Current Affairs · AlMaghrib Journals

Earth’s Caretakers: Islam and the Environment

AlMaghrib — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 00:26:41 GMT

[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” column_element_spacing=”default” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” bg_image_animation=”none” border_type=”simple” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid”][vc_column_text]Our planet is at risk. If human beings continue to contribute to the destruction of the earth, the risk of greater harm increases for every generation. As global temperatures rise, oceans warm, ice sheets shrink, glaciers retreat and melt, sea levels rise, and extreme events – hurricanes, tsunamis, flooding, droughts, blizzards, and wildfires – we will continue to see the effects of human agency on the natural world around us.

First, as Muslims we must undoubtedly recognize that the earth and everything upon it is entrusted to us. We are khulafā’ – caretakers and vicegerents – on earth. With our free-will, we hope to pass the test for which we were created and that includes taking good care of the earth and its environment.

Allah ﷻ says

ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ ٱلْمَوْتَ وَٱلْحَيَوٰةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْغَفُورُ

“[He is the One] Who created death and life in order to test you to see who is best in conduct, and He is the All-Mighty, the Ever-Forgiving (Qur’an 67:2).”

Being best in conduct, for us, comes from belief in objective truth coming from God, the supreme source. It also comes from morality that derives from that truth, having integrity and the self-awareness to direct our free will in a way that protects and preserves rather than neglects or violates.

We read in the Qur’an,

وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ إِنِّى جَاعِلٌ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ ٱلدِّمَآءَ وَنَحْنُ نُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدِكَ وَنُقَدِّسُ لَكَ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّىٓ أَعْلَمُ مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ

“And when your Lord said to the angels, ‘I am going to place a vicegerent on earth,’ they said, ‘Will You place in it someone who will spread corruption there and shed blood, while we glorify Your praises and proclaim Your holiness?’ He said, ‘I know what you do not know’” (2:30).

The angels were concerned about a human creature with free-will that would spread corruption in this world, but there is wisdom in the creation of agents with free-will who choose to do good, guided by objective morality, and striving for justice and the fulfillment of rights throughout their lives. Allah (SWT) commands us,

وَلَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلَـٰحِهَا وَٱدْعُوهُ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا ۚ إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ ٱللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِّنَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ

“Do not cause corruption on the earth, after it has been set in order…” (7:56).

Unfortunately, the corruption (fasād) mentioned in this verse is precisely what we see in our lifetimes and have historically observed. The destruction of the environment, evident all around us, in addition to the violating of peoples’ rights, is nothing other than the fasad that Allah warns us to avoid.

Many of the harms we see in the environment are a result of our own actions, and oftentimes Muslims don’t realize the responsibility upon their shoulders in addressing environmentalism from an Islamic paradigm. We are approximately twenty-five percent of the world’s population and we certainly can make a difference in preserving the environment if we truly wanted to. Otherwise, the corruption that spreads in the lands and seas will continue to increase and it will inevitably beget more harm and evil.

ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

“Corruption has spread on land and sea as a result of what people’s hands have done, that He may make them taste a part of what they have done so that they might return [to the Right Path]” (Qur’an 30:41).

According to this verse, corruption has spread because of peoples’ actions, and no doubt corruption requires a reference point and definition, and for believers it is guided by objective morality from the Qur’an and authentic ahadith. If we are to preserve the environment in order to protect the lives of current and future generations, we must decide today to reverse the harm done and to change our practices and lifestyles as necessary.

Allah created this earth for us to live upon it in harmony with nature and other creatures, to live healthy lives for His sake, and to benefit from natural resources in ways that are responsible and sustainable. While not all Muslims live in countries with excessive fossil fuel usage, many Muslims live in nation-states today where society generally promotes wasteful lifestyles, oftentimes in ways that are excessive and harmful to the environment. Furthermore, many oil-rich nations should focus on investments in sustainable energy industries rather than commit solely to oil production.

What Part Can Every Muslim Play?

وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ

First, do not waste resources. “…Do not waste, for Allah does not like the wasteful” (Qur’an 6:141).

