Muslim Thinking

"Letter to the President" - slightly reworded

2009-05-09T08:16:00.000-07:00

All praise is to Allah, the Mighty, the Wise.

Recently, we had a "Civic Society" petition a letter to be sent to the President of Pakistan to take action against the "Taliban" in Swat.

Right or wrong, I was wondering how come the list of crimes drawn against the TNSM and "Taliban" couldn't also be drawn against some body else... like the US?

So here is the letter slightly re-worded (why re-invent the wheel - that's so "Taliban"!? :) ) to really ask these people why they are silent about this other set of crimes and following their own logic why they don't equally protest this other "abject capitualtion of the state of Pakistan"...

The Other Potential "Letter to the President" (Pdf)

...looking forward to know what you think.

Is a Sahih Hadith True? (Part II)

2008-09-06T01:59:00.000-07:00

Al hamdulillah, today we will complete the aforementioned topic. May Allah reward those who have been following this blog over the summer. With other chores taking precedence, I would discontinue the blog until Eid (at least) insha'Allah unless there is a topic someone out there would like help with specifically. Jazakumullahu khairen wassalamu alaikum.

The hadith that only some consider sahih (cont'd)

...And so the most just word pertaining to the recitation behind the Imam has been that when the follower of the Imam can hear his recitation, he should attentively listen to it and remain silent. He should not recite the fatihah nor anything other than it.¹

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1. There are other ahadith, such as one recorded by Tirmidhi who graded it Hasan, which indicate that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) specifically allowed the recitation of Fatihah but not other than that. I am personally not clear with ibn Taymiyah makes this statement after considering that hadith not sufficiently authentic; or due to be being unaware of that hadith. But this is not the main subject of the discussion in any case - the point is reconciliation of hadith that only some declare sahih.

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And when he does not hear his recitation, he recites the Fatihah and what is extra over that. This is the statement of the majority of the early (Salaf) and latter generations (Khalaf). It is the chosen opinion of [Imam] Malik and his companions and Ahmed bin Hanbal and the majority of his companions; and it is one of the two opinions of ash-Shafi'i and it has been chosen by those of his companions who conducted thorough research. And it is the opinion of Muhammad bin al-Hasan and others from the companions of Abu Hanifah.

As for the statement of a group amongst the people of knowledge, like Abu Hanifah and Abu Yusuf: that there is no recitation behind the Imam - neither of the Fatihah nor any other; neither in the silent prayer nor in the loud one - then this is opposed by the statement of those who make the recitation of al-Fatihah obligatory, even if he hears the Imam reciting it ... and the explanation of this in detail is left to another occasion [I have skipped quite a lot of the translation in the elipses as our concern is with the status of a sahih hadith].

The primary objective here was to provide examples of hadith that are narrated in the Sahih but there is a difference over its being authentic with respect to some scholars. So sometimes one scholar has the stronger opinion and another time he has the weaker opinion. And the occasions of juristic exertion (ijtihad) in the authentication of a hadith are similar to the occasions of juristic exertion in the legal rulings. As for what the scholars agree upon to be sound - then that is like the scholars agreeing upon a legal ruling. This is not but the truth.

And the majority of the authenticated texts are of this nature. And the generality of these texts have thus in fact been narrated from the Prophet (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) from a number of perspectives from such-and-such narrator and such-and-such narrator; but without any collusion. Thus such narrations lead to knowledge that is definite.

Length of a sahih hadith as an indicator

Then indeed, when the hadith scholar narrates a long hadith that he heard and another narrates it also mentioning that he heard it, and it is known that the two did not collude in composing it - then it is learnt that this is the truth. That is because had it not been the truth, then it would have been falsehood - whether intentionally or unintentionally. For, indeed, when the hadith scholar narrates against the truth: he is either lying intentionally or unintentionally making a mistake. So when it is ascertained that he is not relying on something that is false and neither has he made a mistake, his hadith becomes correct. And the long narration, usually preculudes that two narrations should agree with each other in terms of their composition - when there has been no explicity collaboration.

And this is found to occur abundantly in the case where a hadith has been narrated by both Abu Hurairah and Abu Sa'eed [al-Khudri] or both Abu Hurairah and 'Aishah or Abu Hurairah and ibn 'Umar or ibn Abbas [may Allah be pleased with all of them]. And, of course, it is known that one of them did not take from the other. For example, the hadith of the Allah manifesting Himself on the Day of Judgement is quite long: Abu Hurairah and Abu Sa'eed narrate it without a single letter being out of place. In fact, Abu Hurairah['s version] agrees with it completely, save a word towards the end. Thus, of course, it is the case that the Prophet (sallallahu 'alaihi wasallam) narrated it while in a single sitting and both of them heard it in that sitting - so he says this is what he heard from him in a sitting, and this is what I heard from him at another place. And the whole of it is gathered together in the Hadith of the Ziyaadah² and Allah knows best.

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2. The Ziyaadah (i.e. the extra) is a term used in the ayat 10:26 as a reward for the doers of good. It seems ibn Taymiyah is referring to the hadith that explain that this ziyaadah is actually the believers seeing Allah on the day of judgement.
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Is a Sahih Hadith True? (Part I)

2008-08-24T11:37:00.000-07:00

With the Grace and Mercy and Will of Allah the Mighty, the Wise, the Gracious, the Merciful: soon the Aqeedat-ul-Waasitiyya class will enter the zone where Hadith will be used to derive Aqeedah issues. And this is an issue that is not free of controversy amongst the juristic schools of thought.

Given the generality of the subject, I am posting here a translation of how ibn Taymiyah, may Allah be merciful with him, the author of Aqeedat-ul-Waasitiyya views the issue.

With my "metaphorical" and somewhat abridged translation, and my own headings, what proceeds is from Majmoo al-Fataawa li ibn Taymiyah, Kitaab-ul-Hadith, in answer to the question:

When a hadith is graded sahih,

is it the truth?

His answer: The Sahih (sound hadith) has a number of types, and its nature is in terms of its truthfulness - these are two separate things.

Mutawatir Hadith

So from the Sahih is that whose wording has been received through continuous chains with numerous narrators at each level [i.e. mutawatir]. Like his [Muhammad - may Allah send prayers upon him and peace] saying, "Whoever intentionally ascribes a lie to me, then he should choose his seat in the hellfire".

And then there is that which is mutawatir in its meaning [the narrations have different wordings but same meaning]; like the ahadith of the intercession, the ahadith about seeing [of Allah on the day of judgement], the ahadith about the hawd [the pool from which the Messenger will distribute water on the Day of Resurrection]...etc.

So this is a source of knowledge, and it is certain that it is the truth; because it is mutawatir whether in words or in meaning.

"Accepted" or Maqbool Hadith

And also from the Sahih hadith are those that have been met by the Muslims with acceptance and so they act upon them [even though they are not mutawatir]. Such as they acted upon the hadith about providing a slave as blood money for causing a miscarriage, and as they acted upon the ahadith of shuf'a [the neighbour's prerogative to buy property on sale] and the ahadith about the sajdatus-sahw, etc.

So this is a source of knowledge, and it is certain that it is the truth. That is because, the Muslim nation (the ummah) has met it with acceptance, validating its truthfulness and by acting upon what it necessitates. And the ummah does not unite upon any misguidance.¹

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1. Taken from hadith such as that in Sunan at-Tirmidhi on the authority of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with both), "Of a surety, Allah will not gather my ummah," or he said, "...the ummah of Muhammad (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) upon a misguidance..." [Kitab al-Fitan, Ma jaa`a fi luzoom-il-jamaa'ah, at-Tirmidhi graded it "Ghareeb" i.e. single chain]. Interestingly, this hadith itself is an example of one that has consistently been found by the people of knowledge in hadith to be weak due to weakness of narrators (e.g. an-Nawawi). But the people of knowledge across the schools of fiqh Ahlus-Sunnah have adopted it in practice unanimously. Look in this blog for the two blogs on "a beautiful word on consensus" for evidence from the Qur'an. And there are other places on the net where more evidences are presented.

Note also that a weak hadith is not the same as a fabricated one. It is possible that the difference be upon the reliability of a narrators memory so some may even grade it hasan.

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For had the matter in itself [that the hadith reported on] been false, it would have been that the ummah had reached consensus upon ratifying a lie and had acted upon it; and this is not allowed for it.

Furthermore, from the Sahih is that which has been met by acceptance as well as the ratification of the people of knowledge in hadith - like the majority of the ahadith of al-Bukhari and Muslim. For, indeed, all of the people of knowledge in hadith affirm with surety the soundness of the majority of the ahadith in these two books. And all of the people are followers to them in learning the science of hadith. So the consensus (ijmaa') of the people of knowledge in hadith upon a certain report being true is like the ijmaa' of the jurists (fuqahaa) upon a certain action being halal or haram or waajib.

So when the people of knowledge reach consensus upon any matter, then the whole of the ummah are followers to them. For their ijmaa is protected, it is not allowed that they unite upon a mistake.

The hadith that only some consider sahih

And, of course, there is that which is labelled as Sahih, which only some of the hadith scholars ratify as being sahih, while others oppose them in its being called Sahih. So they say, "It is da'eef (weak) and not sahih". For example, words that are narrated by Muslim in his Sahih; while other hadith scholars differ with him with regards to its soundness - whether they are of a the same calibre, lower than him or higher than him.

The truthfulness of such a narration cannot be asserted except with supporting evidence.

For example, there is the hadith of ibn Wa'lah from ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah pray for him and grant him peace, said, "Whichever hide has been tanned, then indeed it has become pure". Indeed, Muslim was different in narrating this vis-a-vis al-Bukhari. And of course, Imam Ahmad and others have graded it weak. But, of course, Muslim narrated it.

Another example from what Muslim has narrated is that the Prophet, may Allah pray for him and grant him peace, prayed the prayer for the eclipse with three bowings and with four bowings. He differed in this with al-Bukhari, for indeed this has been declared weak by the proficient amongst the people of knowledge. They said: Indeed the Prophet, may Allah pray for him and grant him peace, did not pray the prayer for the eclipse except once; the day his son passed away. And in hadith of these type, in which there is the prayer with three bowings and with four bowings is also that he prayed that on the day of the death of Ibrahim [his son]. And it is known that Ibrahim [peace be upon him] did not die twice and neither did he have two [sons called] Ibrahim . And of course it is narrated mutawatir from him that he prayed the prayer of the eclipse that day with two bowings in each unit of prayer, as has been narrated from him through Ayesha, Ibn Abbas, Ibn 'Amr and others. Therefore, al-Bukhari only narrated these ahadith and that is an omission from Muslim.

Hence, ash-Shafi'i and others declared the hadith of three and four as weak and did not consider it to be liked (mustahab). And this is the more authentic of the two opinions from Ahmed, and it is narrated from him that he used to consider it acceptable prior to it becoming clear to him the weakness of these ahadith.

Similarly, there is the hadith of Muslim: "Allah created the earth on Saturday, created on it mountains on Sunday, created the trees on Monday, created the Makrooh [the things used for earning a living, like iron and other minerals] on Tuesday, created light on Wednesday, populated in it the creatures on Thursday and created Adam on Friday."

So it has received criticism from those who are more knowledgeable than Muslim, such as Yahya bin Ma'een and al-Bukhari and others. Bukhari mentions that this is from the statement of Ka'b al-Ahbaar and a group of scholars relied on its soundness, such as Abu Bakr bin al-Anbari and Abul Faraj ibn al-Jawziyy and others. While al-Bayhaqi and others were in concurrence with those who declared it weak - and this is the correct opinion. That is because, indeed, it is established by mutawatir narration that Allah created the heavens and the earth and what is between it in six days and it is also established that the last of the creation was on Friday. This necessitates that the first thing created would be on Sunday, and this is how it is with the People of the Book and this is what the names of the days indicate [Yaum-ul-Ahad is Sunday, which literally means the first day]. And this is how it has been established to be recorded in the other ahadith and narrations...and those proficient in the science of hadith have found hidden defects in it from other angles...

And this is what is known as the science of 'ilal (hidden defects) in hadith. That is because, on the surface the chain of a hadith may appear to be good - but its true nature is only revealed through another means: perhaps the narrator made a mistake and raised the chain [to the Messenger of Allah] while it had stopped [at the Companion]; or he narrated it with a connected chain, but in fact there was a drop of the Companion in the chain; or he may have introduced one hadith into another hadith.

So this is an honourable skill and amongst the most knowledgeable of people in it were Yahya bin Sa'eed al-Ansaari, then his companion Ali bin al-Madeeni, then al-Bukhari. And similarly we have Imam Ahmad and Abu Hatim; and also an-Nasaa'i and ad-Daaraqurtni and others. And the publications on this subject are well-known.

Also in al-Bukhari itself, there are three ahadith that some of the people disputed regarding their soundness. For example, there is the hadith of Abu Bakrah [not Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them] from the Prophet may Allah send prayers upon him and grant peace that he said about al-Hasan [may Allah be pleased with him], "Indeed, this son of mine is a Syyed, and Allah will bring peace through him between two great parties of the Muslims." And, of course, amongst those who disputed this was Abu al-Waleed al-Baaji who thought that al-Hasan did not hear it from Abu Bakrah. However, the correct view is with al-Bukhari and that al-Hasan did hear this from Abu Bakrah, as this has been clarified and established elsewhere.²

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2. Break for humorous note: It's really amazing the number of times ibn Taymiyah, may Allah be merciful with him, says "as has been explained elsewhere". It's as if he could see the age of the hyperlink coming (and I really mean "as if" - some people are wali of Allah but I doubt this level of "ilhaam" was ever there)! I really wish someone would go through the fatawa and connect all these virtual hyperlinks. Break over - continue...

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And al-Bukhari was more proficient and knowledgeable with regards to this skill than Muslim. That is why, they do not agree upon a hadith except that it is indeed sahih, and without a shadow of doubt in it the people of knowledge agree with them upon its soundness. But when Muslim differs in it with wordings that al-Bukhari left aside - and some of the people of hadith then say: indeed, it is weak. Then sometimes we find that the correct opinion is with the one who declared it weak, as in the case of the prayer of the eclipse...and sometimes we find the correct opinion is with Muslim (and that is usually the case).

For example, there is the hadith of Abu Moosa [may Allah be pleased with him], "The Imam [the leader in the prayer] has only been appointed so that he be followed. So when he makes takbeer, you also make takbeer. And when he recites then you should remain silent." [Book 04, Number 800 for more faithful and complete wording of hadith].

