Muslim Unite Shia and Sunni KHUTBAH : MUSLIM PUBLIC MIND, ABSENCE PART 8

 

THE STREET MMBAR JUM'AH KHUTBAH (7 February 2014) webpage: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=182501078290&ref=ts http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_street_mimbar/ PLEASE e-mail Suggestions & Criticisms to khutbahs@yahoo.com It is in such a manner that We make plain Our signs so that the course of the Criminals may become clear.

Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem.

Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family.

Dear committed brothers and dear committed sisters…

Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/apps/podcast/podcast/334660 (11-01-2013)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUKKM96QDPk

MUSLIM PUBLIC MIND, ABSENCE PART 8

Our time (and) our generation is privy to a transformation that is taking place, and transition of sorts from many many centuries that can be generally diagnosed by ignorance. Let's face the truth; we have been unthinking Muslims for a very long time and the transition that is taking place, which we are living ourselves, is (that) we are beginning to detect a new chapter in our history- a chapter that is written with expression and for the first time in many many centuries we encounter at least some individuals with increasing numbers who are beginning to think. It would behoove us to take a quick look, (obviously in the conditions that we are in here on this Friday (with) the atmospheric conditions not permitting a longer khutbah), at some of the history that went into this.

We know (and) every Muslim who has some recollection of history knows that at one time in the first, second and third centuries after the Prophet we had the emergence of Fuqaha', Ulama' and Mutakallimun- those who were versed in Islam and those who activated their intellectual potential as a result of being versed in Islam. Something peculiar happened along the way. We're skipping all of the political and the ideological details (and) we're strictly looking at our input as far as our God-given mind is concerned. We saw that a peculiar event that divided the Muslims referred to, by some, in Islamic history as the fitnah or the issue of whether the Qur'an as being created or not created. The intellectual vitality that we had- that we gained by our very understanding of our iman and our Islam- came to a show off (or) a clash in this incident. Some Muslims (were) saying "the Qur'an was created" and other Muslims saying "no, the Qur'an was not created" and both of these opinions had their type of arguments and their rationalizations. We're not here to go into the details and specific historical development what concerns us here is that that event represented the highest degree of Islamic intellect that we provided for our selves at that time and then from there on as a historical even that we look back at with our thinking minds.

One of the rulers of the Abbasi dynasty, Al Ma'mun, advocated for those who say "the Qur'an was created" and then subsequent rulers who came after him advocated for and took the position of "no, the Qur'an was not created." So we had an era of Fuqaha and an era of Ulema' that was from there-on. (Once again we have to remind you (that) we're not speaking about ideology or political trends. We're speaking specifically here about rationalism, intellect and thinking), (what was) to develop in our history was that the Muslim mind simply was frozen and a military class took over. The ruler in Baghdad built a military city called Samarra and in that military city dwelled a new class of decision makers to such a degree that Baghdad was marginalized by Samarra. Samarra became the number one city after Baghdad was and then Baghdad slipped to city number two. Then from there on they said, (this is one of the Islamic statements and it's a sentence that circulated at that time and we lived with it over a thousand years), "access to reasoning now is closed." This is silly but those who are in power can get away with lots of things and one of the things that they got away with and the weight of it still is a burden on our backs and in our lives was this. You know the mind doesn't work anymore! Close your mind! In an indirect way that was what was being said- from now on you have to close your mind. Now is the time- we're saying we are living a new chapter (and) we are writing a new chapter because now we are beginning to see certain scholars (and) certain learned men who are beginning to activate this long dormant mind of ours. They are trying to do this not only as individuals (but) they are trying to do this also as societies. "We want Muslims now- their communities and their societies- who are able to think with the guidance of Allah and the Qur'an that we have in our possession."

One of the issues that has to be thought through thoroughly is (that) when this Qur'an was revealed it wasn't revealed as one Book at one time. It took twenty three years for this Qur'an to be explained to us- first to that generation that was receiving it first hand and from there on for all of us- to understand that the text (and) the ayaat that were coming from Allah were specific to our practical lives. The Prophet of Allah put the Muslims on a course to Allah. They began, they say we commit our selves to Allah. What is to be done? As they are trying to do what is required of them. The Qur'an wasn't a textbook like one of these university books. (It's not like) the Prophet put a group of people in a classroom and began to teach them what had to be done. That's not the way it was. That's not the way it should be. This Qur'an came for every individual. There's nothing such as "you has to pass a test to qualify to understand what this Qur'an is saying." The Qur'an came to speak to the God-given mind and the God-given heart of everyone. So everyone qualifies to understand the explanation of the Qur'an in theory and in practice. The Qur'an is not a book of theory- period! The ayah in the Qur'an which means

… this Qur'an has been revealed in increments- one increment at one time period (and) another increment at another time period (or) a certain number of ayaat speaking to a real development in life and another number of ayaat speaking to another peculiar development in life… (Surah Al Isra' verse 106)

