Thursday, July 12, 2018

Teachings of Moderation and Balance in Islam



By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
31 March 2018
Moderation means to adopt a middle path between two extremes in all walks of life. Islam stresses moderation and balance in all aspects of life; in beliefs, worship, conduct, relationships, ideas, customs, transactions, daily activities and human desires. Principled moderation has been reiterated in the Quran whether explicitly or implicitly as a good character in Islam.
Allah Almighty said:
 “Thus, We have made you a justly balanced community” (2:143).
The Arabic words “Ummataw Wasata” have been used in praise of this Ummah. The word ‘Wasata’ is commonly translated as moderate. Therefore the characteristic of this Ummah is moderate behaviour in all aspects, whether of character or action. They are people who do not sway to extremes; neither are they negligent in acts of worship nor extremely ascetic like those who discard the world to live in mountains.
According to this verse, Mufti Shafi Usmani from Deobandi school of thought says, “The characteristic quality which confers superiority on the Islamic Ummah over others is its being Wasat- (a word which has been variously translated into English as “midmost, moderate, just, intermediary, middle, central or justly balanced”). In order to explain the implications of the word Wasat, commentators have usually made use of another Arabic adjective Mu’tadil (signifying “moderate or temperate”) and the noun I’tidal which means “being equal”; both the words come from the root ‘Adl which signifies “to be equal or to make equal” (Maariful Quran- Mufti Shafi Usmani)
Imam Razi comments on this verse 2:143, saying: The justly balanced (Wasat) in reality is the furthest point between two extremes. There is no doubt that the two poles of excess and extravagance are destructive, so to be moderate in character is to be furthest from them, which is to be just and virtuous. (Tafsir-e-Kabir by Imam Razi 2:143)
In his classical Arabic dictionary Ibn Manzur writes;
“Every praiseworthy characteristic has two blameworthy poles. Generosity is the middle between miserliness and extravagance. Courage is the middle between cowardice and recklessness. Humanity has been commanded to avoid every such blameworthy trait.” (Lisan al-Arab 15/209)
Wahb ibn Munnabih, a Yemenite Muslim traditionalist of Dhimar in Yemen, said, “Verily, everything has two ends and a middle path. If you hold one of the ends, the other will be skewed. If you hold the middle, the two ends will be balanced. You must seek the middle ground in all things. (Hilyat Al-Awliya 4818)
It is reported that Hadrat Hudhaifa (May Allah be pleased with him) said, “O people, remain straight upon the path and you will have taken a great lead, but if you swerve right or left then you will be led far astray.” (Sahih Bukhari 6853, Grade: Sahih)
Hadrat Ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) drew a line with his hand and said, “This is the straight path of Allah”. Then the Prophet drew lines to the right and left and said, “These are other paths and there is not a path among them but that a devil is upon it calling to its way.” Then the Prophet recited the [Quranic] verse, “Verily, this is the straight path, so follow it and do not follow other paths. (6:153) (Musnad Ahmad 4423, Grade: Sahih)
We should implement the teachings of moderation and balance in all walks of life, whether with regard to duties of faith or the duties of worldly life.
Allah Almighty said, “Seek the home of the Hereafter by that which Allah has given you, but do not forget your share of the world.” (28:77)
Hanzalah Al-Usayyidi reported, I said, “O Messenger of Allah, when we are in your presence and are reminded of Hellfire and Paradise, we feel as if we are seeing them with our very eyes, but when we leave you and attend to our wives, our children, and our business, most of these things slip from our minds.” The Prophet said,
“By Him in whose hand is my soul, if your state of mind remains the same as it is in my presence and you are always occupied with the remembrance of Allah, the angels will shake your hands in your beds and roads. O Hanzalah, rather time should be devoted to this and time should be devoted to that.” (Sahih Muslim 2750, Grade: Sahih)
Therefore in accordance with this teaching, we should be moderate in our acts of worship such as prayer, fasting, and even charity. For instance, our prayers should be recited in a moderate voice, neither too loud nor too soft.
Allah Almighty said,
“Do not recite too loudly in your prayer nor too softly, but seek a way between them” (17:110)
It is reported on the authority of Hadrat Abu Musa that he said, “We were with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, during a journey when the people began to exalt Allah loudly. The Prophet said:
