. . . . . Hypocrisy Thy Name is . . . . . منافقت . . . . .

آئین جواں مرداں حق گوئی و بے باکی..اللہ کے بندوں کو آتی نہیں روباہی...Humanity is declining by the day because an invisible termite, Hypocrisy منافقت eats away human values instilled in human brain by the Creator. I dedicate my blog to reveal ugly faces of this monster and will try to find ways to guard against it. My blog will be objective and impersonal. Commentors are requested to keep sanctity of my promise.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Islam is Islam

Islam is Islam and there is nothing like moderate Islam, enlightened Islam, true Islam or real Islam. These terms appear to have been coined by people to justify their point of view which, generally, is not within the fold of Islam.

A common practice of the so-called developed people (Europe & America) is to dub practices of general people as Islam and then malign it. Unfortunately Muslims, who look towards the Western people for everything, fall prey to this propaganda. There is nothing more misleading than judging Islam from culture or traditions in a Muslim country or from general practices of people who are known as Muslim.

Culture is not permanent or durable. It keeps on changing with time. During my life time, cultures of Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Rawalpindi have changed to a great extent. The culture of Duesseldorf (Germay) that I witnessed during 1966-67 was not there when I visited during 1978. Similarly, I found considerable difference in culture in Britain in 1978 than what I had witnessed when I had visited during 1967. By now it may have further changed.

Then there are traditions, some good and some bad. It is another thing that those following such traditions do bring up Islam, in addition to culture, to justify their actions. Karo Kari, Maani, Wunni, Swara, so-called honour-killing and the like are dictatorial tribal traditions and have nothing to do with Islam, rather, such practices are unequivocally abhorred in Islam.

Our people have started behaving like a pendulum. They go either to one extreme or the other while Qur’aan teaches us “Siratul Woosta” (median way). No where in Islamic Shria, culture has been dubbed as bad, only bad things are bad.

To summarise:

Law, of a country, is what the competent authority of that country promulgates, and it is, also, written in the law books that ignorance of law is no excuse. Thus, law is not what people practice.


There is no justification of treating Islam in a different way while Islam is also a law promulgated by the Creator of Universe. Thus, Islam is what Qur’aan says and Hadith explains and not what people practice.

May allah guide us to the right path. Aameen.

24 Comments:

  • At 2:41 am, Blogger Comicsans said…

    Islam is what Qur’aan says and Hadith explains and not what people practice

    True.
    But Our prophet lived a life that paradigmated what Qur'an said. And thus it implies to us that we have a culture and we should practice it in whatever way it changes unless it goes beyond the extremes of Islam. The thing is copying practices that were derived from other religions doesnt come under the shade of Islam. This Ummah is a living model of this religion and whatever we do people will think this is what thier Qur'aan says. We need to be really careful about that.
    Ameen to your dua :)

     
  • At 7:11 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Comicsans

    It appears that brevity of my post has led to some doubt. “Hadith” covers all what Prophet, SAS, said and practiced. Please please you are not talking of culture but Sunna (pronounced Sunnat in Urdu). We must try to follow Sunna. OK, let us say we must follow culture given to us by our Prophet, SAS.

    The worry is that present-day Umma has not remained model of Deen (Islam). Many of us are following cultures / traditions of Ghair-Allah which is forbidden by Allah. People known as Muslim celebrate New-year eve, Valentine day, Basant and what not. Are these not against the teachings of our Prophet SAS? Majority of people known as Muslim in my country do not even pray five times a day and many of those who pray they do not know what they are praying because their dealings in life are not in conformity with Qur’aan. Can we call them a roll model of Islam? By the way, I had NOT written that culture or traditions are bad.

     
  • At 7:12 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Comicsans

    It appears that brevity of my post has led to some doubt. “Hadith” covers all what Prophet, SAS, said and practiced. Please please you are not talking of culture but Sunna (pronounced Sunnat in Urdu). We must try to follow Sunna. OK, let us say we must follow culture given to us by our Prophet, SAS.

    The worry is that present-day Umma has not remained model of Deen (Islam). Many of us are following cultures / traditions of Ghair-Allah which is forbidden by Allah. People known as Muslim celebrate New-year eve, Valentine day, Basant and what not. Are these not against the teachings of our Prophet SAS? Majority of people known as Muslim in my country do not even pray five times a day and many of those who pray they do not know what they are praying because their dealings in life are not in conformity with Qur’aan. Can we call them a roll model of Islam? By the way, I had NOT written that culture or traditions are bad.

