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Archive for the 'Hadith' Category
RIP Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) – In Memoriam
Usama Hasan with Prof Stephen Hawking, Google Zeitgeist Europe Conference, London, 2011
[Download a PDF of this article here (9 pages)]:
Stephen Hawking – In Memoriam by Usama Hasan
Bismillah. So, RIP Prof. Stephen Hawking, often called "the greatest physicist since Einstein," who returned to his source yesterday.
Here is a brief history, in time, of my encounters with him, intellectually & physically:
An early copy of A Brief History of Time, 1988
Hawking's famous bestseller was originally published by Bantam Press in 1988. That same year, by the grace of God, I achieved a silver medal in the British Physics Olympiad after being entered into it by my school, the City of London School for Boys (CLSB), aged around 17. (Dozens of students from around the country each won gold, silver or bronze medals, and the very best would be selected to represent Britain at the International Physics Olympiad.) My prize was a hardback copy of A Brief History of Time, and it is still a prized possession.
For some reason, they wrote my name in the presentation sticker as "V. Hasan" – perhaps they thought I was an Ancient Roman or something. A classmate, Keith Eyeions, won a gold medal – his prize was a large sum of cash, book tokens or possibly a microcomputer, but in hindsight, my prize was possibly more valuable. Keith also read Natural Sciences at Cambridge and took the History & Philosophy of Science course in the second year – he encouraged me to study it also; I was unable to, but at least he had introduced me to the subject, of which I had never heard before.
I started the book several times, but like the vast majority of people, couldn't get very far with it. It would be several years before I was able to understand the book entirely, obviously whilst or after completing a physics degree.
Whilst at school, I did manage to read the excellent In Search of Schrodinger's Cat by John Gribbin and God & The New Physics by Paul Davies.
2. A Christian Union lecture critiquing Hawking at Cambridge University, 1990
During my second year at Cambridge, I attended, along with a fellow Islamic Society committee member, an eye-catching Christian Union lecture on religion and physics. The CU were largely evangelical, literalist, fundamentalist Christians, and quite a few academics had similar beliefs to them. The lecturer, whose name I don't recall but was probably a colleague of David Wilkinson and a pupil of John Polkinghorne, gave a good, entertaining talk about the new physics, quoting the famous lines, "Whoever is not shocked by quantum theory, has not understood it!" (Niels Bohr) and, "God does not play dice with the universe!" (Albert Einstein). He ended by critiquing Hawking, whose ABHT was already a bestseller and many religious people were engaging with it. He quoted from Hawking's penultimate paragraph, that seems to incline towards theism amidst a largely agnostic discussion, and concluded,
"Stephen Hawking holds the Lucasian Chair in Mathematics at Cambridge, a post once held by Isaac Newton. Hawking may not share Newton's faith, but he points us in the same direction."
This was to have a profound influence on me, and my argument in a 2010 article elsewhere on this blog, A Muslim Response to Stephen Hawking, is partly based on that 1990 lecture.
3. Hawking's lecture on "Imaginary Time", c. 1990/1
The Cambridge University Physics Society organised this, at a science lecture theatre that accommodated a few hundred people: Hawking rarely lectured publicly, so it was packed, although very few of us had any idea what the title meant. I arrived quite early, to guarantee a spot. An orthodox Jewish chap called Mark Israel had arrived before me, and was intensely reading what looked like a pocket Torah. As a fellow Abrahamic monotheist, he seemed to be preparing himself to take on someone who was becoming a star for atheist scientists. (Mark had been a year above me at CLSB, but we were now in the same year at university, since he had taken a gap year in Israel, working on a kibbutz or studying at a yeshiva or something. We barely knew each other.)
Hawking's pre-loaded lecture, delivered via his computer and voice-synthesiser, began by explaining the difference between real and imaginary numbers: basic, A-level mathematics. He then accelerated up several gears and lost the vast majority of us in his details, talking about solving Einstein's equations for General Relativity in imaginary or complex (real+imaginary) time, avoiding infinities and renormalisations, promoting his no-boundary proposal and his positivist philosophical position. Although he lost me and others in the details, I think I got the gist of his lecture, as above. His link between the mathematical physics and his philosophical position was interesting: he argued that we could not know to begin with (a priori) whether time was best represented by real, imaginary or complex numbers, if at all. But given that we could not solve the GR equations in real time, but could do so in imaginary/complex time, this was evidence or proof that imaginary time existed. (To my mind, time clearly has a real dimension as well, but no-one used the term, "complex time," i.e. real+imaginary time, at the time!)
When the lecture ended, there was stunned silence: most of us were still trying to process the whirlwind of mathematics & physics ideas to which we had just been exposed. There were only one or two questions, and I think Mark Israel bravely asked the first question: an undergraduate natural scientist and devout Abrahamic monotheist trying to take on one of the world's greatest scientists who was also agnostic/atheist. Mark asked (in paraphrase), beginning with a typically-British understatement,
"This is all very complicated. But this positivism of yours – isn't it a cop-out from accepting the reality that we all experience?"
We waited with bated breath for many minutes for Hawking's pithy answer: because he had to compose his answer, character by character, using only one finger to operate his computer, even a one-sentence answer could take quite a while to produce. But Hawking eventually answered (in paraphrase),
"Give me an experimental test for any 'reality' and I will accept its existence if it is empirically (experimentally) proved."
I've remembered the entire exchange, but it was many years before I understood Hawking's answer, and what on earth he was talking about.
These were of course some of the intensely salafi years: when I told JIMAS colleagues about attending Hawking's lectures, Abu Muntasir remarked, "the Sheikh Albani of physics!"
4. Hawking's lecture on "Predestination", c. 1991/2
This was organised by the university's Philosophical Society at, if I remember correctly, the Lady Margaret Hall on the Sidgwick Site. [Lady Margaret, whose name adorns several Cambridge roads and buildings, was the wife of Henry VI, mother of Henry VII and hence grandmother of Henry VIII, again if I remember correctly.]
This was a large hall, and again, it was standing-room only: I estimated that about 2,000 people attended.
The question being addressed in the lecture was,
"Is Everything Predestined?"
Hawking's answer was one of pure determinism: he argued that the laws of physics determined absolutely everything, including our brain configurations and neuronal firing patterns. As a fellow-student once put it,
"If the laws of physics determine exactly how an object falls, why shouldn't they determine exactly how our brain neurons fire?"
Those who knew Hawking well, often comment that he had an irresistible sense of humour. This was on display at this lecture when, to illustrate how the laws of physics have determined, according to his view, everything from the Big Bang to the most trivial details of human behaviour, Hawking mischievously put up a copy of a Page 3 of The Sun, featuring a famous female, topless model, declaring,
"The laws of physics even determine that Samantha Fox appears nude on Page 3!"
The audience roared with laughter – my, such goings-on at one of the world's most prestigious learned societies and universities!
Hawking's conclusion was very interesting:
"Is Everything Predestined? Yes, everything is predestined, but it might as well not be, since we can never know!"
His reasoning for this conclusion was that although the laws of physics did determine everything, we could not possibly predict the future since, to do so, we would need to solve zillions of non-linear equations simultaneously, and this is simply impossible.
Obviously, predestination is a major topic in Islam, and I grappled with Hawking's conclusion for a long time. Many years later, I read in the famous book by Ali al-Hujwiri (Data Ganj Bakhsh, 1009-1077 CE, buried in Lahore), Kashf al-Mahjub [Unveiling of the Veiled, trans. Reynold A. Nicholson] that he had taught,
"Believe that everything is predestined, but act as though nothing is."
In other Islamic texts, this is stated as follows:
"Believe like a jabari [determinist], but behave like a qadari [free-willer]."
It is also alluded to in the later Ash'ari text, Hashiyat al-Disuqi 'ala Umm al-Barahin, when the commentator claims that,
"The People of the Sunna [Ahl al-Sunna, according to the Ash'ari school] are rationally determinist (jabariyya 'aqlan)."
The dispute between the determinists [jabariyya] and absolute free-willers [qadariyya] dates back to the Sahaba (Companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and be pleased with them) and will continue until the Day of Judgment, with a whole spectrum of views within Islam, amongst the Sunni, Shia, Mu'tazili, Ash'ari, Maturidi, Hanbali/Athari/Salafi, etc. As Imam 'Ali said, and was echoed by Imam Tahawi in his Creed ['Aqida],
"Predestination [qadar] is a secret/mystery (sirr) of God in His Creation."
But here we have a leading Muslim Sufi saint, whose tomb is visited by lakhs of people every year, taking a compromise position between belief and action, between jabar and qadar, over nine centuries before a great mathematician and physicist who essentially comes to the same conclusion. From Hujwiri to Hawking – Glory be to God!
5. Hawking on Grange Rd, c. 1991/2
I was cycling along Grange Road, Cambridge, dressed in my usual dress at the time of a flowing Arab robe and turban, when I passed Hawking coming the other way in his motorised wheelchair. It was a powerful moment for me, and remains etched in my memory: this great scientist, silently and serenely passing by, with only the quiet hum of his wheelchair, like the force of nature (God's creation) that he was. I wonder if he remembered a cyclist in Arab dress?
Relatedly, I read in the newspapers later that year, after leaving Cambridge, that Hawking had had another encounter with a Muslim using Grange Rd: a Pakistani taxi-driver (who else?) had crashed into Hawking, destroying his wheelchair although Hawking escaped unhurt. Thank God he was relatively unharmed – had he been seriously injured or killed, it might have been the biggest Pakistani influence on theoretical physics and cosmology since Prof Abdus-Salam's Nobel Prize. [I am of Pakistani origin, so I'm allowed to poke fun at my own countrymen.]
6. Quoting Hawking in MSc exam, 1993
For my MSc in Information Processing & Neural Networks at King's College London, one of our modules was Advanced Neural Networks, taught by Prof. John Taylor, who had a previous career as a TV actor before returning to science. Taylor was an excellent lecturer. His exam paper included a question about whether our artificial (computerised) neural networks could ever emulate the human brain. In my answer, I argued that this might be possible in principle, but we were astronomically far away from achieving it in practice. As an analogy, I quoted Hawking's famous passage in ABHT where he argued that, in principle, we could build a particle accelerator of enough size and energy to recreate the high energy of the early universe, but it was very unlikely that we would achieve this in practice. With more of his wry humour, he had written something like,
"Such an accelerator would need to be roughly the size of the solar system, and is unlikely to be funded in the current economic climate." (Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time)
In the post-exam discussion with fellow students, I told a colleague that I had quoted Hawking. His reply was,
"Oops! Don't you remember what Hawking wrote about Prof. John Taylor?"
I had no recollection of this, but he told me and I went home and was horrified to verify it via my copy of ABHT. The story may be summarised as follows:
Hawking gave his seminal lecture at a physics conference where he first announced his theory that "black holes ain't so black", i.e. the decay of black holes via Hawking radiation, a quantum effect. Hawking described one of the reactions as follows: "One man, John Taylor of King's College London, stood up and said that this was all rubbish … [But my theory was later proved right, and he was proved wrong]" (summarised from Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time)
This was not Taylor's finest hour, but nor was it Hawking's, when he wrote about it: academics, like sports players or generals, should be gracious in victory and defeat. But both of them taught me mathematics, physics & AI – we all know how awkward it is when your parents or teachers quarrel.
I hope Prof Taylor wasn't offended by my quoting Hawking in the exam, a scientist who was arguably even more famous than Taylor, from a book in which Hawking had publicly avenged an academic insult from one or two decades earlier. I don't think Taylor was offended, at least not too much, because he gave me an 'A' grade in the exam.
7. The Universe in A Nutshell
Towards the end of the 2000s, two decades after publishing ABHT, Hawking wrote another excellent book, The Universe in A Nutshell. He proposed his version of M-theory, a generalised string theory, that involved high-dimensional spaces called 'branes.' These are like 2- or 3-dimensional membranes, but in higher dimensions. But which letter should mathematicians use to denote the number of dimensions: x, n or d, etc.? With characteristic humour, Hawking decided to use p, hence cutting edge theoretical physics and cosmology now involved p-branes, a pun on "pea-brains."
The title of this book derived from the fact that Hawking argued that our universe was enclosed by high-dimensional spaces (p-branes) that were shaped like a peanut shell.
Arguably, Hawking had taken an agnostic position regarding God in his ABHT. But based on his TUIAN, he now publicly announced an atheist position. I wrote my Muslim Response … to him in 2010, available elsewhere on this blog.
8. Meeting Hawking at Google Zeitgeist Europe, 2011
In 2011, by the grace of God, I got to finally meet Hawking after his lecture at Google's Zeitgeist Europe conference near Watford in Greater London, attended by hundreds of people. It was a bi-annual conference at the time, with the alternate year having a Zeitgeist USA conference, I think. I was invited to this conference as part of Quilliam's work with Google and YouTube, specifically with regard to the later, international Summit Against Violent Extremism in Dublin, June 2011.
Hawking lectured on M-theory, based on his TUIAN, and also attacked religion but especially philosophy: he argued that modern philosophy had lost all touch with (scientific) reality, and that philosophers were often speculating theoretically based on outdated, ancient philosophical ideas about the mind, life, etc. He argued that they were not taking into account modern knowledge about the workings of the brain, the laws of physics, the life sciences etc.
I got to meet Hawking as a fellow-speaker at the conference, and because of my physics background. Because of his limited communication technology, most people were simply taking a photo with him. I was advised that I needed to ask his permission to do this first, though: we were able to ask him brief questions, and he would respond with one twitch of his cheek muscle for yes, and two for no (or vice-versa, I don't recall precisely – it had been 20 years since I had seen him in person, and he had lost the movement of the only working finger, and was restricted to one muscle with which to communicate).
This is roughly what I said to him:
"Professor Hawking, it is an honour to finally meet you. I attended two of your lectures whilst a Cambridge undergraduate about 20 years ago: one on 'Imaginary Time' and one on 'Predestination' at the Lady Margaret Hall. Do you remember those lectures? And may I have a photo with you?"
I remember thinking that my first question was very daft: I was asking a genius, scientist and professor with a very precise mind, whether he remembered two of his major public lectures at his beloved university, about his beloved subjects. Of course he remembered them! He replied in the affirmative to both my questions, hence the photo reproduced above.
9. Islamic reflections about Hawking
Hawking was a bit of a dilemma for theists, but his brilliance and humour endeared him to most. One of his students was Prof Brian Carr, later of QMUL, who is a devout Christian as well as a brilliant physicist. I've met him twice via the Scientific & Medical Network, and had brief discussions on religion and science. He loved his teacher, despite the difference in religious beliefs.
When I posted briefly on Facebook in 2011 about meeting Hawking, a young islamist woman kept posting nasty, rude comments about him, condemning him for his atheism. I deleted her comments, but when she continued, I blocked her. He was probably 2-3 times her age, and had inspired millions to love knowledge and God's creation, even if he himself didn't believe, yet she, with good intentions to defend theism, was despicably rude about someone with a crippling illness, and whom she had clearly never met. May Allah forgive me and her. On the other hand, a young, devout Muslim physicist friend praised Hawking in glowing terms when some were criticising him on our Islamic Astronomy yahoogroup that ran for many years in the 2000's.
Thinking of theist/atheist scientist friends, I am reminded of Newton's friendship with Hooke or Boyle, at least for a while. Whenever his atheist friend would try to preach atheism to him, Newton, a Unitarian Christian who wrote treatises refuting the Trinity, replied,
"Don't go there. I have studied theology, whereas you haven't." (paraphrase)
Perhaps if Hawking had a friend who was a greater scientist than him and also a theist like Newton, he may have believed. But it is all God's will.
Pope John Paul II told Hawking upon their meeting, not to investigate the first three minutes or first six seconds after the Big Bang, because these were "the moment of God's creation." Hawking was utterly put off religion by this, as he described in ABHT. Perhaps if, instead of this advice, Hawking had met a Muslim rationalist leader cut from the cloth of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Ma'mun who might have wholeheartedly encouraged Hawking to pursue such research, he may not have turned against religion. But it is all God's will.
