Halal TubeTrue Islam and Fundamentalism
Hamza Yusuf
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There were some points which he made that I agreed with but a lot of points that I did not. First of all “extremism” is bad when it goes outside the bounds of the Shariah. But if you abide by the Sunnah then there is nothing wrong with worshipping Allah (swt) more and more. Why should you not fast one more day? Why should you read one more juz of Quran? Why should you not pray one more rakah at night. He made it sound like you should not do too much in your Din, for if you do then you are extreme. This is a very wrong thinking. Allah (swt) speaks in the Quran about the Sabiqoon. These are the ones who excel and strive in their worship of Allah (swt). According to “Shaykh” Hamza’s defintion they would be extemeists.
I also did not like him making the distinction between religion and politics. In Islam there is no such distinction. The State is very much a part of the Din because the Soverginty to legislate and rule is only for Allah (swt).
thank you, people seem to be running away from the din with more elaborate excuses these days
Zain, please be respectful, no need to put his title as “Shaykh”, he is simply Hamza Yusuf or Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, one or the other, but please lets all be respectful.
Secondly, you misunderstood his point. If your intention is to pray extra or fast extra for Nafl, then obviously, thats fine. However, even then, you’re not to overburden yourself. But when you begin adding things on, as if its a religious obligation, thats when you go down the wrong way. Don’t forget about those men who fasted and prayed so much that the Prophet (pbuh) warned against their behavior. Or those men who said they would stay celibate. The Prophet (pbuh) also rebuked them for that proposal. The point is that your deen is a moderate deen. You are to live and make change in the world, all the while keeping on the straight path — THAT IS HARD. It’s easier to sit in a room and pray nafl after nafl.
How many are the ayahs in Quran where Allah (swt) tells us to strive and struggle to the best of our ability to go to the Garden? To compete with each other and to race with each other for the Pleasure of Allah (swt)?
This ayahs alltell us to do more and more to please Allah (swt). No I am not saying that you have to only fast every day or only pray every night. There is so much more than you can do for the Din. You can learn Arabic, you can study Quran, you can teach others, you can volunteer in your community.
My point is that the way of the Prophet (saw) and the Sahabah was not the way of “moderation”. I do not know where even such a word came from, it is not from Quran and Sunnah.
The hadith you mention are extremes that the Prophet (saw) never did. But the Prophet (saw) did work tirelessly for the propagation of this Din. Do you think that he (saw) would be able to do what he (saw) if he (saw) took it easy or he (saw) was “moderate” in his efforts. Just relaxing and taking it easy. That is the sense I got from our friend Hamza Yusuf.
True scholars deserve our respect. Not pretenders who are speaking poison.
asalamualaykum
i just want to say that yes you have opinions, youre more than in your right to express them. but i find it difficult to swallow that you will quote from the texts to back your point IN ORDER to belittle another person. is that from the quran and sunnah too? accusation? belittlement? how do you determine a true scholar, isnt it Allahs and only Allahs to judge whats in peoples intentions? you dont like it then dont listen to it. come/listen/read soemthing with the intention to learn and better yourself, to please your Lord. not to look for faults. i say this because i visit this site regularly. and i think its an insult to the administrators who have provided this excellent service when people use it as an opportunity to spread hate. its happening a lot on this site. when we could be discussing the actual topic, sharing ideas, and simply jus remembering Allah by saying mashallah and thank you to the people who work hard to provide this for us. i dont want the brothers to feel im having a go at them. i really do think its a serious problem.
ABD RAHMAN
first thing show respect to shaykh hamza yusuf and have some adab and call him shaykh not friend i am sick of people talking about shaykh hamza yusuf. what have u done for the deen shaykh hamza yusuf may allah preserve him for this ummah elavate his ranks i know heaps of people who have made tawba and converted after they have listen to shaykh hamza yusuf so pls brother have some adab if u do not agree with the shaykh keep silent.whallah brother anyone who talk about true scholars are only harming them selves shaykh hamza yusuf works speaks for its self and i belive allah has chosen shaykh hamza yusuf for this ummah since 9-11 muslim have been speaking bad things and even calling him a kafir but allah is just raising him up so brother im saying this to me first lets look at our faults first before we speak about
Assalaamu alaikum,
Our Din is one of Moderation, We are an Ummah characterized by “Wassat”. The Middle path has been prescribed for us by Allah(swt) and his beloved Habib Muhammad(sas). Shaykh Hamza was merely stating the same in this lecture. May Allah(swt) increase Shaykh Hamza’s enviers :).
