Happy 2BA Muslim
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Numerous Paths
Muslim societies are facing formidable challenges and wrestling with complex changes that they find difficult to come to terms with. We are having a problem achieving the development and modernization that is desired from us for the protection of our faith and our worldly interests. We seem to have difficulty differentiating between true development on the one hand and the abandonment of Islam's eternal norms and values on the other. It is indeed those values that define the very existence of the Muslim world and afford it its unique identity; values that give meaning to its history and provide the impetus for its future.
Within our societies, many efforts are being made for the sake of Islam, embodied in the activities of numerous individuals and organization. These efforts attest to the favor with which the Muslim world is blessed and to the truth of Allah's promise that there would always be a group who would be virtuous and righteous, guiding to the truth, and spreading knowledge and mercy as befits the inheritors of the Prophet's legacy.
As people of understanding, we must realize how desperately the Muslim world today needs from us every ounce of our effort. Unfortunately, our strength is being sapped by incessant bickering and infighting about the most trivial things. We nit-pick over every step that we take, every possible initiative, as if each of us has got it in his mind that his way is the only way and everyone else must fall in line. Some of us seem to equate Islamic unity with a rigid uniformity of opinion. Because of this, there is a tendency to turn matters of personal opinion into unquestionable standards that determine our relationships with one another. Sometimes it gets distorted beyond a question of whether “he is with me or against me” until it becomes a question of faith – “if he is not with me, then he is against the religion, against our faith, and against God”. May Allah protect us from such ignorance.
In the shadow of this troubling predicament, it becomes necessary for us to relearn how to work with various approaches so that they compliment and complete each other instead of being mutually exclusive; so that they harmonize instead of clashing. The acceptance of plurality is in conformity with the command of Allah and His Messenger. Moreover, the presence of more than one opinion among Muslims often turns out to be a mercy to the Muslims that works in their best interests, especially when they have to cope with new problems and circumstances.
The founders of the four schools of Islamic Law disagreed on matters in which there was a greater potential for agreement than there is in many of the complex issues that we face today. Those scholars lived closer to the time when the Qur'ân and Sunnah were revealed and had a more intimate and immediate understanding of how to apply these sources of law to their circumstances. In spite of this, they disagreed with one another quite often.
Many people today – even among students of Islamic knowledge and Islamic workers – need to understand and adopt the following approach to dealing with matters of juristic discretion ( ijtihâd ):
“I act according to the conclusions I arrive at by way of my juristic discretion, from my particular understanding of the aims and principles of Islamic Law in light of what I see as best for Islam and for the people. This is the duty that Allah has imposed upon me and I cannot betray if for the wishes of anyone else. You must do the same. We are both doing right. There is never any need for me to get up in your face question your intentions and condemn your opinions when the matter at hand is not an indisputable tenet of our faith but rather a question of how we should best respond to our present circumstances and capitalize on our opportunities.”
The best of the Prophet's Companions – Abû Bakr and `Umar – disagreed about what to do with the prisoners of war captured during the Battle of Badr. Abû Bakr advocated leniency in consideration of the fact that they were kinsmen. Though he recognized their hostility towards Islam and the Muslims, he had hope that Allah would one day guide their hearts. `Umar was of quite the opposite opinion precisely because the prisoners were kinsmen. By dealing with them harshly, it would show that blood relations were not to be put ahead of considerations of faith. Their discussions drew on and became heated. In the end, leniency won out and the prisoners were ransomed and allowed to go free.
In spite of what happened, never once have we heard that this disagreement polarized the Companions. Though some of them had sided with Abû Bakr and others with `Umar, they did not become divided nor did they deride and condemn one another. They were not driven by self-importance, overconfidence, and egoism. Instead, their minds were erudite, their hearts pure, and their conduct impeccable.
Islam teaches us to have a good opinion about others and to instead be critical and suspicious of ourselves. This attitude places a buffer between ourselves and those with whom we disagree, so that instead of transgressing against one another, we complement and complete one another. It is comparable to the way that irrigated water benefits us all, even if the sources of that water, the pathways that it takes, and the specific sites that the water nourishes are different.
Consider for a moment what would happen if a good deal of the effort being used to perpetuate conflicts between Muslims was channeled into something good – like conveying guidance, disseminating knowledge, promoting economic development or using the media in a positive way? What if it was used to call non-Muslims to Islam? If this were to happen, the state of Islamic work – and of Muslims as a whole – would be far better indeed.
There is no use crying over spilled milk. Nor is there any use for us expecting too much at this time. Nevertheless, we can try to be more balanced in our personalities. We can soften our speech, purify our intentions, remain God-fearing when we disagree, and afford to our brethren in faith the same good opinion that we afford to ourselves. We can accept the fact that the realities of the world today require all of us to think deeply and make decisions that will often take us down different paths. Our paths might not always converge, but neither do they have to be mutually exclusive or detrimental to one another.
Sheikh Salman al-Oadah
Islamtoday