So, Hawking did not believe in God for most of his life. But in the Islamic tradition: God is Truth. God is Beauty. God is Time (al-dahr, in a famous hadith qudsi – since the commentators explain al-dahr as "extended time," some contemporary sheikhs have suggested that this means: God is Spacetime). God is Infinitely Wise and Forbearing.
Hawking certainly believed in Truth and the search for Truth. He certainly believed in Beauty, especially the beauty of nature and of its laws of mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology. He helped and inspired millions of people all around the world to study these subjects [I was excited to see an Arabic copy of ABHT on sale in Amman in 2017, & today's media coverage shows crowds of Israelis and Arabs flocking to see him – he especially encouraged Palestinians to study physics]. He inspired us to probe into the mysteries of space and time, that are sacred because of the above hadith qudsi and because of God's taking an oath, swearing by the sacred token of Time, as in Surah al-'Asr, one of two Qur'anic Chapters entitled: Time, referring to long-term and short-term respectively.
Living patiently with a crippling illness for over half a century: not just living, but working, leading the world in his subjects and inspiring generations with his intelligence, humanity and humour – he knew Forbearance, again a quality of the Divine.
So farewell, Professor Stephen Hawking: may you rest in God's Peace (al-Salam): you understood more than most the mysteries of the infinite: may you be admitted into God's Infinite Mercy. Amen.
Imam Dr Usama Hasan
Cardiff, UK.
Thursday 15th March 2018, approximately 24 hours after the fateful death.
Tags:A Brief History of Time, al-Salam, Albert Einstein, Ali al-Hujwiri, Ash'ari, Athari, biology, branes, British Physics Olympiad, Cambridge Philosophical Society, Cambridge University, chemistry, Christian Union, City of London School, complex numbers, complex time, Data Darbar, Data Ganj Bakhsh, David Wilkinson, determinism, deterministic, Disuqi, equations, free will, God, God is Beauty, God is Mercy, God is Spacetime, God is Time, God is Truth, Google Zeitgeist Europe, Grange Road, Hanbali, Hashiyat al-Disuqi 'ala Umm al-Barahin, Hujwiri, humour, imaginary numbers, imaginary time, Islam, jabar, jabariyya, John Polkinghorne, Kashf al-Mahjub, King's College London, laws of nature, laws of physics, laws of science, mathematics, Maturidi, Mercy, Mu'tazila, neural networks, Niels Bohr, no-boundary proposal, p-branes, pea-brains, physics, positivism, Predestination, qadar, qadariyya, quantum theory, RA Nicholson, real numbers, Reynold Nicholson, sacred space, sacred spacetime, sacred time, salafi, Samantha Fox, Shia, Stephen Hawking, Sunni, The Universe In A Nutshell, theoretical physics, theory of relativity, Usama Hasan, wit
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Islam and China
Niu Jie Mosque – Beijing. The mosque was established in 996 CE, so it is over 1,000 years old, in its successive manifestations. The mosque front faces due west, which is used as the approximate qibla. The man in the foreground is a Chinese Muslim trader from Xinjiang province, fluent in Arabic.
Bismillah. I visited the sacred land of China (Beijing) for the first time last week, by the grace of God. The sacredness and spirituality of the land and its people was palpable. Here are some reflections from my reading and experiences:
1. The alleged hadith, "Seek knowledge, even unto China," is a traditional Islamic saying, but unlikely to be from the Prophet, peace be upon him.
As I wrote in the Introduction and Appendix to my father Sheikh Suhaib Hasan's Introduction to the Science of Hadith, "This additional statement is found in a few of the (weak) narrations of the previous hadith ['Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim'], and is declared as mawdu' [fabricated] by Ibn Hibban, Ibn al- Jawzi, al-Sakhawi and al-Albani." The views of these hadith scholars may be found in the following works by Albani: Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da'ifah, no. 416; Da'if al-Jami' al- Saghir, nos. 1005-6.
Furthermore, the text of this alleged hadith "otherises" China, whereas the Prophet was a mercy to the worlds (Qur'an, The Prophets, 21:107) and all languages in their diversity, including the Chinese languages, are amongst the Signs of God (ayatullah – Qur'an, The Romans or Byzantines, 30:22). At the most, "even unto China" is an Arab-centric phrase in this context, and does not fit with the universality of the Qur'anic and Prophetic message.
2. There are legends about the Prophet's Companions visiting China, and even of up to four of them being buried there.
They include Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas. Since he conquered Persia, it is highly plausible that he could have ventured further east to India and China. If he was buried in China, this would be more widely known to the scholars of Hadith and Rijal, who compiled detailed biographies of the Companions. I would be grateful for learned contributions to this question.
The following is from Wikipedia (not the most reliable source I know, but this is a blog, not an academic paper), under Emperor Tang Gaozong (649-683):
Known by Islamic sources as Yung Wei, which was in fact the name of the first era in his reign (Yonghui era from February 650 to February 656; see era name), Islamic sources credit him with building the first mosque, a mosque that still stands in Guangzhou. According to those records, Islam was introduced to China and Emperor Gaozong by the visit of Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, a companion of the Prophet Muhammad, in the year 650. According to these sources, Emperor Gaozong is said to have respected the teachings of Islam greatly, feeling the teachings were compatible with Confucianism, and offered the building of the mosque as a sign of admiration. The emperor himself did not convert as he felt Islam was too restrictive for his own preferences, but according to those sources, did not stop him from allowing Sa`d and his company to spread the teachings throughout the region. These sources, however, were not corroborated by Chinese records.
[1] Lan Xu, Tianfang zheng xue (The true learning of Arabia), Beijing: Niujie Mosque, 1925 edition (first edition 1852), juan 7; quoted in Zhang Xinglang, p. 744.
3. An anecdote from al-Mas'udi's Meadows of Gold (Muruj al-Dhahab) about a Sino-Arab encounter
Reproduced from elsewhere on this blog: al-Masu'di of Baghdad (c. 276-344 H / 890-956 CE) wrote,
The story of Habbar bin al-Aswad, an Arab notable of Basra who left during the Zanj [negro slaves'] rebellion there, is entertaining. He went to China via India. A Chinese king showed his Arab visitor portraits of prophets including Noah, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. The king stated that Noah's flood didn't reach India or China.
He further showed him portraits of Indian and Chinese prophets' portraits, depicting them as pointing the index finger to the heavens, warning of the power of God, or making a circle with the thumb and index finger, to indicate that creation is a circle.
[Muslims daily indicate the unity of God with the right index finger (cf. Michaelangelo's famous painting depicting God and Adam). During prayer, they also sometimes make a circle with the thumb and middle finger, following the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Furthermore, according to a sound hadith: Umm Salama emigrated to Abyssinia with her first husband Abu Salama as part of the early sacred migration (hijra). In the churches there, she saw images of prophets with index fingers raised (cf. Michaelangelo again), a feature of daily Islamic prayers. See Albani, Sifah Salah al-Nabi or The Prophet's Prayer Described, for these hadiths. – U.H.]
Al-Mas'udi continued:
The people of China are the most skilful in painting and arts. No other nation can compare with them in any craft whatsoever.
China was prosperous due to its justice until the Huang Chao rebellion of 878. He attacked Khanfu, massacring 200,000 Muslims, Christians, Jews and fire-worshippers [Zoroastrians/Parsees].
4. Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) was one of the great figures of Chinese history, and was Muslim.
As a child, I read a kids' book about Admiral Cheng-Ho and his voyages, part of a series about "Heroes of Islam." I remember nothing from the stories, except the striking name. I always thought that he was highlighted in this series simply because he was Muslim, and was amazed to discover later that he was the greatest Chinese admiral in history. (By the way, admiral is an English word derived from the Arabic, amir al-bahr: 'commander of the sea.')
Yuval Noah Harari's Homo Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Vintage, 2011) is described by its publisher as a 'Number One Bestseller.' In it, the author writes these glowing lines about Zheng He (Cheng-Ho), but unfortunately does not mention that he was an integrated Chinese Muslim who assumed a major leadership position, like millions of his fellow Chinese Muslims. Harari wrote:
Many scholars argue that the voyages of Admiral Zheng He of the Chinese Ming dynasty heralded and eclipsed the European voyages of discovery. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng led seven huge armadas from China to the far reaches of the Indian Ocean. The largest of these comprised almost 300 ships and carried close to 300,000 people. They visited Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and East Africa. Chinese ships anchored in Jedda, the main harbour of the Hejaz, and in Malindi, on the Kenyan coast. Columbus' fleet of 1492 – which consisted of three small ships manned by 120 sailors – was like a trio of mosquitoes compared to Zheng He's drove of dragons.
Yet there was a crucial difference. Zheng He explored the oceans, and assisted pro-Chinese rulers, but he did not try to conquer or colonise the countries he visited. Moreover, the expeditions of Zheng He were not deeply rooted in Chinese politics and culture. When the ruling faction in Beijing changed during the 1430s, the new overlords abruptly terminated the operation. The great fleet was dismantled, crucial technical and geographical knowledge was lost, and no explorer of such stature and means ever set out again from a Chinese port. Chinese rulers in the coming centuries, like most Chinese rulers in previous centuries, restricted their interests and ambitions to the Middle Kingdom's immediate environs.
(Harari, p. 324)
Harari (p. 325) then provides a striking, visual illustration of his comparison between the fleets of Zheng He and Christopher Columbus:
from Yuval Noah Harari, Homo Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Vintage Books, 2011, p. 325
5. The Niu Jie Mosque in Beijing has been a place of Islamic worship for over a thousand years, and is well worth a visit, including to non-Muslim visitors.
The mosque is easily reachable by subway to Guang'AnMennei: take the SE exit, turn left, heading due west and take the second major right onto Niu Jie Street. The mosque is clearly visible on the left, a couple of blocks down.
The mosque embodies "Islam with Chinese characteristics": the pagoda- or Chinese palace-style is obvious. Many of inscriptions on the rock steles and in the ante-hall to the main worship hall are in Chinese. (Inside the main worship hall, all the calligraphy is in Arabic, in a distinctive font known as Sini [Chinese], influenced by Chinese calligraphy.) Look carefully, as in the photo of the mosque, and you will see small carved dragons on top of the mosque buildings, presumably to drive away evil spirits. This of course violates the traditional Judeo-Islamic prohibition on graven images, but illustrates the integration of Chinese Muslims: they seem to have tolerated small dragons, that certainly do not dominate the mosque buildings, most of which uphold the ban on graven images.
The mosque consists of several buildings: the main (men's) worship hall with an ante-hall, a minaret and two pavilions, all pagoda-style. The main worship hall holds about 500 men, according to my estimate. There were some women attending prayers too, so presumably there must be a women's prayer hall. There is an old sundial that can be used to tell the time generally, and specifically zawal (noon), and hence zuhr or afternoon prayer time. The sundial looks very similar to the one I saw in the Forbidden City, to the side of Tian'Anmen Square.
The qibla direction of the mosque appears to be due west, which is reasonable for China, although I would like to check this more precisely.
The main prayer hall effectively has three open and interconnected mini-courtyards within it, due to an array of pillars and arches. The outer sides of the pillars and arches are plain, but the inner sides are beautifully decorated with floral motifs and Islamic calligraphy. As you enter the mosque, the courtyard sizes are small, large and medium, in that order.
As one enters the main hall, the first archway has three Qur'anic verse inscribed in a series of six circular designs. I was unable to work out the first verse, reading from right to left. The middle verse is "Truly, God has bought from the believers their selves and their possessions, in exchange for their owning the Garden." (Qur'an, Repentance, 9:111). The verse on the left is "Whoever brings goodness will receive ten times like it; whoever brings evil, will only be recompensed in like measure" (Qur'an, Cattle, 6:160).
The entire texts of the following surahs are written in gorgeous calligraphy on the remaining arches: al-Fath (Victory, 48), al-Rahman (Most Merciful, 55), al-Mulk (Kingdom, 67), al-Naba' (News, 78) and al-Nazi'at (Tearers, 79). There is precise attention to detail, e.g. the small circle above the word s(ui)'at in 67:27 indicating that the first vowel is to be read initially as a damma (u), followed by a long kasra (i), in a one-third:two-thirds ratio, as is well-known in the science of Qur'an-recitation or tajwid. However, seven verses appear to be missing from al-Naba', nos. 21-27, except that the last two letters of 78:27 are present, the long ba. This is something I've occasionally seen in Qur'anic calligraphy in old mosques, since it's not easy to fit passages precisely onto buildings, especially when your canvas is a curved arch.
In addition, three of the arches are inscribed with a collection of about 45 salawat or blessings upon the Prophet. They follow an identical pattern: each is comprised of the formula, Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad sayyid … (Dear God, Bless Muhammad, Master of …). Each blessing is then completed with a plural noun: the first is al-mursalin (the Messengers); others are al-muttaqin (the Pious), al-tawwabin (the Oft-Repenting), etc.
6. The Sinofication of Chinese Muslim surnames from Arabic.
Some years ago, a Chinese imam called Sheikh Ibrahim Ma visited London and spoke at a number of locations, including Masjid al-Tawhid. This Wikipedia entry under "Islam during the Ming dynasty", if correct, gives the origin of Chinese Muslim surnames such as Ma:
Foreign origin Muslims adopted the Chinese character which sounded the most phonetically similar to the beginning syllables of their Muslim names – Ha for Hasan, Hu for Hussain and Sa'I for Said and so on. Han who converted to Islam kept their own surnames like Kong, Zhang. Chinese surnames that are very common among Muslim families are Mo, Mai, and Mu – names adopted by the Muslims who had the surnames Muhammad, Mustafa and Masoud.
7. Are Allama Iqbal's famous lines of poetry beginning with "Cheen (China)" imperialist or universalist?
Iqbal wrote these famous lines, known as Tarana-e-Milli or "Anthem of the Muslim Nation", that begins:
Cheen-o-Arab hamara, Hindustan hamara
Muslim hain hum, watan hai sara jahan hamara
China and Arabia are ours; India is ours.
We are Muslims, the whole world is ours.
Touheed ki Amanat seenon mein hai hamare
Asan nahin nitana naam-o-nishan hamara
God's unity is held in trust in our hearts.
It is not easy to erase our name and sign …
I first learnt this as a child in its Arabic translation, such was Iqbal's influence:
al-sinu lana wa l-hindu lana
wa l-'arbu lana wa l-kullu lana
adha l-islamu lana dinan
wa jami'u l-kawni lana watana
tawhidullahi lana nurun …
Since Iqbal was a poet, he may have meant all of this metaphorically and universally, in the sense that the earth belongs to God and therefore to the true people of God. But many people read these verses literally, and imagine that they have the right to conquer and dominate other people. The age of military conquests is largely over, and any non-Chinese person who visits China and sees a fraction of its billion-and-a-half population, should know immediately that it is ridiculous to pretend or dream that China belongs to anyone but the Chinese. And the same goes for India, Arabia, Africa, Europe, the Americas, Oceania etc.
But such delusions do persist: in Pakistan in 2003, I met a LeT supporter who had helped to establish a mosque in Islamabad and told me that the "mujahideen" during the Kargil incident had come close to "liberating Kashmir" and that they would have gone on to "liberate India" !! We Muslims need to have honest conversations about such matters. The divisions and conflicts are such a shame, especially when it is obvious that Indians, Pakistanis and Chinese etc. have so much in common, not least their eastern-ness.
Which reminds me: there is a famous saying, "East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet."
But the reality is: "East is East, and West is West, and the twain have met many times in all kinds of ways, and continue to do so."
8. Ibn Arabi's curious visionary prediction that the the last human ever to be born will be a boy, immediately preceded by his twin sister, in China. This boy will also grow up to be the last saint or holy person of humanity.
