, just like the decision to go out to Uhud. 

It is clear this is the method of governance preferred by our Rasul.  Amirate is for ghazawat, not for the governance of the ummah.  We encourage our brothers in Egypt to adopt this Wilayat al Ummah.  One of the greatest strengths of shura government is that all voices get a seat at the table, and all parties have a stake.  Studies have shown that people are more likely to fulfill mediated agreements rather than obeying judicial decrees.  This is because they must work to come to mediated agreements, and so feel they have a stake in the outcome.  They take ownership of the agreement and want to fulfill it.  Shura government creates the same effect.  But it does require work.  The one problem with dictators is that it produces a lazy populace.  People cannot be lazy and depend on others to govern them. 

For too long, the Arabs have been ruled by "mamluks."  It's time to be "maliks" again.

We pray to Allah SWT to guide us all and to prevent us from fitnah and killing.  We pray to Allah SWT to guide us to the best




 

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