Facing the Forces of Hate

Xenophobia

Why are we afraid of the "others?"  What is it about other people that causes such a reaction in us?  

We are all humans, right?  Is it something innate within us that unleashes our anger, fear, and hate?  

Jane Goodall, in her lifetime's work of observing chimpanzees, watched as her beloved "tribe" of chimps, the ones she had seen born and grown to adulthood, systematically murdered a nearby group of unrelated chimpanzees.  They fought a "Hatfield and McCoy" style, on-going war of rivalry, for years, until not a single individual from the other "tribe" remained alive.  Why?  

In the time of our Prophet SAW, the Aws and Khazraj also fought a devastating feud.  For years, they killed each other in a series of revenge killings.  Finally, exhausted by all the strife, they called upon a man they had heard about, a man who was know as al-Amin, to help them stop the war.  He instituted a policy wherein for every person killed from one tribe, the tribe that killed that person, had to chose one person from among their own people to be killed --- by themselves.  They had to pick one of their own.  They had to look at the faces of their own people, and chose one to die.  And then they had to kill him or her.  Free for free, man for man, woman for woman, slave for slave.  This policy, we call Qisas, stopped the war.

Some think the ayat that revealed this policy has been abrogated by ayaat that give the penalty for murder.  This is false.  This ayat was revealed to deal with gang rivalry, feuds and social warfare.  And it works.

So, we understand that people have this potential to hate, to kill each other for no apparent reason other than the other group is "other."  That said, what can we do about it?  Our deen teaches many ways to achieve social harmony.  We are forbidden to backbite, slander, curse or condemn each other.  We are prohibited from any form of fitnah.  Fitnah akbar min al qatl.  Fitnah is worse than killing, and it is leads to killing.  When we say that we are 'forbidden,' we need to understand that this practice is haram.  And although it has not been judicially punished in the past, it needs to be.  There must be penalties for these crimes, because in Islam, they are crimes.  And we need to treat them this way.  It is a sin and a crime to backbite, slander, falsly accuse another of zina or of being gay, or of being a kafir.  These are sins and crimes, and those who commit them are mujrimoon!  They need to make tawbah!!!

So, the first way to prevent such Xenophobia is to follow our deen.  This is even more clear when we consider that Islam prohibits us from racism.  Whether we are rich, poor, black, white, brown, Arab or Ajnabi, we are only distinguished by our taqwa.  That's it!!!.  But instead, many people consider themselves superior to others.  Like Shaytan, they cry, "I am better than him.  He is Pakistani and I am Arab," or "He is African American and I am Pakistani."  I could go on and on.  I have observed this attitude of racism in our communities for 30 years. It is disgusting!!!

So, now we complain about the Xenophobia of Donald Trump and his followers.  Yes, white people are afraid.  Like all tribes, confronted with a flood of immigrants, they are worried about losing their way of life.  Some of us have greedily adopted their way of life.  We have wedding engagement parties, huge walimah, we send out invites, and buy table decorations, we celebrate Halloween.  And some us do not assimilate.  But for the most part, we are rather quiet about that.  However, other groups also do not assimilate.  Hispanics do not.  They retain their language and age old customs, in direct competition with those of the "white" community.  

In Arizona, where I grew up, we grew up with a shared culture.  It included pinatas and tamales, chili wreaths, matates, dried corn hangings, and dates - especially those golden ones that are still a bit crunchy and so sweet.  We grew up speaking English and Spanish.  But in other parts of the country they grew up with different cultures.  In places like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakota, indigenous peoples lived.  Then settlers from Scandinavia and Germany settled.  Each created a special culture, and grew to love their land.  Now people from Iran, Lebanon, and Somalia have arrived.  Now what?

Change is stressful.   We are afraid of losing something.  In the past, social change was very slow.  It could take multiple generations.  Now change is very rapid, too fast to keep pace with.  How do "white" Americans cope with losing cultural icons like baseball, football, Friday night high school games, marching bands, and the predominance of English?  With Trump and his followers, we are seeing an inability to cope.  They are afraid and are lashing out at anything that appears different.

Daesh is the same phenomenon.  Arab tribals in Iraq, long empowered by the regime of Saddam, lost their supremacy and are lashing out at anyone "not of them."  Ironically, they are hiring foreigners to do it.  The whole thing is Xenophobia to the extreme.

So, how should we deal with change?  Well, it's never easy, but we must begin with love.  We must follow our deen on all matters, not just fiqh al - ibadaat.  We must follow fiqh al muamalaat.  We must follow its fiqh regarding social interaction.  We must respect one another.  Then we can work to craft a culture that is inclusive.  

One way to do this is to learn the history of the place where you live.  Ask the older people about the town where you live.  Help record oral history.  One of the biggest problems with our Muslim communities is the lack of interest in the place where they now live.  We have one foot back home, and many who immigrated here hope to die back home.  This is not helping.  We must become engaged in our communities.  Fortunately, those who were born here are doing so.  But we must do more.  Help to carry on your community.  Understand that the struggles of others are a source of strength for all of us.

We have a very misguided understanding of Islam if we think that just because a person was not Muslim or not from our home land, their lives are worthless and unimportant.  This is just hubris, ethnocentrism as virulent as the Xenophobia of the Tea Party and its ilk.  Allah SWT tells us to look at those who went before us and learn from their successes and mistakes.  Early Americans were most successful when they showed their faith in God.  We, as Muslims, can help America progress on the foundation those who had faith laid for us.

Many Americans still have faith, even if the media discourages it.  When we reach out to the elders in our community, show interest in the stories of their fathers and mothers, and listen - listen - to them, we reveal ourselves to them as well.  Sitting at their feet and valuing them, gives them a reason for valuing us.  

People in your communities will appreciate when you show an interest in the community, and will also get to know you.  When we talk about history, we learn about the struggles the people went through to get where they are today. Americans are immigrants.  Even indigenous people have creation stories that detail their journey to this Great Turtle Island.  So we all have stories, and struggles.

So, we look at our neighbors and see them as prosperous, rich, comfortable.  They are as unknown to us as we are to them.  We believe in stereotypes as much as they do.  Stop it.  Get to actually know people.  Talk to the older people and learn about how they started out, what they did to get where they are now.  Learn about how they or their parents immigrated here.  Where did they come from?  What changes did they face in culture and language?  Do they still speak some of that language?  

Share food.  Food is a great equalizer.  We all love kabobs!.  But we can also learn to love latkes, kugel, tamales, lasagna, mousakah, kung pao chicken, and hamburgers and fries.  Share food, and share stories.  Share stories - stories of joy and stories of pain.

Henry Louis Gates is a world renowned scholar of African and African-American history.  Like myself, he grew up in an age when Americans were discovering their roots.  Alex Haley, with his book "Roots," reminded African-Americans of where they originated, and how they came to be here.  In doing so, he also also reminded all Americans that we all have origins.  It was an age when Indigenous people remembered their past, and when Europeans remembered they had immigrated here.  Recently, Mr. Gates became interested in DNA and the possibility of learning more about a person's personal roots.  So, Mr. Gates had his DNA tested.  The test revealed a wealth of information about our humanity.  Yes, he had African ancestors, but he also had Irish ancestors.

African Americans have long known that they had European ancestry.  But it was not always something that one would want to talk about.  White slave owners often raped black slave women.  But for Mr. Gates, facing the DNA evidence of Irish ancestry within himself opened a door.  He really was Irish.  Being Irish was part of himself.  So, he explored his own history, not just the African part, but the Irish part.  In doing so he discovered courage, strength, and resilience.  His ancestors from Ireland had faced the Great Potato Famine.  Like the ancestors of my adopted Mother, they had faced prejudice and scorn from non-Catholic whites.  Irish workers were beaten, tortured, and killed because of their origins.  They were forced to work in the coal mines, just as Gates' African ancestors were forced to work in cotton fields.

Gates discovered something that all of us can discover.  He discovered the great promise of humanity.  Allah SWT says that He created us as nations and tribes so we would know ourselves.  Ta'arifu.  So we would know.  So we would understand.  When He created us, He told the Malaaikah that He knew something about us that they did not know.  He knew our potential.  We are strong, resilient, and capable of abiding faith.  We are capable of serving Him, as the greatest of His servants.

We can fulfill this promise if we actually explore those other nations and tribes.  Even as Muslims, we will fail in that promise if we do not.  For if we succumb to Xenophobia by thinking we are superior to other Muslims due to ethnicity, then how are we any different from the Xenophobes who hate all Muslims.

