Nur Posted October 23, 2008 Nomads I am transferring aqeeda issues posted by Brother Positive ( aka Awakener) on another thread ( Just Me And My Sufi Friend) to this eNuri Aqeedah Collection thread as it is more relevant at this stage ( Definition of What Islam , Iman Nifaaq and Kufr are) Please follow the discussion here inshAllah, it will be a learning journey for all of us. By Brother Awakener ( aka Positive) The return to God ( Part 1 ) The return to God is what worship and religious devotion is all about. In this subsequent piece of writing I will look and explain this subject matter from a Islamic perspective. In this paper I will present an introduction to Islam and with subtitles as : why man needs to have religious devotion, about Islam and Muslims, a contrast analysis of Muslim and non-Muslim believe states, I will try to expound the subject in a clear manner. The paper, though concise in its informative content, answers important questions pertaining to the subject in discussion. In supplementary articles, I hope, I (we) will try to fill in more details. The need for religious devotion Man in order to survive have inherent argues. He needs to cover his basic needs like food, shelter, medicine etc. Like all other living things in order to survive as species he needs to procreate. Man has also emotional and mental needs. All those needs usually manifests themselves as argues of emotional and mental art; hence the argue to seek food and eat, for shelter; the argue to find a partner, pleasing environment for positive emotions; to seek knowledge about the creation and Creator etc. Man can not survive in this physical environment neither as an individual nor as a group if those argues are not satisfied within reasonable time. In addition to aforementioned argues is the religious and devotional argue which is stronger in some than in others. While the last mentioned argue satisfies the needs of Soul other argues satisfy the survival needs of the embodiments of Soul. Consequently the argue to seek and worship the Creator is in fact necessity for the survival of man. The belief is that when one, for example, remembers his creator and lets God to have place in his heart in retribution God guides that person to His right path and to right actions and eventually, when the devotee persist to sincerely and intentionally follow the guidance,He lets the individual membership into the fold of His most loved ones. When the devotee takes one step to approach God the Creator takes many steps to receive him. When the devotee gives service in the name of the Creator in retribution God showers many benefits to him so that the concerned person becomes more capable to render more service. If the devotee seeks to realize the Self and God that knowledge is given to the seeker so that the faith of the seeker becomes stronger, etc. For that reason it is the human being who gains from devotion and worship of the Creator. Not only do the human constitution function optimal when one is in harmony with the will of God but one also gains peace and happiness in an eternal Life. How would man go then about his worship and devotion of the Creator? Muslims believe that Islam is the answer. Here is introductory presentation about Islam and its followers. Islam From an untold ages God has sent messengers to man so that he may learn what He has ordained man to do. In the Islamic tradition these messengers of Allah are chosen by Allah on the bases of their piety and were entrusted to bring His word to the masses so that man could learn how Allah wants him to be and how he, man, ought to act in all departments of his Life; through these messengers came the sacred scriptures of Islam which inform man about the past, the present, the after-life, about the attributes of the Creator and many more. The Holy scriptures, as we call collections of the word in a book form, the last of which is the Qu’ran the sacred book of Islam, are in a way manual instructions from God to man; in essence instruction for an all encompassing way of Life for man. The Koran ,the Sacred Book of Islam has , as Muslims believe, precedence over any other book and therefore with the Sunnah is the sole valid source which has to be followed by Muslims. Muslim also believe that Mohammed (pbuh)is the final messenger of Allah. The word Islam means peace and submission to God. This submission requires conscious and willing effort to surrender to the ONE Almighty God. The portal through which one enters Islam is the shahada: La Ilaha illa-Allah wa Muhammad-ur rasul Allah( There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah). By affirming shahada with sincerity and genuine intention a person enters the fellowship of Islam. Once one becomes humble and submits himself totally to Allah and to Him exclusively, in faith and in action, one surely feels peace in his heart. This inward peace reflects itself in ones outward conduct as well. Part Two: The return to God ( part 2 ) Islam has 5 pillars and 6 basic beliefs The 5 pillars are: to