Posted from Medina Munawara, the City of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him.
“If a profligate comes to you with news, make sure you understand it (tabayyanu) and make sure you know it indeed happened (tathabbatu), or else you will attack people out of ignorance and end up in great remorse” (Qur’an 49:6).1
How many fault-finders of statements
Yet the fault is faulty understanding
– al-Mutanabbi
Upon seeing one of his students reading a difficult book, a teacher said, “Don’t read that book yet.”
The student replied, “I promise only to take from it what I understand from it.”
“It is not what you understand that concerns me,” responded the teacher, “but what you think you understand.”
– Shaykhna b. Mahfudh
“How quick people are to condemn things they don’t understand.”
– Lady Aishah, the wife of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Sahih Muslim, Chapter on Funerals
I want to write about the importance of proper reading and writing, as well as the importance of proper adab (manners) when one criticizes or debates another. This topic was partly inspired by the general debasement of our public discourse taking place these days and partly by some comments from readers of my recent blog posts. These comments, some published and some not, concerned statements I wrote regarding Islam and politics, so I shall also take this opportunity to elaborate on those statements.
First, we have to understand that one aspect of language, even in its most simple usage, is ambiguity. Anyone who has ever used a dictionary knows that words often have multiple meanings. (For that reason, Wikipedia has a “disambiguation” option.) In rhetoric, amphiboly refers to the phenomenon of ambiguous syntax.
In the Islamic tradition, the prerequisites of debate include a mastery of grammar, rhetoric, logic, and a branch of logic that involves the comportment of research and dialectic (adab al-bahth wa al-munadharah). Those ill prepared in these areas fall prey to common misunderstandings. In the past, such people did not debate with or challenge statements made by an erudite person because they knew well the verse in the Qur’an, “Are those who know and those who don’t equal?” (39:09) – a rhetorical question, needing no response, as the answer is obvious. Furthermore, in the Islamic tradition, a long-standing convention of glosses exists whereby scholars would shed light on the abstruse language used by their predecessors. The Maliki scholars, in particular, preferred to write in such abstruse language in order to prevent ill-equipped readers from venturing into their books. (In the West, legal books often use a similar tactic so that only jurists can comprehend the text with ease.) Sometimes, glosses were written on previous glosses, and some works contain marginalia that involve three or four books in one. All of the above were ways in which highly capable scholars removed ambiguity from previous texts in order to enable educated but less capable scholars to understand the texts.
I spend a good deal of time reading such texts as a result of my own dependence on far more knowledgeable scholars. I also frequently look up a word in my readings, sometimes for the sheer pleasure of exploring nuances and other times to make sure I understand the word correctly. Recently, reading an Arabic poem, I came across an unusual word and looked it up only to find that the meanings provided in one Arabic dictionary did not make sense within the context of the poem, demanding I resort to another larger dictionary, which, indeed, provided the appropriate meaning.
Reading is an activity largely of the mind, but reading well is an exhausting effort of one’s mental faculties. One of my own teachers said that reading has four levels: understanding the outline of the piece; coming to terms with the author’s terms (meaning that one understands terms as the author intended); understanding the propositions, their arguments, and evidence supporting them; and finally, responding with the appropriate etiquette. This last phase, which Mortimer Adler describes as “talking back” to the author, is the most difficult level of reading. It is the ability to criticize with understanding, giving your reasons for dissent, and supporting them with counter arguments, but this last and problematic phase of reading is entirely predicated upon the mastery of the first three. At this level, criticism means disagreeing with all or part of an author’s assumptions, logic, or conclusions based upon an accurate and contextual reading of his work.
A serious student of knowledge must work to grasp the ambiguities of the text she is reading. For instance, Imam al-Ghazali is noted for saying, “Laysa fi al-imkaan abda’ mimma kana,” and multiple meanings can be inferred from this statement. Indeed, whole books were penned in an attempt to pin down Imam al-Ghazali’s precise meaning.
To use a classical example of an ambiguous statement in usul, scholars mention the hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, which may be translated from the Arabic as, “Whoever follows up Ramadan with six days from Shawwal, it is as if he has fasted constantly.” The original Arabic contains the phrase, “min Shawwal,” which means, “from [the month of] Shawwal.” “Min” is a preposition in Arabic. Ibn Hisham’s famous Mughni al-labib is an exhaustive compendium of Arabic prepositions and particles, along with a few verbs and adverbs that he felt needed to be included. (Despite his exhaustive study, commentaries on this book further explain what he meant.) Ibn Hisham lists fifteen possible meanings of the preposition “min” when used in a sentence. Imam Malik believed the “min” in the context of this hadith is initiative, so he interpreted the hadith to mean Shawwal as the time when the fasting may begin and then continue on into the following months. (For example, if one says, “I began my journey from Mecca,” it means one initiated travel from Mecca but continued beyond Mecca.) However, Imam Shafi’ understood the preposition “min” to be partitive, (as in “I ate from the bread,” which does not include eating from other foods.) Hence, Imam Shafi’ believed the hadith to mean that the days of fasting must be only within the month of Shawwal and not extend to the later months. Both interpretations of this hadith are valid. In this case, the disambiguation is simply choosing one interpretation over the other.
The fact that language allows so many meanings and multiple possibilities reveals its richness. Readers can marvel at the sundry possibilities of words on their own or in order; explore the possibilities of meaning in their attempt to exhaust meaning, which is what Muslim scholars and exegetes tended to do; or they can misread and subsequently fall victim to anger and confusion. Some go even further by responding with vituperative diatribes, even using foul language; such people are known affectionately as “trolls” in internet jargon. In actuality, due to their failure to understand as opposed to their ability to read, they simply reveal their own ignorance, as reading and understanding are two distinctly different phenomena. The Qur’an describes those who know the literal Torah, but do not understand it as being like “donkeys carrying books.”
Misunderstanding with the assumption of understanding is common to people who are arrogant, ignorant, or just too lazy to probe further in order to grasp the subtleties or nuances of the language. Their self-conceit leads them to believe that they simply know. “I understood it, and I am right. Hence he is wrong.” This is the path Iblis chose: “I am better than Adam; I am superior to him. My knowledge surpasses his.” On the other hand, when a humble person finds words that ring false or challenge his own assumptions, he pauses, thinks, and asks himself, “Am I understanding this correctly? Did the author mean what I think he means?” If they can ask the author, all the better; if not, they may seek a second opinion from an intelligent friend or resort to a good reference book or dictionary, seeking shades of meaning they may have missed. The Internet provides another albeit dangerous option.
***** ***** *****
In my previous blog on Egypt’s “revolution,” I wrote, “Islam is not a political ideology and hence does not offer a political solution per se.” This caused great consternation in some people, and several uncouth remarks were made in response to that statement.
So in the interest of disambiguation, I want to delve further into the issue of Islam and politics. To negate politics as a subject matter that is part of Islam is to deny a rich tradition of scholarship known as siyasah shari’iyyah, the politics of sacred law. But to say that politics is essential to the practice of an individual’s Islam is to deny the hadith in al-Bukhari’s collection in which the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told Hudhayfah that if there was no clear leader of the Muslims to “disengage from all the sects and cling to a private Islam.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, also informed a Bedouin that if he only practiced the five pillars, he would have salvation.
For most adherents of the faith, Islam is apolitical in that politics or political systems they may happen to live under do not affect their personal faith in God or their personal practice of Islam. But for those involved in politics and especially those who have political power, there is a component in the Islamic sciences known as ‘ahkam al-sultaniyyah, rules that relate to power that they are obliged to follow.
It appears from the comments I received that the reason so many people had trouble with that sentence I wrote is because they did not understand the term “ideology” in my usage, as it has several possible usages. An Arab poet once wrote, “Only the wearer knows what’s under his cloak, and only an author knows what’s the meaning of his book.” Some people responded defending my statement and clearly showed me that many people did understand what I meant by that term. However, “disambiguation” for others was clearly necessary. So, let me explain my usage of the ambiguous term “ideology” and why I think it has nothing to do with Islam. It comes from a French term that was used in the revolutionary period to articulate a new way of thinking not encumbered by metaphysics, religion, or tradition. Napoleon derogatively referred to the proponents of ideology as “ideologues.” While it has a neutral meaning, as in “world-view,” most educated Westerners would view it pejoratively. Islam is wahy, a revelation from God, not an ideology.
Islam shares nothing with what can be called an ideology if we understand the term both etymologically and in modern usage. Indeed, there are several Islamophobic websites now which claim that Islam is not a true religion but only an ideology. Furthermore, you can’t even find a word in classical Arabic that expresses the meaning of “ideology”; no equivalent word can be found in Ibn Manzur’s authoritative dictionary of classical Arabic, Lisan al-Arab, and it is certainly nowhere to be found in the Qur’an or hadith. Neither the Salaf nor any of the scholars for that past 1300 years of Islam used that term. In fact, it only becomes widespread after ideologues in the Islamic world, infected with Marxist thought, began to re-form Islam as a colonial and post-colonial resistance movement
Since the Arabs don’t even have a word for this phenomenon in their classical language, they had to make one up to express the idea; when we look up “ideology” in any modern English-Arabic dictionary, we find, “idiolojiyyiah.” However, if we use classical Arabic to attempt to translate this word, “mandhur fikri” is a closer rendering. “Fikr” is not an attribute of God. “Mufakkir” is not one of God’s 99 Names, and unlike “tafakkur,” which carries a positive meaning in the Qur’an, “fikr” has a negative connotation, as in “Innahu fakkara wa qaddara, fa qutila kayfa qaddara” (74:18-19), which is translated, “For he thought and calculated. And how he calculated, to his doom.”
Islam is not an idea, even though some modern writers have used the term fikr Islami (Islamic thought). One of my teachers in Mauritania, a master of Arabic and Islam, once said to me, “What does fikr Islami mean? I have never seen that in an old book on Islam.” When I explained its meaning, he said, “That is very different from how the Salaf would have understood Islam.”
A reader must try to understand the terms of any article, book, or argument based on what the author or speaker meant by it, as writers use words, which invariably have ambiguity, in order to convey their intended meaning. According to Adab al-bahth wa al-munadharah, a book on Islamic manners related to research and discussion, it is a requisite of discussion that when terms are introduced, an interlocutor may request a definition if it is ambiguous; hence, our tradition has glosses and super-glosses. When I used the word “ideology,” I was referring to something that comes from thought that entails an all-encompassing absolutist view, such as found in Marxist ideology. If you have ever had a political discussion with a Marxist, you will understand exactly what “ideology” means. Islam, on the other hand, is far more nuanced than any ideology.
To use ideology to describe our religion is worse still, as most educated Americans consider “ideology” a pejorative term, extreme leftists notwithstanding. In his Political Dictionary, under “ideology,” William Safire says, “Originally, a system of ideas for political or social action; in current political attacks, a mental straightjacket or rigid rules for the philosophically narrow-minded.” In the same entry, he later quotes Reagan saying, “I think ‘ideology’ is a scare word to most Americans.” In Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, Raymond Williams mentions that Marx used the term in a pejorative sense saying that ideas were “nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material relationships…. Failure to realize this produced ideology, an upside down version of reality … ideology is then abstract and false thought, in a sense directly related to the original conservative use….” Thus, both conservatives and Marxists originally used it pejoratively.
Lenin departed from Marx’s use of the word, and it later became a common word in Leftist vocabulary to mean a political worldview. Geert Wilders, in a recent book, argues that Islam is not a religion but rather an ideology, and “ideology” is the word he uses when referring to Islam. Unfortunately, he has plenty of uneducated Muslims that will provide him with quotes to support that thesis. And we will continue to hear the detractors of Islam refer to Islam as an ideology rather than a religion. Pat Robertson said, “This Islamic – I want to say religion, but it’s not a religion. It is a political system,” i.e. an ideology.
