Qur'an: They differed

"... it was only those to whom it was given

who disagreed about it after clear signs had come to them,

because of rivalry between them..."

"... If God had so willed,

they would not have fought each other,

but God does what He will..."

(Abdul Haleem's translation of Ayahs 2:213 and 2:253)

Qur'an: Unity

"... Hold onto the rope of God, all of you,

and be not divided.

And remember the blessing of God upon you:

When you were enemies to each other

and He brought your hearts together

and you became, by His grace, brothers..."

(Al-Qur'an,  Surah Aal Imran, Verse 103)

The rope of God,

the connecting link,

between the believers and their Lord,

and the believers one to another,

it is the Qur'an.

And in the Qur'an is their unity,

and in their unity is their strength.

Moonsighting the Wifaq ul Ulama Way

Found this booklet ('Moonsighting the Wifaq ul Ulama Way: The Cautious Way – a detailed explanation of why the Wifaq ul Ulama has chosen not to follow the Saudi Hilal authorities of Riyadh', compiled by the scholars of Wifaq ul Ulama UK) on the kitchen table and thought I'd give it a read. (One of those days: hungry for short booklets to read!) Found the emotive language at times a bit hard to swallow given the aims of the booklet, i.e. a scholarly document, but found some of the points rather persuasive. Would be curious to hear the other side at some point. Here are some of the main (non-emotive) arguments:

• If in the future the Hilal authorities in Riyadh Saudi Arabia were to adopt the 'cautious and strict' method followed by Wifaq ul Ulama UK, then Wifaq ul Ulama UK would have no objection listing them in the names of countries that can be followed.
• We should revive the forgotten Sunnah of making effort to sight the moon every month locally.
• If the hilal is sighted in clear conditions (meaning: the skies are clear and there are no obstructions such as clouds, mist or pollution), then a testimony of a large group (such that they can’t be lying) of Muslims will be needed to accept a claim of a sighting.
• The Wifaq ul Ulama UK will only commence the new Islamic month after receiving testimonies of actual and reliable sighting with the naked eye.
• If the hilal is not sighted locally, then Wifaq ul Ulama UK will take the news of a sighting from another country on the condition that Wifaq ul Ulama UK's 'strict' moon sighting criteria is met.
• Experts in astronomy may be used (but only) as a 'guide' or 'help' (to eradicate false or mistaken sighting claims).
• The majority of Arab countries including Saudi Arabia are believed to follow a pre-calculated calendar based on a moon birth time formula. For proof of this: the dates of 'Ummul Qura' and the 'Central Moonsighting Committee' of the past years can be compared and shown to match on every single month.

Karbala. Heart.

This verse...

"Say (O Muhammad (saws)): 'Whoever is an enemy to Jibraaeel (let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Qur'an) down to your heart by Allah's Permission, confirming what came before it and guidance and glad tidings for the believers..." (2:97, translation of the meaning of course!)

.... triggered something I heard recently in the third CD of 'The Hereafter' series by Imam Anwar al-Awlaki regarding one of the earlier persons who claimed to be a Prophet. The 'revelations' he received seemed to all revolve around food and so the people said to him (paraphrased) , 'we don't know whether the angel is talking to your heart or your stomach!'

The CD also contained a phenomenal clear-headed account (maa sha Allah!) of how the door to fitan/trials was broken after the death of Umar ibn al Khattab (ra) and the events that lead to Karbala. Cannot recommend it enough.

Learn to Interpret

"... I never observed him [Mufti Azeez ur Rahman (RA)] rebutting anyone in their face... 'you did this wrong'. Rather, even when somebody had erred, he would say, 'No doubt you meant this...' In this way he would interpret, redress and present the correct version in such a way the listener would be in doubt as to his error but never forced into a confrontation or show down.

... redress the error in a positive and mild manner and keep your heart clean...

... Rasulullah (SAWS) said, 'Do not dispute with your brother...'"

(Source: 'Ashraf's Blessings of Marriage' by Hafiz Aslam Patel)

Very difficult. I put the quote forward as a goal for myself. Something I am far from having accomplished.

Evils of debates

As well as the conditions to test your sincerity against (see previous post), Imam Ghazzali (may Allah have mercy on him) specifies ten evils of debates, as follows:

"(1) Envy... A debater is never free from envy and hatred. Envy is a burning fire. One who falls in it gets punishment in the world...
(2) Pride...
(3) Rancour [i.e. a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will]. A debater is seldom free from the evil of rancour...
(4) Back-biting... A debater ascribes to his opponent foolishness, ignorance and stupidity.
(5) Declaration of self-purity...
(6) Spying and prying into the secrets of [one's] adversary...
(7) Hypocrisy. A debater expresses his friendship for his adversary outwardly but he cherishes hatred for him inwardly...
(8) To turn away from truth. The most hateful thing to a debater is to reject the truth revealed to his adversary and thus he takes to deception and deceit...
(9) ... show and battering [flattering?] the people in an effort to win their favour and to mislead them. Hypocrisy is the greatest disease with which a debater is attacked and it is a major sin.
(10) Deception. Debaters are compelled to deception."

Conditions of Debates

Just found a beautiful characterisation of debates and the debater in Imam Ghazzali's Ihya-Ulum-Id-Deen. Imam Ghazzali specifies eight conditions which provide a good means of identifying when we are debating for the sake of God and when we are debating for other purposes. Here's the fifth and sixth conditions:

"(5)... the debate should be held in private in preference to open meetings in presence of noted people and in grandeur because privacy is more suitable for clear thinking and to examine what is right and what is wrong."

