There is no god but Allah, and He can prove it! Part 1

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad

Allahu as-Samad

Lam Yulid wa Lam Yulad

Wa Lam yakun llahu kufuwan Ahad

(Surah Al-Ikhlas)

DOES GOD EXIST?

Years ago, the philosopher, Friedrich Neitzche announced that God was dead. (Istaghfirullah).  He did not mean so literally.  He meant that the influence of the belief in God on society was gone.  He was right.  Today, people are behaving in increasingly unethical ways.  They care little for others, or even for themselves.  Our lives may be longer, but they are even more nasty and brutish than at times in the past.  We have no families, no friends, nothing but endless work and wasted time.  We have a new religion of the self, with its sacrament of the "endless PARTY."  We have been come no more than hollow clay, sounding with endless bellowings of nonsense and petty, desperate noises.  We are barely human any more.

So one might wonder, with all this human misery, does God exist?  If Allah SWT gives us life, we may ponder the problem of evil and its answer from Allah SWT found in sural Al-Kahf, but today, we deal with the issue of existence - the metaphysical problem of proving the existence of God.

First, in investigating whether God exists, we must first define that which we are trying to prove.  Some claim that Jesus Christ - the Second of the Trinity - who sits on the Right Hand of God, being One Substance with the Father - is God, and that this God exists, This conception of "God," ie a tripartite being who had one part that created the universe, another that came and lived in it and then died and was reborn, and one part that is invisible and is a spirit, exists.    But do we all agree on this?  Not really? Some religions posits more than one "god."

Islam posits that Allah is a singularity without extension and duration, who is completely independent of any natural law, who has all knowledge, and who neither began nor will end. However, Christian philosophers have generally placed The Creator within His own Creation and within time, and made Him subject to natural laws. So even the "monotheistic" religions do not we agree on the definition of the term, "God?"

However, most seem to believe that this Supreme Being is infinite.  Christianity expresses this as His being Alpha and Omega.  Many Muslim and Jewish theologians have expressed similar views.  Allahu says that He is "Asr."  Asr can mean time, but it can also mean the "middle" so that He has no beginning nor end, no bounds or limits.  He is not subject to time, or to extension.  He does not exist in any place and cannot be physically delimited. So is Allah infinitely big, is He the universe in some sort of pantheistic manner?  Or ... is He, as the Qur'an mentions, ahad, singular, having no extension, a singularity?  Allah SWT is reported to have said that He is Witr - singular. 

Leaving that issue aside for now, we can also ask - is He all-powerful, all-knowing?  Does He have complete foreknowldge of the future?  Does He control everything?  Do we, then, have free will?  If we have free will, does this somehow limit His power?

Well, these are some of the endless debates we humans have had over the years.  If Allah SWT gives us life, we can explore them in terms of Allah's own answers in the Qur'an, but for now we move on to something we might be more able to agree upon.

As I said, we all seem to agree that this Divine Being, if He exists is all powerful.  We also seem to agree that He has the power to create us, and that we do not have the power to create ourselves.  We agree He is greater than us, whatever "greater" means.  We are finite beings.  We at least have a beginning and are all created.  Even if we believe in an afterlife and that the hereafter will not end, we still acknowledge we begin and that God does not.  So even if we posit some kind of greater version of us, we can agree that God is greater and that he has no beginning nor end, and that He can create and that He is all powerful.

So, does this Being exist?  Can we prove it?

PROOF OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD

Mankind has devised various proofs for the existence of God.  Plato considered logic and proposed that there must be an ultimate first principle, and that this ultimate first principle must be The First Principle.  He dared not call this God, because his teacher, Socrates, had been forced to drink hemlock for positing a single god.  (This belief was considered heresy and Socrates was convicted of "corrupting the youth" of Athens).   Aristotle, Plato's student, looked to the apparent veracity of causation to posit an Unmoved Mover. Much later, Descartes considered his own ability to think as proof of his own existence, and since he could not have created himself, nor his concept of a being greater than him, there must be a God.  The Catholic church father, Augustine, also posited some proofs of God, one of which is inductive, but fails to be very compelling. (More on this in a minute).  But all of these attempts to prove God's existence fail.

Plato and Aristotle both fail because they really have not proved anything.  All they have said is that there cannot be an infinite regress, ad infinitum, as they say. There cannot be an infinite regress of either first principles or causes in a causal chain.  But this is an assumption that cannot really be proved.  We have yet to be able to prove such a thing via experiential evidence, and such a thing cannot be proved by logic.  Here is why.

THE JOYS OF MANTIQ

 As human beings, we experience in two different ways.  We have sensations that arise due to the agency of the so-called five senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. We also experience propositional attitudes.  These include concepts (tasawir) and assents (tasdiq).  Concepts or tasawir are either possible or impossible.  For example, a cat is certainly a possible creature, and many individual examples exist in nature.  A unicorn is also possible, after all it is possible to have a horse with a horn in the middle of its head even if no individual unicorns exist in nature.

These are all possible concepts, but humans can imagine impossible concepts, like "round squares."  How do we do this?  No one will ever see a round square.  The definitions of "round" and "square" conflict in such a way as to be a contradiction - literally something that is contra or against the diction or saying.  So people can imagine impossible things, but is this really imagination or merely juxtaposing two conflicting concepts, what we sometimes call an "oxymoron."  "Military intelligence" is an oxymoron, and so are "round squares."  We cannot actually imagine round squares. 

This leads us to the next factor we must consider; actuality or potentiality.  Are concepts, tasawir, actual?  At any given moment in time, individual cats may be actual, but the concept "cat" is merely potential.  There is no "cat", only actual individual cats.  However when we see this symbol  ^..^  you will probably recognize it.  Plato called these tasawir "forms."  The forms are the essential aspect that makes a thing that kind of thing.  Allah SWT calls these "Asma."

