Tag: Islam

Quran Journey Series: Reflections on the Quran Verses – V

greedIn 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

BlindfollowingIn 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

heavens

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

datepalmIn 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

QuranJourneyIn 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.

Woolwich and the Muslim Response

Woolwich murder suspectThe murder in Woolwich has shocked everyone, no one was prepared for such a killing on the streets of the UK.  The response has been of disgust and condemnation.  This incident has raised some questions that politicians and the mainstream media have conveniently dodged.   I am disgusted and appalled by what has taken place, but why should I have to apologise for such a crime, it had nothing to do with me.

Why is it that Muslims and Muslim organisations are expected to apologise for actions of two individuals?  Why is it that Muslim organisations do not even need to be prompted to condemn; they are readily condemning actions that have nothing to do with them.  There has been no attempt by Muslim organisations to discuss the causes of the attack, no attempt to question the mainstream media narrative that imposes labels on Muslims.

 I was born and brought up in a majority Muslim area of Birmingham.  I have travelled the country and the world.  I have come across thousands of Muslims, spoken, debated and challenged opinions.  Radicalisation is not a religious problem, it is a problem of society, and specifically, in this case, British society.

Muslim leaders have been scared into silence.  Prevent officers visiting mosques and community leaders frighten them.  They are told that if Muslims display any political opinions outside the mainstream then they are extremists, that if they do not inform on them, that their bank accounts can be frozen, mosques closed and they could face prison.   Muslims are afraid.  Muslim organisations and leaders are subservient to the state, scared to mention foreign policy as a radicalising factor just in case they are harangued for justifying the murder.  It has got to such a state that we do not even realise that our minds have been conditioned through years of media misrepresentation and widespread Islamophobia.  Questioning the reason for a murder does not mean condoning or justifying it.  Condemning something that has nothing to do with you feeds into the narrative that this is a Muslim problem, that this is something that the Muslim community are responsible for, at least in part.

In turn so-called Muslim leaders stifled debate and discussion in mosques, too afraid to discuss anything political.  For too long they have played a subservient role to the state, asking for a seat at the table and hoping for crumbs to be passed to them.  I have not met a Muslim that has condoned the actions in Woolwich, but let’s not ignore what radicalises.  British foreign policy radicalises, double standards radicalise, making Muslim youngsters feel like their opinions are not legitimate radicalises, stifling debate and discussion radicalises, not giving people a conduit to vent their opinions and frustrations radicalises, a lack of identity in Britain radicalises, we are either extremists or moderates.

We are told that Muslims are equal citizens in this country but the reality is something very different.  If we say we don’t drink, we are labelled anti-social or not willing to integrate, if we drink we are labelled moderate, if a Muslim wears a hijab, she is oppressed, if she doesn’t she is liberated, if we express an opinion outside of the mainstream narrative, we are angry, if we join a mainstream political party we are passionate, if we sing the praises of the British establishment we are liberals, if we object to foreign policy we are extremists or Islamists.  I for one am fed up of this apologetic and subservient tone.  I have nothing to apologise for, I should not be asked to condemn the actions of two men that had nothing to do with me just as a white man should not be asked to condemn the murders committed by Anders Brevik or for the violent actions of the English Defence League.

Have Muslims not proved their worth to this country?  Muslims have bled for this country during WWI and WWII, they have fought for Empire, they have served as colonial subjects, they have waved the flags, sang the anthems and anglicised their names –Mo and Ed.  But still we are not accepted; we still hear ‘Muslim appearance’ in the mainstream media, which basically means non-white, not one of us.

I am privileged, I went to university, I had an abundance of left-wing white friends that never questioned my opinions because of my religion or ethnicity, that accepted me as an equal, and made me feel that I had a place in society, we shared our politics as well as our battles.

My parents still fear that I will be arrested for writing and expressing an opinion as a journalist.  I have been inundated with calls since the attack from Muslims that are afraid of a backlash, one even asked me if there would be ethnic cleansing.  I told them not to be afraid because I had faith in the British people to see through the fog that politicians and mainstream media perpetuate.

Why is it that Joe Glenton can say that foreign policy is a radicalising factor but our so-called Muslim leaders tiptoe around the issue?  Why is it that George Eaton can say that Muslims should not have to distance themselves from the attacks, but our so-called leaders are falling over themselves to do it?  Why is it that Glenn Greenwald can question whether the attack is terrorism, but my fellow brothers and sisters are afraid to do the same?