testify that there is to God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, to perform the prayers, to pay the zakat, to fast Ramadan and to make the pilgrimage to the House if you are able to do so, The six basic beliefs are: belief in God, Belief in the Angels, belief in Gods revealed books, belief in the messengers of God, belief in the day of judgment and belief in Al Qadar ( Divine predestination) Muslim The Muslim then in simple terms is a follower of the teachings of Islam. The word “Muslim” means one who submits to the will of God. This submission is done, as we already said by declaring that “ there no God except Allah and Muhammad is His messenger.” In broader sense anyone who willing submits to the will of God is Muslim. Hence when a person believes in the oneness of God ,that Muhammad is His messenger and believes His revelation that person is a Muslim. The integral whole of Islam has three main branches. They are the ahlu Sunnah , Shi'ah and Sufis. The Islamic Sufism which is the esoteric path of Islam teaches how one can gain experiences of spiritual nature while still living in here. Non-believer The Qu'ran uses the word Kufr to denote people who cover up or hide realities. The Qu'ran uses this word to identify those who denied to accept Allah, His dominion and authority. The word kufr hence means disbelief in Allah. This type of kufr is called the major kufr. Examples of other types of Kufr : 1. Disbelief out of stubbornness. This applies to someone who knows the truth and admits to knowing the truth but refuses to accept it. 2.Disbelief out of denial: This applies to someone who denies with both heart and tongue. 3.Disbelief out of arrogance and pride: The disbelief of Iblees is an example of this type of Kufr. 4.Disbelief out of rejection: This applies to those who acknowledge the truth in their heart( intention) but reject it with their tongue( action). 5.Disbelief out of hypocrisy: This applies to someone who pretends to be a Muslim but conceals his disbelief 6.Disbelief out of trying to make haram into halal. This applies to someone who accepts as lawful that which Allah has made unlawful. The list goes on but the question is can a self professed Muslim be called kafir by another? The answer in one word is NO. It is not the task of human being to decide whether a person is a believer or not. The matter is directly to do with God, and it is He Who shall decide it on the day of Judgment. As for people if they have to decide anything it is this: Which person, according to the distinctive teaching of Islam, as laid down by God and His messenger, is within the borders of Islam, and which person has gone outside it. As long as a person is in the border of Islam , that is observes the five pillars of Islam that person is a Muslim. The five pillars are the marks of Islam. As for thos who have gone outside of these borders we should deal with them as required by the Islamic teaching. Even when one is practicing Islam outwardly according to the way Islam has prescribed it or not we are not empowered to judge what is in their hearts. In fact we are limited by our inability to know what is in the heart of any person. Bukhari and Muslims agree on the report that once Ali sent some money from Yemen to the Holy prophet and the Holy prophet divided it among four men. At this a man who was there said " O Messenger of Allah, fear Allah!" The Holy prophet said: " Woe to thee who is more obliged to fear God than me". Khalid Ibn Walid who was present said: " Messenger of Allah, should I not kill him?" The Holy prophet said: "No, perhaps he says his prayers." Khalid said: " Many are they who say their prayers, but do not have in their hearts what they say in their tongues". The Holy prophet said: "I have not been commanded to open up the hearts of people to cut open their inside." It is also recorded that once a man from among the Ansar was talking confidentially with the Holy prophet. Suddenly the Holy Prophet said loudly [ about someone] : Does he not bear witness that there is no God but Allah?" The Ansari said: "Yes indeed, O Messenger of Allah, but his testimony cannot be trusted." The Holy prophet said: " Does he not accept that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?" He again replied: " Yes he professes it but his profession cannot be trusted." The Holy prophet said: "Does he not pray?" He again said: " Yes he does, but his prayer cannot be trusted." The Holly prophet said: “God has forbidden me to kill such people." Now we can see why it is a great injustice that a Muslim who professes to have faith in the beliefs taught by God and His Messenger and thus is within the borders of Islam according to the aforementioned explanation should be declared by some person as being non-believer. Doing this is in fact to oppose God Himself, that while the law of God passes a decree about a man that he is a Muslim, a creature of God issues a decree of kufr about the same man. One aspect of issue of kufr and Islam is internal and another external. While the