After stating that Islam was not an ideology, I said that hence it “does not offer a political solution per se.” The operative idiom here is “per se.” Anyone who missed the meaning of “per se” missed the meaning of the whole sentence. (One commentator wished to set “semantics aside”; however, semantics is precisely what is needed to discern the meaning of this sentence.) “Per se,” means “by or of itself, inherently or in isolation.” Hence, in the context of the sentence I wrote, what it means is that without the foundational morality of Islam, any political system, Islamic or not, will not work. For example, in the Egyptian constitution, a political solution to the problem of presidential corruption is that a president may not earn money or take any monetary remuneration outside of the state salary. As such, that is a reasonable political solution, but without the moral basis within the heart of the president, the solution fails. A person with a corrupt heart will not abide by the rulings of any constitution. Therefore, the focus of Islam has never been on rectifying the state, but rather on rectifying the state of the souls that make up the state. “Surely, God does not change the state of a people until they change the state of their own souls” (Qur’an 13:11). We need an Islamic state of mind more than an Islamic state.
In one of my favorite books, The Lamp of Rulers (Siraj al-muluk), Imam al-Tartushi says, “The qualities necessary from our religion that are necessary for an Islamic polity are three: gentleness and not roughness with the populace; mutual consultation [parliament or congress, in today’s language]; and not to give positions of power to those who seek them or desire them.” If those three were implemented, we wouldn’t need so called revolutions to change the status quo. Instead of serving the people, the rulers have made the people their servants.
***** ***** *****
I also want to expound on one of the most important aspects of the Islamic polity known as ahkam al-siyar, i.e. the relations of one polity with another, especially rules of engagement, which are discussed in the section on jihad, which is also part of Islam. I once said on a radio program, “Jihad is never used in the Qur’an to mean war.” Many people misunderstood my statement and, in response, quoted several Qur’anic verses that used various derivations of the verb “jahada.” In the Qur’an, various forms of the word occur four times. In Sura Taubah, it is used in the indefinite form, which can be understood to exalt it; however, according to some of the great usuli scholars, it is for generality, as not all of the usuli scholars stipulate a negative before an indefinite to mean a generality (people who know usul will know what that means), and so it refers to the general struggle of Muslims, which obviously includes going out to defend themselves but is not limited to that type of struggle only.
In Sura al-Furqan, it says to not obey the disbelievers and to struggle with the Qur’an against them, which means, as Imam al-Nasafi and others said, to argue with the disbelievers in a big jihad, using the superior proofs of the Qur’an.
In Sura Hajj, it is mentioned in the context to struggle for the sake of God. The construct is unusual, as the jihad is attributed to God, but actually means for God’s sake. This form, although in the genitive construct, is an accusative of purpose, i.e. why you are doing something, and the grammarians agree that any noun in that form relates to the action of the heart and not the limbs. Hence, the jihad is in one’s intention and not in the action itself.
This is also the form of the word jihad in Sura Mumtahanah, which is in the accusative of purpose and therefore refers to the action of the heart and not the limb.
Hence, my statement about jihad, though misunderstood, was accurate without denying martial jihad, which is part of Islam, and to deny that is to deny something known by all in our faith. But martial jihad is conditional – it must be in the right time, under the right conditions, and according to the rules of engagement. The opinion that all jihad is defensive is not a dominant opinion but is a valid one that does not deny pre-emptive offensive defense. That was relevant in the pre-modern world, where war was the normal state and peace was the anomaly, unlike today when peace is the norm and war is the anomaly.
***** ***** *****
Language is the crowning achievement of human beings, and that is something Muslims have always known and revered. We are a literate people whose miracle is a Book from an unlettered man, peace and blessings be upon him, who was the most articulate and eloquent human being who ever lived. We honor our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in honoring language that he loved so much and used so well.
We also honor him in honoring, as he did, the ambiguities of language so beautifully expressed in the hadith in al-Bukhari, “Let none of you pray ‘Asr except in Bani Quraydha’s dwellings.”
As the Companions were on their way to Bani Quraydha, the time of ‘Asr came in, and some of them said, “We need to pray.”
Others said, “No, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, told us to only pray it at Bani Quraydha.”
The first group said, “He meant for us to hasten so we would be there by ‘Asr.”
The other group took his statement literally and did not pray until they reached Bani Quraydha.
When they arrived at their destination, they informed the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, of what happened, and he accepted both understandings as ways to interpret his words.
Disambiguation is sometimes in accepting ambiguities.
1 Tabayyanu and tathabbatu are two different recensions of the same word and thus carry both meanings in this verse.
Salman Posted on 09/24/2011
Salaam aleikum,
I am curious, isn’t “religion” a modern word not found anywhere in the Islamic tradition as well, how/why then is it permissable to use this term but not others?
Khalid
Ahmed Posted on 06/23/2011
Asalamua’laykum Sh. Hamza,
Amazing and insightful article! I am truly in love with your passion and depth in both language and philosophy!
Great article!
Shaykh, it would be amazing if you had more posts on how to read correctly and how we can improve our awareness of language and syntax and philosophy to further our islamic knowledge! :)
Even a course of adab for students of knowledge that deal with these often neglected issues would be of much benefit.
Laslty I just had one question: What’s a better word to use instead of “fikr” in the sense of having “fikr of the deen”. What would be an Arabic or Islamic term that connotates having a “personal concern and emotional connection to the deen and the deen’s success”?
JazakAllahukhair :]
-أحمد
من أمريكا
Abu Nour Posted on 06/03/2011
As-salaamu alaykum,
Would the noble Shaykh comment on the following statement by Prof. Shabbir Akhtar:
“Most of the literature in the university library [at the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur] was in English: there was virtually nothing of quality being published in the Islamic world. This modern movement of an endless intellectual curiosity about all things is one we owe to western man. In modern analytical philosophy, there is hardly anything in Arabic or any other Islamic tongue. Philosophical discussion is best conducted in English. Owing to the grammatical limitations of Arabic, it is impossible to express most philosophical claims with an acceptable degree of rigour and clarity. Moreover, Arabic is a devotional language lacking the vocabulary requisite for detached discussion of controversial matters.”
From Times Higher Education Supplement: http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=103103§ioncode=26
Tira Cyrin Posted on 05/11/2011
Peace be upon you, Mr Shaykh Hamza Yusuf,
I had been following your arguments, using logical thoughts and facts and knowledge of other scholars, be they classical or present – as well as more significantly, the excrepts from the Noble Qur’an. Processing the information, while simultaneously drawing conclusions from the overall judgments that you present, I strongly believe the Muslim Americans are indeed in great honour for having you as the focal figure that would not only stand up for what most Muslims actually believe in, but also to defend to some so-called seculars or even enemies of Islam, and representing very well of what a decent or average Muslims would behave like in Western societies.
To state it frankly, this is by far my most favourite post by you – as it deals not only with Islamic extremists but also at some point, explaining to some other Muslims that strongly supporting the establishment of an Islamic state.
Please, as you speak about ‘ambiguity’, I do hope some people will not take my statement in the wrong way. With all my heart, I will also firmly stand up and second such event, if Allah wills – to happen soon, not only in the West, but also in the Arab world where the leaders are only being Muslims by names. Some abandon parts of the Sunnah, and others not practising such noble acts entirely. And sadly enough, that costs the ordinary citizens and civilians to suffer for present time, and even years to come.
Back to the point, you stated, “We need an Islamic state of mind more than an Islamic state” – which is undeniably true. Some Muslims are struggling to defend other Muslims being pointed at as terrorists or extremists – but most of us, even as Muslim-born, forgot to hold tightly to our traditions, Sunnah and in particular the Noble Qur’an fundamental and core beliefs and foundation. We forgot or simply overlooked the importance of representing the true teachings of Islam. Most of our Westernised younger generations, in particular, are exposed to even more dangerous risks of perceiving their own religions as just another faith.
In regards to the political aspects of Islam, any secular Westerners out there will attempt to make Islam as what it is currently being perceived as by the media moguls: indecent, terrorist and just bad people. It is truly saddenning with the whole anti-Islam phenomenon out there, as constantly bombarded by CNNs and the likes. But this is how we should stay together and strive for betterment in educating our minds.
Apart from politics and such, I think the illiteracy rates amongst women and men alike in developing and Muslim countries is something we should think about. The Christian missionary schools students travel hundred miles all the way to Asia to spread their religion and better comprehension of it. Then, why not us, or to be precise – some of our most educated people learn something from that? And simply perhaps by assisting our other unfortunate brothers and sisters in Islam who could barely read and write?
Education is what Islam and its classical history was established upon, and I am sincerely hoping some of us can come up with great causes to help out the Ummah. Whenever I pondered upon the works by Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Battutah, Imam Al-Ghazali (Algazel) – my mind races to the point where I question myself, “What could I do and learn from these great intellectual scholars that contribute something beneficial to the humankind, not only limited to the ummah?”
Anyways, great insight, Shaykh. Your writings certainly put things into perspective. Please, do keep posting.
Salam,
Sister in Islam
Yahia Posted on 05/09/2011
Jazaka Allahu khayran ya cheikhana Hamza Yusuf.
Your article about the ambiguity in languages is an amazaing article. The ambiguity in languages also reminds me of the corruption in my Country Algeria. We inhereted from the Frenchs in Algeria what is called ” l’art du texte administratif” which is a kind of corruption where the administrative texts are very ambiguous purposely and lead us to an infinity of interpretations. For instance, if you read an administraive text in Algeria in French you can see that. So Language can be a mean of corruption also.
Salam 3alaykom dear Cheikh.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
بارك الله فيكم
We’re eagerly looking forward to your future postings, shaikh Yusuf
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Alaykum As-Salaam,
BismIllah
Wa SalAlaahu ‘ala Sayyidina wa Maulana Muhammadan wa ‘ala Aalihi wa Sahbihi wa man tabi’ahum bi ihsaanin ila yawm ad-din.
Dear beloved Shaykh Hamza:
I am over-joyed to find that there is a forum where a Muslim Scholar can post his thoughts and be replied to, questioned, and yes, even openly dis-agreed with – with civility.
While many may say that they value constructive criticism and difference of opinion, you and the posters here, some of whom clearly have divergent views from you, have acted in a most mature manner befitting the legacy of our great spiritual ancestors. You certainly do “walk the walk.”
Some may argue that “life is happening while you are busy debating terminology,” how we percieve our faith and its role in every day facets of life is of utmost importance.
It appears as if there is a dialectic emerging here where the role of Islam as an “ideology” is tugged back and forth between the “jumla” and the “haal.”
“Jumlatan,” Muslims along the lines of a Mawdudi r.a. believe that just as the great Shafi’i r.a. could introduce legal terms and tweak other lay-terms of the Arabic of his time to take on precise jurisprudential meanings, so too can terms of governance be created and tweaked to serve the purposes of bringing about just, “Islamic” rule. And since it is agreed upon that theoretically the Shari’a never leaves a human being without guidance as to how to act in a lawful manner in any given situation, so too governance, in a totallity, could be brought about to cover the totallity of the lives of the polity it ostensibly serves.
“Haalatan,” Muslims argue that Modern Muslims have yet to create a unique institution of governance in the Modern State (itself a WESTphalian creation) that wasn’t simply a pre-existing institution existing somewhere in the developed world. “A rose by any other name…” Therefore there is no need, per se, for a distinctly Islamic political economy to bring about the much vaunted “Madinatul Fadilah.” The “haal” can be achieved by using the tools at hand, so long as they are used for their intended purpose. We don’t fight, bleed and die just to have a building we can point to as the “Bait ul Maal.” We do so in order that our Treasury or Exchequer or whatever, operates in a way to allow human beings to flourish without being usurped.
Just as chivalry was a trait before the advent of Islam, and Islam praised it, so too can authentic Republicanism be a beautiful and useful aspect of human achievement, which Islam praises and embrases. We don’t need to re-invent something by consensus of a “Supreme Council” or a “Fiqh Committee” just to be able to sleep at night living in a free republic.
Let’s use the centuries of war, revolution, death, disagreement, and experience already hashed out in front of us by three centuries of non-Muslims, leading to the near-perfection of checks and balances and accountability – and use it to create free societies of our own.
Or we can sit here and debate the re-invention of a 100% shari’a-compliant rival to the wheel.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salama’likoum,
Just to let you know that in France, 05th April, there was a “debate” towards islam. Actually, at the beginning, it was called “debat sur l’islam” then they change it to “debat sur la laïcité”…
After that “debate” in which none of our community representative was there ! the government has made 26 laws propositions ! not one, or two, 26 !!!
