euraktiva

These times- this week- and the coming week after that is a time in which two cultures or two (what is called) “religions” come into contact within a religious confluence of holidays. In the Christian-Euro-American societies there is an ostensible celebration of Christmas; in the Islamic context there is the observation of (whatever is left of the meanings of) the Hajj; there are some clarifications in order within this time of convergence with two sets of minds or people trying to live up to their religious (as it were) standards. It is almost ridiculous to remind ourselves and whoever is listening that Allah is One- there is no duality or multiplicity about Him, whether that pertains to His Essence or Attributes- the fact is established.

There is no birth description or explanation to Him- all attempts, whether they are theological, philosophical, conceptual or mental in trying to place Allah in a position, (whatever that may be), vis-a-vis being given life or attaining life or begetting life is from Allah’s words nonsensical and unacceptable. This is a given that all Muslims understand as a matter of fact. That being said, we, (Muslims), err; we make a mistake when we try to take those who believe erroneously in the concept of a trinity to task and begin to break our human relationships with them just because of this serious theological error. We don’t know of Allah’s Prophet, (he is our pace-setter) , having any negative, acrimonious or hostile feelings or relationship with those who believe in a trinity- this never appears in reading the Seerah and Sunnah of the Prophet. We know of his encounter with Christian clergymen and we know of the ayaat that Allah has revealed in the Qur’an pertaining to this fact i.e. Allah’s Tawheed or Unity- the ayaat are abundant but they do not diffuse to us- on this political issue- a sense of hostility towards those who believe in one way, definition or another in a God that is not One. There is, (though), a development that occurs from this misplaced belief that the Christians have that becomes so serious that we cannot dismiss or diminish it- this development is the usurpation of Allah’s Authority. This is a very serious sin and a very offensive infraction of the Tawheed of Allah. The serious infraction of the Tawheed of Allah is not their erroneous belief which we acknowledge and know; the serious violation of Allah’s Wahdaniyah and Tawheed is that they usurp his Authority and claim it for themselves. This is where and when there is a notion of serious objection and even animosity towards those who have misplaced Allah’s Authority and claimed it themselves. Allah says

If we wanted to soothe the translation: the ayah and Allah is telling us that you should be as forthcoming, accommodating and courteous as you can be towards everyone except those who are involved in acts of war and hostilities because of your adherence to Allah’s Deen and in the process they are rendering you refugees, expatriates, misplaced populations or they are a party to that process- this is what the ayah is saying; it’s not saying that we should show our political and military muscles to those who have a theological misunderstanding of Allah. To the contrary, if we are confident of the information and knowledge that Allah has privileged us with, we should feel sorry for them- not hostile towards them. If they are theologically wrong they need care- they need people who can show them the confidence and certainty that they don’t have which comes from what we are supposed to have. With these ayaat on your mind, you (should) take a look at the world around us- are we in a behavioral sense exemplifying the meanings of these ayaat. Allah says

When we speak to Ahl Kitaab with the confidence and certitude that we have- by the formulation of the words Yaa Ahl Kitaab- we show sympathy towards them. It’s not the psychology that permeates today among Muslims to try to curry favor with them. There’s a difference between saying Yaa Ahl Kitaab when you’re psychologically inferior (as happens to be the case with many Muslims today), or when you are psychologically healthy and exude the confidence to feel sorry and sympathy for them, (as is appropriately the case). Allah says to us, in adjusting this relationship, as He says to His Prophet

What is this? We’re going to notice that what is to follow is going to be a concentration on the meaning of Allah’s Authority

The word na’bud is not the worship! This is what happens to our minds and psychologies when we borrow secular terminology to fill-in the meanings of the Qur’an

We have to remind a world that is burdened by the secular explanation of scripture that people tend to associate others with Allah as far as His Hukm (Surah Al Kahf verse 26) and Mulk (Surah Al Isra’ verse 111) are concerned and it took straight words from Allah to dispel this historical practice. Shirk by and large pertains to two descriptions- Al Hukm and Al Mulk. Do you need that to be broken down more? These are Allah’s words- brothers and sisters…

How much more explanation do Muslims need to have them liberated from the misnomers, mistranslations and misunderstanding when it comes to this relationship between those who say that they are Muslims and those who say they are Christians? If these people in the world around would honor their biblical Prophets and open their minds to these ayaat, they would have no choice but to say, (at least in theory and within their own way of thinking), that the Muslims are more Christian and Judaic than they are! But, it seems that we contribute to the problem of prejudice and discrimination that they have and we don’t offer a solution to that problem because we reinforce it with the inaccurate and biased notions that we have; hence, we have Muslims who are trying to stir the pot of animosity because of theological issues and Allah’s Prophet did no such thing. If there is going to be a polarization of positions- that should be because of the authority of Allah that they are violating and many of us are not able to stand up for.