first is related to the heart and intention of man the second is related to his tongue and actions. From man’s words and actions we can to certain extent estimate his inner condition, Still we will lack both knowledge and certainty about the content of the persons heart. Therefore the right way is to leave the question of faith to Allah. The Holy prophet has very strictly forbidden calling people kafir and wrong-doers. The Prophet went so far as to say that if a man calls another kaafir and the latter is not so in reality the verdict of kufr shall rebound on the accuser. Takfir and calling others wrong-doers, " Muslims" or other names is not merely the violation of the rights of an individual or group of individuals but it is also a crime against society. It is an act of immense harm to the Muslims. The unity of the Muslims is based on the bond of faith and Muslims have to honor this bond; otherwise with more sects the community will become weakened or may become disintegrated. And It will not have collective strength left to proclaim the word of God to the rest of humanity. This does not mean though that we should tolerate everything without reservation; even if someone speaks and writes clear heresy, What I’m trying to say is that as it is harmful to expel a Muslim from Islam it is no less harmful to include kafir within the Islamic community. The emphasis here is that we should exercise greatest caution to declare a Muslim as kafir. Everyone who believes that there no God but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger should be presumed in his favor that he has faith in his heart and consequently is Muslim. Repentance Repentance is the cure to disbelief. God the compassionate and merciful gladly receives the one who sincerely repents from his wrong actions. The human, fallible as he is, has always a way out from his misdeeds of faith. That way is repentance. Nevertheless the potential to die as a true Muslim is there for everyone until his last breath. Consequently even those who disbelief now and their children are still potential Muslim until they die. Conclusion The true spirit of our actions should aim to bring the person nearer to God. One should be concerned for the spiritual welfare of the others. We are not serving others if our actions are not helping them to return to Allah. Our action should not alienate anyone but rather show peace and compassion both in word and action. Then love blossoms which brings the seeker to the Straight Path to Allah. Ilaah baa xamdi iyo shukri naq leh. Ps. This 2 part postings anwers my three questions. The Awakener2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Positive Posted October 24, 2008 Nur I see you have chosen to transfer our discussion to this thread without asking me. It would have been better to ask me first- out of courtesy of course! It is not a bad choice though because it may enrich also this thread. I hope you will enjoy your discussion. Ps. Sorry about the typo! ARGUE= URGE Thanks all of you. It was a pleasure to be with you. The Awalener2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nur Posted October 29, 2008 Awakener bro. You write: " " "The Koran ,the Sacred Book of Islam has , as Muslims believe, precedence over any other book and therefore with the Sunnah is the sole valid source which has to be followed by Muslims. Muslim also believe that Mohammed (pbuh)is the final messenger of Allah " First Note: your choice of words " as Muslims believe" begs for clarification, it insinuates that you are speaking from a non Muslim's perspective, or an outsider, in this thread we are not concerned what non- Muslims believe, this is not their faith, it does not matter to them what sources we follow, they reject the whole faith altogether. Second, Let us hold this important principle you have recognized ( Quraan and Sunnah alone) as the only criterion of judgement of the issues, inshAllah, we shall use the Quraan and the Sunna alone to agree on the validity of issues to come. You write: "The word Islam means peace and submission to God. This submission requires conscious and willing effort to surrender to the ONE Almighty God. " My Questions are: 1. How do we measure if someone is indeed in submission to Allah in DEEDS, or in a state of rebellion against Allah? Hint: Use Quraan and Sunnah! 2. Does an overt open refusal to accept Allah's law as presented by the Messneger of Allah SAWS in Sharia , constitute a rebellion againt Allah, according to Quran and Sunnah which we agreed to be the criterion? 3. Does the allegiance the TFG gave to the invading and occupying Ethiopian enemy army who are bent on removing our choice of Sharia law from power, constitute the TFG's rebellion against Allah? or are they following Allah's teachings in their own way? What is their Daleel from Quraan and Sunnah? 4. Is the TFG a HALAAL Government to be safeguarded, or an enemy to be fought according to the Quraan and Sunnah? 