 “O people, be gentle with yourselves for you are not calling upon one who is deaf or absent. Rather, you are calling upon the Hearing, the Seeing.” (Sahih Bukhari 3910)
Hadrat Jabir ibn Samurah reported saying, “I was praying with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and his prayer was of moderate length and his sermon was of moderate length.” (Sahih Muslim 866, Grade: Sahih)
With regard to voluntary acts of worship, the Prophet [peace be upon him] asked his companions on many occasions to limit their extra worship so that they could perform their duties towards their families as well as maintain their health.
It is reported that Abdullah ibn Amr said, “The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to me, “O Abdullah, I am told you fast all day and pray all night.” I said, “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said, “Do not do so. Fast and break your fast, pray in the night and sleep. Verily, your body has a right over you, your eyes have a right over you, and your wife has a right over you.” (Sahih Bukhari 4903, Grade: Sahih)
Hadrat Salman Al-Farisi, (may Allah have mercy upon him) said, “You have a duty to your Lord, you have a duty to your body, and you have a duty to your family, so you should give each one its rights.” (Sahih Bukhari 1867, Grade: Sahih)
The similar message is found in this Hadith which says, “The best of your religion is the easiest.” [Ahmad]
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
“He who desires that his life be prolonged and he be granted more provisions and to be protected from the evil end, then let him fear Allah and maintain good ties with kinship”. (Al-Haakim)
He also said, “O’ people spread greetings, feed people, keep kinship ties and pray at night while people are sleeping and you will enter paradise safely” (al-Hakim)
Islam teaches Muslims to be moderate even when are doing charity. It calls Muslims to spend enough to help the needy; but it also asks them to retain enough to take care of their families and ourselves.
Allah Almighty said:
 “They are those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor miserly, but follow a middle way between them.” (25:67)
Thus we should also be moderate in our relationships with others. We should love for people what we love for ourselves but we should not exceed the limits so much that we endorse their wrong activities.
Hadrat Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “Let not your love be infatuation and let not your hatred be destruction.” It was said, “How is this?” Hadrat Umar said, “When you love someone, you become infatuated like a child. When you hate someone, you love destruction for your companion.” (Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 1322, Grade: Sahih)
Ibn Hibban suggested Muslims to have a middle path when dealing with non-Muslims and said, “Do not exceed the limits in seeking nearness to them, nor be excessive in seeking distance from them.” (Tafsir al-Mawardi 60:8)
Ibn Hibban wants to say that Muslims should not adopt what is against Islam while seeking nearness to non-Muslims and similarly they should not seek distance so much that they develop any sort of hatred or insecurity.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
 “By Allah, he is not a believer, he is not a believer, he is not a believer,” It was said, "Who is that, O Allah's Apostle?” the one who could not provide peace and security to his neighbours." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Number 45)
In this Hadith the word “neighbours” include both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Some more Ahadith which encourage good relationship with Muslims and non-Muslims are as follows;
“Do you know what is better than charity and fasting and prayer? It is keeping peace and good relations between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind.” (Al-Bukhari & Muslim)
“Whoever is kind, Allah will be kind to him; therefore be kind to man on the earth and He Who is in heaven will show mercy on you.” (Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi)
To sum up, Islam has taught Muslims to be moderate in all activities of their daily life. They should avoid any type of extremism pleasing to Satan that leads them astray from the right path. With this teaching of moderation and balance, Muslims can counter the growing tides of extremism that threaten both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Sources of Study:
Newageislam.com
Abu Amina Elias “Moderation and Balance in Islam” abuaminaelias.com
Tafsir-e-Kabir
Ma’ariful Quran
Sihah-e-Sitta
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Starving and Bombed Children of Yemen Seek Entrapment in Flooded Thai Cave



