On Islamic rituals and enforcements: An advice to Datuk Zaid Ibrahim
Datuk Zaid Ibrahim seems to be annoyed or displeased with Islam and/or Muslims. In this case Muslims who do not subscribe to his version of Islam. In an article published in The Star online news on the 5th of August, he gave his views on multitude of issues related to Muslims.
Zaid refers to a shop owner as a victim of enforcement officers from Kota Bharu Municipal Council (MPKB). One has to ask, if law enforcement is taking place and Zaid is unhappy, does that mean he would be pleased when the enforcement officers are not doing their job? That is clearly not the case. Zaid was unhappy because the enforcement officers took action or rather summoned the shop owner for displaying sexy promotional posters in his shop.
One has to remind Zaid that law is to be upheld, and when you do business in a certain area, you are subject to the law of the land. And if you do not want to be subject to the operation of the law then you can by all means perhaps move to somewhere that can accommodate your needs. No one forced the shop owner to open a shop in Kota Bharu. Zaid’s contention is merely because the removal of the pictures of bare skinned women was deemed as “Islamic”.
When Zaid mentioned Hajj performed by Muslim leaders, it was as though that the acts of worship are done to get attention and was not sincere. These acts will make our leaders look pious and help them gain popularity. At least this is what I understood from his comment.
We will not go on and dwell in other accusations made by Zaid Ibrahim. It is easy to cast allegations without any proof to back up your claims. It is however not that easy to defend these claims, because we need facts to rebut the false accusations.
We would not be defending or demeaning the acts of worship of others. That is between them and God, we have no part to play in anybody’s religious ritual. What we are actually interested in is the reference(s) made by Zaid to the verses in the Qur’an. For example:
“In fact, one verse tell us to “follow only those who do not ask for wages” as they strive for the truth. God forbids us to follow those who profit from religion.”
This I believe is from the verse of Surah Yasin, which goes as below,
“Closely follow (the ones) who ask of you no reward, and they are rightly-guided”.
Qur’an 36:21
Apparently Zaid uses his own mind to interpret the meaning of this verse. According to Ibn Kathir, a renowned exegete, this verse refers to the Prophets and Messengers and not ordinary people. This verse in reality is referring to those who disobey the Prophets and Messengers of God. This verse goes on to command them to obey these Prophets and Messengers. And of course there is a context to this verse and it definitely is not addressing ordinary people performing religious duties.
Zaid also said that people who serve God do not expect material wages or rewards but only rewards that come from Allah. One has to ask Zaid, where do material rewards come from if not from Allah?
Those who serve God with sincerity, God will give them what they deserve, and if they work for worldly gains God will give them what they deserve. We have no issues with anybody’s earnings as long as they are legal and come from a permissible source.
And Zaid also mentions munafiqun, i.e. the hypocrites. We agree that hypocrites are a threat to the religion, however Zaid missed a few important verses.
And of the people are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” but they are not believers. They [think to] deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not. In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie. And when it is said to them, “Do not cause corruption on the earth,” they say, “We are but reformers.” Are not they indeed the mischief-makers? But they perceive not. And when it is said to them, “Believe as the people have believed,” they say, “Should we believe as the foolish have believed?” Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not. Qur’an 2:8-13
The above is a set of verses which describe hypocrites and some of their characteristics. It is worth mentioning that these group of people while promoting themselves to be truthful are in fact far from it. They might say they are fighting for what is right, but in reality it is them who are deviating and misleading others. They even refer to themselves as those who are striving for the truth and in the best interests of society.
The rest of the content and reference(s) to the verses should be taken with a pinch of salt. Learning the Qur’an should be done in reference to the context and not merely quoting its translation. Learning the Qur’an from the liberals would be akin to learning law from robbers. It just do not make any sense. We have many scholars who teach the Qur’an using the proper tools and it would be better to approach them.
The idea here is to make Islam as the basis of life and betterment of society. It does not help by merely worshipping God without any effort. Spirituality and effort go hand in hand, one without the other is incomplete. Downplaying religion by saying these people turn a blind eye on corruption, or that spirituality does not feed the hungry is simply red herring, because a journey starts with the first step.
Change is a process and takes time. It is easy to inflict damage but very difficult to reconstruct. Indeed, spirituality does not feed the poor, but neither does liberalism. What actually makes the difference is the efforts, not the belief. And in Islam it is the effort together with spirituality that makes for a blessed change.
“O you who have believed, why do you say what you do not do? Great is hatred in the sight of Allah that you say what you do not do”. Qur’an 61:2-3
Rehan Ahmad Jamaluddin Ahmad
President, Intellectual Wisdom Society
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official views of, and should not be attributed to, Isma or Ismaweb.
Genetik arak penuh dalam badan, apa korang harap dari org org tua politik celaka dekat Malaysia ni ?
Muslims have been praying for thousands of years – What spirituality they have attained ? Putrid foreheads, shabby beards and garbage uniforms are not spiritual.