So the Quran, when you think about it- this is what is required now, this is what is absent- was trailing the effort of the Muslims. The Muslims were breaking new grounds and then when they the Muslims got stuck, (so to speak), then Allah would reveal some ayaat to explain to them what do you do now. This is the dynamic that has been absent. Right now the way we inherit our Islam, the way we are conditioned to understand our Islam and even, (we go further), the way we are taught our Islam is that we understand things first and then we go ahead and do what has to be done. If that was the case then the Prophet of Allah would have dedicated his Masjid to become a school to teach the meanings of these ayaat to the people around him and then after they understand these meanings then he would say "OK- now life out there is a large arena. Go into life with these meanings." The educational or the pedagogical method that was used was not that way; unlike what we have today. So in this process when we, the Muslims, are breaking new grounds because of our commitment to Allah we have a human nature (and) we have a human society and so in some issues we need time to go from one phase to another- that is required either because of our own individual human nature or because of the social nature of society. So we began to have something called an naasikh and al mansukh. An naasikh and al mansukh have nothing to do with, what we call, issues of iman. They have nothing to do with that. An naasikh and al mansukh means a law or a procedure that abrogates or cancels a previous law or procedure. This can pertain to me as an individual. Let's say someone is addicted to a certain substance, let's say marijuana or smoking or alcohol or whatever. Allah knows our human nature and he wants us to kick that habit aside but our nature cannot do it in one day. It needs time. So Allah revealed three steps to kick this habit. The first step is mansukh because it was followed by a naasikh; it was cancelled because it was followed by another procedure that cancelled it. Then the third step cancelled the second procedure. It's like a psychological operation that needs procedures. This also applies to laws of warfare. In Makkah there was no warfare. In Al Madinah when Muslims became a state and a society they encountered the necessities of combat obligations. At the beginning Muslims were weak and then they began to gain strength. The ayaat that were revealed concerning Muslims when they were weak were cancelled by ayaat that were revealed when Muslims became stronger. This is displayed by what happened when the Prophet passed away. When the Prophet passed away the treasury of the Muslims was limited. The Muslims didn't have much finances and then they distributed some of that finances to those who were in need. The second successor to Allah's Prophet said, because he was trying to think through some of these affairs- there's a concept in Islam called al muallafah qulubuhum, (i.e.) those whose hearts are to be won over; so the Prophet of Allah out of the Muslim treasury, as meager as it was, allocated a certain proportion to those whose hearts are to be won over- so when Umar (radi Allahu anhu), the second successor to Allah's Prophet assumed the decision making process he said how long is this al muallafah qulubuhum going to go on for? Forever? There's a time frame for this. If you want to win a person's heart over that has to be defined by time. You don't win a person's heart over for all the rest of his life time. So he said I'm not going to pay certain individuals because they've been paid. If their hearts have been won over it's that otherwise you're paying them to become Muslims. They become more like mercenaries instead of al muallafah qulubuhum. So this process of working our minds has nothing to do with what Islamic scholars call usul. There are foundations of our Islam and iman- these are called usul. Our mind cannot develop procedures for this. Our mind is concentrating on what Islamic scholars call Al Furu' such as we just mentioned. This process of thinking accompanied us for a few centuries and then we began to decline. We began to go under. Now is the time to revitalize this aspect instead of living on, sometimes, the myths and the superstitions that have become right now a definition for our Islam and our iman. Unfortunately even in the limited quarter of Muslims who take pride in the fact that they still have a process of ijtihad going they can't use this ijtihad to filter their own context from the accumulation of an inherited Islam, a stagnant Islam (and) a thoughtless Islam. This has not been yet and it awaits the courage that comes from the confidence of understanding Allah and His Prophet to have this thing done for once and for all so that we can emerge from this total ignorance that we are in that defines, unfortunately, the mishaps and the calamities that we are living today.

And may Allah exclude us from those who He says

… all that they know is the surface events of issues of this world and this life but beyond that they know nothing. (Surah Ar Rum verse 7)

Committed Muslims…

When we Muslims, (and it has nothing to do with Muslims per se. Any group of people- religious, cultural, social, (or) however you want to define them), have no substance to their thoughts they begin to make up for that by speaking a lot. Have you ever looked around and paid close attention to the fact that many times you will encounter speakers who'll talk and talk and talk and say nothing! This almost defines and describes our preachers, our khutaba', people who put into positions to lecture or to preach. Compare that with us when we were of substance. We're going to take a few examples here. The Prophet said to an emissary of the tribe of Khaza'a who came to him asking for protection when he was a Mushrik. This person from Khaza'a was a Mushrik. He came to Allah's Prophet and he said I seek your protection. His name was Amr ibn Saalim. The Prophet said to him you are going to be victorious, oh Amr the son of Saalim. It was only a matter of a short time period and Makkah was liberated. The help that this person came for was completed by the liberation of Makkah. There was not much pontificating and all of this sophistry and polemics- nothing! Short words with extensive meanings.

