Lessons From Surah Luqman (part 2)

| August 7, 2009 12:15 pm

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  1. visitingmuslim says:
    August 8, 2009 at 10:37 pm

    Assalaamualaykum warahamatullahi wa barakatuhu,

    May Allah (swt) reward Imam Suhaib and his family for all his efforts.
    I love listening to Imam Suhaib. I love to listen all of his lectures and I am following the Tafseer lectures that are being posted frequently.
    To give little bit of my background. I am a born Muslim from India and move to USA about 6 years ago for higher studies and currently working as a scientist. Iam comfortable with most of the things that Imam Suhaib states.
    There are some things that I do not agree or possibly do not understand with my limited knowledge and intellect. One of things I do not understand is the effort to re-interpret Quran and Sunna for modern lifestyle and for American /modern culture. I completely agree to deriving laws and rulings for modern issues from Quran and Sunna. But mixing , matching different rulings across different Madhabs to make the modern youth “comfortable” is what perplexes me. Society has indeed changed thousands of times over the past 1400 years. The culture and societies during the Prophet's (pbuh) time was not the same as during the Tabieen's time , and they evolved and became more complex as centuries passed by. The Ulemas of each generation derived rulings for new social issues from the Quran , the Sunna and from the fiqh rulings of the 4 Madhabs. But generation after generation for the past 1000 years have followed the advice of early muslims to strictly follow the rulings of one of the 4 madhabs (that you choose) untill you are qualified enough to choose rulings across the madhabs.
    Back in India there has always been a blend of muslim possessing various social status. There are rich and there are extremely poor muslims. But all of these Muslims for the past hundreds of years, no matter if they are rich or poor, have been humbled by Quran and Sunnah. Even if you are rich and belonging to the elite class you would still make wudu by the street if the prayer time arrives amidst the prying eyes of the non-muslims.. without feeling ashamed of your deen .. without worrying about “what if my friends see me washing my limbs in public” “what if they do not talk to me” etc etc…. They would not go and search for some ruling in some other Madhab which would make them feel “less ashamed” amongst their so called “friends”. Why ??? It is because they would be humbled by the way our beloved Prophet (pbuh) lived, they way his companions (May Allah be please with them) lived a simple life .

    I think today's youth who have immersed themselves into the worldly life to such an extent that they feel detached and are unable to relate to any classical texts or even to the life of the Prophet(pbuh). What we need is to bring these muslim youths back out of Wall St, out of jobs that require you to work 12 hours a day, out of the whirlpool of worldly promises , out of the dreams of living in million dollar castles and only then they would relate to the life of the Prophet (pbuh) and would not feel distanced or detached to the classical texts.

    Instead what we are doing now is appeasing the youths by mix-matching the rulings across the Madhabs and enticing their bodies to Islam when their minds are still corrupted and engrossed in worldly pleasures. This is exactly what the Church did to Christianity. It slowly tried to adopt itself to the changing society and culture and thereby completely destroying its own moral and spiritual structure.

    There must be some Hikmah when the Ulemas for the past 1400 years have been telling people to stick to one of the 4 Madhabs without mixing and adopting rulings from across the Madhabs to make things easier.

    The reason why American youths are not able to relate to classical texts and the life of the Prophet is because they are too much attached to the worldly life and the demands of the American culture. Their minds are programmed into the vicious cycle of getting out of high school, take loans , go to Ivy League schools, graduate , get jobs in multinational companies, pay off loans, invest in stocks , 401 k, get married , have kids, start saving for kid's future education , MAINTAIN you STATUS in the society, make sure you fit in the American culture, make sure to have certain amount of money when you retire, buy house in Florida and retire and wait for the death to approach.

    How can you then expect these youths to feel comfortable praying by the highway or in the Mall, or on the street next to Starbucks when the prayer time approaches???
    Of course they will be worried about what they will be called if they pray on the street , wash their foot in the sink?? They are not worried about pleasing Allah (swt) but pleasing the strangers watching them pray or make wudu in the school or office sink.

    Sorry for the length of my comment. I am not even sure if I made my point clear or not. I apologize if I have offended anyone since that was not my intention.

    JazakAllah Khayr

    Reply
  2. Suhaib Webb says:
    August 9, 2009 at 5:13 am

    Asalamu alaykum,

    Dear brother:

    You made a number of points that necessitate a response:

    Firstly, May Allah make our love for His sake and I love you for his sake as well

    Secondly, On understanding and applying Islam in our context as Western Citizens:
    I'm not sure, at least by your comments, you understood what I said? I clearly stated that one must develop an Islamic Identity in the USA that respects the authoritative texts and the consensus of the scholars. Outside of that we are free to interpret and apply Islam as we see fit as long as we don't contradict the authoritative texta and the 'Ijm'a. This was the practice of the Prophet, the Caliphs and the great scholars of Islam since this day. The Prophet changed his fatwa according to the place and the people and we are obliged to follow his lead. If you understood that I was recommending changing something that is clearly fixed and established by our holy texts, then you were mistaken. I would encourage you to slow down and listen with your mind, not your emotions.

    Thirdly: Your wrote

    “There must be some Hikmah when the Ulemas for the past 1400 years have been telling people to stick to one of the 4 Madhabs without mixing and adopting rulings from across the Madhabs to make things easier.”

    One of the dangers of the net is that is is open for anyone to say what he or she feels. This statement above is not supported by any major work of Usol nor is it historically accurate. In addition, you have failed to recognize the two types of talfiq, one being looked down upon, the other praiseworthy. As for the latter, it is documented by Sh. Shanqiti on in his poem on the right of the mujtahid to take the Marjoh in the face of a recognized Maslaha.