The Power of Love

The only way to face the forces of hate is with love.  Love of Allah!!  and through that love, Love of His Creation.  Too many of us look at another culture and see only kufr.  We focus on negatives and in our judgmental sense of superiority, we fail to see how a culture shows us the strength of fitrah, and its limits.  We understand the need for wahy, and the great gift that it is.

This focus on the negative leads us to focus on differences.  Iktilaf is normal.  Allah says He created it on purpose, so we would "ta'arifu."  The word carries connotations of knowing, but also of "urf" or custom. "Urf" implies something we know almost innately.  We learn our cultures from childhood.  We do not think about them much.  We just know how to act, how to behave in our society.  It is only when we are exposed to other cultures, that we come to appreciate our own.  Iktilaf is a great teacher.  Fitnah, however, kills societies.  When we explore other cultures from a sense of respect for others, we gain the benefit of iktilaf.  When we approach other cultures with a sense of ethnocentrism, we gain nothing but fitnah and hate.  Iktilaf can actually unify different peoples; fitnah divides and conquers them.  Allah teaches us love and unity; Shaytan teaches us to divide and hate.

Through love and mutual respect, we can come to share our histories and learn that we all came from a core that is moral.  This profane devolution into unethical selfish behavior is rather recent.  All cultures share faith in something greater and a strong sense of morality.  As we share our stories, we will discover that all of us who share an ethical prospective are under attack by radical atheists and Xenophobic haters - the real Dawlat al-Shaytan.  Shaytan is our real enemy and we will need all hands on deck to defeat him.  Hubb Allah leaves no room in the heart for hate.  And the only force that will defeat Shaytan is LOVE.  

Subjective Virtuality and Islamic Reality

PETER PAN SYNDROME

In the story of Peter Pan, the story written by J.M. Barrie, the reader is transported to Never Never Land, where the essence of childhood, the wonder and the magic, is captured forever in the character of the eternal child, Peter Pan.  Childhood is magical.  The optimism of youth is full of light and the excitement of possibilities.  We can be anything.  I used to pretend to be an astronaut.  I pretended to be Asto Boy (yeah I am that old).  I pretended to be a cowboy.  I pretended to be a famous athlete, medaling in the Olympics.  

But, I also knew this was pretend.  The real wonder, the real magic came when I was able to make my dreams, real; when I rode a real horse, when I got to view the stars through a real telescope, when I practiced diving and swimming and entered competitions.  

I am a member of the first generation to be raised with the television.  I am a member of the first generation to be deeply affected by our obsession with entertainment.  Humans have always enjoyed being entertained. Long ago we sat around fires in the evening and told stories to each other.  Some of the stories were about real things that happened to us - the successful hunt, the interesting encounter.  Some of these stories were exaggerated to sound more exciting.  Some were just plain made up.  Later, we developed theater and other forms of large-scale entertainment.  But, one thing about these forms of entertainment is that they supported our collective world view.  They upheld our moral values.  They taught us proper behavior and helped us explore the consequences of negative behavior.  Greek drama is a good example of exploring how a bad decision can have horrible consequences.  The great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, also explores the consequences of actions over long periods of time.  

Early television also provided ethical entertainment.  Many of the shows I watched as a child taught moral lessons.  "Star Trek" is a good example.  Gene Roddenberry intended for his creation to explore values.  It is significant that this program featured the first interracial kiss, as well as the first significantly mixed race cast.  But, somewhere in the 1980's things began to change.  Programs like "He-Man" featured aggressive, violence ultra-men, who fought enemies but seemed to have no depth, emotion, mercy or love.  "Rah!!! He-Man!!!"  Young boys began to roar and posture.  And hate.  

Today violence and killing are entertainment.  We thrill to ever more violent and bloody murders of faceless stereotypes.  It's all a game.  But that game is spilling over into life.  Our youth spend so much time playing video games and watching "reality" TV.  They grow up in a virtual reality.  And that virtual world is subjective and personally programable.  "Have it your way."  

On social media we can be what ever we want to be.  What ever I used to pretend to be as a child, I can be in virtual reality on social media.  I can pretend to be a prince of some small state in India.  And everyone will call be by my social media name and treat me like a prince.  But, what am I in the real world?  What is the real world?

So, while I am being a prince on the Internet, I am failing in school and unable to find a job.  I have begun to fall through the cracks.  But, as long as Mom and Dad, or my friends, or free Wi-Fi give me access to the Internet, I can still be a prince.  But, now I am a homeless failure.  But, I am still a prince on the Internet.  So, what is real?  Reality is not entertaining.  Reality is not fun.  Reality is painful.  And now I am angry, because I am a prince and people are treating me like a pauper.  So now what?  What do I do in the virtual world when someone gets in my way?  I get into a virtual SUV and shoot everyone with a high powered rifle.  So that should solve all my objective problems as well.  Right?  

So we have Sandy Hook, we have San Bernadino.  Selfish, self absorbed subjectively virtual people whose objective reality has crashed in on them, come crashing into our objective reality.  

San Bernadino...  three gunmen storm into a center and kill 14 people.  The two people in a black SUV are killed by police.  Then we focus on their names and possible ethnic and religious backgrounds.  Then we join the entertainment frenzy as reporters and camera men swarm like cockroaches over the couples' apartment, with scenes of childrens' toys and family photos.  Then, we forget, the original 9/11 reports said there were three shooters.  What is real?  Do we really know any more?  

Fourteen people are really dead.  Two people in the SUV are really dead.  What else do we really know and what else can we trust to be real? 

Peter Pan has Tinkerbell sprinkle fairy dust over the world and we all enter Never Never Land, where we are forever children.  Virtual, eternal, unreal.  Pan is locked in an eternal battle with Captain Hook.  Hook is that ever present reminded of objective reality, that call to grow up, to be responsible, to follow rules, to do ones duty, to think of others.  Pan is free, he does as he pleases, he is irresponsible and refuses to grow up.

We love Pan.  We hate Hook.  

We crave the innocence of childhood.  But our childhoods are no longer really innocent.  They are filled with violence and pain.  We retreat ever deeper into Never Never Land.  And we cannot cope with the real world any more.

CHRISTOPER ROBIN

A.A. Milne also wrote a book about childhood and adulthood, "Winnie the Pooh."  Pooh's best friend is Christopher Robin, a real boy.  Winnie and his friends, Piglet, Eeor, Tiger, Roo and Owl are Christopher Robin's imaginary friends.  The old cartoons always start with the toys and then move to the animation of the characters.  Through his friends, Robin explores problems and morals.  And when he grows up, he actually grows up.  We know that he is now living in the real world, but that the 100 acre wood, where his imaginary friends live, will always be there when he needs them.  

Such is the role of pretend and imagination I understood from my own experiences.  Pretend helped me learn, but as I began to gain confidence in real life, I began to understand that my life was in the objective real world, and that the virtual world was still there to explore possibilities, practice real life scenarios, understand moral dillemnas, and contemplate consequences of actions.  It is still a valuable tool in my life.  

But too many of us are not Christopher Robin.  We are instead, Peter Pan.  And that obsession with rebelling against adulthood, responsibility and duty has left us with a total inability to cope.  

REALITY

What is real today?  We need to gain an understanding of what we are doing to ourselves.  We are brainwashing ourselves into a virtual world of violence and adrenalin.  We are losing ourselves.  We have become zombies, passively spending all of our time in front of screens, and finding reality to be empty and hopeless.  But, we have made reality empty and hopeless by spending no time in it.  How do we get back to the real?  Good question.  

Islam has many answers.  First of all, we must pray five times a day.  That is no longer just a break from work to reconnect with Allah, but a break from unreality.  We must really pray, make real movements, make real du'a.  We cannot phone it in, or do it on line.  We have to unplug from the virtual and reconnect with the real.  Take advantage of this time.  

We can also work on our tajweed and memorize Qur'an. Every moment we do is time we spend in reality.  We can also study history and tafsir of Qur'an.  Anything we do to bring us together in real time and space, and not on the internet is time spent in reality.  Don't just go on Online groups or classes, go to real classes, in time and space.  Spend time in jamaa.  It is essential.  