By Robert J. Burrowes, New Age Islam

11 July 2016

While the world watched and waited with bated breath for the outcome of the substantial global effort – involving over 100 cave divers from various countries, 1,000 members of the Thai Army and 10,000 others in various roles – to rescue a team of 12 young football players and their coach, who were trapped inside a flooded cave in Thailand for 17 days, 850,000 children were killed by human adults in other parts of the world, many of them simply starved to death in Yemen or other parts of Africa, Asia and Central/South America.

But other children were killed in ritual sacrifice, many children were killed after being sexually trafficked, raped and tortured, many were killed in wars (including in Yemen), many were killed while living under military occupation, many died as child soldiers or while working as slave laborers, and vast numbers of other children suffered violence in a myriad other forms ranging from violence (including sexual violation) inflicted in the family home to lives of poverty, homelessness and misery in wealthy industrialized countries or as refugees fleeing conflict zones. See ‘Humanity's “Dirty Little Secret”: Starving, Enslaving, Raping, Torturing and Killing our Children’.

Why did the world’s corporate media highlight the flooded Thai cave story so graphically and why do so many ordinary people respond with such interest – meaning genuine emotional engagement – in this story? But not the others just mentioned?

And what does this tell us about human psychology and geopolitics?

Needless to say, a great deal.

During the Thai cave drama, major corporate media outlets, such as the Washington Post and the BBC, were routinely releasing ‘breaking news’ updates on the status of the rescue effort. At high points in the drama, reports on this issue were overshadowing major political and other stories of the day. At the same time, there were no ‘breaking news’ stories on any of the many myriad forms of violence against children, which were (and are still) killing 50,000 children each day.