My response to the writer of the 9:19 pm comment:
By defaming and degrading Muslims and Islam , you have proven that you are a pathetic swine and your bigoted personality is corrupt and immoral and your stupidity goes far beyond my imagination which reflect your parents’ failure to educate you. So now you have grown up to become a pathetic racist joker whose immoral, bigoted and corrupt belief promotes enmity among all mankind .
By the way, I am sure that you are not a Muslim but a pathetic Ultra Kiasu swine whose pork shunned by Al-Qur’an and the Bible!
How Islamic Learning Transformed Western Civilization
The historical context of the rise of civilisation in the lands conquered by Muslims since the middle of the 7th century and the context of the intercultural transmission of knowledge around the Mediterranean Sea can be summarized as follows:
For centuries following the fall of Rome, Europe was backward and shrouded in a state of moral and intellectual darkness, locked into the Dark Ages and barely able to tell the time of day.
Augustine had decreed that belief, not reason, should be the guiding light of Christian thinking and partially as a result Europeans lived in a world of nominal literacy and subsistence farming, where blind faith, superstition and sorcery took the place of medicine, and the church harnessed nascent aggression among the kingdoms to its own ends in the pursuit of astonishingly violent and cruel holy wars – the Crusades.
On the contrary, Islamic culture was thriving and had become a powerhouse of intellectual exploration and discussion that dazzled the likes of Adelard of Bath who ventured to the Near East in search of the scientific riches pouring out of cities like Antioch, Baghdad or Cairo, whose libraries held hundred thousands books at a time when the best European libraries housed, at most, several dozen.
In the frame of a dynamic scientific and intellectual tradition, the scholars of Islam could measure the earth’s circumference, a feat not matched in the West for eight hundred years; they discovered algebra; were adept at astronomy and navigation, developed the astrolabe and other astronomical instruments, translated all the Greek scientific and philosophical texts, including the whole corpuses of Aristotle, Galen, Ptolemy, etc. ; etc.; they made paper, produced lenses and mirrors, and developed theoretical as well as practical branches of knowledge. Without them, and the knowledge that travellers like Adelard brought back to the West, Europe would in all likelihood have been a very different place over the last millennium.
For more information, please refer to:
http://www.muslimheritage.com/article/how-islamic-learning-transformed
Liberals are hypocrites who make an outward display of Islam whilst inwardly concealing kufr because of the corruption of their hearts. They are trying to destroy Islam dan undermine Muslims by promoting freedom to commit sins and apostasy among Muslims because Liberals believe in complete and unconditional individual freedom.
Liberals misinterpret verses from the Quran allegorically or even reject them to suit Liberal hidden agenda. Liberals also reject Hadiths completely or partially (including hadiths considered authentic (Sahih) by traditionalists) , interpretations of Islamic law etc. They also question or deny existence or applicability of Islamic law and tend to be skeptical about the validity of Islamization of knowledge.
They favor the idea of modern secular democracy with separation of Islam and state. They say a woman may lead a mixed group in prayers and women should not be segregated from men in society or in mosques. They also oppose the Islamic dress requirements for women (commonly called hijab.
They also include LGBT as a human right thus they are encouraging LGBT despite the fact Allah dan His messenger the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him) have rejected and condemned LGBT ! Allah had destroyed Lot’s people because of LGBT:
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (remember) Loot (Lot), when he said to his people: ‘Do you commit the worst sin such as none preceding you has committed in the ‘Aalameen (mankind and jinn)?
Verily, you practise your lusts on men instead of women. Nay, but you are a people transgressing beyond bounds (by committing great sins)’” [al-A’raaf 7:80-81]
“Verily, We sent against them a violent storm of stones (which destroyed them all), except the family of Loot (Lot), them We saved in the last hour of the night” [al-Qamar 54:34 – interpretation of the meaning]
Hypocrisy is more dangerous than kufr (disbelief) and the punishment for it is more severe, because it is kufr mixed with Islam and its harmful effects are greater. Hence Allah will put the hypocrites in the lowest level of Hell, as He says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Verily, the hypocrites will be in the lowest depth (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them . [al-Nisaa’ 4:145]
The hypocrites are always confused, always planning deceit and plots. Although outwardly they appear to be with the believers, inwardly they are with the kaafireen (kafir @ infidel).
Allah says concerning them (interpretation of the meaning):
“And when they meet those who believe, they say: “We believe,” but when they are alone with their Shayaateen (devils — polytheists, hypocrites), they say: “Truly, we are with you; verily, we were but mocking
Allah mocks at them and gives them increase in their wrong-doing to wander blindly” [al-Baqarah 2:14-15]
Liberals’ arrogance reinforced by their false logic and jealousy prevent them from obeying Allah’s command. Indeed they are the puppets of the enemy of Islam.
Dear Muslim brothers and sisters…Please reject Liberals and Liberalism because they are trying to deceive and mislead Muslims to hell !
Please obey Allah and His messenger so that you will be saved and blessed by Allah:
It is You (Allah) we worship and You we ask for help.
Guide us to the straight path –
The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.
Al-Fatihah (The Opener) : 5-7