Never let anyone tell you not to go to masaajid or talk to anyone.  They are trying to brainwash you with something.  The truth does not require techniques to teach.  Qad tabayyana al rushdu min al ghay.  The truth shines above any error.  It shines, rushdu.  You will recognize it if you ask Allah to guide you.  Anyone who tells you not to listen to so and so, or that such and such is a  kafir, so don't listen to them, is trying to brainwash you.  A real sheikh will give you dalil, and explain why another's position is not sound.  

Anyone who tells you not to be in jamaa with other Muslims is not of us.  We are commanded by Allah to pray in jamaa and to seek shura, consultation, with one another.  This helps ensure we are not misled by Shaytan.  Shaytan isolates us and then whispers lies in our ears.  Anyone who tells you to stay away from the Muslims is from Shaytan.  Always consult with others who have real knowledge.  

Real knowledge is not just memorization of Qur'an or Hadith, it is understanding as well.  And that understanding must be based on sound methodology or minhaj, and on dalil.  Beware of weak minaahij that are not supported by Qur'an and Sunnah.  Just because some one says they follow the Salaf does not mean they follow the Qur'an and Sunnah.  Read original material by our classic shuyuk.  Do not get your deen from tele evangelists.  Many of these Internet shuyuk have only one year of Arabic classes, or one year of a course in Saudi Arabia.  Or they have a degree, but not in Fiqh or Usool al-Fiqh or Shariah, but instead, in Dawa.  They sound great, but when you listen in depth, you will discover they are misguiding you.  If they are, then a real sheikh will be able to go through their words point by point and give you the reasons for their mistakes.  

But, most of all, seek Allah's guidance, and mean it.  Do not seek to seen by others, or to feel superior.  If they tell you you are superior or of the "saved sect" and that you are better than others, they are false.  Kibriyya is the sin of Shaytan.  Anyone who says, I am better than you, is of Shaytan.  We are all human and the only thing that makes us better is taqwa, that clinging to rope of Allah.  And only Allah is the judge of that, not us.  Have taqwa of Allah, cling to Him as if you are child clinging to its parent, cling to Him for dear life, because He is the source and sole savior of your life.  

Allah is real!  Deen of Islam is real!  Stop this virtual Islam, leave it!  Come back to Real Islam!  

The Harikat al-Salafiyyah: The Minhaj of Fitnah

Islamic Unity

Islam is the Deen of Peace.  Peace begins with ceasing hostilities with Allah, and with each other.  One of the most grave mistakes we can make as Muslims is to break that peace through fitnah.  Allah SWT has told us that Fitnah Akbar Min al Qatl.  Fitnah is worse than killing.  It kills whole communities.  

Allah SWT always seeks to bring us together.  He never encourages division or strife.  Shaytan is the one who loves fitnah.  He loves to divide and conquer.  Division weakens us, and makes us susceptible to Shaytan's wiwas.  Therefore, anything which tears us apart is from Shaytan, and should be avoided. 

Shaytan is our avowed enemy.  And he knows all the tricks to fool us.  Allah SWT tells us in the Qur'an that he lies in wait for us on the Path of Sirat al Mustaqim.  He lures many away from the path with promises of the Hayyat ad-Duniya.  But, for some, that is not attractive, so he fools them with distortions of the Deen.  He preys upon everyone's desire to be the best, to be noticed, to standout in the crowd.  He preys upon our own ego to make us arrogant.  Allah SWT has told us that arrogance will only gain us Jehannum.

39:60 And on the Day of Resurrection thou will see those who lied concerning Allah with their faces blackened. Is not hell the home of the arrogant (al-mutakabbireen) ?

40: 35 Those who wrangle concerning the revelations of Allah without any warrant that hath come unto them, it is greatly hateful in the sight of Allah and in the sight of those who believe. Thus doth Allah print on every arrogant, disdainful heart.

Arrogance is born of ignorance.  No one with knowledge would ever be arrogant, for knowledge stems from the realization that you know nothing.  Ignorance stems from the lack of knowledge that you know nothing.

It is a great irony that the most arrogant are those who are the most ignorant.

An-Nahl 16: 22. Your God is One God: As to those who believe not
In the Hereafter, their hearts Refuse to know, and they Are arrogant.

Ignorance and Arrogance

Ignorance of our Deen is widespread today.  For the most part, we have only ourselves to blame for this condition.  For almost 200 years, sincere scholars have tried to revive the Deen of Islam.  But, in our arrogance, we insist that we already know the Deen, and we refuse to study and learn.  Imams offer classes, but no one attends.  Daiyyas offer lectures, but only a few attend.  And those who do attend do not really listen.  They strut and show off  their hiked up thowbs to each other, and argue about minor points of fiqh with others who are as ignorant as they.  Our Deen is in trouble.  

Many blame the traditional four Sunni Madhdhaahibs.  However, it is not the madhdhaahib that are the problem.  It is blind following that is the problem.


41:17. As to the Thamūd, We gave them guidance,
But they preferred blindness (Of heart) to Guidance:
So the stunning Punishment Of humiliation seized them,
Because of what they had earned.

However Allah SWT has also instructed us to follow His guidance.


4:59. O ye who believe!  Obey God, and obey the Apostle,
And those charged With authority among you.
If ye differ in anything Among yourselves, refer it To God and His Apostle,
If ye do believe in God And the Last Day:
That is best, and most suitable For final determination.

Based upon this command, the scholars have developed the concept of taqlid.  Taqlid is an most misunderstood term.

Taqlid

Taqlid comes from the Arabic root, Q-L-D, "to follow."  A "muqallid" is one who follows. The term does not necessarily denote that this "following" be without thought or reason.  It simply means to follow as is described in the following verse from Surah Zumar.

39:8. Those who listen To the Word, And follow ahsanahu :
Those are the ones Whom Allah has guided, and those Are the ones endued With understanding.

To "fanattabi'uun ahsanahu" means "then they are those that follow the best and most complete understanding and interpretation of what they have heard."  "Ahsanahu" comes from "ahsan" which comes from the root -H-S-N.  This term is difficult to translate and not so easy to understand even in Arabic.  We understand it best when we look at the term from the perspective of its relationship to the terms, "islam" and "islah."  All of these terms, islam, islah and ihsan, mean "peace."  They are the three steps of the Peace Process of Islam.  Islam is to cease hostilities with Allah SWT and with each other.  Islah is to seek reconciliation between ourselves and Allah, and between ourselves and each other.  Ihsan was defined by Rasul Allah, SAW, as "worshiping Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not, then to know with certainty that He sees you."  It is the most complete understanding and the most complete stage of the Peace Process - the state that generates salul - communion with Allah and community (Ummah) with each other.  This is not some hokey mystic communion; this is real peace with Allah.  No more rebellion, ungratefulness, and hate.  Only love of Allah, love of His Rasul, and love of all of His Creation.

"Ahsanahu," then means a following, "tabi'u" that is based on complete understanding and voluntary obedience.  Allah then confirms this by saying, "Those are the ones whom Allah has guided, and those are the ones endued (by Allah) with understanding."  (In other places we have discussed the approaches to the Shariah of the Muqalliduun, the Middle Position of Imams and Daiyyas, and the Ulema.  We would refer the reader to that discussion for an understanding to the scope of permissible taqlid).

However, some of the established madhdhaahib have advocated the different concept of taqlid. Some interpret this term to mean following without asking for dalil.  For example, in his book, Fiqh al-Imam; Key Proofs in Hanafi Fiqh, Abdur-Rahman Ibn Yusuf states the technical meaning of the term, "taqlid" is "The acceptance of another's statement without demanding proof or evidence ..."  (Fiqh al- Imam, p. 3).  He bases this incorrect interpretation on a ridiculous notion that if we did not uncritically accept everything our teachers and parents taught us, we would "be deprived on even the basic and preliminary needs of humanity." (Id. p. 4).  He claims man has a natural ability to imitate.  While this may be true, we also have a natural ability to innovate, otherwise humanity would never have progressed to its present level of technology and social organization.

Allah SWT has clearly prohibited this kind of uncritical following.



2:170. When it is said to them: "Follow what God hath revealed:"
They say: "Nay! we shall follow The ways of our fathers."
What! even though their fathers Were void of wisdom and guidance?