This is in his Fusus al-Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom) under the bezel of Seth (Shith):
It will be in the line of Seth that the last true Man will be born, bearing his mysteries [of divine Wisdom], nor will such be born after him. He will be the Seal of Offspring. There will be born with him a [twin] sister who will be born before him, so that his head will be at her feet. He will be born in the land of China and will speak the language of that land. Sterility will then overcome the men and women of this land and, although there will be much consorting, there will be no bringing forth of children [as true men (?)]. He will call them to God without success and when God has taken him and those of his time who believed, the others will remain living like beasts with no sense of right and wrong, giver over to the law of the [lower] nature, devoid of intellect and Sacred Law [and Ethics]. The Last Hour will overtake them.
The above is in Austin's translation, p. 70, with slight modifications by me. Austin summarises this prediction as follows (pp. 61-2):
Ibn al-'Arabi concludes this chapter with a curious prediction concerning the fate of man as defined in his teachings. He says that the last true human, in the line of Seth, will be born in China and that he will have an elder sister. He goes on to prophesy that thereafter men will become as beasts, bereft of spirit and law, until the coming of the Hour. Thus, he indicates that that particular human synthesis of spirit and nature, of which we are all a part, will come to an end and the link be broken.
Usama Hasan (Ha)
Tags:china, Hadith, Islam, mosque
Posted in Hadith, Islam around the world, Qur'an | Leave a Comment »
REFLECTIONS FROM KUNAR 1990 AND HELMAND 2010 – THE TRAGEDY OF AFGHANISTAN'S WARS
With the Name of God, All-Merciful, Most Merciful
REFLECTIONS FROM KUNAR 1990 & HELMAND 2010
– THE TRAGEDY OF AFGHANISTAN'S WARS
I am publishing this partly because I am tired of telling the same story about Kunar to dozens of journalists and academic researchers, partly because I am fed up of questions about my one-minute video message in support of British troops (2010), and partly because I hope that people may benefit and learn from the story.
I began writing this on the last day of Ramadan 1433/2012, and completed the bulk of it shortly after Eid. The recent death of two British soldiers in Nad Ali in Helmand (Matthew Smith http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19228325 and Robert Chesterman http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19227317 ) brought back vivid memories of our FCO-sponsored four-man delegation's "Projecting British Muslims" trip to Helmand during Ramadan in August 2010, a visit that included ISAF's Forward Operating Base at Nad Ali. As I finalise it, I'm reading about the 2,000th US soldier to die in Afghanistan since 2001.
*Update: I am finalising and publishing this on 10th November 2017 – it has been sitting in my draft folder for five years.*
Memories from the Jihad in Kunar, 1990-1
This was my second 10-day visit to Afghanistan: the first had been in December-January 1990-1991, during my second-year Cambridge University holidays, as part of a three-man fact-finding mission of senior JIMAS (www.jimas.org ) figures to Kunar. The other two people were up to a decade older than me: Abu Muntasir and Abu Aaliyah. I was fortunate to have the strongest Arabic at the time, and served as interpreter for much of the trip, although of course other mujahideen helped also.
We drove to Afghanistan from Islamabad via Peshawar and Bajaur, and spent a week at a training camp near Asadabad, Kunar, for Arab fighters run by Jama'ah al-Da'wah ila l-Qur'an wa l-Sunnah (JDSQ, "Group of Calling to the Qur'an and Sunnah"), the major Salafi organisation that controlled large parts of Kunar province as well as of neighbouring Nuristan. There were separate training camps for Arab, Afghan and Pakistani fighters – we chose the Arab one, for access to more Arabic-speaking scholars. The camp rules stated that disagreements would be solved in a last resort by referring to the fatwas of Sheikhs Ibn Baz and Albani. On our introduction to the camp, I introduced myself with my first name, upon which I was immediately corrected by a Kuwaiti mujahid: "In Jihad, we only use aliases." Specifically, he meant aliases of the kunya type that take the form of "Abu X" meaning "Father of X." My colleagues were fathers and already had kunyas, so I used, for the first time, my middle name that my grandfather had given me when he named me upon birth: Abu Dharr, after an austere, ascetic Companion of the Prophet. The emir of the training camp was a tall, well-built, muscular, fair-skinned, charismatic and learned Palestinian fighter called Abu Asim. In appearance and character, he reminded me of Abdur-Raheem Green, then also a senior JIMAS figure. I shed many tears upon hearing about Abu Asim's reported death in a training accident some years later, when a weapon exploded accidentally.
Upon joining the training camp, we had to fill in a registration form, giving personal details and skills that might be useful for the jihad. The three of us all put down our computer/IT skills, and I also mentioned my mathematics and physics knowledge. A quarter of a century later, ISIS, who had turned defensive, liberating jihad into bloodthirsty terrorism, had similar registration forms, with one striking addition: asking registrants whether they wanted to be regular fighters, suicide-bombers or suicidal attackers (inghimasi).
This was Abu Muntasir's second trip to the same region: he had trained and fought at the front line in 1989 or early 1990 also, with a close companion known as Brother Mushtaq. JIMAS' contacts with the Afghan mujahideen had come about via salafi scholars in Holland and meetings in London that had involved Dawood Burbank (d. during Hajj 2011, may Allah have mercy on his soul) and Brother Mushtaq. Abu Muntasir later fought in Kashmir and even in Burma with Rohingya militia in the early 1990s.
Note that JIMAS (Jamiat Ihyaa' Minhaaj al-Sunnah: The Society for the Revival of the Way of the Messenger) had earlier been called HISAM (Harakatu Islahish Shabab al-Muslim: The Movement to Reform the Muslim Youth) but had recently had a name-change after an offshoot insisted on retaining the name HISAM. During this episode, one of the suggestions for the name of JIMAS was in fact JDQS – this was directly copied from the Afghan group. The current Pakistani salafi/Ahl-e-Hadith jihadi group Jama'at-ud-Da'wah, linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, may also have based its name on the Afghan one.
We also met and interviewed Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rahman, an Afghan salafi/Ahle-e-Hadith muhaddith-mujahid (scholar of Hadith and warrior), founder and emir of JDQS. Sheikh Jameel was an elderly, learned man with a long beard, dyed with henna. He was accompanied by elders who constituted his shura and by a group of younger, heavily-armed men who served as his bodyguards. Abu Muntasir conducted the interview in English: Sheikh Jameel replied in Arabic. One of the questions was whether or not the Jihad in Afghanistan was fard 'ayn or fard kifaya, i.e. an individual or collective obligation: his reply was the former. The interview was recorded and it was many months before Dawood Burbank translated it into English for the benefit of other JIMAS members. Abu Muntasir may still have this material in his possession.
The Arab mujahidin credit Sheikh Jameel with having begun the "Jihad against the communists" in 1973, way before the Soviet invasion. Sheikh Jameel gave a talk after dawn prayers on one occasion whilst we were at the training camp, during which the camp generator failed, leaving the prayer tent in darkness. At the end of that talk, he took questions. One of the questions was about whether or not there was any dhikr to be recited during the prostration of gratitude (sajdah al-shukr) – this was related to the story of The Prophet's disciples Ka'b bin Malik, Murara bin Rabi'ah and Hilal bin Umayyah and their missing a military expedition followed by their subsequent ostracism and eventual repentance recounted in the long hadith of Bukhari and Muslim in reference to Qur'an 9:118 (Surah al-Tawbah or Chapter: Repentance). In this heart-rending story that had been recounted by one of the younger scholar-warriors at the camp after dawn prayers the day before, Ka'b performs such a prostration of gratitude. Sheikh Jameel replied that no specific dhikr had been narrated about this prostration, and therefore any dhikr would suffice, but a young Saudi mujahid argued vehemently with him that there was no dhikr in this prostration for the same reason. Salafism in a nutshell!
Sheikh Jameel had announced an "Islamic emirate" (imarat-e-Islami) in Kunar. One day at the training camp, one of the commanders gave us the "good news" of the full establishment of Sharia in the emirate: predictably, this involved the hudud, with which islamists are obsessed: a thief's hand had been amputated as corporal punishment for his crime.
We were holy warriors: ascetic monks and soldiers, simultaneously. With regular congregational prayer, scriptural study, physical exercise and weapons training. Being halfway up a valley, there wasn't much food: on one day, the camp had run out of food and all we had for 24 hours was a glass of milk and an orange. Soldiers know all about the rationing of supplies. At the firing range, Abu Muntasir embarrassed our instructor by being the only one to hit the target during a sniping contest. (This reminds me of a story about Caliph Omar: he came across some people practising archery and found that they weren't very good at hitting their target. When he enquired as to why this was the case, they replied in ungrammatical Arabic that they were learners. "Your Arabic is even worse than your archery," the Caliph quipped!)
Around 1993/94 we heard the awful news that Sheikh Jameel had been assassinated by an Arab fighter – many salafis blamed this on forces loyal to Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (Hizb-e-Islami), who was backed by the Jamat-e-Islami of Pakistan and the Arab Muslim Brotherhood. Hekmatyar denied these accusations, but the incident was one of the many causes of tension between salafis and the Brotherhood, a tension that continues all over the world until today. A few years later at Imperial College London, I asked the Riyadh-based Syrian salafi Sheikh Adnan Arour, who had taken part in Saudi-sponsored mediation amongst the warring mujahidin groups after the fall of Kabul in 1992, about Hekmatyar's denial of being behind Sheikh Jameel's assassination. He replied, "Who killed him then, Ibn Baz and Albani??!"
With hindsight, it was probably for the best that the Kunar emirate had fizzled out with the death of Sheikh Jameel, otherwise the obsession with hudud might have led to a situation similar to ISIS.
Around 2004, I briefly met one of Sheikh Jameel's sons who was studying at the Islamic University of Madinah during my only visit there, facilitated by Yasir Qadhi.
Back to Kunar: we spent a day and night at the front line, taking part in the Jihad against forces loyal to President Najibullah. The Soviets had of course withdrawn in early 1990, but most mujahideen groups fought on, firstly against Najib's communists, and then against each other during the vicious civil war of 1992-6. The latter war helped me realise the emptiness of the Islamist dream that the mujahideen were going to establish the ideal "Islamic state" after taking Kabul in 1992.
The Saudis subsidised half the cost of mujahidin's flights to Pakistan, but kept a record of all names. There was, of course, close co-operation amongst the US, Saudis and Pakistanis during the anti-USSR Jihad. We met a couple of Libyans at the front line who had burnt their passports, since returning mujahideen were not too welcome in Gaddafi's police-state.
The training camp's courtyard had a disused Soviet tank in the centre and was covered in snow: many of the Arabs, religious scholars and committed warriors, had never seen snow before and thoroughly enjoyed their first snowball fights whilst we, the British trio, looked on bemused. The Arabs were from various countries, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Libya, Egypt and Palestine. There was also a trio of Indonesian or Filipino fighters who kept to themselves since they didn't know Arabic. At the camp, we received basic weapons training: Kalashnikov/M16 and also studied scripture after regular, congregational prayers. In between the prayer rows would be lines of AK-47s belonging to the warrior-worshippers. At the front line, we exchanged artillery fire with invisible communist forces, as several mountain ridges separated us. Our guns were 76mm cannon. One enemy shell, fired from several miles away, landed a hundred feet from us but we were quite safe: this taught me about the fragility of life, but not to be afraid of the ever-present danger of death. A disturbing scene throughout Kunar was the sight of large cemeteries in place of villages.
At the front line, I had hoped to use my expert Further Mathematics A-level knowledge of precise mathematical calculations of projectile motion to help with the accuracy of our shelling. (18 months earlier, I had been the only one to score 100% in our Lower Sixth Form mathematics examination at the City of London School for Boys, where I held the John Carpenter Scholarship, 1987-9, and been awarded the Mathematics Prize in the Upper Sixth Form, although a couple of Jewish friends were better mathematicians than me.) But we were only there for a day, and there were no PCs or calculators. The mujahideen's method to ensure shelling accuracy was simple: it was piety – we were encouraged to mention and remember God in dhikr every time we fired a shell!
There were many funny incidents during our stay: a sense of humour helps in tough situations. The Kuwaiti who stopped the jeep to pick up snow for the first time: "This is not like the snow in our freezer!" (Snow and ice are synonyms in Arabic: thalj.) The young Saudi who had studied English "whilst he wasn't religious" in Cambridge some years ago and knew the Pakistani-run Nasreen Dar store there, famous amongst Fitzwilliam and Churchill College students for selling cheap, out-of-date biscuits. This was a surreal moment for me: I had travelled thousands of miles from Cambridge to meet an Arab mujahid in the mountains of Afghanistan and talk about a shop back home. (Partly due to our salafist influence in Cambridge, Nasreen Dar eventually stopped selling alcohol. And it finally closed recently.) Abu Muntasir nicknaming the Indonesian or Filipino mujahid, "Brother One-Bullet" since he could only afford one bullet for his M16 gun (these bullets were much more scarce and therefore expensive, compared to AK-47 bullets). Abu Muntasir saying to Abul Qa'qa' (named after a Companion of the Prophet), "They're calling you," when a flock of crows crowed loudly: caw! caw! The 007-style "pen gun," disguised as a heavy ink pen that housed a bullet instead of an ink cartridge, with the pen clip as the trigger, and used for close-range assassinations. The Arabs called it the "ben gun" since there is no "p" in Arabic, and this made me think of my primary-school days spent reading Treasure Island. At the front line, I described the "man in the moon" that I could see in the full moon through binoculars. Our Arab guide there, unfamiliar with the nuances of the English language, rebuked me gently although unfairly with the teaching of the Prophet (pbuh), "Tell the truth, even if you are joking."
My parents, siblings and extended family, plus the JIMAS group in the UK, were very supportive of our jihad trip and very proud of us. My grandfather, Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan, a very senior salafi scholar of India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, quoted to me the hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, upon my return, "There are two eyes that will not be touched by the Fire: an eye that watches guard at night in the path of God [esp. holy war], and an eye that weeps from the awe of God." My grandfather added, "I hope that you will qualify on both counts." It was a quarter of a century later, prompted by a journalist's question, that I asked my dear mother how she felt whilst I was away for a fortnight – I had remembered her tears upon both my departure and return. She told me that there were some days when she couldn't eat, out of worry. The FATE video showing a family of a jihadi fighter at a dinner table gives some idea of how she must have felt.
JIMAS and other UK groups later sent dozens of fighters to Afghanistan and hundreds to Bosnia (1992-5). One young man from Southall spent months in Afghanistan and described fishing in the river by use of hand-grenades: the explosion would blast the fish onto the banks. One Londoner I know, currently a primary schoolteacher, spent a year or so in Afghanistan in the mid-90s, having gone there with the intention of a "sacred migration to the Islamic state" (hijrah), but became disillusioned when he heard talk of plans to attack western countries: some of the mujahideen were of course building Al-Qaeda.
So, fast-forward 20 years to 2010, almost a decade after 9/11 and the whole idea of Jihad had become utterly confused, including in the UK after the 7/7 attacks. British involvement in the war in Afghanistan was deeply unpopular amongst UK Muslims, so when the FCO offered me a trip to the country to project British Muslims, I jumped at the chance, deciding that I would also treat it as a fact-finding mission again as to what was going on there.
Ex-Taliban Mullahs at the UK Embassy in Kabul, August 2010
We flew from London to Kabul via Dubai, after having undergone two days of "Hostile Environment Training" in Shropshire provided by ex-army people. The training included practice in wearing the body armour (with ceramic plates) and helmet that we would need everywhere in Afghanistan, a simulated roadside bomb attack on the armoured jeeps in which we would travel and advice on what to do if we got kidnapped (co-operate with your kidnappers, don't try anything silly, and hope to get rescued). Whenever I wore the body armour, I thought of the Qur'anic story of Prophet Sulayman, or King Solomon, manufacturing iron armour under divine inspiration for protection in war: modern body armour, with its light but strong material that is ever-improving due to science and technology, is the latest manifestation of the Solomonic Sunnah.
