Transfrontier thinking

[S.O.S]

Brothers and sisters, Assalaamu calaykum.

 

Normally, after I finish reading my e-mails, I quickly browse SOL and try to pass off whatever comments I could possibly do within the remaining minutes of my 50 P internet-time, but today I find myself in a position that I could make a point without the usual relative time constraint. Since there is a lot happening in the Muslim world, or as I prefer NOT happening, I decided to make a simple point which may come as a shock to some, but hopefully will induce most of us to think. This point relates to the recent mockery, defamation, and demonizing caricatures of the greatest creation ever to walk on the heavens and earth, and Allah’s mercy to mankind, our beloved Prophet Muxammad upon which peace and blessings be, his family, his companions and all those who followed him in righteousness.

 

What the disbelievers did were indeed crimes far and beyond the imaginable horizons of true justice, and paradoxically, in whose name (justice it is) Allah’s enemies unite, and made insulting His Prophet de facto pillar of their desired world order. Therefore yes it’s something to be grieved about and we were all saddened, for our love of the prophet exceeds everything else in this world. But we shouldn’t become impulsive reactionaries and blame the disbelievers doing that which they’re known for doing, namely, to disbelieve (which is incidentally greater crime) and direct their mischievous plots to obstruct the light of Islam against Allah and His Prophet. Every Messenger sent by Allah was mocked as we can read these facts in the Qur’aan, and btw, putting aside our ignorance of history, it’s not the first time this has happened.

 

There were times when Allah’s Prophet went out to his people every day to call them unto their Lord and the maltreatment was so fierce, that no other human could ever withstand amidst such afflictions which he faced for the first 13 years of his mission. Yet, his conduct breached the humanly possible limits of the highest order of nobleness, when for example, while being stoned by the crowd of Taa’if (for the Tawxiid of Allah which he professed and called upon), and as the Prophet’s blood from his forehead poured down to his beard (and how would’ve the earth felt by every drop of prophetic blood spilt on it) when he uttered the following words:

 

“O Lord, I appeal to Thee out of my weakness, my lack of resourcefulness and in complaint of the contempt and abuse of man. Yet if I but merit Thy favour, verily naught care I.â€

 

(It’s not the same you may think, because he was not being abused then in print, but thereupon I can only direct your attention to the disgusting illustrations of Dante’s whimsical inferno in the plagiaristic “Devine Comedy†in some Italian medieval churches)

 

However, the reason I chose that incident/quotation is to help us understand better the concept of prophethood in relation to message and meaning, rather than (symbolic) function or an (symbolic) individual. This, I hope will give you some insight to my provocative thoughts (the promised simple point for shock and inducement to think) and are meant to stimulate a better understanding of our relationship with Allah’s Messenger and his true/absolute real value.

 

The simple point:

 

The injustices done by the disbelieving nations to Allah’s Prophet is nothing, compared to the injustices that WE Muslims have done to Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), by which I mean, the massive abandonment of his teachings, the betrayal of his heritage with the (great price spent) legacy of his companions, and the spiritual rejection for the mission for which he stood. Believe it or not, but the corruption and neglecting of even a single aspect of his revealed message weights greater in his sight, than a mere abusive depiction of his persona, which, ultimately is the symptom of the former.

 

End of simple point:

 

!!!Are you :confused: ?!!!...try reading his (cs) quote again!

 

P.S. For all those who’re shocked (if any), we can discuss perhaps more in detail next time, but for those who’re not shocked may explain as they please why knowledge of our religion and strict practice in the teachings of the Qur’aan and Sunnah are the only ways of aiding, supporting and protecting our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)?

[Khayr]

Originally posted by S.O.S:

[The simple point:

 

The injustices done by the disbelieving nations to Allah’s Prophet is nothing, compared to the injustices that WE Muslims have done to Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), by which I mean, the massive abandonment of his teachings, the betrayal of his heritage with the (great price spent) legacy of his companions, and the spiritual rejection for the mission for which he stood. Believe it or not, but the corruption and neglecting of even a single aspect of his revealed message weights greater in his sight, than a mere abusive depiction of his persona, which, ultimately is the symptom of the former.

