Striving Against Da'esh

9:73. O Prophet! strive hard against The Unbelievers and the Hypocrites,
And be firm against them. Their abode is Hell,—An evil refuge indeed.

74. They swear by God that they Said nothing (evil), but indeed
They uttered blasphemy, And they did it after accepting
Islam; and they meditated A plot which they were unable
To carry out: this revenge Of theirs was (their) only return
For the bounty with which God and His Apostle had enriched
Them! If they repent, It will be best for them;
But if they turn back (To their evil ways),
God will punish them With a grievous penalty
In this life and in the Hereafter: They shall have none on earth
To protect or help them.

In these ayaat of Surah al-Tawbah, Allah SWT commands us to strive against all who plot against our Deen of Islam, be they from without and from within.  The fact that there are those who have used our own Deen against us to seek revenge against us, should not be a surprise.  Such people have always sought to destroy us.  We only have to remember Abdullah ibn Salul and his followers.  They claimed to be Muslim.  They even prayed as we do, attended the masaajid, made salaat and paid zakat.  But, in secret, they plotted revenge on the believers, the Mu'minoon.

They swear by Allah, "Wa Llahi this, Wa Llahi that..."  But, in the end, they make all kinds of invalid, foolish arguments.  They use brainwashing techniques and separate our youth from knowledgeable people.  They uses ever trick up Shaytan's sleeve to destroy our Deen.

61:8  They want to extinguish the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light, although the disbelievers dislike it.

Here is Surah as-Saff, Allah reassures us that they will not be able to extinguish His Light, His Deen of Islam.  

The followers of Shaytan, the Dawlat ash-Shaytan, cite ayaat of the Qur'an and hadith in support of their agenda.  They take ayaat out of contexts or purposefully lie about the meaning of ayaat.  The most abused Surah by these devils is Surah al-Tawbah.  They distort the meaning of the Arabic text and brainwash our youth into thinking that Islam calls them to violence, killing and terror.  Most of the followers of these Shayateen are not fluent in fusa'a Arabic and do not know the Seerah of the Prophet.  Hence, they are easily misled by these liars.  

Not only do they tell our youth lies, but they tell them not to speak to those who do have knowledge.  The problem with being ignorant is that you are ignorant of the fact that you have no knowledge.  None of us has knowledge. NO OF US HAS KNOWLEDGE!!  Only Allah is Alim.  ONLY ALLAH IS ALIM!!!.  

If you want to learn the Deen, learn it from Allah.  His Kitab, the Qur'an, is mubin.  It is clear.  Just read it. Read it in context all the way through before you even start to study tafsir or listen to anyone else try to interpret it.  Ask Allah, make du'a to Allah, as the Prophet SAW once made du'a to Allah for Abbas, to give you understanding.  Too many recite beautifully, yet do not understand a single word.  A Qari is not an Alim!!!!.  An Alim may be a Qari, but a Qari is not an Alim.  Do not be fooled.  

Dae'sh and the Hubb al-Duniya

Recently, a young man who had been brainwashed into following Da'esh pleaded to be allowed to go home. He said he wanted to come home because he was disillusioned by Da'esh and he was upset because his i-Pod no longer worked over there.  Look in the mirror.  Are you living in a virtual world?  Does Da'esh and its activities sound fun to you?  It's not a video game.  You will have to kill real people.  And why?

Da'esh is selling antiquities to raise money for its cause.  Despite the videos of blowing up Palmyra and bashing statutes, they are also collecting artifacts and selling them.  To who?  One has to wonder?  Who buys ancient artifacts?  Museums, art galleries, private art collectors, rich people... So that is who is financing Da'esh.  Did the Prophet take money from the Qur'aish?  Did he ask the Romans or the Persians for money? Did he sell statutes to them?  Why is Da'esh doing this?  It's certainly not the Sunnah. 

But then Da'esh has no interest in the Sunnah.  They have burned people alive.  The Prophet said this form of punishment is reserved for Allah alone.  Muslims are not even permitted to burn palm trees.  Da'esh is only interested in the money.  And where is the money going?  Remember, the leadership of Da'esh were all former flunkies of Saddam Hussein.  They got fat off his money, and now they want to get fat off of your money.  And all while you, the youth, fight for them, so they do not have to get their hands dirty.  They learned how to use people from Saddam, and now they are using you.  