I feel like a person who has been judged guilty without judgement ! just because I have no power, no money, no science to defend myself !
It’s really hard for me to bear that except if I just disconnect from tv, medias…
Muslim people are exhausted about their critics. Even the air begins to be polluted because of that. I loved France…
Anyway, jazakAllahokheir in advance for your du’aas.
The positive point is that muslims begins to set up things on their own (school, college, work for their account not for a company, wearing hijab) :)
ah ah They have their strategies, Allah has another !!!
Sorry, I know it’s not the subject but just try to inform you what is going here so that you could not forget us in your prayers.
Salama’likoum
Malika
France
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamualaikum!
JazakAllahu khair!
You are the only one (who is living) who I completely look up to. MashAllah so smart and very intelligent.
I remember when I was having trouble in my marriage I was wishing I was your neighbor so you can help us. I wish I was your neighbor.
May Allah swt bless you and your family
A sister
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Here is Shaykh Abdal Hakim Winter on the use of the term ideology to describe Islam:
How should Islam answer this charge? The answer is, of course, that ‘Islam’ can’t. The religion’s strength stems in large degree from its internal diversity. Different readings of the scriptures attract different species of humanity. There will be no unified Islamic voice answering Fortuyn’s interrogation. The more useful question is: who should answer the charge? What sort of Muslim is best equipped to speak for us, and to defeat his logic?
Fortuyn’s error was to impose a Christian squint on Islam. As a practising Catholic, he imported assumptions about the nature of religious authority that ignore the multi-centred reality of Islam. On doctrine, we try to be united – but he is not interested in our doctrine. On fiqh, we are substantially diverse. Even in the medieval period, one of the great moral and methodological triumphs of the Muslim mind was the confidence that a variety of madhhabs could conflict formally, but could all be acceptable to God. In fact, we could propose as the key distinction between a great religion and a sect the ability of the former to accommodate and respect substantial diversity. Fortuyn, and other European politicians, seek to build a new Iron Curtain between Islam and Christendom, on the assumption that Islam is an ideology functionally akin to communism, or to the traditional churches of Europe.
The great tragedy is that some of our brethren would agree with him. There are many Muslims who are happy to describe Islam as an ideology. One suspects that they have not troubled to look the term up, and locate its totalitarian and positivistic undercurrents. It is impossible to deny that certain formulations of Islam in the twentieth century resembled European ideologies, with their obsession with the latest certainties of science, their regimented cellular structure, their utopianism, and their implicit but primary self-definition as advocates of communalism rather than of metaphysical responsibility. The emergence of ‘ideological Islam’ was, particularly in the mid-twentieth century, entirely predictable. Everything at that time was ideology. Spirituality seemed to have ended, and postmodernism was not yet a twinkle in a Parisian eye. In fact, the British historian John Gray goes so far as to describe the process which Washington describes as the ‘war on terror’ as an internal Western argument which has nothing to do with traditional Islam. As he puts it: ‘The ideologues of political Islam are western voices, no less than Marx or Hayek. The struggle with radical Islam is yet another western family quarrel.’ [7]
There are, of course, significant oversimplications in this analysis. There are some individuals in the new movements who do have a substantial grounding in Islamic studies. And the juxtaposition of ‘political’ and ‘Islam’ will always be redundant, given that the Islamic, Ishmaelite message is inherently liberative, and hence militantly opposed to oppression.
The above excerpt is from an article entitled “Faith in the future: Islam after the Enlightenment.”
The article is available at: http://masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/postEnlight.htm
You are our beloved shaykh.
Remember us.
From Karachi,
Saad
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
As someone who has read Mawdudi’s writings, I can safely say that his ideas very much amounted to an ideology divorced from the tradition. The concept of the modern “state” does not exist in traditional Islam – there was a government, there were ruling authorities, but there was no “state” with sovereignty. A state is a modern phenomenon with a metaphysic of its own, which is divorced from the tradition.
The biggest mistake Orientalists and many Muslims have done is confusing traditional Muslim political concepts with modern ones. When a modern “state” claims to represent the will of God, the idea is that obedience to the state is obedience to God, which is very much what Mawdudi envisioned. This leads to very dangerous territory, even bordering on shirk. The only being that a Muslim is supposed to bow down to at the end of the day is God, and God alone, not a political entity.
The traditional concept of the Khilafa is different story; it very much has its basis in Islam, but it should never be confused with the modern “state”. And with that being said, I am firmly of the belief that we will not see any return of the Khilafa until Imam al-Mahdi emerges.
God knows best.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Dearest Sheikh, Since you’re in Madina , plz give my salam , to our Prophet (PBUH)
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
I would kindly disagree with your response to my original comment arguing Islam is an ideology. Technical definitions have been introduced throughout the history of Islam and to draw an arbitrary line that some are acceptable and some are not seems unreasonable. Especially when such a view in relation to ideology is based on a flawed premise that ideology relates to the left or has a particular negative overture in the American context which does not exist elsewhere.
When living in the west, where there is an ongoing discourse between different belief systems, some sort of typology, categorisation and definitions are necessary to ensure informed debate. Many have labelled Islam a religion and sought to confine it to that term and from recollection I think you are amongst them. This term is clearly inappropriate as Islam cannot be restricted to just those supernatural beliefs and systems of rituals and worships alluded to by this term.
The term ideology is more akin to encapsulating the breadth of intellectual thought of Islam and its systems. Writers like Nabhani and Mawdudi et al were neither Marxists nor Communists – but Islamic jurists with traditional backgrounds in the Islamic sciences, many who had studied traditional Islam before the advent of colonialist reformation of traditional institutions like al-Azhar.
As such, I would kindly disagree with your comment and view.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Subhanallah, I really hope people appreciate that if you acted like the arrogant, how easily it would be for you to completely humilate them by swiftly exposing their ignorance, but rather you approach each matter as though you are an equal to its reader – dare i say, your sincerity is vibrant (because only Allah knows if it is sincere) but you definetely have inspired and taught me the true value of humility with your responses. Subhanallah, how some uneducated people try to advise is proof that. I pray for your patience in the face of such misconduct, Shaykh. I love you for Allahs sake.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Shaykh Hamza,
I enjoyed reading this piece and found much of benefit in it, particularly in relation to the etiquette of discussion. However I disagree with many of the conclusions in relation to the discussion on Islam and politics, and would like to offer the following thoughts for your consideration. May Allah reward you.
1. You have demonstrated that there is a place for ambiguous language. However, it would seem, particularly in the examples you adduced, that ambiguous language is used for a purpose, whether that be a rhetorical purpose that convey extra meaning or a purpose related to the intended usage of the text. Thus, jurists would use abstruse language in order to prevent unqualified venture into their works, and the Messenger of Allah (saw) would, at times, use ambiguous language in enunciating law in which maintaining room for difference of opinion is intended. Te purpose in both instances is clear.
However, the purpose of your usage of ambiguous language in the blog article is less than clear. Perhaps you can clarify what that purpose was. Arguably, in commenting on critical matters of our time on which there is great divergence of opinion is Muslim public discourse, and much confusion in the minds of many, clarity of language is needed, not ambiguity – keeping in mind that clarity of intended meaning also has an established place in our tradition.
2. You argue that politics is not essential to the practice of an individual’s Islam. You did not explicitly define your usage of ‘politics’, which, perhaps, in a discussion wherein you intended to ‘delve further into the issue of Islam and politics’, you should have. As it stands it would seem that you use ‘politics’ to refer almost exclusively to governance. In turn, if what you mean is that most Muslims will not be involved in governance, the argument is understandable. But the generality with which it is made is still problematic, given that governance is a two-way process.
So the common Muslim, the local imam, the professional etc., whilst not governing, still have a role, as part of the collective community or society, in accounting the rulers, advising them, ‘telling the oppressive one that he is an oppressor’, speaking a word of truth in front of the tyrant, removing the ruler when that becomes required, changing or establishing the required polity, and so forth, as per the many ahadith on these matters. These roles are critical and all Muslims should play their role in accordance with their capacity and ability.
I trust that we agree on this point, but so absolute an implication that in times of fitan a Muslim can restrict himself to practicing the five pillars is in opposition to it, and potentially misleading to some.
3. On the question of the use of ‘ideology’, I feel there may be some confusion as to what the issue of dispute is, particularly given your response to comment (3/26/2011 4:33:26 PM) on this question.
The question is dispute is not about what the definition of Islam is. Everyone agrees, I believe, that Islam is best defined by classical well-established definitions such as the one you mentioned (‘state of submission to our Creator through following revelation…’). Yet the dispute is not on the definition, but is on what is the best word to describe it. That is, can/should Islam be referred to as an ‘ideology’? More broadly, we can ask: what is the best word we can use in our times to convey the essence of what Islam is? Religion? Ideology? Revelation? State of submission?
In this context, I would argue that ideology is the most accurate word in the modern context to convey the essence of what Islam is, namely, a worldview based on revelation (unlike man-made ideologies), from which systems/rules/principles are derived to guide human existence. It goes without saying that this is to use ‘ideology’ in what you referred to as its ‘neutral meaning’.
Having said that, I find the overall discussion in which you discussed this extremely pertinent, as it highlights the importance of being careful in word adoption and language in terms of describing Islam or any part of it, a matter many people take lightly. I would note though that the reasons you gave for not using ‘ideology’ to describe Islam (etymology, socio/political context of origin, pejorative modern usage, inaccuracy is describing essence of Islam, not used classically) would also apply to the use of words like ‘democracy’ or ‘moderate’ in describing Islam (‘Islam is democratic’, ‘moderate Islam’), if scrutinised in the same way, yet you have used such descriptions, and do not argue against their usage as you argue against the usage of ‘ideology’.
For instance, to take one word in light on one mentioned factor (context of origin), the concept of ‘moderation’ and following ‘the middle path’ is an established part of Western ideology, predating even Islam, going all the way back to the Greeks. Ovid wrote in his famous Metamorphoses, “Too high and you will scorch the roof of heaven: too low, the earth. The middle way is safest.” Bertrand Russell writes in his synthesis of the history of Western Philosophy, “The conflict between King and Parliament in the Civil war gave Englishmen, once for all, a love of compromise and moderation, and a fear of pushing any theory to its logical conclusion, which has dominated them down to the present time.”
Of course we understand, and I trust you would agree, that this is relativist nonsense in the intended meaning, that Islam would reject because it is just the use of the human mind to arrive at compromises, as opposed to following the revelation because it is from God.
Indeed, even the use of the term ‘religion’ would be found out to be problematic in regard to some of the reasons mentioned. In modern understanding religions are inherently apolitical and secular, providing only abstract theologies, but not informing the practical lives of individuals or societies beyond broad moralities.
Thus I believe this is a discussion that must be had, and all the factors you mention must be considered, but in a consistent manner.
4. Your use of the statement that Islam “does not offer a political solution per se” in the meaning that “without the foundational morality of Islam, any political system, Islamic or not, will not work” is also a bit perplexing, given that the foundational morality of Islam is an inextricable part of Islam.
These sort of presumed false dichotomies lead to ambiguity of the problematic type. It would be far clearer to state that Islam does offer a political solution but one that is inherently based on its foundational morality, as opposed to being divorced therefrom. Similarly, it would be more accurate to say that we need an Islamic state of mind, in order to establish the required Islamic state/polity, instead of implying that there is a dichotomy between the two in which one is more preferable. End of the day, an Islamic state of mind or heart is a means to the proper worship of Allah, which entails fulfilling the obligations of the sacred law, one of which, a very significant one, is the Islamic polity or Khilafah.
Barak Allahu feek.
Do remember us in your du’a.
Uthman,
Sydney, Australia
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalam Alaykum Sheikh Hamza,
MashAllah, a great post. I learned that I need to think a lot about an authors meaning before judging… Thanks for the insights. I’ve learned so much from your talks and writings… I cannot express my gratitude nor thank you enough, all I can say is Jazak Allah Kheir.
Sherif,
Cairo – Egypt.