     
  • At 8:14 am, Blogger Comicsans said…

    Dear uncle I did not say that you had negative views on cultures and traditions.
    Yes this is infact true that we are just masquerading our living to Shari'ah.
    Your introduction of this post is really thoughtful..:)

     
  • At 9:48 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Comicsans

    I am sorry if I gave that immpression. I only tried to clarify what I meant. Happy ? I can't see my niece to be unhappy with me :)

     
  • At 6:57 pm, Blogger Comicsans said…

    no uncle i am not..:)
    I think my words sounded more imprudent. Sorry about that

     
  • At 6:31 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Comicsans

    Never mind please. And do comment openly. I like you style of commenting.

     
  • At 6:50 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Dad: This is a complex topic. I will write about my thoughts on it on my blog soon. I don't see it the way you do but then we are coming at it from different directions.

     
  • At 6:53 am, Blogger Comicsans said…

    Jazakh Allah khair

     
  • At 8:37 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    couldnt agree more! It's important to disinguish between religion and culture and one should definitely refrain from mixing them together especially by NOT calling a cultural rite a part of Islam.

     
  • At 8:38 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Subhana

    Thank you. You are welcome.

     
  • At 11:06 pm, Blogger urdudaaN said…

    جناب ذکریا صاحب،

    نجانے آپ اجمل صاحب کی صحبت کے باوجود اتنی صریح اور بنیادی چیز کیوں سمجھ/مان نہ پائے کہ "اسلام اسلام ھے، نہ کہ وہ جو مسلمان کرتے ھیں"
    میں نے چند عرصہ پہلے آپ کی "وِژن" پر اسلام کی تعلق سے جو غلط بات پڑھی تھی کہ "اسلام وہ ھے جو مسلمان کرتے ھیں"، اسی کا معقول جواب سمجھ لیں۔ کیا آپ نے نہیں دیکھا کہ کدورت پسند اصحاب کیسے بغلیں بجا بجا کر آپ کو داد دے رھے تھے!
    کیا آپ خائف ھیں کہ یہ بات مان لینے سے آپ کی عقل، دانش، روشن خیالی و قابلیت پر حرف آئے گا؟
    یہ بات مان لینے پر کیا آپ کے وہ دوست آپ سے پر خلوص نہ رہ سکیں گے؟ اگر یہ خطرہ ھے تو انا بھی تھوک دیجئے اور ایسے دوست مخلص نہیں ھیں، یہ بھی جان لیجئے۔

    معاف کریں میں کچھ ذیادہ ھی بول گیا۔

     
  • At 6:55 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Islam is what Qur’aan says and Hadith explains and not what people practice.

    One can follow the Quran but Hadith is another matter. How can one is sure that the people who wrote it are not biased in any way?

    How can one follow the fourteenth century traditions which are made for the desert life and completely useless today? I only give few examples which apply to women such as; Triple talaq practice, having four wives, and women dress code. I have seen men who hit women and justify it with Surat Nisa. I have come across to some who marry underage girls and justify it with Prophet’s marriage with Hazrat Aisha (who was eight years old at the time). Some men are using talaq in their favor marrying a girl for night and giving triple talaq in the morning. No one can point finger at them. If this is pure Islam we ought to follow, then I shall say Islam is unjust for helpless women.

    Can I ask one question from my fellow Muslims that we don’t live in caves or tents and don’t only eat dates and drink water, don’t ride camels but my fellow men want women to cover up like fourteenth century. I am not against purdah but let the women decide how to dress. Please don’t make it mandatory to be a Muslim. The times has changed, Men are civilized now women is not a sex object. If Muslim women wear Hijab to protect themselves from other Muslim men, (atleast in Islamic countries) that does not say very highly for such men, does it? What happened to the Hijab in the men eyes?

    About culture and Islam

    I would rely on the nations laws which are created by peoples representative with majority votes. Dosen't matter Muslim or Non Muslims created it as long it follows UN human rights laws.

    P.S. Of Course Ajmal sahib you are an educated men and I know wouldn’t impose these outdated laws on your female relatives. See how it all can be twisted in the name of religion by others.

    Allah Hafiz

    Mr. UrduDaan,

    What happened to free speech rights? Remember the free blogging rights we have is a western invention and there are nice people who upholds truth on everything.

     
  • At 7:14 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I forget to add

    About Islam and Culture.

    I thought religion should be a part of one's life compatible with daily routine. May be this is the mistake Muslim are making and its become very hard for them to integrate in their new countries.

     
  • At 8:01 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    In Real Islamso what happens to women rights

    A man is allowed up to four wives.