So why the corporate media interest in this essentially local (Thai) story about a group of 12 children trapped in a cave? And why did it attract so much support, including foreign cave divers, engineers and medics as well as technology billionaire Elon Musk, who flew in to investigate rescue options and assist with the rescue effort. They and their equivalents are certainly not flying in to rescue children in a vast number of other contexts, including where the provision of simple, nourishing meals and clean water would do wonders.

Well, in essence, the story was a great one for the corporate media, simply because it reported on something of little consequence to those not immediately impacted and enabled the media to garner attention for itself and other (western) ‘heroes’ drawn into the story while engaging in its usual practice of distracting us from what really matters. And it was an easy story to sell simply because the media could use a wide range of safe emotional triggers to draw people into the dramatized story without simultaneously raising difficult questions about the (appalling) state of the world and responsibility for it.

In simple language: like sports events and other forms of entertainment, the cave rescue provided a safely contained time and space for people to feel emotionally engaged in (this case) a real-life drama (with feelings like fear and relief allowed an outlet) while carefully reinforcing their unconscious feeling of powerlessness to do anything about it and their acceptance of this. This is why it was so important that expert rescue efforts were highlighted: the key media message was that ‘there is nothing you can do’.

Of course, in this context, this was largely true. The problem is that the corporate media coverage wasn’t aimed at this context. It was aimed at all those other contexts which it wasn’t even discussing, let alone highlighting: the vast range of issues – including the many ongoing wars and endless military violence, the threat of nuclear war, the climate catastrophe and innumerable threats to our biosphere posed by such activities as rainforest destruction, the refugee crisis, military occupations, as well as the ongoing violence against children in so many contexts as touched on above – that need a great deal of our attention but for which the elite uses its corporate media to distract us and reinforce our sense of powerlessness.

Another aspect of the story was the way in which it highlighted the ‘accidental’ nature of the incident: no one was really responsible, even the hapless coach who was just trying to give his young players an interesting excursion and whom, according to reports, none of the parents blamed.

By focusing on the logistical details of the story (the distance into the cave, the narrowness of certain passages, rescue possibilities, equipment, the threat of monsoon rains...), without attributing blame, the media could reinforce its endless message that ‘no-one’ is responsible for the state of the world. Hence, no individual and no organization is responsible for doing anything either. Again, this message is designed to deepen a sense of powerlessness and to make people disinclined to act: to make them powerless observers rather than active participants in their own fate.

As an aside, of course, it should be noted that in those contexts where it serves elite interests to attribute blame, it certainly does so. Hence, elites might contrive to blame Muslims, Russians, Palestinians or the other latest target (depending on the context) for some problem. However, in these contexts, the story of ‘blame’ is framed to ensure that elites have maximum opportunity to act as they wish (often militarily) while (again) engendering a sense of powerlessness among the rest of us.

The tragedy of the Thai cave incident is that one man died and many boys spent 17 days in a situation in which they were no doubt terrified and suffering genuine physical privation. But elite media cynically used the event to distract us from vitally important issues, including ongoing grotesque violence against children in a large number of contexts, and to reinforce ‘The Delusion “I Am Not Responsible”’.

In short, while the 12 boys and their coach were rescued after 17 days trapped in a flooded cave in Thailand which required a sophisticated and expensive international effort, during the same period around the world, 850,000 children were killed by human adults. Even in Thailand during this 17-day period, apart from those children violated and killed as a result of sex trafficking and other violence, 119 children drowned (at the rate of seven each day). See ‘Swim Safe: Preventing Child Drowning’. Obviously, these children were ignored because there was no profit in reporting their plight and helping to mobilize an international effort to save them.

So what can we do?

Well, for a start, we can boycott the corporate media and certainly not spend any money on it. What little truth it contains is usually of even less value (and probably gets barely beyond a good sports report). Instead, invest any money you previously spent on the corporate media by supporting progressive news outlets. They might not have reported events in relation to the Thai cave rescue but they do report on the ongoing violence inflicted on children in more grotesque circumstances such as the war in Yemen. They will also report and analyze important global events from a truthful and life-enhancing perspective and will often offer strategies for your engaged involvement.

If you want to understand why most people are suckered by the corporate media, whose primary function is to distract and disempower us, you will get a clear sense from reading how adults distract and disempower children in the name of ‘socialization’. See ‘Why Violence?’ and ‘Fearless Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice’.

If you want to nurture children to be powerful agents of change who will have no trouble resisting attempts (whether by the corporate media or any other elite agent) to distract and disempower them, you are welcome to consider making ‘My Promise to Children’.

