Religion – Page 2 – My Bit for Change

How I Came to Love the Veil

Politicians and journalists just love to write about the oppression of women in Islam … without even talking to the females beneath the veil.

They simply have no idea how Muslim women are protected and respected within the Islamic framework which was built more than 1400 years ago.

Yet, by writing about cultural issues like child brides, female circumcision, honour killings and forced marriages they wrongly believe they are coming from a point of knowledge.

And I am sick of Saudi Arabia being cited as an example of how women are subjugated in a country where they are banned from driving.

The issues above have simply nothing to do with Islam yet they still write and talk about them with an arrogant air of authority while wrongly blaming Islam. Please do not confuse cultural behaviour with Islam.

I was asked to write about how Islam allows men to beat their wives. Sorry, not true. Yes, I’m sure critics of Islam will quote random Qur’anic verses or ahadith but all are usually taken out of context. If a man does raise a finger to his wife, he is not allowed to leave a mark on her body … this is another way of the Qur’an saying; “Don’t beat your wife, stupid”.

Now let’s take a glance at some really interesting statistics, hmm. I can almost hear the words pot, kettle, black. According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, four million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period.

On the average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands and boyfriends every day . . . that is nearly 5,500 women battered to death since 9/11.

Some might say that is a shocking indictment on such a civilized society, but before I sound too smug, I would say that violence against women is a global issue. Violent men do not come in any particular religious or cultural category. The reality is that one out of three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime. Violence against women transcends religion, wealth, class, skin colour and culture.

However, until Islam came on the scene women were treated as inferior beings. In fact we women still have a problem in the West where men think they are superior. This is reflected in our promotion and wages structure right across the spectrum from cleaners to career women who make it into the boardroom.

Western women are still treated as commodities, where sexual slavery is on the rise, disguised under marketing euphemisms, where women’s’ bodies are traded throughout the advertising world. As mentioned before, this is a society where rape, sexual assault, and violence on women is commonplace, a society where the equality between men and women is an illusion, a society where a women’s’ power or influence is usually only related to the size of her breasts.

I used to look at veiled women as quiet, oppressed creatures and now I look at them as multi-skilled, multi-talented, resilient women whose brand of sisterhood makes Western feminism pale into insignificance. My views changed after the truly terrifying experience of being arrested by the Taleban for sneaking into Afghanistan in September 2001 wearing the burka.

During my 10-day captivity I struck a deal that if they let me go I would read the Quran and study Islam. Against all the odds, it worked and I was released. In return I kept my word but as a journalist covering the Middle East I realized I needed to expand my knowledge of a religion which was clearly a way of life.

And no, I’m not a victim of Stockholm syndrome. To be a victim you have to bond with your captors. During my imprisonment I spat, swore, cursed and abused my jailers as well as refusing their food and going on hunger strike. I don’t know who was happier when I was released – them or me!

Reading the Quran was, I thought, going to be a very simple academic exercise. I was stunned to discover that it clearly stated women are equal in spirituality, education and worth. A woman’s gift for child birth and child-rearing is very much recognised as a quality and attribute. Muslim women say with pride they are homemakers and housewives.

Furthermore The Prophet (pbuh) said that the most important person in the home was The Mother, The Mother, The Mother. In fact he also said that heaven lies at the feet of the mother. How many women make it into the top 100 power lists for simply being a “great mother”?

With Islam choosing to remain at home and raise children takes on a new dignity and respect in my eyes, similar to those sisters among us who choose to go out to work and have careers and professions.

I then began looking at inheritance, tax, property and divorce laws. This is where Hollywood divorce lawyers probably get their inspiration from. For instance the woman gets to keep what she earns and owns while the man has to stump up half his worth.

Isn’t it funny the way the tabloid media gets very excited over the prospect of some pop or film stars pre-nuptial wedding agreement? Muslim women have had wedding contracts from day one. They can choose if they want to work or not and anything they earn is theirs to spend while the husband has to pay for all the household bills and the upkeep of his family.

Just about everything that feminists strived for in the 70s was already available to Muslim women 1400 years ago.

As I said, Islam dignifies and brings respect to motherhood and being a wife. If you want to stay at home, stay at home. It is a great honour to be a home maker and the first educator of your children

But equally, the Quran states if you want to work, then work. Be a career woman; learn a profession become a politician. Be what you want to be and excel in what you do as a Muslim because everything you do is in praise of Allah (swt).

There is an excessive, almost irritating concentration or focus on the issue of Muslim women’s’ dress particularly by men (both Muslim and non-Muslim).

Yes, it is an obligation for Muslim women to dress modestly but, in addition, there are many other important issues which concern Muslim women today.

And yet everyone obsesses over the hijab. Look, it is part of my business suit. This tells you I am a Muslim and therefore I expect to be treated with respect.

Can you imagine if someone told a Wall Street executive or Washington banker to put on a t-shirt and jeans? He would tell you his business suit defines him during work hours, marks him out to be treated seriously.

And yet in Britain we have had the former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw describing the nikab – the face veil revealing only the eyes – as an unwelcome barrier. When, oh when, will men learn to keep their mouths shut over a woman’s wardrobe?

We also had Government Ministers Gordon Brown and John Reid express disparaging remarks about the nikab – both these men come from over the Scottish Borders where men wear skirts!!

Then we had a series of other parliamentarians enter the fray describing the nikab as a barrier for communication. What a load of nonsense. If this was the case can anyone explain to me why cell phones, landlines, emails, text messaging and fax machines are in daily use? Who listens to the radio? No one switches off the wireless because they cannot see the face of the presenter.

The majority of sisters I know who choose to wear the nikab are actually white, Western reverts who no longer want the unwelcome attention of those few leering men who will try and confront females and launch into inappropriate behaviour. Mind you, there are a couple of London sisters I know who say they wear the nikab at anti-war marches because they can’t stand the smell of spliffs.

