Monday, October 12, 2009
Shariah, Fiqh, and Fatwah
"Shari'ah is based on wisdom and achieving people's welfare in this life and the afterlife. Shariah is all about justice, mercy, wisdom, and good. Thus any ruling that replaces justice with injustice, mercy with its opposite, common good with mischief, or wisdom with nonsense, is a ruling that does not belong to the Shariah, even if it is claimed to be so according to some interpretation."
Mr. Auda also defines the terms Shariah, Fiqh, and Fatwah which are commonly misunderstood as follows:
1. Shariah
The revelation that Prophet Mohammad (SAAS) had received and made practicing it the message and mission of his life, i.e. the Quran and Prophet tradition.
2. Fiqh
The huge collection of judicial opinions that were given by various jurists from various schools of thought, in regards to the application of shariah to their various real life situations throughout the past 14 centuries.
3. Fatwa
The application of shariah or fiqh to Muslims' real life today.
Fiqh cannot be considered Islamic law in all instances, because each scholar did judicial reasoning for their own environments and times. Fatwa cannot be always considered as Islamic law. If the fatwa is copied verbatim from some classic book in the Islamic law, then it is quite possibly flawed because it is quite probably addressing a different world with different circumstances. If the fatwa is allowing people to commit an act of injustice, discrimination, harm, or immorality, even if it were to be based on interpretation, then it is also wrong and un-Islamic.
Based on the above discussion by Mr. Auda, I believe that some of the Fatwas issued by so called Imams or Mullas may not be acceptable. Case in point, the treatment of women and not allowing them to study or justification for suicide bombings by innocent youth convinced by their Imams Fatwas.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Mosques and Bathrooms
It is so discouraging to see Muslims dressed in their best clothes come to the mosque and then how they treat the bathrooms and wadu areas. They leave water all over including the toilet seats and wadu area seats. They litter the place with toilet papers, coffee cups, stones etc. Some of these things block the toilets which eventually cause huge disruption and inconvenience to the organizers.
I always wonder why the mosque establishments and Imams do not come and address this issue in their speeches and comments. We always talk that Islam teaches you be clean and their are laws and regulations specified in the Quran about cleanliness, I do not why we do not practice them when it comes to the bathrooms. At times, I am tempted to post a rude note in the mosque which says, "Please clean the bathroom area after you finished unless your mother is going to come afterwards to clean it." In Pakistan, I will modify the note to say, "please clean after yourself unless you have arranged for your christian maid to clean after you."
The worst experience about bathrooms I have encountered is when I fly into Pakistan or Saudi Arabia. The plane bathrooms are usually in a terrible shape and not accessible. The dirty water from the bathroom flows out of the bathroom on to the plane seating area. I learned my lesson the first time I went for Umrah flying from Cairo to Jeddah. There was no way I could go the bathroom and change clothes and wear Ihram. I now tell everyone to wear Ihram before you board the plane when traveling to Saudi Arabia.
I believe, we need to have a training for bathroom use every few months in each mosque. In addition, in Pakistan, every one who is flying out of country first time should be asked to take one day course on things to watch for overseas. When I lived in Korea some 20 years back, the government will not issue a passport until the applicant has taken such a course.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
What They Do NoT Preach in the Mosque
"If you avoid the great sins, which you have been enjoined to shun, We shall efface your (minor) bad deeds, and shall cause you to enter an abode of glory." Chapter 4, Verse 31. Then how come preachers in the mosque talk about things length of the pant should be above the ankles, which step should be placed first when you enter in the mosque, type of haircuts, length of beard, timing for Iftaar and Sehar etc.
These preachers do not tell their so called devout merchants and businessmen that: "O You who have attained the faith| Do not devour one another's possessions wrongfully -not even by way of trade based on mutual agreement." Chapter 4, Verse 29. These merchants and businessmen in
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Town Hall Meeting with Pakistani Ambassador, Hussain Haqqani
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Marriage Between Muslims and Non-Muslims
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Graduations
Friday, May 15, 2009
Quran's Guidance About Interpersonal Relations
Translation of a portion of Chapter 46 of the Quran
049.012
O you who believe! avoid most of suspicion, for surely suspicion in some cases is a sin, and do not spy nor let some of you backbite others. Does one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? But you abhor it; and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, surely Allah is Oft-returning (to mercy), Merciful.
049.013
O you men! surely We have created you of a male and a female, and made you tribes and families that you may know each other; surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful (of his duty); surely Allah is Knowing, Aware.
We all have committed sins by backbiting. I hope and pray that I can change my habits.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Cars and Drivers
Having come from Pakistan from a family without a car, finished graduate school in England, landed a job, I felt the need to learn driving and own a car to join the Jones and impress others. I went to a driving school and the instructor took me to a remote corner of the city on a secluded country road. We exchanged places, and finally I was in the drivers seat. Then the instructor asked me if I know which pedal is the brake and which one is for shifting gear. I could see the look of amazement on the instructor's face when I told him that I do not. How could he imagine that a 25 year old have no knowledge of such things. Finally he showed me the stuff and he let me drive even though he was scared of his life.
Being a traditional hardworking and competitive immigrant, I devoted time and money to learn to drive the English stick shift car during my lunch breaks with the instructor. I even bought a beat up beetle Volkswagen to accelerate the driving license process. I would bribe my English roommates with fish and chips or curry if they would sit with me in the car while I practice the three point turn U turn without touching the narrow curbs of British roads or parallel parking.
Finally, I convinced the instructor that I am ready for the driving test even though he was not certain. We arrived at the test station, and he got out of the car and wished me luck while the examiner got comfortable in his seat. After the examiner told me to drive, I dutifully checked my mirrors and made the move. Things went well for about 10 minutes until we arrived at busy narrow road and he told me to turn left. There was a huge truck in front of me so I missed the turning and instructor shouted at me for not following instructions.
Having figured by then that I will fail the test, I kept my cool, and made a successful three point U turn and returned back to the original route. Thereafter, I just followed the instructions blindly until the end of the test because, I had lost all hope and waiting for the test to end. Once we were back at the testing facility, the examiner told me to park the car and started the oral examination. By then, I was enjoying this pretension of the test. So when he asked me about how to enter the motorway, being a civil highway engineer, I told him about the design speed and curves of the entrance and exit lanes. The questions then ended and after a long pause, he told me that I passed the test to my unbelief.
The driving instructor was also surprised by the result of my passing the test in first attempt. It was considered a greater achievement among my immediate circle of Pakistani and Indian colleagues. This was more than getting a PhD. Some of my colleagues and friends from Indian subcontinent left England for Australia and USA without ever getting the drivers license even though they had tried several times. Of course it was a piece of cake for them to get drivers license in USA and Australia.
The following weekend after the passing the drivers test, I drove from Bedford to London in my red beetle to show off to my friends and family. Of course on a busy Friday night, I was lost in the city and went round Piccadilly circle several times. The car did not have a fuel gage and got struck on the road with no gas. I had to walk to nearest gas station and beg for a can of gas hoping the car is not ticketed or towed away. With my Lexus, I would not have all this trouble, it tells me where to go and how many miles left before the next fill up. However, I will still trade my Lexus for the beat up beetle and delight of driving a car on my own first time.