Today's Imams in The West are a JOKE

[Idris16]

:salam2:

Haven't you got tired on the imams here who preach about matters which are not important today? I dont know how your imams are. But here they dont speak about Aqeedah and most of the time you never hear: Allâh said or the prophet said. Whatever masjid it may be, that I've went to.. you dont understand what they are saying. Years and years have passed... and few come to Fajr prayer... and countless people come to Salat al-Jumu`ah. In Ramadan you see many come to Salat al-Dhuhr, Asr, and other obligatory Salat. But most people come for Taraweeh.

Yet, we dont hear the Imams speak about this. After Salat al-Jumu'ah, people go out smoking. The smell offends me! But do we hear the Imams preaching about the prohibition of smoking? Nope, they prefer to only say: ''Stop smoking''. Honestly if they can't do the job of helping this Deen.. they should let other people preach. And how many times do we hear... the Scholars said such and such. Who are our Scholars to begin with? Who is `Âishah? What is a Hadith? Do they tell us what it means? May Allâh azza wajal guide us.

Allâh Knows Best.

Please discuss.

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,

I have heard some very good ones. It is not the imams that are a joke brother. It is the ones who say we are Muslims that are a joke. We are not serious about what the shahada means. We take it so lightly yet, our lives depend on it.

 

[Idris16]

Assalaam walaikum,

I have heard some very good ones. It is not the imams that are a joke brother. It is the ones who say we are Muslims that are a joke. We are not serious about what the shahada means. We take it so lightly yet, our lives depend on it.

Wa alaykum salam warahmatullah wabarakatuh.

I have learnt Tawhid through books and the internet. What did I do with all the years before reading about Tawhid? I used to go to school and go to masjids on Fridays...

I tell you this to understand that its the Imams that are supposed to teach us Islâm. They are a Joke! They say to the Media suicide attacks are harâm. I agree with them about suicide attacks but why do they tell the media and not the masjids? Even if they tell the Masjids they do so without any proof or sometimes they cite the âyah.. ''Do not kill yourselves..''. Those imams havent understood that citing ONE ayah is not enough.

If they want to tell us something about such attacks then let them read this; http://www.en.altartosi.com/suicide.htm#A

We are not serious about what the shahada means. We take it so lightly,

Exactly, because the Imams never taught us what the Shahada means. And you see imams with cleanshaven face nowadays.

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,

Brother,

Let us not generalize. I feel you.

But the following of faith is individual. The individual has to step up. I can tell you this the imams I have know are receptive to the faithful.

You are hitting on a serious issue. The iman of many is low. Let us seek out why?

You know, Brother, we are simply greedy. We fear everything but Allah. Once we realize it is Allah that we need to fear our piety will shine.

It makes our task easier. We have to gain knowledge and share it. We have to be vigilant in our faith.

 

[MohammedMaksudul]

:salam2:

And then there is the FACT of claiming to follow the Quran and Sunnah but when the situation is not in favor: This scholar said this, that scholar said that and such senior scholar said this.

 

[queenislam]

this is terribly wrong!

:salam2:

Haven't you got tired on the imams here who preach about matters which are not important today? I dont know how your imams are. But here they dont speak about Aqeedah and most of the time you never hear: Allâh said or the prophet said. Whatever masjid it may be, that I've went to.. you dont understand what they are saying. Years and years have passed... and few come to Fajr prayer... and countless people come to Salat al-Jumu`ah. In Ramadan you see many come to Salat al-Dhuhr, Asr, and other obligatory Salat. But most people come for Taraweeh.

Yet, we dont hear the Imams speak about this. After Salat al-Jumu'ah, people go out smoking. The smell offends me! But do we hear the Imams preaching about the prohibition of smoking? Nope, they prefer to only say: ''Stop smoking''. Honestly if they can't do the job of helping this Deen.. they should let other people preach. And how many times do we hear... the Scholars said such and such. Who are our Scholars to begin with? Who is `Âishah? What is a Hadith? Do they tell us what it means? May Allâh azza wajal guide us.

Allâh Knows Best.