As Muslims, we must never blinding follow anything.  We must first determine that what we are following was revealed by Allah.  If it was revealed by Allah, then we must follow it. And in this ayat, Allah tells us why.  The knowledge that Allah has revealed to us through wahy is guidance and wisdom.  Any other form of knowledge is subject to doubt - dhann.  This is confirmed by what we have stated before in regard to both inductive and deductive logic.  Yes, they may appear rational (aql) or guided (huda), but ultimately, they can only be determined to be so based on first principles which can only be confirmed through the most certain form of knowledge - wahy or revelation.  Thus, revelation, here the Arabic is "anzala," is what should be "followed," and not any blind or irrational traditions and practices or forms of traditional knowledge.


5:04  When it is said to them: "Come to what God Hath revealed; come To the Apostle":
They say: "Enough for us Are the ways we found Our fathers following."
What! even though their fathers Were void of knowledge And guidance?

On the other hand, some of those who denigrate established madhdhaahib, or make fun of those who are muqallid, are brainwashing their own followers with an even more vehement and dangerous form of blind following. One of the numerous branches (furu') of the Harikat as-Salafiyya has been using these insidious brainwashing techniques to turn our youth off the path of Islam.  They quote the ayat from Surah al-Anbiya:



21:7. Before thee, also, the apostles  We sent were but men,
To whom We granted inspiration:  Then ask the Ahl al Dhikr, if you do not have Ilm.

First, they cut this ayat into pieces, which is haram.  The Jews and Christians erred before us because they chopped their books into pieces through the process of exegesis and scholastic interpretation. The ayat tells people that if they do not believe that Allah could send down revelation through wahy to a human being, then ask the people of dhikr.  Dhikr, in the Qur'an, generally means Remembrance of Allah.  If a person is one who has Dhikr, then he will know that Allah has always sent down revelation through human prophets, not through any other means.  If a person does not see that this must be so, then they are not endowed with Ilm.  Ilm is not just knowledge, but knowledge and understanding that leads to wisdom of action.

However, the takfiri branch of the Harikat as-Salafiyya say this ayat means that if you do not have knowledge of deen, then you must ask those who know.  They do not mention that this following of "ahl al dhikr" should be critical.  So, in affect, they are mandating blind following.

They are so blinded by this brainwashing, that they do not see that this policy is the same as the "taqlid" they condemn in other madhdhaahibs.

And their "blind following" is so extreme that it results not just in blindness, but in a gouging out of the "eyes" of reason.  The followers of these real extremists are told not to speak to others, that "so-and-so" is dangerous.  What are they afraid of?  The truth is mubin.  The Qur'an states that it is mubin. "La ikraha fi deen, qad tabayyana al rushdu min al ghaiy." "There is no compulsion, duress, force, or hate in deen, guidance stands out clearly from error." 2:256.  If your doctrine is the truth, why would you fear hearing other points of view?

With their chosen "shuyuk," whose only qualifications are that they attended a certain school, or that they wear a ghutrah and hiked up thowb, they fill our childrens' minds with arrogance that they are of the "chosen sect," while all the time they are leaving them in utter ignorance.

Their intent to misguide is clear.  In calling themselves Salafi, they claim that the term "Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jamaa" means that the sources of Islam are the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and the positions of the Salaf and Khalaf.  First of all, the term "Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jamaa" refers to the return of the Ummah to following the Sunnah, and coming together after the fitnah of Umayyads and the Mu'tazillah, who followed Rayy or reasoned opinion, rather than revelation.  They claimed that after the death of the Prophet, the State had the power to enforce, interpret and even to make law.  The Ahl as-Sunnah said no.  Only Allah SWT has the power of legislation to make Shariah law.  The Abbasid State followed this understanding and so coined the term, "Ahl as-Sunnah wa al-Jamaa."

As for the Khalaf, the Khalaf are the generation that followed after the Prophet, and the Salaf are those of the generation that followed after them.  In other words, they are the Tabi' and Tabi'tabi'een.  These terms have other implications, beyond the scope of this blog entry to detail, but here we shall note that no human being may be followed blindly.  The Qur'an warns us that the Jews erred by taking their Rabbis as Lords, infallible in their interpretation of Jewish Law.  The same is true for Muslims.  No Alim is infallible, and no Alim should be followed blindly, without critical evaluation of his credentials and dalil.

We should also note that the Harikat as-Salafiyya may use the term "Salaf," but that does not make them Salaf.  This is the reason why I have distinguished between the "Salaf" and the "Harikat as-Salafiyya."  The term "Salaf" denotes our elders in deen, while the "Harikat as-Salafiyya" denotes a doctrinal position.

These misguided brainwashers not only hold that the sayings of Scholars such as Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Qayyim must be followed, and are hence Fard, but they also distort and twist hadith and aathar.  Aathar are sayings of the Sahabi and Tabi' and those after them.  These accounts are not as rigorously scrutinized as are hadith of the Prophet SAW.  These so-called Salafi purposefully quote these aathar as if they are hadith, and so must be followed.  And not only that, but they sometimes misquote them to make them sound like hadith.
Several years ago, a group of these brainwashers propounded an aathar that mentioned the Sahaba, Ibn Masud.  Another Sahaba was visiting Ibn Masud in Iraq and found the people of Kufa doing itikaaf in the masjid during Ramadan.  He asked Ibn Masud if he had ever heard the Prophet SAW mention that itikaaf was only permissible in three masaajid, the Haram in Makkah, the Masjid An-Nabawiyy, and Al-Quds.  Ibn Masud said he did not know of this.  The brainwashers distorted this aathar to make it sound like a hadith of the Prophet related by Ibn Masud.

Blind Following of Scholars 

Many fall into this error of blind following because of a misinterpretation of the following ayat:


4:59. O ye who believe! Obey God, and obey the Apostle,
And those With authority among you.
If ye differ in anything Among yourselves, refer it
To God and His Apostle, If ye do believe in God And the Last Day:
That is best, and most suitable For final determination.

As we have stated elsewhere, "wa uly al-amri minkum" means to obey those who have the power of interpretation of the Shariah, the Ulema.  Certainly, we are told here that to obey Allah and His Prophet is fard or obligatory.  To disobey Allah and his Rasul is haram, sinful.

So what about those who have the authority of amr bi ma'ruf wa nahi al munkar?  Is it fard to obey them?

The next part is critical.  Allah SWT says that if the scholars should differ, then the issue is to be resolved by looking to the revelation sent by Allah to his Rasul - in other words, if there is a difference of opinion, then we must seek to resolve it by supporting our positions by evidence from the Qur'an and the Sunnah.  Allah then says that this is best and the most ahsan ta'wil or most complete and competent interpretation.

Here, we see that it is fard to obey Allah and His Rasul, and the interpretations of the Ulema, when they agree and their positions are based on the Qur'an and Sunnah.  This is why many Scholars of Usul al-Fiqh consider Ijma or Unanimity of Scholars on an issue to be binding, or Fard.

However, if the Scholars do not agree, and there is rationally based iktilaf, then we must seek the position that we consider, through due diligence and ijtehad, to be as close as possible to the Qur'an and Sunnah.  Since reasonable people can disagree, as long as the positions are based on rational daleel, then we must not fight or create fitnah over these differences.  We must accept these differences; respect one another; and let Allah SWT decide between us on Yawm al Qiyamah, as He has said He will do in the Qur'an.

However, the Harikat as-Salafiyya, no matter what furu', continues to hold that only one position is possible, and acceptable, and that one does not hold their position, then one is kafir.  Their intolerance and lack of respect for reasonable iktilaf is simply unIslamic.  When the two groups differed over the Prophet's command to pray Asr before coming to the fort of the Bani Quraizah, they asked the Prophet about their respective ijtehad.  Each group was sincere and each applied due diligence.  The Prophet responded by not rebuking either group.  THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

He could have said both were correct, or he could have said one was correct, but he did not rebuke either. This means that we are not limited by two fiqh approaches.  One group chose a more literal approach, the other chose a more totality of the circumstances approach.  But he did not rebuke either, meaning that we are not limited.  And reasonable approach is possible.  Again, Allah SWT will judge us on that in which we differ.

So to advocate that one group is "the saved sect" and all others are kafir is clearly in violation of the spirit of this hadith and the command to unity and the prohibition of fitnah.

Blind Following and Closing the Doors of Ijtehad

Others blame this mindset of blindness on the closing of the doors of Ijtehad.  It is true that sincere attempt to codify fiqh into a legal code resulted in stagnation and a retreat in to traditionalism.  When the Ottoman Empire codified Islamic Law in the Mejellah, they inadvertently encouraged blind following. Who needs ijtehad when you have a code?  If you have a question, just go to the code. No need for daleel, or even an appeal to the Qur'an and Sunnah; it's in the code.