I am afraid Islamophobia has become the last refuge of the racist scoundrel. But the cowardly, chauvinistic attacks launched – largely by men – is unacceptable to Muslimahs as well as their secular, female sisters from the left.

I was a feminist for many years and now, as an Islamic feminist, I still promote women’s’ rights. The only difference is Muslim feminists are more radical than their secular counterparts. We all hate those ghastly beauty pageants, and tried to stop laughing when the emergence of Miss Afghanistan in bikini was hailed as a giant leap for women’s liberation in Afghanistan.

I’ve been back to Afghanistan many times and I can tell you there are no career women emerging from the rubble in Kabul. My Afghan sisters say they wish the West would drop its obsession with the burka. “Don’t try turning me into a career woman; get my husband a job first. Show me how I can send my children to school without fear of them being kidnapped. Give me security and bread on the table,” one sister told me.

Young feminist Muslimahs see the hijab and the nikab as political symbols as well as a religious requirement. Some say it is their way of showing the world they reject the excesses of Western lifestyles such as binge drinking, casual sex, drug-taking etc.

Superiority in Islam is accomplished through piety, not beauty, wealth, power, position or sex.

Now you tell me what is more liberating. Being judged on the length of your skirt and the size of your cosmetically enhanced breasts, or being judged on your character, mind and intelligence?

Glossy magazines tell us as women that unless we are tall, slim and beautiful we will be unloved and unwanted. The pressure on teenage magazine readers to have a boyfriend is almost obscene.

Islam tells me that I have a right to an education and it is my duty to go out and seek knowledge whether I am single or married.

Nowhere in the framework of Islam are we told as women that we must do washing, cleaning or cooking for men – but it is not just Muslim men who need to re-evaluate women in their home. Check out this 1992 excerpt from a Pat Robertson speech revealing his views on empowered women. And then you tell me who is civilized and who is not.

He said: “FEMINISM ENCOURAGES WOMEN TO LEAVE THEIR HUSBANDS, KILL THEIR CHILDREN, PRACTICE WITCHCRAFT, DESTROY CAPITALISM AND BECOME LESBIANS”.

Here is an American man living in a pre-Islamic age who needs to modernize and civilize. People like him are wearing a veil and we need to tear that veil of bigotry away so people can see Islam for what it is.

Yvonne Ridley

Still, I Rise: Reflections on the Massacres in Egypt

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

“By the sky containing great stars. And by the Promised Day. And [by] the witness and what is witnessed, Woe to the makers of the pit (of fire)! Fire supplied (abundantly) with fuel: When they were sitting near it. And they witnessed (all) that they were doing against the Believers. And they ill-treated them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah, Exalted in Power, Worthy of all Praise!- Him to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth! And Allah is Witness to all things.

Indeed, those who have tortured the believing men and believing women and then have not repented will have the punishment of Hell; they will have the punishment of the Burning Fire.

Lo! those who believe and do good works, theirs will be Gardens underneath which rivers flow. That is the Great Success.

Truly strong is the Grip (and Power) of thy Lord. It is He Who creates from the very beginning, and He can restore (life). And He is the Oft-Forgiving, Full of Loving-Kindness, Lord of the Throne of Glory, Effecter of what He intends. Has the story reached thee, of the forces- Of Pharaoh and the Thamud? Nay, but those who disbelieve live in denial. But Allah doth encompass them from behind!”

(Surah Burooj: Chapter 58)

———————————————————-

Hope is a stubborn thing. From the blood and gore, the spine-chilling images of charred bodies clinging to the pages of the Quran, there still rises hope.

History’s verdict is unforgiving. Pages of history are reddened with massacres, genocide, killing of innocents: but at the end of the day what matters is whose side we were on, or whether we chose to be passive bystanders in a time of crisis.

Echoes from Egypt shall ring on for a long time to come, the images shall remain etched in memories. And the lessons we learn shall endure, reshaping our narrative, our destinies.

And that is the most crucial point: the lessons we learn. For one, the events in Egypt have exposed the hypocrisy of the secular-liberal elite that has proven itself to be a bedfellow of the military junta, the ruling oligarchies. We have all learned the terrifying truth, as Peter Galey puts it, that

“many would rather see a military junta rule with impunity and autocracy than see a democratic administration govern with fecklessness and error. Many people who call themselves revolutionaries and advocates of democracy simply hate Islamism more than they love freedom. That people are fully prepared to welcome the army back to political life, with a cheer, two fingers up to those killed since 2011, and a good riddance to Egypt’s first experiment with democracy.”

There is hope for the future of political Islam as the terrible events necessitate a soul-search, reflection and engagement with the daunting socio-political issues and realities we face. Such a soul-search took a long time in coming, but it will help us make vital conclusions for steering the course of the journey.

The more simplistic and superficially drawn lesson will be to abandon democratic process- but it will not hold because the victim for whom sympathy is understandably high, was committed to democratic process; while the brutal perpetrators subverted the democratic process- even though the rhetoric of democracy was shamelessly used for the purpose. Only a very superficial understanding would consider this to be the death-knell for Islam’s democratic experiment.

But to ensure the right lessons are learned, Muslim scholars, writers, academics and ulema have a crucial role to play: to rescue the narrative from those who would use it for subversive ends calling for rejecting the democratic project.

Muslim scholarship must also recognize, following the events in Egypt, Syria, Bangladesh, Pakistan- the terrible danger of schisms and ideological polarization within Muslim societies- the widening rift between the secular and the religious, the cleavages of sect, denomination, ethnicity, nationalism. Understanding the gravity of this danger, they must become active agents of reconciliation- mending the cracks and helping the healing process by empowering the voices of ‘middleness’ that refuse to take sides, except as supporters and advocates for the sinned-against, the sufferers, the anonymous victim.