If you are easily conned yourself, you will vastly enhance your capacity to discriminate and focus on what matters by ‘Putting Feelings First’ which will, among other things, restore your conscience, intuition and ‘truth register’, vital mental functions suppressed in most people.

You are also welcome to consider participating in ‘The Flame Tree Project to Save Life on Earth’ which maps out a fifteen-year strategy for creating a peaceful, just and sustainable world community so that all children (and everyone else) has an ecologically viable planet on which to live.

And for the vast range of other manifestations of violence against children touched on above, you might consider using Gandhian nonviolent strategy in any context of particular concern to you. See Nonviolent Campaign Strategy or Nonviolent Defense/Liberation Strategy.

You might also consider signing the online pledge of ‘The People’s Charter to Create a Nonviolent World’ which explicitly identifies the role of the corporate media, among many other elite agencies, in promoting violence.

Am I pleased that the 12 children and their coach in Thailand were rescued? Of course I am. I just wish that an equivalent effort was being made to rescue each of the 50,000 children we will kill today, tomorrow, the next day and the day after that….

Robert J. Burrowes has a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since 1981. He is the author of ‘Why Violence?’His email address is flametree@riseup.net and his website is here.


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The Exigency of Muslim Reform


 

By Syed N Asad, New Age Islam
17 June 2018
 In most of the Muslim communities debate always centres around whether a rational and practical approach to the practice of Islam is required or even possible. We confront different opinions on this question. For example, most Muslims who adhere to the rules of traditional Sharia are convinced that there can never be reform because they see Islam as a complete and perfect way of life that is unalterable. There are others who may not be devout practitioners yet are opposed to reform because they believe that any attempt to reform translates into acquiescing to the demands of the West. For them, this is a societal defeat for the Muslim civilization.
There are others still who consider the word reform to be problematic because for them it implies an emulation of Christian and Jewish reform movements.  Muslims of this category think that a Muslim reform movement will take away from the significance of Islam as the only natural and pure religion, with no human intervention over time.
 However, the question of whether reform can or cannot take place in Muslim society has already been answered through historical development. A large number of Muslims who live in developed nations, or in large urban centres in Muslim countries, and have access to information and resources have already changed the practice of their faith. Most Muslims in this situation don’t pray five times a day without guilt. Most Muslim women do not wear the “Hijab.” Most Muslims, if given a choice, do not abstain from Riba (interest on loans). It is common for Muslim women to work outside the home as a choice.
Muslim reform is not only inevitable, but it has also been occurring naturally. It is up to us to recognize this and acknowledge that most of the changes are for the good of the society. The reform that has taken place in Muslim communities is in part due to the influence of dominant western culture. Muslims’ need for contemporary education and improvement of the economy has a major influence to adjust to norms of other societies.   It includes social reforms (such as discouraging polygamy, or child marriages), educational reforms (a study of modern subjects, women’s education) or legal reforms (such as banning of Sharia laws on the punishment of theft or adultery). However, these reforms have produced mixed results and some discontent among Muslims because these changes were not Sharia-based.
The modern fundamentalist movements such as the Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia, Jamaat-e-Islami in South Asia and the Ikhwaan-ul-Muslimeen (Muslim Brotherhood) in Egypt arose because of the widespread dissatisfaction due to deviation from the Sharia principles.
Muslims who think of themselves as “progressive” identify with the changes that have already occurred but believe that it is too risky to go any further. Their main emphasis is to differentiate themselves from orthodox Muslims who decry the changes that have taken place. The “progressive” Muslims rationalize the changes they have accepted by giving new meanings to the rules of sharia. They would say, for example, that Muslim women can work outside the home because women have equal rights in Islam.
 For Islam to continue to thrive in the world, the sharia has to be made consistent with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We have to recognize that only those teachings that contribute to personal growth, resourcefulness, freedom, and adjustment to different groups of people with ultimate achievement of happiness represent the real purpose and essence of Islam. If, on the other hand, Islamic teachings that contribute to the reduction of human potential, to discontentment, unhappiness, and lack of productivity, are false, regardless of how famous the scholar who conveys these ideas.
 We ought to question the authenticity of religious teachers and scholars if their own lives are desolate, discontented and banal. An honest teacher of Islam has to be a mentor, who has learned to solve problems in his/her own life meaningfully and can relate and share his own experiences with the followers. 
Furthermore, Islamic history has to be re-evaluated with objective methods of Historiography, so a false glorification of ancient figures no longer misleads people. The fundamental idea that will help Muslims is that the change is an inevitable part of life. Islam became a global religion because the way Prophet Muhammad taught its principles made his contemporaries into enlightened and empowered people. They became more just in their dealings with others, valued learning, welcomed strangers, discarded superstitions, removed ethnic and racial barriers, gave greater rights to oppressed classes such as women and slaves, their worship was direct and charismatic, and as a result of this dynamism their influence spread all over the known world. Reform means recognizing that the universal empowering teachings of Islam can be expressed successfully according to the maxims of every age.
Several advantages will come from pro-active reform. Muslims can re-interpret teachings in the Quran and Hadith in ways that empower and enlighten themselves and others around them in the modern era. If this type of reform is realized, Muslims will be able to uplift themselves without being alienated from their core values.
Dr Syed N. Asad, MD, FACP served as a vice-president and a treasurer on the executive board of IMANA (Islamic Medical Association of North America) and  a physician at Senior Friendship Health Centre, Naples, Florida. He graduated from high school in Hyderabad, India, with high honours; attended Osmania University Medical School; and completed his medical training in the United States. He taught medicine and nephrology at a New York state university for nearly twenty years before opening an independent practice. He is the author of a book, Selected Collections of the Holy Quran in English: A Companion for Young Muslims to Understand the Divine Messages of Prophet Mohammad.

