My heart has adopted every shape...I follow the religion of Love

First!

I've been busy. Family drama, applying for IMPORTANT THINGS™, getting ready for Ramadan and trying to up my socialization game. I'll be starting work with the local chapter of the Council for American Islamic relations soon, inshAllah, and I've branded myself as what I be-- a member of a diverse Muslim community that hopes to show that Muslims, especially Muslimahs, are diverse and brilliant and amazing. Who do I want to show? The legislature, other governance and governing bodies. So! We'll see.

I have a few Surah Saturdays coming up. One is about Mary, mother of Jesus. There's a line in the Qu'ran where Mary's parents are sort of unhappy that they have a girl. Specifically Mary's mom, Imran's wife. God responds "No boy could ever do what she's going to do." 

"O Lord, I offer what I carry in my womb in dedication to Your service, accept it, for You hear and know everything." And when she had given birth to the child, she said: O Lord, I have delivered but a girl." --But God knew better what she had delivered... Her Lord accepted her graciously, and she grew up with excellence...


I have another coming up about the difference between messenger and Deity that was sparked by a few devotional poems to the Prophet of God. Also, got sparked by a discussion about Shia and Sunni doctrine. I don't think I've ever written about why I have a hard time with both schools and, instead, choose to follow God and his Prophets (notice that there s).

And I'm just about done with Suhaib Webb (who am I kidding, I'm done). Between his giving space to whatever person who refuses to cite sources/fills everything up with conjecture/engages in the WEST IS BAD ARAB IS GOOD wack dichotomy AND his most recent khutbah topic "The dangers of unbridled feminism."

*sideeye*

Someone asked him what that actually meant.

He responded: Unbridled feminism implies efforts to instill programs that go against agreed upon texts, a proven consensus or bring more harm to a community than good. Added to that is the constant attack on the Muslim male, which serves to undermine instead of build. I understand that we are all upset about things, but there are ways to handle them.

Do I really even need to go there?
Yes. Apparently I do.

1. I have a feeling that he's taking a shot at Amina Wadud (who is smarter than him, nicer than him and smells better) and mixed prayer. The article that he posted that I called wack dichotomy seemed to be taking a shot at her (it referenced woman led prayer). I don't even care if he's referencing her or not though-- I care that "agreed upon texts" means static, unchanging in the face of new knowledge and used in the act of denying God's abundance and mercy and grace upon all people, male or female. A proven consensus? You mean a consensus by men in a culture or society in which they have ultimate privilege? Sort of like the proven consensus amongst white folks that Black, Native and Indian folks are unable to manage themselves? Uh huh. Alright then. It'd be one thing if "agreed upon" (by some dudes) or "consensus" (amongst some more dudes) was an inclusive consensus that was full of voices from all time periods and all people... but it isn't. The only agreed upon text, imho, is the Qur'an. Everything that comes beyond it is simply an opinion on its interpretation. God tells us to get knowledge on our own by reading the Qur'an.

Al-Imran says:

It is not for a mortal to whom god reveals the Book and the judgement and the prophethood to say to the people: "Be my votaries instead of God's," but to say: "Become learned in divine law by virtue of teaching and studying the Book."

Not studying dudes ponfications on the Book, but THE BOOK. The revelations of God through messengers. Teach the Book to others and study it.

2. Oh, poor, poor, Muslim males. Being attacked from all sides. Men saying they're not modest enough, the West saying they're too modest. Old kingdoms depriving them of basic rights found nowhere in the texts sent by God (must be one of those consensus things) and infantalizing them. Being judged by their looks and sexual appeal on one side, while being judged on their vanity and sexuality on the other. Being at the bottom of the totem pole in pseudosharia societies... ah, yes. Poor Muslim males. They've got it rough. Wait... what? That's not the plight of Muslim males? Oh. Well then it must just be a bunch of dudes who're butthurt because they actually have to listen to women... I see. Got it.


3. YOU SHOULD NEVER EXPRESS YOUR ANGER (about me!)! It is damaging to the community. Of course, I can freely say whatever I wish about you... but it's a terrible burden to the umma to call me out on the things I actually do. There-- that's my Suhaib Webb to English translation.

Whatever.