Surah al-Baqara
2:31 And He taught Adam the names
Of all things (al-asma kullaha); then He placed them
Before the angels, and said: "Tell Me
The nature of these if ye are right."

32. They said: "Glory to Thee: of knowledge
We have none, save what Thou
Hast taught us: in truth it is Thou
Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."

33. He said: "O Adam! tell them
Their names (bi asmaaihi)." When he had told them,
God said: "Did I not tell you
That I know the secrets of heaven
And earth, and I know what ye reveal
And what ye conceal?"

So the forms or asmaa are real but they are only potential, in other words, they are not actualized until there exists in the universe, within Creation, a creature of that form.  I use the word creature here on purpose, for it is a thing that is "created."  And as a creature, the actualized asmaa has extension (the three dimensions of space) and duration (the fourth dimension of time).

However, a creature may be present in the universe, within creation and still have a degree of potentiality.  It may exist but not be fully actual.  Leaving aside what it is to exist, we can see that a creature within creation is partially actual and partially potential, for if it was fully potential, it would not be within creation.  As for being fully actual, only at the very moment of one's death, does one fulfill every potential as to extension and duration and become fully actual.  Ironic, huh.

However, tasawir are only the forms themselves, the concepts, and not any assertions made about them. So a unicorn is a horse with a horn, but to say that this is possible, impossible, actual or potential is an assertion, an assent, a tasdiq. Assents or tasdiq are either true or false. Hence, the tasdiq, "Unicorns are possible," is either true or false, the same as "My cat, Onxy, is actual."

Now, if we want to prove an assent, such as “Onyx is black,” we could use experiential observation.  We could use our senses to observe Onyx and determine if he has a color, and if that color is what is called, “black.”  But our senses could be fooling us.  Are they really reliable?  After all, some people have red/green color blindness and see both colors as the same.  So our senses can deceive us, but even if we assume that we are seeing correctly, does our observation of the color black really prove “Onyx is black.”?To prove that a tasdiq is either true or false requires logic.

Logic is a tree with two branches.  One branch is deductive logic, the other is inductive logic.  Let's start with induction, since most people are familiar with it.  Induction is the kind of logic we use in science, the so-called scientific method.  We look at particular and discrete events of a similar nature and then extrapolate a general thesis from them.  So:

1.      Swan A is white

2.      Swan B is white

3.      Swan C is white

4.      ……

5.      Swan Z is white

Therefore:  All swans are white.

The problem is that we cannot examine every single swan that has ever and will ever exist, and it is completely possible for swans to be black.  (In reality, there are black swans).  Nothing in the definition of swan as a concept precludes them being a particular color.

"Onxy, is a cat," however, requires another kind of logic.  Here we need to know the definition of the tasawir, "cat," and then observe if Onxy meets that definition. So if we want to deductively prove "Onxy, is a cat," we would do so in the following manner.

1. Cats are mammals that have triangle shaped ears, long whiskers, rough tongues, and that make vocalizations that sound like, "meow."
2. Onyx is a mammal that has triangle shaped ears, long whiskers, a rough tongue, and that makes vocalizations that sound like, "meow.
Therefore:  Onyx is a cat.


However, not all tasdiq are so concrete.  Some are quite abstract, such as the assents of mathematics or of logic itself.  In logic, assents that are the result of experience are called a posteriori.  Those that are abstract and do not require experience are called a priori concepts, because they are capable of being apprehended “prior” to experience.  Among these a priori statements are those that are so fundamental that they must be necessarily true.  We cannot imagine a scenario where they would not be true.  They are overwhelmingly compelling as to their veracity.  These are called first principles, and they form the bed rock of logic.  However, they are fundamentally unprovable.  

Take the most fundamental first principle in math – a = a.  How would you prove this?  It is not possible because there is nothing to prove it with.  This is the most fundamental tasdiq there is.  A thing must be itself, identity, but we cannot prove it logically.  Instead, we take the leap of faith and assume it.  The only thing more fundamental would be “a.” And this “a” would not be a tasdiq, for it is not an assent, but a bare tasawir.  Hmmm remember this.  Remember that tasawir are, sui species, either possible or impossible, and if possible, fully potential; and as individuals, either fully actual or partially actual and partially potential.

So, what about Allah SWT?  In shaa llah, if Allah SWT gives us life, we will continue in the second part of this post.

Islamic Resistance to Oppression

 Islamic Non-Violent Methods for Achieving Change

5:28. "If thou dost stretch thy hand
Against me, to slay me,
It is not for me to stretch
My hand against thee
To slay thee: for I do fear
God, the Cherisher of the Worlds.

Allah SWT tells us that Abel said these words to his brother Cain/Cabel, just before Cabel killed him.  Some Muslims have used these words to support the use of non-violent methods for achieving change and for achieving peace.

Our religion, Islam, is portrayed by the media as the greatest source of violence and war.  But is it?  Islam is the imperative form of the root SLM, carrying the connotation of ceasing hostilities.  In fact, Islam is the greatest proponent of non-violence., if we only understood.

Marking the 10^th anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001, leaders of all faiths, including Islam called for Interfaith dialogue, but not just the weak-kneed version we have seen in the past, where we politely do not mention points of difference and we all pretend to tolerate each other, but a real dialogue, built on a foundation of real respect for each other as human beings.  From this foundation, we can then get on to the real business of fighting the real enemy that is destroying that humanity, the real source of violence, oppression and pain – Shaytan.