URL: http://www.newageislam.com/ijtihad,-rethinking-islam/syed-n-asad,-new-age-islam/the-exigency-of-muslim-reform/d/115561
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Tuesday, July 3, 2018

Why Saudi Reforms are a Sham



By Arshad Alam, New Age Islam
03 July 2018
Much has been said about the reforms undertaken by Saudi Prince and de facto ruler Muhammad bin Salman (MBS). Some have hailed him as the harbinger of a new Saudi Arabia which is rapidly modernising under his influence. However, the pace of change is too slow and appears cosmetic. If MBS is really serious about modernizing Saudi Arabia, then he should start with some fundamental changes. Let us see what are these reforms which have been subject of much debate globally and within the Muslim world in particular.
The reforms have to do with a certain loosening of cultural norms within the absurdly conservative nation defined by a peculiar interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism. As the first visible marker of conservatism has to do with women, the relaxation of that conservatism and the inauguration of so called liberalism also start with women’s question. Thus almost all the reformist measures announced by MBS has directly or indirectly to do with women. Allowing cinema was the first move by MBS but then there is very little that we know till now about the status of this creative enterprise in the kingdom. Does the reform only confine itself to screening Hollywood mindless movies which can safely be consumed by the pampered Saudis or does the reform also entail that average Saudis will be able to make and produce their own movies? Since cinema and other cultural art forms are deeply political by nature, does it also mean that a cinematic critique of Saudi establishment will be tolerated by the Prince and that the creative exercise will not be subject to severe censure or even threats to life and liberty? So far we have not heard about the nature of cinema which is being screened in Saudi Arabia. If the idea is that it is just for mind-numbing consumption, then we are not talking about real reforms at all.
Similarly, the kingdom announcement with great fanfare the organization of a fashion show- a first in Saudi Arabia. What actually happened was not just the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia but possibly the entire world: robots were paraded down the aisle instead of real models in this so called fashion show. A very warped understanding of honour and sexuality saw to it that women and creative directors were not allowed to do what comes naturally to them by being situated in the fashion industry. While the world laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea of robots walking down the ramp, some became suspicious, and rightly so, of the real intentions of MBS.
This trust deficit which the Prince has earned can be better understood through the lifting of the ban on women’s driving. Saudi Arabia again became a spectacle of sorts when women (in 2018!) where ‘allowed’ to drive legally on the streets. There were scenes of jubilation with women and their families posting images of driving, something very routine in other parts of the world. But one might stop and ask: how real is this change? True, it will bring some relief to women who can now go to work without the aid of a driver. But then, the Saudi system of male guardianship would still require that women are still subject to the rule of men. From opening bank accounts to getting passports and travelling to another country, Saudi women still have to seek the consent of a male guardian. This in itself is extremely humiliating and actually debars women in in this country from exercising their human rights. It is ridiculous that in this day and age, women have to seek permission from their husbands, fathers or even their sons for mundane things. What makes the situation ludicrous is that women outnumber men (although they constitute only 15% of the organised labour force) when it comes to accessing higher education in Saudi Arabia. And yet despite being more educated, she is considered the property of men and kept under their suzerainty.
Those who are celebrating the ‘permission’ granted to women to drive on their own must understand that this is just that: permission. In other words, it got effected through the ‘will’ of the King and must be understood in its proper context as a ‘gift’ from the monarchy. And herein lies the problem with those who are equating this reform with liberalism and democracy. The essence of democracy is the belief that all citizens have certain inalienable rights. Freedom of movement, criticism and free expression is fundamental part of democracy and liberalism. So while we are celebrating that women have been allowed to drive, let us not forget that this was a demand which women activists made decades ago. When we mention the supposed liberalism of the MBS, let us not forget that there are women still behind bars for making those demands. That MBS decided not to free them despite international pressure only tells us that despite the media hype around him, he remains a despot and a dictator.
Despots demand obedience, they cannot face criticism. Any critique of the system is understood as a personal criticism and those who are resisting this unjust regime have to face the music. Thus the women who are now behind bars are there for committing a crime which they in part helped to dismantle. In any other part of the world, they would be released and celebrated. Not so in Saudi Arabia. For anything and everything here must flow from the crown itself. If anyone wants to call it a step towards democracy and liberalism, then they would need to redefine these words first. But then this is also despotism of all special variety. Saudi Arabian despotism is wedded to Wahhabism and together they make a potent mix. Any critique of the system invites lashes and imprisonment as the case of Raif Badawi tells us. Those who are critical of the religion and want it to adapt to modernity also face persecution. A regime which treats Shia Islam as heretical cannot be expected to tolerate any criticism of Islam itself.
MBS curiously and infamously blamed the Iranians for the conservatism of his own country. This is complete nonsense. If he is really serious about bringing reforms, then it must start with a deep introspection rather than blaming someone else. And one of the first questions that he needs to ask is how the pernicious ideology of Wahhabism has very nearly destroyed the soul of his country. From the looks of it, one can only say that he is not ready to question anything related to the Wahhabi superstructure. Till the time that happens, MBS and his reforms should only be understood as a mere sham.
There comes a time in any nation’s present when it is confronted with its own history. Very often, the present offers two possible ways to deal with the situation: either
Arshad Alam is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com
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Jalalabad Suicide Bombing Reportedly Waged By ISIS Terrorists Is Totally Against Islamic Teachings