And, indeed, this addition to the hadith was considered authentic by Muslim, and it was also accepted by Ahmad bin Hanbal and others. And al-Bukhari considered it weak. And this addition is in fact in accordance with the Qur'an. For if an authenticated hadith did not incline towards this, then the action would have been obligated [in any case] by the Qur'an. For, indeed, He [Allah] says, "So when the Qur'an is recited, then listen to it and become silent that you may receive mercy." [7:204]

The people have agreed on this that it was revealed with regards to the prayer and it is the recitation in the prayer that is intended by this text. And therefore it has been the most balanced of views with regards to the recitation behind the Imam, that the follower - when he can hear the recitation [emphasis mine] - he should listen attentively and remain silent. He should neither recite the Fatihah nor anything else. But when he cannot hear its recitation, then he recites al-Fatihah and what is additional. And this is the statement of the majority of the early generations [the Salaf] and the latter generations [the Khalaf]. And it is the way of Malik and his companions, Ahmed bin Hanbal and the majority of his companions, one of the two opinions from ash-Shafi'i and it was chosen by a group from those companions of his who verified opinions through research. And it is the statement of Muhammad bin al-Hasan and others from the companions of Abu Hanifah...

[By no means the end of the discussion - to be continued - by the Will of Allah]

al-Qurtubi: on beauty and beautifying

2008-08-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

By Allah's Grace and Mercy, today we'll have the promised excerpts on the topic of beauty from a beautiful explanation provided in the tafseer of al-Qurtubi.

Brief bio of al-Qurtubi: "Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ahmed al-Ansaari al-Qurtubi (d. 671 AH/ 1273 CE) was born in Cordoba in what is now Spain. he started his studies there and participated in jihad against the Christians, in the course of which he was captured but he managed to escape. He eventually travelled to the east, settling in Egypt, where he died." [Phillips, 1997, Usool-ut-Tafseer, p.59-61]

The Adornment of Allah

Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?" [al-A'raaf(7):32]

Excerpt from explanation of this verse

...Adornment here is beautiful clothing, where that is within the means of its wearer. And it is said: all types of clothing. This is as related from Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), "When Allah expands for you [your provision] then expand [your spending]."¹ And this been related earlier.

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1. The Tafseer of al-Qurtubi is known more for its strength in linguistic and juristic explanations. It is not known to be one of the most authentic in terms of narrations. Kindly do not assume that a quotation of any narration is authentic. Consider it as "learning" as opposed to "knowledge", i.e. possibility of being true and thus included but not necessarily true. See "My 'story' on sources of learning" for merits/demerits of this approach.

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It was narrated about Ali bin al-Husayn bin Ali bin Abi Talib, the Shaykh of Malik, may Allah be pleased with all of them, that he used to wear a garment of Khuzz [seems here a silky wool fabric] costing 50 dinars [quite valuable]. He would wear it through the winter and when the summer came he would give it out in charity or he would trade it for its value. And, in the summer, he would wear two clothes, as worn in the city, dyed in musk and he would say, "Say who has prohibited the adornment of Allah that he has brought out for his slave and the good things from the provision..."

So given this is the case, the ayat is pointing towards honourable clothing from what is worn, and to beautify oneself in gatherings and on the Eids, when meeting the people and when visiting the brothers. Abu al-Aaliyaa said: when the Muslims would go visiting, they would beautify themselves.

In Sahih Muslim, from the narration of Umar al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), we find that he saw a silk robe for sale at the door of the mosque. So he said, "O Messenger of Allah, should I buy it [for you] for Friday's and for when the delegations (from outside the city) come to visit you? So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) said, "Only those will wear it who have no share in the Hereafter." And he did not deny it to him because of its being beautiful; but he only refused it because it was made from silk.²

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2. This reasoning is confirmed by the fact the narration continues to mention that later the Messenger of Allah (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) forwarded such a robe to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) and Umar questioned this given that earlier he refused it for himself. The answer was that it was not for himself to wear. Narrations in Sahih Muslim say he gave it to his non-believing brother in Makkah [Muslim, Book of the Friday Prayer, "To wear the best one can find"]. That in Sahih Bukhari says the Messenger's intention was for him to sell it on or for the women of his household to wear [Bukhari, Book of Dress, "Silk for Women"]. Allah knows best.

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And of course, at-Tamim ad-Daari [may Allah be pleased with him] purchased a robe for 1000 dirhams and he would pray in it. And Malik bin Dinar [a follower of the companions] would wear a high quality garment from Adan (in Yemen). And the garment of Ahmed bin Hanbal was of a similar value in dinars.

Where is this compared to one who is disinclined from things, and who prefers the garment of raw cotton and rough wool. And he says, "The garment of taqwa that is better" [from the ayat 7:26]. Begone! Do you see those that have been mentioned ones who shunned the garment of taqwa? No, by Allah! They were the people of taqwa and those of acquaintance and perception. And those other than them were the "people of claim" and their hearts were empty from taqwa.

Khalid bin Shawzhab says, "I witnessed al-Hasan [al-Basari] when Farqad came to him. So al-Hasan took him by his garment and pulled it towards him saying: O Farayqid [calling this way is usually for one quite younger]. O son of the mother of Farayqid. Of a surety, piety is not in this cloth. Piety is only that which is venerated in the breast and is
affirmed by action"...

...And a person said to Shibli, "I met a group of your companions...I saw upon them patched and coarse clothes." So he replied in verse:

As for the tents, then they are like their tents
But I see that the women that live there, are not its women³

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3. I lightly humorous but deeply reflective verse of poetry. Its somewhat clear what he is saying but for completeness: the tents are the outer clothes of these people and he is comparing it with those of the Companions who they are trying to emulate (may Allah be pleased with them). However, he says, the women - those that are screened and are to be hidden from others by these tents; that is, the humility on the inside - do not match the tents they are being covered with.

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Abul Faraj al-Jawzi, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "I only dislike coarse and patched clothes for four reasons:

1. That it was not from the garment of the early generations, and they only used patches out of necessity.

2. That it asserts the claim of deprivation; but, of course, man has been ordered to make apparent an impression of Allah's blessing upon him.⁴

3. Making manifest one's tazuhhud [lack of desire for the worldly life], but we have indeed been commanded to cover it.⁵

4. It bears similarity with these who remove themselves from the Shari'ah [i.e. consider themselves outside of its scope]. "And whosoever tries to look like a people then he is from them".⁶

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4. With reference to the ayat, "But as for the favour of your Lord, report [it]." [adh-Dhuha(93):11].

5. With reference to the ayat, "Charity is] for the poor who have been restricted for the cause of Allah , unable to move about in the land. An ignorant [person] would think them self-sufficient because of their restraint, but you will know them by their [characteristic] sign. They do not ask people persistently [or at all]..." [2:273]

6. At least narrated by Abu Dawud amongst others. Al-Albani verifies it as authentic in Jami' al-Sahih (#6149).

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...And it is reported from the Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wassallam)..."Indeed Allah is Beautiful and He loves beauty."... [Muslim]

What is beauty?

And for you in them [the grazing livestock] is beauty when you bring them in [for the evening] and when you send them out [to pasture]. [An-Nahl(16):6]

Excerpt from explanation of this verse

[With a couple of verses of poetry, the author has first provided a linguistic understanding of the word "jamaal" - meaning beauty - used in this ayat. Of course, such things are difficult to convey for an amateur like me so I will move on to text following that.]

...Our scholars have said: thus, beauty occurs either in the external form, or in how a creation has been composed; and it also can be etiquette or manners that are related to the inner-self, or in the actions.

Beauty of the creation: this is a matter that is perceived by vision and that meets with the heart so much so that it agrees with it. So it pertains to the self (or the soul); without really knowing the reasons behind it - and it is not for any person [to be able] to really identify its source.

Beauty in etiquette: its nature is determined by the praiseworthy qualities such as knowledge, wisdom, justice, innocence (from shameful things), restraint of anger, and wishing good for everyone.

Beauty in actions: it is their presence in a manner that agrees with the betterment of the creation, and successfully brings about that which benefits them and removes evil from them.

As for the beauty of the grazing livestock and animals for riding, then this is from the beauty of the creation; it is pleasing to the eyes and agreeable to the insightful ones. From their beauty is their abundance, and the saying of the people, "This is the blessing upon so-and-so." This is what as-Suddi said.

That is because, when they come in from the grazing, their beauty becomes manifold, they become more venerable, and the hearts become attached to them. Because at that time they are more greater in terms of mass and weight. This is what Qatadah said.

And thus, the bringing in from the pasture has been mentioned before their going out to it [in the verse], because that is when their milk is at its fullest and the soul is pleased by that. And Allah knows best...

A beautiful word on consensus (cont'd)

2008-08-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation of an essay by ibn Taymiyah, the first part of which is to be found in the last blog.

A‎ ‎Guide‎ ‎on‎ ‎Unity‎ & ‎Division‎:

‎Reasons‎ & ‎‎Results‎ ‎‎[‎Part‎ ‎‎2]‎‎

[‎Vol‎.‎‎ ‎‎1‎‎,‎‎ ‎Majmoo‎’‎‎ ‎al‎ ‎Fataawa‎ ‎libni‎ ‎Taymiyah, translated excerpts]

Multiple Causes of Division

Further, Allah has also stated: …and they (those who were given the Scripture) did not divide except after knowledge had come to them – out of jealous animosity between themselves…[Aal Imraan(3):19]. Thus he informs us that their division was only after there had come to them the knowledge that clarified for them that which they should have taqwa about. For indeed, Allah is such that He would not “let a people stray after He has guided them until He makes clear to them what they should avoid” [at-Tawbah(9):115].

So He informed us that they did not divide except out of jealous animosity (al-baghyi), and jealous animosity is a passing of the limits [set by Allah]. As ibn Umar stated, “…¹: pride and jealousy.”

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1. This segment of the sentence is missing in the original manuscript.
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And this is not a division that is related to the exercise of juristic judgement (ijtihaad) and is not in an issue of knowledge. And this jealous animosity is not intended to imply those differences that arise amongst the scholars that are of an acceptable nature. Jealous animosity is either that which completely sets aside the right [of another], or is the exceeding of a limit [set in the law of Allah].² Thus it is either due to omitting an obligation or due to committing something forbidden. Hence, we learn that that is what leads to divisions.

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2. The author seems to differentiate between a complete disregard for another's right (e.g. by backbiting) and where a person does have a legal right to an action but then he exceeds the legal limits of that right (e.g. the right to respond to an attack that is initiated by an enemy in a sacred month - fighting is impermissible otherwise). Allah knows best.
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And this is similar to what He said about the People of the Book: And from those who say, "We are the Nazarenes (i.e. Christians)," We took their covenant; but they forgot a portion of that of which they were reminded . So We caused among them enmity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection [ al-Maidah(5):14]. Thus, He informed us that their forgetting a portion of that which they had been reminded with – and that is actually by not acting upon some of things they had been commanded to do [emphasis added] – that became the cause for encouraging enmity and hatred amongst themselves.

Purification as a current case in point

And this is what has occurred even amongst the people of our nation. Such as what we find between the disputing parties in the issues pertaining to the fundamentals of their religion, and numerous issues in its finer details as raised by both their scholars in general principles and those in the finer details. And we find the like of this between the scholars and between the general worshippers. They are those who are more taken by the Mosaic tradition or the Christian tradition,³ until they even begin to resemble these two nations in saying to each other, "The other party has nothing to stand on.^"4

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3. Those highly influenced by the Mosaic tradition are obviously those who are following the typical mistakes of the Jews who are described as "those upon whom is the Anger" because they emphasised on the outward actions but were corrupted from inside. The Christians were the opposite: too much emphasis to the internal issues without too much concern for outside practice.

4. This is with reference to the ayat in the Qur’an which states: The Jews say "The Christians have nothing [true] to stand on," and the Christians say, "The Jews have nothing to stand on," although they [both] recite the Scripture… [al-Baqarah(2):113].
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For example, we find the jurists are clinging on to the outward actions of the religion, while the spiritualists are holding onto the hidden actions from it. Every one of the two parties is negating the way of the other and is claiming that they are not members of the religion. Or their apparent behaviour is that which considers him not from the religion. Thus between them arises enmity and hatred.

And that is because Allah has commanded the purification of the heart and has also commanded the purification of the body. Both of these types of purification are from the religion which Allah has commanded and has made obligatory. Allah, the Exalted, says:⁵

…Allah does not intend to make any difficulty for you, but He intends to purify you and complete His favour upon you that you may be grateful. [al-Maidah(5):6]
…Within it are men who love to purify themselves; and Allah loves those who purify themselves. [at-Tawbah(9):108]
…Indeed , Allah loves those who repent and He loves those who purify themselves. [al-Baqarah(2):222]

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5. These three verses make these statements in the context of actually physical purification: the first is with reference to the sequence of actions for performing ablution; the second is speaking about the men at the Mosque of Quba who, when asked what was special about their purification, described how they would purify themselves after having relieved themselves from the call of nature [see Tafsir ibn Kathir]; and the third verse is with reference to women bathing after they complete a period of menstruation.
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And He also says:⁶

Take from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cleanse them by it … [at-Tawbah(9):103];
… Those are the ones for whom Allah does not intend to purify their hearts…[al-Maidah(5):41];
… indeed the polytheists are unclean…[at-Tawbah(9):28]; and
Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin] , O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification. [al-Ahzaab(33):33]

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6. This next set of verses now present the opposite case: where purification of the heart or the self is specified. It must be mentioned in the case of at-Tawbat(9):28, some scholars do take this to mean a physical impurity as the verse is commanding them not come near the Sacred Mosque after that year. But it seems ibn Taymiyah is of the view that this impurity emanates from their disbelief rather than their physical impurity. Allah knows best.
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So we find many of the jurists and the worshippers, their efforts are only directedtowards the purification of the body and they exceed in it over and above what is legislated in preparation and action. And they abandon of the purification of the heart what they have been commanded with: whether that be obligatory or recommended. There is nothing of the purification in them except that. And we find many of the Sufis and Fakirs, their efforts are only for the purification of the heart. Until they exceed in it beyond the legislated, in preparation or in action. And they abandon from the purification of the body what they have been commanded, obligatory or recommended.

As for the first, they exit into doubts arising from whispers within themselves that are blameworthy. This is exhibited in the form of excessive wastage of water (when purifying oneself), considering as an impurity what is actually not an impurity, and avoiding that which the Islamic law has not commanded avoidance of. This is while their hearts are involved in things like jealousy, pride and deceitfulness with respect to their brothers. Thus, in such matter, they resemble of the Jews.

And the others exit into a state of heedlessness that is blameworthy. Hence, they exaggerate in the issue of the soundness of the inner-self until they have made ignorance of the of evil things, which one must be well-acquainted with [those that one must save himself from], a part of maintaining the soundness of the inner-self.

And they do not differentiate between the soundness of the inner-self and the intention to do a forbidden evil, and between the soundness of the heart and the knowledge of evil – a knowledge which one has been commanded with (to seek). So with this ignorance and heedlessness, of course, they do not avoid impure things nor do they establish the obligatory purification in imitation of the Christians.

And so enmity between the two parties arises because a good part of what they had been reminded with was avoided and their was transgression by way of crossing the set limits, whether that be through shortfalls in or completely abandonment of right, or through hatred and actions in what is unjust.

And this transgression sometimes occurs amongst themselves and sometimes it occurs in the rights of Allah and there exists a correlation between the two [types of transgression]. That is why He said, “transgression amongst themselves”. For, indeed, each party transgresses against the other and then the other does not recognize the first’s rights upon them. Thus, it does not restrain itself from enmity against that party.