At the heavily-fortified UK embassy in Kabul, we had iftar with a couple of ex-Taliban, including Mullah Ishaq Nizami, who had once served as a junior communications minister for Mullah Omar. Nizami spoke of the need for human rights and corruption-free institution-building in Muslim-majority countries, something much stronger in western ones. He was also working with other, higher-profile ex-Taliban, including Mullah Mutawakkil and Mullah Zaeef (author of My Life With The Taliban, http://www.hurstpublishers.com/book/my-life-with-the-taliban/), in negotiations between Karzai's government and Taliban leaders. The iftar was hosted by Ambassador Sir William Patey and his staff.
Lashkar Gah ISAF Base, Helmand
The next day we flew to Lashkar Gah ("Lash") via the formidable Kandahar Air Base. At Lash we met the Commander of Task Force Helmand, Brigadier Felton. (He had the England v Pakistan cricket test match from Lord's on TV in the background via satellite: Sky Sports, but switched it off when we entered. This was the test match when Mohammed Amir bowled "those no-balls.") I led the delegation in that meeting and my first question to him was about civilian casualties: his reply was that the Taliban were now killing more civilians than ISAF were, and that the new strategy under US General Petraeus was to minimise civilian casualties.
The head of the civilian mission here was Arthur Snell, formerly head of UK Prevent and now (2012) our High Commissioner in Barbados. At the Lash command centre, one poster showed a big gun with the caption: "One size fits all: Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Haqqanis and HIGs" – the latter referring to Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, i.e. the fighters still loyal to our old friend-or-foe Hekmatyar. (Hekmatyar finally laid down his arms in 2017, after almost 40 years of fighting.) Another striking recruitment poster read, "Who is fighting in place of your son?"
One striking feature at Lash was the presence of a handful of young, female soldiers. I saw a couple of male soldiers pumping iron whilst staring lustfully at a young female who was jogging in her shorts, and looking quite scared. I felt an air of fear and tension, as these young, British men and women had been transplanted into the midst of a war against a ferocious enemy: they were thousands of miles from home, and millions of miles away from any understanding of the surrounding Afghan Muslim culture. I asked the base chaplain about sexual ethics in the camp. His reply was that the soldiers were advised "not to have sex" but that if a female soldier became pregnant, she could return home immediately.
We also met the local mullahs at Lash's rebuilt Central Mosque, including the Chief Mullah. A few years ago, a suicide-bomber had destroyed the mosque and killed the previous Chief Mullah: his shrine was next door. There was a long queue of local men waiting to apply for the Hajj programme. All of the mullahs were anti-Taliban; most were vehemently anti-Pakistan also, blaming the country for supporting insurgents. The day before we eventually left Helmand, the Chief Mullah was arrested on charges of corruption relating to the embezzlement of Hajj application fees.
Nad Ali and the death of a young, British soldier
We also spent a few days in Nad Ali, where facilities were much more primitive compared to the relative luxuries of Lash (nicknamed "Lash Vegas" by soldiers). We flew there and back by helicopter (RAF Merlin and Chinook, respectively): my first rides in a chopper.
We again met local mullahs in the main Nad Ali mosque. There was almost a riot outside because two ISAF soldiers, both Muslim (one British male, one American female), had entered the mosque: a mob became very angry at the fact that foreign soldiers and a woman had "desecrated" their place of worship: they found it very difficult to comprehend that NATO soldiers could be Muslim. Some of the mullahs accompanied us back to the base to show the public that NATO were not anti-Islam.
A Scottish army major here told me that many of the young Taliban recruits were clearly very devoted and brave fighters who believed in their Jihad, attacking NATO posts in their flip-flops, armed only with AK-47s: they stood no earthly chance against NATO's superior firepower.
During our stay in Nad Ali, Lance Corporal Jordan Bancroft (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11068103 ) was killed. All private communications by troops were disabled whilst the MoD officially informed the family, rather than them receiving the news via friends. Back at Lash, almost everyone turned out for a moving memorial service. Bancroft's commanding officer read a tribute to him and the chaplain read from Psalm 23 and the Lord's Prayer. The service happened to occur at the time of the late afternoon Muslim prayer, so throughout the ceremony, the Islamic call to prayer rang out from the speakers of local mosques. The total effect was something like:
God is Greatest! God is Greatest!
I shall not be in want
He makes me lie down in green pastures
I bear witness that there is no god but God
He leads me beside quiet waters
He restores my soul.
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Come to life-giving prayer!
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil
Come to life-giving success!
For you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me.
There is no god but God.
Our Father, who art in heaven
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory
For ever and ever, amen!
There is no god but God!
A friend commented that many of Bancroft's comrades would have been offended by the Islamic prayers, that they associated with the Taliban, throughout his memorial service, but this was a poignant moment for me: here we had thousands of western soldiers and Jihadist insurgents fighting each other, with no understanding at all of their shared, Abrahamic, religious heritage that is utterly devoted to the Glory of God. As a Muslim believer in the divine origin of the Torah, Psalms, Gospel and Qur'an, the futility of the war was summed up for me in this scriptural and liturgical encounter: when will the Children of Abraham ever stop killing each other, I wondered?
Visit to a British-run training camp for Afghan police recruits
We visited a British-run camp training Afghan police to take over security roles. Helmand has a very high illiteracy rate, and the literacy levels of these police officers after training was that of 5-year-old children. As may be expected, "unlettered" nations like this rely heavily on oral tradition and word-of-mouth means of communication and education.
Visit to the British-built Lashkar Gah Prison, and the would-be suicide-bomber aged 16
We also visited a relatively state-of-the-art British-built prison, where a significant minority of the inmates were Taliban or Pakistani and there was a separate wing for women, who were probably in the safest place for them. Here we met 18-year-old Umar, a madrasa graduate from Pakistan who had served two years of his sentence ever since being intercepted before he could carry out a suicide-bombing attack. "I came for Jihad," he told me, "… The people who sent me are not good. I won't return to them when I'm released." I also asked him whether or not he got to exchange letters with his parents in Pakistan. (Twenty years earlier, I had met a Pakistani fighter at the front line of the Jihad whose family home happened to be near my parents' one in Karachi. He had given me a letter and message to convey to his family, since he hadn't seen them for years: my mother had accompanied me when I did so, feeling the pain of another woman whose son was at war in a far-off land.) But Umar's reply was a sign of the times: "I speak to them via mobile phone, two or three times a week."
Another tragic story at the prison was that of the child imprisoned, mainly for his own safety, after he shot dead his own father in a fit of rage after the latter had shot dead the family's pet goat in a fit of anger. The authorities said that there was no drug problem in the prison, but we noticed a discarded hypodermic needle lying in the yard. They also told us that they had procured TVs for the prisoners, and that all of the Taliban had gratefully accepted these, despite Mullah Omar's fatwa banning television.
Other visits in Lashkar Gah
We met officials dealing with the problem of poppy-farming and opium-production: most of the world's heroin supply originates in Helmand. We were shown official UN figures to this effect, which also recorded the remarkable anomaly of near-zero poppy production in summer 2001 after Mullah Omar's decree prohibiting it: 9/11 followed soon afterwards and narcotics production resumed. Instability and war are clearly in the interests of the drug-traffickers, and the drugs trade is of course a massive source of income for warlords and insurgents.
We met a senior local judge whose work was supported by British officials: a traditional version of Hanafi Sharia law was applied, but the penal code consisted of fines, imprisonment or the death penalty by hanging: there were no floggings, amputations or stonings to death. The judge maintained that Sharia embodied justice in all matters.
We had iftar at the official residence of the Governor of Helmand, a humble and educated man who served us personally. Governor Mangal has come to the UK several times on FCO-sponsored trips. He was himself not from Helmand but from one of the other 33 provinces: bringing outsiders to govern provinces is a common practice in Afghanistan due to the tribal rivalries everywhere. I discussed with him the importance of education for the future of Afghanistan, having noticed the fledgling Helmand University in Lash, occupying two floors of a multi-storey building and reminding me of universities similarly-housed in simple surroundings in Pakistan.
We also had suhur (the pre-dawn meal in preparation for fasting) with the local head of the Afghan National Army, after which I remember seeing the familiar and reassuring sight of the Pleiades, Taurus, Orion and Sirius rising in the eastern sky. In the middle of war-torn Helmand, it was nice to be reminded that we were actually still on the same planet as our comfortable homes in the UK.
Our scheduled 3-day stay in Helmand was extended to a week due to a large sandstorm that grounded all flights – a common occurrence, during which insurgent attacks are more dangerous since air cover is not available. Back in the UK, families and civil servants were desperately worried about an official delegation being stranded in a war-zone, but we took the opportunity to benefit as much as possible from the experience. I even did a half-hour interview by phone for Edinburgh's Radio Ramadan, discussing lunar visibility, Islamic dates and prayer-times etc.
Reflection: three decades of brutal war in Afghanistan
During this trip, talking to many experienced people helped me build up a picture of the tragic story of Afghanistan over the past century, a story of which I had been entirely oblivious when joining the Jihad as a well-intentioned but naïve undergraduate in 1990. Here is a rough timeline:
1919-1973: A monarchy rules Afghanistan. (In the mid-90s, I saw the copy of the Qur'an used in the early 20th-century initiation ceremony of the King of Afghanistan into Freemasonry on public display at the United Grand Lodge near Holborn – and no, I am not a freemason!) By the end of this phase of history, the royals are living in obscene luxury whilst most of the people are in abject poverty. Hence, it is no surprise when …
1973: A coup overthrows King Zahir Shah. Many of the various political factions and warlords are in touch with the neighbouring Communist superpower USSR, vying for influence and funding.
1979: The USSR invades to support the Marxist-Communist coup of 1978. Warlords and tribal leaders announce a Jihad against the "atheist, communist enemy." The Jihad is backed heavily by the Pakistani, Saudi and US governments. Thousands of Jihad fighters (mujahideen) flock to Afghanistan from all over the Muslim-majority world. The Soviets commit many massacres: between 600,000 and 2 million Afghans, mainly civilians, die in the war.
1989: The Soviets withdraw, defeated by a combination of mujahideen operations and US-supplied Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that erase Soviet mastery of Afghan airspace; the Jihad continues against Afghan communist forces.
1992: Kabul falls to the mujahideen.
1992-6: A vicious civil war ensues, as the various Afghan mujahideen warlords fight for power: Hekmatyar (backed by Pakistan's Jamat-e-Islami), Massoud, Mujaddedi, Rabbani, Sayyaf, Dostum, etc. The Saudis attempt to broker peace, with limited success. The warlords commit many massacres, notably including the regular, heavy shelling of Kabul by Hekmatyar's forces, said to be far worse than any Soviet bombardment.
1996-2001: The Taliban emerge and rapidly take over most of the country, disarming the warlords. Civil war continues as the Northern Alliance fights the Taliban. Both sides commit atrocities. Massacres of Afghan Shias almost lead to war between the Taliban and Iran. (Religious sectarianism is a serious problem in Afghanistan, as in many countries: in the Lash prayer-room, I found a polemical Shia text deeply offensive to Sunnis; no doubt, reverse cases are in abundance too.)
2001-12: The US-led invasion force removes the Taliban from power after 9/11 and continues fighting Al-Qaeda. NATO and the Taliban (the latter allied with Al-Qaeda, the Haqqani Network and remnants of Hekmatyar's fighters) commit many atrocities in over a decade of fighting.
Conclusion: hope from Helmand?
Back in the UK, I was asked by a video-wall company to record a short message of support for British troops in Afghanistan who were obviously missing their families back home. I obliged, wording it carefully with the hope that we could help end the war, leave the Afghans with the peace and freedom to rebuild their devastated country, and bring our troops home as soon as possible. With UK combat troops set to withdraw by 2014, that hope is closer to fruition. And with it being an open secret that NATO is negotiating with the Taliban and GIROA (Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan), the talks being hosted in Qatar, the seeds of peace and mediation efforts that we saw in 2010 seem to have also borne some fruit.
But what next for the Afghans? I had asked many people this question whilst in the country, and of course everyone was very uncertain. One thing they generally agreed upon was that the country was caught between brutal, religious extremists and corrupt, secular politicians, with most people simply wishing to get on with their lives in peace: sadly, a familiar story in Muslim-majority nations.
Wherever we had driven in Helmand, children had mostly waved at our prominent, armoured jeeps but a few boys would always hurl pebbles at the convoys. During one of our excursions in Lash, I had watched a very old woman slowly cross a busy road. (She reminded me of my Indian-Pakistani grandmothers and great-grandmothers). It struck me that this woman had probably been in Helmand all her life, and would have lived through most of the history described above, including three decades of near-constant war. What's more, there were probably millions of men and women like her in Afghanistan: all touched by war and death, yet determined to achieve the best for themselves and their families. The old woman's enduring, wrinkled face was a tribute to humanity's courage, faith and perseverance in the midst of constant tragedy: a message of hope from Helmand.
© Usama Hasan
30th September 2012 (minor edits & publication: 10th November 2017)
Tags:Abu Aaliyah, Abu Muntasir, Afghanistan, Ahl-e-Hadith, Albani, anti-communist, Armistice Day, British embassy Kabul, Chief Mullah, FCO, Governor Mangal, Hadith, Helmand, Ibn Baz, ISAF, Islam, Jihad, jihadism, jihadist, JIMAS, Jordan Bancroft, Kabul, Kandahar, Kunar, Lance Corporal, Lash, Lashkar Gah, Mullah Ishaq Nizami, Nad Ali, NATO, Qur'an, Remembrance Day, Remembrance Sunday, salafi, salafism, Sheikh Jameel ur Rehman, Sir William Patey, Taliban, Usama Hasan, Wahhabism
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Jesuit Muslims
JESUIT MUSLIMS (OR MUSLIM JESUITS)
From Ibn 'Arabi, al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah [The Meccan Revelations], Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-'Arabi [House of Revival of Arab Heritage], Beirut, 1418/1997, vol. 1, pp. 286-291.
[NB: This is not about the Christian, Roman Catholic Order of Jesuits, but refers to Muslims who also follow Jesus in their practices and states.]
Chapter 36: On the recognition of [Muslim] Jesuits …
Know, may God strengthen you, that the Way of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, includes all previous ways, and that the latter have no validity in this world save that of them that is endorsed by the Muhammadan Way, by the endorsement of which they remain valid. We exert ourselves in worship via these ways because Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, endorsed them, not because the prophet specific to that way in his time endorsed it.
This is why the Messenger of God, peace be upon him, was given "Comprehensive Words" (jawami' al-kalim). Thus, when a Muhammadan does a work, and the entire responsible universe today of human and jinn is Muhammadan, for there is no divine way in the universe today except for the Muhammadan Way, this worker from the [Muslim] nation may coincide in his work, with an opening in his heart and path, with a path of one of the previous prophets that it is included in this Way, which endorses it and the result of following it. Thus, such a person will be attributed to the founder of that way and called Jesuit ('Isawi), Mosaic (Musawi) or Abrahamic (Ibrahimi) …
There is no prophethood with a way (shar') after Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace … This is why it is mentioned in the report that "the people of knowledge are the inheritors of the prophets" …
The original Jesuits are the disciples and followers of Jesus … the second Jesuits are those who followed Jesus directly without a veil and then followed him via Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, and there is an experiential difference between the two. This is why the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said about such a person, "Truly, he will be rewarded twice" [cf. Qur'an, The Story, 28:52-55], and similarly, such a person has two different sets of inheritances, openings and experiences, in each of which he is only attributed to the relevant prophet.
These are the second Jesuits. Their base of principles is to unify God, free of all likenesses. This is because the initiation into existence of Jesus, peace be upon him, was not by way of a human male, but by the manifestation (or likeness) of a spirit in the form of a human [Q. Mary 19:17]. This is why the doctrine of God manifested in a form dominated the nation of Jesus, son of Mary, over all other nations: they make forms, images and likenesses in their churches, and worship within themselves by focusing their attention on these. The origin of their prophet, peace be upon him, was by a likeness, so this reality has continued amongst his nation until now.
Then, when the Way of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, came and forbade likenesses (images), whilst he, peace be upon him, included the reality of Jesus, and his way in his, he laid the path for us, peace be upon him, "that we worship God as though we see Him," in imagination, which is the meaning of making images. But he forbade us from this (making images) in the sensual/physical world, lest physical forms or images [of God] should appear in this nation.