May Allah(swt) protect the Ummah of Rasulallah(sas)!
SomeGuy -> I have nothing against Hamza Yusuf as a person. My intention is not to belittle him or to attack him. But what I have a problem with is the ideas that he calls for. If someone calls himself a scholar and speaks on behalf of the Prophet (saw) but brings ideas that contradict the Quran and Sunnah, then should we just remain silent? Are you saying that we should never find fault with the scholars? If he comes tommorow and says that zina is permissible and riba is permissible should we still remain silent? If you listen to the lecture again you will see that he did his share of criticizing other Muslims. Why is it ok if he does it but when I do it you blame me? Yes we should all seek to please Allah (swt) but part of plesaing Him (swt) is defending His Din from lies and distortions.
mohamed-> Just because some people have come closer to the Din because of listening to Hamza Yusuf does not make everything that he says correct. Since he has put himself in a position of speaking for the Ummah we have to evaluate everything that he says. Now I agree that he does speak some good and I agree with him on that, but he also speaks some wrong and I think we should correct him for that. Before he misguides himself and others. You are saying that Allah (swt) is “raising” him. How do you know that? Can you speak for Allah (swt)? I think Allah (swt) is more pleased with the true scholars who speak the truth, but you do not know these scholars because they are in jail or they are dead. They are not enjoying the good like in warm California like our friend. Look at the histroy of our Ummah and you will see that all the true scholars were not popular with the government and the elite, our friend is very popular with them. They love him because he helps them to maintain the status quo where the Ummah is oppressed and they are in power.
Zakariyya-> Go to this website and read the tafsir of ayah 144 in Surah Baqarah to see the meaning of Ummah “Wassat”.
quran-tafsir.org
Sidi Abd Rahman you are full of…….actually on 2nd thoughts Im not gonna anything more
May Allah bless the knowledgeable Sheikh Hamza and all the other Sheikh and Mashaikhs of our great Ummah and bless them abundantly in this life and the hereafter….Ameen
All we need to do to unite is for all of us to read and apply the lessons and wisdoms of our pole and guiding light and the most eminent “proof of Islam” Imam Al Ghazali (RA). Please take some time out to read some of his Ihya Ulum al Din (or listen to some lessons from it by knowledgeable sheikhs i.e Abdal Hakim Murad)
He wasn’t given the name “Proof of Islam” for nothing you know.
Brother
i hope you didnt take offence from what i said, if thats the case then i apologise. my point isnt on criticising scholars, but the manner in which we go about it. language is powerful, and you know and i know it isnt all well and good the way this particular scholar has been targeted. prison? dead? true scholars? lets keep it knowledge based, not political. the worth of a scholar isnt weighed in his heroic, romantic image. all in all, i hope you will accept that there are people who find these kind of comments offensive, and at the very least uncomfortable.
ameen to ur dua AH
abdul rahman – shaykh hamza yusuf always talks about the goverment that they are wrong or u havent listen to his talks we he says that
abdul rahman
so to be a true scholar u have to be in jail or dead were do u want shaykh hamza to live the shaykh lives in californa so duz that mean he is living the good life the scholars in the middle east only speak good of shaykh hamza yusuf and the west may allah protectshaykh hamza yusuf from the envy people and elavate his ranks and protect his family i got a friend who visited shaykh hamza at his house and he told me he is living the most simply life and you got guys who want to put they 2 cent worth if u got anything to say to shaykh hamza you go and speak to him ur self and correct him as i said before he isnt a friend he is a shaykh so show respect for the awlia of allah
AH – were r u from i really like the way u think we really think alike u got a email adress
Salam everyone,
Insha Allah I have nothing against any of you and I hope you have nothing against me as well. You are all my brothers and sisters and I love you and I would give my life for you.
I think we are getting a bit side tracked here. Instead of focusing of the speaker let us focus on the issues.
I think there is one central issue here and that is can the Muslims accept the world as it is today or should we be working for a change? If it is the latter then how do we bring this change? Should we not seek to establish the Law of Allah (swt) on the earth? The Capliphate. Can we not agree that the Caliphate is required to implement so many of the laws in Quran and Sunnah and so its establishment is one of the most pressing of concerns for Muslims today?
My problem with the speaker of this lecture is that he has been known for speaking against this effort and from discouraging Muslims from joining this effort. He even implied it in this lecture when he speaks of “modertaion” and he says that Islam is “not political”. For those of you who are supporting him, how do you respond to that? Do you agree that Islam is not political? Do you think that we should not work for the Caliphate today?