The repeated caution

And Allah the Exalted has stated:

And those who had been given the Scripture did not divide except after came to them the clear evidence[al-Bayyinah(98):4].
Mankind was one religion; then Allah sent the Prophets as bearers of glad tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it – after the clear proofs came to them – out of transgression amongst themselves [al-Baqarah(2):213].
And surely We gave the Children of Israel the Scripture and the judgement and the Prophethood…And We gave them clear proofs of the matter [of religion]. And they did not differ except after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves.[al-Jathiya(45):16-17]
...And do not become those who divided and differed after came to them clear evidences[Aal-e-Imran(3):105];

So...

And He, the Exalted, states: Indeed, those who have divided their religion and become sects - you, [O Muhammad], are not [associated] with them in anything[al-An’am(6):159].

And He, the Exalted, says: So direct your face towards the religion, inclining to truth. [Adhere to] the fitrah of Allah upon which He has created [all] people. No change should there be in the creation of Allah . That is the correct religion, but most of the people do not know. [Adhere to it], turning in repentance to Him, and fear Him and establish prayer and do not be of those who associate others with Allah. Of those who have divided their religion and become sects, every faction rejoicing in what it has [ar-Room(30):30-32]. That is because the Mushrikin (polytheists), they all worship the god that they desire.

This is similar to what He mentions in the verse that was previously under discussion …[that you should establish the religion and not divide therein.] It is a difficult thing for those who associate partners with Allah that which you are calling them to [ash-Shura(42):13].

And the Exalted states: O Messengers, eat from the pure things and do righteous
actions. Indeed, I am – of what you are doing – Knowing. And indeed, this ummah of yours is one ummah, and I am your Lord so fear Me. But they divided their affair among them into sects – each faction, in what it has, rejoicing [al-Mu’minoon(23):51-53]

Ijmaa' is thus an absolute evidence

Therefore, what emerges is that the cause of unity and mutual love is uniting on the religion and acting on it in its entirety. And that is worshipping Allah Alone, associating no partners with him; as has been commanded both inwardly and outwardly.

And the cause for division: leaving a good portion of what the slave has been commanded with and transgression against each other.

And the result of unity: the Mercy of Allah, His Pleasure and Prayers, happiness in this world and in the Hereafter and the faces being made white (on the Day of Judgement).

And the result of division: the Punishment of Allah, His Curse and the blackening of the faces, and the Messenger (Allah's prayers be upon him and peace) declaring himself free of any [further] duty towards them.

This is one of the evidences that the consensus (of this nation) is an absolute proof: for if they are united, surely they have been obedient to Allah and by virtue of that the recipients of Mercy. Allah’s obedience and His Mercy will not be there, by virtue of an action that Allah has not commanded, whether it be an issue of belief, statement or action.

For if that statement or action upon which a consensus has been reached was something not commanded by Allah; then that would not be in obedience to Allah, and that should mean there is no reason for His Mercy [so disunity should occur rather than unity].

And of course, Abu Bakr Abdul Aziz⁷ used this argument in the beginning of "at-Tanbeeh", where he highlighted this issue.

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7. He is Abdul 'Aziz bin Ja'far bin Ahmed, Abu Bakr, more famously known as "Ghulaam-ul-Khilaal" (285-363A.H.). He was a commentator of the Qur'an and a much trusted scholar of Hadith. He was of those leading scholars from the Hanbali school of fiqh who are credited with helping its growth. Ibn Ya'la (another later leading Hanbali scholar) states, "He was one of those who possessed deep comprehension (of the religion); knowledge was made more reliable by him and he had a wide knowledge of narrations". For further reading refer to Tabaqaat-ul-Hanaabilah by ibn Abi Ya'la [2/119-127], and al-A'laam [4/139].

Beautiful word on consensus as evidence

2008-08-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

How‎ ‎can‎ ‎I‎ ‎begin‎ ‎without‎ ‎praising‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎the‎ ‎Exalted‎,‎‎ ‎who‎ ‎guided‎ ‎us‎ ‎to‎ ‎this‎;‎‎ ‎we‎ ‎could‎ ‎not‎ ‎have‎ ‎found‎ ‎guidance‎ ‎had‎ ‎He‎ ‎not‎ ‎guided‎ ‎us‎.‎‎

It‎’‎s‎ ‎always‎ ‎easy‎ ‎when‎ ‎you‎ ‎can‎ ‎prove‎ ‎something‎ ‎directly‎ ‎and‎ ‎clearly‎ ‎from‎ ‎the‎ ‎magnificent‎ ‎Qur‎’‎an‎.‎‎ ‎Even‎ ‎better‎ ‎if‎ ‎you‎ ‎can‎ ‎do‎ ‎it‎ ‎without‎ ‎getting‎ ‎into‎ ‎the‎ ‎technical‎ ‎jargon‎ ‎unheard‎ ‎from‎ ‎the‎ ‎tongue‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎time‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎Messenger‎ ‎of‎ ‎Allah‎,‎‎ ‎may‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎send‎ ‎prayers‎ ‎upon‎ ‎him‎ ‎and‎ ‎grant‎ ‎peace‎.‎‎

Consensus‎ ‎‎(‎or‎ ‎ijmaa‎’)‎‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎Muslim‎ ‎nation‎ ‎on‎ ‎any‎ ‎religious‎ ‎issue‎ ‎is‎ ‎held‎ ‎by‎ ‎the‎ ‎vast‎ ‎majority‎ ‎of‎ ‎scholars‎ ‎to‎ ‎be‎ ‎the‎ ‎third‎ ‎source‎ ‎of‎ ‎Islamic‎ ‎evidence‎ ‎after‎ ‎the‎ ‎Book‎ ‎of‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎and‎ ‎the‎ ‎practice‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎Messenger‎ ‎of‎ ‎Allah‎.‎‎ ‎It‎ ‎is‎ ‎one‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎reasons‎ ‎they‎ ‎describe‎ ‎their‎ ‎school‎ ‎of‎ ‎thought‎ ‎as‎ ‎the‎ ‎Ahlus‎-‎Sunnah‎ ‎‎‎wal‎ Jamaa‎’‎ah.‎‎ ‎Now‎,‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎Wise‎ ‎Qur‎’‎an‎ ‎doesn‎’‎t‎ ‎exactly‎ ‎use‎ ‎the‎ ‎word‎ ‎ijmaa‎’ ‎and‎ ‎there‎ ‎is‎ ‎no‎ ‎unequivocal‎ ‎ayat‎ ‎that‎ ‎echoes‎ ‎the‎ ‎claimed‎ ‎Hadith‎,‎‎ ‎‎“‎My‎ ‎nation‎ ‎will‎ ‎never‎ ‎unite‎ ‎upon‎ misguidance‎.‎‎”‎‎ ‎But‎ ‎recently‎ ‎I‎ ‎came‎ ‎across‎ ‎a‎ ‎beautiful‎ ‎explanation‎ ‎which‎ ‎suddenly‎ ‎made‎ ‎everything‎ ‎so‎ ‎clear‎,‎‎ ‎for‎ ‎me‎ ‎at‎ ‎least‎.‎‎ ‎For‎ ‎those‎ ‎who‎ ‎wish‎ ‎to‎ ‎enlist‎ ‎themselves‎ ‎as‎ ‎those‎ ‎who‎ ‎tried‎ ‎to‎ ‎‎“‎establish‎ ‎the‎ ‎deen‎”‎‎,‎‎ ‎I‎ ‎hope‎ ‎this‎ ‎will‎ ‎be‎ ‎a‎ ‎small‎ ‎treasure‎.‎‎

Now‎ ‎some‎ ‎‎“‎disclaimers‎”‎‎ ‎due‎ ‎to‎ ‎the‎ ‎reputation‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎author‎.‎‎ ‎As‎ ‎divulged‎ ‎earlier‎,‎‎ ‎I‎’‎m‎ ‎trying‎ ‎to‎ ‎improve‎ ‎my‎ ‎Arabic‎ ‎reading‎ ‎by‎ ‎translating‎ ‎from‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎may‎ ‎my‎ ‎beloved‎ ‎brothers‎,‎‎ ‎who‎ ‎love‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎and‎ ‎His‎ ‎Messenger‎,‎‎ ‎that‎ ‎have‎ ‎difficulty‎ ‎with‎ ‎it‎ ‎forgive‎ ‎me‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎ibn‎ ‎Taymiyah‎’‎s‎ ‎collection‎ ‎of‎ ‎Fataawa‎.‎‎ ‎Perhaps‎ ‎it‎’‎d‎ ‎be‎ ‎easier‎ ‎on‎ ‎us‎ ‎all‎ ‎that‎ ‎I‎ ‎chose‎ ‎something‎ ‎less‎ ‎‎“‎divisive‎”‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎someone‎ ‎more‎ ‎‎“‎classical‎”‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎‎“‎mainstream‎”‎‎?‎‎

Well‎,‎‎ ‎a‎ ‎while‎ ‎back‎ ‎I‎ ‎myself‎ ‎cringed‎ ‎at‎ ‎the‎ ‎mention‎ ‎of‎ ‎his‎ ‎name‎;‎‎ ‎but‎ ‎critically‎ ‎engaging‎ ‎with‎ ‎his‎ ‎work‎ ‎to‎ ‎find‎ ‎fault‎ ‎with‎ ‎it‎ ‎has‎ ‎left‎ ‎me‎ ‎amazed‎ ‎that‎ ‎there‎ ‎seems‎ ‎much‎ ‎ado‎ ‎about‎ ‎nothing‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎just‎ ‎a‎ ‎huge‎ ‎misunderstanding‎.‎‎ ‎Personally‎,‎‎ ‎because‎ ‎ibn‎ ‎Taymiyah‎ ‎read‎ ‎so‎ ‎widely‎ ‎and‎ ‎wrote‎ ‎prolifically‎ ‎on‎ ‎any‎ ‎issue‎ ‎I‎ ‎can‎ ‎think‎ ‎of‎,‎‎ ‎I‎ ‎find‎ ‎him‎ ‎a‎ ‎short‎-‎cut‎ ‎to‎ ‎knowledge‎.‎‎

One‎ ‎more‎ ‎feature‎ ‎of‎ ‎his‎,‎‎ ‎insha‎’‎Allah‎,‎‎ ‎exhibited‎ ‎here‎ ‎are‎ ‎the‎ ‎amazing‎ ‎subtleties‎ ‎in‎ ‎the‎ ‎message‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎Honourable‎ ‎Book‎ ‎that‎ ‎he‎ ‎demands‎ ‎the‎ ‎reader‎ ‎or‎ ‎listener‎ ‎to‎ ‎observe‎.‎‎

Let‎’‎s‎ ‎strike‎ ‎a‎ ‎deal‎:‎‎ ‎after‎ ‎this‎,‎‎ ‎‎(‎insha‎’‎Allah‎)‎‎ ‎I‎’‎ll‎ ‎put‎ ‎up‎ ‎an‎ ‎excerpt‎ ‎from‎ ‎Tafseer‎ ‎of‎ ‎al‎-‎Qurtubi‎ ‎on‎ ‎the‎ ‎issue‎ ‎of‎ ‎beauty‎.‎‎ ‎Today‎,‎‎ ‎by‎ ‎Allah‎’‎s‎ ‎Will‎,‎‎ ‎I‎’‎ll‎ ‎share‎ ‎excerpts‎ ‎from‎ ‎the‎ ‎generally‎ ‎accepted‎ ‎topic‎ ‎of‎ ‎‎“‎Unity‎ ‎and‎ ‎Division‎:‎‎ ‎its‎ ‎Reasons‎ ‎and‎ ‎Results‎”‎‎ ‎as‎ ‎labeled‎ ‎and‎ ‎presented‎ ‎by‎ ‎ibn‎ ‎Taymiyah‎ ‎‎(‎because‎ ‎I‎ ‎already‎ ‎translated‎ ‎it‎ ‎and‎ ‎it‎’‎s‎ ‎a‎ ‎cut‎ ‎n‎’‎‎ ‎paste‎ ‎job‎)‎‎.‎ ‎It‎’‎d‎ ‎be‎ ‎too‎ ‎lengthy‎ ‎‎(‎and‎ ‎perhaps‎ ‎boring‎ ‎for‎ ‎some‎)‎‎ ‎to‎ ‎quote‎ ‎completely‎ ‎here‎.‎‎

So‎ ‎I‎ ‎have‎:‎‎ ‎selected‎ ‎excerpts‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎key‎ ‎arguments‎,‎‎ ‎provided‎ ‎sub‎-‎headings‎ ‎to‎ ‎highlight‎ ‎subtle‎ ‎points‎,‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎provided‎ ‎commentary‎ ‎to‎ ‎summarize‎ ‎the‎ ‎arguments‎ ‎in‎ ‎between‎.‎‎

But‎ ‎I‎ ‎still‎ ‎need‎ ‎to‎ ‎make‎ ‎it‎ ‎a‎ ‎two‎-‎part‎ ‎thing‎ ‎as‎ ‎I‎ ‎don‎’‎t‎ ‎have‎ ‎enough‎ ‎time‎ ‎today‎ ‎to‎ ‎present‎ ‎it‎ ‎all‎.‎‎ ‎The‎ ‎first‎ ‎part‎ ‎deals‎ ‎with‎ ‎the‎ ‎subtle‎ ‎but‎ ‎valid‎ ‎deduction‎ ‎that‎ ‎unity‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎Muslim‎ ‎Nation‎ ‎not‎ ‎only‎ ‎relates‎ ‎to‎ ‎the‎ ‎general‎ ‎principles‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎but‎ ‎also‎ ‎its‎ ‎specifics‎. ‎And‎ ‎my‎ ‎success‎ ‎is‎ ‎not‎ ‎except‎ ‎by‎ ‎Allah‎.‎‎

A‎ ‎Guide‎ ‎on‎ ‎Unity‎ & ‎Division‎:

‎Reasons‎ & ‎‎Results‎ ‎‎[‎Part‎ ‎‎1‎‎]‎‎

[‎Vol‎.‎‎ ‎‎1‎‎,‎‎ ‎Majmoo‎’‎‎ ‎al‎ ‎Fataawa‎ ‎libni‎ ‎Taymiyah, translated excerpts]

‎Establishing‎ ‎the‎ ‎deen‎ ‎while‎ ‎not‎ ‎dividing‎‎‎

Allah‎ ‎the‎ ‎Exalted‎ ‎says‎:

‎He‎ ‎has‎ ‎legislated‎ ‎for‎ ‎you‎ ‎as‎ ‎part‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎what‎ ‎He‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎‎(‎waşşaa‎ ‎bihi‎)‎‎ ‎Noah‎ ‎with‎ ‎and‎ ‎that‎ ‎which‎ ‎We‎ ‎have‎ ‎revealed‎ ‎to‎ ‎you‎,‎‎ ‎‎[‎O‎ ‎Muhammad‎]‎‎,‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎what‎ ‎we‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎Abraham‎,‎‎ ‎Moses‎ ‎and‎ ‎Jesus‎ ‎with‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎that‎ ‎you‎ ‎all‎ ‎establish‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎and‎ ‎not‎ ‎be‎ ‎divided‎ ‎therein‎…‎‎ ‎‎[‎ash‎-‎Shura‎(‎‎4‎‎2‎‎)‎‎:‎‎1‎‎3‎‎]‎‎.‎‎