 

End of simple point:

 

!!!Are you :confused: ?!!!...try reading his (cs) quote again!

 

P.S. For all those who’re shocked (if any), we can discuss perhaps more in detail next time, but for those who’re not shocked may explain as they please why knowledge of our religion and strict practice in the teachings of the Qur’aan and Sunnah are the only ways of aiding, supporting and protecting our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? [/QB]

Salamun caliyka walaal,

 

I'm a little confused by your post as it shows a perplexed muslim brother that wants to share his thoughts with other muslims.

 

What I am getting and correct me if I am wrong, is some frustration at the muslim reaction to the Danish cartoons.

What the disbelievers did were indeed crimes far and beyond the imaginable horizons of true justice, and paradoxically, in whose name (justice it is) Allah’s enemies unite, and made insulting His Prophet de facto pillar of their desired world order. Therefore yes it’s something to be grieved about and we were all saddened, for our love of the prophet exceeds everything else in this world. But we shouldn’t become impulsive reactionaries and blame the disbelievers doing that which they’re known for doing, namely, to disbelieve (which is incidentally greater crime) and direct their mischievous plots to obstruct the light of Islam against Allah and His Prophet. Every Messenger sent by Allah was mocked as we can read these facts in the Qur’aan, and btw, putting aside our ignorance of history, it’s not the first time this has happened.

Inshallah, I'll try to paint you a picture

 

 

Composite of Personality

 

• Sensation

  -Physical

  -Emotional

  -Intellectual

• Imagination

  - process of producing mental images and ideas

  -Images that we encounter in our daily lives i.e. environment, co-workers,family,t.v., internet etc.

  -Some say that most of our senses are Visual (Thru the eyes)

• OPINION

  -Driven by what is in the Imagination

• THINKING

• DESIRE

  -Driven by what is in the Mind

• WILL

  -Driven by Desire.

• ACTION

• BECOMING

• BEING

As a person SENSES ,

they shall IMAGINE and as they IMAGINE ,

 

they shall from OPINIONS and as they OPINIONATE ,

 

they shall THINK , and as they THINK ,

 

they shall DESIRE , and as they DESIRE ,

 

they shall DO and as they ACT/DO ,

 

they shall BECOME , and as they BECOME , so too will be the QUALITY of their LIFE in this world and the next.

 

What were getting now are people who are SENSING things on different levels; some from an EMOTIONAL point of view towards loving the Rasul (sallahu caliyhe), some from a the Physical point of view, some from the Intellectual point of view who are pro-cartoons and con-cartoons.

 

Where the divergences begin is here and are marked clearly in peoples Desire and Will. For if there is insufficient WILL to Change a Situation or become complacent about it, then it stems from having insufficent Desire to push forward an agenda. Hence, why some muslims are beginning to get TIRED of Muslim reactions to the Danish Cartoons. It is because they lack sufficient DESIRE to continue caring about it and this lack of DESIRE stems from and is driven and given direction by what is in their MIND, what is in their THOUGHTS and OPINIONS, which is fuelled by the IMAGES that the avg. MUSLIM is exposed to. NEGATIVE images of the MUSLIM UMMAH, day in and day out.

 

Its funny how to the poor muslim who lives in Pakistan, or Afghanistan, this is a HUGE Issue but to the muslim that lives in the West or a fairly COMFORTABLE life, this CARTOON ISSUE is SENSED differently-INTELLECTUALLY sensed v.

EMOTIONALLY sensing poor muslims.

 

In one group, the Desire and WILL is there. In the other group, that DESIRE and WILL is not there and is often expressed in SCOLDING other muslims and blaming the UMMAH of Betrayl of the SUNNAH.

 

I can tell you that this incident alhamdulillah,has drawn people closer to the SUNNAH of the Rasul (salallahu caliyhe) and has deepened their reverance and love for him.

[S.O.S]

Brother Kheyr, assalaamu calaykum.

