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Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Resonate your identity with Naseeb journals. Express your opinions, share your thoughts, post your writings and connect with like minded people through the power of expression.
Learning - to overcome schisms within Islam
This article was a response to this well-meaning request by a fellow Hanafi brother:
".. it is incumbent people study and learn as much as possible. This being my motivation, therefore, if you could inform me of general sources that you would recommend one read to receive a fair treatment of the differences between the two main schisms , I would be most appreciative. I know the basics, but seek to understand the ?why,? without badgering from outside influences. Unfortunately, it seems nearly impossible to receive an unbiased response."
Wa Alaikum as Salaam Akhi,
This is indeed a delightful question. I am in the same shoes as you, hailing from a shi'a background.. ever curious of the 'sunni' side of the equation. I am _so_ immensly interested in the possibility of a reconciliation between our two branches of the deen that I even put my life where my dream is: I married a sunni muslimah hailing from Egypt who's family holds a respected name among learned circles.
I have written a few key articles in my journal. I trust you might have already gone through a few of those. I am a believer of the fact that our beloved Rasool (SAAWW) did not leave an incomplete message behind. Thus those who try to say that the cause of Islam's current problems lies in the message, or among its adherents, do not resonate with my intellectual reasoning. I happen to have seen what I consider convincing proof of an alteration in some of the intentions of our Rasool (SAAWW) and invite you to discover the same, or help me find any error in my analysis. You will find me different from most shi'a, as I am not locked into any existing understanding. I believe we are each responsible for our own understanding, and I am working towards developing the same. The fact that I base my deen on the interpretation of the message of Islam propounded by the Holy Ahl-al-Bait (AS) of our beloved prophet (S) is something you can comment on once you get to know them (SAA) as I have.
The one advantage I _do_ have is that I know what the shi'a know, so I feel I have been able to cut through the dogmatization and literally sift through the chaff. Yet I hope you see that I possess the objectivity to realize that the shi'a seem stuck within the story of Karbala and what can be learned from it, almost to the exclusion of everything else. I am acknowledging this because I have made a study of my "reasoning to look" an integral part of my philosophical foundation. It is why I continue to look for Allah - everywhere.
To answer your question, I will first direct you to the JE of mine titled "QED: Creation is a love story". I will ask you to try to answer the question that is asked. But that might take a while, and should not interfere with the neutral study you aim undertake. This is a laudible goal, and fortunately there is a worthy site to address your query.
This site is used by numerous sunni schools for the study of Quran, and they have a reputation of working hard to remain unbiased and to present well-received and acclaimed historical as well as present works for general and advanced education. The name of this site is Al-Islam.org at this URL al-islam.org and the acclaimed link to the Multilingual Quran is al-islam.org/quran, which you can simply paste into your browser or click al-islam.org/quran to be able to comparatively evaluate numerous translations side-by-side, along with a detailed tafseer from a respected shi'a aalim. This can be (and is) a valuable tool for making dawah, and for dispelling misconceptions of Allah's word that arise from a particular translaters choice of words.
I highly recommend for you to go to this site and search and study to your heart's content. I have a few recommendations, and invite you to write to me directly at [email protected] to keep the information flow direct.
After you have seen my JE, I also recommend that you study the pivotal event of Ghadir Khumm at this URL: al-islam.org/ghadir
This is information that no sunni will ever give you, for reasons I can elucidate if you desire to know now. But truly, if you read this much, I am hoping that since you are blessed to know Arabi, after you have read Dua-e-Kumayl you will visit Sahifah-e-Sajjadiyah. If you really do that my brother in Islam as well as in seeking knowledge, you might not even have to ask.. this stuff is often self-evident in translation, grasping it in Arabi is straightforward for one with an open heart.
I wish you well in your study akhi, and respect and applaud your courage and honesty in asking to receive. May everyone be this open to the knowledge that is sitting out in the open. And may Allah open your heart to the true and unhindered sirat to Al-Haqq.
I will claim that I accept everything I have seen thus far on Al-Islam.org, which includes the series under al-serat (al-islam.org/al-serat) as well as the amazing dua-e-Kumayl and the Sahifah-e-Sajjadiyah, not to mention "Nahjul Balagha" and the biographies of the Aaimma (holy ahl-al-Bait) and the revolution of Imam al-Husayn AS, which is the hinge on which shi'a islam pivots.. there are also a number of brief brochures asking questions that no sunni aalim can answer, like "Who is the Mehdi, and where does he come from" as well as the meaning of the otherwise unexplainable "Imam im-Mubeen" in Surah-e-Yaseen. I have studied all these and more and totally agree with these. (What I don't agree with is the general shi'a propensity to malign the leaders of Ahl-as Sunnah wal Jamaah for reasons of historical grievance. I believe that shouldn't be done and shi'as are wrong to do so; but fortunately I have not seen that on this site.)
Happy hunting akhi.
May the Noor of Allah light your path to knowledge. Aameen.
".. it is incumbent people study and learn as much as possible. This being my motivation, therefore, if you could inform me of general sources that you would recommend one read to receive a fair treatment of the differences between the two main schisms , I would be most appreciative. I know the basics, but seek to understand the ?why,? without badgering from outside influences. Unfortunately, it seems nearly impossible to receive an unbiased response."