Salam
i want to say from the outset that no, i dont think we should work for the caliphate. and no islam is not political. just so we’re clear inshallah.
apply the law of allah on yourself, ourselves. the early generations were developed into outstanding characters. as individuals. as family members. community members. this was not based on their political, even intellectual prowess. but rather it was in piety, manners, devotion, fear and love of Allah. after the Prophets death, did anyone clamour for the caliphate? did abu bakr campaign? was their a movement? people were in an islamic sense of being, through their devotion. not through rules, regulations, constitutions. seriously you want an islamic state when muslims don’t even have manners any more? fine get involved in politics, take your islamic principles to politics, but don’t think that it in itself is an islamic duty. bottom line is take guidance, do’nt implement, or rather force, this on others. whats the proof? that’s what i think, please feel free to comment inshallah.
Salam,
You want proof….
1) The Prophet (saw) established an Islamic State in Madinah. He (saw) had politcal authority. Abu Bakr (ra) and Umar (ra) followed him (saw) in this. Do you deny this?
2) Allah (swt) is only one who can legislate (see Quran 4:65, 12:40,5:44, 5:49, 5:50). These are just a few that I can think of now, but there are several others. Do you deny this?
3) There are also ayahs in the Quran telling us to do jihad against the disbelievers, to cut the hand of the theif, to punish the adulterer. How do we implent these without the Islamic State?
4)When the Prophet (saw) passed away the Sahabah (raa) delayed the burial of his body for 3 days because they first wanted to choose a successor. They considered the issue of the Islamic State and being under an Amir even more important than burying the Prophet (saw).
5) Is it not a duty for us to carry this Message to mankind? The Prophet (saw) and his succesors used the Islamic State to carry this Message. He (saw) would send emissaries to the other kingdoms inviting their rulers to accept Islam. If they refused then the Muslim armies would invade. When that land was opened and came under Islam that was when people became Muslim in large numbers. Not by compulsion but when they were under the politcal authority of Islam. Read your histroy, this is how Islam spread in the days of the Sahabah.
6) Is it not a duty upon us to help our brothers and sisters who are oppressed and suffering all over the world? What better way to help them than by restoring the Islamic State and sending its army against those who oppress them?
If you say that we should not work for a Caliphate then please respond to each and every one of these points.
Also listen to the Abu Bakr series by Anwar Awlaki which is also avaliable here on Halal Tube. Now there is a real scholar. One who is not afraid to speak the truth.
Also in addition to this is the hadith of the Prophet (saw) where he (saw) said that the one who does not give bayah to the Khalifah will die the death of Jahlliya.
Also check out this link for the opinons of some classical scholars on the issue of Caliphate…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate#The_sayings_of_Islamic_scholars
Please respond to each of these points I made Someguy
One must consult with the people of remembrance and knowledge, those truly inheriting the Prophetic example, to truly understand the din. The din speaks of people’s rights, but let us truly understand what the true din — the middle way, before our ignorance causes us to unknowingly harm ourselves. Ignornace is the cancer which bred all of these extremists.
Remember that (1) expecting the best from your Muslim brother is an obligation, (2) it is obligatory to respect the scholars, (3) the scholars are the inheritors of the Prophets, (4) “Whoever shows enmity to a friend of mine I am at war with him,” and (5) the merits of the Prophetic Family, as Allah has honored them above all people and has made them of the elect – may Allah show them all peace.
The scholars tells us that what our ummah needs is tassawuf, and the realization of “there is no power nor strength except in Allah,” what we do are simply means; and in the end we do not rely in our deeds but in Allah — as Prophet said, “La hawla wa la quwwatah billah is one of the treasures of jannah.” Or as Sidi Laughinglion’s signature says, “A feeling of discouragement when you slip up is a sure sign that you put your faith in deeds.”
If our anger is not for the sake of Allah, but for the nafs, and we get caught up in argumentation and debate and hatred for one another as Muslims then how are we going to bring good character to our lives? If we want true guidance we will leave our own opinions and stick to the opinions of our ‘ullema — al-Habib ‘Ali al-Jifri, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Nuh Keller, Mufti ‘Ali Jum’uah, Shk Jamal Badawi, Shk Muhammad Yaqubi, Shaykh ‘Abdullah Bin Bayyah, have all made clear the position of the true -traditional- Islam on many issues and all who know them know their state with Allah. I do not accuse them of hiding anything of our din.