    He does not need the permission of previous wives to enter into a new marriage.

    He should treat them all equally, and should rotate his nights among them so that each gets the same amount of time.

    Each wife has the right to food, clothing, shelter, and maintenance, and this should be the same for each wife. Each should be given her own separate house or a separate apartment for her and her children to live in, so as to minimize conflict and jealousy.

    Admittedly, the Qur'an does mention that treating all wives equally is not possible, but it is up to the husband to decide if he is treating his wives equally -- he has full authority over his family. If one or more of the wives complains, he should take that into account, but there is no court that will order him to treat them better, although the wife or wives may get male family members to talk to the husband on her behalf.

    He should not treat the children of one wife better than those of another wife.

    Concubines (female slaves) are not considered to be wives, and they do not count towards the four-wife limit (for example, the hundreds of concubines of the Turkish sultan). A man may have as many as he wants, and they have no rights over him other than to be minimally fed, clothed, and sheltered. The children of a concubine are considered to be as legitimate as those from a legal wife, and at the death of her master an umm walad, a slave who has borne her master a child, becomes free.

    More here

    http://www.secularislam.net

     
  • At 8:23 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Neha

    Firstly, you have proved my narration that “Islam is not what people practice” by giving examples of bad Muslims who misquote Islam for covering up their wrong practices.

    You say we should follow Qur’aan and have written against system of three talaq which is written in Qur’aan.

    If you have read Qur’aan, you should have known that nowhere in Qur’aan is written what to recite in Salat (Namaz), how Salat is performed and how many rakaat to be included in which Salat? This all has been taken care of in Hadith and Sunna.

    If you have read Qur’aan, you should have known that Allah directs in Qur’aan in several Sura to obey Prophet Muhammad SAS. It is also written that Prophet Muhammad SAS does not say anything of his own but only what is directed by Allah.

    If you do not believe in Hadith and Sunna because those are things written by human beings then how you believe in laws made by human beings in so-called democracy? Islam teaches the best form of democracy and it was shown to be best working by Prophet Muhammad SAS and, later, by his companions RAA. In the present-day democracy, if scoundrels are in majority or somehow get elected through their influence / money, they rule and they make the laws. What a good system?

    If you had read Qur’aan, you would have known that Allah has brought the final Deen as Islam and it has to stay till the end of time. So, do you contribute to the idea that Allah didn’t know what was to happen? Naooz billahi min zalik.

    I do not know why you talk of the fourteen century old traditions while I had condemned bad traditions because Islam is not based on traditions.

    If you are a wise women, please, first read and try to understand Qur’aan and then comment on it’s tenets. This is the way of the learned people.

    I am nobody to make Islam mandatory for any body. In fact, I did not even ask you to read what I had written. If you do not want to be a Muslim, it is up to you. Propagating for a free society, please, keep in mind that you have no right to order me for not writing something.

    You want UNO’s role. What good is UNO? Israel was planted in heart of Palestine where Jews were in minute minority and owned not more than 6% of land and now there onslaught is fully supported by the so-called free world. Israel flouted hundreds of resolutions of UNO. What has UNO done about that? Only four years protests in East Timor and there came an independent state of Christians. On the other hand Muslims are being butchered in Jammu Kashmir, Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. Where are UNO’s Human Rights Laws?

    P.S. I don’t know I can call myself educated or not but I am sure that nobody can falsify Qur’aan and Hadith. Uncountable efforts have been made in the past and are being made in the present-day-world.

    I am for following Qur’aan and Hadith in letter and spirit.

     
  • At 9:25 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    --continued from above

    Well UN is a platform of several countries and they've helped many Muslims especially in Yugoslavia. The problem is not UN its the dictators who rules Muslims. They dont want to be the active part of it otherwise they have to follow human rights rules which they like to violate very much.

    I've read Quran word by word. I was giivng you how people are using it for their benefit and getting away with it as it is written in Quran.


    Thanks

     
  • At 12:58 pm, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Ms Neha
    Leave aside Muslims, when you do not consider God made rules suitable for God created man then what is there to discuss?

     
  • At 1:33 pm, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Urdudaan and Farooq

    Both of you are right. Farooq, you can teach a person who wishes to learn but not the one who knows everything. You can show the way to who thinks he needs guidance and not the one who thinks all roads are well know to him.

     
  • At 2:05 pm, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Ms Neha
    You wrote "Ajmal,(you've dropped the Ms. for me)"

    I follow the English way in my English Blog and the norms of Urdu in my Urdu Blog. Example is that I have written "Urdudaan" above while, in my Urdu Blog, I always write "Urdudaan Sahib".

