Call to Faith

The current noise being made around the call for prayer is unfounded in a community that has practiced it for 100 years and more in Cape Town, and 1400 years globally. We respect religious freedom - laws cannot be a stumbling block to practicing our basics - the right to worship. We worship in peace and our call the prayer is one of calling to God's greatness and to success.

A skop and a klap - Turning the page

Life has changed since the days of a "skop en 'n klap" (a kick and a smack) - it just sounds better in Afrikaans. It may be fair to say we have gone 180 degrees - totally opposite.

In a society where "slamse skool" (madressa /madrassah) was the order of the day, children now go perhaps weekly, if at all. At the same time there are people who remain steadfast on the religion while many others have some connection with it, while yet others are hanging in by a thread (Allah protect us all). But what has happened over the years is the development of a culture of "tolerance". The understanding of this "tolerance" is to allow sin to come into our homes. We have adopted a culture inside our homes - our homes where we uphold the five pillars - but where we forsake our religion. We have taken on views foreign to Islam because, quite frankly, we are more exposed to non-Muslim thinking than Islam, the guidance with which our illustrious leader Muhammad peace be upon him, came.

It is always good to have people ask questions, but then there are people who only question the religion but not with an enquiring mind, but with an accusatory tongue. You are deemed an extremist if you refer matters to Quran and Sunnah, while others freely adopt views foreign to Islam. The tongues wag mockingly and scornfully at the action of another while the action is in conformity with Islam. Yet, we now only joke at some sins in a way that we accept these sins and encourage it.

Hardly anyone of us are excluded in our acceptance of this newfound culture. But a culture which is opposition to Islam is a disaster for us.

We pray Allah guides and protects us all.

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I have omitted specifics in order to not have comments which will cause us harm. I am open to discussion through direct messaging

On a point of Hijab

 

It is a fact that madaris (plural of madrassah - "Islamic" school) are empty. Everyone stops learning at a young age because we really are busy people. We end up learning from titbits and most of our religious education is not actually obtained from people more knowledgeable than ourselves.

The aspect or issue of hijab is quite interesting as certainly everyone has an opinion on it. Opinions range from it is in my heart, to wearing a scarf, to wearing pants to "I don't care". The issue of Niqaab we will bypass that for today. The issue of hijab is ongoing and people feel proud that they wear hijab. There is agreement that it is a requirement but the application may not meet the requirement. The argument is that "she has a view, I have a view and you have a view". Well, honestly, I don't have a view. And therein lies the crux. We believe that we can have a view or opinion on matters of the deen. This is a recipe for dispute (and disaster) at every level and a time when the ignorant find a voice. I have merely used hijab as an example of how we treat matters of the deen.

There are two primary sources - Quran and Sunnah - and that remains our first port of call. We can debate about issues of deen, till the cows come home, but if there is no reference to the primary sources of knowledge then the argument or debate is futile. There are of course matters where we refer to consensus of scholars but for the most part, all our fundamental matters are dealt with in Quran and Sunnah. The point that one can have an opinion on aspects of deen makes you a scholar of Islam. Nonetheless, the opinion of anyone cannot contradict Quran and Sunnah. Few people will read this, or will want to understand this or will share this, yet they will be in disobedience to our Creator by acting on wrong information when they have an opportunity to seek true guidance or they will speak on matters and advise others while they themselves are ignorant.

The next time you say "I am dressed appropriately", then ask yourself according which Islamic ruling which you got from which source. This actually applies to anything that you think you are doing right but have not thought about the fact that you may actually have followed another blindly without reference to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

And Allah knows best

We pray for His guidance and protection

CT Muslims - Tradition over everything

There is a right and there is a wrong and then there is a grey area. We have been given a way to discern things but do we do this as our lives evolve in its various aspects.