All religions are essentially the same.  Allah SWT reminds us in the Qur’an that the only Deen with Allah is Islam.  All true deens come from the same source and have the same message – that there is one Source of All Creation, that there is a life after this one, and that we are held account for our actions.  Surah al-Fatiha teaches us that there three kinds of people:  those whom Allah has bestowed His guidance and grace, those with whom Allah SWT is wrath, and those who have gone astray.  As for those whom Allah has guided, Allah SWT reminds us:

Al-Maida, 5:48. 51 To thee We sent the Scripture
In truth, confirming
The scripture that came
Before it, and guarding it's
In safety: so judge
Between them by what
God hath revealed,
And follow not their vain
Desires, diverging
From the Truth that hath come
To thee. To each among you
Have We prescribed a Law
And a Minhaj, a set of principles or criteria for extracting legal rules from the Shariah legislation.
If God had so willed.
He would have made you
A single Ummah, but (His
Plan is) to test you in what
He hath given you: so strive for the best.
The goal of you all is to God;
It is He that will show you
The truth of the matters
In which ye dispute;

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

Surah al Baqarah first identifies two groups of people, those who are “believers” and those who are “non-believers.”  Believers are any one who not only holds a belief in a divine being, but also those who have a firm commitment to behave ethically.  

 In Surah Al-Baqara, Ayat 62, Allah Says:

“Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews and those who are Christians and the Sabians, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord, and there is no fear for them, nor shall they grieve.”

The Real Meaning of Jihad

However, belief is not enough; belief requires ethical action.  In Islam, ethical action is called jihad. 

Jihad does not mean “holy war” or “violent action” as some media people and even some Muslims allege.  Jihad means to strive, to make an effort, to be diligent and persistent in one’s actions.  And Jihad fi Sabillillah means to exert effort, to strive for the Pleasure of Allah SWT in the righteous manner He has prescribed for us.  

We need to reclaim this term from those who at the whisperings of Shaytan, have hijacked and distorted its true meaning.  Jihad – to strive to put our faith into ethical action is Fard al-Ayn – incumbent upon every Muslim, not just incumbent on the Community.  Every Muslim must be diligent in putting into practice the Sunnah of our Beloved Prophet – to engage in Jihad of the Body, Jihad of the Mind and Jihad of the Soul. 

Jihad of the Soul involves Ibaadaat – worship, dhikr or remembrance of Allah and wird or spiritual development of the soul from a nafs amr bi su to a nafs lawwammah to nafs al-mutmayeenah.  .   

Jihad of the Mind or Aql involves study of the deen and testifying to the truth of this deen to others (what we call dawah. We may think we know this deen because we learned it from so and so.  But do we really know it?  How many of us study books of great knowledge or study with some of the great shuyuk we are blessed to have in this area?  Are we really studying or are we attending lectures so we can socialize with friends or are we memorizing and parroting the lectures of so and so in an effort to show off.  What is our niyat?   

Finally, Jihad of the Body involves not military service but service to the humanity, any form of service to the humanity.  Military service only becomes necessary if all other efforts fail and our deen itself is at risk.  Fighting for any other reason than protecting the deen itself is haram.  

On the other hand, community service such as volunteering, helping others through physical effort, building houses, hospitals, community centers and so on are the most important forms of physical Jihad, for if we are diligent in these efforts, our communities will only view us in the best of lights. 

We have grossly neglected this form of Jihad. How many Muslims live in our area?  If we were all more diligent in serving the poor, homeless, needy and sick of our area how much more support would we have from that community.  Instead, we think throwing money at causes is all that is needed. Or worse yet, any time we are asked to do anything, we ask “how much will you pay me?” Our neighbors cannot relate to a dollar bill.  They need a real human face with a name and a history.  They need you – Mohammad, Fatimah, Aisha and Umar – they need a real person to reach out a hand to them and give them that human touch. 

Islam Advocates Peace, Not War

 

 Why do they hate Muslims?  Why is it so easy to get people to think we are all violent terrorists?  Because we are not human – we are faceless lumps of flesh or meaningless dollar bills.  But when we make a commitment to real jihad, we must sacrifice our time and effort to help others and to provide them with a face – a human being.  Then, they will be able to see through the propaganda spewing out against us and know that it is false

Allah SWT has said:

al- Hujurat  49: 13. O mankind! We created
You from a single (pair)
Of a male and a female,
And made you into
Nations and tribes, that
Ye may know each other
(Not that ye may despise
(Each other). Verily
The most honoured of you
In the sight of God
Is (he who is) the most
Righteous of you.
And God has full knowledge
And is well acquainted
(With all things).

---

 

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To be a believer is to acknowledge that there is no one worthy of worship other than the one who created us, the one we, in Islam, call Allah SWT, and to submit our whole selves to that One, and in doing so, to commit ourselves to action – to Jihad – to striving by putting our faith into action in our lives.  Every Prophet has brought this message – every one, and even if we people have added or embellished this message with bidah, the message remains to be discovered amongst the clutter.  Believers are those who recognize this message wherever we find it and who encourage each other to keep seeking the guidance, while respecting Allah’s method for doing so.  These are those who have what Allah SWT calls “al-nafs al-mutmainnah” The soul at peace with Allah SWT. 

 

Our fate is with Allah, and we are in the best of hands.  Believers should encourage one another and remind each other to seek guidance, and to keep up the effort of diligent ethical action.

  

Al-Asr:  1 By the Asr,

2 Lo! man is a state of loss,

3 Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

Allah SWT in Surah Al – Fatiha mentions a third group of people besides “believers” and “non-believers”.  They are in Jahilliyyah –  they are those Allah refers to as Al-Doollayn, those who are astray. 

2:8 And of mankind are some who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day, when they believe not.

9 They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none save themselves; but they perceive not.

10 In their hearts is a disease, and Allah increaseth their disease. A painful doom is theirs because they lie. 

44:38. We created not
The heavens, the earth,
And all between them,
Merely in (idle) sport:

39. We created them not
Except for just ends:
But most of them
Do not understand.

This group makes up the majority of humanity.  This group has some belief, but it is weak and their hearts are easily swayed, like a feather on the wind.  

Allah SWT says:  La ikraha fi deen.  There is no compulsion in religion.  We cannot force such people to recognize the truth.  All we can do is convey the message and let Allah provide them guidance and conversion of their hearts toward Him.  The word “qalb” in Arabic means a thing that oscillates or turns.   Sometimes it does the right thing and sometimes it does wrong.  As Allah tells us, during the day these people say they are with you and at night they say they are with the non-believers.  They delude themselves.  They are in denial.  They believe themselves to be the most pious, but they often cause great pain and harm.  Allah SWT says their hearts have a disease.  