While conservation has many facets, the very least every Muslim can commit to is to avoid wasting within their own homes and environments. Wastefulness includes disposing of a significant amount of food that could have benefited others, using packaging and material that harms the environment and remains for years in the oceans, and engaging in an excessive form of hyper-consumerism that is indulgent, extravagant, and neglectful of using income and wealth to help others.

One day, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ passed by a companion, Sa’d, while he was performing ablution (wudu). The Prophet said, “What is this excess?” Sa’d said, “Is there excess with water in ablution?” The Prophet said, “Yes, even if you were on the banks of a flowing river” (Sunan ibn Mājah). Waste of food and water is unfortunately common in many households, Muslims included, and yet the first people who should be implementing the command of conservation should be the believers. Allah commands us:

۞ يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وَكُلُوا۟ وَٱشْرَبُوا۟ وَلَا تُسْرِفُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُسْرِفِينَ

“O Children of Adam! Dress well whenever you are at worship. Eat and drink, but do not waste. Surely He does not like the wasteful” (7:31).

Second, emphasize the importance of trees.

One of the greatest continuous charities is that of planting a tree. It is known from numerous authentic narrations that planting a tree is a virtuous deed for a number of reasons. Trees provide continuous benefit to those who utilize their resources for many generations thereafter, from the shade provided to a traveler on a hot day to the edible resources for both humans and animals, as well as the oxygen we benefit from locally and globally. In fact, the believer is likened in some authentic narrations (Bukhari) to a palm tree, for reasons such as their spreading of fruits (good deeds) to others, their roots being deep (beliefs and principles), and their continuous benefit year after year. This is the utilization of every part of the tree for some kind of benefit for people, animals, or the environment. Similarly, every part of the believer – their tongue, their eyes, their hands – does good and spreads good.

Third, recognize the nations of animals as communities.

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَـٰٓئِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّآ أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُم ۚ مَّا فَرَّطْنَا فِى ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ مِن شَىْءٍ ۚ ثُمَّ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ

“And there is no animal on the earth nor bird that flies on its wings but that are communities like you. Nothing have We left out of the Book. Then to their Lord they will be gathered (Qur’an 6:38).

These communities live according to a divine ordering and measure, with a necessary ecological harmony, for purposes and wisdoms we may not always fully understand. What we do understand is that unnecessary deforestation and irresponsible capitalistic lifestyles that encourage hyper-consumerism and waste contradict Islamic ethics about human behavior and protection of the environment.

Fourth, strive to implement change at all levels. Having started on the individual level, we can expand our scope of action in a number of ways, including the following suggestions:

Discuss actions you can take with your family within your home. If you live alone, write out some suggestions for yourself and begin implementing your plans, and consider reaching out to a friend or group of friends to help one another with implementation strategies.
Keep in mind the impact of voting for candidates who care about the preservation of the environment as one of their declared values and priorities.
Reach out to local organizations such as your Islamic Center and ask what measures are in place to prevent waste and environmental harm. If nothing is in place, offer suggestions, guidelines, and resources that may incentivize the organization and its members to become more active regarding the environment.
Share with others what you learn about protecting the earth and the environment.

Finally, we should keep the remembrance of Allah ﷻ always in our minds, hearts, and on our tongues. We should seek His guidance, accept responsibility for vicegerency on the earth, and pray that our actions are continuously rewarded by Him.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Can School Students Be Exempt From Fasting Due To Exams?

AlMaghrib — Wed, 11 May 2016 00:00:00 GMT

The subject of Ramadhan and UK school exams has been brewing for a few years now in anticipation of this year’s cohort in May/June 2016, and for the next 5-6 years where the Holy Month of Fasting will occur at the same time as exams and/or revision for those exams.