The many ways of doing things may lead to others not seeing  the benefit of one methodology over another. Many will see this blog only as criticism. The truth is that as Muslims we ought to think and ponder over things. Allah speaks much about the Bani Israeel in Quran and many will read it as mere stories or some may even use these ayaat to point a finger at the Jews. This sort of thinking causes us to fail to remind ourselves when we are drifting away from the laws of Allah because we have failed to realise our shortcomings.

Our community is one filled with tradition and, many-a-time, consumed by it. It is a fact that many times either tradition trumps the Islamic ruling or that at times tradition cannot be separated from the religious practices of the people. We either justify some actions or we avoid the topic in its entirety and we condemn the one for objecting to a certain practice or tradition as a madman. There must be a challenge out there for someone to write a book about the laws of Islam versus the many practices and traditions. Such a book that will shed light on the various matters and that we may all be better informed. Issues relating to birth, to marriage and to death and the very many others traditions and practices in between.

 Of the customs is to comment on religious issues either without knowledge on the subject or without the requisite proofs from Quran and Sunnah. Perhaps as a sign of dwindling respect for parents or perhaps people are better informed, but these days one hears less  "my father did so" or "my father said ..." which of course cannot be used of proof (of validity) in religious matters. The other interesting approach is to say that "my Sheikh/Mowlana/Imaam said ...". It may be that the listener did not fully listen the Imam and thus may have omitted something or the Imam may have passed on something without relating the proof or context. This is something that may cause as issue to be lost in translation or rather transmission. Thus it becomes difficult to present your argument, defense or become a proponent of an issue when you say "my imam said ...". Yet, our community life is driven by this concept. The difficulty is then that when there is disagreement, the argument is raised about "ulama bashing" when in fact it is merely a case of contextualising a ruling or correcting a transmitted statement.

The crux of the matter is whether we profess to be a vibrant Muslims community or whether we can attest to being that type of community. It is a question that we can ask and answer individually and collectively. There must be a benchmark though. Were we to made aware of actions and traditions that do not conform to the laws of Islam, will be discard them. We may at this stage deny that we actually have to come to this sort of analysis. There is an opportunity for us to do introspection and as issues are raised, we may find a way to analyse it and take the appropriate action.

May we of those who uphold the Quran and Sunnah and discard those practices that is not in sync with Islam.

And Allah knows Best

 

 

Interfaith Part 2 : Integration

Ask your Imam, ask your Mowlana, ask your Sheikh! They have studied the religion and should be in a position to guide us. Yet, we understand that they are not infallible and may make mistakes. I will try not to directly quote Hadith and/or Quran because the idea is for us to research aspects of our deen and get authentic guidance from our learned people.

A learned person, a Muslim who goes and partakes in a prayer meeting with people from other faiths, in, let's say a church, will send confusing signals to the layman. Is it permissible to pray with them and the argument will start with "tolerance" and "my sheikh said.." and "we must respect ...". And yet no one spoke any word of ill or malice towards anyone from the other faith.  But the new buzzword is integration and as Muslims we need to integrate and therefore interfaith is a powerful means for doing so.

I scratch my head and look around but few are willing to say anything. Perhaps, they will say something in the privacy of their homes or, when they do speak more "publicly", they don't draw a line in the sand as did our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . Did he not draw a line in the sand? But where did we go wrong? A long story but here are just a few thoughts of how thoughtless we are in the seeds we plant. Easter has everything to do with paganism and there is a fair impact of this on Christianity. Christians largely believe that Jesus died for their sins on the cross. This happening is alleged to have taken place on Good Friday which, coincidently, falls in line with the Easter weekend which is synonymous with paganism. And, aaahhh, the easter eggs which are now made with chocolate. Lovely isn't it.  Except that, while the chocolate is halal (permissible), the now Easter-egg-formed chocolate is nothing but a dedication to a pagan god. We find it delicious while we consume nothing but that which at least taints our bodies and our very souls - do we go to buy meat and ask for halal meat or do we eat any meat. The sheep, while it was alive was halaal for us as potential meat until it was slaughtered and dedicated to other than Allah. Likewise, the chocolate was halaal until it was dedicated to a pagan god. And yet, you disagree, and you are inclined to stop reading and you say "it is only chocolate we eat...".