So, Islamic Law stagnated and tradition took over.  Scholarship also declined, because there was no need for ijtehad or to teach how to make ijtehad.  We were left with tradition and opinion, instead of revelation and reason.

However, the Islamic revival opened those doors again.  Although some scholars still seem to feel the need to argue in favor of opening these doors, no serious scholar can doubt the principle of Nur al An.

The Basis of Islamic Unity

Upon what foundation is our Islamic unity to be based?  Can there be any doubt that our unity must be based on the revelation from Allah?  What Allah SWT revealed to us is memorialized in the Qur'an and the Sunnah.  We understand the Qur'an to be the revealed word of Allah, revealed through the agency of the Angel Jibreel, to the Prophet Muhammad.  We understand the Sunnah to be the sayings, actions, approvals, and disapprovals of the Prophet SAW.  The Sunnah is his actual words and actions, not any memorialization of these.  Many mistakenly think that the Sunnah is hadith or that hadith are the Sunnah.  This is false.  Hadith are the recording recollections of those who saw or heard the Prophet say or do something.  Although our elders strived to be as accurate as possible, their recollections are just that, recollections; not the actual word or deeds of our Prophet.  Only the Sahabi who witnessed these words and deeds can be said to actually "know" the Sunnah.  We only have recorded accounts.

One might argue the Qur'an is also written.  However, the Qur'an had two lines of transmission, oral and written.  Moreover, it is mutawattir, transmitted through so many lines of transmission and transmitters that they could not have all agreed on a lie.  Hadith do not share this property.  The Ahadith literature is considered in Usul al Fiqh as a dhani source, one that is subject to doubt.  The Qur'an is considered a qati or absolutely certain source.

We should also note that the Sunnah is not only recorded in hadith, but in other forms of even less reliable literature, including Seerah, Taarikh (History), Fiqh Books and other texts.  These recorded accounts are not considered to be acceptable as proof in fiqh.  This is important because many of our Daiyyas recount stories of the Prophet and his Companions from Seerah literature and then misguide people, intentionally or unintentionally, into thinking these stories can be the basis of fiqh or that any practice mentioned in these stories is "Sunnah."  These practices may or may not be Sunnah, but Seerah literature is not proof of such a status.  Only hadith literature is acceptable as proof text in fiqh.

And not all hadith are acceptable as proof texts.  The doctors of Ulum al Hadith have graded hadith based on their strength in several areas.  The doctors of Fiqh have then used these grades to determine which hadith to accept as proof texts, and which cannot be accepted as proof.

We should note here one of the biggest problems with the positions of the Harikat as-Salafiyyah.  Many quote hadith in support of their positions and then state that the hadith is sahih.  What does it mean to be sahih?  There are different criteria used by the Ulema.  Imam Bukhaari has the most stringent criteria.  Sheikh Albani, whom many see as the absolute authority who must be followed, has the weakest criteria.  Some have foolishly attacked the Sheikh.  Such attacks are evil.  The Harikat as-Salafiyya engage in this evil of attacking Ulema as well.  It is logically invalid and Islamic haram to do so.

Sheikh Albani had a lofty goal to try to evaluate all hadith.  However, scholars, including Sheikh Bin Baz, and Sheikh al-Uthaimin, noted that his minhaj was not sound.  Sheikh Shahrazuhri, the great scholar of hadith, stated in circa 1100, that it was not possible to evaluate hadith by Ilm al Rijal alone, yet Albani sought to do so.  There are two books of Ilm al Rijal; one Sunni and one Shia.  Since fitnah ruled at the time they were written, we cannot rely on either.  Although some knowledge of narrators is important, it cannot be the exclusive means for judging the authenticity of a hadith.  We must also look to the matin, to reason and common sense, the the circumstances and other aspects of the hadith in the effort to rule out hidden defects.
Knowing the narrators is not enough.  If one can fake the matin, one can fake the isnad.

Understanding Iktilaaf

Finally, in order to find unity, we must understand difference.  The Islamic science in which we differ most is fiqh.  So what is Fiqh?

Shariah is a well-worn path to a watering hole.  It is a path, with limits, but also with a wide road bed.  It is Divine and immutable.  But, it is not just a set of rules or ahkam.  It contains commands and prohibitions, as well as maqaasid, qawaaid, principles of ijtehad, and all that makes up what we call the Law.  Fiqh, then, is the human understanding of Shariah.  It is human, and hence not perfect, and it is our understanding.  For example, in the Qur'an Allah mentions the waiting period for a woman after divorce.  It is three quru'.  What is a quru'?  It is three mensus, but is that counted from one blood to the next, or from one period of cleanliness to the next?  It could rationally and literally be either.  Because both views are possible, we must respect either opinion, as well as the opinion that we should seek the safest route and go with which ever period of time is longer.  The Shariah is clear - quru', the fiqh is our understanding of the meaning of this term.  

The Shariah is immutable and does not change.  It was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad SAW and cannot be augmented.  Fiqh, on the other hand, is conditioned upon the circumstances.  Our world view, culture, technology, language, environment, system of government, education level and every aspect of our lives affects our understanding.  Fiqh is of two branches, fiqh al ahkam and fiqh al manaat.  So, from the sources of the Shariah, the Qur'an and Sunnah, we derive the rules, but then we have to also apply the rules to real life situations.  We look to the totality of the circumstance to understand the Shariah in our time and place.  This explains why Imam Shafii changed his ruling when he moved from Iraq to Egypt.  Conditions were different.  

Here we must not forget that Fiqh is not just about how we pray.  There are two substantive branches of fiqh:  Fiqh al Ibadaat and Fiqh al Mu'amalaat.  Fiqh al Ibadaat is based on ayat of the Qur'an and descriptions of acts of ibaadah from the Sunnah, in particular the main source texts of the Sunnah, the hadith. (I use the term "hadith" here as both singular and plural as this has become customary in both Arabic and English, today.).  Shariah is all-inclusive, a way of life.  Hence, fiqh is also a complete system, and not just rules of worship and wudu, or family law.  For many of us, this is what Islamic law has become.  But Islamic Law is far greater.  It is the most just, equitable and fair system for the Rule of Law upon this earth.  This is the reason why practicing Muslims seek to live by it.  And the reason it is so fair and just is that it always takes into account the totality of the circumstances and does not seek to impose ruling derived a thousand years ago on people living today.  Those rulings may still apply, but they also may not.  Each generation has the duty and right to apply the law to its own circumstances.  

When Umar suspended the Hudd during a time of famine, he did so following this principle of Nur al An.  To have imposed the penalty for theft at a time of starvation would have been oppressive and unjust.  To preserve the overarching maqsid of justice, he suspended the Hudd and made every effort to help those who were in need.  

On the other hand, we cannot allow circumstances to overrule the Maqaasid ash-Shariah themselves.  For example, many argue that it is ok to celebrate Halloween in America.  They even have programs at mosques, with candy and face painting.  They say that just because this holiday has pagan origins, does not mean that Americans are supporting some form of paganism.  They claim that the modern impetus for these events is merely commercial.  That is true, to a certain extent, but then we must consider what these holidays really celebrate - greed.  They are commercially connected;  in fact they are capitalist.  Islam does not support a capitalist economy because it promotes hoarding - the accumulation of capital - and greed.  We support a free enterprise - capital flow economy based on la riba and purification of earnings through zakat.  Is Halloween really so harmless when it teaches people to be greedy, to hoard candy, to dress up as evil creatures.  Ask your kids - they all talk about monsters, zombies and other brainwashed, mindless beings.  This is what the predominant culture is turning them into.  And that is really scary, but we do not see it.  We are blind.

Our devolution into entrenched positions and cultural practices is destroying Islam from every side.  Our ignorance leads us to gobble up Western culture and traditions, while viewing our own as backward and foolish.  We have allowed ourselves to be brainwashed into thinking the West is Best.  But our ignorance also fuels the reverse reaction, which is to label anything Western haram.  Boku Haram.  What does it mean? Education is Haram - Ignorance is Bliss I guess.  But, in reality, ignorance is painful and destructive, which is why Allah SWT, over and over, encourages us to seek knowledge.  We have become mired in fitnah.