In January this year, the issue made the headlines as it was announced that UK exam authorities had factored in Ramadan 2016 as much as possible and had attempted to bring forward the main exams with most students to before Ramadhan starting (i.e. before June 6th 2016) in order to minimise any adverse effects that fasting might have on students sitting exams. The usual suspects in the media tried to sensationalise the story as is their wont into the #creepingsharia event of 2016. Rumours that Katie Hopkins would try to swim across the Atlantic Ocean unassisted if such an exam schedule were to go ahead, proved sadly untrue especially as the exam schedule did indeed try to be as fair as possible to all students. However, the authorities were forced by the media to get defensive and fall into PR mode, denying that any major changes had been executed. But deep down, we know they tried to help us out *wink wink*.

What is of far greater concern has been the press release of a guidance paper for schools, parents and students by the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) advising students on matters concerning Ramadhan this year. In it, they consulted a number of British Muslims of different backgrounds who shared various opinions on the matter, some which have been represented and some not in the final draft.

You can read the entire paper here.

As to be expected, there is some useful general background information on Islam and Ramadhan and its spiritual benefits blah blah, and there are even some useful life-saving tips where they advise to give a sip of water to someone who is fasting and is about to faint or die even. On a more serious point, there are good tips on how to help students revise, as well as promoting the allocation of areas for rest and the like during the fasting hours in school, with particular emphasis and rightly so for those girls who might be menstruating. We should thank the ASCL for their concern and help in these matters, we genuinely should.

But there is little doubt about the paper’s real direction. The ASCL is obviously very concerned that fasting in Ramadhan and other acts will lead to poor exam results and thus wishes for young Muslims to try and find a way out of their predicament – frankly the ASCL does a poor job hiding its fears despite its repeated disclaimers that it “cannot be prescriptive” even though they are bursting at the seams to, and that the paper is simple a “positive opportunity for engagement” etc etc when actually…wait, perhaps they got that part right because people are certainly contacting me in their droves requesting me to engage!

I personally, as well as most orthodox Muslim scholars and the laity will find the following statements from the paper for example which address all Muslim students in the most general of terms, to be completely unacceptable:

“Children and families should be informed of the flexibility Islamic law offers to delay or exempt themselves from fasting and late-night prayers if they believe their performance in exams could be affected.”

“Inform pupils of the allowances Islam gives for them to break the fast and make it up later if they feel fasting will in any way jeopardise their performance.”

This last statement in particular is especially galling, incorrect and Islamically invalid. The obligation of seeking knowledge does not trump the obligation of fasting in Ramadhan. And then they claim “in any way jeopardise their performance”!? I can think of a hundred things from Islamic ritual practice that would in some way jeopardise an exam performance, so are they all up for debate too?!

Let me make the following brief points in response to this and the paper in general:

– There is no discussion to be had about students who are sick, or are having to travel for their exams, or girls who are menstruating. Islamic law concerning these issues is well known and fasting is not required from either of these groups, and the missed fasting days are to be made up later, even during cooler shorter days in the year if required.

– Our contention is with the claim that normal, healthy post-pubescent students who are obligated to fast the entire month of Ramadhan from dawn to sunset who feel their exams will be jeopardised are suddenly now able to “postpone fasting and make it up later”. This is completely and utterly false and should be ignored outright. Exams and the like are not legitimate reasons to break the fast. There is consensus on this point between all the schools of Islamic law.

– Fasting generally makes most people hungry, thirsty and tired. That is why it is such a great act of devotion to God and why it is so heavily rewarded by Him and thus so treasured by Muslims. This pillar from the key obligations of Islam clearly involves a certain level of difficulty and sacrifice and will make any normal activity during the month just that little bit more challenging. If it didn’t, where would there be a need for patience and sacrifice? Why would we be so happy when we break the fast and why would the Prophet (peace be upon him) describe that happiness as a divine blessing and a time where one should supplicate and that it would be granted due to the level of sacrifice? How would there be any associated reward if it didn’t make us work and strive harder and discover extra levels of intensity and energy that we never knew we had? So, let us also state that exams could indeed be potentially jeopardised as well as many other activities, but we should expect that and more so we should prepare for it better by taking other means as I shall mention below, and not by suggesting that one can leave their obligatory fast.