The core of true dialogue is the recognition that we are all human!! We are all human!! We are not gods, or angels, or jinn, we are men and women!! And we are created by Allah  SWT in the best shape –

As Muslims, we should want the best for all of humanity.  We should not want to be separated from any person.  But most of us want to feel some how special, better, - above the rest, whether it be by knowledge, wealth, lineage or power or something.  Allah says the only thing that distinguishes us with Him is taqwa – the strength with which we grasp His handhold.  Taqwa is a hard term to define, but if we imagine the way in which a child clings to its parent.  Many of you have children.  Consider then how strong is a baby’s grip.  It seems to be stronger than steal.  So should be our grasp of Allah’s handhold.  Like desperate children, we should cling on with all of our might. And we should be so focused on that, that we have no time to worry about the position of others.  In fact, the best way to maintain our hold is to work together.  The more we cling to each other, support one another, the more secure will be our handhold.

And as believers, we should secure our handhold, cling together, support one another and then reach out to those who are in ignorance and pain.  They are suffering and often do not know it.  Their hearts have a disease, they are sick, and if we have the least amount of compassion in our hearts, we should seek ONLY for their recovery – their return to health – of the heart, not for their death wherein they will have no chance, no hope of the forgiveness and mercy of Allah.

Allah SWT created us from Turab – our bodies have the same components as clay – dirt and water.  Then He breathed His Ruh into us.  We know but little of the Ruh, but we are told that it comes from Allah and is in all things, even the rocks have Ruh.  Then the malaikah come while we are in the wombs and place the nafs into the body.  This is the soul that most of us think of when we think of ourselves.  Allah then has given us tools with which to come nearer to Him and with which to reach real Peace  - aql and qalb.  The intellect and the heart – this is the Zulfiqar – the real double edged sword with which to fight Satan.  The intellect provides reason and helps us distinguish right from wrong, benefit from harm.  It helps us cut through surface appearance to sell the real consequences of actions.  The qalb is the seat of our free will, and guided by reason, it can turn voluntarily toward Allah SWT.  But most, as we mentioned, have nafs that blows in the wind, and so to their hearts.  They turn this way and that, and have no peace or serenity.

To those in whose hearts is a disease, we must convey to them the message of how to be at ease.  And this is by surrendering to Allah SWT in Islam.  We must provide examples for them, and try to put Islam in to practice so they will have a tangible reminder of the benefit.  They will see the so-called happiness of the life of this world and compare it to the real happiness, satisfaction and contentment of a life in surrender to Allah, and they will be able to make the choice.  And it is for Allah SWT to guide them to the right choice, and for us to convey the message.  And for ourselves, we must commit to changing our hearts ourselves – to turn fully to Allah SWT and stop blowing in the wind.

 Kufaar: The Real War-mongers

Finally, Surah al Baqarah mentions “non-believers.”  They are described as those who reject, who disrespect the beliefs of others.  What is the meaning of the word, “kufaar?”  To cover, to reject, to show the ultimate disrespect to Allah SWT and to humanity.  It is such people with whom Allah SWT is wrath.

al-Baqarah 2:6 As for the Disbelievers, Whether thou warn them or thou warn them not it is all one for them; they believe not.

7 Allah hath sealed their hearing and their hearts, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be an awful doom.

How do believers deal with these people?  Allah SWT says that it is these people with whom He is wrath.  He is angry with them.  We know that Allah is Most Merciful, Most Compassionate.  He forgives us – He is Ghafar.  But these people have incurred Allah’s anger.  They commit dhulm.  Dhulm comes from a root meaning darkness, obscurity – it is the cloud of oppression and injustice.  And such people are unjust to Allah by committing shirk, by being so ungrateful to this generous being who created us all that they actually worship other things, or worse, themselves, and unjust to mankind by oppressing them, and unjust to themselves by dooming themselves to the hell fire by their rejection, disrespect and oppression.

Islam and the Most Effective Means for Change

 

Many today of all religions are proponents of non-violence means of effecting change.  So what does that mean?  Mahatma Gandhi, the founder of the modern non-violence movement, said that non-violence is not pacifism, it is active, it requires diligence.  Allah SWT abhors violence as well.  He speaks of the punishment of those who commit dhulm and hirabah in the land as being severe – in this world and the hereafter.  However, Allah SWT gives us a clue as to why He permits violence to occur.

Al- Hajj: 22:39 Permission is given to fight for those who have been wronged; and Allah is indeed Able to give them victory;

40 Those who have been driven from their homes unjustly only because they said: Our Lord is Allah - For had it not been for Allah's repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Verily Allah helpeth one who helpeth Him. Lo! Allah is Strong, Almighty –

Many in the non-violence movement have removed all violence from the table.  Even some who call themselves Muslims have fallen into this practice and have encouraged pacifism.  However, Allah SWT always leaves resort to violence on the table, for to not do so would be to allow those who are not believers, who do not respect others, to cause unbearable harm to all of creation.

There is a potent argument for understanding the hikmah or wisdom behind Allah’s permission to resorting to violence in extreme situations:

·  Because Allah SWT sees things from the perspective of alleviating the suffering of ALL sentient beings, from mosquitoes to men, His decisions are influenced by concerns that most of us normally ignore or do not fully understand.

·  If one person can be shown to be the cause of thousands of human deaths, and considering the collateral suffering in the surviving families, then one needs to consider whether or not that suffering can be contained by taking the life of the murderer. It's consistent with the ideal of  "alleviating suffering," by alleviating the sum total of suffering on the planet.