5. If Not, how should the public deal with them? submit to them and their Ethiopian Allies? or resist their oppression and corruption by any means possible? You write: " The portal through which one enters Islam is the shahada: La Ilaha illa-Allah wa Muhammad-ur rasul Allah( There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah). By affirming shahada with sincerity and genuine intention a person enters the fellowship of Islam " The above assumption is not valid, all people are born Muslims by default, as they have taken a covenant with their creator as souls, before being born in the flesh, in that covenant, all mankind, past and present generations were summoned in front of their maker and were asked one question " Am I not your Lord?", for which all conceded to their Lord answering in unison in the affirmative, "YES", Thus all humans come to this world in a submission mode ( fetus mode), its later when their capacity of intellect kicks in that they choose to rebell and follow preferred way of life and beliefs. For these rebellious people to come back to their true Lord, they have to reaffirm the original covenant with their Lord, that there is no one is worthy of their devotion other than Allah, and that Muhammaed represents the method to comply with for submitting to Allah. You Write: " Once one becomes humble and submits himself totally to Allah and to Him exclusively, in faith and in action, one surely feels peace in his heart. This inward peace reflects itself in ones outward conduct as well " Totally agree, iman means literally " to secure", its only through this feeling of security that one can feel at peace, otherwise, we feel threatened, thus worried and in a state of constant stress. When we fel this peace, events of the outside world can not take away this inner peace even under trials. You write: "Hence when a person believes in the oneness of God ,that Muhammad is His messenger and believes His revelation that person is a Muslim." Clarification is due at this point; That statement needs qualification: Actually at different times and different situataions the requirements to be a Muslim changes. 1. Initially, when the Messneger of Allah appeared and called the people for the worship of Allah alone, he was calling on the Polytheists in Makkah, his own Quresih Tribe, who were in worship of multiple gods. For Quresish to be Muslim, it was only required that they fundemantally change their outlook and accept a single God, Allah, so by saying " Laa Ilaaha Illa Allahu" ( No Diety worth of worship other than Allah) was sufficient, acceptance of Messnegersip of Muhammad was implied, and was not demanded. 2. When Islam was introduced to people of the Book, specially the Jews, who already believed the concept of Monotheism ( Tawheed), they were required to accept that Muhammad SAWS was the Messnegr of Allah, which was their main obstacle to belief, if they accepted that, they were declared as Muslims, if not, they were not considered Muslims. 3. Certain sect of the Jews actually belived the Muhammad SAWS was a Messenger of Allah, however, they believed that he was sent to the Gentiles, and had no authority to be followe by the Jews, thus, for this group accepting the Monotheism and Messnegership of Muhammad needed that they also accept that Muhammad was sent for all mankind, ( lil caalamiin), of they did not, they were not considered Muslims 4. For Christians, another condition for their belief was set, that they accept that Jesus, son of Mary was not Son of God, that he was a Messneger of Allah and his word ( be and he was) created by Allah, a human, and that he was neither killed nor crucified. If they accept that, they are considered Muslims. 5. In general, every person who believes in a concept contrary to the Quraan and Sunnah account, can not be considered a Muslim unless he/she unequivocally rejects his past misconceptions and accepts the Quran and Sunnah account only, this is very important aspect of SUBMISSION to the will of God, Allah aka Islam. 6. Early companions of the Messenger of Allah who have accepted all the concepts were Muslims without doing any thing different from their previous life as polytheists, they drank wine, cohabited with women, in short, no regulations (aka Sharia law) was revealed during the early part, so being Muslim needed not much actions, only beliefs. 7. As the Pillar of prayers was revealed, it became part of the faith, it was understood that refusal to pray was tantamount of rejecting faith, thus no companions dared not to pray, as it was clearly an act of rebellion or Kufr. 8. Then came the revelation to migrate to Madina, anyone who did not migrate without a valid excuse was not considered a Muslim, his prayers, and shahaada did not suffice (one who submits to the will of God, in this case migration to Madina). 9. Then, oppressed companions were ordered Jihad in the cause of Allah against their brethern Qureish Tribe, if they had refused to apply this pillar, their Migration, (Hegira), their prayers and Shahaada would have been null and void. 10. Later, fasting was ordained, if the companions rejected fasting ( chose not to fast in Ramadan), neither their Jihad, nor their Hegira Migartion, nor their Prayers would have kept them in the fold of Islam, it was necessary that they accepted this pillar to be considered Muslims. 