    By the way, I may have not been very wrong because I think you are still not 50 years of age while my age at the moment is over 66 years.

     
  • At 4:55 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Aasalam Ale Kum,

    Ajmal Sir yes I am quite young but like to read a lot and my father has a very large private library and I have access to almost any book published in the world through public libraries.

    My point is if one ought to follow Quran word by word then some things can't be applicable today.

    As about Hadith there are so many interpretations and everyone says they are right. Then there are so many sects (Shia, Sunni) and sub sects (Hanafi, Wahabi, Salafi, Ismaili, etc.) and they too claim they are true Muslim. Well it get confusing for a young person specially who are a new convert.

    So what I did turned towards Quran and found it little bit outdated for today's life. It was perfect when written and most progressive and gave women numerous rights which were unheard in Arabia when they bury new born girls alive. But again when someone wants to discriminate girls and women then they can as they are allowed by the Quran.

    One of such example is marrying without previous wives consent. Attested by Farooq above. Then there is this talaq practice where woman has no say in it. There are few who think women voice cannot be heard by namahrams. Well the list goes on. I don’t want to go in to details but I gave you an idea. Then there is something said to correct the problem then one is sure called infidel.

    Isn’t this a time to do something about it about a new interpretation which is accepted by a normal Muslim? Otherwise it feels very suffocating to be a Muslim. What choice then one has except to turn towards other religion. After all most of Indian Muslims are Hindu converts who accepted Islam for its beauty and equal rights. Then who can stop them to revert (Nozubillah).

    Allah Hafiz

     
  • At 8:03 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Ms Neha

    It is better to read a few good books than reading many books with unauthenticated material.

    When you say that directions given in Qur’aan of 14 century old vintage that cannot be followed today, it means that, Naooz billahi min zalik. you think that Allah, Soobhanohu wa Ta’ala, didn’t know what was to happen after 14 centuries. In a way you claim to know more than Allah, SWT. Then how can you follow Allah?

    About Hadith, you are quoting what those people say who never took the trouble of reading Hadith. You do not even have correct knowledge of the schools of thought and who among them are really Muslim. However, there is no need to talk of all the countries of the world when you don’t even know your own country. Similar is the case in religious knowledge. You shouldn’t worry about the new converts because they know much more than common Muslims know.

    Madam! With the grace of Allah, SWT, I have been practicing Islam for the last over 66 years as far as I can and have not found anything impracticable or improper. For your information, I am not mullah but have earned good name in mechanical engineering and science.

    What is a normal Muslim who, in your opinion, is unable to accept tenets of Islam as defined in Qur’aan?

    Madam! Either you are a Muslim or a non-Muslim, there is nothing in-between. And don’t worry about so-called Muslims who, according to you, are reverting back to Hinduism. Allah will not punish you for deeds of some-one else, so, worry about yourself.

     
  • At 6:40 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    We think of the Quran as a book. I had doubts regarding the authenticity of Hadith I used to wonder how is it possible that if 30 people can't carry a sentence in its original form the first to the thirtieth (a game we have all played as children), how is it possible that the Quran which was preserved orally lasted in its original content till it was given a physical form of a book?

    Historically the concern to collect the Quran was raised in the time of Abu Bakr when both Umar and Abu Bakr thought that they should collect the verses of the Quran in whatever shape and form they were available, simply because people whom the prophet had chosen to remember the Quran were dying either in Jihad or naturally. As a result they made the call and parts of Quran written on date palm leaves, camel shoulder bones and animal hides were collected from people who had written it down during the life of the Prophet. Once collected these were placed in the custody of one of the prophet's wives, I don’t remember which one either Hafsa or Aisha. Then as the Islamic empire expanded; in the far flung areas of the empire groups of people emerged who sought authority on the basis of the claim that they were the only ones who could recite the Quran properly. As a result Usman the then caliph issued the authentic version of the Quran that we now posses. In history we do find traces of three ancient Qurans which are different in content.

    Before I go on with the story and the questions I want to raise let me state here something which surfaced very recently. The issue of the images of prophet Muhammad. Muslims like to believe that Muhammad's images have never been made and that it is blasphemous to do so. I researched the topic and found that images of Muhammad are a dime a dozen in books published by Muslims in medieval and even early modern periods. Muhammad looks like Chinese or Turk or Arab in these images. In addition posters of a very Jesus-like Muhammad were sold in Iran on the streets not to mention that the same images are a major part of Shiite iconography and you can find illustrations on buildings etc.