·  There is the further point that killing a person who commits dhulm saves him, in fact, from accumulating further sin associated with the extreme hatred and murder that defined his life. In the Islamic context, we recall the story in Surah al Kahf where Khidr kills a child.  He does so because he was given knowledge that the child would grow up to be evil.  In killing him, he not only relieves his parents from the pain this sinful child would cause them, but he prevents the child from ruining his soul and ending up in hell fire.

·  The real question here is the niyat, the intention, and that is where we often fall short. The same action undertaken out of two different motivations is two different actions. If we fight out of anger and hatred, we follow the path of Cabel and will share his fate; and if we fight out of real love of Allah, and compassion toward one another to prevent further suffering, then we follow the path of Allah and act as His servants.    

Our sahabi provide us with a vivid example of people who fought out of love and compassion, not out of hate.  And certainly, the Prophet’s cousin and grandson, Ali and Husayn, were motivated by their tremendous love of Allah, of his Prophet, and of his Ummah.  What else could have propelled Husayn toward Karbalaa’ other than love and compassion and a firm desire to prevent further suffering, further fitnah.

Allah SWT has told us fitnah is worse than qatl – it is worse than murder.

So is Islam the religion of violence as some suggest – the answer is resoundingly ‘NO!.”  We are in fact the religion of true non-violence – the very name of our religion is the emphatic form of the word peace.  Islam is a call to Peace – not just the absence of hostilities, but the ceasing of hostilities, and the reconciliation between Allah and mankind, and the Communion of all mankind with its Lord.  We should be proud of our deen.  We should be proud to call ourselves Muslims – those who are at peace!

If I have said any good, then it is from Allah Alone, and if I have made any mistakes, they are my own and I ask Allah to forgive me.  I ask you all to forgive my many faults.

I remind myself and all of your of that world where we were all gathered before Allah SWT, for we were alive before this world, and in that previous world He asked us “A Laisa Rabbakum – Aren’t I your Lord – and we answered Anta Rabbiyy – You are our Lord!

When He gathers us again, may He forgive us all and gather us all with our beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW in the Jennatul Firdaws.

Allahumma, aghfi lilmuslimeen wa almuslimaat, wa almu’mineen wa almu’minaat il-ahyaa’a minhum wa al-amwaat, innaka sami’u qareebun mujeebu udda’awaat.

Sunnah - The Other Source of Wahy

 The Status of the Sunnah

Allah SWT says in the Quran al Hakim:

  

 Allah has clearly shown his grace to the believers by sending unto them a Messenger of their own who recites unto them His revelations and causes them to grow and teaches them the Book and Hikmah although before they were in flagrant error.

(Aal Imran: 3;164).

The scholars of Islam agree that the Book referred to in this ayat is that which Allah SWT sent down through the agency of Wahy or Revelation.  Wahy has come to us in two forms – the first is the word for word revelation contained in the Qur’an.  The Qur’an is the actual word of Allah, revealed through the agency of the Angel Jibreel to the Prophet Muhammad SAW.  The wording is from Allah SWT and from no human author.  The Qur’an, as the revealed wahy of Allah SWT, is the source of our Deen, and of our Shariah Law.  However, there is another source of Deen and Law, and it too is revealed.  This is the Sunnah.  The actions, sayings, tacit approvals and overall character of our beloved Prophet SAW was at all times guided by Allah and constitutes a recording of the wahy of Allah to our Prophet, just as much as the Qur’an records wahy.  When acting as Prophet, his Sunnah or example is the most perfect example and is guided by wahy.

Al Azhab 33:21. Ye have indeed
In the Apostle of God
A beautiful pattern (of conduct)
For any one whose hope is
In God and the Final Day,
And who engages much
In the praise of God.

These two, then, the Qur’an and the Sunnah, the two recordings of wahy, constitute the two primary binding sources of Islamic law. 

Many of our Khatibs have mentioned the importance of the Qur’an.  There is no doubt that this Message to us from Allah must be central in our lives.  It is the very Word of Allah to us all.

But what is the position of the Sunnah?  For that matter, what is the Sunnah?  There are many misunderstandings regarding this term.  Some may say that what is in the Qur’an is required while what is in the Sunnah is good to follow, but is not required.

This idea comes from the confusing use of the term “Sunnah” by some of our ulema – including, by the way, my own Sheikh.  And this confusion over the meaning and status of Sunnah has been exploited by those who claim that they want to ‘reform’ Islam, as well as those Orientalists who have their own agenda in portraying Islam as a bunch of customs and traditions and not as the Law given us by a divine being, Allah.

It is important, especially for our youth, to have a clear understanding of the meaning and role of Sunnah in our lives. 

Sunnah – lexicologically means – a path, a way, course, rule or manner of acting, a way pursued by former people that is pursued by those coming after them. 

Generally speaking, then a Sunnah provides a road map or pattern for us to follow.  And the best Sunnah is that of Allah.

33: 62. (Such was) Sunnah of Allah among those
Who lived aforetime:
No change wilt thou find
In the sunnah of Allah.

The Qur’an teaches us much of this Sunnah when it records Allah’s message to other prophets and other peoples.  From Ibrahim, to Nuh, to Moses, to Isa, we have seen no change in the basic Sunnah of Allah – and the model of character and righteous behavior provided by the Prophets that He sent.  (AS). 

Al Anam 6: 50. Say:"I tell you not
That with me
Are the Treasures of God,
Nor do I know
What is hidden,
Nor do I tell you I am
An angel. I but follow
What is revealed to me."
Say:"Can the blind
Be held equal to the seeing?"
Will ye then consider not?

Yunus 10:15. But when Our Clear Signs
Are rehearsed unto them,
Those who rest not their hope
On their meeting with Us,
Say: "Bring us a Reading
Other than this, or change this,"
Say: "It is not for me,
Of my own accord,
To change it: I follow
Naught but what is revealed
Unto me: if I were
To disobey my Lord,
I should myself fear the Penalty
Of a Great Day (to come)."