And as you carry on, you now attend their Christmas services in Church, you attend their Christmas meals, and you give Christmas gifts. All in the name of tolerance and shirk. "Well it is our Prophet too", I hear you say. Of the many questions that arise is "are they celebrating the birth of God or the son of God" - Is this not shirk? "Yes, but we don't do that" is the retort. The crazy thought that we love for others what we love for ourselves and then you tell them that you support them in going on their way to the place where people who commit shirk go. Of course, Muslims do believe in the Hereafter and in Heaven and Hell - right? So, you nudge them along to hell instead of leading them to the straight path. Interesting that people of tolerance and integration can do that. But some are just so confused and allow the non-Muslim to take your hand and drag you along all the while thinking that you still pray and fast then you are all good. And then there are also other religions like Hinduism, African Traditional religions, etc.

We are human and we are prone to error. The good news is that our Creator, Allah, sent to us a messenger who was the last of all prophets and who brought us Quran and his sunnah ﷺ. The best of teachers is none but Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Research, ask questions and be concerned with your standing in front of Allah on the Day of Reckoning. Seek the truth and live as a Muslim, inviting to good and forbidding evil.


To them their religion (to practice) and to us ours.

We pray for leaders who will guide us - seek them out and speak not of your own desire.

And Allah knows best.

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Keeping the Faith at Interfaith - part 1

A way to avoid divorce is to understand what divorce entails, actions that may lead to divorce and seek to find a path, by the Mercy of Allah, to distance oneself from it as far as possible.

A way to avoid the fire is to know how to avoid the fire, i.e. the actions that may lead one to the fire of hell. It is not enough to know and do the actions that will be a means to receive the Marcy of Allah and hence entry to paradise but it is also important to know the one action and/or one statement can change all that.

A way to avoid shirk is to understand what shirk is and what actions are considered shirk. In a diverse community where one is inclined to be in contact with people of other faiths and atheists, it is important to understand the practices of these people. Every action that they do and every utterance (with religious connotation) should be scrutinised, from an Islamic perspective, before we even consider engaging in the same.

The views of inclusivity do not mean "make the circle bigger" but rather to remove those parts that don't fit into the smaller circle, e.g. in our homes we cannot be inclusive by inviting people who will consume alcohol in our homes or perhaps other prohibited foods. Thus, we will invite them, but it will be on the terms of our deen, which is our way of life. And likewise, we can expand the principle to other matters including commonality with other religions. It is true that the closest religion to Islam is in fact Judaism since Jews are considered monotheists unlike Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. Thus, if it is true that we have interfaith dialogue on common issues such as morals, then there are atheists who may share similar morals, perhaps sun-worshippers, etc. In this way the dialogue will be interfaith and beyond.

At these gatherings, we all say a prayer. The Muslim, no doubt, praising Allah and sending salutations on our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Do the others respond with "amen" - but if we were inclusive then the atheist won't respondk and neither will he/she offer a prayer. How we then do we respond when the other faiths pray to their Gods. If everyone says "amen", all well and good, but who gets the "amen" if the Muslim responds to the prayer of say the Bahai. If each one reserves their "amen" only for their own prayer, well then, the trust is already broken and why have a prayer at all.

So, one of the objectives of the Cape Interfaith Initiative is " To promote interfaith activities including prayer and meditation, faith sharing" - Is this communal praying across religions? What would we benefit from doing this? Is this the means to da'wah while it was not Prophet Muhammad's ﷺ example?

There is much to say on this subject - but can a non-Muslim, let's say a Christian, make dua for us when he addresses Jesus (peace be upon him). Is this inclusivity like someone bringing wine to your house and drinking it? - nay it is worse, because it is shirk (to worship and pray to Jesus - peace be upon him) - is it not?

In conclusion (to this part) - are we, through this initiative, exposing ourselves and our community, with little knowledge of our own religion, to other religions. Is this the way of the way of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