Please discuss.

~~~

:salam2:

Brother!
Frankly,
If there's such thing ,
you should discuss this matter and deal with them privately.
Or if you can't simply take the words out from your mouth ,
you can too invite those respective imam that you mentioned here,
to join our forum for a good discussion!

Or
the least that you can do is to copy this link--->http://www.turntoislam.com/forum/
pass it to the respective imam, if there's any that the respective imam needs to get to know, he surely will get to the bottom of it and amend his mistake...if there's any

not back bite behind them,
this is terribly wrong!

This is sinful!
Please don't let other associate with your sin.

~May Allah swt help and guide you~Amin!

Take care,
~Wassalam

 

[abdul-aziz]

:salam2:

Haven't you got tired on the imams here who preach about matters which are not important today? I dont know how your imams are. But here they dont speak about Aqeedah and most of the time you never hear: Allâh said or the prophet said. Whatever masjid it may be, that I've went to.. you dont understand what they are saying. Years and years have passed... and few come to Fajr prayer... and countless people come to Salat al-Jumu`ah. In Ramadan you see many come to Salat al-Dhuhr, Asr, and other obligatory Salat. But most people come for Taraweeh.

Yet, we dont hear the Imams speak about this. After Salat al-Jumu'ah, people go out smoking. The smell offends me! But do we hear the Imams preaching about the prohibition of smoking? Nope, they prefer to only say: ''Stop smoking''. Honestly if they can't do the job of helping this Deen.. they should let other people preach. And how many times do we hear... the Scholars said such and such. Who are our Scholars to begin with? Who is `Âishah? What is a Hadith? Do they tell us what it means? May Allâh azza wajal guide us.

Allâh Knows Best.

Please discuss.

:salam2:

Imams in the west are not a joke!

If you are studying Islam and feel that then you have not obtained knowledge and wisdom.

The proof is in what you said.

If you went anywhere to and learned from a sheik, you would only hear aqeedah!

So I recommend you study Aqeedah!

Everything else will then fall in place for you then, in sha Allah.

 

[Hard Rock Moslem]

~~~

:


not back bite behind them,
this is terribly wrong!

I'm sorry my dear sister, I beg to differ.

This is not considered as backbiting (gheebah) because nobody name mentioned in specific or description provided here is not leading to the person identification. Brother "Idris16" quote Imam in the West, it can be anybody. He is just sharing his grievances and I don't see any problem with that. If this is backbiting, there are number of threads here can be considered as backbiting, often names are clearly mentioned.

Read here to better understand during which gheebah is permissible:

http://islam-qa.com/en/ref/105391

 

[esperanza]

I'm sorry my dear sister, I beg to differ.

This is not considered as backbiting (gheebah) because nobody name mentioned in specific or description provided here is not leading to the person identification. Brother "Idris16" quote Imam in the West, it can be anybody. He is just sharing his grievances and I don't see any problem with that. If this is backbiting, there are number of threads here can be considered as backbiting, often names are clearly mentioned.

Read here to better understand during which gheebah is permissible:

http://islam-qa.com/en/ref/105391

idisagree. you are generalising that imams in the west are a joke,,,thus insulting those who are good at same time,,,maybe just becuase you dont agree. are you of an authority to judge imams

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,.


Let's slow it down.

The brother is looking for direction. He has not found the ideal. He made a generalization.

No-one is being attacked. This is a simple discussion on what could be better.
Some are given the gift of eloquent speech. Some have difficulty in delivery.

We need to make dua that the brother finds the imam he can respect.

 

[Hard Rock Moslem]

idisagree. you are generalising that imams in the west are a joke,,,thus insulting those who are good at same time,,,maybe just becuase you dont agree. are you of an authority to judge imams

Let's be specific, disagreed on what? Generalizing is a separate issue. I was explaining about backbiting, responding to "queeninislam" sister. At my place, imam used very weak and fabricated hadith in their friday khutbah, must I have PhD in Islamic studies to judge the imam was wrong to quote fabricated hadith? You have a point, we should not generalize, it is the way the brother wrote, I don't think he ever intended to generalize because he knows who he is talking about. If he goes specific, imam at this mosque, at this town and this city then it is backbiting my dear. He is having a problem with some imams God knows who, why not give him some solutions to his problem.