In these ayaat Allah SWT makes it clear that our beloved Prophet did nothing other than follow what was revealed to him.  Some have claimed that these ayaat support an idea that only the Qur’an contains wahy and only it should be followed, but they ignore the import of these words.  All of the actions of the Prophet SAW, as Prophet, were guided by Allah through wahy, and hence, his actions, sayings, tacit approvals, and character provide us a living example of the wahy contained in the Quran. His Sunnah is the applied Qur’an. As noted by Aaisha (RAA), the Prophet was a walking Qur’an. 

Therefore the Kitab mentioned in the first ayaat is all of the wahy sent by Allah to us, both in the Qur’an, and in the Sunnah, the practical application of the wahy provided by our beloved Prophet SAW.

May Allah SWT guide us always to the truth and help us to always follow His revelation to us and to emulate the best of those who can be emulated, His Prophet, Muhammad, SAW.

The Definition of Hikmah

 

Allah SWT says in the Quran al Hakim:

   

Allah has clearly shown his grace to the believers by sending unto them a Messenger of their own who recites unto them His revelations and causes them to grow and teaches them the Book and Hikmah although before they were in flagrant error.

(Aal Imran: 3;164).

Our beloved Prophet SAW brought us the wahy contained in the Qur’an and the Sunnah, and he also taught us the Hikmah.  Some scholars have interpreted the word Hikmah to indicate the Sunnah, but others have interpreted it to mean a criterion or furqan, a wisdom by which we are able to determine the best path, even in the absence of direct wahy.  Islam was intended to be the last religion revealed to mankind, and it will guide us until Yawm al Qiyama, so how do we address physical and technical innovations, new forms of transport, new foods and sources of wealth, new methods of manufacture and sale.  A few years ago, internet sales was a huge issue in fiqh.  Now it seems commonplace and a settled area of law.  A few years ago, my sheikh was advocating that one should pay zakat on computers since they were luxury items.  Now … they are a necessity.  How do we deal with these innovations in hayat al duniyah?  Even the most ardent dhahari or textual literalist drives a car, has a face book account and consults Sheikh Google. 

Imam Tirmidhi and Imam Abu Dawood have both narrated that when the Prophet (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam) sent Mu’adh ibn Jabal (radhiallahu anhu) to Yemen (as a governor), he asked him:
“How will you judge if you are asked to do so?”
Mu’adh said: “I will judge according to the Book of Allah.”
The Prophet: “And if you do not find it in the Book of Allah?”
Muadh: “Then I will judge according to the Sunnah of His Messenger.”
The Prophet : “And if you do not find it in the Sunnah of the Messenger, or in the Book of Allah?”
Muadh: “Then I will exercise my opinion and I will not be negligent with it.”
The Prophet then patted the chest of Mu’adh with his hands and said: “All praise is due to Allah, Who has guided the emissary of His Messenger towards that which He guided His Messenger.” [Abu Dawood]

To exercise one’s opinion and not be negligent is to exercise what is called ijtehad or due diligence.  To do so requires a thorough understanding of the revelation from Allah in the Qur’an; of the applied Qur’an found in the Sunnah, and of the principles of due diligence, especially those found in the objectives of the Shariah, the maqaasid ash-Shariah.  These include protection and promotion of Deen, protection and promotion of life, protection and promotion of aql or reason, protection and promotion of dignity and lineage, and protection and promotion of property.  These comprehensive maqaasid guide the mujtahid or doctor of Islamic Jurisprudence, such as Mu’adh, by providing the criterion which will lead to the correct understanding of any issue.  By applying these maqaasid, we can understand whether an action will ultimately bring us harm or good.  We know that a thing may appear good, but ultimately harm us, and a thing may be disliked by us, but be good for us.  Through these maqaasid, Allah SWT has provided us a criterion by which we can judge our own actions by looking to the ultimate effects of those acts.  And in doing so, we will gain the wisdom and good governance of ourselves and of our societies, for hukumat or governance also comes from this same root indicating wisdom. 

Mu’adh ibn Jabal was sent to provide good governance to the people of Yemen, and he did so by following the law laid down by Allah in the Qur’an and Sunnah, and by the wise application of that law through the exercise of due diligence – ijtehad.

We should remember that ijtehad is not whim or fancy. The Prophet is reported to have said in the hadith quoted above: “All praise is due to Allah, Who has guided the emissary of His Messenger towards that which He guided His Messenger.” [Abu Dawood]

Our Prophet SAW also taught us how to exercise ijtehad.  When he sent the people to the Bani Quraizah, he told them to go there and pray asr prayer there.  A group were traveling there when asr time came in.  The people began to debate, “Should we stop and pray, or go on and pray at the fort of the Bani Quraizah, even if we pray late?”  One group stopped and prayed, another went on and prayed when they arrived.  Later they asked Rasul Allah SAW.  He told them they were both correct.

Some have a problem with this.  How can both positions be correct?  That is the nature of ijtehad…  What is important is the effort to use our reasoning and find the best solution we can find, not the most appealing or popular, but what we feel is the most correct given our ability and knowledge.  Both groups did this.  We, as humans, have freedom of intention, but Allah SWT controls the effects of those intentions.  When we intend the best, to the best of our ability, then Allah SWT will reward us.  But if we are not diligent, or exceed our abilities, or act arrogantly and think we know, when we do not… then we will face His Wrath.

Imam Khassaf, in his Book Adab al Qadi, notes that if a judge rules beyond his ability, then he will face the hell fire, and if he has the ability given him by Allah, and fails to use it for the service of the community, then he will face the hell fire.  Only if he does his best, based on his ability and knowledge, will he walk that fine line, that sirat, to the jennah.  