Surah Yusuf says:

All the apostles that We had sent before you were men of those regions to whom We sent Our revelations. Have they not traveled on the earth and seen what befell the people before them? Surely the abode of the Hereafter is better for those who fear straying from the right path. Do you not understand?

This is a reminder from God that Prophets are just guys. The surah goes on to remind people that when these men, fallible, scared and doubting, stumbled God came right in and helped them, renewing their faith.

When the apostles despaired and thought they were made false promises, Our help arrived, and we delivered whom We pleased...

Surah Ar-Ra'd says

We sent many apostles before you, and bestowed on them wives and children but it was not for any apostle to come up with a miracle unless by leave of God.

The OHAHAHA running joke amongst people who Islamaphobic is often around the fact that the Prophet refused to allow an image of himself to be preserved, the gist being, ultimately, that this is how Jesus ended up being worshiped (which, according to Islam, was not his intention at all)-- people conflated the messenger of God with God and, when he was gone, made up some quick and dirty stuff to allow them to worship him alongside God. A significant amount of qurranic verse is dedicated to those who would ascribe compeers to God or to attribute a son to Him. The gist that I get, from Islamic history, is that early Christians didn't actually worship Jesus, but it was a newer thing that was coming about around 500 years AD, just around the time the Prophet's immediate line was coming to be.

Anyway. This is about hadith and men and not forgetting that they're human, and not God.

Recently over on Allahcentric there was an article about how we fail to revere scholars today. I gave it the side eye. Despite tucking this nugget in from my favorite Canadian Shaykh, Faraz Rabbani (who I find adorable), the article seems to have missed his point entirely--

Rabbani says:the signs of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) are to be venerated and he explained how the ‘Ulema are one of the signs of God and hence worthy of veneration. There is a difference between scholar worship and respecting scholars. No one in their right minds would imbue the ‘Ulema with the qualities of Allah (subhana wa ta’ala). Moreover, respecting the ‘Ulema does not entail overlooking injustices or unsound judgments proclaimed by them.

The essay, however, goes on to essentially talk about how we should never question scholars. Now, in context this is all about how, in the author's perception, Indians love to bash scholars and how many Indians have internalized Orientalist arguments... but the essay is still suspect because it isn't really scholar bashing that is going on... but that people are questioning hadith.

And that is where I what I'm giving the side eye to.

As you know, my two favorite go to hadith are these:


Leave aside whatever causes you doubts or misgivings, in favor of what does not cause you doubts or misgivings. For truth is peace of mind, while falsehood is mental disquiet.

Righteousness is that about which the soul feels tranquil and the heart feels tranquil, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in the soul and moves to and from in the breast even though people again and again have given you their legal opinion [in its favor].

Surah al Fajr says Oh you tranquil soul, return to your Lord well pleased and well pleasing to Him.
When I picked up the Qur'an, I instantly felt it was truth. I had no question. Some of the surahs in the Qur'an are a little questionable to me since they seem so personal (Hey, Allah here-- please leave the Prophet alone! He's too nice to ask you to give him some downtime, so don't be under his feet all the time people! Keep it moving!) but I don't feel like they're untrue.

Interpretations of the Qur'an (versus translations, but those are problematic too) I do tend to find suspect sometimes, but the words of the Qur'an? To me they hold a veracity that I had never known before (which is saying a lot since I spent more than half of my academic career studying and comparing religions).

So, whether the Prophet said those Hadith or not, I find them to be incredibly accurate.

But what about hadith that I find questionable? ( Read more... )

A Persian woman that I'm aquainted with was very upset about the news of a Bangladeshi girl who was executed for being raped. The story came in the form of an opinion piece from the NYT and it blamed the village imam for the sentence. I had a lot of problems with the story-- particularly the lack of sources, the lack of blaming the rapist, the lack of inquiry into Islam (the story went on to blame sharia instead of injustice and improper application of sharia)-- but in response to the story she was emphasizing her dislike of Mullahs, Shayks and Imams and she ended up pointing out that religion was between her and God and cited to Bani Isra'il: "You shall not accept any information, unless you verify it for yourself. I have given you the hearing, the eyesight, and the brain, and you are responsible for using them." Quran 17:36

Now, if you'll recall, I have a strict "Don't fuck with fatwas" policy myself and similarly view my relationship with God, the merciful and benevolent. I'm not a fan of treatises by Islamic scholars because I find that they tend to over look lots of things and pull too much from the past-- cultural, historical ideas that haven't moved forward, that haven't considered other perspectives-- minority perspectives, female perspectives, poor perspectives. There isn't consensus usually, and where there is, I note that several voices are significantly diminished.  I was just reading Imam Zaid Shakir's most recent essay on revolution and  what he points out the most is that things change.