He‎,‎‎ ‎Glory‎ ‎be‎ ‎to‎ ‎Him‎,‎‎ ‎has‎ ‎informed‎ ‎us‎ ‎that‎ ‎He‎ legislated‎ ‎for‎ ‎us‎ ‎that‎ ‎which‎ ‎He‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎Noah‎ ‎with‎,‎‎ ‎and‎ that‎ ‎which‎ ‎He‎ ‎had‎ ‎revealed‎ ‎to‎ ‎Muhammad‎,‎‎ ‎may‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎send‎ prayers‎ ‎upon‎ ‎him‎ ‎and‎ ‎grant‎ ‎peace‎,‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎what‎ ‎He‎ ‎exhorted‎ the‎ ‎three‎ ‎mentioned‎ ‎‎[‎Prophets‎]‎‎ ‎with‎.‎‎ ‎And‎ ‎they‎ ‎are‎ ‎those‎ who‎ demonstrated‎ ‎great‎ ‎determination‎^‎‎1‎‎ and‎ ‎from‎ ‎whom‎ ‎the‎ ‎covenant‎ ‎was‎ ‎taken‎,‎‎ ‎as‎ ‎in‎ ‎the‎ statement‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎Exalted‎:‎‎ ‎And‎ ‎when‎ ‎we‎ ‎took‎ ‎from‎ ‎the‎ prophets‎ ‎their‎ ‎covenant‎ ‎and‎ ‎from‎ ‎you‎ ‎and‎ ‎from‎ ‎Noah‎ ‎and‎ Abraham‎ ‎and‎ ‎Moses‎ ‎and‎ ‎Jesus‎ ‎son‎ ‎of‎ ‎Mary‎‎‎ [‎al‎-‎Ahzab‎(‎‎3‎‎3‎‎)‎‎:‎‎7‎‎]‎‎.‎‎

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‎1‎‎.‎‎ ‎In‎ ‎reference‎ ‎to‎ ‎the‎ ‎verse‎:‎‎ ‎So‎ ‎be‎ ‎patient‎,‎‎‎‎[‎O‎ ‎Muhammad‎]‎‎,‎‎ ‎as‎ ‎were‎ ‎those‎ ‎of‎ ‎determination‎ ‎amongst‎ ‎the‎ ‎messengers‎…‎‎[‎al‎-‎Ahqaf‎(‎‎4‎‎6‎‎)‎‎:‎‎3‎‎5‎‎]‎‎.‎

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The‎ ‎weight‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎command‎

‎And‎ ‎in‎ ‎His‎ ‎statement‎,‎‎‎‎“‎‎…‎what‎ ‎He‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎Noah‎ ‎with‎ ‎and‎ ‎that‎ ‎which‎ ‎We‎ ‎have‎ ‎revealed‎ ‎to‎ ‎you‎,‎‎ ‎‎[‎O‎ ‎Muhammad‎]‎‎,‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎what‎ ‎we‎ ‎exhorted‎…‎‎”‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎words‎ ‎‎“‎that‎ ‎which‎”‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎‎“‎revealed‎”‎‎ ‎have‎ ‎been‎ ‎used‎ ‎specifically‎ ‎for‎ ‎Muhammad‎,‎‎ ‎whereas‎ ‎the‎ ‎word‎ ‎‎“‎exhorted‎”‎‎ ‎occurs‎ ‎for‎ ‎all‎ ‎the‎ ‎other‎ ‎messengers‎…‎‎.‎‎

‎[‎The‎ ‎author‎ ‎then‎ ‎proceeds‎ ‎to‎ ‎explain‎ ‎in‎ ‎detail‎ ‎why‎ ‎the‎ ‎Arabic‎ ‎word‎ ‎for‎ ‎‎“‎that‎”‎‎ ‎in‎ ‎‎“‎‎…‎that‎ ‎you‎ ‎all‎ ‎establish‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎and‎ ‎not‎ ‎be‎ ‎divided‎ ‎therein‎…‎‎”‎‎ ‎is‎ ‎linked‎ ‎with‎ ‎all‎ ‎three‎ ‎issues:

(‎i)‎‎ ‎what‎ ‎has‎ ‎been‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎to‎ ‎the‎ ‎other‎ ‎Prophets‎,
‎‎(‎ii)‎‎ ‎what‎ ‎has‎ ‎been‎ ‎revealed‎ ‎to‎ ‎Muhammad‎ ‎‎(sallallahu alayhi wasallam)‎‎, ‎and
‎(iii‎)‎‎ ‎what‎ ‎we‎ ‎have‎ ‎been‎ ‎legislated‎ ‎with‎ ‎as‎ ‎part‎ ‎of‎ ‎‎“‎the‎ ‎religion‎”‎‎.

‎He‎ ‎then‎ ‎continues‎:‎‎]‎‎

‎…‎‎ ‎Thus‎,‎‎ ‎indeed‎,‎‎ ‎it‎ ‎has‎ ‎been‎ ‎said‎ ‎that‎ ‎the‎ ‎pronoun‎ ‎‎[‎‎“‎all‎ ‎of‎ ‎you‎”‎‎]‎‎ ‎attached‎ ‎with‎ ‎the‎ ‎word‎ ‎‎“‎all‎ ‎of‎ ‎you‎,‎‎ ‎establish‎”‎‎ ‎‎(‎aqeemoo‎)‎‎ ‎refers‎ ‎to‎ ‎us‎.‎‎ ‎And‎ ‎it‎ ‎is‎ ‎also‎ ‎said‎ ‎that‎ ‎it‎ ‎refers‎ ‎to‎ ‎the‎ ‎messengers‎.‎‎ ‎And‎ ‎it‎ ‎is‎ ‎also‎ ‎said‎ ‎that‎ ‎it‎ ‎refers‎ ‎to‎ ‎all‎,‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎that‎ ‎seems‎ ‎to‎ ‎be‎ ‎the‎ ‎best‎ ‎‎[‎interpretation‎]‎‎.‎‎ ‎An‎ ‎example‎ ‎of‎ ‎this‎ ‎is‎:‎‎ ‎‎“‎I‎ ‎commanded‎ ‎you‎ ‎‎[‎singular‎]‎‎ ‎what‎ ‎I‎ ‎commanded‎ ‎Zaid‎:‎‎ ‎that‎ ‎you‎ ‎‎[‎singular‎]‎‎ ‎obey‎ ‎Allah‎.‎‎ ‎And‎ ‎I‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎all‎ ‎of‎ ‎you‎ ‎[‎plural‎]‎‎ ‎with‎ ‎what‎ ‎I‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎the‎ ‎children‎ ‎of‎ ‎so‎-‎and‎-‎so‎ ‎with‎:‎‎ ‎that‎,‎‎ ‎all‎ ‎of‎ ‎you‎,‎‎ ‎do‎ ‎it‎.‎‎”‎‎ ‎So‎ ‎in‎ ‎the‎ ‎first‎ ‎case‎,‎‎ ‎it‎ ‎stands‎ ‎for‎ ‎what‎ ‎to‎ ‎do‎,‎‎ ‎i‎.‎e‎.‎‎ ‎His‎ ‎legislating‎ ‎for‎ ‎you‎ ‎all‎ ‎to‎ ‎establish‎.‎‎ ‎In‎ ‎the‎ ‎second‎ ‎case‎,‎‎ ‎He‎ ‎legislates‎ ‎what‎ ‎he‎ ‎told‎ ‎them‎:‎‎ ‎"all‎ ‎of‎ ‎you‎,‎‎ ‎establish‎";‎‎ ‎so‎ ‎that‎ ‎is‎ ‎again‎ ‎a‎ ‎substitution‎ ‎but‎ ‎by‎ ‎mentioning‎ ‎what‎ ‎the‎ ‎predecessors‎ ‎were‎ ‎told‎.‎‎ ‎In‎ ‎the‎ ‎third‎ ‎case‎,‎‎ ‎He‎ ‎legislated‎ ‎the‎ ‎exhortation‎ ‎of‎:‎‎ ‎‎“‎all‎ ‎of‎ ‎you‎ ‎establish‎”‎‎.‎‎

So‎ ‎when‎ ‎he‎ ‎speaks‎ ‎to‎ ‎us‎ ‎as‎ ‎a‎ ‎group‎,‎‎ ‎after‎ ‎informing‎ ‎us‎ ‎that‎ ‎it‎ ‎is‎ ‎a‎ ‎statement‎ ‎addressing‎ ‎us‎ ‎and‎ ‎also‎ ‎addresses‎ ‎them‎:‎‎ ‎it‎ ‎is‎ ‎learnt‎ ‎that‎ ‎the‎ ‎pronoun‎ ‎‎(‎‎“‎all‎ ‎of‎ ‎you‎”‎‎)‎‎ ‎refers‎ ‎to‎ ‎both‎ ‎parties‎.‎‎ ‎And‎ ‎that‎ ‎‎-‎‎ ‎if‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎so‎ ‎wills‎ ‎it‎ ‎‎‎is‎ ‎the‎ ‎most‎ ‎correct‎ ‎view‎…‎

‎Establish‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎without‎ ‎division‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎in‎ ‎its‎ ‎general‎ ‎and‎ ‎specific‎

‎‎[‎The‎ ‎author‎ ‎then‎ ‎establishes‎ ‎that‎ ‎even‎ ‎if‎ ‎the‎ ‎pronoun‎ ‎doesn‎’‎t‎ ‎refer‎ ‎to‎ ‎us‎,‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎fact‎ ‎that‎ ‎we‎ ‎have‎ ‎been‎ ‎legislated‎ ‎with‎ ‎what‎ ‎they‎ ‎have‎ ‎been‎ ‎exhorted‎ ‎with‎ ‎again‎ ‎brings‎ ‎upon‎ ‎us‎ ‎this‎ ‎duty‎ ‎of‎ ‎establishing‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎without‎ ‎dividing‎.‎‎ ‎The‎ ‎difference‎,‎‎ ‎it‎ ‎seems‎,‎‎ ‎is‎ ‎in‎ ‎the‎ ‎level‎ ‎of‎ ‎emphasis‎ ‎and‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎knows‎ ‎best‎.‎‎ ‎The‎ ‎author‎ ‎proceeds‎ ‎to‎ ‎enumerate‎ ‎four‎ ‎subtle‎ ‎inferences‎ ‎from‎ ‎this‎ ‎analysis‎;‎‎ ‎I‎ only ‎tie‎ ‎the‎ ‎key‎ ‎ideas‎ ‎as‎ ‎I‎ ‎have‎ ‎grasped‎ ‎them‎ ‎as‎ ‎follows‎:‎‎

‎Establishing‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎without‎ ‎division‎ ‎is‎ ‎a‎ ‎general‎ ‎principle‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎across‎ ‎all‎ ‎times‎:‎‎ ‎it‎ ‎is‎ ‎not‎ ‎part‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎specifics‎ ‎of‎ ‎the‎ ‎laws‎ ‎individual‎ ‎to‎ ‎each‎ ‎Prophet‎’‎s‎ ‎time‎ ‎or‎ ‎just‎ ‎specific‎ ‎to‎ ‎our‎ ‎own‎ Shari‎’‎ah‎‎.‎‎ ‎This‎ ‎is‎ ‎emphasized‎ ‎by‎ ‎making‎ ‎the‎ ‎mention‎ ‎of‎ ‎‎“‎Muhammad‎”‎‎ ‎in‎ ‎between‎ ‎the‎ ‎other‎ ‎prophets‎,‎‎ ‎rather‎ ‎than‎ ‎at‎ ‎the‎ ‎end‎.
‎For‎ ‎us‎,‎‎ ‎this‎ ‎means‎ ‎establishing‎ ‎the‎ ‎complete‎ ‎religion‎ ‎without‎ ‎division‎:‎‎‎by‎ ‎virtue‎ ‎of‎ mentioning‎ ‎the‎ ‎different‎ ‎Prophets‎ ‎we‎ ‎know‎ ‎that‎ ‎there‎ ‎were‎ ‎different‎ ‎rulings‎ ‎at‎ ‎different‎ ‎times‎.‎‎ ‎Though‎,‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎exhortation‎ ‎was‎ ‎common‎,‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎to‎ ‎be‎ ‎established‎ ‎had‎ ‎specifics‎ ‎that‎ ‎varied‎.‎‎ ‎So‎ ‎we‎ ‎have‎ ‎to‎ ‎establish‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎ ‎we‎ ‎have‎ ‎been‎ ‎legislated‎ ‎with‎,‎‎ ‎both‎ ‎its‎ ‎general‎‎and‎ ‎specific‎,‎‎ ‎without‎ ‎dividing‎ ‎over‎ ‎its‎ ‎general‎ ‎and‎ ‎its‎ ‎specific‎.‎‎ ‎Personally‎,‎‎ ‎I‎ ‎think‎ ‎the‎ ‎author‎ ‎is‎ ‎also‎ ‎relying‎ ‎on‎ ‎the‎ ‎difference‎ ‎between‎ ‎the‎ ‎two‎ ‎phrases‎:‎‎ ‎‎“‎legislated‎ ‎for‎ ‎you‎ ‎from‎‎‎ ‎the‎ ‎religion‎”‎‎ ‎and‎ ‎‎“‎establish‎ ‎the‎‎ ‎religion‎”‎‎.‎‎ ‎And‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎knows‎ ‎best‎.

The‎ ‎author‎ ‎continues‎ ‎to‎ ‎build‎ ‎the‎ ‎argument‎:‎‎…‎‎]‎

‎Multiple‎ ‎causes‎ ‎of‎ ‎division‎‎

‎Further‎,‎‎ ‎Allah‎ ‎has‎ ‎also‎ ‎stated‎:‎‎ ‎…‎and‎ ‎they‎‎ [‎those‎ ‎who‎ ‎were‎ ‎given‎ ‎the‎ ‎Scripture] ‎did‎ ‎not‎ ‎divide‎ ‎except‎ ‎after‎ ‎knowledge‎ ‎had‎ ‎come‎ ‎to‎ ‎them‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎out‎ ‎of‎ ‎jealous‎ ‎animosity‎ ‎between‎ ‎themselves‎…[‎Aali‎-‎‎‘‎Imran‎(‎‎3‎‎)‎‎:‎‎ ‎‎1‎‎9‎‎]‎‎.‎‎ ‎Thus‎,‎‎ ‎He‎ ‎informs‎ ‎us‎ ‎that‎ ‎their‎ ‎division‎ ‎was‎ ‎only‎ ‎after‎ ‎there‎ ‎had‎ ‎come‎ ‎to‎ ‎them‎ ‎the‎ ‎knowledge‎ ‎that‎ ‎clarified‎ ‎for‎ ‎them‎ ‎that‎ ‎which‎ ‎they‎ ‎should‎ ‎avoid‎ ‎‎(‎out‎ ‎of‎ ‎fear‎ ‎of‎ ‎Allah‎)‎‎.‎‎

‎[‎To‎ ‎be‎ ‎continued‎ ‎‎–‎‎ ‎by‎ ‎the‎ ‎Will‎ ‎of‎ ‎Allah‎]‎‎

Final remarks for today: My teacher in Aqeedah used to say, "ibn Taymiyah is not simple...". May Allah benefit us from his good and protect us from his harm and have mercy on the true seekers of His Face.