Deen intensive student – Toronto 97′
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamu Alaykum
Dear Shaykh Hamza,
Jazak Allah khair for making a special effort to convey our Salams, words cannot express how much it means to us…we are aware that our Salams reach our beloved Prophet (p.b.u.h) wherever we are :)
May Allah swt bless you!!!
Much love and duas, Abby and Samia xXx
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Shaykh Hamza, thank you for the inspirational and humbling post.
Please clarify the following sentence from your post:
“We [Muslims] are a literate people whose miracle is a Book from an unlettered man…”
Shaykh, are you referring to the Quran? If so, I believe that sentence implies that our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is the single source of the Quran.
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
A miracle is something from God. So, the “miracle” here, in other words, the thing from God, is a Book given to us through an unlettered man.
“From” in this context means “by means of,” as in “I got a letter from the postman.” This doesn’t mean the postman wrote me a letter; he just delivered it.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalaam Alaykum,
Since the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) spoke, gave counsel, and addressed according to ones understanding, dont you think it is wise to do the same here. When a student would inquire a commentary from Murabit Al Hajj (hafazahullah) from his daily lesson, Murabit would give him the simplest commentary. I once asked Murabit Al Hajj, ‘why did God create Heaven and Hell when he already knows one’s fate’?
He answered, ” creation has no right in questioning the Creator”.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Said “I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my Life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity”.
Overall, nice blog. Enjoy yourself around the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
Ma’ Salaam
Omar
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salam Aleikum,
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf, I have been listening to your works and reading your articles since I first started to learn about Islam, and you have had a great influence on my path to understanding the religion and also the world that we live in.
It is very generous of you to write this blog and provide this forum to comment. There is a lot of information that is above my level of understanding but it is a blessing to always learn more. I am saddened by the rude or accusatory comments, but I can’t say I am really that surprised. This topic reminded me of an experience I had in college when I was helping an Indian friend and I proof-read her essay and it began “Dear Sir, thank you for the opportunity to write this paper, it is an honour…”. Having been schooled in the US I was floored by this and thought it was so funny, I mean we expect the teacher to be thanking the student.
Once again, thank you for writing this blog. It is very informative and an interesting read and I always look forward to the next post. I appreciate that someone such as myself has access to read work from scholars. I have been struggling to implement the prayers into my life, if you could please make dua for me to strengthen my iman.
sincerely,
Sophie
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salaam ‘alaykum Dear Shaykh,
I was intrigued by your response where you stated that you know five languages. My sister Sabiha and I had a friendly wager that Urdu was one of them. Can you please put this to rest? :)
With salaams,
KK
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Hamza Yusuf, May Allah give you long life and many rewards in this life and here after. Please continue to be a shining beacon for millions of Muslims who tend to get lost in this modern, nuanced, yet deeply tumultuous world.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Reading your blog and then seeing your comments at times, are a real ‘Eureaka’ moment, as words from a Renaissance man such as yourself are what are truly priceless these days.
Modern Education has no real benefit in it. I spent a whole chunk of my life there mostly doing nothing, then studying a night ahead of time just to pass a test. The funny part is teachers are totally content with a person only knowing 60 or 70% of anything. Then we wonder why a person who graduates from college has poor writing skills.
your awesome mA!
harir
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Make dua that we are blessed with more scholars such as Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. He has been such an inspiration to me as a muslim living in the UK. I personally believe he reignited my love for this religion due to his deep understanding of it. If you (Shyakh Hamza Yusuf) get to read this post please make dua that i am one day able to meet you and inshAllah join your honourable gatherings so i am able to depart with some knowledge that you have. I understand that we have a severe lack of scholars in the west and we will never be able to establish any meaningful Islamic community unless we have people devoted to gaining knowledge in order to serve humanity and ultimatley Allah Almighty. May Allah reward you for your efforts.
Salamalaykum Wa Rahmatullah
Zubair Salim
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Zubair,
Thank you so much for the kind words. May Allah give you success.
From Medina,
Hamza Yusuf
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
salam br hamza yusuf, iv got a question which is kind of unrelated to the above article. when you spoke at the oxford union in uk few months ago on the topic of reformation, a question was posed to both the speakers about their views on the quilliam foundation. ur response to this question wwas that you were from america and therefore could not give ur views. Now what i want to know is ur real view about them? surely you know who they are and what they are calling for, as they have taken inspiration from you and have quoted you several times. im sure a person of ur status and standing will not want to get tanrished by these quilliam munafiqs who have done nothing good for the muslim community in the uk and are also hated bythe muslims at large.
i hope you have the courage to answer this question, as many of us in the uk have been very dissopointed with ur stance thus far.
jzk
ashraf
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
My Dearest Teacher,
Assalaamu ‘alaykum.
First off, I love the word-play in the title (along with updated title), although I’m wondering about your usage of a term from the “Urban Dictionary.” Perhaps this is a typo but given the word-play, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re adopting slang along the way, say, for emphasis. I’m referring to your blog title: “The Sin Tax of Ignorning Syntax” with a second “n.” Was this intentional or is this a typo? I’m going to assume the latter since it doesn’t exist in the official English/Latin lexicon. If you’re curious, they define “ignorning” as “when your alarm clock goes off in the morning, but you choose to ignore it.” What an abuse of language and possibly a waste of knowledge!
I want to thank you for this entry. I hope you continue to write about language along with her nuances and peculiarities. Speaking of which, I hereby (strongly) encourage you to publish future pieces on the Divine Language of Arabic. You can share linguistic insights with us or some of your favorite poems or even some of your “favorite” verses from the Quran or traditions from the Hadith canon.
For the curious Arabic student, here is al-Mutanabbi’s verse below:
وكم من عائب قولاً صحيحاً وآفته من الفهم السقيم
wa kam min ‘aa’ibin qawlan SaHiiHan
wa aafatuhu minal-fahmi as-saqiimi
Also, can you provide the Arabic for the following:
Only the wearer knows what’s under his cloak, and only an author knows what’s the meaning of his book.
And I absolutely loved this: “We need an Islamic state of mind more than an Islamic state.” I wanted to cry when reading this. It may seem trivial and cliche but it really hit home with me.
I understand you’re very busy but when you have the time, can you consider creating a book-list that goes beyond your Store offerings? Something like Dr. Timothy Winter’s list but more diverse including language, philosophy, Arabic texts, poetry, etc: http://www.acommonword.com/docs/TJ%20Winter%20Booklist.pdf
I pray that you complete your doctorate successfully and that your family is in the best of health.
Thank you for your time.
assalaam ‘alaykum
BM
LA, California
a.s Posted on 07/28/2011
a book-list created by Shaykh Hamza Ysusf that would be wonderful and absolutely informative .
جزى الله شيخنا عنّا خير الجزاء ما قصّر
نحبه في الله …ونسأل الله تعالى أن يجمعنا وإيّاه على منابر من نور تحت ظله يوم لا ظل إلا ظله
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamu Alaikum Shaykh Hamza,
I was watching Guide US TV yesterday and there is a show for kids called “Baba Ali” and in this show baba Ali makes mistakes and there are voices of children that tell him how to do things correctly. In yesterdays episode he talked about how everyone would like to give their opinion when a question is posed. However when they are put on the spot to help with that situation by doing something which they are more than capable of doing, they pretend that they did not hear the words or understand the question or are too busy to help. It seems to me that many people would like to give their opinion on topics and sometimes say things to make themselves seem more knowledgeable than others however all knowledge lies with Allah and what active role we take in helping with the situation matters more than a mere opinion. We are grateful for having this amazing deen, Alhamdulillah and having a Shaykh such as yourself taking such an active role in helping represent it and also spread it. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala reward you immensely for all that you do and please keep us in your prayers.
Wasalaam,
Ajmal
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamu Alaikum Shaykh Hamza,
Thank you for your insightful posts. I have learned more from your audio and video recordings (and now your posts) than I have from the local shaykhs at the masjid. I wish there were more shaykhs that were articulate like you. May Allah reward you for all your hard work.
Carmella
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salamu Alaikum
Jazak Allahu khair for this post. It made me somewhat afraid to ask the question below, but I would really like to hear your view.
You mentioned here how some ideologues in the Islamic world were “infected” with Marxist thought. In your lectures on Purification of the Heart, I think you made a comment about the Communist Manifesto completely boiling down to envy (it has been a while, so pardon me if that is not what you said or meant).
Shaykh Muhammad Yaqoubi also mentioned Marx in a lecture called Ignorance: the Disease of Our Time, saying that all of his books should be thrown in the garbage.
Can you please elaborate on your critique of Marxism and why the Ulama are so vehemently opposed to it? Could you mention some books that are helpful in this regard?
Personally, I thoroughly enjoyed the Communist Manifesto (the overall spirit of it, that is) and have found Marxists to be amongst the most moral, just, and selfless people that I have known or read about. It puzzles me why the whole group–even those who do not support the suppression of religion– is criticized so harshly.
Jazak Allahu khair
Was Salam
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Why don’t you allow posts that give a different view on things?
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
“Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can’t, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it.”
Excellently articulated as per usual. This is my favorite post as well as it is much needed.
Gratias tibi ago,
Saifa Tul Islam Hussain
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamu Alaykum
Since you are talking about language, may I share with you these lines:
Life is rough
Run for money, run for fun;
Show your honey, none will shun
Your company, run, run, run!
Rough, rough, rough, life is rough:
I, he, she will laugh, laugh, laugh
At those who don’t have enough.
Laugh, laugh, laugh:
That’s rough stuff. But life is rough.
So run for money, run for fun;
Show your honey, none will shun
Your company, run, run, run!
Ya Subhanallah!
I love your veil
What’s all this tale about the veil?
Fred and Gail shout and hail
Straw as hero
For his hail of fire on Aïsha’s attire.
Did Straw want Aïsha to show
Herself from head to toe?
Let Gail wear a mini-skirt
For her flirt.
And let Aïsha wear on her face
Or on her hair
Whatever piece
That would bring her peace
Vis-à-vis God and vis-à-vis Man.
Oh, man!
Why d’you wish her to disclose
Her beautiful eyes and nice nose
Or her lips or her hips
If that belongs to her?
Come on, Sir!
That body you want her to show
Is a diamond dearer than the glow
Of the face of Marilyn Monroe!
Lies
They tell me
There’s the moon and the stars
And the skies and nothing beyond the skies.
Lies!
There’s God beyond the skies,
I tell you.
When that woman gave birth
To her little son
She didn’t feel that the Earth
Travels around the sun.
It’s all one to the tellers of lies
Who believe the Earth and the skies
Were not made by the One
Who never behaves out of fun,
But were made by chance
Like the meeting of a girl and a boy
Who came to dance.
Lies!
They call themselves wise
But would they tell me why
A girl doesn’t look like a guy
Nor does sunset look like sunrise
Nor do I look like my siblings?
Would they please tell me
Who made the soul that makes the flute weep?
Who made the bird’s twitter
Different from the bleat of sheep?
Would they be bitter
If I asked why
A vulture flies high in the sky
Whereas a peacock won’t go that far?
Muhammad
What can I say on your day
When every day is your day ?
O Muhammad ! O Taha ! O shafi’na on the Last Day !
From the day you stood to say :
O Man ! I’m but a man
Sent to save you, sent to tell you
The way that’ll lead you away
From the one who led you astray
To the One Who made you ’n the best way
And gave you beauty and bounty in every way
And will yet give you joy where you’ll stay
For ever and ever, as you say !
From that day,
O Muhammad ! O Taha ! O shafi’na on the Last Day !
Men came to you on foot and horseback ;
They said as you said
And prayed as you prayed
And when attacked, they fought back.
You lived in a shack
While your beauty was brighter than the moon ;
You ate with your hands
While one with your beauty would use a gold spoon ;
You sat on the sands
While one with your glory
Would build himself storey upon storey :
And that’s why your story
Has gone as far as Brunei and Zinjibar
And London and New York
Where people eat with a knife and fork,
They too say as you said
And pray as you prayed
And when wrongly questioned, they answer back.
O Muhammad ! O Taha ! O shafi’na on the Last Day !
What can I say on your day
When every day is your day ?
From just a few those who came to you
Filled every hill, swamped every dale,
They made Time stand still till their tale
Made the mightiest kingdoms frail
And brought the Muslim flag as close as Prague !