Our din says not to pray for your enemies and for non-Muslims is jealousy. It says to love the good for non-Muslims and seek the good for them as a lover should. It says to work together with them for good. It does state not to stand for injustice, as Habib ‘Ali and Shaykh Hamza pointed out in the recent Radical Middle Way gathering in the UK — and the ‘ullema have condemned the Iraq war since its inception, etc. But our din also prohibits suicide terrorism, killing of civilans, and this “us,” and “them,” mentality.
As the ‘ullema stated, the people we live with are our neighbors and they deserve the respect and rights of our neighbors in Islam. Let us be shining lights of the Prophetic example and treat people with love and compassion and we will make people if not guided to Islam then at least respectul of it. If you hate the West so much then move to a Muslim country, as our scholars have stated.
A good video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYQu1…d%2Eco%2Euk%2F
Let us refrain from our own opinions about the din unless we hear them from scholars. This sinner is the worst in that regard so I ask you all to pray for me and forgive me for my faults. But this is Islam, lets not waste our time in that which does not concern us.
Du’a is the weapon of the believer, and more than any other means it will cause this ummah to be given less of the justice which Allah is currently showing us (actually he is being merciful to us) for our sins. Habib ‘Umar prayed hours of du’a with the murids of the Ba’Alawis before the Iraq war for hours and hours — as Shaykh ‘Abd al-Karim Yahya once told me in a SunniPath course; and he stated after words that if they would have never made those du’as the war would have been alot worse.
How many of us, myself included was staghfirallah, are making so many du’as? You are helping the ummah which each one you make. But in the end only Allah’s will will happen — and as some scholars state, “If you knew the unseen you would ask for nothing to happen except that which happened,” as the Prophet affirmed, “The punishment of my ummah is in its dunya.”
All of the injustices, oppressions, and hardships which are happening to Muslims around the world are immense hardship and trouble and hurt our hearts and we should make du’a for them to be removed and try to vote for people who will help stop them (or even oppressions against non-Muslims, such as the American poor) as Shaykh ‘Abdullah bin Bayyah stated. However, in the very end this is a manifestation of Allah’s jalal (awe) and is his mercy on this ummah. These calamities are forgiving our sins and raising our state if we have patience. We should be thankful for Allah for sending us these calamities, even though this is a hard state, but we should ask Allah to quit sending them and give us ‘afiyah; as this is what Rausl Allah told us to ask for.
Sidi Mohamed – drop me a line at abdulhaque4@aol.com if you want to talk traditional Islam.
Trust me guys – just take the time to listen to Sheikh Hamza and inshallah you will feel the baraka of his wisdom. He really is one of the most engaging Sheikh’s you will come across, esp for Western audiences.
Read about him and try and reach his level before dropping a disparaging comment.
Salaam,
I would like to thank Brother Ah for his mention of
Proof of Islam- Imam Al Ghazali (R.a)and the related works. May Allah s.w.t bless your kindness for taking the time, insyaAllah. Ameen.
I am looking for reading materials to understand Islam further.The scholar above was mentioned as a good reference point for a new brother to our faith, my husband. Thus, I had decided to google the scholar. I made a mistake of reading the reviews before listening as I was hoping for a summary or a gist of the lectures’ contents.
What I found saddened me. I began to pre-empt my husband’s reaction to this exchange and was of two minds to share the lectures by the above scholar at all just a moment ago.
A very human and non-Islam-Like reaction, I must say.
To assume he would think like me, be affected the same way and generate the same opinions on the above exchange was presumptous of me.
I am glad I paused to ask Allah s.w.t for help with my next course of action. I would leave it to him to make his own decisions on the lectures, to have his own personal take-aways on the issues presented and to read or not to read the reviews. He is his own man and his love for Islam will grow as he opens himself up to it to see its simple and straight forward teaching and experiences its way of life.
I do pray that he takes away the good that he can apply and leave parts that made him doubtful, alone. To wait and learn more from different other scholars too and draw a conclusion on his own, with Allah s.w.t ‘s guidance. InsyaAllah, he will, in this manner of learning, grow into a true servant of Allah s.w.t.
I will do the same myself too. I wondered earlier, if saddness was all I can take away from the exchange above. I was grateful to be made to realise that there were many lessons to be learnt here. Understanding and acceptance, not just tolerance, of views of all morally upright beings may still differ, perspectives of moderation from specific cultures and traditions, the gift of importance of being unassuming and the ability of giving everyone else the benefit of the doubt, something I grapple with to this day, even as a born muslim.