It is heartening to see the black-n-yellow image signifying solidarity with the victims of the Rabia massacre going viral on facebook profiles. It is in our capacity for empathy that our humanity lies. The symbolism of it is remarkably suggestive and layered, too: with the resistance bearing the name of a Muslim woman (Rabia Al Adawiyyah). It has in it the makings of a fresh and brand new Muslim feminism articulated as a response to the savage use of chauvinistic power: military and political. The fact that Rabia Al Adawiyyah was an icon of Islamic spirituality- a tradition ignored and eclipsed as we embroiled ourselves in the battle for temporal power- is significant too. Salvation lies in rediscovering and reviving that spiritual tradition- not as a clever antidote to the socio-political struggle; not as a ploy to neutralize, but as a means to return the soul to that struggle; to inspire and revitalize and direct the course; and render that struggle meaningful.

Blood has been shed- but not in vain, inshaAllah. It must water the springtime- which may not reach its blossoming in our lifetimes, but we must sow the seeds and water it with sacred blood and tears. We must stand on the right side of history, realizing that we owe this to the future. Or we shall never be forgiven as History pens down its verdict in eternal stone.

“You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope…

I rise

I rise.” (Maya Angelou: Still I Rise)

Quran Journey series – Reflections on Quranic verses – X

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

“Allah forbids you not, with regard to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just.

Allah only forbids you, with regard to those who fight you for (your) faith, and drive you out of your homes, and support (others) in driving you out, from turning to them (for friendship and protection).” (60:8-9)

Islam is about submission to the Divine Will in order to attain peace, and this works both at the individual level as well as for the community. Muslims are supposed to seek to acquire peace within and strive to establish it in society. However, the establishment of peace at the communal level is only possible through the provision of justice. The central principle around which the socio-politico-economic system of Islam is built is Justice.

Islamic Justice is all-embracing and universal, to be extended to all mankind, regardless of any distinction of race, creed, nationality and even faith/religion. It is a fundamental human right. Islam asserts justice in dealing with those belonging to other faiths, whether they be citizens of the Islamic state or members of other communities and nations. The rights of non Muslims in a Muslim state have been clearly outlined by the Shariah_ they are entitled to all rights of citizenship and complete freedom of belief:

Non-Muslims are to be protected by the Muslims, as the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself said:

“Whoever harasses a dhimmi I shall be his adversary, and of whomever I become the adversary, I shall prosecute him in the Doomsday” (At Tabrani, 65).

Again: “He who harms a non-Muslim who keeps a peace treaty with Muslims has harmed me, and he who harms me has harmed Allah” (At-Tabarani in Al-Awsat).

In support of the Prophet’s view, an orthodox caliph stated that the blood of the dhimmi is “like our blood and his religion is like our religion” so that “they are entitled to what we are entitled to…”

As is made clear by the verse, all non Muslims be they citizens of the Islamic state or not, must be dealt with justly: this justice is to be waged universally and unconditionally, even in case of hostility. The Quran says:

“O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah , witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah ; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do.” (5:8)

In fact, the Quran takes it a step further by adding to it the element of kindness. Muslims must deal with non Muslims who possess no explicit aggressive designs with kindness, forbearance, gentleness. This is built on the Islamic concept of the entire creation of God being His ‘family,’ all being the ‘sons and daughters of Adam (A.S).’ It is this kindliness of demeanour in dealing with those not yet Muslim that earns us the Love and pleasure of Allah.

However, it is a demand of justice that wrong be redressed, that evil be confronted, oppression be resisted and defended against. Muslims must be active agents of justice and peace on earth. In order to attain justice and root out injustice, Muslims have to exert themselves, through force if need be. Only through the readiness to establish justice with might and main can peace prevail, and History is a witness to this_ the might of Goliath was shattered through the courage, valour and strength of David (Daud A.S). Those who are unwilling to strive with physical strength and force for the establishment of a just order will be trodden on and vanquished by the forces of evil as it pervades, unresisted. Hence, the Quran instructs, Muslims must act with firmness against those who have evil designs against Islam; who oppress human beings, who spread evil (fitnah) in the land and assist the forces of injustice and evil. That too is the example provided by the seerah of Muhammad (SAW) who exerted himself in the Way of Allah through waging military struggle against the enemies who had persecuted believers for their faith, and who had taken away the freedom of belief that is a God-given right of all human beings.

The verse above is a radiant example of the middle position of Islam and its great emphasis on the principles of justice and peace, its firm insistence on the rights of human beings; it highlights Islam’s rejection of all forms of discrimination and its insistence on absolute justice for all. Islam, in the light of this and other verses of the Quran and statements of the Prophet (SAW), stands tall as an egalitarian system of life with a universal vision of justice and peace.

Muslims must be just and kind towards fellow human beings regardless of faith-based (or other) distinctions. However, those who violate the rights of others, oppress and persecute are to be defended against with firmness, strength and might. Only thus can a just order be established that facilitates the attainment of a peaceful society.

Ali (RA) – My Eternal Hero

For me, he is the emblem of heroism, of wisdom, of passion, of love of Allah.

He accepted Islam as ten year old child, when very few were willing to risk their lives. He grew up, literally, in the house of Allah’s beloved (Salallaho Alaihi Wasalam -SAW). He resembled Rasool Ullah (SAW) in mannerism and action. On the night of the migration from Makkah, he slept in the bed of the Prophet (SAW) with the risk that the enemies may kill him in place of the Prophet (SAW).

Our beloved (SAW) trusted Ali (RA) with his treasure, his youngest daughter Fatima (RA). He was the Prophet’s (SAW) kin.

While Rasool Ullah (SAW) breathed his last on the chest of our mother Ayesha (RA), Ali (RA) was the one to bathe Rasool Ullah (SAW) after his death.

