A father asked a "cleric" if he was allowed to build a snowman with his child???
Dear cleric: a snowman is NOT an image of a human being. It is three balls of snow piled on top of one another. Where did you get your cleric certification, anyway?
Dear dad: good for you for playing with your children and encouraging them to use their imagination!
Please refrain from this kind of speech. You are not responsible for training, appointing or selecting 'clerics'. It takes a minimum of seven years of first being in a position to be given the title of 'beginner' and I think even later to be able to give Fatawas. Do you have the same level of training in order to criticise him. What gives you the right to ask about his certification?
What training do you have in comparison. What is your level of specialisation; Fiqh, Seerah, Qur'an, Ahadith, Aqeedah, Hukmaniya or another area. If you disagree with his Fatawa, that is fine, but don't go beyond that. That is not your right.
Do you have the same Islamic knowledge, level of Eeman and job description as him and can defend your religious opinion using Qur'an and the Sunnah in addition to past and present rulings in accordance of the accepted Islamic criterion of doing so? Do you even know what the accepted Islamic criterion is? For example, some of the scholars have differences of opinion on the use of pictures in the home, can you tell me what things could be used by those who oppose it and those who favour it. Please do not talk about Qiyas, Ijma and the like, I am not referring to those aspects, but more specialised areas of discussion relating to the specific topic.
I have my own differences with the above brother in question and I also disagree with the above ruling, but I will not use that to question the authenticity of his qualifications and certification.
I don't know if this is one of a series of rulings you differ with in respect to the above brother himself, but if that is not so than ask yourself this question; If one ruling you disagree with is sufficient to make his certification questionable than what of everyone else in the same professional capacity, are they liable to have their own positions questioned because of one or more rulings and did Allah give the right for Non Sheikhs like yourself to ask where they received their certifications from and question their ability to pass judgement.
In respect to your quotation-
"That's why I'm asking you - did Allah SWT and His messenger prohibit snowmen? Or, did the cleric prohibit the snowmen? If you follow the cleric without following Allah, then it is similar to shirk....."
You are correct in asserting this, but does it mean you have the ability to question their official rank. No it does not. It gives you the right to disagree and decide not to follow his decree. It may be that other Scholars also disagree in addition to the ruler/s of the country. If the same 'cleric' as you call him and not scholar has made several or dozens of rulings that are highly questionable, outside of the Qur'an and Sunnah or otherwise then I agree we have a right to ask what his credentials are and where he received his training and certification from since there is a legitimate concern about a number of his rulings, but one especially like this is not. It is actually very trivial if you have the relevant training of a Sheikh to begin with. By the way, I am not a Sheikh myself, I am a student of religion and that is why I take greater offence than perhaps some of you have.
Tell me, if a qualified doctor gives a prognosis about a specific condition to a patient, how does it look if the patient not only disagrees but asks what is the certification of the said physician based on that individual medical assertion. This brings the following question into play; who is theoretically the person everyone in the hospital either patient, doctor or anyone else more willing to be operated on and seek medical advice on; the specific patient because of one or a few differences of opinion with the doctor or that same doctor who has both the qualifications, skills, expertise, training and informational ability to continue and apply their knowledge in other medical areas related to their field. Now put yourself in that position yourself and who would you trust?
We seem to have a different set of opinions when it comes to Islam, those with Islamic knowledge either don't know Islam even after years of study and those meant to learn from them with either no experience or fewer years of training and knowledge know more and want to challenge their authenticity by asking for their certification when we ourselves don't have it in the first place. I am sorry for this very personal attack on yourself Sister Precious Star, but you made an attack yourself on one of those who Allah described as the 'Heirs of the Prophets' in relation to the office he holds and that is of 'Scholar'.
I will also add, for those of you who have ever been to university and received your undergraduate or postgraduate degrees, if a student were to challenge a lecturer in one or more statements they have said, gave their own opinion and then asserted where did they obtain their credentials from, the usual automatic response is likely to be from the lecturer, 'OK perhaps I don't know anything about the subject I am teaching, maybe I am wasting my time here, maybe I didn't learn anything in those years of training in this field. It seems this student knows better and perhaps I should learn from him/her instead'. The student would then be invited to take the lecturer's place and start teaching as well as answer all questions about the subject (not just the topic in question alone) for the semester. What would then happen is that there would be a huge round of applause for the lecturer, a lot of laughter over the actions of the student and the humiliated and embarrassed student would apologise and say he/she does not have the same knowledge and training and not take up the offer. I will ask you now, do you have what it takes to replace the said scholar, can you compete with his knowledge and experience, can you assume his post and official position.
Finally, in the age of the social media, arrests have been known to be made based on laws governing the 'war on terror' over opinions alone and inferences. Now let me put the following sets of questions to you. If someone were to inform the scholar in question about your comments, what is to say he were to dislike it, found it objectionable and (Allah forbid), decide to take action against you.
By this I mean, he can sue you on the Day of Judgement for attempting to discredit him by asking for his certification through one fatwa alone. If Allah rules in favour of the scholar above yours, then do you have sufficient reward and good deeds to suffice for the legal damages you will incur for it. It doesn't end there either. By asking for his credentials, you are also in effect theoretically challenging the very people who awarded him that office; this includes all his teachers and the institutions responsible. You have theoretically questioned their credibility in having the ability to do so and in effect said you have the right to do so and they were wrong in selecting him. Do you still have sufficient good deeds to help yourself on the Day of Judgement if the ruling goes against you?