– However if a student who is fasting was found to become ill during the day or suffered from thirst to such an extent that they would be physically harmed, then it is not permissible for such a person to be fasting and they must drink and eat (and/or administer medication as appropriate) immediately to stave off the harm. If they recover from the illness or emergency, they must then refrain from food and drink for the remainder of the day until sunset, and then that day’s fast must be made up later. This is the position of the Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi’i school and the main position of the Hanbali school.

– Exams are psychologically stressful and also have a physical toll on the body too with the extra preparation they require. However, they do not belong to those categories of acts or situations which usually allow a person to break their fast for, such as extreme thirst when working in a furnace and one is about to faint, or if one is in the army and is about to engage with the enemy in a very physical and demanding battle.

– It should be also noted than even in the extreme case where one is allowed to break their fast due to the difficulty of the moment such as war etc, then this permission can only be given on an individual basis by a scholar well-versed in the tradition and with knowledge of the situation at hand. Furthermore, it is completely impermissible for an individual to anticipate such a situation from the beginning of dawn and thus not fast, whilst knowing that they will not encounter that extreme situation until many hours later. One is obliged to be fasting from dawn and then break it at the last moment when one now has that legal excuse given to them from a scholar due to their extreme situation. This is the agreed position of all the schools of Islamic law, and is based on the apparent meaning of verse 185 of the second chapter of the Qur’an, as well as the practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he travelled to Makkah during the month of Ramadhan as reported in the traditions of Ibn ‘Abbas and Jabir, may God be pleased with them all, as collected in Sahih Muslim and the Musnad of Imam Ahmad.

– Therefore even if one was to erroneously argue that exams are also a hardship which leads to an exception to fasting, and make an analogy to war or even to travelling, then the only resultant legal concession would be to break the fast during the actual act itself, and not before or after it. Patently, that would be of little value considering that one would really want a “concession” before the exam itself and during the preparation for it. It is clear that the ASCL hasn’t even been able to get this basic Islamic legality right in its mind despite the panel of Muslims it consulted.

– The United Kingdom enjoys a clearly defined day-time period, and a clearly defined night-time period even if in the Summer time the twilight persists and the night is brighter than usual. Because of that, all Muslims in the UK are obligated to fast until sunset however late that might get whether that fast lasts only 9 hours in the Winter time or even 19 hours in the Summer time. The ASCL paper mischievously tries to bring this issue up as well, which probably has more to do with some of the non-orthodox modernist contributors to the paper rather than the ASCL themselves.

– To illustrate the absurdity of this paper trying to suggest a Muslim doesn’t need to fast the next day or week because of exams whilst they revise and prepare during the critical moments, reflect on this: the biggest barrier during the Summer time to one’s normative work or exams even to use this current example, will be a lack of sleep. If you were to ask 1000 students at 11pm after they had just had a significant, healthy, energy-packed meal, “What would you prefer for optimum preparation for tomorrow’s exam? That you have to wake up again in a few hours for the Fajr dawn prayer, and then later you are allowed to have breakfast at 8am and a drink later on during the exam, or instead a full night’s sleep without waking up for any Fajr dawn prayer at 4am and thus wake up in time for the exam and sit the exam hungry with no drink but fully rested?” I think you would find many more choosing the rest and extra sleep over the food. So does that mean that the ASCL will now be releasing a paper telling all its students that they don’t need to offer the Fajr dawn prayer on any morning of the Summer that will effect studies and exams that day?