I was born here, I am British, I am standing in the tradition that says that my opinion is just as valid as anyone else’s, that I have a right to object to the hypocritical treatment vented out to Muslims without being accused of condoning or justifying such attacks.   There are Muslims that will disagree with me, that is fine, we must understand that we are not a homogenous group, Anjum Choudry and his motley crew do not represent me, neither do the Muslim Council of Britain with their 400 affiliated mosques run by old men in committees.   Unfortunately non-Muslims in the public sphere represent my views more than our so-called Muslim leaders.

To be ‘leaders’, senior Muslim figures must lead.  Whilst politicians and the media carry on scapegoating Muslims, a true community leadership must face up to the reality of foreign policy and suppression of Muslim communities over the last decade, and call it out for what it is.

Courtesy:  AssedBaig.com

My Response to Inaccuracies About Islam in ‘The Hindu’ Article

laurenbooth_profileThis is my response to an article on The Hindu which has several inaccuracies about Islam.”Dear Editor of The Hindu,
In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficient the Most Merciful,As a Muslim convert featured in your article, I would like to request an explanation for several statements which appeared alongside my photo;In your editorial, on UK converts to Islam, you claimed that ; ‘Most converts were particularly critical of the concept of Sharia Council or courts operating in Britain, seeing them as a threat to women’s rights.’

In response, I refer you to the following substantive report issued in 2011 by Faith Matters. The first section of the Faith Matters report clearly states; ‘The majority of converts feel that there is no natural conflict between being a devour Muslim and living in the UK’. Also, ‘The vast majority of women changed their appearance after conversion with a significant majority adopting the hijab (either straight away or after some time)’. These findings are at odds with your spurious claim that ‘we’, as converts to Islam, fear our new faith and reject Sharia-based concepts. I have never met a convert to Islam to state such a thing and would request the basis on which you make such a statement.

At the start of your article you also make this claim ;..‘the fact is that Muslim women are more vulnerable to misogyny and cultural prejudices of their menfolk than women of any other faith. The more “Islamic” a society, the fewer individual freedoms its women enjoy’.The Quran remains the only scripture to categorically and comprehensively assert a wide ranging and comprehensive series of protections for women in relation to property, inheritance, marriage and divorce.In the area of economic rights, we have to remember that in Europe until the 19th century, women did not have the right to own their own property. When they were married, either it would transfer to the husband or she would not be able to dispense of it without permission of her husband. More than 1300 years earlier, that right was clearly established in Islamic law.

“Whatever men earn, they have a share of that and whatever women earn, they have a share in that.” [Noble Quran 4:32]Please note the word ‘earn’ here clearly denoting a woman’s right to employment.
By definition, in a truly Islamic society, there must be women physicians, women nurses, women teachers, because it’s preferable also to separate teenagers in the volatile years in high school education. And if she chooses to work, or if she’s married with the consent of her husband, she’s entitled to equal pay, not for equal work, but for work of equal worth.At the time of marriage, it is the duty of the husband, not the bride’s family, to pay for a marital gift. The Quran called it a gift, and it is exclusively the right of the woman. If the woman happened to own any property prior to marriage, she retains that property after marriage. It remains under her control.As far as treatment of daughters is concerned, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Anyone who has two daughters, and did not bury them, did not insult them and brought them up properly, he and I will be like this,” holding his two fingers close together. Another version adds, “And also did not favor his sons over daughters.”

For many more Quranic examples of women’s rights please follow the relevant link below from Islamswomen.com.

It is necessary, as you have chosen to falsely assert that Muslim women suffer more misogyny ‘than women of any other faith’ to point out a series of online reports into Hinduism.

Lipika Sharma states in her academic piece; ‘Since time immemorial the framing of all laws (Hinduism) have been exclusively for the benefit of man, and woman has been treated as subservient. the Hindo Succession Act of 1956 is one of the living examples of the fact that laws are Patriarchal in nature.’

Whilst, the following research article of 2012 which appeared in the New England Journal of International and Comparative Law found;

‘The status of women in India is both poignant and paradoxical. There exists a wide chasm between the de facto and de jure position of women. From cradle to grave, the violence, abuse, and exploitation that girls and women encounter, both in the private and public realms, remain unparalleled and largely unaddressed. The reasons are multifaceted. The age old feudalistic and patriarchal underpinnings of the Indian societal, communal, and familial life have been the primordial causes for this subordinate and secondary status, as women within this framework are viewed as property of men’. 

In an especially disturbing article a young, female, Indian writer goes into detail about traditional Brahmic and Hindu teachings about such horrors as ‘wife burning’ ‘bride burning’ and the slaughter of baby girls.

