-----Original Message-----
From: Mohammad Farooq <FAROOQM@trxinc.com>
To: nabic-l@globalfront.com <nabic-l@globalfront.com>
Date: Sunday, May 23, 1999 8:11 PM
Subject: The Hostage Islam


Dear Bhai R.,

Assalamu alaikum.

To make the thread more relevant and provoke some additional discussion, I am responding to you under a new thread.

You wrote:

>Your argument against Dr. Mizan is well stated and to the point. But are
>you speaking on behalf of Islam or your self.

I cannot speak on behalf of Islam, only myself. What I have stated is my understanding of Islam. I am especially concerned about those - and there are plenty of them - who want to speak on behalf of Islam, leaving no room for some gap between the truth and their understanding.

>If your understanding of Islamic
>value system is reality in the world of Islam then you are a minority.

I think the issue is not whether I am in minority or majority. Your statement above is somewhat nebulous. Do you mean to say whether the reality in the world of Islam corresponds to or reflect my understanding of Islamic value system? Obviously, it doesn't. So, what should I do? Be aloof, silent and indifferent?

>How would you convey your understanding to the Ulema, lets say Mawlana Mr.
>Omar of Talebaan for example. He had read no less hadith then you have.

I have no way of conveying my understanding to the Ulama, including Mawlana Omar. I believe that targeting the Ulama as your audience might not be essential, practical or relevant. The world is changing around us, not addressing a limited group of specialized core. How about people themselves? We have forgotten that the communication with the Quraish was only a part of what the Prophet Muhammad (s) had to deliver or convey. His message was more universal and also primarily directed to people at large.

Groups representing different political and socio-economic persuation, including NGOs, are successfully developing broad-based, grassroot relationship with the people. We know the reason they succeed to the extent they do; we also know the limitations they have. We are also aware of the constraints and limitations the Ulama and Islamically- oriented groups have.

In one of my earlier postings "Be careful about what you wish" I commented, "The people once rose against the injustice and crimes of the Pakistani hegemony and effectively took them to task. May be what the country needs again is a new people-powered struggle to liberate ourselves from within. A positive future of the nation definitely does not lie with ANY of the existing political parties."

The last sentence above includes existing Islamic groups, such as Jamaate Islami or Islami Oikko Jot in Bangladesh. We don't need to reinvent or redesign Islam, but we do need better understanding of Islam and better articulation. Such articulation will be based on Islamic emphasis on choice as opposed to coercion/imposition. It will put more emphasis on values than rituals.

I want to clarify that Islam places balance and moderation at the core of everything. What we are experiencing as Islam is an extreme, unbalanced emphasis on ritual aspects. That is why I don't know of any other religion that has made seeking knowledge/ education incumbent upon its adherents, inclusive of both men and women, and yet, we have millions of devoted masjid goers, who are comfortable with theirs or their nation's illiteracy. They are willing to give their life over whether Ameen should said aloud and silent, but they are not willing to take up the injunction about learning and education. This is partly because our rituals - prayer, fasting, etc. - are not functionally linked with values in our lives.

It does not matter how many hadith one knows or has read. Someone can read lakhs of hadith and devote entire life being an expert of hadith. Yet, such a person's life may remain untouched by Prophetic teachings. On the other hand, someday, somewhere, someway an ordinary person comes across just one hadith, such as "Allah is Kind and He loves kindness", he assimilates the beauty of just this one hadith in his life, and SubhanAllah, that person's life becomes an embodiment of kindness!

>Recently in Iran they had the first pop concert in celebrating the dawn
> of the new revolution bpught by the pragmatic President Khatami. He
>seems to be a new thought among a yet smaller school of thought within the
>Isalamic world - the Iranian Ulema.

A fundamental problem with reactive approach is that our actions simply becomes "reactions" to the realities in the world. It is no exception in case of music, as it is happening in Iran. When music is introduced because people want it, even though Islam allegedly considers it Haram, then it is awkward. It is reactionary. If what is natural is suppressed, we have to have these "pragmatic" solutions.

>Which one is really Islam?

Let me elaborate a little bit more. Do you think Maulana Maudoodi ever foot-raced, yes raced, his wife (wives)? Imam Khomeini? Hafizzi Hujur? Motiur Rahman Nizami? (I am citing these names at random). How about Imam Malik, Imam Bukhari, Imam Ghazzali? I don't have any definitive information, but I don't think so.

Yet, I know that all of them consider the Prophet (s) as their model, and the Prophet (s) did. Also, it was something that was not a one time event.

Aisha (r) said, I raced with the Prophet (s) and beat him in the race. Later, when I had put on some weight, we raced again and he won. Then he said, 'This cancels that', refering to the previous occasion. [Musnad Ahmad, Vol. 6, #24173]

The Prophet (s) having foot-race with his wife? And, then losing to her? Subhanallah! Our Pacific-deep religious devotion would not allow it, and our Mt. Averest-high pride would have none of such non-sense of losing to one's wife.

Imagine. Did the Prophet (s) and his beloved wife do it in the confine of a 10'-12' hut or tent? They were having little outdoor family fun. Fun? We have made such word abominable in Islam. I won't hesitate to bet my life on this: The Taliban Maulana Omar did not foot-race his wife! Mention this to the most Sunnah-loving Muslims (no pun intended!) of Tabligh Jamaat, whether they have performed this sunnah in their lives.  Why blame them? Did Maulana Maududi do it?

Tell me if in any of the literature of Islamic movement you have come across this hadith? Only a few places where you might see this, such as Yusuf al-Qardawi's The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam (p. 293). You know the tradition of giving Islamic reference. Al-Qardawi simply gave the reference: Abu Daud, Musnad Ahmad. I could not find it in Abu Daud (That does not mean that it is not there). I had to spend considerable time to locate the hadith and I found it in Musnad Ahmad.

Shaikh al-Qardawi brings us centuries ahead. He presents this as permissible. Call it a progress! Sorry, but that is not adequate. Do you think Shaikh al-Qardawi foot-raced his wife to have some outdoor family-fun?

Some might limit the permissibility to only foot-race. The Sunnah-loving people would consider it a requirement to have such foot-race with their wife as a religious duty. The reality is just the opposite and we are not talking about merely foot-racing. The idea is to be creative (inspired from within Islam) to have fun, recreation, entertainment for the family and society. Those who did not foot-race his wife and do not appreciate the importance of family fun and recreation cannot appreciate the challenge we are facing today. In many of these respects, Islam's life-saving and life-enhancing creativity and dynamism is being held hostage not by outsiders, but us - the Muslims.

Which one is really Islam? If you want that question answered in your mind, the answer is already there. If want to me to answer it for you, it is of no value.

Fi amanillah.

Farooq