Global Intifada

I’ve been very busy with school lately and I haven’t been attending the Masjid as much as I would have liked to. Last week, I missed Jum’ah because I had a group study that I needed to attend. I felt pretty crappy about it because I love going to Jum’ah, mostly because I love the Imam there. Shaykh Zahabi gives the most beautiful and motivating khutbahs I have ever heard in my life. He possesses the quality of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) that I call “spontaneous intimacy.” Mu’awiyah (radhi allahu anhu) stated that once, when the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) was giving a khutbah, he looked at Mu’awiyah (radhi allahu anhu) who said that it felt as if the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salam) was looking at him and speaking directly to him. In the books of etiquette, it is written that one of the manners of the Muslim is that when someone is speaking to you, you should direct your attention to them fully, as the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to do when he met people. When Shaykh Zahabi meets you, its as if no one else in the world existed for him except for you. The first time I met him, he greeted me as if we knew each other our whole lives. I never truly appreciated the praise that Imam Rumi used to give in the relationship between a Shaykh and a Murid until I met Shaykh Zahabi. I used to think it was odd that he would compare that spiritual relationship in terms of love and yet, that emotion is exactly how I felt when I see Shaykh Zahabi. When I see him, I like to do nothing else but observe his movements: how he prays, how he recites, how he performs dhikr. When I leave him, I think of him and wonder when the next time it will be when I will see him again. Most importantly, when I see him, I remember Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) more frequently and intensely. Many people today underestimate the importance of the company one keeps. Being in the company of righteous people with energy is a very good way to improve one’s own spiritual state.

When Shaykh Zahabi gives a khutbah, wallahi, sometimes I feel as if there was no one else in the audience but me and it was as if he had opened my heart and read my thoughts and addressed them. During Ramadhan, I usually engage in a very ritualistic performance of Taraweeh and acts of worship, but with Shaykh Zahabi, one gets very motivated since he is such an energetic man.

Shaykh Zahabi quoted the ninth hadeeth in one of Imam Nawawi’s book, whose name I cannot presently recall. The gist of the hadeeth was that the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) rebuked a companion for asking too many questions and explained that the habit of asking too many questions was the cause of destruction for previous ummahs and that they should focus on staying away from what he (sallahu alayhi wa salam) prohibited and fulfill what he (sallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded them to do.

Shaykh Zahabi explained that had the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa salam) answered all of the constant questions of the Sahabah (radhi allahu anhum), then those matters would be elucidated as being either eternally prohibited or eternally obligatory and this would’ve posed a great burden. The people of previous nations were destroyed because they asked such questions, not with the sincere desire to know the answer to these questions, but because they had idle minds and got distracted by lesser issues or they had diseased hearts and were searching for loop-holes in the faith.

Shaykh Zahabi elaborated this point by giving two examples from the history of the Salafus Saleh.

The first example he gave was about how Ali (radhi allahu anhu) disagreed with Uthman (radhi allahu anhu) on certain matters, but when the extremists in our community (which he recognized have always existed in Islam and exist even onto this day and appear to be amongst the most righteous) attacked the Khalifah, Ali (radhi allahu anhu) put his two sons, the beloved grandsons of the Prophet (sallahu alayhi wa sallam), to protect him with their lives. SubhanaAllah! This nearly moved me to tears.

The second example he gave was about how ‘Umar (radhi allahu anhu) deposed Khalid ibn Walid (radhi allahu anhu) as a commander, even though the latter was serving his command in the midst of a battle! The Shaykh explained that the wisdom of this action was that ‘Umar (radhi allahu anhu) wanted to show how victory came from Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and not from the actions of men. People without iman might consider such an action to be foolish, overzealous, and superstitious. They might say “Why wait until the end of the battle to do this? The middle of the battle requires the command and leadership of a person like Khalid ibn Walid (radhi allahu anhu), to remove him from battle in the middle of the battle would have devastating effect!” However, ‘Umar (radhi allahu anhu), if we recall, once drank a poison to prove how nothing can harm one except by the permission of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). There was no better time to remind the believers that victory comes from Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and not humans than in the middle of the battle! Of course, Khalid ibn Waleed (radhi allahu anhu) immediately complied with the order in his own wise way. He gathered up his officers and informed them of his demotion, but warned them not to tell anyone until after the battle had ended so as not to create unnecessary panic amongst the soldiers.

The context of this khutbah was concerning some political in-fighting that was occuring at the Masjid; a practice which has unfortunately become common place in almost every masjid.
Many people engaging in positions of power in our Masajid, Islamic Organizations, MSA’s, and governments often fall into the trap of ego complexes. They are often driven by ambition. Whatever their original intentions were, they quickly fall into the notion that they are the true cause of progress and that nothing can be done without them. When they are put in a disadvantageous position, sometimes they will go to no ends to seek their goals, even if it means contravening the Shari’ah. They depict themselves as the oppressed when they are really the oppressors. They think that they are correct and everyone else is wrong.

Shaykh Zahabi warned against this type of extremism and the importance of not delving into minutae theological and jurisprudential issues. Instead, we should focus on obeying what we know and staying away from what is prohibited. He stressed that obedience to Allah is the primary reason why Muslims should seek political positions and once they’ve reached a state, if the command is given for them to resign, then they should accept it gracefully.

Although the general scope of this khutbah was directed at the local Masjid politics, its wisdom could be applied to the Ummah as a whole.

When the Imam was relating the story of Ali (radhi allahu anhu), he related his treatment of the Khwaraaj. The Imam gave a brief description of the Khwaraaj and how, outwardly, they looked like very pious people, but inwardly, they were spiritually defective. The iman of the Sahabah (radhi allahu anhum) was manifest in their obedience to the Shari’ah. The Khwaraaj were a people with diseased hearts. They engaged in minutae theological issues and forced people into addressing them and violently opposed anyone against them. Thus, they sought to enforce a minor principle of the Shari’ah, but in doing so, violated other greater principles. This was the hadeeth that the Imam related in one of Imam Nawawis book that has been collected by Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari.