Wassallallahu wa sallama 'ala Muhammad wa ala ibaadillahissaaliheen.

Humour in the Religion?

2008-08-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

The tributes and salutations are all for Allah, ar-Rahmaan and ar-Raheem, and the prayers and the good actions.

One of the questions that constantly crops up is the extent to which humour is "entertained" in our deen. I mean, yes, we need to remind ourselves that our current bad situation is because of our distance from Islam and that something serious must be done.

But even sincere people (these days?) fall asleep if they don't get a chance to feel light-hearted; despite what's happening in Palestine, in Iraq, in the churches, and in the tombs of saints.

So I thought a demonstration of some "safe" light-heartedness was warranted by remembering how the Messenger of Allah entertained humour, may Allah pray for him and grant peace, in the following hadith² (have "fun"):

2. Related twice in Sahih Bukhari, in the "Book of the Farmer" and in the "Book of Tawheed (Ch. Speech of the Lord with the People of Jannah)" , on the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him. The translation is my own, may Allah help me.

The Prophet (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) was one day narrating to us [news of the Unseen; literally: he was narrating a hadith], while a man from the Bedouin was with him, that a man from the people of Jannah will seek permission from his Lord to farm crops, when He will say, "Are you not already indulged in all you wanted?" He will say, "O, of course! But I really love to farm crops.
So then he will sow the seeds, [and immediately according to ibn Hajar in the blink of an eye] the crop will grow, become ripe and ready for harvesting and it will become massively abundant, the like of mountains.
Then Allah will say, "Wa doonaka [i.e., Go ahead, have it] O son of Adam, for indeed, there is not a thing that will satiate you."
So the Bedouin said, "O Messenger of Allah, I cannot think of anyone else this could be except a person of the Quraysh or the Ansaar. For they are people given to farming. But, as for us? Then we are certainly not a farming people."
At that, the Messenger of Allah laughed (dahika)³ (may Allah pray for him and grant him peace).
I was reminded of this as our teacher in Tafseer mentioned a brother who asked a shaykh whether he'd get a certain sports car in Jannah. We all laughed at how a person could be so obsessed about a car that even in Jannah that was the best he could think of.
But Al Hamdulillah, Allah the Kind and the Merciful ultimately wants us to have "fun". May Allah enter me and you into this Paradise full of fun.

-----------------------
3. Some clarification needed here. Yes, there is a hadith from Sunan at-Tirmidhi that states, "The laugh (dahiku) of the Messenger of Allah was not but a tabassum (smile)." [Kitaab-ul-Manaqib; Fi Bashaashatun-Nabi Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam; Sahih Ghareeb with only this chain].

The author of Tuhfatul-Ahwadhi bi Sharh Jami' at-Tirmidhi writes that the linguists say that tabassum is an expression of dahik and that dahik is the "spreading out" of the face such that the persons happiness becomes apparent. Then if it is with a sound and that is such that it can be heard from a distance then this is a qahqaha (exaggerated laugh). And if not then it is a laugh (dahika). And if it is without a sound then the tabassum.

He goes on to explain that this hadith is a restriction that is "extra" (idaafi). That is, it relates to what was usually or predominantly the case. For it is established through repeated (and authentic) reports that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) would sometimes laugh until his premolar teeth would show, and this was not to the point of exaggeration (all emphasis are mine).

And Allah knows best.

Sequel: the "that you may have taqwa" pattern

2008-07-26T02:32:00.000-07:00

The praise and thanks is for Allah who revealed the Book to take us out of darknesses into light.

In response to the last blog, the following evidences were raised to further understand the connection between taqwa and knowledge; which demonstrate a strong dependence of taqwa on knowledge:

"And how can you have patience for what you do not encompass in knowledge?" [18:68]
"...And fear Me, O you of understanding." [2:197]
"...Only those fear Allah, from among His slaves, who have knowledge..." [35:28]

I formulated my own reflection on this (some of which I shared in the comments section of the last blog), but then I thought I'd see what the Qur'an itself says about how taqwa is gained in the first place. So I looked up the occasions through a search engine where Allah, the Subtle and Wise, has concluded a statement with "that you may gain taqwa." And I was pleasantly surprised by the results. It turns out that 5 out of the 6 occasions are in al-Baqarah itself.

And then, when I was mentioning the al-Baqarah taqwa-knowledge pattern to my father-in-law (who is a big-time lover of Islam, may Allah preserve him), he reminded me of such an obvious verse that had been left out of the last list:

Alif Laaaaaam Meeeeeem. This is the Book about which there is no doubt; a guidance for the muttaqeen. [2:1-2]

And what amazes me more is that there are two valid ways of reading this ayat, the second of which stresses "in it (fee hee) is guidance for the people of taqwa."

So we'll go through all the 6 verses and then I'll attempt to link this with other evidences to propose a hypothesis or "a pattern".

Disclaimer: I will be the first to say I'm not a scholar and I'm not issuing any fatwaas here. I am sharing with the others my findings in the hope that they will provide me with other pieces of the puzzle and they could fit this with those that are their own: "Do they not reflect upon the Qur'an; or are their upon their hearts locks." [47:24] This is by no means "the" correct opinion, the end of the story or my final position on this issue.

O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may have taqwa. The one who made for you the earth a bed [spread out] and the sky a ceiling and sent down from the sky, rain and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. So do not attribute to Allah equals while you know. [2:21-22]
And [recall] when We took your covenant, [O Children of Israel, to abide by the Torah] and We raised over you the mount, [saying], "Take what We have given you with determination and remember what is in it that perhaps you may have taqwa." [2:63]
And there is for you in legal retribution [saving of] life, O you [people] of understanding, that you may have taqwa. [2:179]
O you who have believed, decreed upon you is fasting as it was decreed upon those before you that you may may have taqwa. [2:183]
These are the limits [set by] Allah , so do not approach them. Thus does Allah make clear His ordinances to the people that they may have taqwa. [2:187]
And, [moreover], this is My path, which is straight, so follow it; and do not follow the [other] ways, for you will be separated from His way. This has He instructed you that you may have taqwa. [6:153]

In addition to this, recall one of the ayaat that we discussed in the comments to the last blog was the following which brings tazkiyaa (purification of the souls) after reciting the ayaat to the people and before teaching them the book and the wisdom (vis-a-vis 2:129 where tazkiyaa is in the end of the verse).

"Just as We have sent among you a messenger from yourselves reciting to you Our verses and purifying you and teaching you the Book and wisdom and teaching you that which you did not know."[2:151]

So what is the reconciliation. The explanation I can offer based on these evidences, and Allah knows best, is as follows:

There are two levels of knowledge: primary and secondory knowledge.
Primary knowledge is the one that is referred to with the phrase in 2:151 as "reciting to you Our verses". This is the knowledge required for belief in the first place. By reciting the ayaat of Allah, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) convinces the people of the Oneness of Allah in Lordship, Divinity and establishes for them His perfection in Names and Attributes. It is for this reason that "those of understanding" are more likely to accept these signs: "Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding...and they give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]..." [3:190-191]
Secondary knowledge is then what is being referred to in 2:151 as "teaching you the Book and wisdom", i.e. the detailed knowledge of the Shari'ah. We know from interpretations of scholars, such as Imam Shafi'i, that "wisdom" is even used to refer to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (refer to [33:34]). So the secondary knowledge requires taqwa.
Primary knowledge is one source of taqwa: as in the ayaat above - 2:197, 35:28, 2:21-22, 2:179. If the heart fears Allah and acts in a way to protect itself from His Anger and its ensuing consequences, then it has cured one of the diseases of its heart. Hence, attaining taqwa is a form of tazkiyatun-nafs.
Reminding oneself of the Shari'ah [2:63, 187] and acting on it is a second source of taqwa: Even in 2:21, we are told worship Allah so that you may gain taqwa. Fasting is prescribed upon us so that we may attain taqwa. It is an excercise in building taqwa [2:183]. Of course, the Hajj is a difficult and patience-testing worship and its interesting that for this specific worship Allah tells us to take taqwa as a provision for the way. Interesting also is that Ramadan immediately precedes the season of Hajj!

So, in a nutshell, one set of knowledge leads to Imaan - the source of taqwa. Then starts the circle of taqwa leading to knowledge of worship --> worship leading to more taqwa --> more taqwa leading to more detailed knowledge: "until his hand becomes Allah's Hand..." and he "worships Allah as if he sees Him; for if he deosn't see him, then Allah sees him..." and Allah knows best.

wassalamu alaikum

The “Al-Baqarah Taqwa-Knowledge Pattern”‎

2008-07-20T03:52:00.000-07:00

Al Hamdulillah. It’s a short one today - relying on the eloquence and brevity of the Qur’an. But some context is due.

By the Grace and Mercy of the Exalted, this last Friday the Tafseer circle at my university completed their commentary on Surat-ul-Baqarah. As a sort of reflection on the volumes of wisdom Allah has allowed us to be witness to, this blog presents “The Al-Baqarah Taqwa Knowledge Pattern” (© 2008 all rights reserved ;) ).

Recall that towards the end of al-Baqarah, Allah, the Subtle and Well-Acquainted, concludes the longest ayat in the whole of the Qur’an with words that can be translated as, “…And have taqwa of Allah. And Allah teaches you. And Allah is Knowing of all things” [al-Baqarah(2):282].

All the memorizers of the Qur’an out there will tell you: there is a stretch of ayaat in the second juzz (i.e. para or part) which have very similar (mutashaabih) endings to 2:282 above. They require extra attention so as not to be mixed up when committing to memory.

Now, as these are presented to you in compiled form, you should hopefully detect why 2:282 is quite appropriately the last in the series of these endings; and also why the translation of this ayah is revised below (any student of the Arabic language will tell you that the word form used here can be both past and present – its called fay’l mudaari’).

Your reflections on this phenomenon (even “anonymous” ones) is what I’m seeking – especially on what sort of “knowledge” is being highlighted:

N.B. Taqwa is not only "fear": This is more than just fearing something (khawf or khashyat). In taqwa, you fear it and you protect yourself by bringing some sort of barrier between you and it. Thus Allah, how Perfect is He, says, “…garments that taqeequm (protect you) from heat and garments that taqeequm from your [enemy in] battle…” [an-Nahl(16):81]. So having taqwa may be better translated as “be cautious of and protect yourself from”. It is not only a feeling but an action. And it need not only be used with respect to Allah: "...have taqwa of the world and [especially] have taqwa of women...” [Sahih Muslim #36.6606].

…And have taqwa of Allah that you may succeed. [#189]

…And have taqwa of Allah and know that Allah is with those who have taqwa of Him. [#194]

…And have taqwa of Allah and know that Allah is severe in penalty. [#196]

…And take provisions, but indeed, the best provision is taqwa. And have taqwa of Me, Ya ulil albaab [O you of understanding]. [#197]

…And have taqwa of Allah and know that unto Him you will be gathered. [#203]

…And when it is said to him, "Have taqwa of Allah ," pride in the sin takes hold of him…[#206]

…And have taqwa of Allah and know that you will meet Him... [#207]

…And have taqwa of Allah and know that Allah is, of all things, Knowing. [#231]

…And have taqwa of Allah and know that Allah is, of what you do, Seeing. [#233]

… And have taqwa of Allah and Allah will teach you. And Allah is, of all things, Knowing . [#282]

Wa sallallahu wasallama ‘alan-nabi; wassalaamu 'alainaa wa ‘alaa 'ibaadillahissaaleheen.

My "Story" on Sources of Learning

2008-07-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

[Note: This blog has been edited quite a lot since its first publishing 12 hours ago to iron out mistakes]

The Infinitely Merciful (ar-Rahmaan) stated in His Clear Book:

"And thus We have tried some of them through others that the disbelievers might say, 'Is it these whom Allah has favored among us?' Is not Allah most knowing of those who are grateful?" [al-An'aam(6):53]

and similarly with another wisdom : "...And We have made some of you as trial for others - will you have patience? And ever is your Lord, Seeing." [Furqan(25):20]

As promised in the last blog, insha'Allah I would try to share with you my intentions in choice and arrangement of citations from the last blog.

I start my 21 points with the most obvious moving on to perhaps the more subtle ones - its the way the argument builds:

1. Knowledge is any claim supported by a truth or fact - something that does not have truth-based evidence is an assumption at best and a falsification at worst.

And if you obey the majority of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah . They follow not except assumption, and they are not but falsifying. [al-An'aam(6):116]

…Say, "Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow not except assumption, and you are not but falsifying" [al-An'aam(6):148].

2. Following assumptions has not been praised by the Wise Qur'an. Following something just because the majority are doing it is also not considered praiseworthy (where does that put democracy?).

3. Religion (including teaching it) has to be based on knowledge, which means truth-based evidences including the witnessed and what is reported by reliable witnesses (e.g. Allah and His Messenger); as much as possible. Here, I add some additional verses:

Say, "This is my way; I invite to Allah with insight, I and those who follow me..." [Yusuf(12):108]

And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart - about all those [one] will be questioned. [17:36]

4. Anyone who guides you with truth is more worthier of being followed than one who is not guided unless someone else provides him with guidance.

5. Two very important supporting verses I neglected to include (and perhaps the list was already overwhelming earlier):

And among those We created is a community which guides by truth and thereby establishes justice. [7:181]
And the word of your Lord has been fulfilled in truth and in justice...[6:115]

6. Based on #5 in addition to truth, justice is required. A person may give you the truth, but is he giving you the whole truth? Is he giving more weight to certain evidences and less weight to others?

7. It is impractical to expect you will get the whole truth from one person, group, sect, school of thought, set of scholars; at this time [al-Mu`minoon(23):53] But the people divided their religion among them into sects - each faction, in what it has, rejoicing.

8. It was the way of the People of the Book to say: "Don't trust anyone except those who follow your religion." [3:73] Allah tested the Jews especially by providing them access to His Word from a source which they looked down upon (recall my opening verses).

9. In stark contrast to the People of the Book, the way of the Messenger (O Allah! pray for this noble guide and grant him peace) would not prevent the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) from listening to the tafseer of the People of the Book. In fact he encouraged them to pass the knowledge on. Such was the concern for not loosing something that may have truth contained in it.

10. So when something is potentially a source of knowledge; it is an Islamic source of learning: but don't affirm it and don't deny it - but learn it so as not to throw the baby out with the bath water.