– There is also a fundamental difference in the way Muslims and non-Muslims will approach this issue. Certain difficult acts of worship bring their own benefits, especially in the spiritual realm. We all enjoy the fruits of empiricism in this country but Muslims recognise the limitations of empiricism too. We embrace the concept of “blessings”, something which will never be able to be explained empirically. We believe that through greater time with the Qur’an spent reflecting and acting upon it, that time itself will be extended and will become in the control of the beholder as opposed to the other way round. This is the very definition of blessing: that we take more out of the time, the item, the subject, the moment, the capacity, the level, the energy limit, than what normally seems possible! That is why so many people will not have any issue at all in their exams during Ramadhan, and indeed some will perform even better (!) and perhaps if we find that some students are having difficulties and they haven’t taken sensible rest precautions (as explained in my next point) then perhaps they need to actually revisit how they are fasting Ramadhan itself and their character and behaviour therein. It is not uncommon that those who fast still fail to exhibit the signs of extra blessings and actually lose out because of their poor spiritual presence and integrity during the fast; this is why the Prophet (peace be upon him) described such people as just earning hunger and thirst from their fast, and not much else. No wonder they’d have difficulties during their exams!

– What we perhaps can focus on to help our students is to clearly identify those extra acts of worship which are popular during Ramadhan and see what can be rearranged to ensure more time for revision, and more time for recuperation. So for example and using the experience of my own children and their studies:

(a) They should be focusing a lot on the Qur’an before the month of Ramadhan so that there is less pressure during the actual month itself to catch up on a year’s worth of reading and reflecting when they didn’t do enough, something which is unfortunately very common in Muslim households. In fact, I am comfortable for those households that regularly read the Qur’an with their children, to reduce it down significantly in Ramadhan to just ten minutes a day during final exams time etc. And indeed those who do regularly read the Qur’an outside of Ramadhan, will find it easy to fit the Qur’an in daily during the Holy Month with absolutely no effect on revision schedules.

(b) Likewise if more of the Qur’an is reviewed and studied outside of Ramadhan, it makes the Tarawih prayer in the mosque – the nightly congregational prayer during the nights of Ramadhan where a portion of the Qur’an is recited – less vital to attend. I am in absolutely no doubt whatsoever just how blessed and spiritually necessary it is to witness these gatherings and to reflect upon the Qur’an therein and the great rewards on offer for full attendance, but at the same time there is a consensus on the fact that this is not an obligatory act of worship and so if we are not going to exercise this legal concession at a time of need like now, then when are we going to exercise it?! Therefore, I think it is reasonable that young Muslims sitting their exams need not attend every Tarawih prayer of the week itself and perhaps avail of the opportunity on the weekends and the odd day here and there, using the extra time saved to rest properly (and not to cheat or blag their parents and spend the time playing games instead!)

(c) I like the idea that students go to sleep immediately on their return from school seeing as the next ‘Asr afternoon prayer is still a good few hours away. That allows one to gain extra rest and then wake up for ‘Asr and revise with a fresh mind, as well as making up for any sleep deprivation due to the late ‘Isha time and any possible Tarawih or Fajr prayers offered in congregation and then the early start the next morning. It is also important for parents to cut out any extra studies and activities during Ramadhan especially during Summer time such as regular Arabic lessons or other hobbies and game playing etc so as to maximise time for rest and study. Also, on an individual case-by-case basis, I deem it permissible for young students at home who need to get an early night due to not getting enough sleep, to combine the Maghrib and ‘Isha prayers at home by themselves due to the need and the ijtihad nature of the constant twilight during this time period anyway. I do not hold this to be acceptable in the Mosques for the entire congregation during the Summer, but for individuals at home with a specific need then that it is permissible from time to time.

In summary, whilst we appreciate the general advice from the ACSL for students studying for exams in the Summer whilst fasting, it is not permissible to plan to miss fasts because of these exams.

And Allah knows best.

The Islamic Ruling on E-Cigarettes, Vaping and Synthetic Marijuana

AlMaghrib — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT

If our heads weren’t hurting enough over the Islamic debate on whether smoking cigarettes is makrūh, harām or death itself, along comes another pain in the backside: e-cigarettes.

The modern e-cigarette comes in a few different forms such as an e-pen, e-pipe, e-hookah etc and are known collectively as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). They are basically vaporisers, devices that allow users to inhale an aerosol (vapour) containing nicotine or other substances. They are battery-operated and use a heating element to heat e-liquid from a refillable cartridge, releasing a chemical-filled aerosol.