The Arabian Nights tells of made-up knights
And of Harun al-Rasheed
Whose life the Truth of your Message
Made eed upon eed !
And yet someone came to draw
A pic of a man whose peer he never saw,
And papers and commentators
Seeking cheap money and fake glory
Made every story
Out of the Story of the man whose glory
Defies all Posts and all Tribunes and all Times !
O Muhammad ! O Taha ! O shafi’na on the Last Day !
What can I say on your day
When every day is your day ?
When your name has brought fame
To a Dane who became insane ?
What can I say on your day
When night and day
Souls repeat your words
As if they were songs of jungle birds !
Peace be upon you and all those who followed your way !
O Muhammad ! O Taha ! O shafi’na on the Last Day !
Mohamed, Morocco
http://forum.aceboard.net/forum1.php?login=180951&rub=658
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
May Allah save us and purify us of our pride, arrogance and debilitating ignorance. May He increase in knowledge–knowledge in order to serve Him and benefit creation, and not to serve our selves.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Jazaakallaah sheikh.
Just a quick point…would it not be better in the ‘modern’ world to explain the ambiguous terms as foot notes to safe people from error and misjudgement in haste? Or you would rather use this and similar opportunities to educate the masses? I am happy either way.
May Allaah grant us all ‘fiqh’ of deen – a sign of Divine favour. aameen
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Sheikh Hamza,
It is the first time for me to read a blog. I must admit, I have only read this blog and not the one that caused it to happen.
My feelings towards all, is that one must accept that ignorance will never vanish and it will always be part and parcel of life. There will always be people with knowledge and people without knowledge on earth and we will never have exclusively one or the other. One tries hard to raise the level of education of others but one is limited and with limited resources. Your response here to comments on the previous blog shows that you care. First of, to clarify certain understandings and misunderstandings, and second of, to introudce people to new ways of looking at things and shift their standards to a higher level of understandings. Unfortunately, some might get you and others won’t and another loop might start.
If it does, try not to take things to heart- if another eposide of misunderstandings ensues from this blog- as difficult as this might sound for an obviously sensitive person like you- ignore it and keep writing to us, the people who are alighned with you and your thoughts and who can communicate with you as a writer/educator and as a fellow muslim.
All the best inshaAllah,
HEM
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Bismillah Arrahman Arrahiem, wa assalaat wa assalaam 3ala Nabiyuna Mohammad Rassoulou Allah.
Assalam 3aleikoum shaykh Hamza,
I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your work, which has reached and woken up my heart. Hopefully God will permit me to thank you in person, incha’a allah.
This blog entry gives me the opportunity to ask you the following question:
I don’t know if there is anything true in the next statement, but I’m of the impression that the english language has the feature to translate the meanings of arabic much better than the other european languages I know (dutch and french).
So I wish to ask you if you think it’s a good idea to try to learn arabic vocabulary through english-arabic dictionaries. Or is it better to use another method? If you could list the best dictionaries in the market, I’d be very grateful.
Jazaka allah khaira aljaza’ wa assalam 3alaikoum,
Aissam from Belgium.
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Aissam from Belgium,
English is indeed one of the great wonders of the world. Few civilizations can boast of the likes of a Shakespeare, a Milton, a Melville, an Emily Dickinson, and a Robert Frost. The English are great in commerce, war, and poetry. And the proof of the power of their language is that it has conquered the world. Far from being merely a language of commerce, it is capable of exploring the deepest scientific, metaphysical, poetic, philosophical, and religious concepts conceived by man. Although I’ve studied five languages academically, I know only English and Arabic reasonably well. To me, though well I love English, it does not amount to the mist of a breaking wave in the vast ocean that is Arabic. If you want to understand Arabic words, you can only truly understand them through the medium of Arabic dictionaries and through the science of morphology and derivation (sarf and ishtiqaq).
I wish you all the best of success in your studies. Hans Wehr’s Dictionary is a remarkable achievement with which to begin your studies. If you know German, you may find the original version more useful than Cowan’s translation.
Tawfiq,
Hamza Yusuf
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamu Alaikum Shaykh Hamza,
Jazakallahu khairan for your words. May Allah send blessings to you and your family.
Umm Umar
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
You are a “true” teacher, truly capable of elevating his students to a higher understanding. Thank you for your detailed explanation, as it takes a lot of “jalad” to compose this piece- (Jalad is the ability to endure the rigorous mental exercise of something).
After I read the above, I really feel so sorry for myself. I know nothing. I am like the donkey who carries books :(
My heart is crying for my lack of understanding of language…
Where & How do I start?
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
That humble state that you are experiencing is the very best place to start and end. “And of knowledge you have only been given a little” (Qur’an). We are ignorant in reality, and it is only Allah who is the Knower. Whatever little knowledge each of us has been given, it is not an atom in the universe of God’s knowledge. Sidi Abdal Qadir Jilani said, “I looked at all the doors to the divine presence and found that they were all crowded except for one: the door of humility. And I went there, and I shouted, ‘Come, come to your Lord!’”
From Medina,
Hamza Yusuf
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
After reading Harun’s quatrain, a poet such as I cannot resist but challenge must.
It is in darkness that the Lion roars
To warn those edging his domain:
He sees who see not themselves and implores
Them back before they step in vain.
Rafael
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
“unlike today when peace is the norm and war is the anomaly.” seriously one has to be living in fantasy to believe this. ever since the kuffar invented the gun and more efficient killing instruments than a sword such as wp grenades, missiles, rockets, nuclear weapons etc this earth never lost more people to war.
seriously though, i think he is an embodiment of his own criticisms. perhaps he should understand what people that call for ideological islam mean by ideological islam. he is just playing on the use of words here, the point is a system of governance that rules by all the ahkam shariah on every level of society, you can call it ideology or you can call it watermelon, it doesn’t change what islam proscribed nor what khilafah advocates are calling for.
but further than that, he never even mentioned any of the evidences that are used to justify the obligation of working for political islamic systems but only showed the evidences he believes justify being apolitical. therefore all readers of his article shoud assume that either he does not understand the evidences used to justify the obligation of political work, in that they are beyond his scope of knowledge and understanding, hence he is unable to comprehend them which demonstrates his own ignorance. i say that very humbly out of concern and i sincerely hope he should go back and increase his knowledge.
OR he has just simply ignored those evidences, which still renders his article good for naught but being put in a museum so that we can show future generations the grave errors of their forefathers.
although i have to give him credit, i really like the first half of the article
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Respected Shaykh Hamza, as-salamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah.
Thank you for this most enlightening article to which I can see myself referring many times in the future when there is a need to highlight the subtleties of language (whether Arabic, English or other), and the respect that we must show to it.
I have two questions surrounding points you made, if you permit:
1. The wording “and cling to a private Islam” – could please you provide a reference and the original wording in Arabic?
2. You have outlined the problems with the word “ideology” as applied to Islam, but what of “religion”, which you have used? And if it’s the case that both have limitations, might it not be justifiable to use either if properly contextualised?
May Allah bless and reward you.
Sohaib
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Sohaib,
1) The literal translation of the hadith is “Avoid all of those sects even if you have to cling to the roots of the tree,” so the clinging to the roots of the tree is clinging to a private Islam. It’s a hadith in al-Bukhari from Hudhayfah. But there are other hadith indicating that the best place to be at the end of time is secluded in the mountains, i.e. private Islam. All of those indicate that seclusion and avoiding people is a valid option during corrupt periods, which is essentially “private Islam.” This was the way of Owais al-Qarni until the end of his life, when he came out and fought with Imam Ali and died a shaheed.
2) My point was that “ideology” is a pejorative term for Conservatives, and Conservative thought is closer to Muslim thought than Leftist thought in certain areas. You alienate people by using emotive terms that are also alien to our tradition. We don’t need the term because we have better words, such as “revelation.”
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Beautifully written. May Allah bless you by the Anwaar of your present surroundings.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salaamun Alaikum,
Excellent piece of writing. Well done, Sheikh Hamza Yusif. May Allah increse you in language, give you long life and reward you well for all your work. We are very proud of this and hope you are able to continue to contribute immensely to Islam.
This detailed explanation goes to show how determined you are in ensuring that your articles are understood by readers in the light of what you actually intented to convey to them. I pray that majority of readers are moved by this and henceforth be more critical in their analysis of whatever they read form you or other authors. I would like to also add that, another way that can help readers get unambigious meanings of words, phrases or sentences they read fro articles is by trying to understand what preceeding and succeeding sentences, paragraphs or the whole articles intend to portray. This, I believe, will help them understand the context and the intention behind the author’s sentence, phrase, etc in question.
Jazaakaallah,
Nuh
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
asalamu alaikum sh.hamza,
i have been looking for such these articles over internet, unfortunately i did not find any. until you started to write a blogs, i waited an article like this. i always read books about religion, politics, and philosophy and sometimes i did not understand very well. this article should be studied to students before they read. so they can really use their time wisely. in middle east we do not find an articles like these, even you cannot find an on-line arabic dictionary to use. an instuctor who teaches arabic language in college, he asks us to find the word, al-istirlab الاسطرلاب and it`s origin, i did not find anything on internet, and i did not find anyone to help me to use a specific type of dictionary.
i suggest to write about this subject alot..if you do not mind, and make it as a series of articles to educate people around the world, and you should share this article with organizations and institutions around the region, and also if you could add some of your references that you read to get know useful resources, which i need someone – and everyone- to lead me to it.
i also very happy that this article posted from al maddinah al munawarah, the city of our beloved.
allahuma sally wasallem wabarek ala ashraf al anbeya`eh wa morsaleen.
faten al sayyed
from: jordan
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Sheikh Hamza, masha-Allah may Allah increase you in knowledge. Your piece answered so many confusing matters which are bothering my heart and I lack the means to research for them. I promise to read it many times to understand it even better..
Jazakumu-Allahy kheiran katheran.
Nada
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
What a beautiful post, and even more beautiful is that you have written it from the blessed city of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)!
I also have intentions to be in Makkah and Medina inshaAllah in May so if you are reading this please make a dua that my intention is followed through and i can give perform umrah and give my salaams to the best of creation in person (peace and blessings be upon him in person) !
May Allah always keep you smiling and raise in you rank in this world and the next, the Ummah needs more scholars like you! Allah swt bless you and your teachers
Wasalaam shaykh!
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Masha Allah, may Allah increase you with wisdom, knowldege and understanding, and protect you and your family. May Allah also help us benefit from you, you’re a true gift to our ummah. Ameen! Would you please elaborate more on the saying of Imam Al-Ghazali: “Laysa fi al-imkaan abda’ mimma kana,” maybe on your next blog Insha’ Allah.
Give our salaam to Rasulullah sala Allah ‘alaihi wassalam and have a safe trip back. Jazakum Allah kulail khair!
um Abdullah
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Thank you Shaykh Hamza for taking the time to clarify your curious readers on this one. Thank you for this blog, oh beautiful Shaykh! We all feel this is the only way to connect with you, and share some of your thoughts – thanks a million. You are a great inspiration to many of us. Your words/sermons/articles/books are of wisdom and have helped me at times when I greatly needed them.
We greatly appreciate it. You are truly amazing, and amazing people are destined for an amazing reward. Salaam Alaykum.
: )
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salamu Alaikom, Shaykh Hamza,
I enjoy your lectures and writings immensely, as I’m inspired by learning such an extensive amount of knowledge in usually such a short period of time. I love the way you deliver the information – in a very intellectual and scholarly way. I actually revel in learning and looking up a few words that are unfamiliar to me to try to understand the meaning in context.
In reading your Syntax blog, I wondered who your target audience is, and I also wondered how many Muslims are able to read it with understanding, and how many will take the time to do so. I am an American-born Muslim of Anglo-Saxon heritage, and was in Honors English at Moorhead State University, and love the level of intellectuality in your writing; and, it seems that many of the people who are commenting here are also well-versed in English and academically capable. And most are in agreement with what you’re saying, because most of the educated, and scholarly Muslims do recognize these issues. That pretty much constitutes preaching to the choir.