11. Some quote the salaf saying that we should avoid the innovators: this is when the innovators are in a minority and listening to them has the chance of lending credibility - cf. ibn Taymiyah fatwa on when to boycott a people. Also, there are callers to innovation with whom a different treatment is required so as not to encourage their da'wah - but still you can't deny a truth from them when it comes to you.

12. We should expect that where knowledge is involved, Allah will test us for biases by providing us with unlikely sources: are we sincere in seeking the truth for the truths sake and so that justice is established?

13. Shoaib (peace be upon him) was given an eloquent argument when his people turned the question around to ask him (paraphrasing) who are you to tell us off? This is from 11:88-89:

"I am upon clear evidence".
I only intend for better society as much as I can - I do not intend to or desire to go against what I'm asking you to do. "...I only intend reform as much as I am able. And my success is not but through Allah..."
Besides: you should be more worried about the implications about what I'm telling you being true or false - don't let the fact that I'm telling them to you get in the way (fair inferrences?). “And O my people, let not [your] dissension from me cause you to be struck by that similar to what struck the people of Noah or the people of Hud..."

14. If Muslims are divided (beyond a difference of opinion), it is not based on correct Islamic evidence - it is based on jealousy, injustice, pride, and the like; how otherwise can the Messenger (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) say, "I left you upon the clear white. It's night is like its day. None leaves it except he is destroyed"? (Authenticated - famous and well-accepted across the schools - not in the Sahihayn but don't have time here to dig up the ref.) One pointer to injustice, pride, jealousy tends to be when one has not looked at the other's scholars arguments except the ones their own scholars cite, or the other's weakest proponent cites.

15. #16 does not mean stop gaining knowledge from one - it means also look in other places also to join the jigsaw. The people of the book were not abandoned even though the Messenger of Allah came with the final Message - so what about the innovators in our religion?

16. When is a difference of opinion is turning into a division: the verse literally says: "and settle whatever is between you." [8:1] (Cf. Tafsir of this verse) Aside: Me and my teacher in Manchester have a friendly "back-and-forth" on the issue of fixing of the maqasid-ush-shari'ah by later scholars at 5 (or was it 6?); this verse is one of my proofs to him that Muslim brotherhood is a maqsad of the shari'ah in and of itself (after protection of the religion and life)... and no it hasn't come between us!

17. In the absence of any other proof, [8:1] also makes it obligatory to settle all differences of opinion and is delivered in a very commanding tone: "Fear Allah!...." Add to this [49:10]. If someone says division (tafarqah) has been hated and differences (ikhtalaf) should not be stamped out then read this: [2:253] If Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed (ikhtalafoo),...

18. Implication for knowledge-seeker: it's not going to happen by only listening to one side of the story.

19. [4:59] tells us that the default includes obeying "those in authority among you". All ASWJ schools seem to accept this includes the scholars who are the authority in religion. But if differences arise the command is to "return" differences of opinions to Qur'an and Sunnah - the scholars are not mentioned here as independent criteria. Other places [4:83] still indicate an arbitration role for "those in authority" on issues of peace and security. Of the Leaders in our Scholars, Imam Shafii, has used this verse to prove that if there is ijmaa' it is enough of a proof to be followed. A follow-on from that is: if there is no ijmaa' then it has to be proofs from Qur'an and Sunnah only. "This is good and the best actualisation (of your Iman in Allah and the Messenger)." (My interpretation).

20. Generally, so long as anybody passes on any hadith reliably - he doesn't have to be a faqih - he has a license to do that especially where people are more 'aqalmand' (urdu word) than him and his hadith should be accepted by scholars in deriving rulings.

21. The double-edged sword - the Shaytaan hadith: Read with care: (i) of course you accept the statement of Allah, or any truth, even if a Lying Shaytaan (note capital 'L') tells it to you (ii) you do not affirm - you do not deny its import (iii) Abu Hurayrah (RA) let him go knowing that it could be untrue (the way he mentioned his doubt about the story) - look how much he valued the possibility of learning the truth (iv) (the other side of this sword) you must expect his intentions in telling you this will be questionable - be on guard to intentions but don't deny learning: "He spoke the truth even though he is a major liar." [Note revision of stated source of the hadith in original blog.]

22. [A later addition] The verse 4:115 provides the evidence that if anyone follows a way that is "other than the way of the believers" in addition to being against the Messenger; then he is threatened with severe punishment. So a "source of learning" should not be followed in matters where they depart from the "way of the believers" as a whole, i.e. knowledge can not go against the ijmaa' of the Sahabah. This verse is the main evidence of Imam Shafii for ijmaa from the Qur'an.

Summary

Be prepared to find the truth in the most unlikely of places - that's life;
If there is a likelihood of truth to be in a source - that is a source of learning - but not a source of knowledge or conclusive fataawa(which is fact not assumptions);
Don't be afraid of learning the Qur'an and Sunnah - if you can't issue fataawa, you can always educate a faqeeh.
Justice with the truth is what leads to actionable knowledge and judgements.

If anything good has issued, it's from ar-Rahmaan; any errors, injustices and pride I was unable to hold back - that's me and my succombing to the whispers...

...don't just forgive me! Correct whats between you and me! Wassalamu alaikum.

Who is an acceptable source for learning?

2008-07-06T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Exalted in Might and Forgiving said, “Only those fear Allah, from amongst His slaves, who have knowledge” [Fatir(35):28].

No matter how long you’ve been in the field of seeking knowledge, at whatever time after the Companions, one is always confronted with the question of trustworthiness. People are always asking, “Should I take knowledge from so-and-so?”

And quite rightly so. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah send prayers upon him and grant peace) did say, “Then keep away from every one of those sects even if you have to bite upon the root of a tree until death overtakes you in that condition.” (Bukhari‎, ‎English‎ trans.,‎ ‎‎[‎vol‎.‎‎4‎‎ ‎no‎.‎‎8‎‎0‎‎3‎‎] ‎and‎ ‎‎[‎vol‎.‎‎9‎‎ ‎no‎.‎‎2‎‎0‎‎6‎‎]‎‎, ‎Muslim‎ ‎‎[‎no‎.‎‎4‎‎5‎‎5‎‎3‎‎]‎). But then how to get knowledge?

A line that I can never forget was that of a bro. who had been part of the Islamic Society for a year (back in Manchester Uni). We were out for a kobeda when he said to me, “So brother: what are you?” I replied, knowing deep down what he was trying to get at, “A Muslim?”

He said, “Yes, yes, I know – but what are you ‘from the inside’?” We laughed then, but it really summed up for me the state we’re in.

It seems that as soon as you get a bit deeper into Islam you’re hit with the issue of deciding between groups. So the neutral guy is asking, “Is this guy really going to give me true Islam? Or will he be coloured by his allegiance to his ‘school of thought’/ ‘party’/ ‘group’/ ‘charity organization’/ ‘da’wah organization’/ ‘mosque’/ ‘the scholars’, etc. Even worse, does he think he is Allah’s gift to mankind and the best independent thinker that has ever been born? Will he have the capacity to be fair and accept counter-arguments which carry weight on their merit, or will he tow the “party-line” knowing inside he doesn’t have a clue?

Then there is the flip-side: me - myself. Do I have the capacity to judge the truth in his argument? And many, on this count, go into following an accepted school of thought (i.e. taqleed), conceding that they don’t know all the answers and don’t want to end up astray because they took the liberty to pick-and-mix.

My objective here is not to discuss whether taqleed is good or bad. No.

I am just a “vehicle for insights”; a term found in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah send prayers upon him and grant peace) - I quote it later down.

What I want to share with you are some Qur’anic verses and Authentic Hadith and simply pose the question: What is knowledge? And then what is an acceptable source of knowledge?
Indeed, I do have some of my own thoughts about these things. But I will leave that, Allah willing, to the next blog along with the question: am I right or am I mistaken? I may be relating what is true – but have I been just?
To proceed: Allah’s Book contains the following verses:

And if you obey the majority of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allah . They follow not except assumption, and they are not but falsifying. [al-An'aam(6):116]

…Say, "Is it the two males He has forbidden or the two females or that which the wombs of the two females contain? Inform me with knowledge, if you should be truthful" [al-An'aam(6):143].

...Then who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah to mislead the people by other than knowledge? Indeed, Allah does not guide the wrongdoing people” [al-An'aam(6):144].
…Say, "Do you have any knowledge that you can produce for us? You follow not except assumption, and you are not but falsifying" [al-An'aam(6):148].

For that is Allah , your Lord, the Truth. And what can be beyond truth except error? So how are you averted? [Yunus(10):32].

Say, "Are there of your 'partners' any who guides to the truth?" Say, " Allah guides to the truth. So is He who guides to the truth more worthy to be followed or he who guides not unless he is guided? Then what is [wrong] with you - how do you judge?" And most of them follow not except assumption. Indeed, assumption avails not against the truth at all. Indeed, Allah is Knowing of what they do. [Yunus(10):35-36]

[The People of the Book say,] “And do not trust except those who follow your religion.” Say, “Indeed, the guidance is the guidance of Allah. [Do you fear] perhaps one is given the like of what you have been given or that they would [thereby] argue with you before your Lord?” Say, “Indeed, the bounty is in the Hand of Allah – He grants it to whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Wise” [Aal-e-Imran(3):73].

[Sho’aib] said, "O my people, have you considered: if I am upon clear evidence from my Lord and He has provided me with a good provision from Him... ? And I do not intend to differ from you in that which I have forbidden you; I only intend reform as much as I am able. And my success is not but through Allah . Upon him I have relied, and to Him I return.

“And O my people, let not [your] dissension from me cause you to be struck by that similar to what struck the people of Noah or the people of Hud or the people of Salih. And the people of Lot are not from you far away.” [Hud(11):88-89]

And they did not become divided until after knowledge had come to them - out of jealous animosity between themselves…[Ash-Shura(42):14 and other places].

They ask you, [O Muhammad], about the bounties [of war]. Say, "The [decision concerning] bounties is for Allah and the Messenger." So fear Allah and amend that which is between you and obey Allah and His Messenger, if you should be believers [al-Anfaal(8):1].

O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result [an-Nisaa`(4):59].

And whoever opposes the Messenger after guidance has become clear to him and follows other than the way of the believers - We will give him what he has taken and drive him into Hell, and evil it is as a destination [an-Nisaa`(4):115].

There are then some ahaadith that are generally accepted as authentic:

“Spread from me even if it is an Ayah. And narrate from the Bani Isra`eel, and there is no problem with that. And whoever attributes a lie to me intentionally, then let him choose his place from the Hellfire.” [Bukhari, Ahmed, Tirmidhi]

We have from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, the People of the Book used to recite the Torah in the ‘Ibraani language, and they used to make tafseer of it for the People of Islam. So the Messenger of Allah, may Allah send prayers upon him and grant peace, “Do not affirm the People of the Book and do not belie them, and say, ‘We believe in Allah and what was revealed to us [and what was revealed to Ibrahim…]’ the verse [al-Baqarah(2):136]. [Bukhari]

The Hadith about the prisoner of Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) ends with the following: “…Then I let him go. The next morning the Messenger of Allah, may Allah send prayers upon him and grant peace, ‘What did your prisoner do yesterday?’ I said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he claimed he would teach me some words by which Allah would benefit me so I let him go.’ He said, ‘What were they?’ I said, ‘He told me that when you retire to your bed, then recite the ayat-ul-kursi from its start to the end of the verse Allahu laa Ilaaha illaa Huwa al-Hayyul Qayyum. And he told me that there will not cease to be a guardian over you and no Satan will not come near you until you wake up in the morning…and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah send prayers upon him and grant peace) said, ‘He told you the truth while he is a liar. That was a Satan.’ [Bukhari records ta'leeqan (incomplete chain) but in Fathul-Bari, ibn Hajar mentions that an-Nasa'i, al-Ismaa'ili and Abu Nu'aim have completed its chain from various ways - also al-Albaani declares it saheeh]

In the Khutbah in the Farewell Hajj, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah send prayers upon him and grant peace) stated, “Indeed, the present should inform the absent for it may be that some to whom it reaches are more insightful regarding it than those who actually hear it” [Wording from Bukhari, a mutawatir hadith].

“May Allah make radiant the face of a man who hears my statement then he understands it and memorizes it and spreads it, for he may be a carrier of an insight to one who has more understanding than him.” [Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood, Nasai, ibn Majah, Ahmed, Darimi]

“[Upon you is be truthful.] Indeed, the truth leads to Paradise and a man tells the truth until he becomes a Siddeeq; and indeed falsehood leads to transgression, and indeed transgression leads to the Fire, and a man speaks falsely until he is written with Allah as a Kadhdhaab.” [Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi and similar in ibn Majah and Ahmed]

My 'story' that ties these evidences together insha'Allah in a later blog - I'll welcome your inferences in the meanwhile as thinking about something before hearing an answer will insha'Allah be better. Even the Allah, the Mighty and Wise, waited for things to settle in the hearts by revealing the Qur'an over time.

"The Greatest Understanding"

2008-06-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

Praise and thanks are only for Allah, the Infinitely and Especially Merciful. O Allah, pray for your Messenger and grant him absolute peace.

By Allah's Grace and His Mercy, a new study group at our university has just embarked on a study of Aqeedat-ul-Waasitiyya. In this context, I was preparing for the first lesson when I was reminded of the wise words that one scholar mentioned at the beginning of his explanation of the more earlier and classical treatise on the same subject, Aqeedat-ut-Tahawiyyah. I thought it would be beneficial to share them with you, and with Allah is the success.

The following is my own translation of the foreword given by Sh. ibn Abi al 'Izz al-Hanafi (721-792 AH) in his explanation of Aqeedat-ut-Tahawiyyah. He was Chief Justice of the Damascus province, serving for a time in between for the Egyptian provinces in the same position. Amongst his famous teachers was the commentator of the Qur'an, ibn Kathir. There exists an English Translation of the work as published by Al-Attique Publishers, but this is an abridged one and so I have chosen to provide my own in an attempt to deliver more fully the feeling with which the author has written. The following excerpt is taken right after the author praises Allah and makes the two testifications.