By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
2 July 2018

According to a BBC report, “a suicide bombing in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad has killed at least 19 people, most of them members of the country's Sikh minority” and “The Islamic State (IS) group said it carried out the attack”.  Nangarhar health director Najibullah Kamawal told AFP news agency that 17 of the dead were Sikhs and Hindus. Another 20 people were wounded, he added. Condemning the “cowardly terrorist” attack, the Indian embassy tweeted, “The attack underlines the need for a united global fight against international terrorism without discrimination and accountability of those who support terrorists in any manner”
Many ulema also condemn such cowardly terrorist attacks waged by ISIS and appreciate the call of Indian embassy towards a united global fight against international terrorism. But how can we win our fight against such terrorists unless we fight their narratives by which they seek to brainwash the gullible people. Isis repeatedly focuses on misinterpreting Islam for justifying suicide bombing but we Muslims do not concentrate on rebutting their falsehood or misrepresentation of Islam. Except for NewAgeIslam.com, such an attempt is not being made anywhere else in a systematic and organised manner.
Suicide bombing is extremely forbidden in Islam in all cases, even in wartime. The Quran and Sunnah have asked the people not to go for suicide attacks. Now we will have to tell the gullible Muslims who are trapped or brainwashed for suicide bombing that this act is absolutely forbidden.
Allah says,
“Do not kill yourself” (4:29).
The verse “do not kill yourself” has general application and means that suicide is forbidden both in public and in person.
Imam Fakhr al-Din al-Razi interpreted this verse (4:29) and wrote:
“This verse, “And do not kill yourselves”, prove that it is unlawful for one to kill someone else or oneself unjustly” (Al-Tafsir al-Kabir of Imam al-Razi, 57:10)
Allah Almighty says:
“But whoever will do that through transgression and injustice, We shall soon throw him into the Fire (of Hell) and that is very easy for Allah” (4:30).
 Here Allah makes the law of punishment for the suicide attackers. From the general application of this verse we learn that suicide bombing is forbidden in all circumstances and anyone who justifies it in certain circumstances as a war tactic is violating Islam and for such a terrorist is punishment of the hell-fire.
Allah Almighty also says:
“And do not cast yourselves into destruction with your own hands; and adopt righteousness. Verily, Allah loves the righteous” (2:195)
Islamic jurists (Fuqaha) and exegetes (Mufassirin) quote this verse as evidence to prove that killing oneself or perpetrating suicide attacks by any means is forbidden.
Imam al-Baghawi quoted the verse 2:195 while interpreting the verse 4:30 and said, “It is said that He mentioned the Muslim who kills himself”. (Tafsir al-Baghawi also known as Ma'alim at-Tanzeel: 1:418)
There are a number of Ahadith in which the Prophet has condemned suicide attack and made it forbidden (Haram) under all circumstances. Please see some of them as follows;
The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
“The one who commits suicide will go to Hell, and will keep falling into it and will abide there forever”
(Sahih Bukhari, The book of Medicine, Chapter: Taking poison and using it for medical treatment or using what may be dangerous or impure)
“Whoever stabs himself to death will continue to stab himself in Hell. And whoever throws himself off a cliff will continue to throw himself off a cliff in Hell. And whoever hangs himself will continue to hang himself in Hell”.
(Sahih Bukhari, The book of Funeral Rites, Chapter: What has come to us about someone who kills himself’?)
“Whoever swears by a religion other than Islam (i.e. if he swears by saying that he is a non-Muslim in case he is telling a lie), then he is as he says if his oath is false and whoever commits suicide with something, will be punished with the same thing in the (Hell) fire, and cursing a believer is like murdering him, and whoever accuses a believer of disbelief, then it is as if he had killed him.”
 (Sahih Bukhari, The Book of Good Manners, Chapter: If Someone calls his brother a disbeliever without any legitimate grounds, then he himself is what he said’, Sahih Muslim)
“Whoever purposely throws himself from a mountain and kills himself, will be in the (Hell) Fire falling down into it and abiding therein perpetually forever. And whoever drinks poison and kills himself with it, he will be carrying his poison in his hand and drinking it in the (Hell) Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever; and whoever kills himself with an iron weapon (stabbing himself), will be carrying that weapon in his hand and stabbing his abdomen with it in the (Hell) Fire wherein he will abide eternally forever.”
 (Sahih Bukhari, The book of Medicine, Chapter: Taking poison and using it for medical treatment or using what may be dangerous or impure)
It is reported that:
“The Prophet peace be upon him, dispatched an army and appointed a man their commander. Then the man-made fire and said (to the soldiers), "Enter it." Some of them intended to enter it while some others said, 'We have run away from it (i.e., we have embraced Islam to save ourselves from the 'fire')." They mentioned that to the Prophet, and he said about people who had intended to enter the fire. ''If they had entered it, they would have remained in it till the Day of Resurrection.'' Then he said to others, "No obedience for evil deeds, obedience is required only in what is good."
(Sahih Bukhari, [The Book of Accepting Information Given by a Truthful Person, Chapter, Acceptance of the information given by one truthful person in about all matters, and Sahih Muslim, [The book of leadership]
“There was amongst those before you a man who had a wound. He was in [such] anguish that he took a knife and made with it a cut in his hand, and the blood did not cease to flow till he died. Allah the Almighty said: My servant has himself forestalled Me; I have forbidden him Paradise”.
This Hadith has been narrated in Sahih Bukhari [The book of the prophets, chapter: What has been mentioned about the children of Israel], Sahih Muslim [the book of faith, chapter ‘the severe prohibition of killing oneself and if someone commits suicide with something, he will be tormented with the same in the Hellfire] and Ibn Hibban in al-Sahih)
“During one of his Ghazawat, the Prophet peace be upon him encountered the pagans, and the two armies fought, and then each of them returned to their army camps. Amongst the (army of the) Muslims there was a man who would follow every pagan separating from the army and strike him with his sword. It was said, "O Allah's Messenger peace be upon him! None has fought so satisfactorily as so-and-so (namely, that brave Muslim). "The Prophet said, "He is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire." The people said, "Who amongst us will be of the dwellers of Paradise if this (man) is from the dwellers of the Hell-Fire?" Then a man from amongst the people said, "I will follow him and accompany him in his fast and slow movements." The (brave) man got wounded, and wanting to die at once, he put the handle of his sword on the ground and its tip in between his breasts, and then threw himself over it, committing suicide. Then the man (who had watched the deceased) returned to the Prophet peace be upon him and said, "I testify that you are Apostle of Allah". The Prophet peace be upon him said, "What is this?" The man told him the whole story. The Prophet peace be upon him said, "A man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of Paradise, but he is of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire and a man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire, but he is from the dwellers of Paradise."
 (Sahih al-Bukhari [The Book of Military Expeditions led by the Prophet (pbuh) (Al-Maghaazi) Chapter: Ghazwa of Khaibar], Sahih Muslim [The Book of Faith » Chapter: Clarifying the emphatic prohibition against killing oneself; The one who kills himself with something will be punished with it in the fire]
We have read above in the Quranic verses and Ahadith that suicide attack is categorically forbidden under all circumstances and that the suicide attackers will reside in the Hell forever. Therefore, those who think that by suicide attack they will enter Paradise are at wrong. So, they should immediately go for repentance and disassociate themselves from the militants or terrorists who justify suicide bombing, otherwise they too will be the part of this heinous crime.
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The Casualty of Truth in Kashmir