Furthermore, this particular teaching, "Worship God as though you see Him," was not stated to us by Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, directly; rather, it was stated by Gabriel, peace be upon him, and it was he who appeared in the total likeness of a man to Mary at the conception of Jesus, peace be upon him … We were the ones addressed by that statement, which is why it occurs at the end of the tradition, "This was Gabriel: he wished for you to know, since you would not ask"; or in other narrations, "He came to teach the people their religion," or "He came to you, to teach you your religion" …
Moreover, you should know that their [the Jesuits'] base of principles also includes the teaching that comes from ways other than that of Jesus, peace be upon him, "… but if you were not able to see Him, then truly, He sees you."
Our shaykh, Abu l-'Abbas al-'Uraybi, may God have mercy upon him, was Jesuit at the end and extent of his path, which was the beginning of ours [i.e. the beginning of Ibn 'Arabi's path was Jesuit]; then we moved to a solar, Mosaic opening, then to Hud, peace be upon him, then to all the prophets, peace be upon them. After that, we moved to Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. Thus was our matter in this path, may God establish us in it and not divert us from the straightness of the path …
Jesuits have extremely active aspiration, their prayers are answered and their speech is heard. One of the signs of the Jesuits, if you wish to recognise them, is that you will see each of them having mercy and compassion towards everyone, whoever they are, no matter what religion they follow. They entrust other people's matters to God: when they address the servants of God, they do not utter anything that will constrain people's hearts in respect of anyone at all.
Another of their signs is that they see the best in everything and only goodness flows from their tongues … e.g.
(1) What is narrated from Jesus, peace be upon him, that he saw a pig and said to it, "Go safely, in peace." Upon being asked about this, he replied, "I train my tongue to speak goodness."
(2) The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, passed by a carcass and said, "How beautifully white are its teeth!" whereas those with him said, "How horrible is its stench!"
(3) The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, commanded the killing of snakes in specific situations and informed us that God loves courage, even if only in killing snakes. However, despite this, when he was in the cave in Mina where Surah al-Mursalat [Qur'an Chapter: The Messengers, no. 77] descended upon him (it is known as the Cave of al-Mursalat until today – I have entered it, seeking blessings), a snake came out of its hole and the Companions rushed to kill it but it frustrated them, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, "Truly, God saved it from your evil just as He saved you from its evil."
[3a] He thus named it (killing snakes) "evil", even though it is a commanded matter, just like His saying, Most Exalted, regarding retribution, "The reward of a bad deed is a bad deed like it; [so whoever forgives and reforms, their reward is with God: truly, He does not love the oppressors" – Q. Consultation 42:40] – He named retribution a "bad deed" and encouraged forgiveness.
Thus, the Prophet's eye, may God bless him and grant him peace, only fell upon the best aspect of the carcass. Similarly, the friends of God only see the best in everything they look at: they are blind to the faults of people, although not to faults in themselves, for they have been commanded to avoid these. Similarly, they are deaf against listening to obscenity and dumb against uttering bad words, even if this is allowed in some places.
This is how we have known them [the Jesuits], so Glory be to the One who purified them, chose them and guided them to the straight path. "They are the ones whom God has guided: by their guidance, follow!" [Q. Cattle 6:90]
This is the station of Jesus, peace be upon him, within Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, for he preceded him in time and these states were transmitted from him by the latter. God said to His Prophet [Muhammad], may God bless him and grant him peace, after mentioning several prophets including Jesus, peace be upon them, "They are the ones whom God has guided: by their guidance, follow!" [Q. Cattle 6:90].
However, the station of Messenger determines that the beautiful must be explained and distinguished from the ugly in order to be known, as the Exalted said, "… that you may explain to the people what has been revealed to them" [Q. The Honey-Bee 16:44]. Thus, when he explained the bad side of a person, it was by inspiration from God, such as his saying about someone, "What a bad son of his tribe!" Similarly, Khidr killed a lad and said about him, "His nature had been stamped as an ingrate unbeliever (kafir)" and reported that if he had left him alive, he would have behaved badly towards his parents. He also said, "I did not do that of my own accord." [i.e. it was by God's command; Q. The Cave 18:74, 80-82]
Thus, the essences of such people, whether prophets or saints, are characterised by kind speech, seeing the best in everything and listening attentively only to goodness. However, if there is the occasional exception to this, it is by divine command, not from their own tongue.
This is what we have mentioned of the states of the Jesuits, as facilitated by God upon my tongue, "and God speaks the Truth and He guides to the Way." [Q. The Confederates 33:4]
Abridgment and Translation: Usama Hasan
London, 28th December 2016 / 29th Rabi' al-Awwal 1438
Tags:al-Shaykh al-Akbar, Allah, Christ, Futuhat Makkiyyah, Gabriel, God, Hadith, Ibn Arabi, Islam, Jesuit, Jesuit Muslims, Jesuits, Jesus, Khidr, Mary, Meccan Revelations, Muhammad, Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, Muslim, Muslim Jesuits, Muslims, Prophet Muhammad, Qur'an, worship God as though you see Him
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JESUS & MUHAMMAD, PEACE BE UPON THEM – NOTES ON THEIR REALITY IN ISLAMIC TEACHING
JESUS & MUHAMMAD, PEACE BE UPON THEM
– NOTES ON THEIR REALITY IN ISLAMIC TEACHING
in the hope of helping to increase Christian-Muslim mutual understanding, an absolute necessity for our times
Birthplace of the Virgin Mary according to Christian tradition, on the edge of Temple Mount (al-Masjid al-Aqsa / al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem. The story of her birth is also in the Qur'an, Family of Imran, 3:33-37. Photo (c) Usama Hasan, May 2015
Chapel inside the birthplace of the Virgin Mary according to Christian tradition, on the edge of Temple Mount (al-Masjid al-Aqsa / al-Haram al-Sharif) in Jerusalem. The story of her birth is also in the Qur'an, Family of Imran, 3:33-37. Note that this site was largely preserved as a place of pilgrimage and prayer for Christians throughout Islamic rule over Jerusalem since c. 640 CE / 17 AH. Photo (c) Usama Hasan, May 2015
Dome of the Rock mosque atop Temple Mount (al-Masjid al-Aqsa), where Mary, Jesus & Muhammad all worshipped God, according to Islamic tradition. Muhammad was brought here by Gabriel, in one of the many magnificent meetings between these two great Spirits. Photo (c) Usama Hasan, May 2015
WORD (LOGOS)
1.1 JESUS CHRIST: A WORD OF GOD & THE WORD OF GOD
Jesus Christ is "the Word of God" cast unto Mary (Q. Women 4:171), "a Word from God" (Q. The Family of 'Imran 3:45) as well as being a Prophet and Messenger of God. In Christian Greek scriptures and theology, the Word of God is the Logos.
1.2 THE QUR'AN: THE WORD OF GOD
The Qur'an is also the Word of God. Hence, there is a parallel between Jesus and the Qur'an, both being Logos.
1.3 LOGOS, CREATION & COMMAND
This Word or Logos is specifically associated with the Divine Word and Command, "Be!" (Kun) that Creates all Being (Kawn), and thus there is a parallel between Jesus and Adam (Q. The Family of 'Imran 3:59). Islamic views on philosophical discussions about "being" all derive from this Qur'anic teaching about the Divine Command, "Be!"
To God belong the Creation and the Command (Khalq and Amr: Q. The Heights 7:54). Everything besides God is outwardly Creation, inwardly a Divine Command (Sufi teaching, based on the above Qur'anic verse). Adam and Jesus are prime reminders of this reality.
It is for this reason that theologians who later wrote Islamic creeds often included the phrase "… the Word of God: it originated from, and returns to, Him" (kalam Allah, minhu bada'a wa ilayhi ya'ud).
And just as the "Christological controversies" exercised early Christians about the nature of Christ: human, divine or both, the "Qur'anological controversies" exercised early Muslims about the nature of the Qur'an: created, divine or both. For example, both traditions produced the identical phrase "not made" or "uncreated" in attempts to resolve this theological paradox between Creation and Command. The Christian formulation about Jesus being "begotten, not made" (mawlud, ghayr makhluq in Arabic) is identical in its second half to the Islamic formulation about the Qur'an being "the word of God, uncreated" (kalam Allah, ghayr makhluq).
2.1 JESUS CHRIST: A SPIRIT FROM GOD & THE SPIRIT OF GOD
Jesus Christ is also a "Spirit from God" (Q. Women 4:171), and in several hadiths, the "Spirit of God" (Ruh Allah).
When Christians accepted his message, Prophet Muhammad would often ask them to affirm in addition, after the basic declaration of faith, "There is no god but God; Muhammad is the Messenger of God," that "Jesus Christ is the Messenger of God and His Word, cast unto Mary, and a Spirit from Him," echoing the Qur'an.
2.2 ARCHANGEL GABRIEL: A SPIRIT OF GOD & THE SPIRIT OF GOD
The Archangel Gabriel is also the "Spirit of God" (Q. Mary 19:17), sent to Mary in human form to cast the Word of God into her, resulting in "the effusion of the Spirit of God" into Mary and into her womb (Q. The Prophets 21:91, Prohibition 66:12).
Specifically, Gabriel in the Qur'an is the Holy Spirit (Ruh al-Quds or "Spirit of Holiness" – Q. The Heifer 2:87, 2:253). According to some commentators, Gabriel is also the all-embracing "Universal/Cosmic Spirit" or "Spirit of the Universe/Cosmos" or simply, "The Spirit" (Al-Ruh), i.e. the Spirit that encompasses all created beings, which is why it is called the "Spirit of God." (cf. commentaries, including Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Q. The News 78:38, Destiny 97:4)
The Qur'anic Arabic for Gabriel is Jibril or Jibra'il, the meaning of which is variously given as "servant of God" ('Abdullah) or "higher realms of the Kingdom of God" (Jabarut Allah), which resonates with Gabriel's title of being "The Spirit" – cf. e.g. Fath al-Bari of Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani.
Note also that it is not only Christians who believe in the Holy Spirit being with them: some Muslims also had this honour; when Prophet Muhammad encouraged his poets such as Hassan bin Thabit during war, he urged them, "Attack them (with your poetry): the Holy Spirit (Ruh al-Quds) is with you!" (Sahih Muslim)
2.3 ADAM & HUMANITY: RECIPIENTS OF GOD's SPIRIT
Adam, the first full human, received the effusion of God's Spirit (Q. Rock 15:29, S 38:72), as did all human beings in turn, since they share in his Adam-ness or humanity (Q. Prostration 32:9; hadiths about foetal development in the womb). This is another parallel between Jesus and Adam.
Adam was created in the image of God (authentic hadith), and was taught all the beautiful Names of God, thus surpassing even the angels (Q. The Heifer 2:31-33).
2.4 THE QUR'AN: A SPIRIT FROM GOD
The Qur'an is "a Spirit, from God's Command" inspired to Prophet Muhammad (Q. Consultation 42:52). Note that the early Islamic controversy over whether the Qur'an was created or uncreated is related to the aspects of Creation and Command mentioned above (section 1.3).
The Qur'an is a Light and Guidance, just as were the Torah and Gospel before it (Q. The Last Supper 5:44,46). Prophet Muhammad is also a Light and Guidance (Q. The Last Supper 5:15-16).
2.5 PROPHET MUHAMMAD'S SPIRIT
In a famous hadith (Sahih Muslim), Aisha described the character (khuluq) of the Prophet as being the Qur'an. The character is the inner aspect of creation (khalq). Therefore, the Prophet's inner reality (haqiqa Muhammadiyya) or spirit is also Logos, being the Qur'an, which is itself a "Spirit from the Divine Command."
2.6 INTERACTION OF THE SPIRITS:
GABRIEL — JESUS (LOGOS) — MARY:
Already mentioned above. Note that Mary was chosen "over all the women of the worlds" (Q. The Family of 'Imran 3:42), and was a female Prophet (nabiyya or Prophetess) according to some leading Muslim theologians such as Ibn Hazm and Ibn Hajar, based on the fact that God sent His Archangel Gabriel directly to her.
GABRIEL — QUR'AN (LOGOS) – -MUHAMMAD:
The Qur'an was revealed from God to Prophet Muhammad by Archangel Gabriel as the Holy Spirit (Ruh al-Quds, Q. The Honey Bee 16:102) and the Faithful or Trustworthy Spirit (al-Ruh al-Amin), directly to the Heart (qalb) of the Prophet (Q. The Poets 26:193-4)
These interactions or relationships show that not only are there parallels between Jesus and the Qur'an, but also between Mary and Muhammad, another aspect of interest for Christian-Muslim dialogue and mutual understanding.
Where there is Spirit, there is Mercy. (And Love: the Islamic scholar William Chittick states that the Biblical "Love" and the Qur'anic "Mercy" are very close in meaning: we might say that they are Merciful Love and Loving Mercy.)
3.1 When Adam was created in the image of God, this was especially true of the Divine Names of Mercy. (hadith: disputed authenticity, sound meaning)
3.2 The Qur'anic chapter named "Mary" (19) uses the Divine names "All-Merciful" (al-Rahman) 16 times, "God" (Allah) 7 times and "Lord" (Rabb) 23 times. "Mercy" (rahma) is mentioned a further 4 times, all with regard to Abrahamic Israelite prophets, including a description of Jesus as "a mercy from God" (Q. 19:21). The Qur'anic "mercy" is derived from "the womb" (rahm), thus further resonating with the story of Mary, the only woman mentioned by name in the entire Qur'an; all others are described as mothers, sisters or wives with regard to men.
3.3 All but one of the 114 chapters of the Qur'an begin with the formula, "In the Name of God, All-Merciful, Most Merciful": the Qur'an is thus inextricably linked with the two foremost Divine Names, being those of Mercy.
3.4 Prophet Muhammad is nothing but a "mercy for the worlds" (Q. The Prophets 21:107) and "most kind and merciful to people of faith." (Q. Repentance 9:128)
DISCUSSION / CONCLUSIONS
4.1. Although Islam rejects a trinitarian or tri-theistic formulation of God as One (Q. The Last Supper 5:73), the above discussions show how much reverence is accorded to the holy personalities of Jesus Christ and Mary in the Qur'an: Jesus is not "just a prophet"!
4.2. In Islamic teaching, Jesus Christ is one of the manifestations par excellence of spirituality, being a spirit of, or from, God: others are Archangel Gabriel, the Cosmic Spirit, Mary, the Qur'an, Adam and Prophet Muhammad.
4.3 Thus, although Muslims do not believe that God is a trinity of "Father, Son and Holy Ghost/Spirit", Muslims certainly believe, directly from the Qur'an, that God is "Lord Most Merciful", that Jesus is a Word and Spirit of God, and that Gabriel is the Holy Spirit and a Spirit of God. Furthermore, the Qur'an is also a Word and Spirit of God, and constitutes the inner reality of the Prophet Muhammad. The Spirit of God was also effused into Adam, and hence into all of humanity.
4.4. All human beings have the potential to be illumined by some of the above divine spirituality and mercy by virtue of sharing in the humanity of the above holy persons, and of being created in imago Dei (the image of God).
4.5. In the Islamic tradition, Jesus and Muhammad are regarded as extremely close, being respectively the last (and "Seals") of the Israelite and Ishmaelite branches of prophethood deriving from their common Abrahamic ancestry. All prophets are regarded as brothers, and Prophet Muhammad regularly referred to other Abrahamic and Israelite prophets as "my brothers." He also once joined his index and middle fingers together and declared, "Jesus, son of Mary, and I are this close in this world and the hereafter: there is no prophet between us." (Sahih al-Bukhari)
4.6. A striking example of the common love and mercy for humanity manifested by both Jesus and Muhammad in the Islamic tradition is as follows:
Prophet Muhammad once spent an entire night awake in worship (in addition to his worship and public duties by day), repeating the following prayer of Jesus Christ for sinners countless times, whilst standing, bowing and in prostration,
"If You (dear God) punish them, they are indeed Your servants;
but if You forgive them, truly You Yourself are the Mighty, Wise!"