Baiyyah

We hear alot about youth pledging allegiance to these Shaytans.  Do you really want to sell your soul to the devil?  In Surah al-Tawbah, Allah reminds us that the followers of Shaytan, the kafirun and munaafiq are going to hell.  It is they who are told to make Tawbah in Surah at-Tawbah.  Using the teachings of Islam for your own ends to get money and girls, and big screen TVs and i-Pods is to be a munaafiq, "one who spends himself wastefully." "One who blows his wealth and himself on foolish nonsense."  Keep in mind the hadith recorded in al-Bukhaari that we are rewarded according to our intentions.  If you migrate for a woman or for money or for an i-Pod, that's what you'll get, but what good will it do you in the end.  What will that woman, that money, that i-Pod do for you in hell?

And what about this pledge or Baiyyah?  The only Baiyyah that is Sunnah is to Allah and His Messenger. Yes, the community continued to use it after his death.  They made baiyyah to Abu Bakr, to Umar, to Uthman, to Ali, to Muawiyyah...  But, the only evidence in the Sunnah is that baiyyah is to Allah and Rasulallah.  That is it.  If we are really "ahl as-Sunnah" then this should be our baiyyah as well - to follow Allah and the Sunnah, the two sources of wahy, revelation from Allah SWT to mankind.  Anything else is interpretation and IS NOT INFALLIBLE.  Whether the interpretation is from Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali , Hassan, Hussein, Muawiyyah, Hasan al-Basri, Ibn Taymiyyah - whom ever, they are human beings.  They are not prophets, they are not infallible.  No matter who they are, to say their opinions are binding is to say that those opinions are somehow wahy.  THIS IS FALSE.  Allah SWT sent a prophet, Muhammad, SAW. We do not need another prophet after him.  He delivered the message.  We testified that he had completed his mission on his Hajj al-Wadaa'.  We need nothing else.  

What we fail to understand is the difference between Shariah and Fiqh.  Shariah is divine legislation, fiqh is human understanding.  Yes, fiqh is subject to change because it is subject to greater understanding.  Shariah, the objectives, basic principles and clear nass, are divine and do not require change.  They remain inviolate. Interpretation is important.  It is key to helping us apply the Shariah in our present circumstances. Because the Qur'an is the last revelation, it must be applicable long after its revelation.  So, each generation must look at it and apply it to its circumstances.  Understandings can change, but the Shar' - the Law and its objectives do not change.

So, again the Baiyyah is Sunnah, and the Sunnah is to make Baiyyah to Allah and to Rasulallah alone. The early Muslims not only stated the Shahadah but took the Baiyyah to Allah and to Rasulallah, when they became Muslims.  We should all do the same.  Even those who are born into Muslim families, must take the Shahadah and Baiyyah upon reaching majority.  Islam must become OUR religion, not just the religion of our ancestors.  The religion of your ancestors will not save you. Only submitting to Allah yourself will save you.

Munaafiq

N-F-Q means to spend.  We are encouraged, as Muslims, to spend fi sabillillah, in the path of Allah, to spend in Jihad.  Jihad, as we have noted before, means to strive in the path of Allah, not to be violent or to kill.  Qital fi sabillillah means to engage in military action for the sake of Allah and His Deen, but that does not necessitate killing either.  Striving, jihad, is physical, mental and spiritual.  Qital is military action in defense of the Islam.  Allah reminds us that violence is unfortunately necessary in this world.  

22:40. (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).

Islam means surrender and submission to Allah and to His Will.  Da'esh only calls to rebellion against Allah by calling people to destroy mosques, churches, synagogues and other houses of worship of other religions, and in killing anyone whom it unilaterally declares to be against it.  Allah has repeatedly said that if anyone inclines to peace, them we, as Muslims, must incline to peace as well.  (8:61).  

9:9. The Signs of God have they sold
For a miserable price,
And (many) have they hindered
From His Way: evil indeed
Are the deeds they have done.

10. In a Believer they respect not
The ties either of kinship
Or of covenant! It is they
Who have transgressed all bounds.

Not only has Da'esh killed thousands ahl al-Kitab, but they have butchered thousands of Muslims.  One recently slaughtered his own mother in the street.  Read the above ayaat.  This is clear evil and these Shayateen will take everyone to hell with them.  

