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Compiled by: Azeem Ayub |
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Reflections | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In the Name of Allah, |
The
Reflection of Sincere Faith
As
we repose faith in the Lord, our immediate desire is to be what our Lord
wants us to be. Awed by His Mercy and Grandeur, we surrender before the
religion He has revealed. With veritable sincerity of heart, we wish that
this religion must govern our life such that no aspect of it should escape
the religious directives. Encapsulated thus within the confines of religion,
this life should exude unmistakable conformity with these directives and
even more so with the spirit underlying them.
Author: Jhangeer Hanif
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Some Popular Misconceptions of the Muslims
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Debate & Discuss * Discussion Forum: Understanding Islamic Political Directives | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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*General Discussion Forum: Islamic Law vs. Lawmaking by Human | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Some Popular Misconceptions of the Muslims
Individuals who stay away from practicing Islam despite being Muslims fall into two broad categories: There is one group whose apparent association with Islam owes itself entirely to the accident of birth. They retain their Muslim names and participate in some of the socially significant Islamic events only to maintain their apparent Muslim identity. They are neither convinced about the truthfulness of the message of Islam nor are they interested in following it sincerely. Few people would dispute the claim that their Muslim identity is only a this-worldly arrangement and that on the Day of Judgment their claim to Islam would be discarded. The second category consists of those people who take pride in acknowledging the veracity of Islam. They make attempts to follow its teachings as far as convenience is not threatened to be compromised. However, a closer look at their lifestyles reveals that, much the same way as the first group, they too are in fact immersed in their greed for their this-worldly life. Their practical contact with the shari‘ah is strictly confined to the narrow limits allowed by the predominance of their worldly objectives. Thus they care to follow only that part of Islam which is consistent with the contemporary fashion or which at least does not run contrary to its requirements. Their real happiness is associated with worldly successes; they are genuinely grieved only over worldly privations. Despite this completely “one-eyed” approach to life, they are fully convinced that the exciting prospects of the other life too are, beyond doubt, going to be for them to enjoy. Whatever be the truth about their motives, at least some of them defend their approach by presenting arguments, some of which are apparently based on the Qur’an and the Sunnah. It is important, therefore, that a dispassionate analysis of those arguments be made to help them realize that the superstructure of their expectations is based upon extremely fragile foundations. The gist of their arguments is being presented below. People belonging to this category do not generally present all the listed arguments. In fact, in most cases, it is only one of the described reasons that is cited to absolve the individual from taking the obligations of the shari‘ah seriously. One popular argument presented is that the most predominant attribute of Allah Almighty is Mercy. How then is it possible that the Almighty is going to allow us to be consigned to Hell when we are following at least some part of Islam along side pursuing our worldly ambitions. Another argument offered is that since we have the privilege of being the followers of the last and the favourite Prophet of Allah (sws), and since it is a well known fact that Allah Almighty will grant to his Prophet (sws) the right to intercede for his followers, how is it possible that the Prophet’s intercession will not come to our rescue. Even if the sinning side of our balance would be heavier, intercession of the Prophet (sws) will make amends for that. According to a third argument, many traditions of the Prophet (sws) confirm that all those people who had recited the kalimah1 shall enter Paradise, and that since we were born to Muslim families and got the privilege of reciting the kalimah many times. Who then can deny us this birth-right of ours. A little more reasonable amongst this group present a seemingly more logical argument for the defence of their case. There is no doubt, they say, that we are sinners and are violating Allah’s law on a fairly regular basis, however, we do keep seeking His forgiveness during prayers and even outside prayers. It is quite clear from the contents of the Qur’an and the Sunnah that repentance cleanses one’s sins. After this knowledge, why should we make our lives unnecessarily miserable by following all aspects of the shari‘ah. What’s so wrong, after all, in a compromise between a this-worldly and a that-worldly attitude? Finally, there is another argument presented: The shari‘ah has two types of injunctions: those which are directly relevant to Allah and those that have to do with one’s obligations towards fellow humans. While the latter category of injunctions are more important to be followed, the obligations towards Allah are not. If we are telling the truth, refraining from getting involved in bribes, helping the poor, keeping our promises, and strictly adhering to other similar injunctions, why then shall we not be successful in the Hereafter just for not saying prayers regularly, or not fasting, or not going for hajj and not following similar injunctions which are matters of personal relevance between the individual and his God. When scales are going to be drawn on the Day of Judgement, how is it possible that our significantly important good deeds will not be able to outweigh the relatively less important blemishes. Let us analyze these arguments to find out whether they do merit the confidence of those who are using them for justifying their life patterns or not.
Author: Dr. Khalid Zaheer (Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)Topic URL: http://www.monthly-renaissance.com/issue/content.aspx?id=37
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Discussion Forum: Understanding Islamic Political Directives
Module 1: Revolt against an Islamic State
Siddiq Bukhary (Moderator) The verse 4:59 says 'Obey God and the Prophet and those of you who are in authority'
keeping in view the directive of this verse, can a Muslim citizen revolt against an Islamic state?
fathima If I am not wrong, I think Muslims can revolt against an Islamic state is the state is doing something against the Islamic Shariah.