The idea here is that smoking normal cigarettes are super-harmful because of the effects of smoking tobacco, tar and thousands of other carcinogens on our bodies and lungs in particular all in order to get a shot of the addictive drug nicotine.

So what if we can get you your shot of nicotine but without having to burn tobacco and all the nasty stuff, surely that is better right? And so “vaping” is all the rage: here we get nicotine in an e-liquid form (and sometimes flavoured to reel in the kids) and inhale its vapour through this device. Almost like an artificial cigarette but instead it is meant to be “safe and clean”.

To make things worse, it’s not just smoking which is undergoing an artificial revolution. Drug laws have always made it difficult for people to get hold of marijuana and smoke weed and get high and stoned out of their heads. Naturally, the effects of smoking weed come with very similar harms to that of smoking a cigarette.

So what if we can get you your shot of weed but without having to smoke it or fall foul of the drug laws etc, surely that is better right? And so “vaping” – not with nicotine e-liquid – but with c-liquid is now spreading: here we get a synthetic cannabinoid (an artificial, manufactured product which mimics the psychotropic active ingredient in cannabis) in an e-liquid form and inhale its vapour through this device. Almost like an artificial joint but instead it is meant to be “safe and clean”.

Lā ilāha illallāh.

We are now not just faced with the issue of whether using e-cigarettes in their original form is permissible or not, but also the worrying development of people – especially the youth – using novel concoctions such as synthetic cannabis which effectively gives you weed through vaping in what might seem a “clean and pure” way and not get you thrown in prison either. I want to concentrate on this latter issue more but let me put the first one to bed.

E-Cigarettes

The mass majority of scholars and fiqh councils consider the smoking, manufacturing and supplying of cigarettes to be impermissible. This position of ḥarām should be the public stated ruling of the Muslims in order to push people away from cigarettes which is something harmful to the body, something repulsive in its effect on appearance and smell, and something displeasing to Allah jalla wa ‘alā. This ruling also applies to shisha and hookah which are very common in Muslim gatherings, despite popular belief to the contrary. Shisha is actually at least ten times more harmful than just smoking cigarettes and even more clearly impermissible.

There should be no doubt whatsoever about promoting these legal positions to the masses.

However e-cigarettes have been deemed to be less harmful than normal cigarettes because of the lack of tobacco and the reduction of carcinogens. This is undoubtedly true and thus some Health Authorities consider “vaping” a safer alternative. However, from an Islamic point of view, “safer” as a word and a concept needs further investigation.

It is safer to jump out of a window five stories high, than jumping out of a window twenty stories high. That doesn’t make it safe to jump out of a window.

The nicotine inhaled from an e-cigarette is still the original nicotine drug found in a cigarette, a drug which is addictive, a poison in large quantities, cell-damaging in small quantities including apoptosis, necrosis and DNA splitting, and thought by some to cause cancer and real damage to the body. This is the harm which renders the intake of nicotine to be impermissible regardless of whether that intake is via a cigarette, cigar, shisha pipe, vaping on a e-cigarette or anything else, as the Prophet ﷺ said, “Let there be no harm or any reciprocation of harm.”

Also, the wider ingredients that make up a typical solution which is vaporised in an e-cigarette are also problematic. Although not as many as in normal “smoked” tobacco cigarettes, there are a number of other carcinogenic components in e-cigarette vapour – some identified such as formaldehyde and diacetyl, some not – which cause harm to the body, and in particular to cells and their DNA. A number of countries continue to ban e-cigarettes due to the evidence body that is building against them showing their real harm.

As for the social impact: statistics show more and more school children getting involved with e-cigarettes (my own 13 year old in a decent public school tells me that it is rife in his year). Mitch Zeller of the FDA, the body responsible for drugs and medicines regulation in the USA, says, “The striking increase in middle school and high school use of e-cigarettes . . . is really a public health emergency.”