‘BRIDE-BURNING 
…The extent of bride-burning is astonishing. ” Government figures show that at least 7300 women were killed by their in-laws in the first nine months of 1995 for bringing inadequate dowries.” [ 2 Men ] This custom of dowry has divine sanction, since the Ramayana explicitly mentions that Sita brought a huge dowry for Rama. Worse still is the custom of consuming the flesh of the burnt brides according to the Vedic `purushamedha’. After the helpless brides are burnt alive, their bodies are cooked as if they were some animal and their flesh consumed by the pious Hindu family of the bridegroom. In addition to destroying evidence of any crime, the pious Hindus also `gain merit’ by performing the `holy’ Vedic purushamedha (human sacrifice). This custom, more than any other, reveals the beastly nature of the Hindu male’.

Now I wish to state very clearly that the articles I relate to here are merely part of a 20 minute online search. They should therefore in no way clearly be seen as a comprehensive summary of the role – or status- enjoined by Hindu teachings relating to women. I put them here merely to show how simple it is provide unknowing readers a limited – or even misleading – view of a faith.

Thus, Hasan Suroor’s assertion that Islam does not provide women with either protection or rights when compared with other faiths, can only be viewed two ways; either as poor research or as a deliberate attempt to present a false and negative image of Islam to your readers. I would like my photo removed from the said article. In the interests of good journalism I suggest you either remove or rewrite the incorrect sections.

If you need help in your research into Islam, I will be happy to put you in touch with several renowned scholars to assist in this matter.

I ask Allah to forgive any errors I have made in this and all matters and All Praise is for Him alone.

Yours Sincerely,

Lauren Booth
Journalist and Broadcaster

The Quranic Concept of Truth and Journalism

“We need not be theologians to see that we have shifted responsibility for making the world interesting from God to the newspaperman.” (Daniel J Boorstin)

truth This article could have begun with an example of Yellow Journalism. A sensational headline bound to attract, opening lines to chill the spine, spicy factoids sugarcoated as facts, an agenda to shame the devil and shocking pictures as icing on th e cake. The only reason of opening it with this quote is to highlight what has become of journalism in present times. But to think better of it, surely the Quran must lay down guidelines for ethical reporting and that ought to form the preamble to this article. Although a list of Quranic principles which could serve as an ethical code of conduct for journalism could be exhaustive, there is one principle that is vital to any such list: Truth. It is to be kept in mind that the canvas on which this Quranic standard is boldly painted is God Consciousness, which is indeed the underlying principle governing all actions of a Muslim. Naturally, the implication of Divine accountability for all our actions must lead to a natural sense of self accountability.

O you who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God; and let every human being look to what he sends ahead for the morrow! And [once again]: Remain conscious of God, for God is fully aware of all that you do. (Quran, 59:18).

Truth is a concept that has been repeated in the Quran umpteen times to highlight its importance. Words like “Haq” and “Sidq” have been used repeatedly and all aspects of Truth have been expounded upon in various contexts. The Quranic notion of Truth is absolute, ultimate and definitive. Indeed one of the names of Allah is “Al-Haq”. The Word of Allah, the Quran, is an absolute truth, being a criterion to judge between the true and the false. The Messengers have been sent to guide to the Truth, validate and establish it. Believers are acceptors, upholders, adherents and supporters of the Truth. Truth has been likened to as the light while falsehood as the dark. Death, the Day of Judgment, the Hereafter, Paradise and Hell are expressed as being the ultimate Truths. Truth is, indeed one of the central themes of the Quran and thus one of the basic tenets of Islam.

Say: “The Truth has arrived and Falsehood neither creates anything new, nor restores anything.” (Quran,34:49)

Once Truth assumes the place of one of the guiding beacons in Islam, its role in an Islamic Society or amongst Muslims becomes doctrinal and it assumes the foremost place in the Islamic code of conduct. Thus, by application, accepting, professing, adhering, supporting, expressing, searching, spreading, upholding, validating, establishing, manifesting and revealing the Truth is part of the Muslim way of life and its manifesto. Linking up with reporting and journalism, Truth is the one fundamental principle that translates as the prime objective of journalism. Accurate, uncompromised and unaltered reporting of Truth with no strings attached.

And cover not Truth with falsehood, nor conceal the Truth when ye know (what it is). (Quran, 2:42)

“Why do you mix Truth with falsehood and conceal the truth while you know?”. (Quran, 3:71)

Truth has to be the scarlet thread of all reporting. In this era of information operations it is necessary to elevate reporting and free it from the shackles of the overall information strategy which tends to subjugate it to the role of a mere tool for the extension of a grader schema. This is only possible when the prime objective of reporting is the broadcast of Truth. News has to be authenticated before being broadcasted and the responsibility lies on the reporter to confirm the accuracy of a report before spreading undue fear or thrill. Confirming a report’s authenticity is necessary lest that report causes damage or unwarranted loss. Reporting should never be speculative or based on mere conjecture. A part of the truth or incomplete facts should not prompt to jump to conclusions or lead to fanciful thinking. However, it is to be kept in mind that the responsibility of communication of Truth does not rest with journalists or their kin alone. The overall system has to be tailored so that Truth can flourish and can be freely propagated.