 

Since no one else has responded to my provocative statement except you, I’ll clarify my position only to you. Doing so has many advantages including the ease of association (we’re not that dissimilar I guess, so don’t hold your breath), well-meant positive constructive criticism and the assumption of common cause, which is ultimately to please Allah, all thanks to His favours and grace. The point of starting this thread was to engage whoever willing to widen their horizons and armed only with the fundamentals of Islam. That’s what I meant by “Tranfrontier thinkingâ€, getting rid of all other acquired and accepted frameworks of thinking from the point of view of present status quo. With that in mind, let’s attack the situation, dismantle the problem at hand and examine everything by looking through the lenses of Islam-e-scope!

 

We know that one of the prophecies made by our beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was that Allah would remove the fear non-believers always had in their heart for the believers. The reason...what happens now is happening, is because the disbelievers lost their fear of us, not that they ever loved or respected us for which reason they abstained in the past from blatantly abusing and mocking our religion, but because we’re now living in the times Allah’s Messenger had prophesised. Our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was even then concerned with us and how the future of his Ummah would look like. Thus he asked Allah (swt) for three things for the future of his nation; these were 1) that his nation wouldn’t be totally destroyed like other nations before them and Allah granted him that wish, 2) that their enemy wouldn’t be granted the upper hand when they fight was granted on the condition that 3) they shouldn’t fight among themselves, which was not granted. One of the reasons for example Muslims would most definitely fight other Muslims (there are many more) is as Ibn Maajah reported, that it was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saying “If the leaders of the Muslims did not judge with the Book of Allah and chose from what Allah has revealed, Allah will punish them by making them fight among themselves.â€

 

Although Jews were aware of that for many centuries, the Christians had to learn it the hard way. It’s said that they eventually understood the invincibility of an united Muslim Ummah, when king Louise IX of France on a campaign in the Egyptian region was captured by Muslims and imprisoned (I guess in Alexandria), who for the first time wrote to all the monarchs in Europe and heads of churches that Muslims cannot be defeated in physical wars; the ideological war was born and still continues today. The plan could not be simpler, step 1) divide them and step 2) make themselves fight, but to make them fight each other, it was important first to corrupt them and contaminate their beliefs (how is very obvious from history). I hope that links well with the situation that we’re facing now with our enemies (disbelievers can afford to openly provoke us) and the decaying situation that we face within ourselves (alien doctrines, ignorance and religious laxity), and the causation of the former by the latter!

 

You’ve made one attempt with the help of psychological behaviourism, but we needn’t waste too much time explaining its unacceptable limitations, especially from Islamic perspective. However, I do understand the need to elaborate my reasons for dismissing one view or another, that is, if I wish to entertain the need to be taken my alternative views seriously. The main reason I object to your analysis is its absolute one dimensionality, which equates Muslim behaviour with the chemical reactions in his brain cells and their autonomic observations which denies the roles assigned to the Qur’anic dictates, Prophet’s spiritual guidance and Muslim’s mental order to comply with those teachings, and to check whatever behaviour -however emotionally spontaneous and genuine, and however intellectually reasonable and logic at the moment- that is fundamentally incompatible. Therefore we can have all the psychologically emotional inducement necessary in your particular behaviouristic model (i.e. emotions, desire, will, thought), but if we lack the knowledge to react in an Islamic/correct or even optimum way, then behaviourism is at best unfit for our purpose and at worst may become a purpose of its own. That’s why as a matter of principle, I refer to your psychological reasoning as “behaviourismâ€, for the simple fact that practically adopted aptitudes void of Islamic revelation and conceptual knowledge will always develop onto an attitude which is based on blind feelings and ignorance.

 

This means that the prerequisites of correct actions are not one’s emotional state, but rather one’s faith (eemaan), beliefs in one’s heart (caqiidah), affirmation of it by means of word and the knowledge of that which you believe. It may not mean that we won’t get it wrong at times, but even then as long as the prerequisites are in place, guaranteed is that Muslims (ideologically) will neither face internal subversion nor submit to external coercion. Like a healthy tree on a rich soil with strong roots and branches, we can state that caqiidah, camal and cilm will fight off all diseases and as a consequence, will constantly purify Muslims and maintain the purity of their original message. As Allah said “They are on (true) guidance from their Lord, and they are the successful.†(Qur'an 2:5).