The exchange above has also serves as anecdotal evidence to the hadiths I have just come in touch with. It is a struggle to emulate the beloved prophet s.a.w, to work towards being a “quran walking” but I will not give up trying and learning how to.For that, I give genuine thanks to all involved.
I tell myself not be angry about this “foiling” of my attempt to achieve my personal motive and agenda, which was providing ample material of learning for the new brother. I stopped myself because as I have just learnt and understood, the angriest among us, is also the weakest for her inability to see the bigger picture. These knowledgeable reviewers, as seen from your quotes and supporting evidence, come from varied racial and cultural backgrounds, there is no wonder they differ in opinion and practice.
I also try to check myself when I felt an urge to comment on anything negatively because I know it is best to hold my tongue, one of the two vilest part of me which is hollow and weak, when nothing positive will come out of what I say. If I know my tone, content and questions will cause hurt and/ or humuliation, harm or cause strife and even give rise to slander, why speak at all? I asked myself.
We were taught to listen with both ears and hold that one tongue, we were taught to think critically upon any issue even if it came from the mouth of the prophet s.a.w himself. We were taught to be informed and learned followers of Islam. Also, that even if we truly believe that we are right on an issue in any arguement, that we walk away and stay silent.
The only proving we need to do or the only one we need to answer to is Allah s.w.t. whether with regards to our knowledge of the religion and therefore application of and/or our piety to Him.
Please forgive me for not quoting correctly. I paraphrasing instead as it was content that I was drawn to and I will learn, God willing, to quote correctly with practice.
Well, looking back into myself, I have not really applied the last one- keep silent and walk away. I still had to air my thoughts, the tongue is truly hollow.
Thess lectures were not about me and/or my belief system or misgivings or opinions. It was about helping my husband learn to love a religion he is just getting to know. And as I have learnt from it,as I reflected earlier, in a turn of events and he shall take from it what he needs to too, Insya Allah.
I wish all brothers or sisters in Islam well.That we maintain a state of Allah s.w.t-consciousness constantly,(I pray to be so busy trying to spot and correct the faults of my heart, mind, and my “roh” that I would not have time to stop and write these long reflections with regards to everyone else..).
I pray we continue to help those nearest and closest to us in their suffering. I pray we enlighten ourselves with new learning and also new experiences to reinforce the old.
May all of us be loved by the Almighty for our determination to be pious and righteous. May He have mercy on us and forgive us for our trespasses upon His other creations, Man or otherwise.
May those we trespass against have mercy on us too.May those who trespass against us have our mercy too.
Of this I ask Allah s.w.t, most heartily for.I ask Allah s.w.t. to strengthen us so that we are strong enough to weaken our hearts and allow mercy and love to flow through its hard binds. I ask of this most because to be deemed merciless or without mercy by Allah s.w.t is to be placed among and/or considered as the Wretched.
He who has no mercy or love for a brother,(or a sister too I am inclined to believe) has no faith. When I read that line, I have paraphrased it of course, I shuddered. I shuddered because I realised its importance to being a true servant of Allah s.w.t and that no amount of good I do can make up for my lack of mercy towards others, regardless of race, language or religion.
Allah s.w.t has taught us to walk away. I want to be able to do it in a non-literal sense too, with complete sincerity. Insya Allah, one day I will.
The prophet s.a.w. was warned against harming property, means of living, children, women, the old, the sick even in war. And that too, in wars of retaliation and taking back what was rightfully owed to them. As far as what I have read so far, he could not even kill his prisoners of war – a right of any winning power then. In fact, the only time he had harmed God’s creation was when he actually had to cut down palm to force a certain group out of their refuge. Only to honour the terms of a treaty broken by them. In fact, he let them take what they had with them and told them to leave.
They turned against him later on anyway, but he continued behaving in this kindly manner towards all. In a battle where his cheek was cut, and he actually uttered his call for revenge for his uncle’s death, Allah s.w.t sent down a revelation for this.
Islam spread as widely as it did much so through its logic and its sense. The political structure built was to aid this. The call for democracy was to aid this. Political structure allows for clear careful decision making to take process. No violence becomes necessary as there is no fear nor uncertainty of what to do next when faced with a situation as all of it has been addressed in the Quran. No oppressor will succeed.
