We have a lot of sectarian problems at themoment and these are adding
to the confusion of this time. Just imagine that you are an outsider
and you see groups of Muslims attacking each other. It's certainly not
a pretty sight nor does it attract one to the religion.
I am criticised a lot for stepping back and not involving myself and
sometimes not even voicing my opinion. I simply do not wish to be
involved in fighting people or even refuting people unnecessarily.
There are times when people need to be refuted because they are
causing tribulation. But does that have to be done every time we
speak? In every Khutba? Even during Ramadan when we need spiritual
advice instead we a treated to a barrage of abuse aimed at
particulargroups.
I for one agree with the reliable opinion of the Hanafi school and the
reliable opinions of the Maturdi and Ashari school of doctrine. (Most
people are a mix of theseschools of doctrine even thought they claim
to be otherwise!) Yet within these schools sectarianism has occurred
and I refute those who insult their Prophet whether intentional or not
but I do not make it my lives work!
I prefer taking a step back from all this tribulation and refrain from
comment. The average person is now repeating the mistakes oftheir
Imams and purposely chasing those people who they think are wrong. It
is almost relentless and the zeal in which these average people are
chasing scholars for their 'errors' is something repugnant. They also
attack people who know the scholars and their students. In the most
Unislamic way imaginable with swearwords and speech full of hate.
Where has their Islamic manners gone?
No one likes to be told that they are doing a badjob or that they do
not know what to do. Yet groups of people who donot know their own
Aqida correctly are attacking those who know their doctrine much
better than them.
Some groups claim that some things are disbelief when they are clearly
notand it is only their group who think it is! This is problematic
because the Awwam (the average person) should not be doing anything
but concentrating on their worship. This basic fact issomething they
have failed to do. Many do not know what breaks their ablution nor do
they know what breaks their prayer but because they are Muslim they
think thisgives them a divine right to correct scholars.
Who made you a Qadi?
If someone pronounces aword of disbelief then the case is brought
before a Qadi/Judge whoasks the person if he realises the
ramifications of his words. If he does not recant then he is
imprisoned a scholar is brought to him to explain the issues and he is
given time to reconsider. Only when hedoes not after a given period is
the apostate killed. Just like if someone committed treachery to the
Crown who that person be killedif convicted. Now that wedo not have
judges we have people who do their own vigilante style court in which
they apostate who they hate and give excuses to thosethey love!
So when one of their own imams commits apostasy on the pulpit because
he has tried to respect the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and
blessings upon him) by disrespecting the other Prophets. He is given
an excuse but when others do the same, then that person is attacked
and hounded. This happens in more instances than you can imagine.
We have misguided loyalties in that we think we are defending Islam
but instead we are defending the politics of our group and not Islam
at all. We also think that everyone is astray except our group and we
claim to be Ahl-Sunna wa Jammah. Well, your group has only been around
for a hundred or so years, how can it just be you that are right? So
does that mean that there was no Ahl-Sunna until your group came? How
can that be right? The Ahl-Sunna wa Jammah was not a specific group of
people from a certain place. Rather is it the corpus of rulings and
the followers of the scholars from the beginning of Islam until its
end. Those that fit intothe four schools of Fiqh and the Ashari and
Maturdi schools of doctrine.
A popular singer once wrote love is blindness and it truly is when
people are not willing to look at their own errors yet jump upon the
errors of others like lions after their prey. Our love has made us
blind and this misleading others.
What do we do then?
Overlook, like we used to and we refer case or situations to scholars
who will correct scholars.When this is done then the scholar who
corrected him should not make the discussions public. They should
discuss the problem and come to a resolution thenput the issue to bed.
It is sinful for the average person to be debating about issues of
Islamic doctrine, period.
Most of the time it is because the misunderstanding of Islam in the
head of the average person and not because the scholar! When you do
not know the issue do not speak but because our Naafs does not like to
think we do not know anything about the religion that we were born
with, we speak, we scream and weshout.
Your job as an ordinary person is to perfect your worship and try to
implement Islam into your life as much as you can. Your job is not to
post slander on internet sites about scholars. If wehave to then speak
to someone close to the scholar and do it with theappropriate Islamic
manners.
Even if you look at the life of Sheikh Abdulqadir Jilani (may Allah
show him mercy) a Christian woman misled him and he left everything.
So what was the response ofhis devoted students? They did not attack
him for anything. They could have attacked him for various things that
was said to have occurred butinstead they kept calling back and they
kept supplicating.
Eventually, Sheikh Abdulqadir saw the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace
and blessings upon him) in a dream who had interceded for him then
advised him to return to his teachings. Which he did and the Christian
woman, when she realised that he had left her, went after him and
became Muslim. Note thathis students did not attack him but rather
they accepted the situation and tried to help him. (See secret of the
secrets). This is a true murid but I wonder whatpeople now would do?
Would they attack him? Deliver speeches against him? Write books
againsthim? The Awliya sometimes do things thatwe cannot understand
and we should refrain from reacting until we know all the facts.
They said about Imam As-Shafi that he used to perfect his ablution and
he was one of the great scholars of this nation, sodo you think that
you arebetter than him? Are you even present in your ablution? Are you
even doing it right? Is it merely the movement of water over the skin?
If there are scholars who keep making the same 'mistakes' then leave
them to it; that is better for you than attacking them. Some people
are from the family of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and
blessings upon him) and they should be advised inthe most polite
manner possible, and if you cannot do this then refrain.
The disrespect that we have witnessed and experienced from those
overzealous brothers is unimaginable, if I did notknow better I would
accuse those brothers of hating the Ahl Al-Bayt and this claim would
be far from unfounded. We have many issues that arenot dealt with
because ofthis issue such as community problems.
We have women leaving their Muslim husbands to live with non-Muslim
males because he treats her better. We have couples who have problems
with their marriages and there are very little support systems
available to them, apart from government organisations. The illegal
use of alcohol and drugs is rampant amongst our youth, yet who is
doing anything about it? We have men abusing their wives and people
are absolutely silent. Is it any wonder that people are not flooding
into Islam when they see people like us?
I would dearly love to seethe conditions of Muslimsimprove in this
country because we have so much potential. We have so many
opportunities that we have clearly wasted. Why don't we have big open
event about love for the Prophet and invite non-Muslims to it?
We have a responsibility to call to Islam, whether they accept is
another matter but we should be calling. So the average person should
be busy calling to Islam and not calling scholars names. We are not
judges we arejust ordinary people and just by being a Muslim does not
make you an authority on Islam, no one can claim that.
'' Our Lord ! grant us good in this world and good in the hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire '' [Ameen]
-
{in Arab} :->
Rabbanaa aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanatan wafil aakhirati hasanatan waqinaa 'athaaban-naar/-
(Surah Al-Baqarah ,verse 201)
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