O you who have attained to faith! Remain conscious of God, and [always] speak with a will to bring out [only] what is just and true. (Quran, 33:70).

Guesswork, spying, slander and backbiting are all vices to be avoided. No paparazzi spying on celebrities. No speculation on what someone might have done. No unfair means to make glitzy headlines. No debate on the meaning, constituents, form, nature and context of Truth, as what Truth means is clear. No indirect implications, subtle insinuations, hidden agendas, prejudices and ulterior motives. No incorrect, adulterated, partial and extra-contextual quoting from sources or references. No factoids, semi-truths or pseudo-truths and one sided coverage  No fear of repercussions, pressures of protagonists or antagonists.

When there comes to them a matter, be it of security or fear, they broadcast it; if they had referred it to the Messenger and to those in authority among them, those of them whose task it is to investigate would have known the matter.(Quran, 4:83).

O you who believe! if an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done. (Quran, 49:6).

For, most of them follow nothing but conjecture: [and,] behold, conjecture can never be a substitute for truth. Verily, God has full knowledge of all that they do. (Quran, 10:36).

O you who have attained to faith! Avoid most guesswork [about one another] for, behold, some of [such] guesswork is [in itself] a sin; and do not spy upon one another, and neither allow yourselves to speak ill of one another behind your backs….(Quran, 49:12).

Can you, then, hope that they will believe in what you are preaching – seeing that a good many of them were wont to listen to the word of God and then, after having understood it, to pervert it knowingly? (Quran, 2:75).

Truth is indispensable when it comes to reporting and journalism. Imagine an era of journalism where the golden principle of Truth as illustrated by the Quran form a code of conduct. Where media is free from its inherent evils because of adherence to the cardinals of Truth and honesty. Where no color can be ascribed to journalism signifying its ills. Where conscientious and conscious reporting is the norm and Truth is the only ulterior motive and hidden agenda and is clearly manifest. The hope for such an era is not Utopian, not in the least for Muslims.

And say: “Truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood perished: for Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish.” (Quran, 17:81)

Indeed, Mankind is in Utter Loss

AsrRisk is the greatest source of fear in our lives. Whenever we think about starting a business, we are mostly concerned about the risks of failure involved. A lot of strategies are formulated to mitigate the risks and threats to avoid loss and many a times business is not even started because of the risk of failure. While thinking about our careers and money etc, we calculate all the risks involved. But it’s unfortunate that we are complacent about our real profit and real loss; the sole purpose for which we are sent into this world.

Sura Asr (ch 103 Quran) is a short chapter in Holy Quran which tells us how to avoid the risk of failure in this life and hereafter. It chalks out a strategy for leading a successful life and avoiding what the Almighty calls ‘utter loss of mankind’.

By the time. Lo Mankind is in the state of loss. Except for  those who have faith and do righteous deeds, and counsel each other to hold on to truth and counsel each other to be steadfast. (Qur’an – 103)

Allah has sworn by time that it has testified that people are heading towards a total loss and chaos. This is the point of great concern, as our creator has certified that we are in loss. The word of Creator is very important because HE knows us (human beings) inside out to the depth of our cells and DNA. If HE has suggested something, it can’t be wrong.

Allah has given a four point strategy for everyone to follow for what . First and foremost is Faith which has the prime importance on the way of success. Without faith, a person cannot succeed in the eyes of Allah. Faith ties us in a bond and without such a  bond, we are free electrons which can be taken away by anything. Belief in Almighty is not something merely philosophical, it shapes the way of life. It defines the framework for our lives and the dos and don’ts we have to cater for in our personal life choices.

Virtuous deeds are tied up with faith. Mere faith is not enough for success. It shows that merely claiming to be a Muslim is not enough, unless and until a person coin his words into actions, therefore, righteous deeds are very significant. It’s a generic term which contains everything done for the betterment of humanity.

Sura Asar teaches us to develop a society which is based on propagation of virtues. Convincing each other about being righteous actually develops a peer pressure. A society where good deeds are easy and bad deeds are difficult. At the moment, we live in a society which is exactly the opposite of this.  So Islam impresses upon an integrated and clean social fabric and believers are told to counsel, advice, support and teach each other about the right path. It also shows that faithful are concerned about each other and help out to raise each other’s levels of Eiman (faith).  It generates a society based on co-operation instead of cut-throat competition.