Unfortunately it doesn't end there either. The students of the scholar in question, can also sue. Why? Because by questioning the legitimacy of his credentials, you are questioning theirs by implying they are learning from someone who they shouldn't take knowledge from and hence their own knowledge and training is worthless. Since the scholar has been teaching for years, that means thousands of students year after year, (some of whom may have become scholars themselves by now and have students of their own) and you have just condemned them all. If those same students of the Sheikh and whole generations of students after them until the Day of Judgement have learnt from his teachings; that can include millions of people. If some or a substantive number of them sue and Allah rules in their favour, what will become of you and your status on the Day of Judgement. Lastly, what of all those who have accepted his rulings, learnt from him and passed on his fatwas, you are in effect condemning them as well and they can also sue as your statements further implies they have learnt from, taken and accepted from someone who is not worthy and they were wrong to do so. Do you still have sufficient good deeds if any of them decide to sue and Allah rules in their favour.
Please also remember, a Saudi is asking another Saudi a question. You obviously won't like this, but from my knowledge of what Saudi scholars are like, is that sometimes they will not say whether the same ruling applies abroad as well. They are sometimes vague about this and that is dangerous I agree, but it still does not give you or anyone else the right to think of question the validity of their office.
The ruling on women drivers immediately comes to mind and this controversial issue is one where there are still differences of opinion among the scholars. The ruling however is restricted to women inside the country alone and not meant for those outside it. I realise and accept some people including men of religion (not Sheikhs necessarily, but people with some knowledge and training in religion) and perhaps even some junior Sheikhs will however apply it as an international fatwa, but it is not.
For those of you who have been inside Saudi Arabia, you will have an idea of the dangers of rescinding the Fatwa at present. The Saudi scholars have made that ruling not because they don't trust the legitimacy of women being able or needing to drive, but have done so because they know and recognise the dangers of the men in their society to the women.
Remember, while there is strict segregation of the sexes and very little intermingling between them in public, true Eeman has not sunk in for many of the men, especially the youth, and there are literally thousands of unmarried men who don't understand the Islamic reasoning for separation of the two genders (and in their hearts, don't want it) and as such are capable of anything.
As laughable, as funny and as ludicrous and as pathetic as that sounds to Non Saudi and especially western women, I will say to you, you don't live there, you don't know the men, what they are like and what they are capable of. Saudi scholars have already issued warnings to foreign women and their families who travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj and Umrah on what to do when arriving in the country in relation to the dangers from Saudi men specifically.
A clear and most unfortunate example is of the Saudi taxi driver [not non Saudi by the way, for some reason only Saudi drivers do this]. The scholars have said the Saudi taxi driver knows the foreign Hujajj [Hajj or Umrah traveller] trusts Saudis and sees Saudi Arabia as the land of the blessed and will think everyone there is among the best Muslims on earth. The Hujjaj will think nothing out of the ordinary when the Saudi taxi driver, will after a short time, say to the family that there is something wrong with the car and could the men go out and push. Once all the men depart and leave the women inside to help push the car, the Saudi taxi driver will speed off, take the women to the mountains and rape them. There are so many examples of foreign women being found in garbage cans days later, raped several times before being killed and then dumped in rubbish bins. It has become so prevalent and embarrassing that dozens of Saudi newspapers no longer want to publish stories about them any more.
I am not making a blanket judgement on all men or most men for that matter. I have lived in the country for nine years and I have some idea of the kind of things that transpire there. As much as there is good there, there are literally hundreds of differences with western and other nations in the mentality, mind set, thought patterns, cultural perceptions and ideological expectations of both the Saudi male and the Saudi female compared to other parts of the globe. True, they may possess a great deal of Islamic knowledge and they will apply much of it, but in select areas and refuse to in other things.
You are looking at a society that still believes foreign workers are nothing more than slaves and should be treated like so and many among those from poorest nations among labourers and semi skilled professionals are to this day. To use another relevant example, you are looking at a society where many of the men believe there is nothing wrong with raping maids.
It is this kind of society where female driving is highly dangerous at the present time. I taught at universities within in Saudi Arabia and when the issue of female drivers sometimes emerged as a topic, students (some of whom had been abroad and lived there for many years as well) freely gave their opinions. Remember these are Saudis talking about their own people.
Women would need assistance on the road when their cars break down. The number of men who would stop (not to help them) would exacerbate the problem to the point that the women would wish they had never asked for help. If such an occurrence happens at night and the middle of nowhere, this (remember these are Saudis talking about themselves) is a green light for wholesale rape. So please try to understand, especially women, why this ruling is in place and I have spoken with several scholars, why it will one day, be revoked when the circumstances and conditions for it to be withdrawn will be right to do so.
It will take several more generations to re-educate and re-train their minds and psychological values to tell them the world is not what they make it out to be and this includes some of the most highly travelled and most foreign educated and western trained Saudis as well. The latter, you may be surprised to know, take in the education and skills of the West, but leave behind what they have seen of the differences in culture and ethics and become even more hard hearted, stubborn, arrogant and if I might use the word, 'fixed', in their world view to their own national beliefs of racism, sexism, xenophobia and intolerance to those outside of their own nationality.
It is knowledge of this in mind that their scholars will make judgements and rulings, because they know their own people, people like you and me, we don't. It is not right for us to try and do their job for them.