    Now to connect both, as regards the preservation of the Quran I asked a guy who is very literate in religious stuff, his response to me was that God has said it in the Quran himself that he will preserve it, so it is preserved! Well, what bugs me is first, the concern i.e. if somebody wanted to alter the Quran for personal benefit couldn't they alter it and then add this verse there? Second there were different versions of the Quran because of which the need was felt to issue one authentic version, what does this tell us? Third, just like our faith that Muhammad's images have never been made (at least not by Muslims) and historical evidence contrary to this, could it be that the preservation of the Quran is also a myth? I am not saying that the Quran is not preserved it sure is but there is concrete historical evidence which suggests that the text of the Quran was fluid for a considerably long period before it was finally preserved in written shape and given a certain order.

    First revealed verse is different from first verse in the Quran that we have. Some say that prophet left specific instructions as to how the Quran is to be ordered, some claim it is a mathematical miracle which is now coming to light. Well could it also be that a specific order of the Quran suited those in power at the time. If the Hadith can be altered with then why not the Quran? Somebody said that Muhammad wrote the Quran, well the only instance in which Muhammad wrote anything was the pact of hudaibiya when he signed the document with the Quresh. Almost every history book would tell you this. For those of you who are interested I can send you a very interesting article about the available translations of the Quran today. It is an unbiased description and history of how these translations were drawn, the article is written by a scholar who is alive and can be contacted. It is very interesting to see how governments used their resources in promoting a certain translation by distributing it freely.

    The main question nevertheless remains, what difference does it make, even if the Quran is preserved, when we read same words but hear different meanings. There maybe truth out there but the way we frame that truth defines what we believe. An easier path is of course to keep performing the rituals as anonymous suggested but then why would God give us a brain to think, he could have created us like sheep and goat and cows who are all alive, who I am sure in some way do perform rituals that show their love of God and who procreate. If the framing is what defines our truth then it is incumbent on us to constantly investigate and research what our beliefs are. As an example in Pakistan people does not allow their servants to eat from the same plates from which the rest of the household eats. Just assume if we followed the same practice then we have two paths, one keep following that practice and at the same time do other things which we think are Islamic like eat with our bare right hands, lick our fingers and offer prayer, observe Ramadan and perform hajj. This is in my view “follow the ritual path”, these people may not be evil but probably could be practicing something which they saw their elders do. The other option is to reinvestigate all that we believe, supports this practice and then see logical inconsistencies in our thinking. The main point here is to have the necessary element of doubt, to begin any investigation. Now just relate this to the practice of handing over the religious part of your life to a guy who claims or who you think knows the right interpretation of religious sources. Many of us feel inadequate to understand the true meaning of Islam; my point is that all of us should feel that way including the Alims. If we interpret it wrong it would still be an honest mistake. I guess I just believe more in a God who values effort, honesty and sincerity as against one who has provided humans.

     
  • At 9:48 am, Blogger افتخار اجمل بھوپال said…

    Inquiring Mind

    First: You have touched upon a subject which does not come under the purview of my above post and should be rejected straight away.

    Second: You have some fears to disclose your identity from which it can be construed that you are not sure of what you are writing because a truthful person is never affraid of coming in to the open. This again points to rejecting your comment.


    However, just to ward off your imminent reaction that I can not prove Islam to be a true religion as such I rejected your comment, I am allowing your comment.

    You referred to Investigation. Sure Islam teaches us investigation, more appropriately should be called research. The investigation and research, as in other science subjects, should have a premise in case of Islam, Qur'aan or Hadith. The result of investigation or research largely depends on the premise. I have been studying Islam with keen and inquisite mind for the last over 50 years. By chance I had been involved in investigation of criminal cases / occurances by virtue of my official duty during service. My way of reseach / investigation has been to start without a premise to say but still there used to be premise that I would not assume anything myself. This was always a difficult path and arduous job. I can not claim any thing in case of Islam except that I became a better than before Muslim but in criminal cases Allah was very kind to have bestowed upon me unprecedented successes. There have been cases where Investigating Police and then Military Investigation teams failed and I, with the grace of Allah, was able to find the root cause or identify the culprits.

    If you make up your mind to find something you will only proceed to that because you have narrowed your vision.

    Islam is not rituals. It is the belief in one God (Allah not Ilah).

    It is advisable that first you set you mind to find the truth and then work hard without prejudices. Allah will guide you to the right path and grant you success.

     

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