So no matter how right we are or even if the truth or justice points itself in our favour, we are suppose to look at Heart, Faith and Love for Allah’s creations and in all kindness, gentleness and sincerity, forgive and show mercy.
We are told to help the oppressor by stopping him from oppressing or attempting to oppress. These seeds of misplaced hate, half-truths and fear are sown slowly and quietly, regardless they are deadly.
We cannot use Islam to stregthen our weak and evil intent to destroy and cause harm. We cannot allow others to do it either.
This is where we speak, we speak plainly and clearly against any call for destruction when it is made, regardless on who and by whom. The caller for any destruction, is the Oppressor, and Allah s.w.t. has taught us to speak against him and prevent him from further oppression.
How does oppressing one nation emacipate another? Islam religion is of freedom of self and then with a unified number of “self”, it creates a nation of peace and love, speaking directly to Allah s.w.t The method of force to attain submission is one based on culture and tradition of long ago, when the land was still fought based on might and will. With Islam, treaties and contracts were honoured right till the end. And even when justice was served, it pleased Allah s.w.t. when kindness was displayed on top of it.
When we see oppression or seedlings of it, we will speak, with humility and love for the religion.we do not use it as an excuse to retaliate in the same manner. We do not call for revenge. We call for justice, but we do not serve it. Allah s.w.t. does. We pray and make a truthful, and morally upright personal effort to see that the true are not harmed. If justice is not served here, we pray that it is, in the hereafter. We wait patiently for that day to pray while we still serve our purpose on earth till our end.
I speak plainly, in no way has Allah s.w.t. guided us towards subjugating others into becoming muslims and turning any nation into a religious state.
We have never travelled far and wide to come upon a people and destroyed them. We have never been taught to harm, kill, mock, ridicule, scare or starve civilians and damage property of others, in the name of Innocence and Truth= Islam.
Islam means submission and peace. To submit, I am slowly learning, not just literally, through our acts of prayer and other physical acts. To submit from within, to Allah’s decision and to have control of self to make a righteous choice, not self-righteous one, to walk away silently, with no word or expression of anger.
It takes a greater man or woman to walk away with intent of prevent strife. He or she, InsyaAllah, will be praised,as I have learnt so far and that is what I pray I will be able to do when faced with a situation that I feel needs rectification or even when it is clear that a person that needs admonishment.
It is not my place to judge and humiliate another of Allah’s creation, even if his mistake against me or those dear to me, is blatant.I am also just the same as he. What puts me ahead is my piety,and that, only Allah s.w.t will be the judge of.
It is a blessing for those touched by Islam in some way to embrace it, and even for that, it has been decreed way before our existence. It is something so perfect, this political structure, that when put into proper practice, with clear righteous intent, it will help a nation prosper.
However, the question is, Are Muslims today to take it upon themselves to force others into “submission”= Islam out of fear,dread and doom?
The answer is NO.
It is not our place,
nor our right
nor our calling, not now.
Not from the beginning of time.
Not ever were we told to force Islam on others.
We share it, create an awareness of it by example and we do the above, as best we can.
All through our efforts we pray for Allah s.w.t to open their hearts.
And then we reda’ and tawakal.
When we fail to stand up and speak for our religion in a civilised manner, we fail our religion because we fail to model how it was taught to us by our Rabb.
Allah s.w.t. gave us three things for the attainment of Jannah. The quran, claer cut guide to Jannah, no expiration date. A clear and unbiased application of its words into acts of Good, will bring peace within each individual. The sunnah of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w, who was often refered to times as the Beloved, who we should fashion ourselves after internally and in his daily life and the pillars that teach us discipline and respect for self and others.
Why we look for the nuances that appear maybe twice in the Quran as a call to act aggressively and use force to develop an understanding and acceptance of Peace/Islam is others, is beyond me.
It is the saddest excuse to cause harm upon others. We are blessed to be Muslims but does it make it our right to think that we can slaughter civilians to force the remaining survivors into conversion or submission and setting up a Muslim Caliphate?
Allah s.w.t gave everyone freewill but we do not seem to have enough will power to hold back and not act rashly, in the evil guise of Right, cause harm and destruction to the rest of Allah’s creations.
We do not have enough to hold back. It is so much easier to be on the offensive, to trundle in, to push, shove and bully, to shout and thump our chests and scare others with our might. Bullies are cowards. Bullying back is cowardly. We are to atand humble in humility and put our fate in Allah s.w.t. As Muslims, we are to choose that path, the path of greater resistance and restraint.