As to what follows: then surely it is that the knowledge of the fundamentals of the religion is the most honourable type of knowledge. This is because the honour of any type of knowledge is due to the honour of what becomes known by it. And it is the the greatest fiqh...
[Tr: literally fiqh means "understanding" or "insight" but it has also gained a technical meaning of "jursitic rulings" because rulings are the result of understanding the sources of Islamic law. So later the author is comparing it with these "branch" rulings, e.g. what constitutes a valid contract, which derive from the "trunk" or the fundamentals of the religion.]
...when compared with the fiqh of the "branches". And that is why Imam Abu Hanifah, may Allah's Mercy be upon him, named what he had said and compiled in as pages on the subject of the fundamentals of the religion: "The Greatest Fiqh". So the dependence of the slaves [of Allah] upon it supercedes any other dependence, and their need for it supercedes any other need. That is because, of a surety, the hearts do not possess any life, nor any enjoyment, nor any calm except by becoming well-acquainted with their Lord, their God, their Creator; through His Names, His Qualities and His Acts. By all of this, He becomes most beloved to them over all that is other than Him; and it becomes their endeavour to gain nearness to Him as opposed to all that is other than Him, from amongst the rest of the creation.
And it is from the impossibilities that the intellects should independently acquire this acquaintance and comprehend it in detail. Hence, the Mercy of the Al-Mighty and the Most Merciful demanded that the Messengers be commissioned with it; as teachers and callers to it; as bearers of glad tidings for those who responded to their call; as warners for those who opposed them.
He made the key to their call and the essence of their message acquaintance with the One to be worshipped, Glorified be He; through His Names, His Qualities and His Acts. That is because it is upon this acquaintance that the demands of the Message, all of it, are built upon - from its beginning to its end.
[End of Excerpt]

Time Value of Knowledge (Part II)

2008-06-07T14:29:00.000-07:00

The right to all praise is Allah's. By His Mercy, what follows is an abridged translation of an excerpt from ibn Taymiyah's collection of fataawa, the Book on Uloohiyya (as promised in the last blog). I provide the headings to capture the main point of the section and some commentary intermittently where I feel it may be useful.

The concern of these set of passages is the importance of learning that which the Messenger of Allah (may Allah pray for him and grant peace) was sent with. So after praising the Lord of the Worlds and asking for prayers and peace for the His Messenger, the author continues on to say:

[Beginning of Excerpt]

The only source of pleasure and salvation

...As to what follows: Then, indeed, there is no pleasure for the slaves [of Allah] nor any salvation on returning [to Allah], except by following His Messenger. And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger, he will be admitted by Him to gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein; and that is the great victory. And whosoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger and transgresses the limits set by Him, he will be admitted to a fire – abiding eternally therein – and for him is a disgraceful punishment [an-Nisaa`(4):13]. Therefore, obedience to Allah and His Messenger is the axis upon which all pleasure revolves, and is where all salvation permanently resides and does not leave.

[Ibn Taymiyah considers all our actions to be driven by two basic human motivations- whether done with religion in mind or not: to seek pleasure for oneself and to guard oneself from harm. Hence, he couches the objective of following Allah and His Messenger as a purely rational decision made to maximize pleasure and minimize harm. It is something he expounds on elsewhere - but since we are only going to have the excerpt then this is worth noting up front for the rest of the discussion.]

What counts as worship

For Allah created the creation for his worship, as He the Exalted states: And I have not created the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship me [adh-Dhaariyaat(51):56]. He has required them to worship purely through obedience to Him and obedience to His Messenger. Thus, there is no form of worship except that it is an obligatory or desirable act within the religion of Allah. Whatever is other than that, then it is a straying from His path.

Therefore, he (Allah's prayers be upon him and peace) stated: Whoever performs any act which is not in accordance with what we have sanctioned then it is rejected. This was recorded in the two Sahih works [Bukhari & Muslim - the wording is of the second]...

Worship and the role of the Messenger

Indeed, Allah has mentioned [the issue of] obedience to the Messenger and following his example in about forty different places in the Qur’an. Such as His, the Exalted’s, following statements:

Whosoever obeyed the Messenger, then indeed, he has obeyed Allah. [an-Nisaa’(4):80];

And We did not send any messenger except to be obeyed by the permission of Allah. And had they come to you when they had wronged themselves, and then asked Allah for forgiveness and the Messenger as well had asked forgiveness on their behalf, then would indeed have found Allah Accepting of repentance and Especially Merciful. But no, by your Lord, they will not believe until they make you judge over all disputes between themselves and then do not find within themselves any sort of discomfort regarding your decision and submit with absolute submission [an-Nisaa’(4):64-65]; and

Say: ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger. Then if you turn away then, verily, Allah does not love the disbelievers.’ [Aal-e-‘Imraan (3):32]. And He, the Exalted, says: Say: ‘If you love Allah then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive your sins’… [Aal-e-‘Imraan (3):31].

Thus, He made the love of the slave for his Lord necessitate the following of the Messenger. And He made close following of the Messenger cause for Allah’s love for His slave.

Even the Messenger needs Allah to tell him what is worship

And verily He, the Exalted, states, "And thus we have revealed to you an inspiration (or ‘the essence’) of our Command. You did not know what is the Book nor what is Faith. But we made it a light with which we guide whoever we wish from amongst our slaves" [ash-Shuraa(42):52]. So it is through what Allah has revealed to him that Allah guides whoever he wishes from amongst his slaves. As he, Allah's prayers be upon him and peace, himself is guided [only] through that by Allah the Exalted. As He, the Exalted, states, “Say: ‘If I err, then I would only err against myself. But if I am guided, then it is due to what my Lord has revealed to me.’” [as-Saba(34):50]...

Fruits of this knowledge

Thus, it is through Muhammad (may Allah pray for him and grant him peace) that disbelief is distinguished from faith, profit from loss, guidance from straying, salvation from disaster, the wrong path from the right, deviation from steadfastness, the people of Paradise from the people of Hellfire, the God-fearing from the rebellious and the preference for the way of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His favour of the prophets, the steadfast affirmers of the truth, the martyrs and the righteous from the way of those upon whom is the Anger and of those who are astray.

Putting a value on this knowledge

Therefore, the souls are much more in need of knowing all that which he came with and of following him than of eating and drinking. For if these are neglected then one only acquires death in this world. But if that is neglected then one acquires the punishment of the Hereafter.

Hence, it is the duty of every single person to expend all their efforts and abilities to learn what he came with and to obey him as this is the path to salvation from the painful torment and to happiness in the house of blessings. And the path to that are the oral narrations and written transmissions. That is because the intellect, purely on its own, will not be enough for learning that. No. Like the light of the eye cannot see except when there is also a light that appears before it. Similarly, the light of the intellect will not find guidance except when there dawns upon it the Sun that is the Message. It is due to this that preaching the religion has always been from the most greatest duties in Islam and learning what Allah has commanded His Messenger has been obligatory upon all thinking creatures.

[End of Excerpt]

In conclusion, I hope this was something that inspires us all to reconsider not only the value of the knowledge that has been revealed to our Messenger (may Allah pray for him and grant him peace), but also the value (or even lack of value) of our own intellectual pursuits, unless they are guided by this light. May Allah adorn our hearts with faith and make us guided guiders.

Time Value of Knowledge

2008-06-07T10:09:00.001-07:00

Allah is Great and Sublime. And how many a sign there is in the heavens and the earth that we, therefrom, are turning away.

The eyes, the ears, the brain and the ways of expression (al-Bayaan) that Ar-Rahman taught us; the writing with the Qalam that Al-Akram taught us: just amazing. And it was an extremely thoughtful observation of Shah Walliullah in Hujjat-ul-Baaligha along the lines that while the animal's guidance is placed within its instinct, the guidance of man has been placed outside of him; this is compatible with the fact that he has also been bestowed with the abilities to acquire, record, share and apply that knowledge (note that I don't recommed everything in that book be acted on without further investigation).

Given that the summer has now officially begun, much needed recovery from hard work is insha'Allah being acquired. But I'm asking myself, how much time-off can I really afford?

As part of the little effort just to make sure "something" is always happening to continue the learning of Arabic - Allah has allowed me to engage with the famous collection of fatawa of ibn Taymiyah (may Allah be especially merciful to him). The first "book" in this volumnous book is the "Kitab-ul-Uloohiyya" (The Book on Divinity) dedicated to defining worship and its motivations and establishing that it is only for Allah. But as anyone who knows the "ibn Taymiyah academic writing style" (as there is also the non-academic more focused type) there are a lot of tangents taken while addressing the main subject (as a tangent of my own: I actually think this is quite deliberate and may be inspired by the style of the Qur'an which exhibits this in at least in some surahs).

So when I came across his tangent (or elaborate corrollary - to give the benefit of the doubt) taking us onto discussing the importance of knowledge of the religion - especially that which comes through observing the statements and practices of the Prophet (may Allah pray from him and grant peace) - I have begun more to attach a time value to knowledge (yes, my business school education has tinted my glasses - though the anology may not fit perfectly). It may seem straightforward, but I never really attached that level of "opportunity cost" and what gets me going is that thought: what if we really did?

Speaking from personal experience as a full-time student in secular education and not neglecting the great favour of Allah and making mention of it, it has been how Allah guided me to spend my summer vacations and weekends that has allowed me at least to receive with more "involvement" and "itminaan" the message of the Qur'an as well as having more accessiblity to texts such as the above-mentioned fatawa.

For many going through the usual educational route (except perhaps teachers in universities), this time will never return. Never. Hence, I share at the start of the summer these few paragraphs from this scholar whose thought process has stunned so many and I (in my very limited reading) have not seen anything approaching that expanse in grasp of knowledge or subtelty in observation.

As I get to the point where I will insert that text, (ironically) I realise that my time has run out and I will have to wait a while before I share that with you (insha'Allah). So I hope I have said enough to whip up the thirst to know and they say that having to wait for something increases its delight when you actually incur it. I pray that that is the case at the next blog. Wassalamu alaikum.

Inner Dimensions of the Ettiquette in Prayer

2008-05-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

Al hamdulillahi Rabbil Aalameen. On conclusion of our basic course on "Tafseer of Salaat", it was made fair-seeming to me that I should share with you a recent relevant translation of a text that we (my teacher and our study group) had been translating prior to my return to Pakistan (in 2005). I have personally touched up the translation to gain more readability and now feel that, by Allah's Grace, at least this segment of the book is good for public consumption.

The following excerpt is from: “An entrance for the people of legal theory and linguistics to [the field] of [Divine] love and acquaintance” by Abu Abbas Ahmed bin Ibrahim al-Wasitiyy al-Hazzamiyyeen (d. 711 AH). This translation was conducted under the supervision of Abu Abdullah Kehlan al-Jabouri, at the Bukhari Centre in Manchester, UK.

About the Author and the original text: Ibn Rajab, in his "at-Tabaqaat-ul-Hanaabilah", writes, “Taqi-ud-Din ibn Taymiyah would speak highly of him and hold him in much esteem. He would say regarding him, 'He is the Junaid of his time.' He wrote a letter to him from Egypt which he began with the words, 'To our Shaikh – the Imam, the knowledgeable, the fine example, the one who is on the path…'." Ibn Al-Hazzamiyyeen was initially a follower of various unorthodox Sufi orders until he met with Ibn Taymiyah and as a resulted, changed his approach to a more orthodox following of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Therefore, in his choice of prose, ibn al-Hazzamiyyeen (may Allah be Merciful with Him) attempts to bridge the Sufi'istic vocabulary with a more orthodox setting. The following excerpt constitutes "Priniciple No. 6" in trying to educate those who have only seen the technical side of studies in Islam in reaching a more higher-level acquaintance with Allah.

The Hidden Manners in the Prayer

The prayer is a yardstick for "the inner conditions" and the hearts. In it the actual condition of the slave and his position with respect to his belief is revealed: whether he is one who loves, who fears, who hopes, who is mindful or who is connected to Allah – the effects of that will become manifest in the prayer.

And whoever is overwhelmed in the prayer by the whisperings (of the devils) so much so that he does not understand what he recited in it; and he does not find the delight of being in the presence of and engaging with Allah in it; and he does not undergo anything nor does he reach a status; and his prayer is the prayer of the common people; he prays with his body and his heart is wandering amongst the thoughts of the world and how to manage its affairs; then he is not directing himself to Allah (the Mighty and Grand) with his heart, and he has not obtained the humble submission that is necessary for success. As Allah the Exalted stated: “Certainly will the believers have succeeded: they who are during their prayer humbly submissive; and they who turn away from worthless action” [Qur’an 23:1-3]. So he did not keep his thoughts away from that which is worthless, although his tongue is reciting, and his body is bowing or prostrated.

As for the special ones, the people of Allah (the Mighty and Grand), when one of them turns towards the mosque, then he intends to visit Allah (the Mighty and Grand) in His house in response to an invitation – issued by the caller to the prayer - he considers him to be a caller of Allah. And he intends to establish the obligation of Allah, and to be present right in front of Allah. So when he says “Allahu Akbar” (Allah is the Greatest), then he will not find in his heart anything greater than Allah that should engage him in whispers. Thus, he will stand before Allah with an ever-present heart, knowing full well that Allah (the Mighty and Grand) watches him, sees his position, listens to his secret conversation, is aware of his purpose and intention with respect to his conscience. Then he says: “All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds” [Qur’an 1:2] in secretly conversing by that with his Most Generous Lord. So when he reaches “You alone we worship…” [Qur’an 1:5], he is present in a different state of presence that is more special than the first one; for verily that is an address to the One Who is present by those who are present [Translator: at this point, the speech transfers from the third-person (e.g. “He”), to the second-person (e.g. “You”)].

Subsequently, he recites the Qur’an with contemplation and comprehension. He understands from Allah (the Mighty and Grand) what He desires of him, as if he is reciting directly to Allah; or as if he listens to it directly from Him. Thus, he will be alert to the promising of Allah and His threatening, and His instilling with fear and His cautioning. For indeed, with Allah (the Mighty and Grand) every single word possesses a meaning that demands from His slaves a specific kind of slavery; from fear, or hope, or remembrance or affirming belief, or reflection, or love, or yearning, or wanting, or fearing, or proximity, or connection. So he will understand from Allah (the Mighty and Grand) what He wants and he will establish what that meaning demands from him from slavery. Therefore, he will be in that as Allah (the Mighty and Grand) stated: “They recite it as is its true recital, they are those who believe in it.” [2:121]

And amongst them are those who seek from the verses manifestation of the true meanings of the Speaker’s Attributes.[1] By that he acquires the witnessing by his heart. For indeed He, Glory be to Him, speaks with a speech of One Who is Supreme, Merciful, a Compeller and a Subjugating King. So, for the heart of the well-acquainted, in every single verse the quality that the Speaker manifests himself by in that meaning will become clear. Thus, the prayer, the recitation and the understanding from Allah (the Mighty and Grand) will all be brought together for that well-acquainted slave, and he will verify by his inner-self the Greatness of the Attributes of Allah, the Mighty and Grand.

The Groups of People in terms of their Prayers
And know that the people in terms of their Prayer can be divided into four:

The first group: are the one who pray the prayer of the heedless. They are “the people of recurrent whispering and of fascination by worldly thoughts”. The thoughts attract them to this world, so these people will not have from their Prayer except that of it which they were conscious of.

The second group: their hearts are absent so they demand from their hearts presence but they run away. Every time they flee to the valleys of this world, away from Allah, they bring them back. This is the prayer of the disciples[2], the Mujahideen, the ones who battle with their enemy and their inner-selves. And of them is one who is at one time victorious and he is defeated at another. At one time they are able to attract their inner-selves to The Divine Truth whilst at another time their inner-selves attract them to other than Allah.