"(6)... the debater should like truth in the same spirit as a lost thing is searched for. He should not mind whether the truth is found by him or by his adversary. When Hazrat Umar was once given sermon, a woman pointed out to him his mistake to which he submitted. At another time, Hazrat Ali was asked a question by a man and he replied. When the man pointed out his mistake, he admitted it."

Differences of Opinion

"Differences regarding the science of juridicial laws (ahkaam) is a mercy, whereas difference regarding the science of divine oneness (tawheed) and Islam is a deviance and innovation. Mistakes committed in the science of juridicial laws (ahkaam) are forgiven - in fact the scholar is rewarded - as opposed to mistakes in the kalaam (theology), for such mistakes are unbelief and fabrication, and the one committing them is sinful.

... One of the seven renowned scholars of Madina, Qaasim ibn Muhammad said, 'Differences among the Companions of Muhammad (SAWS) are a mercy for the servants of Allah Most High'... The caliph 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-'Azeez (may Allah have mercy on him) said, 'It would not have made me happy had the Companions of Muhammad (SAWS) not differed; for had they not differed, there would not have been any concessions'..."

(Source: Imam Abu Hanifa's Al-Fiqh al-Akbar Explained)

Tarawih Prayer: 8 Rakats or 20?

Ok. Maybe there's arguments for and against each opinion. But one thing is for sure, consistently leaving after 8 Rakats when the Imam has set out to pray 20 Rakats makes no sense at all. At least, I can't think of any explanation for this. If you want to pray 8 Rakats, find and go to a Masjid where they pray 8 Rakats, and, of course, vice-versa.

Those who leave after 8 Rakats in a 20-Rakat prayer are not only cheating the system but cutting themselves short. Think about it, if you leave every day after 8 Rakats, by the end of Ramadhan you will have heard only 8/20ths (i.e. only 40%) of the Qur'an. But then, I wonder, is it the difference of opinion that causes people to leave after 8 Rakats or just plain laziness?

How did the Companions differ?

Thoughts following on from one of the 'Manners of Differing' talks.

In opening, it is important to state our two extremes before searching out a middle path: On the one hand, there are those who refuse to differ, "every way and any way, we're all God's people". On the other hand are those who are excessively narrow-minded, "my way and no other way. If you don't do as I do, you are rejecting the Sunnah and thus..." These extremes are against the spirit of Islam and split the Muslims into a large number of groups.

We acknowledge that Allah created us different and not as one nation; we have different backgrounds, colours, histories, and so on. Thus, there is bound to be differences in the way we think and reason. This is a simplified argument. However, to begin to understand the topic at hand in a deeper manner an academic approach is necessary. We have to understand that Allah allows certain room of disagreement within certain boundaries. There will be disagreements and there were many disagreements between the Companions of Allah's Messenger (SAW). Allah intended these. However, those disagreements that go against the spirit of disagreement are disliked by Allah.

We need to know what the rules and limits of the Companions' disagreements were, so that we see it as a healthy phenomenon liked by Allah and not an evil phenomenon disliked by Allah. For example, recitation of the Qur'an; there are seven different ways of acceptable recitation. The individual is to recite that which is easy for him.

We can say that the Companions' disagreements were intended by Allah if we find them to be confined within certain boundaries. Three characteristics define these boundaries:

1. They differed and disagreed but dealt with each other with respect, and there was no hatred between them.
2. These disagreements were motivated by seeking the truth, and all matters were referred to Allah and His Messenger (i.e. the Qur'an and Sunnah).
3. They remained one Ummah.

Umer ibn Abdil 'Azeez said, "These disagreements are more beloved to me than this red camel." Another pious predecessor (I forget his name) wrote a book which he called 'Kitaab-ul-Khilaaf' (The book of differences). He was advised to change it to 'Kitaab-ur-Rahmah' (The book of mercy) and so he did. Why was this? Because Islamic Jurispudence (Fiqh) is enriched by this differing. These disagreements can be sources of mercy if we implement certain guidelines. But this is something we don't know: How to make these differences positives rather than negatives.

There are two types of disagreement: Illegitimate opinions (odd arguments) and legitimate opinions. As for the latter, any disagreements against the consensus of the Companions and what the Muslim Ummah agrees upon are odd and illegitimate (and condemned). If the Companions agreed on something, then there is no scope for disagreement on that matter. If they disagreed on a matter, then search out that which is "best". Any opinion based on illegitimate proof/motivation/intention is also odd, even if it doesn't go against the consensus.

That last sentence may be a bit hard to take in. When an opinion is based on desire then for such a person that opinion is odd regardless of the opinion itself. For example, if asked, "Why are you following that opinion?" You respond, "It suits me." Then that is illegitimate. As concrete examples, consider these:

• You follow the opinion that you can marry a woman without her guardian's consent, and you do so. Then, when your daughter grows and wishes to marry without your consent, you prefer the opposite opinion.
• The majority of scholars whom you normally follow strongly believe that music is not allowed. But you like music, so you choose the minority weak opinion this time round.
• You follow a Sheikh without bothering to learn the Daleel (evidences/proofs/reasoning) behind his views, then though his opinions may be legitimate your motivation is not right.

And Allah, the Most Glorified and Exalted, knows best.