Wa Alaikum as Salaam Akhi,
This is indeed a delightful question. I am in the same shoes as you, hailing from a shi'a background.. ever curious of the 'sunni' side of the equation. I am _so_ immensly interested in the possibility of a reconciliation between our two branches of the deen that I even put my life where my dream is: I married a sunni muslimah hailing from Egypt who's family holds a respected name among learned circles.
I have written a few key articles in my journal. I trust you might have already gone through a few of those. I am a believer of the fact that our beloved Rasool (SAAWW) did not leave an incomplete message behind. Thus those who try to say that the cause of Islam's current problems lies in the message, or among its adherents, do not resonate with my intellectual reasoning. I happen to have seen what I consider convincing proof of an alteration in some of the intentions of our Rasool (SAAWW) and invite you to discover the same, or help me find any error in my analysis. You will find me different from most shi'a, as I am not locked into any existing understanding. I believe we are each responsible for our own understanding, and I am working towards developing the same. The fact that I base my deen on the interpretation of the message of Islam propounded by the Holy Ahl-al-Bait (AS) of our beloved prophet (S) is something you can comment on once you get to know them (SAA) as I have.
The one advantage I _do_ have is that I know what the shi'a know, so I feel I have been able to cut through the dogmatization and literally sift through the chaff. Yet I hope you see that I possess the objectivity to realize that the shi'a seem stuck within the story of Karbala and what can be learned from it, almost to the exclusion of everything else. I am acknowledging this because I have made a study of my "reasoning to look" an integral part of my philosophical foundation. It is why I continue to look for Allah - everywhere.
To answer your question, I will first direct you to the JE of mine titled "QED: Creation is a love story". I will ask you to try to answer the question that is asked. But that might take a while, and should not interfere with the neutral study you aim undertake. This is a laudible goal, and fortunately there is a worthy site to address your query.
This site is used by numerous sunni schools for the study of Quran, and they have a reputation of working hard to remain unbiased and to present well-received and acclaimed historical as well as present works for general and advanced education. The name of this site is Al-Islam.org at this URL al-islam.org and the acclaimed link to the Multilingual Quran is al-islam.org/quran, which you can simply paste into your browser or click al-islam.org/quran to be able to comparatively evaluate numerous translations side-by-side, along with a detailed tafseer from a respected shi'a aalim. This can be (and is) a valuable tool for making dawah, and for dispelling misconceptions of Allah's word that arise from a particular translaters choice of words.
I highly recommend for you to go to this site and search and study to your heart's content. I have a few recommendations, and invite you to write to me directly at [email protected] to keep the information flow direct.
After you have seen my JE, I also recommend that you study the pivotal event of Ghadir Khumm at this URL: al-islam.org/ghadir
This is information that no sunni will ever give you, for reasons I can elucidate if you desire to know now. But truly, if you read this much, I am hoping that since you are blessed to know Arabi, after you have read Dua-e-Kumayl you will visit Sahifah-e-Sajjadiyah. If you really do that my brother in Islam as well as in seeking knowledge, you might not even have to ask.. this stuff is often self-evident in translation, grasping it in Arabi is straightforward for one with an open heart.
I wish you well in your study akhi, and respect and applaud your courage and honesty in asking to receive. May everyone be this open to the knowledge that is sitting out in the open. And may Allah open your heart to the true and unhindered sirat to Al-Haqq.
I will claim that I accept everything I have seen thus far on Al-Islam.org, which includes the series under al-serat (al-islam.org/al-serat) as well as the amazing dua-e-Kumayl and the Sahifah-e-Sajjadiyah, not to mention "Nahjul Balagha" and the biographies of the Aaimma (holy ahl-al-Bait) and the revolution of Imam al-Husayn AS, which is the hinge on which shi'a islam pivots.. there are also a number of brief brochures asking questions that no sunni aalim can answer, like "Who is the Mehdi, and where does he come from" as well as the meaning of the otherwise unexplainable "Imam im-Mubeen" in Surah-e-Yaseen. I have studied all these and more and totally agree with these. (What I don't agree with is the general shi'a propensity to malign the leaders of Ahl-as Sunnah wal Jamaah for reasons of historical grievance. I believe that shouldn't be done and shi'as are wrong to do so; but fortunately I have not seen that on this site.)
Happy hunting akhi.
May the Noor of Allah light your path to knowledge. Aameen.
Comments on this journal
My response: You mentioned praying on a stone, and I'd love to clarify that. There is solid evidence (i.e., confirmed hadith in the Sahih Sittah, which I can quote if needed) that our beloved Rasool (SAAWW) prayed on natural materials alone, and at times collected dirt or a leaf to be able to put his forehead on al-ardh (the earth) when this was not possible otherwise. Today we live in a refined, manufactured world, with man-made materials everywhere, including in our homes under our feet as carpets, as opposed to floors made of brushed, dried mud. Thus mujtahids have passed the fatwa (which has been acknowledged and even accepted by some sunni ulema, as evidenced by the 1959 fatwa passed by the Grand Shaykh of Al-Azhar) that praying is only valid if the sajdah is made on a natural piece of the earth. Thus some use stones, some use leaves, while most play it safe and use clay tablets (called the turbah, since it is made of the same material, i.e., dirt/clay) and perform their prayer on that. I have seen wood used, as well as napkins, and seen people going to great lengths to avoid putting their heads on carpets made from refined materials. I personally feel that most of this is unnecessary, but then faith is a personal matter and people are often willing to kill and die on such simple matters.. I hope we can view the issue objectively and realize that this is simply a matter of personal preferance, and not an issue of any more importance than that. Was Salaam.