The third group: indeed, their hearts become fine and gentle and they are released from the prison of their inner-selves. Thus, it is in fact these hearts that are praying, reciting, comprehending and engaged in secret conversation. They are the ones that are speaking by the Takbir and the Faatihah. The tongue is merely an interpreter for what already resides in the hearts. This is in contrast to the ones before, for verily, they recite with their tongues while demanding from their hearts to be subservient and their presence is by their tongues. Whereas these, their hearts are the speakers and the tongues articulate on their behalf.

The fourth group: when they enter the Prayer they vanish. This is because of what is revealed to their hearts from the effects of the Divine Attributes - out of awe, reverence and glorification. And so their hearts and spirits are abducted; the lights of glory are what abduct them. Thus, what remains is the secret conversation and insight in the place of the untainted and purified self; because their inner-selves are now in the place of the heart, and the heart is in the place of the spirit, and the spirit in the place of the proximity. So that is the Prayer of the nearest ones. May Allah make us of them – Amen.

Then examine yourself, O you who are the seeker, from which of the four groups are you? And treat your heart and ascend from the lower ranks to the higher ranks, but gradually. And expose your desperation to Allah the Exalted in this matter. You will reach, by the Will of Allah the Exalted.

And such is the slave when in the state of bowing: drooping and hanging before the Divine Truth (Mighty & Grand), submissive and diminutive with this heart and mould. Let the heart be attributed with a spiritual bowing – where it is the image of humility and submission – like the exterior is already attributed with the nominal bowing. So then, his apparent will be in congruence with his hidden and what he keeps secret will be equivalent with what he announces. As opposed to the person whose body is leaning forward and bent nominally, but he did not submit with his heart spiritually. So it is as if half of his self is bowing and his other half held back from bowing, he bowed by his body in the seen world, but not with his heart which is from the unseen world.

So let him be in prostration like that and in the tashahhud: present before Allah (Mighty & Grand) in conversation with him, begging him. And when bowed down, his inner-self should not tell him to stand as his hearts is happy with it and delighting in it. And the same with the prostration, for that is surely from the perfection of the features of the Prayer and its secrets and its realities.

And the sign of that who prays with his heart and mould, he will stay after the Prayer for a while to regain consciousness due to the perfection of his immersion and presence in Salah.
So whomsoever Allah gives the opportunity to pray the five prayers upon this description, it is expected that he will remain in the light of every Prayer till the next Prayer; his day and night are immersed and submerged in glimmering lights, submerged outwardly and inwardly in the presence of the Compelling King (Al-Malik Al-Jabbaar).

[1] This marks a transition from reflecting about one’s own slavery to understanding the Master Himself.
[2] Literally: the Murid, i.e. the disciple who receives instruction from a Shaykh

Finally have the time to think...

2005-11-06T14:40:00.000-08:00

Forgive the long silence, but one was distracted by the affairs of this world so much
that one remembered the statement of that beautiful man (sallallahu alaihi wasallam): "There are two things that people waste: free time and health" (aw kama qaal).

However, finally I have found a break in my life when the luxury of thinking has been restored to me. And one must cherish this faculty of intellect. Because it seems from the Qur'an that one is not truely a believer unless one thinks, reflects and follows a course of logical progression.

For example, take Surah Yunus: "... and he will place misguidance (or wrath) upon those who
do not use their intellect (alladheena la ya3qeeloon)" [10:101]

Also consider:

"And surely, We have created many of the jinns and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones." [6:179]
"And they will say: "Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!" [67:10]
"Do they not then think deeply in the Qur'ân, or are their hearts locked up (from understanding it)?" [47:24]

And the merits of the ulul-albaab that not only use their intellect but execute actions emanating from firm understanding of what is required once the logical conclusion is reached.

So alhamdulillah, i hope to return to such thinking and ask Allah to put barakah and enable ensuing action.

wa sallallahu wa sallim ala nabiyyinaa muhammad.

Beware: you could be detained

2005-03-14T15:04:00.000-08:00

SubhanAllah. They passed this anti-terror law here in britain. Things are changing. All one needs is the reasonable suspicion to arrest you.

What constitutes reasonable suspicion? That you are a "radical" muslim? Islam has never allowed the targetting of innocent civilians in the circumstances we are here in the UK. I mean we're not exactly in Iraq.

But you don't have to be very "radical" it seems to be suspected. Will they forgive us for wanting a piece of land where we can establish the laws that Allah has ordained? Will they forgive us for having the verse in our Book: "O you who have believed! Fight those who are close to you from the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness." (Tawbah)

Or will they pass over the fact that our book has the verse: "Indeed there has been for you a good example in Abraham and those with him when they said to their people: 'We are disassociated from you and those that you call upon besides Allah; we have disbelieved in you and has begun, between us and you, the enimity and the hatred for ever - that is until you believe in Allah alone;..." (al-Mumtahinah).

Seems they will keep saying "radical" but they won't define it. They will not come out and say: the radicals are those that believe that in the Qur'an & Sunnah and only resorting to interpretation where necessary. The Muslims who restrict their Islam to going to Jumu'ah, keeping a Muslim name and are prepared to interpret the Qur'an depending on what they think without being informed by evidence based knowledge are okay.

But the minute you start applying scientific methods to understand a truth - The Truth - and believe that all of the Qur'an is the Word of God: then you are a "radical" Muslim. They will use Abu Qatadah as icons for this class of Muslim. But in the guise of this stereotype, they are ready now to apprehend any Muslim innocent of terror but whose da'wah may be spreading the truth of Islam.

I don't know. Whether that is their motive or not... but the fact is: they can do that now.

So many changes have occured that can easily apprehend the Muslim population without the Government losing public support.

Reasonable suspicion.....................hmmm

May Allah firmly establish and provide his protection to the Muslims seeking His Face.

Just checking...

2004-12-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

This blog thing seems to be revolting against me. 2 long blogs and it has not published any of them... let's see if a short one will do the job?

Follow Bad with Good

2004-12-09T17:03:00.000-08:00

A person may be led to dispair due to the contrast in his deeds. At one moment he feels that Allah has taken him beyond the reach of certain sins. But Allah has told us how when man is touched by blessings after bad, "Indeeds he says all sins have left me. Indeed he is one who gets happy and proud." (Soorah Hood opening page)

Allah then takes him at once and shows him his mortality and weakness and his vulnerability.

But had the Prophet not informed us of it before-hand, one would have fallen into despair (as is also mentioned in Soorah Hood) at the loss of the good. He has told us that all men sin, but best are those who follow their deeds with good. Soorah Ra'd describes this as the quality of the Ulul Albaab: Wa Yadra'oona bil hasanatis-Sayyi'ah (They erase/ward off with good deeds the bad). And Soorah Hood again reminds us with the Dhikraa lidh-dhaakireen: Establish the prayer at both ends of the day and a part of the night - indeed the good deeds drive away the bad deeds.

Had Allah not been Ar-Raheem and Al-Ghafoor and At-Tawwab and much more in terms of beautiful names and qualities, one would find no point in ever turning to good and would be written to a life of sin.

But Allah gave us the gift of hope which lifts a person from the deepest of depths to reach the lights of guidance. As with the man who killed 100 and Allah turned to him.

O Allah! as has already been stated by some... even our istighfaar requires istaghfaar. O Allah! You are my Lord and there is NONE worthy of worship except you. You created me and I am your slave. And i adhere to your covenant and promise as much as i can. I take refuge with you from the evil i have done. I acknowledge to You Your blessings upon me. And i acknowledge my sin. Thus, forgive me.... As indeed none forgives sins except you. (Translation of the "Chief of the supplications for seeking forgiveness" or Sayyid-ul-Istighfaar).

What great words that beautiful slave of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم) came with. Indeed Jawami-ul-Kalim (Most solid of words).

What is more disturbing is the fact is that these are the sins we know. What of the sins that our hearts have hardened to and we no longer find them registering in our conscience?? What of those. So O Allah! Forgive me what i have sent forth and what i have delayed; what i have hidden and what is open; in what i have commited excesses and what you are more knowing of than myself; You are Al-Muqaddim and You are Al-Mu'akhkhir; And there is none worthy of worship except you.

Glory and Praise be to Allah! How Allah has guided us to words to meet our every need in supplication. O Allah establish us in such beneficial knowledge us and give us strength upon your Rememberance, Thanks-giving for you and the Best forms of Your Worship. Aaameen!

1 week and 2 days...

2004-11-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

...and, al hamdulillah, the going has not been too bad as a pseudo-bachelor (temporarily) studying in a univeristy in UK.

Amazing how a person is well-equipped to face life once he tries to deploy the Muslim motto: 7asbun-Allahu wa nay3mal wakeel (Sufficient for us is Allah and He is the best Disposer of Affairs). But again Allah has also cautioned us: Yureedullahu an yukhaffifa 3nkum - wa khuliqa al-Insaanu Da3eefaa (Allah wishes to lighten the burden upon you - and man has been created weak). So one should never resort to reliance on Allah's kawnee will (i.e. His decrees related to the creation and its maintenance in which man has no active participation) until one has exhausted the compliance with His shar3ee will (i.e. what He has legislated for man to carry out of his own accord and thus man has choice in this domain). I hope in my case I have indeed tried my best to cover myself, and thus now i turn with hands raised and looking for support from The Best of Supporters (i.e. Nay3mul-Mawla wa Nay3mun-Naseer). Being un-distracted by family, though, has improved my ability to take thoughts one at a time so it has had its benefits.

Nothing else really to report on muslim thinking except that really enjoyed Surat-ul-An3aam. Amazing how Allah takes us through the beginnings of a persons straying and how and who is prone to this straying. How it is often a handful of major criminals in the village that cause the people to stray. How it is Allah's sunnah that these people have always existed for every Prophet sent. How Allah over-turns their hearts and sense of perception and damns them to be astray once their arrogance caused their willful abandonment of faith when given the opportunity the first time. And how they resort to that age-old argument: "Had He willed we would not have set up associates." And Allah asks again and again for knowledge to back their position. But He states: "Verily, you follow nothing but guesswork and you do nothing but lie".

In short they have a will, subservient to the Will of Allah (the Kawni one), which allows them to be truthful or lie, to be loyal or betray, etc. But Allah can, once their deeds bring about its necessity, put a veil over their hearts and block their ears, and thus they no longer possess the will to return to belief eventually. And Allah explains earlier in this chapter how He is the possessor of the Sublime Attributes that are evident in His creation.

Also there is Allah's statement how He sends a people tribulations in wealth and health to remind them who is the boss. But when they do not take their lesson, their hearts harden and Satan's beautification of their deeds succeeds in causing them to follow his wishes. They forgot what they were reminded with. Then Allah says He opens the doors to everything, until they become overwhelmed with joy... Then Allah takes them suddenly and they become mublisoon (plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows).

And Allah finishes this passage with:

So the roots of the people who did wrong were cut off. And all the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn (the Worlds).

May Allah protect me and the simple believers in Him from the hardening of the hearts and the taking by such devastating end. Aaameen!

That was the Eid that was - whenever that was

2004-11-25T13:12:00.000-08:00

Subhan-Allah. May Allah grant this experience of Itikaaf to all those lovely brothers and sisters out there. I think, it was the opportunity to make as much du'a as possible at all the right times that did it for me. The beginnings were a but rough, but come the 25th night (after the guys finally decided that 14 kids staying with us was perhaps a bit distracting from the main purpose
of being there) i think we as the group of itikaaf people finally were in tune with our objective. Suddenly people mellowed who were finding the routine challenging. I actually believe that the 25th was perhaps the night. And many agree. Though i can't reconcile it with the opinion that it is the same night every year. How can the night of revelation of the Qur'an change? I think scholars differ.

[This is an after-thought/correction inserted after the blog was originally published: The way it is reconciled is that the Night of Decree exists independent and prior to the revelation of the Qur'an. As the verses of Surat-ud-Dukhaan read: Indeed, We sent it down during a blessed night. Indeed, We were to warn [mankind]. On that night is made distinct every precise matter - [44:4]. And so it can vary every year]

Anyway, Eid was a bit of a funny one this year. Had to leave the Mosque while they were still praying Taraweeh! But they were such nice people and i think they had to do that as it was the right thing.

The majority were doing it on Sunday. Though this whole formula of considering international moon-sightings only when there is a possibility of local moon-sighting was the strangest thing i ever heard. [Another afterthought: though people on the international dateline would need some sort of mechanism to ensure they don't have to wait till the last hours of the first day of fasting to find out if its Ramadan or not in Saudi.]

I think many of the Jama'ah voted with their feet though. O Allah! Forgive us our sins and be easy in our affair and purge us of our enimities and jealousies... indeed Your Affair is to reach its stated conclusion... include us in the victorious and do not us try us on account of the Sufahaa (foolish) amongst us. You are the best of the Forgivers.

I came out to witness what we are being led to believe were the closing scenes of Fallujah. Ahhhhhhh. One remembers the ayah: "Until even the messengers despaired and they
thought that they had definitely been belied, then came to them Our Victory and so delivered are whom We Wish, and Our Punishment cannot be warded off from the people who are criminals/ disobedients to Allâh". (12:110)

Why do these people not accept the Creator of the respiratory system, the nervous system, the digestive system, the One who decides you will have milk teeth and then you will have permanent teeth, the One who has subjected gravity in favour of man, the Positioner of the stars, the Measurer of the orbits of the Sun and the moons and especially the moon of the Earth which allows man to calculate years and months IS ONE AND THE SAME as the Author, or the Speaker of the Qur'an?

Then will they not desist from their mischief and their running away from the reality of return to their Creator?

Life has deluded them and their fear is that they will not be able to cohabit freely (whatever the sex, or species!!); they fear that the disease of alcohol will be taken away from them; they perhaps subconsciously feel that people who are not as beautiful as them or as philosophically engaged (in confusion) or intellectually tuned (into confusion) as them cannot possibly be their guides. How often was denying the truth after knowing it and belittling the people a cause of grave straying? They said, "Should we believe two men like ourselves while their people are our slaves?" [23:47].

Will they not even fear The Great Ally & Helper of those men who lay down their lives seeking His Face; though when the filter of sincerity is applied they may well be the few among those many bodies? Allah will show them. And may Allah forgive us and keep us upon the straight path to Him.

"Say: Do you await for us (anything) except one of the two best things (martyrdom or victory); while we await for you either that Allâh will afflict you with a punishment from Himself or at our hands. So wait... we too are waiting with you..." (9:52)

Ramadan - tertiary phase

2004-11-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

Glory be to Allah! Its the 19th of Ramadan! How quick this has all gone buy. But Al hamdulillah there are the last 10 days to look forward to. This year, insha'Allah, insha'Allah, insha'Allah i'll be sitting I'tikaaf. Let's see what it'll be like. At the moment i'm preparing my list. Can't think beyond soap at the moment. What can you keep in a mosque for 10 days in terms of food that a) won't go off; b) won't cause a mess; c) cause an aroma to attract the neighbours d) fit in a 5x5x5 cubic inch box?? And o yes... what will keep me warm in there. Need to find out what the arrangements are for suhoor and iftaar... need to sort these things now so that they don't distract when your in there... hmmm ... i'll keep thinking about this one.