Ali was a lion in the battlefield and most humble in private life. In worship, such was he that he told people to pull out an arrow lodged in his body during salaat (namaz) because when in the presence of his Rabb in prayer, he focussed on nothing else.

Ali (RA) is my hero, forever.

They are all my heroes: Abu Bakr (RA) and Umar ibn Al-Khattab (RA) and Uthman bin ‘Affan (RA) and Ali (RA). Each a sparkling gem warding away darkness and showing rays of light. Each with their own beautiful unique personalities. Each chosen by God for special work. Each guiding us in their own way.

Yet, with the mention of Ali (RA) the heart softens with the realization of how beloved he was to the Prophet (SAW) of Allah. He is the father of Hasan (RA) and Hussain (RA), and the love of Fatima’s (RA) life.

These glimpses from ahadith and seerah remind me even more why Ali (RA) is who he is to me:

Abu Turaab

So many incidents are recorded about the beautiful way the Prophet (saw) used to solve disagreements between Ali and Fatima.

One such incident resulted in Ali getting the title Abu Turaab – “The man covered with dirt” – this title was one of the dearest to Ali. For once the Prophet went to visit his daughter Fatima & he did not find Ali home. He asked about him, so Fatima told her father that she had some argument with her husband so he left home angry in the afternoon without taking his usual nap. The Prophet told someone to go & look for Ali. He came back saying that he is in the mosque. The Prophet went to him to find him lying on the floor with his dress falling off his flank which was covered with dirt. The Prophet woke him up clearing the dirt off his body & addressing him with a smile: “Wake up you who is covered with dirt”.

The Prophet’s Kin

When the verse 3:61 was revealed to the Prophet (SAW): “Now that you know the facts, say to them ‘Come, let us summon our sons and your sons, our women and your women and ourselves and yourselves and pray Allah and beseech Him to accurse those who intentionally assert falsehood’ ; he summoned Ali, Fatima, Hassan and Hussain and said: “O God, & these are my kin”.

How can a believer not love Ali (RA)

Zirr reported: ‘Ali observed: By Him Who split up the seed and created something living, the Apostle (may peace and blessings be upon him) gave me a promise that ‘No one but a believer would love me, and none but a hypocrite would nurse grudge against me.’
Reference: Book 001, Number 0141: (Sahih Muslim)

The strength of Ali – in fighting the enemy and fighting anger

I love the incident where Ali (RA) was fighting with a man on a battlefield. Ali was about to thrust his sword into his heart when all of a sudden the he raised his head and spat at him. Ali immediately dropped his sword, took a deep breath, and walked away. This man was stunned. He ran after Ali and asked him why he was letting him go. “Because I’m very angry at you,” said Ali. “Then why don’t you kill me?” hel asked. “I don’t understand.”

Ali (RA) explained, “When you spat on my face, I got very angry. My ego was provoked, yearning for revenge. If I kill you now, I’ll be following my ego. And that would be a huge mistake.”

So Ali set the man free. The man was so touched that he became Ali’s friend and follower, and in time he converted to Islam of his own free will.

He whom Allah and His Messenger (SAW) love

Narrated Salama: ‘Ali happened to stay behind the Prophet (SAW) and (did not join him) during the battle of Khaibar for he was having eye trouble. Then he said, “How could I remain behind Allah’s Apostle?” So Ali set out following the Prophet . When it was the eve of the day in the morning of which Allah helped (the Muslims) to conquer it, Allah’s Apostle said,

“I will give the flag (to a man), or tomorrow a man whom Allah and His Apostle love will take the flag,” or said, “A man who loves Allah and His Apostle; and Allah will grant victory under his leadership.”

Suddenly came Ali whom we did not expect. The people said, “This is ‘Ali.” Allah’s Apostle gave him the flag and Allah granted victory under his leadership.’ Reference: Volume 5, Book 57, Number 52: (Sahih Bukhari)

He was to the Prophet (SAW) what Haroon (AS) was to Musa (AS)

Sa’d reported Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) as saying to ‘Ali: Aren’t you satisfied with being unto me what Aaron was unto Moses?
Reference: Book 031, Number 5916: (Sahih Muslim)

For whosoever is Prophet (saw) Mawla, Ali is Mawla

Sayyidna Abu Sarihah (Radhi Allah) or Zayd ibn Arqam (Shu’bah is uncertain about it) said that Prophet (SAW) said: He for whom I am Mawla (friend, beloved, helper), Ali is Mawla
Reference: Sunan al Tirimdhi Hadith No. 3733 – Imam Abu Isa Tirimdhi (rah) said: This Hadith is “HASAN SAHIH”

Quran Journey Series: Quranic Reflections- VI

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent the Merciful

“Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire? Then would you be responsible for him? Or think you that most of them listen or understand? They are only like cattle;- nay, they are worse astray in their Path.” (25:43)
One of the most heinous and discreet forms of ‘shirk’ (polytheism) is self-worship, when one begins to deify his own desires, that is one follows the command of his desires to such an extent that he ignores and trespasses every moral restraint that stands in his way. He becomes so obsessed with his self that it turns him blind towards the rights of others, his duties to His Lord and his fellow-beings. He indulges in self-serving pursuits; he seeks power, luxury, wealth, fame, importance, comfort, convenience for himself. ‘God’ is the deity to be obeyed, submitted to, adored, worshipped, loved, venerated etc. When something other than God begins to claim all this and becomes the object of our devotion, attention, worship, it becomes a false deity, a partner in the worship of God. Very often we give this quasi-divine status to our own selves and our desires when we blindly pursue them and forget all limits.