11. Later, Zakat ( poor due tax) was revealed, like wise all previous pillars combined could not have waived this last one, and hence those who rejected the zakat were not considered Muslims as Abu Bakar fought them in the War of the Apostacy ( Xuruub al Riddah). 12. Finally, the last pillar was revealed, Pilgrimage to Holy Makka, like before, all previous pillars were not sufficient without this last pillar of which Allah revealed : " Today, have I completed my teachings of your way of life, and have further perfected my favors upon you ( Isalm), and I am pleased that that you adobt islam as your ONLY life style" Today, we are not concerned how much of this faith a person applies to be considered a Muslim, its crucial we look what aspect of Islam that person rejects, if what the person rejects is a minor issue or an issue with a valid ambiguity, no one should accuse them of heresy, if on the other hand he rejects a major issue such as Sharia, than that person needs not waste their time in Islam, and we should stop making excuses for them, because islam is a word and action, and the action speaks much louder than words. Kufr and Islam are like day and night, but there is also a twilight zone, when its not quite day nor night, we call it a sunset and sun rise or sets. The biggest confusion in the determination of who is Muslim and who is not took place during the time of the Khawaarij and Murji'ah, two deviant groups that differed with alhlul Sunnah wal Jamaacah, here is a very simple summary: 1. Khawaarij, saw that major sins make a person a kaafir, for them it was black and white. In their definition, very few people could be fit to be Muslims. 2, The Murjia, saw that everyone, no matter what they do, as long as they say the shahaada are Muslims, action was not necessary in considering a person a Muslim. 3. Ahlul Sunnah wal Jamaaca took the middle course: From my past topics I have simplified the Aqeedah of the Salaf Al Saalix in my eNuri way, please read carefully; 1. No Soul will go to Jannah which is not a Muslim(a) 2. No one can be Muslim without Shahaada (Tawxiid) 3. Shahaada is information, we are required to believe in and bear witness thereof. 4. The test to see if we indeed believe in information represented by the Shahaada are our deeds: So our faith is composed of a A. set of Information we are required to believe. B. Set of Commands we are ordered to obey The extent of your belief in the information that our Prophet SAWS delivered is measured by the extent of orders that we obey. In other words, our obedience to the orders of Allah, is a reflection of our belief in the information delivered to us. So , Islam is composed of a two sets: A) A set of information to be believed in, like Allah, Jannah, angels, etc . B) A set of orders to abide with, such as Prayers, (Salat), Fasting, Upholding Justice, etc . The orders are subdivided in to two categories: 1.Orders to do something 2.Orders to stay away from doing something If Allah orders us to do something, and we fail to comply, the reason could be: a. We do not believe in the information b. We believe in it but we are arrogant c. We are MENTALLY CHALLENGED If (a) that is clear kufr If (b) That is also kufr, the type of Sheitan If © We may be the same case like a crazy person, Mentally Challenged, no responsibility. If we are ordered to stay away from something, and we do not, we have the following scenario: a. We do not believe in the information b. We are arrogant c. We can not resist temptation d. We are MENTALLY CHALLENGED All but case © are covered above. If case © is the situation, then that is called disobedience (Sin)(Macsiyah) and it is what Adam and Eve , (Hawaa) aleyhimaa assalaam have committed. It does not make one a kaafir by itself. ( The Khawaarij are the only to claim that a sin can make one a Kafir ) To generalize the above. If a person does something he is ordered not to do, the driver is more likely weakness against temptation, and that person is not a kaafir, this is the case of Adam and Eve, Aleyhimaa assalaam . If a person refuses to do something he is ordered to do, the driver of his action is more likely arrogance, like the case of Sheitan . Now we visit a new territory: There is a principle for detecting iiman ( Faith) levels developed by Sheikh Ibn Taymiyah. Called (Talaazumul Dhaahir wal Baatin )( Synregy of the Apparent actions of a person with the Hidden Motives within the consciousness ) I will simplify it for you again. The inside beliefs and the outward actions of a person are always working in harmony. Except when an outside disturbance influences that person attention. When as a result, the outwardly actions of that person projects and acts contrary of what is supposed to be inside . Meaning. In Systems Science, when we input a signal into a balanced system, we observe