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walaikum,

Good idea brother,

First suggestion is simple: make dua for the imam.
Second suggestion: go talk to the imam. I write suggestions and the imams have used them. ( don't worry nothing profound ). Remember, they are trying to reach the hearts of believers. That is a tough job.
Third suggestion: We are placed in positions in our lives to be tested. Enjoy and appreciate the test.
Finally, when I misunderstand a kuthbah I write the imam a note. I actually leave messages and e-mail. Imams appreciate feedback. For instance...the brother has an issue with a clean-shaven imam. Well..in a gentle manner explain to the imam and justify why this is an issue. We are encouraged to good. Some imams have to have jobs to survive..could it be a regulation on the job?

 

[Tabassum07]

:salam2:

I'm sure they are all better than imams who say people shouldn't bring their kids to the mosques, as the kids run around and are noisy. Or don't allow women anywhere near the mosques.

 

[islamirama]

:salam2:

The imaam at my last community up north was awesome and so was anyone else who gave a khutbah in his absence. The khutbahs given in my current community here in south are pathetic. Rarely do they pick a topic to talk on much less a good topic, usually its just ramblings on something after which you wonder what the khutbah was on.

Imams, their understanding of Islam, current events and their community vary from place to place. While some do a great job others not so great. We can't generalize all to be a joke. What you could do is have your masjid initiated a khutbah feedback program of some sort and some suggestion box program for the masjid. In my current community, after the khutbah you can go online and give your feedback on the khutbah. You can tell them to tone it down (some do yell), tell them to pick a relevant topic, or just don't invite this xzy clown next time.

As for their failure to teach you about Islam, like taweed. I would stop crying about that. The first person you should blame is your parents, and then the second person yourself. It is our parents job to teach islam, if they don't have the knowledge then find us a teacher or something. How many parents actually do that? When your parents failed to do that for you as your islamic right and you have come of age to think and do stuff on your own then it's your job to go out and seek knowledge. Take classes at the masjid, go to islamic conventions (although they are mostly a joke), get some good books to read. Imam can't teach everything in a khutbah. That's why there are halaqas in the evening, where a topic is chosen and talked on followed by QA afterwards. That's where you'll learn more. Do your part first and then go blaming the Imams.

 

[nyerekareem]

I must say that I'm very surprised to be hearing all of this. The imam at my masjid is an excellent Imam and I couldn't even imagine him not being there. I think the imam should be a person that reminds the Muslim community of our Islamic obligations. However, I feel that those that want to learn more about Islam will do it someway somehow. If you aren't finding it at your masjid, continue looking elsewhere until you do. I don't know if there's anyone here on TTI that is an imam or has ever served as an imam. I don't think many people do not realize how hard the job is and the pressure that one can be under. I understand the frustrations that several of you have, but try not to be too hard on the imams in your area.

 

[Idris16]

Ok I am not generalising. That would be wrong. But those Imams I see.... you hardly hear them speak about the pillars of Islam. And those I see dont really have cleanshaven faces... they shorten it like the Egyptian scholars of Azhar.

As I said, you barely hear them quote what Allâh and His Messenger said!

 

[Aapa]

Assalaam walailkum,

Well tell them you want to hear that more. It is that simple. If I can do it so can you.

You know if you talk to the imam it will make his day. Someone is actually listening to what he is trying to impart. He will strive to do more.

 

[Aisya al-Humaira]

:salam2:

1. Tell the imaam what you got to tell; of course within the Islaamic adaab. Tell him the problems that you see and pass to him some good suggestions. . . for the good of your community and the Ummaah as a whole.

2. Prepare yourself with lots of ilm' so that someday, *you* are the one who will be replacing the Imaam and be among the best Imaam your community ever have! InshaAllaah.

 

[bari]

:salam2:
Brother, sorry to say this, do not expect to get knowledge from any imams. To seek knowledge you need to go to scholars and that is the tradition of muslims. Most present day imams do not have knowledge to teach you.

 

[strive-may-i]

:salam2:

A very serious topic. we should tune our mind to be receptive.

"Todays Imams are ______". [Fill the blanks]

I would say

Todays Imams are a reflection of today.​

Some questions to ponder:
1. Whats an Imaam? Who made him an Imaam? ( the community)
2. Its every muslims duty to do whats best to his Imaan. So why did the community fail to find a better one?
3. And incase some one else who can do better justice to that role, then whats stopping the right move??
4. And why do we always need an Imaam, who can woo us with his oratory skills?