Fitnah Akbar Min al Qatl

After World War I, Kamal Attaturk dismantled the Ottoman Empire to further his own ambitions and appease the Western Powers, who had desired to destroy the long-lived Ottoman Saracen state, since the days of the Crusades.  The Western Powers carved up the map of the Middle East while sitting in luxury in Europe.  They subjected the population of the Middle East to the humiliation of occupation, and brainwashed the youth into believing that Middle Eastern culture, religion and morality was backward, resistant to progress and barbaric.  

The "best and brightest" of the Middle East, the intelligencia, either adopted Western ideas, or left and became ex-pats in Paris or London, or even Minnesota.  The poor and uneducated had no choice.  They had to stay. They became fodder for movements and political groups, whose used either Western ideas or old-fashioned anti-Western ideas, to pull in money and followers.  

However, amongst some who really sought knowledge, some also saw an opportunity for real change.  After all, most of the Middle East had been subject to occupation for over 500 years; occupation by the Turks.  The Arab populations had been subject to the military and cultural control of the Turks.  They had developed a subservient mentality.  Some realized the best hope was not to blindly follow the West, but to develop a solution that grew naturally out of the soil of the Middle East; something of our own.  Such a solution would lead to greater collective self-esteem, encourage independence, and allow for appropriate progress.  These thinkers looked to Islam as providing the greatest hope for such a solution. 

Muhammad Abdul, Rashid Rida and other reformers understood the promise of Islam as a progressive force for appropriate change, that was moral and just, not oppressive.  Their ideas led to Islamic movements, such as the Harikat al Islamiyy/Ikhwaan Al-Muslimeen, and the Harikat al-Salafiyya.  These movements had two goals - revival of ibadaah and deen, and providing solutions to the crisis of authority in the vacuum created by the demise of the Ottoman State.  

As we have mentioned else where, there are three forms of authority;  legislative, executive and interpretive or judicial.  We, as Muslims, have generally agreed that only Allah SWT has the legislative power.  And many of us hold that executive/enforcement power and interpretive power should be independent from each other.  However, both the Harakat al Islamiyy and the Harakat al Salafiyya held that executive power and interpretive power should be under one roof.  

The Ikhwaan al-Muslimeen is noted for its says, "The Qur'an is our Constitution."  They countered the trend toward secular governments, and especially the Civil Code of Samhuri, who borrowed from every legal system  in the world including Ottoman code, by advocating Shariah as the legal code and source of executive power.  Only those governments who agreed to rule by the Shariah were entitled to executive power.  Of course, governments staffed by Ikhwaan had the most right to exercise such power.  And this concept led to its corollary that only the Ikhwaan had the proper interpretation of the law, and so had the authority to interpret and exercise judicial power.  

This understanding of authority, and insistence that only those that follow specific dogmas are qualified as both executive and as interpreters stems from an exclusiveness that has lurked in the background in the Islamic world for a long time.  It has generally been overcome by the Islamic policy of tolerating ikhtilaaf.  Ikhtilaaf is natural, due to differences in methodology, minhaj, and use of reason.  Muslim scholars have always encouraged tolerance and respect for other points of view.  But, Islamic history is not a bed of roses. Many scholars, including Ibn Hanbal and Ibn Taymiyyah were jailed by rulers who did not share their interpretations of Shariah.  Some scholars were even killed after rulers declared them heretics in one way or another.  

So, with the tradition of this takhfir lurking in the background, the Harikats began to label opponents as munaafiq or kafirs.  Labeling enemies as such not only allowed the Harikats to refuse to follow others or exclude others from power, but also gave violent elements the excuse they needed to kill opponents.  And so Muslims began to kill Muslims.  All we needed to do is declare the other guy as Kafir, and we had every excuse to violently overthrow governments, or kill political opponents.  We could be as oppressive, corrupt and violent as our Western influenced opponents.  

We have mentioned the Harikat al Islamiyy first, because they were the most interested in political power.  The Ikhwaan envisioned a government with "Qur'an as our Constitution;" and their interpretation of the Qur'an as the only legitimate one.  They also envisioned a certain form of government.  Rooted in the Communist Revolution of the day, they created cadres and a "brotherhood" comrade-like structure, that passed on training and information, but was not easily penetrated by Egyptian government spies and such.  Paranoid and inward-looking, the cultivated secrecy and taqiyyah.  And the suppression of the Ikhwaan by the government did not help it.  They gained no experience in governance, nor could they.  Yet, they did little to try to.  Scattering to the wind in Europe and America, the Ikhwaanis did nothing to gain experience that would have enabled them to run a state.  Instead, like the old-boy system they really were, they gave each other fundraising jobs at Islamic organizations and gave each other degrees at degree mills created by them.  

Now they are nothing more than a strident group of fundraisers and speech makers who have no practical skills and have failed to maintain the interest of the youth, who are far more sophisticated and who have more practical management and technical experience that the "old-boys."  

The Ikhwaan's priority in governance and authority is further revealed in its approach to fiqh.  They speak much of fiqh of this or fiqh of that, but they do not have a defined minhaj of usul.  The Usul of the Ikhwaan is the "Jamhuriyya", following the majority opinion.  On one hand, this approach reduces fitnah, especially in Egypt and Sudan, where both the Maliki and Shafii schools are present, but where Muslims have also been influenced by various Sufi schools and the presence of Ismaili Shia.  So, to prevent fitnah, the Ikhwaan follows the majority of the scholars.

As for the Harikat al-Salafiyya, they also sought to counter the trend toward secular governments.  However, they, like the majority of Muslims, and unlike the Ikhwaan, felt that enforcement power and interpretive power should be independent.  The term Salafi refers to the Salaf or Righteous Generations after the Prophet, His Companions and their Khalaf or Followers.  The Salaf were a real group of people.  The Harikat as-Salafiyya is a movement.  Despite their lip service to the Salaf, they follow their own opinions, as we have mentioned above.

While the Ikhwaan tried to prevent fitnah to some extent, the Salafiyya have wallowed in it.  They have encouraged fiqh disputes, aqeedah disputes, and political disputes.  Several furu' have develop around the issue of rebellion against secular governments.  Some, particularly those favored by the Saudi Royal Family, have held that waliyy liamru minkum refers to enforcement authority and hence the State.  Therefore, it is prohibited to rebel against a State.  Some have held that this only applies to States that judge by Shariah Law, such as Saudi Arabia, but not to States that rule by secular or mixed law, such as Egypt.  Still others, particularly those that follow Albani, say that you cannot rebel against any government, even if they judge by only secular law.  Still others hold that even if the government is unjust, one cannot rebel or disobey.

However, still others say rebellion is required - Fard.  They cite the command to amr bi ma'ruf wa nahi al munkar and the hadith regarding prohibiting by the hand, the tongue and the thought.  This would mean that it is fard to make "jihad" against states that judge by secular law.  This position has fueled "jihadism" and violence, despite other evidence that mitigates how to deal with disobedience, and with non-Muslims.

The biggest problem we face with these misguided interpretations of Islam is that they cite one or two texts, often taken out of context, and ignore a multitude of other evidence from Qur'an and Sunnah that would lead to a more correct interpretation.  We are commanded to ihsan ta'wilaan - not this cut and paste methodology.

In the final analysis, we are commanded to Unity - the be an Ummah Wahid.  We must, then follow paths that lead to unity and shun those that lead to fitnah.

Ashura: Fasting For Freedom

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Ashura

Ashura - the tenth day of the month of Muharram - is an important event in the history of Islam and in the understanding of the Islamic objectives.  Through our examination of the events that have historically occurred on this day, we obtain an understanding of the maqaasid of Islamic Shariah.  

Ibn Abbas RAA relates that the Prophet SAW, after his arrival in Madina, found the Jewish community of that city commemorating a day of fasting.  He asked them about this fast and they mentioned that this day was associated with Musa AS, in that this day was considered the day on which Allah SWT drowned Firawn and his forces.  When he heard this the Prophet SAW said, “We have more right to Musa than you,” and he ordered the Ummah of Islam to observe this fast.  (al-Bukhari).  

Al-Qurtubi noted that this practice of fasting on Ashura may have been practiced by the Quraish during the period of Jahiliyyah.  In that case, it may have been a remnant of the Deen al-Qayim, the Deen al Hanif, that preceded the time of ignorance and paganism ushered in by Luhai and his act of bringing idols into the Kaaba.    

At any rate, for our early Muslim community, fasting Ashura was fard.  Later, after Allah revealed the obligation of fasting Ramadan, the fast of Ashura became a Sunnah nawfil, but one that is mu’akkad.  