Why we ignore the Three big neon signs blinking right before us, pointing to Jannah, through the setting of good examples, through the flawless book we were so blessed to receive, through consistently performing acts of control and discipline of the mind and body.
We all suffer from this ailment – The Disease of the Flesh- we are proned to be trapped in our jasad, it acting as a restraint. That is why we find it so difficult to look at our flaws but have made an art of magnifying what we feel are the flaws of others.
Our Jasad that breeds this Disease, stops us from freeing ourselves from the shackles of pride, vanity, self-righteousness, greed, malice, envy, fear, anger and hate.
We cannot reach for a purer soul or roh if we remain shackled to these restraints that constantly pulls us back down to act like the dirt we are made of. Our roh will never be free and above these evils if we keep looking without. Instead we should look within. Often times we do not, because we do not like what we see.
I constantly remind myself to be careful with my thoughts, words and any new found knowledge or any old knowledge. I tell myself- my knowledge I beget not on my own and not without Allah’s will.
I want to never use what I know to appear more knowledgeable thus powerful, or to put others down or to embarrass them because they have done wrong and thus I will be the one to right it. I have no right to right it.
My right is prayer, where I get personal time with Allah s.w.t. My right is performing good acts,giving, saying words, kind words, my smile, my ear, my shoulder.
These are what I want to compete, in a friendly manner with my fellow muslims for the outcome of it , with sincere intent, will always be good and will benefit all, Insya Allah.
Even then, I cannot expect Allah s.w.t. to grant me salvation, even through my own realisation of my sins and my regret for these sins and my search for forgiveness and mercy from those I have harmed. I can pray that the Almighty does, after I have given effort, and the rest is up to him.
If the above does not necessarily secure Jannah, as only Allah s.w.t knows best,I cannot comprehend how doing harm, acting by force, causing strife and distrupting the balance in Nature that Allah s.w.t. had created so delicately and awesomely, for the sake of our beliefs, no matter how true, will bring Jannah.
Still I will constantly strive with my learning, while I seek forgiveness, through my calls upon Allah s.w.t for His help to grant my supplications, that is all the “right” I will tawakal and do my best from within. I will not assume more.
What I want to work towards is the art of self-restraint. Of saying “No” to excesses of passion, anguish, trepidation-over-reaction of any emotion is an excess. It is difficult for I watch myself fall prey to it time and time again.
Like now. I have said too much. But I am too vain to take delete it. It took effort to reflect and I feel I make sense and I want to be heard so I do not want to waste it.
Please forgive me if I have inadvertently slighted anyone, this is me reflecting sincerely upon all that I had just come across. I fear a change of tone in my writing as I progressed.
I fear I have shared too much of my views and opinion. I fear i have not held my tongue and worse still am unable to free myself of the restraint of Pride and vanity to delete what I have already said.
I take much away with me from the above exchange and I hope my reflections will give back some light to anyone who happens to come across the exchange above.
To be constantly conscious of the above, for me, is hard to do, and I am still learning how to. I am in fact still failing, despite my realisation, my test of excesses.. I am saying too much and Allah swt dislikes the talkative.
The exchange above is a clear sign of where I am now with my learning, and what I have to do to improve on myself.
May Allah s.w.t look upon us kindly as we continue to walk this path of life, always landing on the right foot or searching for the right footing, till we reach our ultimate and eternal destination, Jannah.
A meaningful Eid Adha to all, a beautiful time to remember the meaning of true sacrifice and piety.
Alhamdulillah.
May Allah s.w.t’s Peace be upon all.
Insya Allah. Ameen.
I will be silent now.
Sa’laam
Sister HeartinLeaves – JazakAllah for your kind comments and may Allah (SWT) may it easy for you to grow in Islam, Iman and Ihsan and reward you abundantly for yours and our never ending battle to annihilate the nafs (i,e, the self, the ego) so we only exist for him and he exists in us.
I appreciate your heartfelt post and may Allah show your husband the path. Please ignore the negative posts re Sheikh Hamza. He is truly a guiding light in the current mire of confusion and search for an identity. Im sure you have read his biography and the amount of knowledge he has gained from some of the most eminent Sheikhs living today.