Unfortunately, the Muslims who need to read and understand this may not have a full grasp on English, or may have a full grasp of English, but may be a little too overwhelmed by the commitment of reading a lengthy article, or may be too busy, lazy or otherwise occupied to spend this quality time on a task they see as daunting.
But somehow, we need to capture their attention, because ignorance is dangerous and damaging. I can’t believe how many people are so quick to believe a bogus e-mail or website and then spread the misinformation. The audience in question is the one unfamiliar to critical thinking or analysis. Once their minds are opened to this concept, they also can spread the lesson.
I can see this information reaching the target audience and possibly having an impact if it is morphed into a short video segment (which you do extremely well), or into a shorter set of paragraphs maybe using a story reference to help aid understanding. Please continue your short video segments on various topics. They are very valuable and easy to forward to others who may benefit.
Remember the Apple Mecca e-mail that went viral? I had to send it back to so many people and tell them this was ridiculous and what the true story was. I introduced many to Snopes.com also. I can’t believe that so many people just forwarded the e-mail immediately out of anger to their entire distribution list, and didn’t give pause to verify and validate the content! Scary.
Thank you for being such a valuable, wise and humble teacher for so many of us! I appreciate the work you do, and I can’t imagine how difficult and frustrating it must be sometimes to come up against the kind of judgment and ignorant statements that people without knowledge make. For people with knowledge and wisdom would never throw accusations, but they would reason and discuss their points of view in a manner conducive to Islamic teachings. I admire your patience and humility, and I have learned so much from you over the years.
With sincerity,
Lori Muraweh
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamu alaykum, Alhamdullilah, Thank you, Sheik Yusuf for your clarification, please forgive the intellectually & emotionally immature amongst us who have great enthusiasm for the Deen, but lack the manners of civil dialogue…
Perhaps you may write an article on the the obligation (or not an obligation) on having an Islamic state, meaning is it a communal fard upon the Ummah to establish it? and if not then the community is subject to punishment in the Hereafter…An analogy that comes up in this issue is the concept of Janazah prayer, where it is a communal obligation not an individual obligation, however if the local community does not take care of it then its members are in error, and so as a result the members must make an attempt/effort to correct the situation, success/the result is up to Allah (Swt)…One needs a scholarly response to these type of queries…
This following sentence of yours, “For most adherents of the faith, Islam is apolitical in that politics or political systems they may happen to live under do not affect their personal faith in God or their personal practice of Islam. ”
, causes me some confusion, after listening to some your lectures and readings, which you made before, if possible can you further explain…
The following is a link to an article from an historian who is Muslim. I think, although the overall tone of the article evokes negativity, the first paragraph in my opinion is important.
http://www.lamppostproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/History-of-the-Caliphate.pdf
May Allah (Swt) reward you in your efforts in struggling for the Deen, for the Sake of Allah (Swt)…, with peace and blessings…
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalaamu ‘alaikum from up north in Al-Jouf, Ya Sheikh!
I just read an amazingly poignant excerpt from Rumi’s writings (in the book “Light Upon Light” trans. by Andrew Harvey), about how when we see faults in others, it is actually a reflection of our selves:
“A man feels no disgust at his own scab or abscess; he will dip his infected hand into the food and lick his fingers without being offended. If he sees, however, a tiny abscess or scratch on someone else’s hand, he will avoid that person’s food and refuse to eat it. Evil qualities are like scabs and abscesses; when they are in you, you aren’t hurt by them, but when you perceive them in someone else, you reel in disgust. Dare to turn that disgust not on your neighbor but on your own false self, and slowly, you will come to know Him in you.”
Please make dua for all of us. We also plan to be in Mecca and Medina in a couple weeks insha’Alla- I kindly ask that you please pray for safety, tawfiq, baraka and spiritual openings by this trip : ) Jazak Allahu Khairan.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
I am glad I’ve come across your blog Shaykh Hamza. I look forward to more posts and topics being discussed.
I would love to see- and inshAllah it will happen-some of the great muslim scholars of the west have a debate/discussion with the great atheist and other religious figures on a large scale and televised on national TV. We all face a crisis of the modern age, and the fitna it brings. And it would be great to see the leading thinkers come together to discuss some of these topics on a grand stage.
Salaam
Omar
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
It appears that the criteria to get ones comment published is to have ample praise of Shaykh Hamza in ones comment. Alas, all will be okay once the tears flow.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
All that is necessary to make me to understand how little I know of Islam is to read something of Hamza Yousef’s commentary.
The more I learn the greater the field of my ignorance.
Yusuf Kelley
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
salam aleykum,
can you please clarify the apparent inconsistency here: You say “Islam shares nothing with what can be called an ideology if we understand the term both etymologically and in modern usage,” however the previous sentence you acknowledged “it has a neutral meaning, as in worldview.” As a student of IR theory and politics I know ideology has a modern usage to mean worldview, and I would actually argue that that is more common (in other discourses, ideology can mean rigidity, dogmatism which I believe you accept to the exclusion of other meanings, and also expediency and disingenuousness, but these are more specialized contingent meanings). Do you take issue with Islam being a worldview based on and divine revelation?
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamu Alaykum
Dear Shaykh Hamza,
Thank you for your blog posts, we love reading them.
While you are in Madina al Munawarra, if it is possible please would you convey our salaams to the best of creation..our beloved Prophet S.A.W
Please remember us in your duas.
Lots of love, Abby and Samia. (Manchester, UK).
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
Thank you for the post.
I just went to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and conveyed your salams – even though he gets them from where you are too. But the more the better.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Excellent, mashallah. There are so many reminders packed into this one post that I know I will return to it again and again.
I eagerly await your next writing.
In peace
Jacki
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
As-salamu alaikum,
Jazakallah khair for this beneficial post. Please do not hesitate to continue writing.
May Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) grant you and your family tawfeeq and tayseer. Ameen.
wassalam
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assallam Alaykum;
Jazakallah shaykh. – excellent post as always.
May Allah bless you and your family.
Muhammad Khan.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salaams.
I think this blog opens up more questions then it tries to answer.
Firstly does Islam define a unique political system?
Secondly is it permitted to go outside of Islamic fiqh to implement any policies within the state?
Thirdly the article state that the current world sees peace as the norm. Yet we see constant war for the last 60 years in Palestine and Kashmir. We are currently living through a war in Afghanistan that has lasted longer than ww1 and 2. That
We saw conflict since 1996 in Chechnya and previous to that was the genocide in Bosnia. I could give countless other examples of wars engaged with by western nations or others whether in the Muslim world or outside of it. Peace is not the norm Libya is an example of that. And these wars many of which have been offensive in nature and not merely defensive. So on what basis does the article state that peace is the norm?
Fourthly which scholars say jihad is only defensive and why do they hold this opinion?
Finally is sh. Hamza really saying that nowhere does the word jihad mean war in the Quran?
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
AA shk Hamza,
jazakallah khairun for the post, indeed the blind and seeing are truly differentiated.
Z.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Sheikh Hamza,
Would you PLEASE address the issue of doing ‘Islamic politics’ to create an ‘Islamic state’ in more detail. I happen to agree with what you seem to think: institutionalising Islam is a bad idea.
BUT people who do believe differently and are in fact doing ‘Islamic politics’ will ask the question then that ‘what is the alternative’? This is mainly relevant in Muslim majority countries. These are the questions that must be addressed:
1. If there are no Islamic political parties then do we let the rulers rule us the way they want and let them make laws against Islam? (I’m from Bangladesh and a law has recently being passed that made giving fatwa illegal)
2. Without an Islamic political party that want to ‘establish’ the deen how you will enforce the shariah? (Seemingly the major concern of the proponents of ‘Islamic politics’)
I don’t want to make the post longer because I think you already know the other questions these people ask. I have my answers and sometimes I don’t even have an answer. But I am not knowledgeable enough to trust the answers that I have. You have to write about this Sheikh Hamza.
I wish I could be in California studying with you in Zaytuna. I think about going to Zaytuna everyday and waiting for it to get the permission from the government so I can go as an international student.
Ma’assalam
Saqib
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Shaykh Hamza.
I love your work and this post from Madina-and I’d so love to be there now rather than in yorkshire!- is full of wisdom.I know you’re an aashiq of the Habeeb- So please pray for us here.
One question i have however, is that the masses are to be criticised for not understanding the nuances of the speech of the ulema etc.
However, given that we live in such times of fitan, is there a responsiblity upon the ulema to be hyper-careful as to how they speak in public forums, knowing that the majority of people are unlikely to be equipped with the linguistic tools to make subtle demarcations?
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Sir,
你好
I hope by the grace of God Almighty this finds you to be well. I apologize for not having kept up with your blog in recent months and commenting.
Sir, what first attracted me to your work during my State of Heedlessness was your care and attention to language and word etymologies. I have always been fascinated by language and linguistics. Words, with their denotation, connotations and subtle nuances are an amazing tool, as Eminem once stated ‘words are weapons’. I feel that this fact becomes particularly apparent when one acquires a number of languages. It was Wittgenstein who said, ‘the limits of my world are the limits of my language’,
In highlighting the traditional requisites for engaging in dialogue I believe you have unconverted an unfortunate problem which is currently plaguing many a community, including the Muslim community. There has been an eradication or decay of ‘adab’ in every sphere which has led to several problems. Many people who wish to engage in a discourse merely wish to accuse and often make ‘takfir’;there is no real interest or desire to discuss or understand a possible alternative. This issue is made worse threefold by the fact that often such people have misunderstood-intentionally or otherwise a statement or stance and then are spreading this misinformation via the internet. Attention is often placed on text and not context. It is very much a case of ‘neem ullah khatara-e-iman’(..and in half an Imam fear for your Faith). Muslim forums are plagued with ‘neem ullahs’ who seem to have nothing better to do than create ‘fitna’. It is why I do not participate in Muslim forums. I have often seen remarks made about your dear self or Shiekh Abdal Hakim Winter where ‘x’ has been attributed to you or he and in reality you said ‘x’ with ‘y & z’ or under such and such conditions. It is a rather harsh remark to make but there is no ‘taqwa’…
Sir, I saw you at The Oxford Union last year. I had bought you a piece of Chinese calligraphy, aware of your like of cultures and language from Xian but ‘the powers that be’ would not permit me to give you my small token of appreciation
Imran, Shanghai
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
May Allah preserve you and your health for your family and for generality of Muslims.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Shaykhna,
May God Bless you liberally sidi. A beautiful response to the rather rough remarks made by our well-intended brothers.
I have a question:
Do you know of any other works in English like Roy Olivier’s “The Failure of Political Islam?” I really enjoyed that read but would like to read more works on this topic.
Since accepting Islam, I have always felt rather ashamed and guilty for loving my country of birth and residence more than any other Muslim-majority country I had lived in or visited but I am no longer troubled or torn when I say that I truly believe my country (Canada) to be more in line with the Islamic spirit than any nation I have ever visted or resided in. Many immigrant Muslims in my community would almost equate this with blasphemy had I shared this with them !
May God Preserve you, your family and your teachers. Ameen.
Jamil – Vancouver, Canada
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Yukrimuka_llah ya Sidi Hamza wa jazaka bi mazidin min_nnurih bayna yadayk wa bi aymanik wa min khalfik!
Since Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala taught man Al Bayan, and the seas in ink and trees in pens would not suffice to record His Words, ambiguity became a necessary attribute of the medium of man’s articulation.
Another aspect of the gift for ambiguity in language is that the prophets were thereby facilitated to speak to the people according to their acumen without having to re-formulate the bayan over again, (which by extension also applies to their torch bearers and heirs), and Allah knows best.
These are just some thoughts inspired by/while reading your blog, and I am only posting them, because you asked for feedback…
Tahiyyah & and love
(German) Muhammad Harun
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamu ‘alaykum Shaykh Hamza,
Do you read all your books according to the late Mortimer Adler’s rules of reading?
Jazakallah.
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
The books that I read generally are books that are worth reading. And a book worth reading is worth reading well. Adler gives very good guidelines for reading, and he himself, as I knew him personally, was a great reader. And he had immense respect for Islam.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Dear Shaykh Hamza,
Since you mentioned Wikipedia, what are your thoughts on this online encyclopedia that anyone with an account can edit? Also, I have two small boys, should I purchase an 18 volume Britannica for them?