(Q. The Last Supper 5:118 – this incident is reported in an authentic hadith widely transmitted by Islamic scholars, from the Sunan-collectors to Ibn Arabi in his Fusus al-Hikam or "Bezels of Wisdom" to Albani in his Sifah Salah al-Nabi or "The Prophet's Prayer Described")
4.7 This universal Christian and Muhammadan compassion is a metaphysical reality, and one that Christians and Muslims worldwide need to continue to manifest and enhance, especially in our troubled times. May God bless Prophets Abraham, Moses, Mary, Jesus and Muhammad, peace be upon them and all their followers, and grant us the courage to follow in some of their noble examples.
Usama Hasan
London, 25th December 2016 / 26th Rabi' al-Awwal 1438 (updated 27/12/2016 // 28/03/1438)
Tags:'Isa, 'Isa bin Maryam, Abraham, Abrahamic, Adam, al-Rahman, al-Ruh al-Amin, Albani, Allah, amr, Archangel, begotten not made, Bezels of Wisdom, Christ, Christological controversies, Christology, co-operation, command, compassion, creation, Fath al-Bari, Fusus al-Hikam, Gabriel, God, Hadith, hadiths, Holy Spirit, Ibn Arabi, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, imago Dei, inter-faith, interfaith, Ishmaelite, Islamic metaphysics, Islamic-Christian dialogue, Israelite, Jesus, Jibra'il, Jibril, kalam Allah, khalq, Logos, love, Mary, Maryam, meaning of Jibra'il, meaning of Jibril, Mercy, monotheism, Moses, Most Beautiful Names of God, Muhammad, Muslim-Christian dialogue, mutual understanding, Prophet, prophethood, Qur'an, Qur'anological controversies, Qur'anology, Ruh, Ruh al-Quds, Ruh Allah, seal of prophethood, Sifah Salah al-Nabi, spirit, Spirit of Holiness, Sufi, Sufism, Sunan, surah, surahs, The Prophet's Prayer Described, tri-theism, trinity, uncreated word of God, unity, Word of God
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INNER AND OUTER ASPECTS OF ISLAMIC RITUAL PRAYER (SALAT)
Bismillah. This is about some of the beautiful symbolism and meaning behind the salat or ritual prayer, one of the five pillars of Islam and to be performed at least five times a day. When the salat is reduced to pure ritual without any understanding of the Arabic words or of the symbolism of the actions, many inward and outward problems arise, God forbid! But the salat is the believer's daily ascension (mi'raj) and communion with God: it is up to us to deepen this daily experience of ours. It is the Muslim's daily practice of mindfulness, meditation and remembrance, to develop a deep wellspring of love, faith and humility to equip us for life's individual, social and political challenges. May God continue to bless our journeys!
All italicised phrases are from the Qur'an and Sunna; references are omitted for ease of reading and clarity: this is not an academic article, but an attempt to elucidate certain indications and symbols, with the hope of helping people on their own journeys.
Prayer times: Time is sacred (God says, I am Time); we offer each prayer within its time in order to share in the sacredness of every part of the day and night, and to give thanks for that portion of sacred time.
Washing (ablutions) before prayer: we cleanse our limbs and hearts of wrongdoing.
Ablutions are nullified by toilet or sexual acts: these represent our basic animal natures, so we wash again to symbolise recovering our angelic natures in order to stand before God.
Facing Mecca: The Ka'bah, as the House of God, symbolises the heart, which is also the House of God. Whilst facing Mecca outwardly, we turn inwardly to face the home of God at the centre and core of our being. So turn your face towards the Sacred Mosque!
Standing in straight rows: we are in fellowship, equal before God, and imitating the ranks of the angels. The hearts of the people of Paradise beat as one … By Those Who Stand in Ranks!
Raising the hands at the beginning of the prayer: symbolises the "lifting of the veil" between us and God. In prayer, we are talking directly to our Lord.
Standing before God in prayer: facing up to life as a journey to God; a foretaste and preparation for standing before God on Judgment Day.
Keeping the eyes open, rather than closed, in prayer: do not be veiled by multiplicity from Unity, nor by Unity from multiplicity.
Lowering the head and looking at the ground (if practised): humility before God.
Keeping the chin up and looking straight ahead towards Mecca (if practised): facing life, and one's inward reality, directly.
Folding the arms across the body (if practised): the servant's pose before the Master.
Reciting the Opening Chapter of the Qur'an (Surat al-Fatiha): we are sharing in a communion with God. God says, I have divided the prayer between Me and My servant …
Praise be to God, Lord of the Worlds; All-Merciful, Most Merciful; Master and King of the Day of Judgment: God says, These belong to Me, as our glorification is of God.
You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help: God says, This is (shared) between Me and My servant; the God-human relationship.
Guide us to the Straight Path; the path of those whom You have favoured, who neither receive (Your) anger nor stray: God says, These belong to My servant, and My servant shall have whatever he or she requests.
Reciting further from the Qur'an: the remembrance of God continues; God and the angels bear witness to it. Truly, the recitation at dawn was witnessed.
Bowing: humility before God; bearing life's hardships, followed by standing tall again.
Prostration, with forehead, nose, hands, knees and feet pressed to the ground: ultimate humility before God; one is closest to God in this posture, which is outwardly humiliation, inwardly elevation; our hearts are higher than our brains, whilst the rest of the time, our brains are higher than our hearts; Pray hard, for your prayers are most likely to be accepted in this position; death.
The second prostration, after a brief sitting: the second death, at the blowing of the Horn. Our Lord! You caused us to die twice, and to live twice …
In prayer, do not sit like a dog, peck like a cockerel or squat like a monkey: throughout prayer, we must rise above our animal natures and try to inhabit our angelic natures.
Standing, bowing, prostration: the body forms the Arabic letters Alif (A), Dal (D) and Mim (M) respectively, hence spelling Adam during the prayer; we are seeking our original Paradisal, primordial humanity before the Fall through our communion with God.
[In Hebrew and Arabic, the Aleph/Alif (A) also signifies the number 1, so "Adam" is identical to "1 dam" meaning "one blood": humanity is united; we have different skin colours, but we bleed the same colour. Red blood cells have no DNA (although white ones do), so in a sense blood represents our common humanity – much of it does not have our unique, genetic fingerprints that are found in every other of the trillions of cells of our body.]
Standing, bowing, prostration: the body forms a straight line, right angle and (semi-)circle respectively, the bases of all geometry and form; we are signifying that we are at one with Nature and its beautiful forms. God is Beautiful, and loves Beauty.
Sitting in remembrance of God at the end of the prayer: a foretaste of the eternal rest in Paradise.
The prayer ends with the greeting of peace (salam): Their greeting on the Day they meet Him is Peace; Their greeting there (in the Garden) is Peace; they hear no vain or sinful talk, only the words, Peace, Peace!
London, Ramadan 1436 / June 2015
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The Black Flags of Khurasan
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim
PROPHECIES ABOUT THE ARMIES OF THE BLACK FLAGS OR BANNERS FROM KHURASAN AND THE EAST
Ottoman soldiers carry a black military flag or banner during the First World War
1st September, 2014
(minor updates: 26/10/2014)
The Black Flags of Khurasan (PDF)
1 SUMMARY. 2
2 Fabricated hadiths: pro- and anti- 'Abbasid propaganda. 3
2.1 Pro-Abbasid fabrications. 3
2.2 Anti-Abbasid fabrications. 4
3 Weak hadiths about the black flags or banners from Khurasan. 5
3.1 Shawkani's brief analysis. 7
3.2 Albani's analysis of this hadith. 7
3.2.1 [Ibn Taymiyya on the allegedly blasphemous nature of the term, "caliph of God"]. 8
3.3 Conclusion. 9
4 Contemporary propaganda about black flags. 10
4.1 The Ottomans. 10
4.2 Bin Ladin. 10
4.3 The Taliban. 10
4.4 Harmajdun (Armageddon). 10
4.5 Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT). 10
4.6 The Boston Bombers. 11
4.7 The Ahmadiyya. 11
4.8 Contemporary Jihadist groups. 11
Several hadiths or traditions in Sunni Muslim sources speak of the appearance of an army carrying black flags or banners from the East, specifically Khurasan (Khorasan), in support of an apocalyptic messianic figure, the Mahdi, at the end of time.
Historic Khorasan is largely in modern-day Afghanistan, but parts of it are in modern-day Iran and Turkmenistan.[1] According to another author, Khurasan is a term for a historical region spanning northeastern and eastern Iran and parts of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and northwestern Pakistan.[2]
These traditions are attributed as prophecies to the Prophet Muhammad himself, peace be upon him, thus giving them a powerful resonance in the minds of many devout Muslims who hear them; in particular, modern extremist and terrorist groups regularly quote them.
The traditions were first written down around the 3rd/9th century.
From the earliest times until today, most Hadith scholars regarded these traditions as fabricated Abbasid propaganda that was never uttered by the Prophet. Some Hadith scholars, ignoring their historical context, accepted them as authentic teachings of the Prophet.
During the century-long period of Umayyad rule, the idea of a messianic Mahdi became popular amongst rival Alid and Abbasids (descendants of Ali and Abbas, respectively) and their supporters. Abbasid propaganda in favour of their eventual overthrow of Umayyad rule included many references to the Mahdi, including fabricated hadiths claiming him as an Abbasid in response to the widespread view of him being Alid.
The main Abbasid military commander who led the overthrow of the Umayyads in the 2nd/8th century, was from Khorasan, as his name signifies: Abu Muslim al-Khurasani (c. 700-755).[3] History records that his armies carried black flags or banners, cf. the histories by Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Dhahabi, Ibn Khaldun, Suyuti, etc.
Based on traditional scrutiny of the hadiths' chains of transmission (isnads – riwayah) as well as rational considerations of history (dirayah), it is the author's firm conclusion that these hadiths were Abbasid propaganda fabricated 100-150 years after the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and are in no way true Muhammadan prophecies.
The author was preceded in this view by his father, Sheikh Dr. Suhaib Hasan, who took this view in his PhD thesis: The Concept of the Mahdi amongst Ahl al-Sunna (Sunni Muslims), including a translation of the chapter on the Mahdi from Nu'aym bin Hammad's Kitab al-Fitan (Book of Tribulations). Nu'aym bin Hammad is generally agreed to be a weak authority by Hadith scholars, so it is unfortunate that some contemporary writers, speakers and preachers are uncomprehendingly-quoting clearly-fabricated "prophecies" from the Kitab al-Fitan and applying them to current events in Iraq and the Levant! (These fabrications repeatedly mention the "Sufyani" i.e. Umayyad, the Mahdi and real historical figures such as Saffah.) Rather than dealing with the very real religious, ideological, political and social causes of the current crisis, it is much easier to say, "These are the end times. This was all prophesied."
Contemporary Muslim preachers and activists should acknowledge and explain that these hadiths are at the least doubtful and disputed, if not clear fabrications, especially when they are often misused by contemporary extremist and terrorist groups.
2. FABRICATED HADITHS: PRO- AND ANTI- ABBASID PROPAGANDA
There are numerous fabricated (mawdu') hadiths both in favour and against the Abbasid armies from Khurasan that appeared with black flags in the second century of Islam. This illustrates how hadiths were fabricated for use as propaganda by both sides.
2.1 Pro-Abbasid fabrications
Fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet: "The Mahdi will be a descendant of my uncle 'Abbas." – related by Daraqutni[4]
Fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet: "O 'Abbas! God opened this matter by me and will seal it by a young man from your descendants who will fill the world with justice as it had been filled with tyranny. He is the one who will lead Jesus in prayer." – related by Khatib Baghdadi in Tarikh Baghdad ["The History of Baghdad"][5]
Fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet: "Should I not give you good tidings [O 'Abbas]? God opened this matter by me and will seal it by your descendant." – related by Abu Nu'aym in Hilyah al-Awliya' ["Adornment of the Saints"][6]
Khatib Baghdadi transmitted a fabrication, falsely attributed to Ibn Abbas: "When the black flags emerge, bid the Persians well, for our rule [dawlah, also meaning 'state'] will be with them."[7]
Fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet: "O Abbas! When year thirty-five comes, it [the rule] will be for you and your descendants. Amongst them will be the Slayer (al-Saffah), and amongst them will be the One Helped to Victory (al-Mansur), and amongst them will be the Guided One (al-Mahdi)."[8]
2.2 Anti-Abbasid fabrications
Fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet: "The flags of the descendants of Abbas have come from Khurasan, signifying the death of Islam. Whoever marches under their banner will not benefit from my intercession on the Day of Resurrection."[9]
Fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet: "When the black flags appear from the east: their beginning is strife, their middle period is killing, their end period is misguidance."[10]
Fabrication, falsely attributed to the Prophet: "Woe to my nation from the descendants of Abbas! … Their destruction will be at the hands of one of her household [the Umayyads]," pointing to Umm Habiba [daughter of Abu Sufyan and sister of Mu'awiya, the first Umayyad caliph][11]
3. WEAK HADITHS ABOUT THE BLACK FLAGS OR BANNERS FROM KHURASAN
[Below, I use the following notation for hadith isnads, first introduced by my father in his PhD thesis on Hadith: == denotes a strong mode of transmission, such as haddathana (he narrated to us) or akhbarana (he informed us), whilst – denotes a weak mode such as 'an ("on the authority of")]
Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Fitan (Book of Tribulations), Chapter: Emergence of the Mahdi (Guided One), Hadith no. 4082[12] Ibn Majah == 'Uthman b. Abi Shaybah == Mu'awiyah b. Hisham == 'Ali b. Salih – Yazid b. Abi Ziyad – Ibrahim [al-Nakh'i] – 'Alqamah – 'Abdullah [b. Mas'ud], who said: Whilst we were with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, some young men of Banu Hashim arrived. When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, saw them his eyes flooded with tears and his colour changed. I asked, "Why do we continue to see something undesirable in your face?" He replied, "Truly, we the People of the House:[13] God has chosen the Hereafter for us over this world. The people of my house will face calamity, dispersal and exile after me until a group of people come from the east with black banners. They will ask for goodness [i.e. authority] but will not be granted it, so they will fight and achieve victory. They will then be given what they asked for [i.e. authority] but will not accept it until they assign it to a man of my house who will fill the earth with justice as others had filled it with tyranny. Whoever amongst you is alive at the time should go to them, even if he has to crawl over snow." Albani declares this hadith to be weak.[14] Sindi, the commentator on this hadith, states: Ibn Kathir said that this indicates the kingdom of the Banu 'Abbas [Abbasids]. However, this is precluded by his saying, "He will fill it with justice," clearly referring to the promised Mahdi, which is why the author included this hadith in this chapter, and God knows best what is correct. [Haythami states] in al-Zawa'id, "Its chain of narration is weak because of the weakness of Yazid b. Abi Ziyad of Kufa, although he was not alone in narrating it from Ibrahim, for Hakim has related it in al-Mustadrak via 'Umar b. Qays – Hakam – Ibrahim."[End of quote from Sindi]
Sunan Ibn Majah, Kitab al-Fitan (Book of Tribulations), Chapter: Emergence of the Mahdi (Guided One), Hadith no. 4084[15] Ibn Majah === Muhammad b. Yahya and Ahmad b. Yusuf === 'Abd al-Razzaq [al-San'ani] — Sufyan al-Thawri — Khalid al-Hadhdha' — Abu Qilabah — Abu Asma' al-Rahbi — Thawban, who said:The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, "Three people, each of them the son of a caliph, will fight over your treasure. It will go to none of them. Then, the black flags will appear from the east: they will kill you with a slaughter not meted out (or faced) by any people." He then mentioned something that I do not remember. Then he said, "When you see him [their leader], pledge allegiance to him, even if you have to crawl over snow, for he is the vicegerent (caliph of God), the Guided One [al-Mahdi]."Sindi, the commentator on this hadith, says:"Over your treasure," i.e. "over your kingdom." Ibn Kathir said, "The apparent meaning of the treasure mentioned is that it is the treasure of the Ka'bah.""Then, the black flags will appear": Ibn Kathir said, "These [armies with] black flags are not the ones that Abu Muslim of Khurasan brought, by which he toppled the Umayyad state. Rather, they are other black flags that will accompany the Mahdi, whose appearance is one of the Conditions of the Hour [i.e. Signs of the end of the world and the Day of Judgment]."[Haythami states] in al-Zawa'id, "Its chain of narration is sound; its narrators are reliable. Al-Hakim narrated it in al-Mustadrak and said: It is authentic (sahih) according to the conditions of the two shaykhs [i.e. Bukhari and Muslim]."[End of quote from Sindi]
Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Kitab al-Fitan (Book of Tribulations), Hadith no. 2269[16] Tirmidhi == Qutaybah === Rishdin b. Sa'd — Yunus — Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri — Qabisah b. Dhu'ayb — Abu Hurayrah, who said:The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, "From Khurasan will emerge black flags: nothing will repulse them until they are planted in Jerusalem." This is a strange (gharib) hadith. Thus, Imam Tirmidhi declared it to be a weak hadith by describing it only as gharib ("strange", having links as narrow as one narrator in its chain). Albani also declared its chain of narration (isnad) to be weak (da'if). Mubarakpuri, in his commentary on Tirmidhi, confirms that the black flags refer to military banners at the heads of armies. He also elaborates on Tirmidhi's statement, "This is a strange (gharib) hadith" as follows: "In its chain is Rishdin b. Sa'd, who is weak. In the chain of the hadith of Thawban in Musnad Ahmad [i.e. the hadith of Ibn Mas'ud, below] there is Shurayk b. Abdullah the Qadi, whose memory declined after he took the position of judge in Kufah. It also contains Ali b. Zayd, who would appear to be Ibn Jud'an, and there is some talk about him."