According to philosophers and psychologists, the human personality consists of the ‘id,’ which is the reservoir of animal desires, carnal instincts and physical drives like those of hunger and sex. The id creates strong impulses rooted in desire, which are only held in check by higher human consciousness, the ‘superego’ that internalizes values, morals and norms of behaviour. This control of the id impulses makes us human, and the more we are in command of our id desires, the higher we are on the scale of humanity. The strongest imperative of the superego is Faith that comes through religion. It keeps the animal self (nafs e ammara) in check, allowing it limited permissible means of expression. Animals are entirely id, lacking in the higher spiritual consciousness. This is why animals express and pursue their natural physical impulses freely. Their lives revolve entirely around hunting for food, and procreation. When human beings let the id dominate and give it free rein, they descend to the animal level, a primitive level of existence. However, in sophisticated societies, this is called ‘the libertarian culture’ that celebrates ‘individual liberty.’ However, when individual liberty enslaves one to carnal instincts whose imperious command one blindly follows, it is not true liberty and freedom any more.

Such a self-obsessed person will reflect utterly irresponsible behaviour. He will lose all restraint that comes from higher consciousness and will act with recklessness and irresponsibility. According to Abdullah bin Masood (R.A) the Prophet (SAW) said,

‘If you have no shame, then do what you wish.’ (Bukhari)

Allah says that such lovers of the Self must be left to their own, to be consumed by the fire of their own vain lusts and bestial passions, as they have reached the very depths of degeneracy_ fallen from the glory of ‘Ahsan i taqween’ (the best of all creation) to the level of ‘asfalasafileen’ (lowest of the low).’ (reference from Surah Tin)

In their state of intense self-absorption and self-indulgence, their heart and soul becomes deadened, till they can no longer respond to the Call to Faith. The Power of the Revelation goes undetected by them, and does not make any echo in their soul. Their existence becomes comparable to vile beasts who live only through the five external senses. They become what the Quran says

‘ deaf, dumb and blind, so they return not.’ (2:18)

This is because

‘their hearts have a disease’ (2:10)

_the disease of self-love. The God-given heart with its capacity for adoration, benevolence, love, gentleness, sacrifice and nobility becomes a piece of flesh.

“And their hearts are sealed, so that they apprehend not.” (9:87)

Elsewhere in the Quran Allah has compared their hearts to stones:

‘Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in hardness. And indeed, there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and indeed, there are of them (stones) which split asunder so that water flows from them, and indeed, there are of them (stones) which fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.’ (2:74)

Their eyes can no longer see the Signs of God in the universe, and hence they become blind while in possession of physical sight; their ears can no longer register the Call of Allah, and hence they become deaf.

“Such are they whose hearts and ears and eyes God hath sealed. And such are the heedless.” (16:108).

Their God-given faculties are used only for the lower animal functions of receiving external stimuli; they become caged in the material universe, and make for themselves a paradise out of it_ but it is a temporary paradise of unrestrained exercise of base impulse and desire, destined to eternal perdition.

Narrated by Abu Hurayrah (ra) that Rasulullah صلى الله عليه وسلم said

“The world is the prison of the believer and paradise of the disbeliever.” (Muslim)

Quran Journey Series: Reflections on the Quran Verses – V

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Woe to every slanderer and backbiter. Who has gathered wealth and counted it. He thinks that his wealth will make him last forever! Nay! Verily, he will be thrown into the crushing Fire. And what will make you know what the crushing Fire is? The fire of Allah, kindled, Which leaps up over the hearts. Verily, it shall be closed in on them. In pillars stretched forth (i.e. they will be punished in the Fire with pillars, etc.). (Chapter 104)

The Surah is a powerful point-blank condemnation of all forms of greed and lust for material objects that human beings desire. While Islam recognizes the existence and importance of the material universe and acknowledges human dependency on material things of this world, yet it also delineates limits which should not be trespassed and stresses on balance and moderation, reminding us at the same time that

“Truly, the life of this world is nothing but a (quick passing) enjoyment, and verily, the Hereafter that is the home that will remain forever.” (Quran 40:39)

When this lesson is forgotten, the balance is lost, and one begins to consider the luxuries and comforts of this life as the be-all and end-all. One begins to hanker after these losing all sense of proportion that this life is a mere droplet in the ocean of eternity. And in this mad rat-race for more and more of this world, one loses his sense of reality as he chases vain dreams, selfish desires impelled by the egotistical impulse. Little does he know that he chases all but shadows.

In this endless breathless wild-goose chase, he becomes a slave to his physical desires and baser instincts, acting on their imperious command, and his soul is stifled and suffocated. he becomes obsessed with himself, self-absorbed and narcissistic. His single concern in life is his own material well-being which he uni-focally seeks to advance.

This has significant effects on his spiritual condition. The very basis of Muslim life is submission. However, relentlessly following the desires of his bloated Self, he becomes utterly incapable of submission, humility, surrender. He worships the god of his desires, the god of wealth, fame, power and can no longer uphold faith in ‘ no god but Allah.’ The altruistic impulses of his soul are snuffed out as a rugged narcissism and self-love takes over. The symptoms of this inner moral decay are as the surah mentions, that he becomes a slanderer and backbiter. He trespasses and flouts all limits to fulfill his greed, to the extent that he violates the rights of others and tramples over them in his relentless chase. He has no regard for others and sees them only as means to achieve his personal agenda, to be used and abused for convenience. Human connections are based on mutual respect, sharing, humbleness, inclusion, selflessness, sincerity. He has none of those, hence he is incapable of any sincere human connection and feels no shame in speaking ill of others behind their backs (backbiting) or to their face, blaming them, vilifying them (slander) and stripping them of all dignity, if that serves his own devious ends. ‘…and do not back-bite one another. Do any of you (who back-bite) love to eat the flesh of your dead brother? Rather, you detest this act, therefore have consciousness of Allah. Certainly Allah is the One who is Oft-Turning to you in repentance, the Merciful.’ (Surah Hujurat, verse 12)

The love of wealth and luxury gives such a person a false sense of permanence of these temporal, transient objects. He gradually forgets that all is fleeting, all a passing shadow, and that the dust of the grave awaits him in the end. It is only belief in the hereafter and a consciousness of accountability before a higher power that restrains man from blindly and madly pursuing material goal to the extent of losing all sense of balance and discrimination between good and evil. It is the absence of the certainty in the afterlife that is the seed of greed and lust in the human heart. Once this greed is allowed to take root, it becomes an all-consuming fire destroying the altruistic impulses and the seed of faith in a higher Power that owns all life. What takes over this inner vacuity and emptiness is a bloated self dominated by the carnal desires of the ‘id.’‘Have you seen the one who has taken his own desires as his god?’