We also have some evidence that our Prophet considered the 9th of Muharram as a part of this fast of Ashura.  He is reported to have said in the last year of his life, that if he lived to the next year, he would fast on the 9th and 10th.  He did not live until the next year, but many scholars consider it nawfil to fast on both days.  (It should be noted that nearly 10 years had past since Ashura had become nawfil, and he did not fast on the 9th during that time, and also it should be noted that others also fast on the 11th.  I do not consider the evidence for this practice of fasting on the 11th to be strong enough to consider it a sunnah).  

One might ask to which Jewish fast does Ashura correspond?  Some have thought that Ashura might correspond to Yawm Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.  “For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before God” (Leviticus 16:30).

Similarly to the fast of Ramadan, observant Jews fast from food, drink and sexual relations.  They also abstain from bathing, anointing with perfumes and wearing leather socks. The fast of Yawm Kippur lasts from just before sunset on the 9th of Tishrei until after nightfall on the 10th of Tishrei.  

For observant Jews, Yawm Kippur is the most sacred day, and one of High Holy Days.  For observant Muslims, this day of Ashura comes at the end of the first ten days of the most sacred month of Muharram.  The very name of the first month of the Muslim calendar means “sacred.” Some hold that the phrase, “Wa yalaain Ashur” in Surah al Fajr, refers to the first ten days and nights of Muharram.  (Others hold it refers to the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah.).  

What we gain from this historical information is that this day is a sacred day of fasting, involving both the 9th and 10th of Muharram.  This is understandable in that days in both Islam and Judaism begin at sunset, not at sunrise.  

Every Firawn has a Musa

What we do not gain from this information is the association between this day and story of Musa.  However, the Prophet SAW was told by the Jews of Madina that it was on this day that Firawn was drowned. As a result, this day was associated with both salvation from oppression and punishment for oppressing others.  

Sheikh Mohammad al-Hanooti, RAA, used to often say, when speaking about the oppression facing many in the Muslim world, “Every Firawn has a Musa.”  Certainly, this truth is a source of great hope to us all.  Mahatma Gandhi reminded us that throughout history, no tyrant has ever lasted.  They all die and turn to dust.  

As for Firawn, Allah SWT promised him that his body would be a reminder for all of the reward for dhulm.  

Yunus  10:90 And We brought the Children of Israel across the sea, and Pharaoh with his hosts pursued them in rebellion and transgression, till, when the drowning overtook him, he exclaimed: I believe that there is no God save Him in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am of those who surrender (unto Him).

91 What! Now! When hitherto thou hast rebelled and been of the wrong-doers ?

92 But this day We save thee in thy body that thou mayst be a portent for those after thee. Lo! most of mankind are heedless of Our portents.

Many who have seen the body of Seti I and Ramses II have remarked as to the amazing state of their preservation.  Allah Ta’ala Alim who was the Pharoah at the time of Musa, but certainly these preserved corpses remind all of us that no matter how we pickle ourselves, what we consider “us” does not persist.  These men are gone.  They have no power, no ability.  They are just like rocks and stones.  

Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote:

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away."

But what of Musa?  What remains of Musa?  Everything of him other than his physical body remains.  His soul remains in the hands of Allah SWT.  His acts still inspire.  His character still provides guidance.  Even his writings, despite any alterations, still remain.  Look upon his works ye Mighty, - this man whom you considered as weak and of no account - look upon his works, and you despair.  

Musa stood up against the oppression of a person who denied Allah.  In fact, he was so arrogant, he thought he was a god.  Istaghfiru Allah.  How deluded can a person be?  

Musa provides an example for us all of how to respond to dhulm of one who does not believe in Allah, who denies Allah.  He did not respond violently.  Instead, he spoke to Firawn in ways that Firawn could understand.  

He knew that the people of that time were impressed by miraculous acts.  We know from archeological study that the people of Firawn believed in numerous gods and that they used all manner of prayers and spells to invoke these gods to aid them in their daily lives.  We also know a great deal about their beliefs regarding the afterlife.  They believed that you “could take it with you,” by preserving the body and burying the body with all manner of goods.  With his deep knowledge of Egyptian culture, Musa understood that signs such as the casting of his staff at the snakes conjured by the sorcerers, and other signs given him by Allah, would impress the people and convince them of the truth of tawhid.

The Arabs at the time of the Prophet SAW were not so inclined to symbolism and miracle working, yet they still demanded signs from our Prophet that would prove to them the truth of his mission.  Allah gave them a greater miracle than any trick or symbol; He gave them the Qur’an, a miraculous book that no one has ever duplicated or even come close to producing.  

But sadly, despite Musa’s efforts, Firawn would not admit the truth, and he persisted in his dhulm.  Notice then what Musa did.  He did not pursue a course of violence and rebellion in Egypt; instead he gathered his people and left.  

4:97 Lo! as for those whom the angels take (in death) while they wrong themselves, (the angels) will ask: In what were ye engaged ? They will say: We were oppressed in the land. (The angels) will say: Was not Allah's earth spacious that ye could have migrated therein ? As for such, their habitation will be hell, an evil journey's end;

98 Except the feeble among men, and the women, and the children, who are unable to devise a plan and are not shown a way.

99 As for such, it may be that Allah will pardon them. Allah is ever Clement, Forgiving.

Here Allah SWT tells us that the proper response to oppression in the land, is to leave, to migrate.  And so Musa leads his people out of bondage, across the water to freedom.  

Firawn, however, could not leave well enough alone.  He had to pursue Musa and his people.  Like the Quraish after him, he was obsessed with preventing the believers from being free to believe in tawheed.  So he pursued the fleeing Bani Israel and tried to attack them.  In this instance, Allah defended His followers and drowned Firawn and his forces in the sea.  In the case of the Quraish, He gave the Prophet and his followers permission to fight back and defend themselves.  

In each instance, Allah SWT guides us to understand that when we are oppressed by a tyrant, we must first seek to leave.  To cooperate with tyranny, is to encourage and support it. To cooperate with tyranny and dhulm is a sin. Therefore, we must first seek to prevent tyranny, by abandoning it.  If the oppressor follows and pursues those fleeing his oppression, then Allah will provide a way for those people.  Either He will take care of it, as He did for Musa; or He will give permission to the people to prevent oppression and dhulm though responding in kind.  

Every Hussein has a Yazeed

The Prophet SAW also had to deal with the dhulm of the Quraish, and like Musa, his first response was to immigrate.  First he sent followers to Ethiopia, in the First Hijrah.  Then he sent his followers to the town of Yathrib.  After the Prophet SAW emigrated along with his dear friend, Abu Bakr, the Quraish followed the path of Firawn and sent an army to fight the Muslims in Madina.  It was then that the Prophet was given the permission to fight.

After the first battle in Islam, the Battle of Badr, many became attracted to the new religion.  It was successful.  The Muslim army gained great booty at Badr.  Wealth attracted hangers-on.  As a result, the deen began to attract individuals who were not as sincere.  They appeared to practice the deen, but in their hearts, they did not have the depth of commitment.  

We call such people who lack the depth of commitment, munaafiq.  N-F-Q- means to spend, and such people spend their good deeds frivolously.  They perform good deeds like prayer and ibaadah mostly to be seen by others.  So any deed they do is wasted, just like those who waste money on foolish pursuits.  They “blow” their good deeds by having bad intentions and by committing evil in private.

Rulers and those in power are especially susceptible to infaq.  Some modern rulers have photos taken in prayer and videos taken doing acts of charity; but in the next instant, they order the death of innocents, and oppress members of other tribes or ethnic groups.  They violate the Shariah, yet claim to be its guardians.  

How then should Muslims deal with tyrants in our midst?  

The actions of Imam Hussein on the day of Ashura provide a model.  

Yazeed, the son of Mu’awiyyah, was just such an internal tyrant.  He held that he was the Khalif or successor to the Prophet in every respect.  Istaghfiru Allah.  He held that he had the power to enforce the law, interpret the law, and even make the law.  Given the Qur’anic verse, Atiu Allah wa Atiu Rasul, we understand that Allah alone has the power to legislate through the Qur’an and the Sunnah.  Yes, humans have the power to enforce the law and interpret it, but these two powers should be independent, otherwise the temptation to corruption will be too great.  