Striving Against Shaytan

Allah SWT orders us to strive against all munafeeq and kafirun, all enemies from within and without.  We must strive against this evil that is destroying us.  Too many Muslims don't want to get involved.  On hajj, we kill one another to stone a brick pillar, but we do nothing against a real flesh and blood Shaytan in our midst. In the West, we just want to fit in.  Here's a piece of news.  I was born and raised in the US.  YOU WILL NEVER FIT IN.  Not because you are Muslim, but because you are not European, White and Atheist.  Even Christians today are being discriminated against.  Many are harassed for their beliefs.  Unless we act and speak out, we will end up like the Jews in Nazi Germany, the Japanese in internment camps, the intellectuals in Cambodia and Ethiopia... we will be the victims of the next pogrom.  And not only will that pogrom be carried out by Western powers, but by so-called "Muslim" governments.  These puppet states use Islam for their own benefit as well.  So do you think they want to have real Muslims in their midst?  They want compliant, greedy, worldly, atheistic, stooges, not thinking servants of Allah.  

Shaytan is winning against us.  What are we doing to fight back...  Physical violence is not working and only plays into his hands.  So what now?  Have we actually tried peace, have we actually tried understanding and seeking real knowledge?  Have we actually tried following the Sunnah?  

Strive against our age old enemy.  We must continue to strive.  We cannot give up. When faced with utter destruction of his mission, the Prophet prayed in the garden in Taif.  

"O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me?

To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair? So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased.

There is no power and no might except by You."

Quranic quotes are from www.sacred-texts.com, and the prayer of Taif is from:
http://www.nuradeen.com/archives/CurrentIssues/PrayerOfTaif.htm

Remembering Death

Death Lies Waiting in the Wings

Once a woman came to Buddha, carrying a child in her arms.  The child was dead.  She cried for Buddha to bring her child back to life.  She clasped the child to her breast and begged.  The Buddha comforted her and said he would bring the child back to life if the mother could collect a mustard seed from a family that had not been touched by death.  

The mother cried tears of joy.  With hope in her heart, she set out to collect the mustard seed.  Just one tiny mustard seed.  She came to the first house and knocked on the door.  A boy answered.  She told him her story.  Yes, he would love to give her the mustard seed, but just the past week, his uncle had died.  He was very sorry.  At the next house, a woman answered.  Oh, she too would love to help, but two months ago, her father had died.  Another house, a man answered.  He too was sorry, last year his grandmother had died.  Another house, a child had died.  Another house, a grandfather.  Another, a mother.  Sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, children, adults in their prime, elderly in the old age.  

The mother returned to the Buddha.  She laid the child at his feet.  She understood.  Death is something we all share.  We are all born, we all live, even for a moment, and we all die.

Hans Ruedi Giger was fascinated with these realities.  His images airbrushed onto canvass are haunting.  We humans are composed of flesh, blood and bone.  Allah SWT describes the process in the Qur'an.  Sperm and egg join, then cling like a leech to the wall of the womb, then are shaped into a chewed morsel, then become skin, tissue, blood, and bone.  This physical creature is then born, moving down the birth canal from a world of fluids to a world of air.  We gasp, like fish floundering.  We cry as we struggle to adjust to breathing.  We proceed on through the physical process of maturing.  We grow strong, vigorous.  And then one day, we look in the mirror.  We become weaker.  Then we turn to face both the physical and mental consequences of ceasing to breathe.  When we do, our bodies will slowly decay into dust.  

Giger painted bodies. Living mechanisms, bio-mechanics.  Our bodies cry, laugh, orgasm and scream.  Our emotions, our body's reaction to stimuli that signal us how to react, trigger chemical responses causing us to take flight or fight, care or caress.  But is there more?  Is there a ghost in the machine?  

I am not a Cartesian dualist.  There is only one substance, Ruh.  What we call "physical" or "mental" are not two distinct substances, but are the result of our perceptions of the multitude of wavelengths at which the underlying Ruh vibrates.  Some of these vibrations are perceivable by the senses and hence ":physical;" while others are not perceivable by the sense, but are detected by their effects, hence "mental."  We are not ghosts in the machine.  We are a composite of vibrations.  That which I call "me," my nafs, is just a small part of me.  Allah SWT has said He will raise us up on Yawm Al-Qiyamah.  What ever that means, and Allah Ta'ala Alim, something of "me" will persist, will be judged, and will be saved by His Mercy.

Giger's painted bodies are disturbing.  Strangely beautiful, yet terrifying.  Paintings and statutes Allah SWT has warned us about.  They are disturbing because they are made of the same constituents as us.  They are mud, rock, stone, wood, etc; but they are soul-less.  Giger used his art, not to try to imitate nature or create something, but to expose something.  How macabre would be life if it had no Ruh.  Without Ruh, without the spark of life, the light of creation, the created universe would be cold, dark, lonely, and macabre.  