Hence the punishment for such a life is the raging fire of Hell. The fire of greed that burns to ashes all restraints, all traces of goodness ends up in the Home of Fire that crushes just like this person crushed his soul. However, the stay in this Crushing Place is eternal and ever-lasting, just as he vainly thought his joyride, his heydays of revelling in physical pleasures were going to last forever. The flames shall mount and leap high over him like towers just like his own towering ambition to possess, acquire and hold on to what was not rightfully his. That is Divine Justice.

May Allah save us from His Wrath and make us recipients of His Mercy.

Quran Journey Series: Reflections on Quranic verses – IV

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

“And they will say: “Our Lord! Verily, we obeyed our chiefs and our great ones, and they misled us from the (Right) Way. Our Lord! give them double torment and curse them with a mighty curse!” (33:66-67)

The verse illustrates the perils of blindly and unquestioningly following others because of the power and influence they wield. Islam emphatically and unequivocally rejects the notion of blind following. Even obedience to Allah and the Prophet (SAW) is based upon conscious and wilful acceptance of the faith through reason, among other things.

One of the primary functions of Islamic Tawhid is the liberation of man from bondage and slavery to other men who exploit, misuse, mislead and oppress to accentuate their own sense of power and superiority to gratify the ego.

That one bowing-down that you consider so hard

Liberates you from a thousand ignoble surrenders (Iqbal)

The Islamic position is that every human being has been endowed with consciousness and an innate moral criterion, a soul that can discern goodness and evil and the intellect (aql) that makes knowledge possible.

“And by the soul, and Him Who perfected it in proportion; Then He showed him what is wrong for him and what is right for him; Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself. And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself.” (91:7-10)

Most vitally, man has been given volition and the ability to make choices on the basis of his knowledge. He is therefore made responsible for his moral choices in life. If, however, man chooses to surrender all these remarkable God-given abilities to the blind obedience of other human beings, he commits a sin against his own self, which incurs the wrath of the One who bestowed these invaluable gifts on him. Such ignoble surrender expresses ingratitude by subjugating and debasing the God-given human essence to the unworthy. It is selling oneself short. As Ali (R.A) warned,

‘The price of your Ruh (spirit) is Paradise. Do not sell it for what is lesser.’

Unconditional obedience and surrender is the exclusive right of God alone, because He deserves it. Surrendering ourselves to powerful human beings and obeying them unconditionally is therefore a violation of the fundamental belief that Allah alone deserves our devotion, adoration and obedience. It is hence a form of rank ‘shirk’ to accord the exclusive privilege of God to the lesser and unworthier.

Obeying the powerful is a sign of weakness as one allows fear of consequences, external pressures or the incentive of short-term material benefits to take over, shutting off one’s rationality and strangling one’s free will, so that one spiritually degenerates into a mind-controlled sleepwalking zombie ready to take orders to mechanically and unquestioningly carry them out.

Such human beings harm not only themselves but become instruments of grave harm to society. They become the means for the powerful to carry out their exploitative and oppressive practices. Through their obedience they lend strength to the arrogant oppressor. They become cogs in the machine sustaining the unjust system consciously or unconsciously. These are the ‘careerists’- the numberless anonymous obedient and efficient clerks who execute the commands of the tyrants on high and work hard to keep in place the system that supports the oppressive status quo. Chris Hedges describes them as:

‘…armies of bureaucrats serving a corporate system that will quite literally kill us. They are as cold and disconnected… They carry out minute tasks. They are docile. Compliant. They obey. They find their self-worth in the prestige and power of the corporation, in the status of their positions and in their career promotions. It is moral schizophrenia. They erect walls to create an isolated consciousness. They destroy the ecosystem, the economy and the body politic… They feel nothing. And the system rolls forward. The polar ice caps melt. The droughts rage over cropland. The drones deliver death from the sky. The state moves inexorably forward to place us in chains. The sick die. The poor starve. The prisons fill. And the careerist, plodding forward, does his or her job.’

Over the history of Islam, it was the trend of blind following of rigid juristic schools (taqlid) in exclusion to all others that created fixity and stasis, and hence stunted the progress of Muslim society through the ongoing process of ijtihad sanctioned by Allah, to be made in the light of His revelations and the use of the aql bestowed by Him.

The warning is loud and clear: we cannot ward off responsibility of our actions by blindly following powerful clerics, rulers, chiefs, monarchs, dictators, tyrants and cult-figures. Our freedom to choose on the basis of the rules inspired and established by God is one of the greatest gifts we have been given. And when we exercise this freedom to make the right choices, we earn the love of Allah, and find our way back to Him. Allowing others to rob us off this freedom for petty short-term benefits is to sell away one’s soul in an unholy pact with the devil. It is our freedom as moral agents that makes us ‘the best of all creation’ (Ahsan i taqweem), and it is our rejection of the gift in order to mindlessly hero-worship anyone who owns power that debases us into ‘the lowest of the low’ (Asfalasaafileen).