Jazakallah
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Unfortunately I think people do not want to understand. It seems that people want to misunderstand in order to attack others to feel some kind of false sense of superiority. I am really happy you covered this topic especially after reading some of the comments on your last blog.
May Allah bless you always and keep our minds open for guided knowledge.
-AM
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
As salamu alaikum Shaykh,
I always benefit from reading your articles and hearing you speak. May Allah preserve you and elevate you. AMEEN!
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
(Continuation + Edited Response)
Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem
All praise to Allah, Lord of the Universe, and peace and blessings be upon our beloved Prophet.
Sheikh Hamza Yusuf brought a remarkable vindication to the table that required my own mental efforts to grasp. He critically debunks the false assumptions of those who are guilty of the ad hominem and hasty generalization fallacy in their arguments and points out the importance of having enlightened intellects that can determine ambivalence and disambiguate language as opposed to the unconscious thinking of average modern human beings that are prone to irascibility in their responses. I love how he provided a number of classical examples such as the difference of how Imam Maliki and Imam Shafi’ both looked at the preposition min and interpreted it differently but accurately in practical terms and the encounter which the Prophet’s companions had during their expedition to Bani Quraydha with the meaning of Asr whether it was time or prayer. Both were acceptable to the Prophet (s) for he knew the inevitable ambiguity in human words. What rendered me insight was the way Hanson tackled the misinterpretations of the word “ideology” and proved with rational evidence that Islam is a way of life that transcends the confinement of political dogma from Surah Ra’d, verse eleven. God stating eloquently in His magnificent Book that the condition of a nation is determined by the qualities of people’s hearts and their responsibility over their inner states is enough to bring man to take his soul to account but how many people are willing to look at their own egoic motives? I humbly agree that by adopting the Islamic ethical standard and focusing on refining the inward so the outward can manifest itself as ihsan, the state will reflect that quality of excellence but how many people in political position are willing to give up their “power” and submit to the All-Powerful? I also appreciate how in the beginning paragraphs he gives a personal example of his hindrance with a word from an Arabic poem that immediately made him look through dictionaries to get the appropriate meaning and then moving on to describing the various levels of mental faculty one partakes while reading in order to understand the writer’s attempts before argumentation. He personally takes the initiative to understand words themselves and has one of the fundamental assets of a critical thinker, which is humility, and respectfulness towards the other’s values. We live in a world where ambiguous words beleaguer us and whether in an individual or collective body these words, especially political jargon, affect us one way or another. Terrorism has an emotional attachment to people as fearful, wild and crazy. Defense Spending brings a sense of security but at the same time a feel of deprivation for the mix of output in US economy has the potential of becoming imbalanced by the heavy scale of military expenses, leaving a shortage for salary and other beneficial incomes. Both reflect ambivalent meanings but by bringing the denotative meaning of the ambiguous word to light, we can observe our own emotional reactions and ask about what the author is trying to indicate. Hamza Yusuf has provided outstanding reflections on adab of reading and writing within the modern world and I pray that his knowledge will benefit the people of Medina and the rest of the world. May Allah, Glorified be He, preserve Sheikh Hamza, his family, and loved ones from the evil of the enviers when they envy and grant them Jannatul Firdaus Al A’la. Amin.
- Rami A. Dawood
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
I apologize on behalf of the people who wrote to you in opposition to your statement regarding ‘ideology’. May Allah grant us love of those who love Him and adab for the learned, ameen.
Musa Gomez
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
As-salamu `alaikum brother sheikh Yusuf. Thank you for your informative post and for you knowledge masha’Allah!
You’re right concerning the manner of debating “adab al ikhtilaaf”. Some people, out of their love of Islam “al-ghira `ala al-Islam”, react in a way that doesn’t match with the teaching of Islam. Adab al-ikhtilaf is very important. One should ask the author about he meant, especially if the author is a Muslim, and not only a Muslim but a Sheikh and daa`i.
May be the scholars should simplify their language for common people or elaborate more on what they say in order to avoid any misunderstanding.
Baraka Lahu fik wa jazaka khayran for all what you are doing for the sake of Islam.
Pleasse give my salaam to our beloved teacher and Prophet sayyindna Muhammad salla Lahu `alayhi wa sallam!
Ahlam from Morocco
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamualaikum
Ya Sayidi, I would suggest you switch off the comments section. Most websites and blogs that have a comment section usually end up getting flooded with ‘trolling’. Most often than not the people who appreciate articles tend to be silent readers and do not comment. The trolling comments can often embroil the authors in endless debates and the whole benefit of the articles / blog / comments becomes derailed, this can then lead to the author throwing in the towel which could mean the lose of a valuable resource. Many people benefit from your opinions on your website, please dont let the trollers derail you or frustate you into shutting it down.
My suggestion is publish your opinion and if people want to respond let them do so in their own space.
wasalam
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
A completely off topic question for you Shaykh Hamza:
Considering that you seem to be a bibliophile :-), have you read Voltaire’s Mahomet? If so, what do you think about it?
Peace.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
salam
Beautiful wordz as always. Its true sumtimes ppl dnt undastand dat de dnt undastand :)
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Thanks for that clarification, Shaykh Hamza.
Just curious, after what type of government do you think Egypt should model its new government? Turkey? I’m assuming secularism is a “no.” How about something like Malaysia? Several countries have secular law with Sharia courts serving alongside. Malaysia has two entirely different legal systems, one for the Muslim majority that live according to Sharia, and one for everyone else that is secular.
Salaam.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
AA I would kindly disagree with your explanation of your personal usage of ideology. Terms are understood according to their customary usage in society and not what an author personally understands them to be, unless he makes it clear in hi…s work. Thus it is not the fault of the reader, but the author, if the statement is ambiguous.
As regards ideology, I find your analysis of it very limited and even misleading.
There is no agreed definition of the term ideology only a set of rival definitions. “Ideology is the most elusive concept in the whole of the social sciences.”(McLellan, 1995). As Andrew Heywood explains in his political primer, “Political Ideologies”, this has been partially due to the contentious link between theory and reality, and partially due to the use of the term as a political device to condemn and criticize rival belief systems – visible in your discourse.
The term ideology has been defined as:
• The body of doctrine, myth, belief etc., that guides an individual, social movement, institution, class, or large group.
• a systematically developed worldview oriented toward stimulating and guiding social change
• The body of ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual, group, class, or culture or a set of doctrines or beliefs that form the basis of a political, economic, or other system.
• A system of beliefs or theories, usually political, held by an individual or a group.
• a system of ideas, beliefs and myths justifying or attacking a given social order
• The important ‘belief systems’ adhered to by groups or whole societies – it is our ‘world view’ or ‘mind set’ concerning how things are and ought to be.
• Those underlying assertions, propositions, or kernels of personal-truth that integrate and organise each individual’s expressed socio-political attitudes.
The term ideology can be said to denote fundamental ideas that provide belief systems for individuals/ groups. The term has frequent usage in relation to secular or materialistic systems but is not limited by this usage nor does it pose any contextual problems when transferring its use to the Islamic context. Classical literature reveals a spiritual creed (aqeedah/imaan), a set of fundamental and decisive concepts, providing guidance through values and ideas enforceable and regulated via political authority. These ideas include both natural matters (morality, ethics, socio-political, law etc) as well super-natural matters (meta-physics, the hereafter etc).
Labeling Islam as an ideology importantly results in no loss of any aspect of the subject matter nor does it introduce anything unwarranted, adhering to accepted notions of typology (jami’ wa mani’). Those who deem ideologies are limited to a political realm ignore their comprehensive nature. Some instances of ideologies have Machiavellian tendencies however this is a characteristic of an instance and not a necessary aspect of an ideology’s definition.
Scholars like al-Nabhani define ideology (mabda’a) as “…a rational doctrine from which a system emanates. The ‘aqeedah (doctrine) is a comprehensive idea about man, life and the universe… As for the system that emanates from this doctrine, it is the solutions for man’s problems, the method for implementing those solutions, preserving the doctrine and conveying the ideology to others.” These systems manage three relationships, individual (morality), creator (worships) and social (systems of life). Activists like Hasan al-Banna, wrote, ‘we believe Islam is an all-embracing concept which regulates every aspect of life, adjudicating on every one of its concerns and prescribing for it a solid and rigorous order.”
You argue that the term ideology does not appear in the Quran/Sunnah or that its modern day Arabic equivalent, ideologiyya, indicates that the notion has not been addressed by revelation. However this argument is fundamentally flawed and potentially disingenuous. Well known terms that scholars readily accept as part of “religion” were never used in the sources. It is well known that Islamic scholars and jurists created technical terms for ease of discourse, ensuring that normative positions were determined by revelation.
In conclusion, the definition and the use of the term ideology in both cases is acceptable, and to assert Islam is an ideology is valid. Restricting it to a political ideology is no doubt controversial, however it is an irrelevant debate as nobody argues such.
Hamza Yusuf Posted on 04/15/2011
Your points are an argument for the very points I was making, even though your conclusion denies that. To create technical terms for sciences is valid, but to borrow a hackneyed, leftist, ill-defined term, which you yourself argue, as an all-encompassing definition of our religion (i.e. that Islam is an ideology) is insanity, in my estimation. Islam is clearly defined by our scholars to be the state of submission to our Creator through following His injunctions and avoiding His prohibitions as declared in His Revelation, the Qur’an, and its guiding explication, the Sunnah, as articulated by our Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and the consensus of the rightly guided scholars and valid analogical reasoning by qualified scholars. There are other considerations, but none of them are fully agreed upon, such as public interests. Some of the scholars of the 20th Century were heavily influenced by Marxist thought, and part of that thought was ideological. So these concepts crept into the vocabulary of certain Muslims, but they create more confusion than clarity. And you and I as two Muslims should at least agree upon the definition of Islam without recourse to modern terms that create more confusion than clarity.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Excellent elaboration, MashAllah. Sheikh Hamza I’m reading Biography of our Prophet (SAW) you recommended the one by Martin lings in many lectures. Is there more? If you can recommend some more I will really appreciate that. JazakAllah.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salam alaykum shaykh Hamza,
As one philosopher’s blog whom I read said, write for the smartest. Don’t aim for the lowest common denominator. Speak to the smartest in people and to the smartest people. Thats where the most potential lies. I think when you start doing that, people respond in a likewise manner- just as children do.
It would be nice for example to hear, some of your own original ideas so that people accomodate you better and make more for you, more breathing/thinking space, for people to take you as more than a simple religious scholar quoting away, but also a thinker. Muslims will invariably try and fit you into the narrow confines of the stereotype of a alim, and I think that is why the vitriol will come your way. If at least you go beyond that a little, then it gives you more ‘space’ and makes your task as a scholar significantly more potent, inshallah.
May Allah preserve thee, ameen.
-Omer
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalam alykum ,
As an Arabian girl studying linguistic & English literature in my last year,
this is the best syntax lecture I’ve ever take . It’s really wonderful and interesting article m’ashallah.
Thank you so much Sheik Hamza yusuf.
jazak Allah Kair
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
The writer of this blog is beautiful & thinks & writes beautifully.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
I must say I read your recent blog with a heavy heart. I think your words ‘we need an Islamic state of mind more than an Islamic state’ succinctly sum up the root of the problem. Sadly, it seems that there are quite a few people who are too ready to judge and to condemn or who need to label or pigeon-hole others (‘moderate’/'extreme’/'salafi’/'sufi’ etc) in order to know how to interact and it is quite disheartening seeing that you need to justify and explain the meaning of your words when the very least one should expect is the benefit of the doubt (x70!!!).
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was sent as a ‘mercy to mankind’ and I think that we all need to keep this in mind whenever we interact with others -especially those who are more knowledgeable than ourselves.
Perhaps it’s a sign of the desperation that people feel – the desperate need for clear religious direction at a time when politics and political parties seem so ambiguous? Whatever it signifies, insh’Allah I hope that by just remaining engaged in dialogue, someone, somewhere will at least walk away from the table slightly more informed than when they sat down.