These days, everyone claims to be a sheikh, a mujtahid.  Read one book, or attend a few years at a university, and you are a scholar of Islam.  Many seek to wear the mantle of the Prophet SAW, but few understand its weight.  It is a heavy, heavy thing, and no one should attempt to put it on.  The Prophet used to appoint judges based on their knowledge and their character.  Those who asked for the job, did not get it.  Those who shunned it, did.  Few today are taught according to the Socratic method, the method that actually trains the intellect and prepares one to exercise ijtehad.  Instead, we read a book, attend a lecture, watch videos, listen to tapes, and occasions take some form of objective test where we are expected to spew forth what has been fed us - we have become regurgitators.  We have become inflexible and our deen is stagnating.  People abandon us for other religions that appear to offer compassion and understanding, but which truly offer only whims and fancies.  This is because we are only able to vomit up what our so called teachers feed us, and we are unable to look to the sources of our deen, the Qur'an and Sunnah, and understand them so as to apply them in the world as we find it.  

And so mullahs run across town, forcing kitchens to close during Ramadan, forgetting that we will need to eat once the sun sets, and ignoring 1400 years of fiqh on how to deal with cooking during the holy month.  And so ignorant fools kill birds in the market place because they are "singing."   And so people fight over how to raise your finger during salaat.  We scream "bida'a" at each other, without the slightest understanding of the methodology of the madhaahibs, Sunni and Shia.  Well, you can put on that mantle if you want, but be careful it does not crush you.  As for me, I will follow the Deen of Al-Rahman, the Deen contained in the Qur'an and Sunnah, the Deen whose objectives form the Maqaasid ash-Shariah, the Deen that will guide us until Yawm al Qiyamah by Wahy and Wisdom.

May Allah SWT grant us this tawfiq to walk that fine line and grant us the Jennat ul-Firdaws, even though we scarcely deserve it.

Allahumma, aghfi lilmuslimeen wa almuslimaat, wa almu’mineen wa almu’minaat il-ahyaa’a minhum wa al-amwaat, innaka sami’u qareebun mujeebu udda’awaat.

The Qur'an - Revealed Truth

 The Only Certain Knowledge

Surah al-Isra 17:105 We sent down the Quran in Truth and in Truth has is descended and we sent thee but to give glad tidings and to warn

106 It is a Quran which we have divided in order that thou mightest recite it to men at intervals.  We have revealed it in stages.

107 Say, whether ye believe in it or not, it is true.  That those who were given knowledge beforehand, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration.

108 And they say, “glory to our Lord! Truly has the promise of our Lord been fulfilled.”

109 They fall down on their faces in tears, and it increases their humility and khushu.

110 Say “Call upon Allah or Call upon Al Rahman, by whatever name ye call upon Him, for to Him belong the most beautiful names.  Neither speak the Prayer aloud, not speak it in a low tone.  But seek a middle course between.” 

111 Say, “Praise be to Allah, who beget no son, and has not partner in His dominion, nor needs He any to protect Him from humiliation, Yea, Magnify Him for his greatness and glory.”

How perfect is Allah SWT’s guidance for us in His beautiful Qur’an!!! In these ayaat from Surah Al Isra, Allah SWT begins by reminding us that this Qur’an is the truth.  It is the truth and it was brought down from Allah in truth.  Everything about this marvelous book is truth.  In contains the truth, nothing in it is false or inaccurate or confused or contradictory.  It is absolutely true.

2:2. This is the Book;
In it is guidance sure, without doubt,
To those who fear God;

3:3. It is He Who sent down
To thee (step by step),
In truth, the Book,

Confirming what went before it;
And He sent down the Torah and the Injeel.

3:7. He it is Who has sent down
To thee the Book:
In it are verses
that are full of wisdom.  They are the foundation
Of the Book: others
Are otherwise. But those
In whose hearts is perversity follow
The part thereof that is otherwise,
Seeking discord, and searching
For its hidden meanings,
But no one knows
Its hidden meanings except God.
And those who are firmly grounded
In knowledge. They say "We believe
In the Book; the whole of it
Is from our Lord:" and none
Will grasp the Message
Except men of understanding.

Philosophers often talk about knowledge, what is it and how do we know.  Some Muslim philosophers, such as al Farabi, and more recently, Sayed Muhammad Baqir al Sadr, felt that humans can know and that what we know exists, and is actual.  Realists, such as al Farabi and Al Sadr were convinced that first principles, such as identity and causality are certain, necessary and true, and are knowable by human beings.  Other philosophers, such as Mullah Sadr and Qutb al Din Shirazi were illuminationists.  They held that wahy or revealed knowledge, such as that found in the Qur’an, is the only certain knowledge, and that even first principles are dependant and not as certain as wahy.  This is because first principles are assumptions and cannot actually be proven.  They are first principles upon which all else rests, but there is nothing to prove them with.  They would appear to be intuitive, such as identity – a thing is itself –  and they are compelling to be sure, but they are no more certain than inductive knowledge – knowledge based on experience and hinged upon probability and not certainty or necessity, and they are no more certain than faith.  They require a leap of faith.  We assume they are true, and they would appear to be necessarily so, but we do not have complete yaqin or certainty. 

Shaheed al Sadr felt the necessary aspect of first principles made them certain and generated yaqin, but in the end, only Allah’s knowledge is certain, and only wahy from Him has absolute yaqin.

In short, no matter how we approach the most fundamental thing in this universe, we cannot avoid a leap of faith.  Whether we approach Allah from science, from mathematics, from religion, we cannot avoid a leap of faith.  We must step off the cliff of certainty and simple surrender to Him.  And only by doing so, can we finally have certainty – for certainty is found only in His knowledge for He is all Knowing, Alim.

So this book, this Qur’an, is the most certain source of knowledge.  Some feel it contains everything and that they need no other book.  Although our Quran contains ayaat or signs of the truth in the universe and in ourselves, we are instructed by it to look outside the book – to look at nature, the stars and sky, the water, the land, our own selves.  Clearly, the Qur’an contains the ayaat or signs, but Allah’s knowledge is too vast to be contained in such a small book.  The Quran itself says:

18:109  Say, “If the sea were ink, sooner would the sea be exhausted than would the words of My Lord, even if another sea were added of its like.”