3.1 Shawkani's brief analysis[17]
Al-Azadi related from Ibn Mas'ud from the Prophet, "When the black flags come from Khurasan, go to them, for truly amongst them is the caliph of God, the Mahdi."
Ibn al-Jawzi said, "It has no basis," and mentioned it amongst the fabricated traditions.
Ibn Hajar said in al-Qawl al-Musaddad [fi l-Dhabb 'an Musnad al-Imam Ahmad, The Accurate Word in Defence of the Musnad of the Imam Ahmad], "Ibn al-Jawzi was not correct, for Ahmad has transmitted it via 'Ali bin Zayd bin Jud'an who is weak but was not an intentional liar such that the hadith should be classified as fabricated when he alone narrates it. How more so, then, when his narration has been supported via a different route? This has been transmitted by Ahmad and by Bayhaqi in Dala'il [al-Nubuwwa, Indications of Prophethood] from the hadith of Abu Hurayra from the Prophet, 'Black flags will come from Khurasan, that will not be stopped until they are planted in Jerusalem.' In its chain of narration is Rishdin bin Sa'd, who is weak."
3.2 Albani's analysis of this hadith[18]
In another narration of this hadith: "When you see that the black flags have come out of Khurasan, go to them even if you have to crawl …" to the end of the hadith.[19] These narrations were transmitted by Ahmad, Ibn Majah and Hakim.
Ibn al-Jawzi included the hadith in his collection of fabricated (mawdu') hadiths; Dhahabi said that it was rejected (munkar). Imam Ahmad's isnad includes 'Ali b. Zayd b. Jud'an: Ahmad, Ibn Hajar, Munawi and others agreed that he is a weak narrator. Ibn Hajar said about Ibn al-Jawzi's judgment, "He is not correct, because none of the narrators is accused of lying." Albani agrees with Dhahabi that the hadith is rejected (munkar).
Ibn al-Jawzi's isnad for this hadith is via 'Amr b. Qays — Hasan — Abu 'Ubaydah — 'Abdullah [b. Mas'ud] — the Prophet (pbuh). Ibn al-Jawzi stated, "This has no basis: 'Amr is nothing, and did not hear hadiths from Hasan; Hasan did not hear hadiths from Abu 'Ubaydah." Albani adds, "And Abu 'Ubaydah did not hear hadiths from his father, Ibn Mas'ud … Haythami said in al-Zawa'id (249/2), 'Its chain is authentic; the narrators are reliable.' Hakim said, 'It is authentic according to the conditions of the two shaykhs [Bukhari and Muslim].' Dhahabi agreed with Hakim, although he said in the Mizan [al-I'tidal] that the hadith is rejected (munkar); the latter is correct. Those who authenticated this hadith overlooked its subtle defect, which is the 'an'anah (ambiguous mode of reporting) of Abu Qilabah – he was known to conceal some of his authorities (tadlis), as is quoted from Dhahabi and others."
Albani goes on to say, "However, the hadith is correct in meaning apart from the statement, '… for amongst them is the vicegerent of God [khalifat Allah], the Mahdi,' for it has been transmitted by Ibn Majah (2/517) via 'Alqamah from Ibn Mas'ud from the Prophet (pbuh), similarly to Thawban's second narration. Its chain of narration is good (hasan), and does not include the phrase 'vicegerent of God [khalifat Allah]'."
3.2.1 [Ibn Taymiyya on the allegedly blasphemous nature of the term, "caliph of God"]
Albani continues:
This addition, 'vicegerent of God [khalifat Allah],' does not have an established route of narration, nor a supporting one. Thus it is rejected (munkar – a weak narration that contradicts authentic ones) as follows from Dhahabi's statement quoted earlier. Part of its abhorrence is that it is not permissible in religion to refer to someone as 'vicegerent of God' [khalifat Allah] because that implies a shortcoming and incapacity that does not befit God the Exalted. The Shaykh of Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may God Exalted have mercy upon him, explained this in his Fatwas (2/461):
'Some mistaken commentators, such as Ibn Arabi, thought that the vicegerent [the function of khalifah attributed to Adam in Qur'an 2:30] is a vicegerent on behalf of God, like God's deputy. But God Exalted cannot have a vicegerent, and that is why when they said to Abu Bakr, "O caliph (vicegerent) of God!" he replied, "I am not the caliph (vicegerent) of God, but the caliph (vicegerent) of the Messenger of God – that is sufficient for me."[20] Rather, it is He, may He be glorified, Who is the vicegerent of others: the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, prayed, "Dear God! You are the Companion during a journey, and the vicegerent amongst family. Dear God, please accompany us during our journey and deputise for us amongst our families!" This is because God is the Living, Ever-Present Witness, Guardian, Self-Subsisting, Observer, Safeguarder, Independent of the Worlds, needing no partner or supporter, and none can intercede before Him except by His permission. A vicegerent or deputy only occurs when the one whose place is taken is non-existent due to death or absence, such that a deputy called a vicegerent is required … all of these meanings are impossible regarding God the Exalted, and He is absolved of them, for He is the Living, Self-Subsisting, Ever-Present Witness who does not die or become absent … It is not possible for anyone to deputise for Him or to take His place, for He has no equal or anyone worthy of His name: whoever attributes a deputy or vicegerent to Him is associating a partner with Him.'[21]
Note that none of the hadith scholars quoted above took the historical record into account, basing their discussions purely on the chains of narrators and thus reaching opposite conclusions, with some authenticating these traditions and others doubting them severely. From the history of the Abbasid armies from the east, specifically Khurasan, led by black banners, it would appear to be obvious that all these supposedly prophetic traditions are in fact fabrications.
4. CONTEMPORARY PROPAGANDA ABOUT BLACK FLAGS
The use of black flags is an ancient Eastern, Arab and Islamic tradition. Its significance has changed over the centuries. Below is a summary of recent developments.
4.1 The Ottomans
Some people believe that one of the Prophet's original banners, known as the Uqab, was black, that it eventually passed to the Ottomans and that remnants of it are housed at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul.[22]
4.2 Bin Ladin
Usama bin Ladin often signed his name with the location, "Khurasan, Afghanistan" at the end of his messages whilst a guest of the Taliban. His organisation, Al-Qa'ida, also specifically adopted black flags from the 1990s. Reading between the lines, it is obvious that Bin Ladin saw Al-Qa'ida as fulfilling a sacred prophecy, bringing armies led by black flags towards Damascus and Jerusalem, in preparation for the coming of the messianic figure, the Mahdi.
4.3 The Taliban
According to one contemporary writer, "Very interestingly, the Taliban hail from the Pashtun ethnicity and have traditionally used two flags, a white flag with a black Shahada (Kalma) embossed for their government and diplomatic purposes and a reversal of this i.e. a black flag with a white Shahada embossed for their military. These types of black flags are also vividly seen across the tribal Pashtun areas that are now reportedly under the control of Pakistani Taliban."[23]
4.4 Harmajdun (Armageddon)
This influential, populist book authored by an Egyptian Azhari sheikh in 2001 quoted some of these fabricated hadiths.[24] One in particular that begins, "There will be strife at the death of a caliph …" was interpreted to refer to the impending death of King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, the black flags were taken to refer to the black turbans of the Taliban. The book also claimed to be based on recently-discovered manuscripts of hadith, some of which were said to predict the 1990-1 war between Iraq and the US over Kuwait: the hadiths were said to mention a place called "little Kut" which is the literal meaning of "Kuwait." Although popular amongst the masses, this book was dismissed by serious scholars of hadith and history.
4.5 Hizb-ut-Tahrir (HT)
HT adopted a black flag with the Islamic declaration of faith, possibly from its inception. Recently, this has led to confusion between HT flags and ISIS flags.[25] On one of HT's public, international discussion forums, there is a lengthy discussion between October 2009 and October 2010 about the authenticity of the hadiths of the black flags, the coming of the Mahdi and the re-establishment of the caliphate, with a suggestion that the black flags refer to the Taliban.[26]
4.6 The Boston Bombers
Four months before carrying out the Boston bombings of 2013 along with another suspect, Tamerlan Tsarnaev appears to have "liked" and shared a video on YouTube entitled, The Emergence of Prophecy: The Black Flags From Khorasan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJknGtKV34I).[27] This video claims about the hadiths mentioned in it that "majority of scholars say is authentic and others say is weak [sic]."
4.7 The Ahmadiyya
Some of the Ahmadiyya refer these hadiths to their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian, due to his Persian ancestry. One of their writers says, "Black Flag of Khorasan … Thawban (ra) narrated that the Prophet (sa) said: 'If you see the black banners emerging from Khurasan (Persia), seek to join their supporters even if creeping, because among them will be caliph Al-Mahdi.' (Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 3, 4084) This flag is the flag of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community today (contrary to popular belief it is not the flag of any Jihadist groups since this flag would be for the followers of the Mahdi)."[28]
4.8 Contemporary Jihadist groups
In the modern era, black flags with the Islamic declaration of faith have become very popular amongst Jihadist and other Islamist groups. For example: Al-Qaeda, al-Shabab in Somalia, Boko Haram in Nigeria, Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, al-Tawhid wal-Jihad in Iraq, Jihadist fighters in Chechnya and of course the self-styled "Islamic State," formerly "The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) have all adopted black flags, with white Arabic writing consisting of the basic Islamic declarations of faith (the shahadatayn), as their emblems. The extremist but non-Jihadist international group, Hizb al-Tahrir, also employs a black flag with white shahadatayn, as its emblem. All these groups occasionally reverse these colours: a black flag for war; a white flag for peace. A white flag with black shahadatayn was especially adopted by the Taliban in Afghanistan for peacetime.
ISIS have recently adopted a black flag with white writing: an ancient-looking script for the first shahada, with the second shahada in the form of a seal, based upon the hadiths mentioning the Prophet's own seal and ring. No-one knows for sure what the script on this seal looked like, but the form adopted by ISIS (and al-Shabab and Boko Haram) has ironically been popularised over the past two decades by populists such as the unscientific Turkish writer, Harun Yahya (Adnan Oktar).
Minor article edits: 11th September, 2014
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khurasan (accessed 9 Sep 2013)
[2] See Charles Cameron, Ali Soufan: AQ, Khorasan and the Black Banners, http://zenpundit.com/?p=4322
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Muslim_Khorasani (accessed 9 Sep 2013)
[4] Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da'ifah, 4th ed., al-Maktab al-Islami, Beirut/Damascus, 1398, vol. 1 p. 108, no. 80
[6] Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da'ifah, 4th ed., al-Maktab al-Islami, Beirut/Damascus, 1398, vol. 1 pp. 109-110, no. 82
[7] Shawkani, al-Fawa'id al-Majmu'ah fi l-Ahadith al-Mawdu'ah [Collected Insights about Fabricated Traditions], Book of Praiseworthy Qualities, Chapter: Virtues of the Four Caliphs, the Prophet's Household and the Rest of the Companions, Generally and Specifically, may God be pleased with them, and Virtues of Other People –hadith no. 1010, http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?indexstartno=0&hflag=1&pid=530423&bk_no=1015&startno=167
[8] Shawkani, al-Fawa'id al-Majmu'ah fi l-Ahadith al-Mawdu'ah [Collected Insights about Fabricated Traditions], Book of Praiseworthy Qualities, Chapter: Virtues of the Four Caliphs, the Prophet's Household and the Rest of the Companions, Generally and Specifically, may God be pleased with them, and Virtues of Other People –hadith no. 1015, http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?indexstartno=0&hflag=1&pid=530423&bk_no=1015&startno=172 This is a very clear fabrication, since the three titles mentioned were adopted by the first three Abbasid caliphs.
[10] Shawkani, al-Fawa'id al-Majmu'ah fi l-Ahadith al-Mawdu'ah [Collected Insights about Fabricated Traditions], Book of Praiseworthy Qualities, Chapter: Virtues of the Four Caliphs, the Prophet's Household and the Rest of the Companions, Generally and Specifically, may God be pleased with them, and Virtues of Other People –hadith no. 1011, http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?indexstartno=0&hflag=1&pid=530423&bk_no=1015&startno=168
[12] http://hadith.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=192&BookID=35&TOCID=1534
[13] Ahl al-Bayt: a phrase referring to the Prophet's immediate family and descendants
[14] Ibn Majah, Sunan, ed. Albani & Mashhur Hasan Salman, Maktabah al-Ma'arif, Riyadh, 1417 H, hadith no. 4082. According to Shawkani (hadith no. 1013), a very similar hadith is transmitted by Hakim and Abu l-Shaykh, and includes the addition describing the flags or banners as "flags of guidance." http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?indexstartno=0&hflag=1&pid=530423&bk_no=1015&startno=170
[15] http://hadith.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=192&TOCID=1534&BookID=35&PID=7508
[16] Tirmidhi, Sunan, ed. Albani & Mashhur Hasan Salman, Maktabah al-Ma'arif, Riyadh, 1417 H, hadith no. 2269; http://hadith.al-islam.com/Page.aspx?pageid=192&TOCID=1532&BookID=37&PID=4328
[17] Shawkani, al-Fawa'id al-Majmu'ah fi l-Ahadith al-Mawdu'ah [Collected Insights about Fabricated Traditions], Book of Praiseworthy Qualities, Chapter: Virtues of the Four Caliphs, the Prophet's Household and the Rest of the Companions, Generally and Specifically, may God be pleased with them, and Virtues of Other People – Mention of Mu'awiya, hadith no. 1012 http://library.islamweb.net/hadith/display_hbook.php?indexstartno=0&hflag=1&pid=530423&bk_no=1015&startno=169
[18] Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Da'ifah wa l-Mawdu'ah wa atharuha l-sayyi' fi l-ummah, al-Maktab al-Islami, Beirut/Damascus, 4th ed., 1398 H, vol. 1, hadith no. 85, pp. 119-121
[19] This narration is also mentioned by al-'Ajluni, Kashf al-Khafa', no. 241 – where he simply says, "Related by Ahmad and Hakim on the authority of Thawban."