May Allah (swt) grant you patience and bless your trip to Medina ameen.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalaam Wa Allaykum
I pray you’re in good health and wish I was in the same place you are (in both your knowledge and location), a very honest and much needed blog points to the heart of many of the Muslims ills, and it’s something we all need to address and learn from.
I couldn’t agree with you more on the points you have raised, may Allah reward you.
HASEEB, UK.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
as salaamu `alaykum, Shaykh.
Fearful of falling into that which, in this very article, you are warning against – that is taking words to mean other than what their author intended;- I would like to ask, ‘Why you are empahatically negating equating one post-revolutionary term, ideology, with the ethos of Islam, yet, seemingly, accepting of the unqualified use of another; equating “mutual consultation (shura’)” with “parliament or congress, in today’s language?”
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salam, Jazakalah Shaykh Hamza, as a student of Arabic I have just started this journey to learn the language of Heaven.I know that in our tradition you should never praise someone to their face, but I love reading your articles, they are indeed excellent/mumtaz.
I love that fact that you can couple modernity with tradition, long may it continue.
WS
Abdul Waheed Jamal
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamualikum dear beloved Imam!
You embraced this Deen at the beginning of the 14th Islamic Hijri. We ask Allah that He renews our Deen through your efforts in spreading this Deen. May He reward you with abundant good in this life and the next and may He, out of the immensity of His generosity, admit us into the garden in the company of the Prophets, the Siddiqin, the Martyrs and the Righteous. And what a fine company that is!
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
So glad to read this post my good Preacher
May its message spread across the land
May God extend your life my good Teacher
To again teach Muhaarim al-Lisaan
with salaam,
Haroon
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
MashAllah,
May Allah preserve you sayyidi.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salam-walaikum!
I must say, that you have really inspired me for a while. I am a female, muslim college student at emory university, and I aspire to be a great female scholar of Islam. I have heard so many ignorant things said about Islam that I know in my heart to be untrue (especially about women) that caused me a great deal of anger in the past. In fact, I tried to find a way to leave the muslim community! But I realized that I can make a difference, and I want to attend your institute at some point in my life. Thank you for speaking from knowledge and for speaking for people like me.
Ibrahim J. Long Posted on 04/15/2011
As-Salamu ‘Alaikum Sh. Hamza,
Excellent clarification. It is an unfortunate state of that we are in that so many jump to conclusions, without seeking clarification of what an author or speaker intended. Thank you for taking your time to clarify yourself intelligently and making this an opportunistic for a great lesson for students of knowledge.
Shaykh, you also captured my interest with citing al-Ghazali’s statement, “Laysa fi al-imkaan abda’ mimma kana.” Though this was only mentioned as an example of an ambiguous statement in your blog, out of curiousity, would you mind relating the text that it is from and some background to the discussion concerning it? That is, from one lover of al-Ghazali to another.
Jazak Allah khair.
wasalam,
Ibrahim
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamu alaykum
JazakAllahKhair. This was a much needed article. May Allah bless you for spending time to explain to us and may He grant this Ummah His Mercy.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Salaam alaikum
I agree people should ask themselves if they’ve understood the meaning of the author. Besides a believer should always think the best of his/her fellow believer and make excuses, especially when that believer is a scholar
But in these times where a lot of muslims feel oppressed and humiliated by politics we are in need of scholars who will support the believers to strive for change in all islamic ways possible. When the scholars stress jihad al-akbar and make statements which seem to suggest that islam has absolutely nothing to say about politics and the state of oppression and humiliation many muslims face in their countries, it causes the believers to doubt either the courage of the scholars. When you ask about jihaad you’re now always confronted with the reply: Brother do you pray fajr>? have you mastered jihaad al akbar?
May Allah guide us to be merciful towards each other and deserve to be called the slaved of Ar-Rahman, Amien.
Walaikum Salaam.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
JazakAllah Khayran Sheikh Hamza, I really appreciate and enjoy your blog entries and the wisdom you share.
I had an unrelated question that I hope you can help me with. I find it very difficult to wake up for Fajr prayers, more so in the summer when Fajr is very early. In the summer months Isha is very late and Fajr is very early, so it’s really difficult going to bed late and then waking early to pray Fajr and then trying to go back to sleep for a couple of hours before waking for work. Do you have any advise on how the Prophet (pbuh) slept as many Hadith report that he would spend much of the night in prayer. How did he get enough sleep to ensure he was rested enough?
I often wonder if, like so many other things, we have been mislead here in the West on how much sleep we really need. Any advice would be much appreciated. JazakAllah khayran.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
AsalamuAlikum Shaykh,
SubhanAllah, Shaykh Hamza your vast understanding of the humanities is so essential for helping us undersand our religion. I was not a participant in the commentary regarding your Libya post, but I agree with everything you have said here. It’s amazing how one’s ego can interfere in one’s understanding of a verse or of the words of a human being. We must always think the best of others, and question their statements justly, that was the way of our Prophet (saw) – let us live in his example.
JazakAllah Khairan for sharing this. I really wish I get to meet you in person some day, InshAllah. Till then, this blog, your lectures and your books contiue to be the closest connection I have. You have changed my relationship with Islam entirely & inspired my love for reading. InshAllah may Allah (swt) preserve you and your knowledge.
I hope your trip is going well, please continue spreading your knowledge of our deen.
WaalikumSalam,
Sarah
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Dearest Shaykh Hamza,
Thank you again for another insightful post. I wanted to get your thoughts on the current debates in the Muslim world regarding modern states. Many Muslims have called for a “dawla madiniyyah bi marj’iyah islamiyah’ in which presumably scholars of deen would not rule but engage in a neutral role with respect to politics or as sheikh al Azhar recently commented “Islam is above revolutions or states.” This makes alot of sense to me. However, I read in some of the Muslim law books and works by Sh. Uthman bin Fudi that the hakim should be a mujtahid, know the sacred law, etc. In our American context, nearly all members of Congress have a law degree, which would make me think that it’s not unreasonable to have a situation where parliaments in these lands could encompass lawmakers who have a certain literacy in fiqh, but then we would have men of religion in govnt. The late great scholar of Egypt, Muhammad mutawali al-sharawi had commented ” I wish for religion to reach the people of politics and do not wish the men of religion reach politics.” could you please enlighten us with your thoughts on all this? Finally is it true that the Bahraini situation is based on sectarian strife or are calls for governmental reform (prime minister related to the king and in power for decades, treatment of Shia as second class citizens, etc) legitimate?
Fraternal salams ya sayyidi,
Ashraf
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
assalamu alaikum Sh Hamza
jazakallahu khair, wa barakallahu feek. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling tremendously grateful for your efforts, especially for directly reaching out to the people through this modern medium, despite your busy schedule.
I thought I understood your statement from your last blog quite well, and had I not, I certainly would have given you the benefit of the doubt.
I do have a very important question, though, that has been nagging at me since the recent uprisings overseas. It was heartening to hear (some) scholars supporting the people, but it was my understanding that uprisings against a ruler were a practice that violated one of the tenets of aqida (creed) as a believer. Am I mistaken?
I would really appreciate a very brief answer, because this pertains to aqida, and I know many people have struggled with this very question.
thank you,
AMG
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
MashaAllah, thank you for your clarifications Sh.hamza. May Allah swt elevate your status and bless your family. I have met you many times on rihlas/ programs and studied with you. Please pray for my family, my community,the ummah of our beloved (s) and the whole of humanity.
NB: Can you please at some point write a piece on children & education.
Jazakallah Khair
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
SubhanAllah! As with all your work Shaykh, incredibly insipirational, motivational and educational.
From the age of 12, since my father left this world, i have been listening and reading your works, and all your work, your life, and you yourself as a person has inspired me, and driven me to the 17 year old student i am today.
If i may pick one thing about this blog entry
“A serious student of knowledge must work to grasp the ambiguities of the text she is reading.”
You said ‘She’ =’) it is such a small thing, but has so much meaning.
Remember me in your blessed dua’s in the blessed city of Madinah.
salaam.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatu Allah taala wa barakatuhu,
Jazak Allahu khairan brother Hamza Yusuf for everything you are doing.
Masha Allah, you are in the city of our beloved prophet (SAAW) peace and blessings be upon him.
Please, keep us in your duaas.
May Allah (SWT) help you and protect you.
Your sister Amina Oum Mouaath.
Iman Salam Posted on 04/15/2011
I appreciate you taking the time to explain all of this, but also embarrassed that you were put in that position. You would think that it would be common sense for one to not condemn things they don’t understand, but we obviously live in an age where everyone thinks they can Google something and become an instant scholar!
p.s. I think you writing this blog is extremely important for the times we live in. Keep it up :)
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
the islamic political groups of the 20th century have caused nothing but misery for the muslim world. its time for the ummah to put the ikhwan al-muslimin and hizb-ut-tahrir into the dustbin of history. brilliant article, Sidi Hamza.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Thank you for the article. I was once told by a brother that in Islam there is a principle that ‘we do not argue over the terms, but over their definitions’, so does it matter if some one uses the term ideology to refer to Islam as long as he explains what he means by the word ideology.
Also while reading a book by Sheikh Taqi Uddin An-Nabhani called ‘The systems of Islam’ he uses the word ideology to refer to Islam, again is there anything wrong with that.
Lastly, when I read your article on Eygpt, I have to be honest and say I did not come to the same conclusions on aspects of your article, which you have come to in this article. Maybe be if you wrote your whole thinking out clearly, like above, confusion would not have arisen. And Allah (swt) knows best.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Asalamu Alaikum,
Shaykh Hamza, this has to be one my favorite posts on this blog so far. May Allah reward you. Not to say that the others are not just as thought provoking, but I was just having a conversation about this very thing the other day. So many talk with little to no knowledge of a subject and spread their foolishness on the net for all to see. People need to understand that reading involves not only reading words on a page, but comprehending them as well. So often, people simply skip the word they don’t quite understand and move on to the next and repeat this way of reading until pretty soon they don’t understand what they’re reading at all anymore. Then in jumps the nafs to fill in those blank areas and give the person a false sense of understanding thus causing them to go on the net and make themselves look foolish. This is why I refrain from reading a lot of comments on this blog (and others). I only chose to respond to this one because it is subject matter that really hit home with me. Again, thank you for this and the other insightful posts.
Wasalam
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Jazakhallah Khairan Shaykh Hamza for your clarification,
I know that there are a lot of times where people say things that can be very hurtful, thus I hope that Allah will reward you for your sabr and adab in the face of a lack of adab from others. Your articles are very illuminating thus internet trolls should not discourage you from taking the time to share your thoughts with us.
I have noticed that it has become the habit of too many people on the internet to be criticl of things that you say without knowing the context from which you say them.
However, one thing that you can do to mitigate some f the misunderstandings that people have of what you say is to try not to mention minority opinions when talking to a general audience.
For example, I remember listening to your excellent speech at Oxford about “Islam and Reform” and you started mentioning the opinions of Tabari and Ibn Taimiya about the validity of women leading a mixed congregation in Salat. Of course, I understood that you did this to how that these issues have been discussed by our ‘ulema in the past, thus Islam has strong enough usul not to require a “reformation:”. However, some ignorant Muslims and non-Muslim journalists have misunderstood this to mean “Sh. Hamza Yusuf says that women can lead men in prayer.”
So in my humble opinion (and forgive me for any lack of adab in giving a scholar such as yourself advice) we should try to stick to discussing the mu’tamad positions of the madhabs when talking about the Sharia while in the presence of a lay Muslim audience and a non-Muslim audience.
Jazakhallah khairan for all your good works.
May Allah give you tawfiq
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
I feel sorry that you must spend your time explaining yourself to fools yaa sheikh, but as always, your comments have brought great benefit
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Assalamu alaykum, I was one of those who misunderstood your use of the word ‘ideology’. I thank you for your further explanation. It makes sense to me now – until of course I look up another dictionary.
Anonymous Posted on 04/15/2011
Masha Allah. Alhamdulillah. That is a most articulate summary of very complex topics. Thank you, Shaykh Hamza, for making complex matters understandable and ambiguities clarified. May Allah reward you greatly.
Was Salaam
Afroz