an output that reflects the shape of the original signal output + the function of the signal that operated on the system. In the absence of outside disturbance, we can always predict the output. But when an outside element disturbs the system, the output will not be predictable. A person who is a kaafir therefore will normally act as a kaafir. Sabeelul kaafireen And a person who is a muslim will always act like a Muslim. Sabeelul Mumineen In general, if you leave anyone alone, what he/she does is reflecting what they believe . But the minute that person feels that he/she is being observed, that feeling will somewhat effect the action of that person. An example is when you catch a child making funny faces on a mirror the child will immediately alter his behaviour to an acceptable manner. This is called conforming. So, when a Kaafir lives with Muslims, he may act like Muslim, to avoid problems. He is called a Munaafiq . And a Muslim who lives with Kufaar may at times act like kuffar, to avoid problems. He is called Mukrah . Now, a Somali Nomad who lives in Somalia, USA or Europe, is free to practice his faith, so if that person does not practice, or he acts contrary to his faiths tenets, his actions are an indicators of what is missing in his heart. In this case the actions or their absence are an indictor of the iimaan inside that person. However a Muslim who lives in tyranny, his actions may not be indicator of his belief. Because, if this person practices his faith, he is afraid for his life. As a result this person conceals his faith portraying himself as non Muslim, when in effect he fully believes his faith and is willing tp practise it to the fullest if he was not afraid. His fear, though could be justifiable or may be unjustifiable, in which case he is in grave error. Allah says : Are they same he who spends all his nights praying and prostrating, alert for aakhirah, and the one who is in darkness..............................." Nasalu Allaha al caafiyah. Aamin Walllahu aclam. 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Nur Posted December 11, 2009 Nomads Time to dig for old, but highly useful eNuri topics Nur Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nur Posted January 6, 2010 Nomads I was away for a short while and I appreciate the level of Intellectual exchange on vital issues of our faith, specially, Aqeeda issues of current political events. After reading the threads started by Brother Xiin who I have debated for many years on this forum, I have come to the conclusion that Brother Xiin needs to brush up on Aqeeda Issues before getting in the ring to substantiate the Islamic legitimacy of policies and the men behind them. It really helps to reread these issues in light of the ongoing discussion. The question that my Aqeead collection answers are: 1. What is Islam? 2. Who is a Muslim? Kaafir or Munaafiq? 3. What are the levels of Iman? 4. What is Istixlal? 5. What is Democracy? 6. Is Democracy Kufr? 7. What is Shuraa? 8. What is the importance of Sharia in Islam? 9. What is SAMAD and Soverignty? ..... and more. Its interesting that this collection was not challenged by Xiin or anyone else on the side of Xiin's argument in this debate, which implies that if they have read it, that they agree with it, if that is the case, then, we are all in the same page, minor clarifications are in order, otherwise, its better that we debate the validity of the short form Aqeeda pointers in this thread, as I believe that will not a leave a gap of misunderstanding uncovered. Nur Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xiinfaniin Posted January 6, 2010 ^^Nur dont fall into the trap of thinking the issues of today are one of aqiidah. That is where alshabaab went stray. What we are discussing is a fiqh related issues, not aqeedah. I dont think of Somalis fighting in Somalia as two parties adhering to two different religions, or ine with religion and the other murtad; i see the war as a fitnah war...my other threads give you an eagle's view of things. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Laba-X Posted January 7, 2010 ^^ You've got the wrong end of the stick, my friend, and quite stubbornly too! It is purely a matter of Aqeedah and Not Fiqh! And the fight in Somalia is between two parties solely on the basis of their Aqeedah - one with the correct Aqeedah opposing the Kuffar invading Muslim lands and the other with Faasid Aqeedah aiding the kuffar invade a muslim land! And the khilaaf within the ummah is largely rooted in Aqeedah, yaa Xiin, not Fiqh! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Member-sol- Posted January 7, 2010 An interesting lecture given by sh. boqolsoon 1.) Kufr bidaaquut part 1 http://www.cilmvideo.com/audio/sh-boqolsoon/77-alkufrubitaghut.html Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nur Posted June 6, 2010 Back To The Fundamentals A Reminder of Prophet Ibrahims ( Abrahams) Legacy! Wa jacalahaa kalilmatan baaqiyatan, lacallahum yarjicuun! Nur Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