In addition to pointing out the neo-colonial aspects of governing (delux_vivens , he talks about hegemony... be warned) the indigenous masses he points out what I've always thought:

The writings of pre-modern Muslim scholars, no matter how brilliant, cannot give us full insight into the social, political and cultural issues that Muslims are currently dealing with.


Anyway. I don't fuck with fatwas. I research things on my own, after all, God has enjoined us to seek knowledge. I was happy to see the above cited verse but I didn't remember it that way. Indeed, I even have over ayahs from Bani Isra'il highlighted but that would've stuck with me wouldn't have? I mean, considering what I already think?

My copy of the Divine Revelation says it this way: Do not follow that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the ear, the eye, the heart, each will be questioned.

Which is sort of the same? Maybe. I went over to my handy dandy Qur'an explorer, and I still didn't see the version that Hedi had pointed out. Still, that's okay. It gave me a basis for Surah Saturday.

Again, with the specifics, God tells us very specifically to pray, and how to do so and then goes on to say:
What We have sent down of the Qur'an is a healing and grace for the faithful, and adds only loss for the sinners. When We are gracious to man, he turns away and moves aside; yet when evil befalls him, he begins to despair.

I sense such a sense of disappointment in this ayah. Man, it's like God is bummed that we're so fickle. Still, He says to us in this surah that things aren't going to always go our way. Look at the other prophets! Did their people believe them? Nope. Did they despair and give up? Huh? Did they? Nope. They trusted in Me.

I think that the demand that we not simply follow, but confirm first is the perfect solution for this type of quandry and God and his Prophet make it abundantly clear what we're meant to do: Leave aside whatever causes you doubts or misgivings, in favor of what does not cause you doubts or misgivings. For truth is peace of mind, while falsehood is mental disquiet.

Seek the truth. Acknowledge that the truth may change from person to person, from time to time. Every man's life will not be the same as every woman's life. All women's lives are different. All people's lives are different. The point is to seek God and seek truth as it reveals itself to you, to accept challenges and to turn to God in all instances-- seeking truth, seeking confirmation, seeking refuge and seeking comfort. Use what God has blessed you with to do it-- your heart, your mind, your senses.

So, until I get this new Qur'an that I want, I'm going back over verses that I marked as especially important. Today's ayat come from Surah An-Nisa-- The Women.

O believers, when you go out on a journey in the way of God, be discreet and do not say to anyone who greets you in peace: "You are not a believer." You desire the gain of earthly life, but there are prizes in plenty with God. You were also like him (an unbeliever) in the past, but God has been gracious to you. So be careful and discreet, for God is aware of what you do.


These ayat came in response to one of the companions actions during wartime. He was about to kill this dude and the dude was like "WAIT! I bid you peace! I believe in no god but God!" And homey killed him anyway. He argued that the guy was just trying to spare his own life and he felt that was due the booty from killing someone in wartime. The Prophet (saw) was mortified and, ultimately, this man was too. The Prophet ultimately prayed that God would forgive this kid and God did.

But obviously these ayat aren't just applicable to killing people and people asking for mercy. It also refers to people who like to throw religion around in people's faces. People who insist on being holier than though and judging other's submission to God. Allah tells us that in matters where we differ, He will be the ultimate arbiter:

In whatever matter you disagree the ultimate judgment rests with God. This is God, my Lord; in Him I have placed my trust and to Him I turn.
Surah Ash-Shura

He also let's us know that there is an entire unseen world (both in the hadith and the Qur'an) that we don't know about-- so we probably shouldn't act like we know what's going on. We're meant, simply, to connect to God as much as possible, connect with humanity and strive toward knowledge and love. Judging others, trying to elevate yourself over your brother or sister? Not so much.