The combination of “when traditions become Islam and when customs and conventions become Imaan” becomes a package that is very difficult to untangle. We grow up going to Masajid and listening to khutab that have made many Muslims. We hear about this almost every religious season- some Muslims around the world attack Temples, churches or even synagogues. It is in the same direction that we have officialdoms, regimes and governments who try to intensify the theological differences so that they can get away with their political crimes. What harm is going to happen to any government if they can get Muslims and Christians to fight against each other and not have the common attention of good-willing Muslims and Christians against their high crimes and misdemeanors. It is in this vein that we have an understanding of Islam today that makes it a crime, (this was in the news just this past week)… A British lady wanted to take the Bible to Arabia and she was told “she cannot take the Bible to Arabia.” Why? Because she was told “this is the Islamic standard of things.” Where did this come from?! The Bible was there during the time of Allah’s Prophet; he didn’t say you cannot have this Bible in Arabia. People had this Bible in the Southern, Northern, Eastern parts of Arabia and in Al Hejaz itself. There were Christians and jews who were reading their versions of the Bible in Makkah and Al Medinah. When the Prophet 1^st received revelation- Al Wahy- he went to a reader of the Bible- ibn Nawfal; this was a Christian. When the Wahy began to flow later on to the Prophet, he didn’t go and say “you cannot read your Bible.” It never occurred. Even with all of the difficulties that we have with the political impulse of the jews, especially in Al Medinah, Allah’s Prophet didn’t say to them you can’t read or have your Bible.” It never happened. When the Christians came to him from Southern Arabia he didn’t say “you’re living in Arabia you can’t read the Bible.” It’s unheard of. Anyone who understands Allah’s book and Allah’s Prophet will tell you that to discourage Christians from becoming “religiously and morally Christian” is a violation of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. An ayah in the Qur’an places the people of scripture under the standards of their own scripture; we are responsible for that and we can’t be responsible for that by sending out the notion to these people that we don’t permit them to read their Holy book in our Holy Land- this doesn’t make any sense. (It is) true- the Prophet of Allah said two deens cannot co-exist in Al Jazeera or the Peninsular- the same territory and Holy Land that we are talking about; but deen is not a word that means “religion, creed or belief”; deen is a system or overall organization in a position of submission to Allah of worldly affairs; therefore this current government that is occupying Al Hejaz, Al Jazeerah, Makkah and Al Medinah is criminal by saying to people of faith and conviction that “you cannot improve your faith and conviction by reading your Holy book; therefore according to the Saudi Arabian government, (for those who don’t understand what we’re saying), it is haram to bring your Bible to Saudi Arabia but it is halal to bring bombs to Arabia.” (Do) you see how they undermine this message of Islam?! It all goes back to the theological and the ideological; we are supposed to take a theological argument against Christians and jews according to the Saudis- not according to the Qur’an and the Prophet; and we are supposed to look the other way when it comes to ideology and the military; so we live satisfied with a false idea and understanding that no Bibles can go to Arabia but you can have militaries, military bases, weapons of mass destruction and areas that are occupied- all of that is permissible according to this understanding and false interpretation of Allah’s and His Prophets words- this is where we are. For those who are going, on their way to the Hajj or already in Makkah and Al Medinah, this is the type of environment and climate that you are honoring through your traditions. No one is supposed to speak the truth to this travesty of justice and express the ayaat and ahadith on these flagrant violations of ayaat and ahadith! You’re supposed to go to Makkah and Al Medinah silent; repeating words without meanings and meeting human beings that might as well be skeletons and mummies instead of being the coordinated and consolidated base that we are supposed to be i.e. Ummatan Wasata- an Ummah of centrality; instead we are not only divided in our societies, but we are also shattered in our concepts and ideas and they want us to remain shattered in our concepts and ideas. These people who are supposedly running the affairs of the Hajj and Umrah are the ones who are responsible for sowing the seeds of hostility in the world against innocent human beings and letting the big crooks off the hook, they themselves included.