    Your claim that this was an opinion taken by scholar of the last 1400 yrs is also inaccurate for the following reasons.

    1. The concept of talfiq was not dealt with, as noted by Sh. al-Fasi, until the 7th century.
    2. The companions and the Imams after them mixed and matched opinions and there was complete freedom for the Mustafti to take from any scholar he asked.
    3. Many scholars consider the banning of talfiq as going against the way of the Companions and the salaf.
    4. The opinions of the 4 schools, save where there is a proven Ijma, are not binding upon the Umma to follow since those who did not agree with the four schools on issues are many form Ahl Sunna (Ibn Hazim, Dawod al-Thahir, al-Thawri, etc.]
    5. The type of mix and matching you are referring to is not the merely mixing of the schools opinions, but mixing to find the rukhas in every opinion. Again, there is no proven Ijm'a on that contention so your point is baseless
    6. I would advice you to leave the issues of Usol to its people. Your statements above are riddled with false accusations, inaccurate knowledge as well as historical proofs and a general lack of respect for knowledge.
    7. My first day in the college of fatwa my teacher told me, “There are 91 madhabs in Ahl Sunna and I use them all.” I have seen the same practice by Dr. Ali Guma, Sh. al-Qaradawi, Sh. Abdul Karim Zaydan, Sh. BIn Baz, Sh. Bin Uthaymin, Sh. Ahmad Indiya, Sh. Shanqiti, Sh. Bin Bayyah, The Fiqh Council of Jedda, Mecca, the council in al-Azhar, America and others.

    Thus, slow down, cool your emotions and be careful what you say. For why there is great difference on talfiq, there is no difference on speaking without knowledge and passing off misunderstood information.

    SDW

    Reply
  3. Suhaib Webb says:
    August 9, 2009 at 5:40 am

    This article may grant some clarity on the issue of taking the Rukhsah:

    http://www.olamaashareah.net/nawah.php?tid=6651

    Reply
  4. visitingmuslim says:
    August 9, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Assalaamualaykum Respected Imam,

    I apologize if my comments have hurt you or anyone since that was not my intention. I was also not trying to get you angry (which is obvious from your reply) since that would be the last thing I would want. Neither did I intended to initiate any sort of argument with such a learned person and a scholar as yourself. I just wanted to have a normal discussion. I am not a scholar or I have not studied at a respected institution like Al-Azhar.

    My comment :
    “There must be some Hikmah when the Ulemas for the past 1400 years have been telling people to stick to one of the 4 Madhabs without mixing and adopting rulings from across the Madhabs to make things easier.”

    was based on the advices I received from my teachers back in India and here in USA. As per my teachers this is applicable to majority of people these days (including me) who do not have in depth knowledge of Islamic Sciences.
    Maybe I misunderstood what you said but my comment is based on your comment in Surah Luqman tafseer where you talked about being called a “foot sink”. Maybe you were just joking about such a situation.

    I was hoping to learn some important points from back and forth discussions with you on this topic but I guess since English is not my first language I ended up expressing my doubts and opinions in the wrong way and thereby upsetting you. I apologize again for upsetting you.

    And thanks again on your feedback, I will make sure I do not voice my opinions with the limited knowledge I have. I swear my intention was not to create any trouble or doubts on this blog.

    JazakAllah Khayr

    Reply
  5. Suhaib Webb says:
    August 9, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    Asalamu alaykum,

    Visiting Muslims I pray you are well:

    I was in no way angry but but your statements were harsh so I responded with sincere advice. The internet has no face, emotions or blood in its veins. I would encourage you to think the best of your brother and not make such assumptions. I understood where you were coming from and felt, as I stated, that your contentions necessitated a response. My advice was for the sake of your din and nothing else. If I was angry, I would have let you know.

    Suhaib

    Reply
  6. Fouzan says:
    August 10, 2009 at 3:20 am

    assalamu alaikum,

    what exactly is talfiq? i noticed that you mentioned that there are two types ” one being looked down upon, the other praiseworthy”, can you please elaborate on this?

    jazak Allahu Khair,
    Fouzan

    Reply
  7. umm yusuf says:
    August 11, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    assalamoalaikum wa rahamatullah

    I am greatly enjoying this series of talks and the blog itself

    jazakAllahukhayrn

    Would it be possible for you to clarify about the three who will be exempt from accountability (sorry I dont remember the hadith clearly) but I think the categories are:-

    1) the child
    2) those who are mentally unable to understand
    3) the ones whom the message didnt reach

    What exactly does the third one mean ?Does it apply to current day and what does that message have to be in order for it to mean that one has “received” the message?

    Reply
    • canani says:
      August 31, 2010 at 2:50 am

      for the last one it does not mean todays world it means those before prophet muhammad(P.B.U.H)becuse when he came the message was reach to each and every muslim
      and for now a dyas people can research and get about it so its up them they would like heaven or hell on that day

      sorry if i herted someones feeling , Ididnt mean to
      thanks
      canani

      Reply
  8. syedz7 says:
    August 11, 2009 at 8:57 pm

    It was narrated from ‘Ali that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Pen has been lifted from three: from the one who is sleeping until he wakes up, from the child until he reaches the age of puberty, and from one who is insane until he comes to his senses.”

    (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1343; Ibn Maajah, 3032; al-Nasaa’i, 3378)

    A similar hadeeth was also narrated from ‘Aa’ishah in the four books of Sunan apart from al-Tirmidhi.

    This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Tirmidhi, and by al-Nawawi in Sharh Muslim, 8/14
    source: http://islamqa.com/en/ref/9208

    Reply

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