The number one characteristic of the people without true Iman is in their engaging in meaningless theological issue. For a long period of time, I thought this description of the Khwaraaj was applicable to the Salafis, but I began to realize that is a symptom that is more broadly applicable. People blame the Salafis for many things, and it is true that they are extreme in several matters. One characteristic people don’t like about Salafis is that sometimes they come off as extremely argumentative with terrible manners. However, in order to engage in an argument, their must be two parties. If a person seeks to engage in a debate with you and you ignore him, no debate can occur. Therefore, no argument occur. Therefore, no fitnah can occur.

Now, resisting the urge to engage in a debate is a manifestation of a person’s patience and patience is a manifestation of one’s iman.

Many of us fall into the trap of sectarian polemical warfare. We believe we are from the right group and everyone else is either wrong and destined to hell, or deviant in some regards and not as ‘orthodox’ and ‘righteous’ as we are. These people might engage in many haram activities, but they believe “at least I have the correct aqeedah and I’m not from THAT group of deviants”. We rigously engage in disputations with the impression that the orthodox creed is in need of defense from the hordes of ignorant innovators and shaytanic charlatans.

This, as Shaykh Zahabi described in his khutbah, is a manifestation of our lack of iman.

He pointed out how those who transgress the limits placed by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) engage in a lesser form of shirk because they think that they are so great and important that they don’t have to follow Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). Shaykh Zahabi pointed out that shirk is not just worshipping a statute, but had many forms. He gave the example of a person who takes medicine or visits the doctor. If a person takes medicine for sickness and thinks that it is only the medicine which heals him, than this is a form of shirk. If a person visits a doctor and thinks that only the doctor is healing him, than this is a form of shirk. When people limit the power and majesty and attributes of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and place it in His creation, than this is shirk.

Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) has guaranteed the success of our deen. He has guaranteed the victory of Islam. We are not the cause of this success. If we give dawah, it is for our own spiritual benefit. The Ummah has survived for a thousand years without us, surely, debating on internet forums and at sheesha bars isn’t going to greatly affect the survival of a particular school of thought or beliefs.

The diseased nature of the hearts of such people isn’t limited to just engaging in minor religious issues, the disease spreads and their conditions get worse until this leads to open transgression of the Shari’ah while hiding under the guise of the Shari’ah itself!

So the Khwaraaj, in the name of eliminating injustice and obeying the Qur’an became the greatest propagators of injustice and violators of the direct command of the Qur’an, and the result was the worst fitnah this Ummah has ever seen.

Up until this day . . . it seems that we have the Khwaraaj among us again. However, the Khwaraaj are not affiliated with any particular sect or aqeedah or minhaj or madhab: they are malleable in the forms they assume, like Shaytan. They can come in the form of a Salafi, they can come in the form of a Sufi, or a Shi’a, or a Modernist, or a Traditionalist. The disease of the Khwaraaj was not theological, it was spiritual and this spiritual transgression lead to the transgression of the intellect and the mind. The Khwaraaj were a people of their nafs who later used the intellect to justify their arbitrary and capricious actions a posteriori.

Similar to them, we have people in our communities engaging in a single-minded focus in the deen while ignoring the wholistic application. Thus, in the name of jihad, they engage in actions that nullify the very purpose and essence of jihad: struggling for the sake of Allah (subhaan wa ta’ala). The people I am referring to are the Terrorists.

The Terrorists are not associated with one sect. They are not just Wahhabis or Traditionalists or Shias. Every Islamic sect has produced its own brand of terrorism. The Taliban are Deobandi, but recently have begun engaging in suicide bombings in Afghanistan that also target civilians. Iraq has a plethora of Salafis and Shi’as duking it out. Palestine has HAMAS. So on and so forth.

We could sit around all day and try to figure out what is wrong with these people. Some will say “They aren’t really terrorists, they don’t target civilians.” The facts, however, don’t match up. If this Ummah is not witnessing fitnah at the hands of such people, then what is fitnah?

They engage in theological disputations, and in the name of struggling in the way of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), they push Him aside and charge forward, thinking that they will attain victory through a means and method that has been completely prohibited by the very Being that they are supposedly fighting for!

If a person is fighting for Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), then how can he target civilians? How can he target his fellow Muslim brothers and sisters? How can he engage in the upholding of the Shari’ah, if he is disobeyind the Shari’ah? Serving Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) is not limited to verbal pronouncements and bravado, but is based on a total application. To engage in acts of extremism in jihad is not an indication of one’s faith, but an indication of one’s lack of faith.

This brings us to the core of the issue: what is the problem of the Ummah?

We have many problems: political, economic, social, military, theological, intellectual, spiritual, etc.

Yet, of all these problems, which are the people most concerned with? Political, social, economic, military, theological, intellectual.

The problem that they are least concerned with is spiritual, and yet, of all the problems that they can actually effectuate with their deeds, time, and energy, the one that is the most neglected is spiritual development.

The problem with terrorism is not an intellectual dimension or a political dimension. It cannot be destroyed by blockbusters; it cannot be shocked and awed; it can not be challenged by cartoons and speeches by the Pope or intimidated by Western armies.

The problem with terrorism is its spiritual dimension. It is a form of riy’a. Terrorists are associating themselves with Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and actually place themselves above Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) by ignoring His commands and prohibitions.

Alhumdulillah Rabbil Alameen.

There is a cure for such a disease. We have an entire science dedicated to it and that science is Tasawwuf.

May Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) grant us the ability to purify our souls from blemishes. Ameen.

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