Marina I think that it will depend on the situation, and if all Muslim citizens revolt against that state or just couple of people that have an issue with that government. They can though if the state is doing something that is against Islamic Law or Qur'an.
Sayfullah In an Islamic state, Muslims, as soon as their Amir is elected, have to pledge their loyalty to him; Muslims can object their rulers behavior (and this is only possible if the ruler is violating the Islamic law), but it is recommended by the Prophet, saws, that they be patient for some time, and leave the rebellion as the last solution.
Marina So how long would you be willing to wait, and do you think that if you do wait that problem might get bigger, and harder to solve?
Siddiq Bukhary (Moderator) No Muslim citizen has been given the permission to revolt against the government unless he has the backing of a clear majority behind him. The reason for this is that if the majority does not support him then such a revolt would not be against the government; on the contrary it would be against other Muslim citizens which according to the Shariah is Fisad Fil Arad, an offence punishable by death and if this revolt takes the shape of an armed uprising then it should be subject to all the conditions of jehad imposed by the Sharaih.
aslam Clear and telling examples of such fasad (anarchy) can be witnessed in Algeria and Egypt and it is rearing its head in Pakistan!
abdullah099 As long as the leader is following the deen as best as he possibly can then it is forbidden to revolt against him or his appointed governors and advisors. We see this is true in the first speeches given by both Abu Bakr, and Umar (RA).
Abu Bakr
- "Praise be to Allah! I am now in authority over you, but I am not the best
among you. If I act virtuously, help me. If I act wrongfully, correct me.
Truth is honesty, falsehood is treachery.
Let none among you abjure the holy war in the way of Allah, for no people do so but Allah strikes them with disgrace. And among no people does vice become general but Allah inflicts upon them terrible punishment.
Obey me while I obey Allah and His Messenger; and if I disobey Allah and His Messenger, you are not obliged to follow me.
Forget not your prayers. May Allah have mercy upon you!"
Umar -"Lo! The Arab is like a camel which follows its master and waits for him wherever it is made to sit. And by the Lord of the Kabah, I shall carry you on the right path."
I feel that in our current situation it is perfectly fine to revolt against the leaders of most Muslim countries, because they are misguided. Most of them never read the Quran yet they are incharge of running our affairs. This is not right, because they will lead their people astray. A good example of this is Pervez Musharraf, who drinks wine and owns a dog. Not only that, but he sends his troops to fight Muslims and is also quoted as saying that "Muslims are the most ignorant people on the face of the planet".
abdullah099 What we need to do is unite under a single government and appoint a Caliph. This is the type of government Muslims have had for centuries, until just recently. So we need to stop this nonsense of nationalism, and focus on uniting under a single flag in Dar-al-Islam.
samrqandi I believe that revolt is something that is recommended unless the leader commits clear cut kufr. also the prophet prophesized this in the hadith that after the khulafah, we will have kingship after that we will have tyrants and after that we will have khulafah. People want Shariah but they don't even know the basic requirements of a Shariah, rather super impose their own views of how the state should be. and Allahu alam.
aslam Samarqani could not be more right!
abid4321 I agree with you brother Abdullah. May Allah guide all those who still call for nationalism.
Further can be seen at: http://www.studying-islam.org/forum/topic.aspx?topicid=538&lang=&forumid=10
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salmant
There have been repeated debates especially within
Pakistan, throughout its history, regarding whether Man-made law (i.e. The
Constitution) clashes and/or interferes with the jurisdiction of Divine law
(i.e. Shariah). Our religious scholars have often raised a concern, by framing
it as a question of Sovereignty of Allah vs. Sovereignty of people. Their
claim is that if Allah is Sovereign (as the Constitution itself states that He
is), there shouldn’t be a man-made law in the first place, if it is there,
it should only deal with those issues not touched by Shariah. And any law
making done on an issue where a slightest of hint by Quran, Sunnah or even by
a statement of a Faqeeh (Muslim Jurist) has been dropped, is a trespassing on
the jurisdiction of Shariah.
perv1 Which Islamic laws are you referring to?
salmant I am not referring to any
particular law, I am referring to 'The Shariah', including all the laws that
relate to it.
perv1 quote: I am not referring to any particular law, I am referring to 'The
Shariah', including all the laws that relate to it. Well be bit more precise because
different sects have different ideas about shariah laws.
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Islam and Human Rights
Question: I have been a student of Islam all my life. I always wonder if there are the same basic rights and freedom for a Muslim in Islam as those in the Western society. If it differs then what are the parameters of the Islamic concept of the basic rights of an individual in a Muslim Society?
Answer: In fact Islam stresses the importance of all the moral good and forbids all moral vices. Now the western modal of freedom, which is no doubt a positive thing, sometimes tends to disregard other social, moral, and religious good which makes it erratic. It is only an imbalance in various values which seems so contrasting with our conceptions of the same values. Regards, Tariq Mahmood Hashmi Research Assistant, Studying Islam
see: http://www.studying-islam.org/querytext.aspx?id=417
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