Footprints 1 | Footprints 2 | Footprints 3 | Footprints 4 | Footprints 5 |
This series of reflections is offered as part of a continued conversation about how we as Muslims can best retain meaning in modernity, and nurture an Islam that is true to its time-honoured tradition; relevant to our current context; and of benefit to man’s deepest needs.
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Loosing ourselves to discover ourselves: In Ramadan, Allah offers to each believer an opportunity to discover their wings and their worth.
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The highest embodiment of mon0theism: No greater expressions of tawhid exist than in the du‘as of Allah’s Prophets, peace be upon them all.
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On hindering hypocrisy: Sound knowledge of the faith coupled with refined conduct are by no means incompatible; although today, these are seldom combined in any one person. The Prophet ﷺ stated: ‘Two qualities shall never coexist in a hypocrite: good character and [sound] understanding of the religion.’ [Al-Tirmidhi, no.2684] That is to say, the hypocrite may be well-versed, or well-mannered, but never both.
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Beware the soul in a dung beetle’s role: One who recoils from the Qur’an’s counsels to the soul is like the dung beetle distressed by the fragrance of a sweet smelling rose.
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The fullness of Islamic monotheism: Tawhid is not just a theology; a way of believing, it’s also a psychology; a way of being and perceiving.
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On expecting nothing less from men of Islam: ‘Her vulnerabilities invite you to stand up for her, not to stand up to her.’ – Abdal Hakim Murad
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On ex-extremists-cum-liberal eulogists: By now, the journey from a one time Islamic extremist, to a darling liberal stalwart, is a familiar one. Launching themselves with a high profile tell-all book or TV interview, such anxious-to-please characters bring to the counter-terrorism agenda all sorts of pathologies. There are the attention seekers, the pursuers of prestige, the choir of frightened eulogists, the shameless sell-outs, the opportunists and, of course, those depicted in the following limerick:
An unemployed man called Nabeel,
Said, ‘counter terrorism’s a lucrative deal’.
He kicked up a storm,
Called for Islamic reform,
He’s now so rich, it’s unreal.
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On being enslaved to the cravings and temper tantrums of our egos: Freedom to want dominates the monoculture’s discourse. Freedom from needless or uncalled for wants is what dominates Islam’s.
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It has to be about walking the walk, not talking the talk: ‘There have been men before now who got so interested in proving God’s existence that they came to care nothing for God Himself.’ – C.S. Lewis
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On humility & love, the twin pillars of worship: A sign of Allah’s special concern for a person is His inspiring them to seek forgive for their sins and thankfully acknowledge the blessings they receive from Him. The former nurtures humility; the latter, a deep and abiding love for Allah.
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On keeping calm and carrying on with conviction and caution: The Qur’an forewarns the believers that they will be subjected to much vilification, taunt and mockery from those who do not share their faith: You will surely hear much that is offensive from those who were given scripture before you, and from idolaters. But if you persevere patiently and fear God, such are weighty factors in all affairs. [3:186] When faith takes root in the soil of heedlessness and unbelief, there will always be stiff opposition to it; particularly in the form of verbal abuse or false propaganda. The key, however, is to bear these hurts with resilience, restraint and deeper duty to God, along with a firm conviction that all is unfolding according to His wise plan.
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On the unruly self hijacking the prophetic beauty: Nothing is more troublesome than when the ego seeks to wear the robe of the Sunnah.
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On belief, practice and spirituality (knowing, doing and becoming): Without ‘aqidah, there’s just idolatry or heresy; without fiqh, just vanity and futility; without tasawwuf, hypocrisy and pretentious piety.
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On the glory and greatness of God: There is nothing in God’s creation save that it was preceded by divine knowledge, specified by divine will and manifested into existence by divine power. Allahu akbar!
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On rogue teachers and do-it-yourself preachers: Beware Muslim preachers unhinged from the isnad tradition, or unschooled in adab and spiritual wisdom: their harms will far outweigh their good.
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On taking responsibility for our current religious anarchy: Those ‘ulema who opened the doors to secrete doubts about the validity of the traditional madhhabs, and whose obsessive attacks and unwise words helped denigrate the consensus-based legality of taqlid in Islam, now see ordinary, unqualified Muslims rushing through such doors in their droves, misled into thinking that they must ‘weigh-up’ evidences and choose the ‘strongest’ proof. Such a bid‘ah was unheard of in Islam until just seventy years or so, and it is a myth to claim that the early Muslim scholars, the salaf, instructed the laity to dabble in the dalil. This bull-in-a-china-shop call – which traces its pedigree, not to the salaf, but to the early 20th century modernist movement – has been instrumental in undermining qualified juristic authority; creating religious anarchy; and spreading a certain mindset that, historically, has been on the fringes of Islam. And such ‘ulema are at a loss as to what to do, or how to stem the tide they set in motion:
A young man from near Runnymede;
Said, ‘It’s forbidden to make taqlid.’
I asked him for proof,
He then hit the roof,
‘I don’t know,’ he said, ‘I can’t even read!’
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On rectifying our inner world to rectify our outer world: The world is in a right state; Islam calls you to be in a right state.
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On the traits of the true learned: ‘The faqih is not the one to cause people to despair of Allah’s mercy, nor is he the one to give them licence to sin.’ – ‘Ali b. Abi Talib
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The soul of Islam is a mindful heart: Vigilance, muraqabah, is to be mindful of Allah in all our states, realising that, He is with you wherever you are [57:4]; to feel His presence, being aware that He is, closer to him than his jugular vein [50:16]; to know that nothing is ever concealed from Him, thereby feeling shy and modest before Him for, He knows what is secret, and what is yet more hidden [20:7]; and to know that His care and help are ever near: When My servants ask you about Me, I am near; answering the prayer of the suppliant when he prays to Me. [2:186] The more we interiorise these realities of faith, the profounder will be our vigilance of Him, and presence of heart whilst worshiping Him. For a heart in which vigilance of Allah firmly takes root, is a heart that becomes occupied with Him above everything else.
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On realising our levels: The ordinary, mosque-going Muslim: he knows that he knows not. The accomplished ‘alim: he knows that he knows. The self-taught da‘i: he knows not that he knows not.
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On befriending God: ‘We all come into this world as Allah’s slaves. We should all want to leave it as Allah’s friends.’ – Jaleel Ahmad Akhoon
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Some incredibly beautiful, truthful and thought-provoking reflections here.
Shukran wa jazakAllah khair
Barakallahu fikum. And shukran for your comment and thoughts on the piece.
Reblogged this on Blogging-theology-two and commented:
Delightful wisdom
Salams. Thanks for the reblog.
How come it’s Blogging-theology “two”?
for a strange technical reason