If I may be bold enough to recommend some other living Sheikhs (on the path of traditional Islam)you may want to listen to :
1 – Sheikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller
2 – Sheikh Mohammed Al Yaqoubi
3 – Imam Zaid Shakir
4 – Sheikh Ninowy
Amongst many others. Due to the explosion of accessible media there are a huge number of “scholars” you need to be wary of, these guys do not believe in the traditional schools of fiqh or aqida and have no idea about the traditional science of spirituality and purification of the heart (Tassawuf). I wont name these guys but you can probably work out who they are as they do not follow any traditional scholars and follow their own nafs or some contemporary scholar who cannot compare 1 iota to Imams like Ghazali, Abu Hanifa, Malik, Shafi’i, Al Haddad etc.
For practical ways of improving your self and keeping the nafs at bay I would recommend reading stuff by Imam Alawi Al Haddad as well as Imam Ghazali’s books as a good starting point. But you do need to attach yourself to a Sheikh. Think of the sheikh as a personal trainer in the gym, he will guide you through the maze of lives and towards Allah (SWT).
May Allah guide you and us, always Ameen
ameen to ur dua ah
may allah preserve these mashaykh that u have mention and elavate there ranks ameen
1-shaykh hamza yusuf
2-shaykh muhammad al yaqubi
3-imam zaid shakir
4-shaykh naeem abdul wali
5-shaykh abdul hakim murad
6-shaykh muhammad ninowy
7-shaykh nuh ha mim keller
8-shaykh yayha rhodus
9-shaykh hussain abdul satter
10- shaykh kalil moore
Salaam,
I appreciate the kind responses.
Thank you and Ameen both for your dua and help.
All will be more than useful.
Al Hamdulillah.
JazakAllah Sidi Mohammed – I’ll check out some of the other Sheikhs from your list inshallah.
May Allah guide us all onto the Sirat ul Mustaqeem and may be all have the tawfeeq to recognise his signs and his hikma and his rahma when he sends them down upon us.
Peace and blessings on our leige lord, the shining illuminating lamp, the shadowless noor, greatest of Allah’s creation and mercy to the worlds, our beloved Rasool Allah (SAW). And also to our guiding lights the 4 caliphs (RA), the companions, the 4 great Imams (RA)and all the Sheikhs and Mashaikh gifted to the Ummah by Allah (SWT).
We have been blessed as a ummah with scholars of the highest learning and integrity. All the work has already been done for us by them, all we need to do is follow what they have decided is best for us from their interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah, as they are rightly guided. Not what our nafs interprets.
Check these Sheikh Hamza lectures out if you want to benefit from the hikmah of the eminent Sheikh.
http://www.ilookisee.co.uk/Lectures/CD%20Lectures/CD%20Lectures.htm
ameen AH
i sent u a email but no reply did u get my email
Sorry sidi, have not got round to checking. Inshallah will do so soon.
jazak allah khair
sidi AH
for that link to shaykh hamza yusuf lectures mashallah very good topics from shaykh hamza yusuf
may allah preserve shaykh hamza yusuf for this ummah and elavate his ranks ameen
Muslims should not take part in the war against their brothers in Iraq or Afghanistan or other places, they
should speak up on their behalf instead and support them
the best thes can to overcome their enemies, nowadays, it seems to me that a big confusion is taking over this world, the White house that killed more than 1 Million 500000 Iraqis gives an honorary supper on the first day of Ramadan, some GIs have the courage to claim they’re muslems without resigning from the army, Islam is not a life style but submission to God and no muslim should stay silent when his brothers are being killed by oppressers, Nato, USA, other western countries are exterminating muslims, installing puppets such as Hamid Karzai or Nouri etc, american muslims and other muslims in the western world are paying taxes to help with the money to kill, no one can hide this…
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some of you have not understood the meaning of extreme in this context. and that is why you just criticize shaykh Hamza . shaykh Hamza spoke correctly. here the word extreme means ‘doing something contrary to islamic sharia. it does not mean do excellence in religion, this is called Ihsan. the shaykh said Islam is peace, mercy and love and that those who harm humanity and Islam itself in the name of islam, such fanatics are extremists, they destroy everything and humanity in the pretext of following islam, but those radical, fanatics, extremists misquote the Qur’an and Hadith. the extreme ones are the ones who burning all muslim countries, killing humanity and misquoting Islam. even now some of you have misused the english word ‘extreme’ and think that it means ihsan. no it is not. to go extreme is to go out of boundary of sharia. the word extreme has many meanings and you must understand according to the context used. and of course, if there were No extremists today,then all muslim countries would be as peaceful as they were 20 years ago before the new extremists sub groups . emerged. thanks