 

Where you misunderstood me was my position on the global demonstrations against these cartoons, which, depending on the situation I would most definitely have taken part of. Even though demonstrations have their root in cultures alien to ours, it’s permissible for Muslims in need with no other means of exercising their voice, and when defending Allah, His Prophet and His religion we must do so either by hand/actions if we’re able, then denounce such evil by the use of our tongues or otherwise hate these actions with our hearts if we’re unable to exercise the other two. However, what I simply sought to point out was the fact that, a) it was not the first time this has happened, b) we Muslims are guilty of greater crimes against Allah and His Prophet, as a result of which c) this particular issue can be said to have direct relation with. Thus according to c, a is happening because of b and we need to take care of b first if we’re to solve a, so when I oppose being “impulsive reactionaries†I mean just that. More importantly, if you’ve sensed any frustrations in my post (how can not anyone be frustrated, more important is how you deal with) it has to do with the total lack of sense of proportionality. We should be reacting in the same way every time Allah’s Message and the teachings of His Messenger are insulted or made fun of.

 

It’s may be not as apparent as it used to be in the 1960s, when the inexperienced agents of the non-believers (our leaders) openly used to propagate that Ramadan was harming national economy and should be abolished (in the case of one former in France trained Tunisian president) or that cutting off the hands of thieves would have negative impact on national employment levels (in the case of Somalia by the Soviet trained military commanders). But there are plenty of Muslim countries who openly mock, resist and fight any suggestion of a rule by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger these days as well. I ask you once again, which one is worse (in Islamic principles), the cartoons or the refusal of Muslims to govern themselves by Allah’s Laws? If we for simplicity accept both case scenarios as equally bad, why not demonstrate then in both cases?

 

The problem? I know the answer is hidden in the apparent disproportional reactions, where the mocking of his teachings have become acceptable and unimportant details, whiles if the same is done against his person all corners of the world would burn! We have split the Message from the Messenger, and deemed the former less important, not surprisingly then to see that, because being a Muslim is mere symbolic one, our anger too has become symbolic (burning flags) in stead of acting in the Message whose existence, the importance and value of the Messenger is derived from! For the record, the Messenger is the personification of the Message, if there’s no message then there’s no messenger. What do you think?

 

W/c

[Nur]

Save Our Soul ( S.O.S)

 

 

Great thoughts, mashAllah, the best way to defend the Prophet is to Follow Him.

 

Allah says to Muhammad to say to people : If you indeed love Allah , then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.

 

 

A friend of mine once craked a tribalist joke with someone he did not know his tribe, the latter was infuriated, "How dare you say that against my tribe " he fumed, my friend told him "what is wrong with that, I am slo your tribe?" the man was frozen, a clear case that we have the right abuse and insult our own group, religion, nation, but the same remarks are off limited to outisders, the best criticism and most reasonable critics of Israel are Israelis, no one in congress can say it, or they lose their jobs, same applies averywhere, people are like trained dogs, they bark against what they are told to be the enemy. There is no insult we can do to our Prophet worse than ignoring the following of his teachings, it is about time Muslims wake up.

 

But on the positive side SOS, the Cartoon was a blessing in disguise, imagine a person who does not pray angry at the cartoons? nextb thing, they will be looking for someone to teach them how to pray, so be ready in case, we have more part time Muslims than full timers.

 

 

Nur

[S.O.S]

But on the positive side SOS, the Cartoon was a blessing in disguise, imagine a person who does not pray angry at the cartoons? nextb thing, they will be looking for someone to teach them how to pray, so be ready in case, we have more part time Muslims than full timers.

Brother Nur, I think you’re right to look from the positive perspective,...in every affliction and hardship hides and unforeseen blessings; the story of prophet Yusuf (cs) is an obvious testimony to that.

 

"O my Lord! the prison is more to my liking than that to which they invite me: Unless Thou turn away their snare from me, I should (in my youthful folly) feel inclined towards them and join the ranks of the ignorant." (Qur’an, 12:33).

 

It’s very interesting actually when you think about it;...for example, I’ve heard reports about Muslims in Denmark who used to socialise with the Danish in an extremely “compromised positions†to pun it politely, but since the incidents, have become “excommunicated†from these lower debts of a-social circles!

 

W/c