As Muslims we must remember that we are all individually and directly accountable to Allah alone; answerable for every single choice we make- and in His court, the power of all others comes to naught as sham. It is not our association with a person of power and influence that can salvage us, but our own individual conduct based on our conscious moral choices. The delusions of worldly grandeur are transient and misleading. In the Glory, Greatness and Majesty of the Divine, all else fades away into nothingness:

‘And all that remains is the Grace and Majesty of your Lord’ (Surah Rahman)

———————————————–

`Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies; whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear —
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’ (Shelley: ‘Ozymandias’)

Quran Journey Series – Reflections on Quranic verses – III

In the Name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful

‘What? Can there be a doubt about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth?’ (Surah Ibrahim chapter 14, verse 10)

Often the yardstick of logic and science is used to ‘prove’ the existence of God. That endeavour is somewhat misplaced because of its concession to the idea that God is a subject that depends on proof on the terms set by the dictates of human reason. It places human reason and logic above the Noumenal Absolute which in essence cannot be traversed by reason alone.

‘Go beyond Reason’s light! Reason is the lamp that shows the road but does not mark the destination.’ (Iqbal)

The Quran’s majesty does not depend on such proof. The above verse is an emphatic interjection that attests to the Haqq and asserts it to be beyond doubt and conjecture. It is beyond the reach of human reason for it is an altogether different realm with an altogether different set of rules not determined by or dependent upon the phenomenal world. To tread into this realm is to take flight on the wings of faith through making the leap over the giant intractable abyss that cannot be traversed by reason.

According to the Quran, anticipating a purpose of life and a need for guidance out of sheer humility are prerequisites for reaching faith. Seeing is not believing, hence ‘Eeman bil Ghayb‘ (belief in the unseen). God has decided that we will not see Him in this life. He sent signs and revelations and messengers, enjoining belief in the Unseen.

The belief He requires of us will come about by only His rules. In God’s judgement when the intuitive and intellectual capabilities He has endowed us with combine with circumstances in which we have acquired knowledge of His signs and revelations, He becomes justified in demanding from us belief in the unseen and obedience to His revealed guidance. Traversing the path to belief that God has laid down will always require good faith and noble conduct from us: God’s terms, the demands of His test do not need greater evidence.

The ‘argument’ for faith rests upon religious experience. Religious/mystical experience transcends and defies existing notions of reality and existence and leaves one in awe. Religious experience may not provide all the answers to all logical questions but leaves on the mind impressions of an expansive transcendent consciousness. However, while this kind of an experience helps us reach faith, it does not necessarily lead to Islamic Monotheism (Deen Al Haneef).

The notion of a personal God that communicates to humanity to let His will be known is essentially drawn from scriptures and not only inspired by intuitive human insight- works that are by definition attributed to a deity that is at the same time both transcendent and immanent.

It must be remembered, however, that the Quran does not accept an absurd faith from its believer lacking the capacity to discern fundamental differences among varying belief systems. We are enjoined to accept the best believable option, most likely to be revealed by a divine source, the message most befitting of an all-Knowing all-Powerful God.

The Quran uses logical reasoning where it works, and in fact celebrates the exercise of reasoning as a God-given gift (‘aql’):

‘Do you not think?’ (2:44)

It accords a vital role to reason as a means to raise vital existential questions which finally are resolved or fade into irrelevance through faith. It calls for reason to differentiate between the truth and the falsehood and reject the falsity of polytheistic belief. This is the lesson from Ibrahim (A.S)’s insightful journey to the Truth. It was his innate fitrah that led him to seek and wonder and created a revulsion to falsehood while instilling a fundamental recognition of the Truth through its essential attributes. He then used his reason to find out where the answers may lie and understand what specific attributes the Truth could be identified by.

So when the night outspread over Ibrahim, he saw a star; he said, “This is my Lord.” But when the star set [in the morning,] he said, ”[This cannot be my Lord because it has passed away,] I do not like the transitory [gods].” (6:75)

Reason took him a long way, but beyond a point where he realized that the attributes of the finite created world could not be extended to apply to the Creator of the world, it failed to suffice. That is when Ibrahim (A.S) exclaimed,

“If my Lord did not guide me, then I shall surely be of the people who have gone astray.”

And he soared on the wings of faith, reaching absolute certainty (yaqeen) and a profound conviction that translated into his selfless and resolute passion.

This yaqeen he was blessed with through honest submission was a force elevated above the confines of reason that had assisted the earlier part of his journey. In its intensity, this feeling in the heart defies the logic in the head- hence he readies himself to bear pain and torture beyond human endurance, out of ardent Love born out of an unshakable conviction and loving recognition of Divinity.

It is those who have tasted the sweetness of absolute, pure faith in the Divine that can exclaim with certainty:

‘What! Can there be a doubt about Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth?

God’s acceptance of someone as a true believer and His weighing of factors that lead to true belief do not give evidence or logic precedence over humane conduct and good faith. The God of Muhammad SAW is keen to accept those as His believers who retain something of the noble nature on which He created them (fitrah). He rejects those that have wronged themselves through cruelty and arrogance.

Quran Journey Series – Reflections on Quranic verses – II

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

“See you not how Allah sets forth a parable? – A goodly word as a goodly tree, whose root is firmly fixed, and its branches (reach) to the sky (i.e. very high).

Giving its fruit at all times, by the Leave of its Lord and Allah sets forth parables for mankind in order that they may remember.” (14: 24-25)

One of the most powerful and profound metaphors in the Quran: the upstanding tree firmly rooted in faith. I have always imagined the goodly tree to be a date-palm, perhaps because of this Hadith narrated by Umar (R.A): The Prophet (sallAllahu alayhi wasallam) said,

“Amongst the trees, there is a tree, the leaves of which do not fall and it is like a Muslim. Tell me the name of that tree.” Everybody started thinking about the trees of the desert areas. And I thought of the date-palm tree but felt too shy to answer. The others then asked, “What is that tree, O Allah’s Apostle?” He replied, “It is the date-palm tree.”