Patience means persistence on virtous deeds.It means continuity of good deeds, patience to avoid bad deeds and steadfastness in the times of troubles that come as a package when following the righteous path. It means believers console each other in testing times. It also means patience and tolerance in general life. When dealing with other communities, Muslims need to show patience and tolerance which will help  them to propagate peace.

These four steps are mandatory and requisites for ultimate success.

Also, it determines the misconception that I will preach when I am perfect first. It asks muslims to tell each other about truth. Perfection is neither required nor expected, rather a continuous reminder is required.

These simple words defines the fabric of a Muslim society. In simple words this chapter tells us to give importance to ‘real’ success and failure in our life. No matter how much successful we consider ourselves in terms of money and social status, this chapter warns us that we are at loss if we are not on the pathway set for a believer.

What Does It Mean To Be Religious?

 

We all seem to have an image. An image of what a God-fearing and religious person looks like. That image may be founded on our experience with those whom we consider to be “religious” or at times based on what we imagine a pious person to be, created upon our reading from a particular book, novel or after having watched a video.

The fact of the matter is that despite of what we imagine and consider being a God-fearing person, there are, there will be and have always been some really outstanding and amazing God conscious people in almost every nook and corner of our planet. But, the most pious people on the planet do not go around boasting of how good they are, nor do they look down arrogantly upon others. It is their sincerity of work, humbleness in their achievements, and trust in God which really makes them superior to those who claim to be sincere, humble, and trust worthy yet act otherwise. It is however, strange that on a more general opinion, people assume that the more pious a person becomes, the less cheerful he gets and the more arrogant he appears to be. One should realize that a truly pious Muslim is the one who is more caring for his/her parents, takes good care of his/her neighbour, kind in treating the ones younger than him/her and respectful towards his/her elders. If this was not the kind of pious person you had in mind then you should know, that the person you have had a bad experience with and whom you thought was religious was in fact not a God-conscious person, at least not yet!

As an inspiration for all Muslims and even all non-Muslims, let us learn from the impeccable characteristics of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his companions. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was once recorded to have said:

“None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.” [Recorded in the Book Saheeh Bukhari]

Similarly, on another occasion the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said:

“He is not one of us who does not show tenderness to the young and who does not show respect to the elder.” [Recorded in the book Tirmidhi]

Allah says in the Qur’an: ““O people, surely we have created you from a male and female, and made you tribes and families that you might know one another. Indeed, the noblest of you with Allah is he who is best in conduct.” [Qur’an, 49:13]

And there are many more verses and sayings of the Prophet (pbuh) that prove the same point. Hence, a significant amount of Islamic literature deals with improving one’s character and dealings with not just other human beings but also with animals. The Prophet (Peace be upon him), told his companions of a woman who would be sent to Hell for having locked up a cat; not feeding it, nor even releasing it, so that it could feed itself. [Narrated by Abdullah bin ‘Umar (R.A.), Recorded in Saheeh Bukhari] Therefore, improving one’s good manners and characters is a possible sign of him trying to be more pious. However, Islam is not just about good manners. It’s about perfecting one’s prayer, removing any possible chance of showing off, standing up and speaking out against injustice, giving money to the needy and the under-privileged, in short, being closer to the creator of the universe, and doing all that one can to maintain and improve upon that closeness.

However, one important point of consideration is to make one’s intentions pure. One should not study so that other humans can praise him for his vastness in knowledge, not to give in charity so that others can praise him for his generosity and not to fight against injustice so that others can call him brave. As a matter of fact, such people shall be in loss on the Day of Judgment due to their misappropriate intentions. One should only do good deeds so that the Creator of the universe will reward him for that. This is precisely what it means to be good. To do good sincerely and with full devotion keeping in mind that the creator of the universe is well aware of his intentions and hence should be sincere and diligent in doing good deeds is indeed a success in itself. This is exactly why; the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) were world renowned for their incredible character and amazing patience. They did not do good deeds so that other human beings could praise them, but, because they wanted to thank God in any way they could. They did not do good deeds so that people would reward them with medals or prizes but because they wanted to be rewarded by God in this life and the life hereafter.

It was due to this blend of sincerity combined with devotion, patience, and authentic knowledge of the commands of the prophet (peace be upon him) and of God, which made Muslims unparalleled and outstanding. And, unless and until we adopt this amazing yet simple recipe for success in this life and the hereafter, we would still remain lost in the same mess where we find ourselves today.