This Qur’an is to give glad tidings and to warn, and that is its main purpose.  It was given to us as a furqan or criterion, not as the sum total of all things.  Through it we gain guidance as to how to use our aql or intellect, so we can exercise our freedom of intention and come voluntarily to a relationship with Allah SWT.

Allah also notes that it was revealed in stages.  These stages are a blessing for the believers.  These ayat speak especially to those of us who have come to Islam, but they also speak to those who have strayed away and who later come back.  After all, we all must come to accept Islam as OUR deen, whether we be so called reverts or those born into a Muslim family.

2:23. And if ye are in doubt
As to what We have revealed
From time to time to Our servant,
Then produce a Sūra
Like thereunto;
And call your witnesses or helpers
(If there are any) besides God,
If your (doubts) are true.

This revelation in stages is actually one of the proofs of the Qur’an.  If wahy is the only source of true knowledge, then any form of wahy must prove itself.  That the Qur’an was revealed by Allah SWT through the agency of the Angel Jibreel to the Prophet Muhammad SAW is without a doubt.  Over and over Allah swears to its truth in revelation.  And in this ayat, He challenges anyone to come up with a chapter like unto it.  In another ayat, He challenges people to come up with even an ayat like unto it.  No one, in 1400 years, has ever produced its like. 

The revelation over time is also a blessing and a guidance.  For example, when Allah SWT wanted to prohibit alcohol, He did so in stages.  First, He told us not to come to prayer with a mind befuddled.  Then, he revealed that it had good and bad in it, but mostly bad.  Then He prohibited it completely.  It is reported that the Prophet noted that if the prohibition had been sent down all at once, the people of that time, who were heavy drinkers, would have revolted.  Same with people today.  This gradual revelation gives us a guideline for how to wean ourselves off the substances we abuse these days – both drugs and alcohol.

Next Allah SWT describes the state of those who were given knowledge before they heard the revelation of the Qur’an.  How many people of the book or those who have deep faith in the Divine have come to Islam after reading the Qur’an.  I remember the first time I read the translation of the Qur’an.  I could not put it down.  I was amazed.  Every word I read I knew to be true.  My heart leapt, as we say.  And even from those first few days, when I heard the Qur’an recited, tears streamed from my eyes. 

One important point Allah SWT makes here is that when a person who truly believes in Allah hears the words of Qur’an, he or she is increased in their khushu.  This is an allusive word.  Khushu is what we strive for in salaat.  It is that state of full commitment and concentration, a complete link with Allah and with each other.  Salaat comes from the root, SLL, which indicated complete peace, communion.  It is communion with Allah and community with the believers.  And when we pray, we should feel the full humility before our Creator, the full brotherhood with each other, and the sakina or peace that passes all understanding that comes from complete yaqin, complete certainty and complete submission to Allah, Rabbi al – Alaamin. 

May Allah SWT grant us this khushu, this fullness of concentration, certainty and peace, and may He forgive us all the sins and faults we have and remove for us these obstacles that block our ability to obtain that degree of khushu.

Ha Mim Sajda  41:1 Ha. Mim.

2 A revelation from the Beneficent, the Merciful,

3 A Scripture whereof the verses are expounded, a Lecture in Arabic for people who have knowledge,

4 Good tidings and a warning. But most of them turn away so that they hear not.

5 And they say: Our hearts are shielded from that unto which thou (O Muhammad) callest us, and in our ears there is a muffler, and between us and thee there is a veil. Act, then. Lo! we also shall be acting.

6 Say (unto them O Muhammad): I am only a mortal like you. It is inspired in me that your God is One God, therefor take the straight path unto Him and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe unto those who associate others with Him.

Here Allah SWT reminds us that this revelation is from the Most Beneficient, Most Merciful Being.  It is a mercy to us to receive this guidance.  Allah created us, gave us freedom of intention, and gave us guidance so that we can be with Him and have the best in this life and the next.  He does not want us to suffer.  We are the cause of our own suffering.  He tells us that the verses of this book, the signs contained in this book were sent down to facilitate our relationship with Him.  They were revealed in clear Arabic, the language of the Prophet and his people so that the people who immediately heard this revelation would understand it.

We may wonder at this Qur’an in Arabic.  Why Arabic?  Certainly the Arabic language has some special attributes.  It is constructed on roots that carry a meaning, so that even if the meaning of a particular word changes over time, the original jist can be gleaned.  Language is such that words do change over time.  I can think of words whose meanings have changed just in my short lifetime.  So this attribute of Arabic helps retain original meanings even over the 1400 years since its revelation.  This is one of the ways Allah SWT has preserved our Kitab, and will continue to do so til Yawm al Qiyamah.

But unfortunately many place a shield between themselves and Allah SWT.  They do not want to understand the Book, or listen or see anything.  They are in denial.  They may complain that they do not understand the message.  These are the people who say the Qur’an has allegorical meanings – the mutashabihaat.  They do not look to the muhkumaatuhunna – the wisdom and truth in the Qur’an.  They seek to create fitnah and desperately seek excuses not to obey Allah SWT.  They are like those that Allah mentioned in surah al baqarah who were given a simple instruction, slaughter a cow.  But they kept asking, “What kind of cow?”  “What about this, what about that?”  They almost did not even do what they were commanded to do, because they tried to make it nearly impossible to do it…  Disobedience colored their every action.  So act, Allah is aware of all your actions.

41:6 Say : I am only a mortal like you. It is inspired in me that your God is One God, therefor take the straight path unto Him and seek forgiveness of Him. And woe unto those who associate others with Him.

We are only humans just like them, but we have the certainty, the yaqin born of revelation, of wahy, that Allah is One, and that He has given us a straight path to Him and that those who associate others with Him, they are the ones who are at a loss.  May Allah forgive us and make us of those who do not associate others with Him, and who follow always His wise guidance.