Sahih Bukhari, Book of Knowledge, Hadith #58

The date palm reaches out to the sky, standing tall and erect with its single branch-less trunk that goes straight up- somewhat like the spiritual pursuit of the Muslim seeking the Majestic Face of his Lord. The trunk is wedged, as if to aid the feet of the climber, the seeker of the sweetness higher up. Climbing up the date-palm is like walking the Steep Path which Allah mentions in Surah Balad, verses 11-14.

“But he has made no effort to pass on the path that is steep. And what will make you know the path that is steep? (It is) Freeing a neck (slave, etc.) Or giving food in a day of hunger (famine)…” (90:11-14)

The ascent is laborious and arduous, but the end is the sweetness of Eeman.

As the Hadith as well as the original verse mention, the date-palm is evergreen: bearing fruit in all seasons. Like the Muslim (submitted one) who remains steadfast in faith and is a consistent doer of good whether the going is tough or whether the circumstances are in one’s favour: creating for himself a win-win situation out of everything. As the Prophet (SAW) said,

“How wonderful is the affair of the believer, for his affairs are all good, and this applies to no one but the believer. If something good happens to him, he is thankful for it and that is good for him. If something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience and that is good for him.” (Narrated by Muslim, 2999).

Faith enables us to bear fruit no matter what ground we’re planted in, no matter what season it is: springtime or fall. For the energy comes from the inner treasure of faith, not from a salubrious external environment. The Muslim’s khayr (goodness) is not seasonal or conditional or time-bound.

The date-palm grows in the desert, in arid waterless lands. It promises nourishment, comfort and shade to the wearied desert dweller and the wayfarer. Its deep roots enable it to reach water that is not easily accessible. Its deep roots give it firmness, making it stand tall in the scorching barren desert under the blazing skies.

The date-palm grows in clumps, in community: life-giving oases in the wastelands. It marks the presence of water, beckoning the traveller and the seeker towards itself with hope and the glad tidings it exudes by its very existence. It is a place of refuge: energizing, revitalizing. In all this are traits of the believer. When Maryam (A.S) was in pain and distress, Allah gave her refuge, rest and comfort under the date-palm:

“And shake towards yourself the trunk of the date-palm it will let fall on you fresh, ripe dates.” (19:25)

It is the deep-rootedness that makes its branches reach higher up. Just like connection with your origin and essence, your history and genesis- that is, Allah who we come from- makes us mindful of our direction and purpose, fuels our journey onward and blesses us with spiritual elevation and moral uprightness. It is by looking back that we go forward. It is by being poised in the ethos of our existence (the fitrah) that we make the circle of life whole.

And at the apex of its journey, the highest point, the slender branchless trunk springs into a rich profusion and luxuriance of deep green leaves, at the core of which lies the hard-won prize, the fruit of labour: the date that is enriched with healthful, delectable sweetness: like the sweetness of eeman engendered over the long years of struggling in His way unifocally, with fear and with hope; and the sweetness of Allah’s Pleasure and reward that awaits us at the long journey’s end.

Quran Journey Series – Reflections on Quranic Verses: I

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

“And verily! This your religion (of Islamic Monotheism) is one religion, and I am your Lord, so keep your duty to Me. But they (men) have broken their religion among them into sects, each group rejoicing in its belief. So leave them in their error for a time.”

(Surah Mominoon, verses 52-54)

I was struck by these verses because Allah addresses the believers in a direct, intimate manner: ‘I am your Lord, so keep your duty to Me’, reminding us with extraordinary simplicity and stark clarity, of the truth writ large that we must acknowledge. The duty we owe to Him is to hold on to this Truth with steadfastness, and live it out in our lives by submitting ourselves to His will.

The verses present a link between Unity of the Creator which is the essence and pivot of Islam, and the unity of humankind. It presents the universality of the truth embodied in Islam. The vision here is of oneness, singleness, wholeness and harmony: that there is a single truth, not versions of it. The Truth has no plurality. It is universal, unchanging, unvarying, absolute. All else which is not the truth is a deviation, corruption, distortion.

It is this deviation from the truth that splinters us into sects, denominations, cults and groups. This splintering up is a distancing from the truth and an alienation from the source of the truth, i.e Allah. The healing and harmonizing comes from an acknowledgement of and submission to that truth with our hearts and souls. It is reaching this truth that liberates us from misguidance, doubt, falsehood, discord and conflict.
An important insight is that the call of Islam is addressed universally and the truth it presents is forever and for all. The vision of Islam and the ideal it presents is the unity of all mankind through faith.
The fact that there is only a single universal truth (not truths), helps us understand that all faiths carry that same essence and hence share common origins. It is the corruption and distortion over the ages that smothers the truth that lies undiscovered at the heart, and creates difference. It is by reaching for that pristine essence within that we reach Unity, and that is where we come to rest:

“Say O People of the Book! Come to that which is common between us and you: that we worship none but Allah and we associate no partners with Him.”

Islam preserves in itself the pristine truth. When by honest inquiry and sincere search one removes the theological trappings that gathered over the ages, one is left with the marrow of it, the very heart: the Truth, and nothing but… this is the truth succinctly echoing in ‘La ilaha il Allah’.

To me, these verses are a powerful condemnation of sectarian tendencies that use religious difference to divide and hate. They expose sectarianism as a grotesque travesty, a betrayal and a going astray. Theological and juristic debate which intensifies difference, highlights it and uses it to divide human beings must be rejected as it violates the core message of Islam: the unity of mankind through the Unity of God, to which the heart of man testifies, and which is engraved in the heart of the universe.

It also teaches tolerance and keeps us from judgement of others in matters of faith, as the best judgement lies with Allah. While we acknowledge and proclaim the message of Islam as a universal call, we do not impose or coerce or hurt or unfairly judge in case of denial; against the animosity of those who reject and hate the truth, we take comfort in the fact that all is within the all seeing Eye of Allah, and He is the Best Judge between us.