[20] Related by Ahmad similarly in the Musnad (1/10-11)
[21] Although Ibn Taymiyya was responding to what he saw as the neo-incarnationist Sufi notions of Ibn Arabi, the same critique has been applied since the 20th century to the over-politicisation of the Qur'anic term "caliph/vicegerent" by the ideologues of political Islam such as Mawdudi and Qutb, cf. Jaafar Sheikh Idris, IS MAN THE VICEGERENT OF GOD? Journal of Islamic Studies (1990) 1 (1): 99-110, Oxford
[22] See e.g. The Wake-Up Project, Ukab- banner of our Prophet Muhammad (saas), http://wup-forum.com/ukab-banner-of-our-prophet-muhammad-saas-t12620.html. See also a YouTube video featuring a supposed still of this banner accompanied by Islamic songs, and tellingly uploaded by "Abu Muslim Khurasani" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rg8XkGzaMcI
[23] Black Banners From Khurasan: The Bilad-e-Khurasan in Making, Research Paper by Bilal Khan, March 30th, 2008 http://www.grandestrategy.com/2009/06/research-paper-by-bilal-khan-paper-is.html
[24] For an Urdu translation of this book, see https://archive.org/details/Harmajdoon
[25] See Seth Frantzman, A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ISLAMIC 'BLACK FLAG' IN JERUSALEM, 10th August 2014, http://sethfrantzman.com/2014/08/10/a-short-history-of-the-islamic-black-flag-in-the-holy-land/
[26] See discussion thread, Black flags In Khorasan, http://forum.hizbuttahrir.org/showthread.php?2599-Black-flags-In-Khorasan
[27] For more information, see Adam Serwer, Did Boston Bombing Suspect Post Al Qaeda Prophecy on YouTube?, Mother Jones, 19th April 2013, http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/04/boston-bombing-suspect-posted-video-al-qaeda-prophecy-youtube
[28] SIGNS OF MIRZA GHULAM AHMAD (AS) AS THE MAHDI AND MESSIAH, 28th June 2014, http://mysticscientist.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/signs-of-mirza-ghulam-ahmad-as-as-the-mahdi-and-messiah/
Tags:Abbasid, Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, Ahmad, Ahmadi, Ahmadiyya, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabab, Albani, Alid, Armageddon, armies, bin ladin, black banners, black flags, Boko Haram, Boston bombers, caliph, caliphate, da'eef, da'if, eschatology, fabricated hadiths, Hadith, hadiths, Harmajdun, Hizb al-Tahrir, Hizb-ut-Tahrir, HT, Ibn al-Jawzi, Ibn Hajar, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Ibn Majah, Ibn Taymiyyah, IS, ISIS, Islam, Jerusalem, jihadism, jihadists, khalifa, khalifah, khilafa, khilafah, Khorasan, Khurasan, Mahdi, maudu', maudu'at, mawdu', mawdu'at, military, Mubarakfuri, Mubarakpuri, Muslim, Ottomans, propaganda, prophecies, prophecy, Prophet Muhammad, Shawkani, Sindhi, Sindi, Taleban, Taliban, Tirmidhi, Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, Umayyad, Usama bin Ladin, weak hadiths
Posted in Hadith, History | 5 Comments »
Islam and the Veil – Opening Up the Discussion About Hijab
Bismillah. With the global discussion about the veil due to "World Hijab Day" on 1st February, 2014, this is a good time to re-publish here a detailed, academic paper from 2011. It is from the following book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Islam-Veil-Theoretical-Regional-Contexts/dp/1441187359/ – one of the editors was kind enough to say that mine was the best paper in the collection, which was quite a compliment since other authors include Javaid Ghamidi and other experts.
Please click here to download the full paper: Islam and the Veil – Usama Hasan
I also suggest the following questions as a guide to study/discussion sessions about this topic:
STUDY/DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ABOUT VEILING (FOR A HETEROSEXUAL CONTEXT)
1. Distinguish between the terms hijab (veil), khimar (headscarf) and jilbab (covering). Are these religious or cultural aspects of dress/clothing, or a mixture of the two, i.e. religio-cultural?
2. God is veiled from humanity. What is the nature of the veil(s), and what is meant by the veil being lifted for the believers' Vision of God? How did veiling (of women, caliphs – who had a hajib, etc.) symbolise the above truths?
3. What is the significance, if any, of the fact that in Surah al-Nur, men are instructed before women to "lower their gaze and guard their chastity" ?
4. Surah al-Nur: women were instructed to draw their headscarves (khimar) over their bosoms. Is this a command to cover the head and hair, or to cover the breasts, or all of the above?
5. Surah al-Nur: What is meant by the "ordinarily-apparent adornment" (zinah zahirah) that may be displayed by women? Is it parts of the body, the top layer of clothing, jewellery, make-up or a combination of these? What would then be the implied "hidden beauty/charms" (zinah batinah) that men and women would only reveal to close family, spouses, etc. ?
6. Some Companions insisted that women must be covered top to toe in public, including the face; others excepted the face and hands, as did the majority of early authorities; others excepted the forearms, half-way to the elbows (Tabari) or all the way to the elbows (Qadi Abu Yusuf, for women who worked in bakeries and thus had to roll up their sleeves – mentioned by Imam Sarakhsi in Al-Mabsut); others excepted the feet also (Abu Hanifah); some even excepted the head and hair (minority view mentioned by Ibn 'Ashur). Some female Companions gathered their skirts when nursing warriors in battle such that their ankles or shins were visible ('Aisha & Hafsa – Sahih al-Bukhari). How are these views to be understood from the text? Do the above views indicate that the context and 'urf (social custom) is influential in what constitutes modest and appropriate dress?
7. Is the hadith of Asma about "covering up except face and hands" genuine or weak? If the latter, does that support the niqab-obligation view or the khimar-not-necessary view?
8. Is a woman to be regarded as "naked" and "sinful" if her face, hands, head, hair, feet, ankles, shins and/or forearms are visible in public, as per the above views? Or should the onus be on men to restrain lustful glances, as they are ordered to do so beforehand in Surah al-Nur?
9. Surah al-Nur: In terms of the males "having no sexual desire" before whom a woman doesn't need to worry about veiling, the commentators have extended this to several categories. How should this be understood in modern societies? What is your view about the classical view that obliged women to cover in front of their fathers and brothers to prevent the latter having incestuous thoughts?
10. Surah al-Nur: About "their women" before whom women can unveil, does this apply only to Muslim women or to all women (both views are classical) ? Does it matter about the morality of such female company, i.e. is the matter related to appropriate dress and behaviour?
11. Surah al-Ahzab (hijab meaning curtain or screen): Does this verse imply gender-segregation? If so, is that a general principle or was it only for the Prophet's wives and family?
12. Surah al-Ahzab: what is meant by the jilbab? Is it simply a shawl (Ibn al-Arabi & Ibn Kathir), any dress that reasonably covers the body, an outer garment or cloak on top of usual clothes, or a cloak with a hood that must go on top of a khimar (Albani's view) ?
13. Surah al-Ahzab: The jilbab is explicitly "that they may be recognised (as noble women) so they are not harassed." How is that to be understood and practiced in the modern world? Is it true that traditional clothing, i.e. khimar/jilbab/niqab protects Muslim women from sexual harassment in various societies?
14. How does fiqh al-ma'al (jurisprudence of consequences, cf. Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah) apply to issues of gender-segregation and veiling/unveiling in the modern world? In particular, what implications do veiling/unveiling have for working or professional women in Muslim/non-Muslim societies?
15. Is the khimar or headscarf (mistakenly called hijab) a normal part of clothing in some cultures, analogous to a hat or cap, or a symbol of faith, modesty, purity, identity, or some combination of these?
16. What are the psycho-spiritual effects of wearing a headscarf and/or jilbab and/or niqab for women? Do these lead to confidence, subjugation, control, spirituality, modesty, pride, purity, ostentation, humility, holier-than-thou attitude or a combination of these?
17. What are the psycho-spiritual effects upon men of women wearing a headscarf and/or jilbab and/or niqab? In men, do these lead to feelings of purity, increased/decreased/repressed desire, a positive/negative attitude towards veiled/unveiled women, or a combination of these? How does all this affect the attitudes of Muslim/non-Muslim men towards Muslim/non-Muslim women, whether veiled or unveiled, and their perceptions of beauty, attractiveness, sexuality and desire?
18. What is all the fuss really about, and are men and women equal in this whole discussion? Do the notions of gender-equality and women's liberation have any bearing on the whole issue?
19. Who should ultimately decide what is appropriate dress and behaviour for men and women in a given society? Is it men, or women, or male religious scholars, or female religious scholars, or panels of religious scholars, or society as a whole including parents, families, religious/spiritual authorities, etc.?
20. And finally, how does God, with the 99 Names of Beauty (jamali) and Majesty (jalali), to Whom we are all returning, relate to all of this in our lives?
London, 3rd February 2014 / 3rd Rabi' al-Thani 1435
Tags:Abdullah bin Bayyah, Albani, Bin Bayyah, Bukhari, Fiqh, fiqh al-ma'al, gender, gender-equality, gender-segregation, Hadith, headscarf, hijab, Ibn al-Arabi, Ibn Bayyah, Ibn Hazm, Ibn Kathir, Islam, Jassas, jilbab, khimar, Madhhab, Maqasid, Maqasid al-Sharia, men, modesty, Muslim, niqab, Qur'an, Qurtubi, Rabiha Hannan, sexual harassment, sexuality, Sharia, Sunnah, Tabari, Theodore Gabriel, Usama Hasan, veil, veiling, women, World Hijab Day
Posted in Hadith, Law, Qur'an, Sharia, Sunnah | 2 Comments »
Bismillah. The Prophet, peace be upon him, taught: al-mu'min mir'at al-mu'min – "the believer is the mirror of the believer."
This morning, I read a mind-boggling commentary on this teaching from Ibn 'Arabi, of which more later.
But first, here is a traditional explanation of the hadith, adapted slightly from Sheikh Abdul Ghaffar Hasan in his Way of the Prophet:
In this Hadith, a believer has been declared to be the mirror of another believer. This is a profoundly meaningful comparison. Keeping this comparison in mind, the following aspects of a believer's relationship with another believer become apparent:
(1) A mirror reflects only those spots and stains that actually exist. It neither reduces nor enlarges them.
(2) The mirror only reveals spots and stains when the face is present. If the person goes away, the tongue of the mirror is silenced.
(3) We have never heard of anyone becoming annoyed or angry at seeing their spots and stains in the mirror. On the contrary, we see that people gratefully keep the mirror in a safe place so that it may used when needed later.
(4) The mirror only reveals the spots and stains when it is level with the person's face. If the mirror is above or below the face, it does not serve its essential purpose.
Instead of simile and metaphor, it can be stated in plain words that through the comparison with the mirror, the Messenger of Allah (may God bless him and grant him peace) has given us four pieces of guidance:
(1) If there is a need to mention a person's defect, it should only be described as far as it exists.
(2) The defect should be mentioned in the person's presence, not behind their back.
(3) If someone informs us of a defect or criticises us, we should be grateful to them instead of being annoyed with them.
(4) When a sincere adviser or critic criticises, he should neither show himself as greater and higher, nor use flattery and sycophancy [to be lower].
Now onto Ibn 'Arabi: al-Mu'min (the Source or Guardian of Faith) is also a Name of God [Qur'an 59:23]. Hence, the hadith also means:
a) "The believer is the mirror of God" and
b) "God is the mirror of the believer."
a) A person of pure faith has annihilated the ego and inculcated godly or saintly qualities such that the person's heart and being is filled with (faith in) God, so God and other people only see a reflection of God in the person.
b) Since the World (the Universe or Nature) is also a locus or place of the reflection of God's Names, and the human is a microcosm of the universe (the macrocosm), the believer learns about himself/herself through experiencing life, looking at the world and God's action in it. This teaching is related to the one that "a believer sees by the light of God": s/he also sees by the multiple, renewed reflections of God's light.
Tags:Abdul Ghaffar Hasan, advice, Allah, Belief, believer, Faith, God, Hadith, mirror, mu'min, Muhammad, nasiha, Prophet Muhammad, reflection
Posted in Hadith, Qur'an, Sunnah | Leave a Comment »
On Abu Bakr al-Asamm
Bismillah. Another interesting piece by Arnold Yasin Mol.
The Mu'tazilah Abi Bakr al-'Asamm (أبي بكر الأصمُّ) was an early scholar and judge (died 220H/843CE), well respected by the then Sunni caliph. As far as I know none of his complete works have survived, but many tafasir/Qur'an commentaries mention his opinions and interpretations in their works, especially Imam al-Razi, al-Tabarsi and al-Tusi. From their works Dr. Hudr Muhammad Nabha has distilled al-'Asamm's tafsir into one volume, which I'm researching now. Al-'Asamm has many interesting opinions that show that to him, reason/'aql has more authority than tradition/naql, a typical early theological Kalam tafsir approach (tafsir al-ra'y/exegesis of opinion) of the Mu'tazilah school.
One of the surprising and rare opinions is on the place of Surah al-Fatiha in the daily salat prayer. As far as I know, all scholars deem it mandatory to recite it in the daily prayers, although they differ if it has to be recited with every raka'ah. This is also how the tafsir of al-'Asamm begins before the surprising twist:
(في المسائل الفقهية المستنبطة من هذه السورة : أجمع الأكثرون على أن القراءة واجبة في الصلاة، و عن الأصمّ والحسن بن صالح أنها لا تجب.) "On the deduced juristic issue on this chapter: The consensus of the majority on its mandatory recitation in the prayer. And (the opinion) of al-'Asamm and al-Hasan bin Salah that it (the recitation of al-Fatiha) is not mandatory."
Al-'Asmm's proof (حجّة الأصمّ) is that the Prophet's saying (صلّوا كما رأيتموني أصلي) "Pray as you've seen me pray", (جعل الصلاة الأشياء المرئية والقراءة ليست بمرئية، فوجب كونها خارجة عن الصلاة) and this makes the prayer of the visual things and recitation is not visual. Thus what is only mandatory is the exterior of the prayer."
Further on he is quoted as saying: (وهو أن القراءة غير واجبة أصلا) "And the recitation (in prayer) is not a primary obligation."
His interpretation of the famous Hadith "Pray as you've seen me pray" [graded hasan in Bukhari] is unique in that that the term "ra'ytumuni/you've seen me" is reduced to visual observation only, and all the things said, every prayer and Qur'an recitation, are thus not part of the mandatory Sunna of prayer. Only the movements are mandatory, but not the spoken contents. There are of course many other Ahadith/Prophetic traditions concerning prayer and al-Fatiha's place in it, but the above mentioned Hadith belongs to on of the most accepted traditions among the schools, and thus it seems al-'Asamm took the most used and accepted Hadith on prayer and interpreted it in a way which makes most of the other Ahadith on prayer unauthentic. Was he aware that this opinion would make all the verbal sayings in the prayer, next to Qur'an recitation, not prescribed in a mandatory way? As the Qur'an nowhere clearly mentions how or what to pray (it only gives direction/qibla, timings, general movements, and that the Qur'an is recited in it without specifying what parts), it may explain al-'Asamm's reluctance to make anything outside of the Qur'an mandatory practice, but I've to research his opinions more to see if he takes similar stances elsewhere. The Mu'tazilah laid great emphasis on the Qur'an as unique revelation, and saw Ahadith not really as secondary revelation. Ahadith were a source of knowledge and were needed to understand the rituals of worship, but they were not as enforcing as the Qur'an or human reason.
Interesting is that this opinion of al-'Asamm became his most infamous one as he is mentioned in several works on prayer (Fiqh al-'Ibadat) as 'the one who alone believes al-Fatiha is not mandatory in prayer'.
[p.31, Tafsīr Abī Bakr al-'Asamm, Dar al-Kutub al-'Ilmiyyah, 2007, Beirut]
Tags:Abu Bakr al-Asamm, Fatiha, Hadith, Kalam, Mu'tazila, Qur'an, reason, recitation, revelation, tafsir
Posted in Hadith, Qur'an, Sunnah | 4 Comments »