By Mushtaq ul Haq Ahmad Sikander, New Age Islam
30 June 2018
The dispute of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is a legacy of partition of the Indian subcontinent. It has been an entity of contested claims both by India and Pakistan. The worst sufferers of this dispute have been the inhabitants of the state of J&K. The stakes of India and Pakistan have led to creation of a class that is loyal to their pay masters for different perks and privileges. This class with vested interests keeps the pot of the conflict boiling and do not want it to be resolved anytime soon as they will lose access to unaccountable money and power that they are enjoying by peddling the Kashmir conflict. The conflict surely has become an industry for these vested interests that sabotage every move aimed at resolution of this long pending issue.
Since 1990s when the mass armed insurgency started in J&K, truth has been rendered a casualty. In the midst of blaring propaganda, prevailing anarchy and confusion the truth has became a casualty. The masses were at the receiving end, too naïve to understand factual realities amidst violence and daily killings. Not only the insurgents, combatants, uniformed men became cannon fodder of the insurgency but the opinion makers, social activists, ideologues and politically affiliated people were also targeted indiscriminately. These high profile killings of apparently apolitical people were owned by none of the insurgent groups or state institutions. In most cases the rival parties i.e. insurgents and the state blamed the assassinations on each other. Both of these rivals would pay glorious tributes to the assassinated individuals. Thus in the end the killings would be blamed on unknown gunmen.
The latest casualty of these unknown gunmen in Kashmir is Shujaat Bukhari. Shujaat was a powerful editor of four multi lingual newspapers published from the valley. Further he was a high profile civil society member who was involved in track two diplomatic efforts on Kashmir, between India and Pakistan. Some blame his killing again on these unknown gunmen and point out to his participation in track two efforts that became a reason for his assassination. The police is still investigating the murder and militants have blamed the Indian security agencies for the killing while demanding a probe through an international agency.
Leaving aside the dichotomy and controversy surrounding the death of Shujaat, the masks of these unknown gunmen still remain to be unveiled. The pertinent question has always been avoided and none is ready to engage with the same? Who are these unknown gunmen? During their lives every public person is controversial; some remain shrouded in mystery even after death. But the bravado created around the personalities after their death, makes the controversies and mysteries surrounding their lives, works and engagements go down in oblivion. We have yet to be mature enough to balance every personality according to merits. We have a persistent problem of compartmentalizing people in boxes of right and wrong. We then either condemn them out rightly or paint them as saints and heroes whose loss is always irreparable.
All those people who were vehemently critical of Shujaat during his life were not behind issuing condemnations against his gruesome assassination. This failure to criticize or introspect any personality after death has leaded us to a deadly morass. It has rendered us blind to our faults. For us a person can be with us or against us, there is no middle ground and those who intend to find one are pressurized to join a camp because both India and Pakistan, mainstream and resistance politicians, armed forces and insurgents do not want any neutral voices to emerge strongly as to create a niche among the ‘stake holders’ on Kashmir. Even most of the civil society members are being sponsored by various clandestine hands and promoted to defend and peddle a certain narrative.
Many right wing ideologues and politicians like Lal Singh while warning other journalists to mend their ways described Shujaat as an apologist for insurgents that simply translates to peddle a given narrative and surrender their independence and freedom to report. This is not the case with right wing ideologues only but other politicians and ideologues of different hues also want neutral, saner and independent voices to fall in line. Now coming back to the question of truth, given the previous experience of probes and investigation turns in high profile killings, the real assassins of Shujaat will remain under veils. We have experienced similar results in the killings of Mirwaiz Muhammad Farooq, Prof. Mashir ul Haq, Dr Qazi Nisar, Dr Ghulam Qadir Wani, Prof. Abdul Ahad Wani, Dr Farooq Ashai and Dr Guru. Their killers were never brought to the book. But the time has now come to unveil these forces of darkness who do not want the resolution of Kashmir. Whenever the bridges for dialogue and resolution are made they are ready to burn them.
Someone, some cause, some ideology has to take the blame! Police have now declared a Pakistani militant and two Kashmiri militants as murderers, who happen to belong to Lashkar e Toiba (LeT). LeT had already blamed the killing on Indian security agencies. Anyways whosoever was the culprit but the question needs to be probed is what made his assassins pull the trigger? Did the track two diplomatic efforts became a reason for his killing, did his brave reporting against military atrocities on common civilians was a bone of contention for his assassins or was he being witnessed as a double cross by both India and Pakistan and its spy agencies for the reasons best known to them? What percolated down at the much hyped Dubai conference? Who sponsored it, what was the outcome? What prompted Salahuddin, head of United Jihad Council issue a statement against the same? Whose stakes were threatened by the conference? These questions have to be asked and seriously revisited in the common discourse. Otherwise truth that has been a casualty in Kashmir will continue to be so. This status quo on factual realities and truth will continue to add confusion and anarchy to the discourse as Kashmir. In this prevailing anarchy stray bullets will continue to kill and the reasons will continue to evade us.
M.H.A. Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir
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