Several great men have written about the experience of dying.  Today, with the ability to record one's life in video, some have filmed the process of facing their own demise.  Recently, David Robert Jones, aka David Bowie died.  His presence was a great influence on my life.  He gave me courage to seek truth, even if that search took one out of the path upon which most people walk.  His last record was released on his birthday, Jan. 8th of this year.  He died two days later.  In his last work, he speaks of the reality of his own future.  He faces physical death, and what death means for the soul.  Every soul will taste it.  

Regardless of the nature of an after-life, we will all taste death.  I have tried to imagine ceasing to breath.  Sacratul-mawt,  The Death Throes.  What does this do to the body?  I have faced physical pain, and have experienced difficulties breathing - allergic reactions and such; but what will this be like?  And what will the nafs experience?  What I do know is that many have gone before me.  And Allah SWT will be with me.  

Moreover, I have died before.  Allah SWT says in the Qur'an that we have died before from the world of "alaisa Rabbikum?"  We died and were born into this world.  We also transitioned from womb to the world of air.  We have done this before.  We only need to remember.

Remembering Death

Many Daiyyas counsel us to remember death often.  Death puts our lives into perspective.  When we remember how we are going to end up, we do not seem so important, special, super-powered, as we may think we are now.  All those cars, TVs, iProducts, gold rings, fancy things are meaningless.  We cannot use them in the next life.  And what did they really get us here?  Where your friends really impressed by the fact that you could spend money?  That you could rack up debt for a bunch of toys?  They were all too busy trying to impress you, or talk about behind your back.  What did all those things ever really get you?

Only sincere belief in Allah, and demonstrating that belief through righteous actions will ever get you anything worthwhile.  Only Allah can save you, only Allah can reward you.  

Remembering death reminds us of the amazing way you came into this world.  That random change meeting of egg and sperm, that birth, and all the amazing things you have experienced during life.  Allah SWT shared a lifetime with you.  Only He knows what you have seen, heard, smelled, tasted, experienced.  The beauty of a sunset.  A single snow flake drifting softly to earth.  He shared it with you.  

After death, He will share those memories with all creation, and all creation will know that He chose you for those special memories.  Death is a reminder that Allah SWT loves each and every one of us.  

Some day He will call us home.  Until that day, let us not forget who created us, who sustains us, and to whom we will return.  Allahu Akbar!

Allah is Light

Al-Nur 24:35

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp. The lamp is in a glass. The glass is as it were a shining star. (This lamp is) kindled from a blessed tree, an olive neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil would almost glow forth (of itself) though no fire touched it. Light upon light. Allah guideth unto His light whom He will. And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories, for Allah is Knower of all things.

36 (This lamp is found) in houses which Allah hath allowed to be exalted and that His name shall be remembered therein. Therein do offer praise to Him at morn and evening.
37 Men whom neither merchandise nor sale beguileth from remembrance of Allah and constancy in prayer and paying to the poor their due; who fear a day when hearts and eyeballs will be overturned;
38 That Allah may reward them with the best of what they did, and increase reward for them of His bounty. Allah giveth blessings without stint to whom He will.
39 As for those who disbelieve, their deeds are as a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one supposeth it to be water till he cometh unto it and findeth it naught, and findeth, in the place thereof, Allah Who payeth him his due; and Allah is swift at reckoning.
40 Or as darkness on a vast, abysmal sea. There covereth him a wave, above which is a wave, above which is a cloud. Layer upon layer of darkness. When he holdeth out his hand he scarce can see it. And he for whom Allah hath not appointed light, for him there is no light.

In the midst of legislating the punishment for one of the most serious crimes, Allah SWT reveals on of the most beautiful of ayaat.  One of the gravest crimes is sexual crime.  In America, sexual predators are given harsh sentences and must forever register as sex offenders.  Allah SWT has consistently, through His revelations, told us that sexual crimes are heinous and that we should treat them seriously.  Even slandering another person by accusing them of a sex crime is taken very seriously.  Allah SWT says, "You count it as a trifle.  In the sight of Allah it is very great."  (al-Nur, 24:15).  However, in the midst of discussing the punishment for zina and qadhaf, Allah SWT reveals the most amazing ayaat.

Allah is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth.  Allah SWT makes it clear that He is using a mithlu or parable/similitude, a metaphor to explain something to us.  Then, for five ayat, He uses the concept of light to demonstrate the wonderous nature of His revelation and how it affects the hearts of mankind.  