Tyranny is grounded in usurption and corruption of power.  Tyranny destroys independence and freedom.  Dhulm is the shadow of arrogance, the shadow of the original sin of Shaytan.  

When tyrants abuse the truth to justify their evil, and when they twist guidance so that it become error, those who stand firm on the deen that encourages good and discourages evil, must respond.

Yazeed became corrupt.  Power went to his head, and he strayed off the right path.  He twisted the religion and claimed he had the power to make Shariah law.  Someone had to respond, and that was Imam Hussein.  

Hussein spoke out for truth, and for the correct understanding that only Allah can legislate.  He spoke out for the Qur’an and Sunnah.  

He began by trying to remind those who were astray.  But, that was not sufficient.  Like the people of Firawn, the Umayyads and their ideologues would not be swayed.  They compelled people to obey them and cracked down violently on any dissent.  They left no other alternative response.  

Imam Hussein was compelled to respond to the cries of the people of Kufa for assistance.  He left Madina, and prepared to defend the oppressed.  In the end, he faced martyrdom for the purpose of doing so.  For to defend those oppressed by those within our own ranks, or at least those who profess to be of Islam, we must pursue means permissible in Islam.  Just as Musa and Muhammad pursued permissible means to deal with non-believing tyrants, so too must we utilize permissible means to repel internal tyrants.

As Muslims, we are absolutely forbidden to kill one another.  The Prophet SAW said that when two Muslims fight one another, both will be in nar.  This is because no matter what the outcome, both were willing to kill the other.  Knowing this, Imam Hussein did not seek to kill, but he did accept to die.  And in dying, he understood that his death was most effective last resort for dealing with an internal tyrant.  

Just like qital, shuhadaa is a last resort.  We should try all means of Sulh and Tahkim and other non-violent means, but if the tyrant cannot be dissuaded in any other way, then we must resort to the final option.  In the case of an internal tyrant, that is martyrdom.  Like Hussein, we must be willing to stand at Karbalaa and lay down our lives for the truth.

Amru Min Kum

Many hold that rebellion against governments, be they secular or “Muslim,” is haram.  They base this on the ayah that states, Atiu Allah wa Atiu Rasul, wa amaru min kum.  They interpret the “amaru minkum” as meaning those who have the power to enforce the law.  But that is not the meaning of this phrase.  The key to understanding this ayah is in the beginning part.  Obey Allah and Obey His Messenger…”  What does it mean to “Obey Allah and Obey His Messenger?”  

The Shariah is divine.  Allah sends it down through the means of wahy or revelation by the agency of the Angel Jibreel to the Prophet Muhammad SAW.  The Shariah includes not just the ahkam or commands of the law, but all of what we in the West call The Law - its ahkam, its maqaasid, its qawaaid, its illa, sabab and hikmah.  This Law is contained in the repositories of this wahy, the Qur’an and the Sunnah.  The Sunnah is the actual actions, words, tacit approvals and behaviors of our Prophet SAW.  Both are the as the result of wahy revelation.  We assume that the Sunnah has divine origin unless we have express evidence that the particular matter mentioned was the result of the Prophet’s personal ijtehad, and not the result of wahy.

Sultaniyya or Authority has three furu’ or branches;  Legislative, Executive and Interpretive or Judicial.  In Islam, we, early on, decided that Legislative power lies only with Allah.  The executive power or enforcement power lies with the government.  Where we have sometimes differed is as to interpretive power.  Some, especially government leaders, favor that governments have the power of interpretation.  While others favor Imamate - the idea that interpretive power must be independent of governments, and must lie with the scholars - qualified individuals.  

As a result of this debate, many have held that “amru min kum” refers to the enforcement authorities, and so we are prohibited from rebellion against the State.  However, this is not the case.  “Amru min kum” refers to those who have the interpretive power, the scholars.  For it is they who engage in fiqh.

Shariah is the Divine Law.  Fiqh is the human understanding of the Divine Law.  Fiqh is human, and so susceptible to error.  It is also understanding.  It is not the law itself, but the understanding of the ahkam of the law.  There are two branches of fiqh - fiqh al ahkam - the understanding of the rulings, and fiqh al manaaT - the understanding of the totality of the circumstances.  The later includes the understanding of Usul, maqaasid, qawaaid, ijtehad and applied law.  

Today, we often talk about how the only legitimate legal system is that of Shariah.  However, when we have tried to institute such a system using Arbitration and religious courts in the West, many Muslims have not taken advantage of these services.  We pay lip service to Shariah, but when presented with real efforts to provide an Islamic legal system, we want nothing to do with it.  Until we make Allah and His Rasul the sole judge between us, we will not be successful.  We know this.  The Qur’an tells us so.  But we refuse to abide by this, even when some Western countries, such as the United States, allow us to do so under contract law and the Arbitration Act.  It is true that we cannot institute Hadd, but we can live by Shariah and Fiqh in every aspect of law except the Hadd.  But we refuse to do so.

Not only have we neglected Applied law in this way, but we have not trained ourselves to be judges.  We love to give fatawa, but we refuse to study applied law, Qadaa, and the Adab al Qadi.  As a result, we often give rulings that are devoid of mercy and equity; that are oppressive and unjust.  Islam demands justice.  Umar suspended the Hadd for theft during a time of famine, in the interest of true justice and equity.  To have instituted Hadd at that time would have led to oppressive results.  

The point of this is to understand that “amru min kum” refers to those with the authority to interpret the law, not governments.  Abu Bakr, in his acceptance speech, reminds us that the Ummah is only obligated to obey a government if it commands to what is halal.  If it commands to haram, we are not obligated to obey.  Period.

So, how should we deal with governments that command to haram?  We are so free with the term Kafir today.  This takfiri approach is harmful and is against the principles of Islam.  Remember the hadith regarding Hudhaifi, when he met an old enemy in battle.  The man cried out the Shahada, yet Hudhaifi killed him.  Later, he reported this to the Prophet SAW, who corrected him.  How did he know what was in the man’s heart.  Even if we suspect the person is lying, we must act as if he is sincere.  We must treat such leaders as if they are Muslim, as so to kill them is haram.  But we are not obliged to obey them either.  To do so would be to encourage their sin.  If we love them as brothers, we cannot participate in any dhulm they commit.  We must act in such as way as to discourage their behavior and advise them sincerely as to the good.

The Hope of Ashura

Ashura - the tenth of Muharram.  A day for all Muslims.  A day that inspires us today.  For today we face external and internal tyrants.  And we face all of these types of tyrants in Syria.  Bashir al-Assad, the Baathist, is an atheist.  Although he tries to be a wolf in sheep’s clothing by having Ayatollah Khomeini declare his Alawi ethnic group to be Shia, he is nothing but an atheist.  Added to his external tyranny, we now have Russian forces bombing Muslims.  And then there are tyrannical groups who espouse Harikat al Salafiyya doctrine in extreme ways that defy Islamic teachings.  They are internal tyrants.  And then we the Dawlat as-Shaytan whose teachings are beyond understanding.  We can only wonder at who came up with these teachings, whose effect is to deface Islam and cause grave harm to Muslims.

Truly we are deeply in need of unity in this effort against the forces of evil in Syria and Iraq.  And perhaps it is through a joint commemoration of Ashura that we can come together to respond to this dhulm.  Whether we remember Musa or Hussein, we must act to counter this evil and restore peace and tawheed. What ever it takes to counter this shulm, we must chose means that are Islamic, and which stem from a deep commitment to Allah in Islam.  

We cannot respond without thought and without due diligence and care.  We must respond without undue emotion.  We must think before ever we act.  We must act rationally and carefully to ensure our every action is instilled with Islamic principles.  Only then, will we be successful.  We must pray heartfully, that Allah will guide us to the correct understanding, and not just arrogantly assume we are already guided.  

It is an irony that the more ignorant the person, the more arrogant.  Ignorance breeds arrogance.  Knowledge brings us to understanding, and the greatest thing we come to understand is how little we know.  Those who know nothing, think they know everything; and those who know much, understand they know little.  

So let us come together, no matter our minhaj, sect, madhdhaab etc, and be Muslims.  Let us use this day of Ashura to remember that one of the objectives of this Deen is Justice and Peace, and Freedom from Dhulm.  Let us fast together, learn about current cases of dhulm, and plan actions to counter the dhulm of the time.  Let us follow the model of Musa and Hussein.  Let us be the Musa of today’s Firawn and the Hussein of today’s Yazeed.