One of the rulers of the Muslims- when Muslims had their act together- sends a letter to the king of the Byzantines. You can look at today's communication- presidents and monarchs and all of these write certain correspondence among themselves- pages! This ruler of the Muslims, (as we said, we had substance to us not when we are close minded), said to him I read your book, meaning your correspondence to me, and the answer to it is what you will see not what you will hear. After that the two Islamic sides' armies interlocked and of course the Byzantines were defeated. Another ruler of the Muslim said, (when we had substance and when we had strength), to his opposite release the Muslim women from detention or else I will approach you by an army which begins with where you are, (which was hundreds of miles away), and ends where I am.

Then there is this chapter of our history, (which of course we are going to have to put in a few words), in Al Andalus, Iberia. The Muslims at one time, (once again, it is attributed to our inability to think), had twenty two divided states in Al Andalus, (i.e.) twenty two Muslim rulers excluded from each other by their own selves. They did this to their own selves. It reminds us of today- the Arab countries are twenty two countries just like they were in Spain, twenty two. Each one of them separate from each other- ruled by Muslims. These were called du'al at tawaif. One of them was called Ishbiliyyah, Seville. It's ruler, whose name was Al Mu'tamid ibn Abbaad. Al Mu'tamid ibn Abbaad, because of our division, had to pay a certain tax out of his budget to king Alfonso the sixth and he did so for many years. At one time this Alfonso the sixth sent a Yahudi minister to Al Mu'tamid ibn Abbaad, the ruler over Ishbiliyyah, to collect the money that is due to Alfonso and along with that he was carrying a message. So this Yahudi minister of Alfonso hands over the correspondence to Al Mu'tamid and he tells him "I'm here to collect what is due and I want something else?" Al Mu'tamid asks him "what do you want? What else?" He said "the Bishops advised Alfonso the sixth to have his wife give birth in the middle of the Masjid in Qurtuba. They tell him because if she gives birth to a son in the middle of that Masjid he will rule over all of the Muslims." Al Mu'tamid, of course, though this is ridiculous and he said "absolutely not." At that point this Yahudi minister- this is the effect of power. They feel like they have power (and) they can say and do whatever they want to- began to use abrasive, inflammatory and fowl words to Al Mu'tamid in his face. At that moment this person Al Mu'tamid forgot the position that he was in. He was like a vassal to Alfonzo the sixth. He forgot all about that and in a fit of anger he ordered "this minister to be executed. Away with him." Of course, Alfonso later on knew what happened so he prepared one of these significant forces and he went to Ishbiliyyah and he surrounded it. He besieged the city. After an extended time Alfonso sends a letter to Al Mu'tamid that is sarcastic. He says in it "I've been disturbed by the flies in your city (or) around your city. I request you to send me a fan so that I can get rid of these flies." Of course, we're not talking about an electric fan, we are talking about a manual one to get rid of these flies. At this point, (remember how divided the Muslims are and all of this)- and once again this is attributed to the social reality in the Muslim world at that time. When they closed their minds these are the results. This is what happens when Muslims refuse to think. It happened in history, (it's) happening today. So Al Mu'tamid wrote to him one line, one sentence (of) not more than ten words. Al Mu'tamid says to Alfonso "if you don't retreat I will send you a fan (or) I'll fan you with Al Murabitin." Of course, saying this today doesn't ring a bell in someone's mind. Al Murabitun were a force in North Africa. At that particular time frame- they had times before that and they had times after that- they were in the opposite camp of the Muslims. They were considered like you would say Hizbullah today. They were a recognized force and when they were mentioned people would tremble because this is a force that means what it says and says what it means; but today who do you speak to? Express these types of things to non-thinking people and they bounce off of their heads! Reality and facts don't penetrate! We have so much minds that are closed?! If you want to speak about today's facts- the criminal who is organizing civil wars in Muslim countries, who used to be an ambassador here in Washington DC- (they say) "Oh how do you speak about something like that?" The Muslim mind is so fragile that breaching this subject becomes anathema whereby it should be common talk of the town (and) the common talk in the Masjid in all congregations and aggregations of Muslims. What's wrong? We can't think! A war criminal wanders among us (and) we can't identify him?! Some news items tell us he was here in the United States he is being treated for a bad back that he has, a disc that he has been suffering from for a long time. Muslims are unable to fix their sights on he who deserves the light to be shed upon him and his crimes.

… so that the course of criminals becomes clear. (Surah Al An'aam verse 55)

How much more is it going to take for this Muslim mind to wake up from its slumber and concentrate on the issues of life and death to understand Allah and His Prophet with their guidance and instructions towards that end.

This khutbah was presented by Imam Muhammad Asi on the occasion of Jum'ah on 24 January 2014 on the sidewalk of Embassy Row in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jum'ah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and /other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige. 

__._,_.___

Reply via web post

Reply to sender

Reply to group

Start a New Topic

Messages in this topic (1)

Visit Your Group

• Privacy • Unsubscribe • Terms of Use

.

__,_._,___