Allahu Nur

It is reported on the authority of Abu Darr, "I asked Rasul Allah SAW,  'Did you see your Lord?' He SAW said, "He is Light, how could I see Him?"  In a narration reported by Abdullah ibn Shaqiq, Abu Darr said that Rasul Allah SAW said, "I saw Light."

Light upon Light.  What is Light?  Light is something primordial, apriori.  It behaves as a particle and as a wave.  We can either know where it is at a given instant or how fast it is moving over time, but never both.  A human can see one single photon of light, yet as waves we see a rainbow of colors, and there are colors we cannot see, but we can detect.  Ultraviolet light and infrared light are not visible to humans, but they are to other creatures.  And we can now detect x-rays and other wavelengths of light that no other creature can see.  

And now we know that light has a sound.  Scientist studying the sun notices vibrations on the surface of the sun. Upon closer study, they discovered that these vibrations were sound waves.  Of course, we may not hear these sounds as the sun is so far away.  Because light travels faster than sound, we see the lights, but we don't hear the sound.  And the speed at which light travels is a constant in our universe.  Nothing substantial or meaningful can travel faster.  

So what is Allah SWT telling us with this similitude of Light?  The hadith points out an important point.  How can you see a lamp in the dark?  You cannot.  The light has to be on in order to see the lamp.  How do we see Allah?  All we can "see" of Him is what he reveals to us - His Light.  Allah SWT then uses the mithlu to explain, there is a niche, and a lamp and a glass.  Remember that in our Prophet's time, they did not have electric lights.  My father knew Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb.  He remembered gas lamps and oil lamps.  We used them when I was a child for light out side or when the electricity was not working.  I remember the smell of kerosene and the burning cloth wick.  I remember the lamp black soot on the glass.  I also remember the light - warm - glowing.  It attracted moths who would sometimes disintegrate like dust in the hot wind created near the top of the flew of the glass.  And if you placed the lamp in a niche, the niche could act as a reflector and magnifier for the light, broadcasting it out into the night, out into the heavens and the earth.  

Here, the niche of the world reflects His ayaat out into the world.  We cannot help but see His signs everywhere, if we only pay attention and look.  And the light coming from this blessed lamp is there so that we cannot fail to see.  The oil is blessed.  It is so blessed that it glows even if it were not lit.  Light upon Light.  It overwhelms us.  But, understand, that even though this Light surrounds us, Allah SWT only guides those whom He will.  For that, we cannot be anything but totally and sincerely grateful.  Despite this overwhelming Light, many are in darkness.  

Allah SWT tells us about mankind.  This Light is found in houses.  What are these houses?  They are individual hearts - the houses of worship within each of us; and they are communal hearts.  The heart of a community is the masjid.  We are told in the Qur'an the Iqama Salaat, establish the salaat, and to do this, we must establish gatherings for that purpose.  A masjid is not a building, but it is an establishment - a jamaa - an ijtimaa of individuals who gather together to offer salaat in congregation, in jamaa.  Masjid, of course, means place of prostration, but that can be anywhere on the earth, as Allah SWT tells us in the Qur'an.  We are attracted to certain masaajid, not so much for the building, as for the community of believers we pray with in that place.  Islam is unique.  Our prayers are individual AND communal.  Other religions have community prayers, but we have communal prayer.  An essential feature of that prayer is that it is in jamaa.  We even make our pilgrimage together.  And this is in perfect conformity with human nature which is both individual and social.  

So the houses are our hearts and our communal heart, the masjid community to which we belong.  And the light shines forth from both,  It is warm, and inviting and it brings us guidance.

As for those who disbelieve, they have a mirage.  What is a mirage?  A false reflection, an illusion of light and water.  They are deluded into thinking that the illusion is life-sustaining water.  But when they taste the illusion, it is nothing but parching sand.  Lost in a desert, desperate for water, some have drunk sand.  Lost at sea, surrounded by water, yet you no matter how much you drink, your thirst will not be quenched for the water of the sea is salty.  If you keep drinking it, you will die.  And then veils and veils of darkness cover you.  In a dark storm over the sea, you cannot see where the sky ends and the water begins.  If Allah SWT does not guide you by appointing for you a light, there is no light for you.  May Allah SWT guide us and grant us light and save us from such a fate.

How many today are lost in the mirage?  We live in a virtual world.  Too many of us are not able to see anything.  When little rays of reality creep in, we freak out.  We are totally lost in iSpace.  And this iSpace is dividing us and preventing real community.  The light cannot penetrate the darkness of iSpace.

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.