Moreover, the respected journal JAMA Pediatrics published a study which shows that one is four times more likely to start smoking normal cigarettes after using e-cigarettes, than not using e-cigarettes at all. And even if they don’t move onto cigarettes, every puff of “pure” nicotine that is inhaled via one of these devices is causing untold damage. Zeller continues, “I can say definitively that nicotine is harmful to the developing teenage brain. And no teenager, no young person, should be using any tobacco or nicotine-containing products.”

After a good few years of decreasing cigarette use amongst teens, we are starting to reverse all that good work by ignoring the danger behind the “innocence” of vaping.

Therefore, it is impermissible to use e-cigarettes because of their harmful nature, and in addition they also break the fast due to the ingestion of nicotine as well as the manner of its ingestion, identical to the rulings applied to normal cigarettes.

It should be noted that vaporiser devices also take non-nicotine e-liquids of different flavours and aromas which can be “vaped”, being marketed as a shisha-esque cool alternative. However, the presence of carcinogens in the vapour which is inhaled – regardless of the presence of nicotine or not – has proved to be damaging to cell development and one cannot rely on the safety of the different concoctions on the market. At the very least, all of these products should be avoided to safeguard one’s deen from its doubtful legal nature, to protect one’s health from the clear threat of carcinogens, and last but not least to protect one’s honour from the rightful shame associated with such pathetic and weak behaviour which is more the wont of the people of Shaytān than the people of Allah.

The Use Of E-Cigarettes In Nicotine Addiction

If one cannot overcome his/her smoking addiction after trying and failing with every other possible means, I hold it to be permissible for such a person to move to e-cigarettes as part of a program that will titrate the smoker downwards and off smoking, and then vaping too, altogether. Despite the harm of vaping, it is not as dangerous as smoking, and will become the lesser of the two evils performed due to the necessity of addiction. This is of course for a limited time only as a course of treatment, and not a fatwa for continued use of vaping/e-cigarettes. And Allah knows best.

The Use Of “Marijuana E-Liquid” In E-Cigarettes

If cannabis didn’t have enough slang synonyms as it is, here’s another one: “marijuana e-liquid” or more commonly known as “c-liquid”. What is the ruling of using this liquid in a vape device and thus avoiding all the dangers of physically smoking it as dry weed/skunk etc?

The main psychotropic ingredient of cannabis is a compound called tetrahydrocannabinol or better known as THC, and is what gives cannabis/marijuana/weed its intoxicating and thus impermissible effect.

Due to drug laws making it difficult to work with naturally occurring cannabis, as well as the undoubted harmful effects of inhaling the smoke which is produced when weed is smoked in a joint/cigarette, people started to focus on a product free from the above restrictions by creating compounds synthetically which mimic the action of THC.

They eventually created cannabinoid compounds which they called “synthetic marijuana” which act on the same cell receptors as those affected by the THC in all-natural marijuana. That means they create more or less the same feeling of intoxication, altered perception, relaxation, euphoria, “being high” and “stoned” as one finds with normal smoked cannabis/weed.

The synthetic marijuana was then either smoked directly, or turned into a spray which was sprayed onto natural herbs that were smoked, or in current times, turned into an e-liquid so that it could be vaporised and vaped in an e-cigarette device. The use of this “c-liquid” is rocketing amongst young people especially due to its perceived cleanness, legality (it’s not technically cannabis), and cool status.

Again, similar to the case of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, the ruling which will apply to marijuana will apply to synthetic versions as well. This is without taking into consideration the harms of the associated carcinogens which are inhaled along with the marijuana vapour, which would be enough to bring doubt to the whole issue. So what is that ruling on marijuana?

The General Ruling On Cannabis/Marijuana

Cannabis – also known by its other colourful slang names of spliff, marijuana, ganja, weed, hash, skunk etc – was used initially as a food product thousands of years ago and then later for other uses. It is well known across the Muslim world in all of its slightly different forms; whether we call it charas/qinnab (Indian hemp), hashīsh, banjj, and so on, they are all either solid resin, liquid, or herbal forms of cannabis plants, either purified, or slightly mixed with other compounds.

As a recreational drug, it is completely impermissible to use marijuana by consensus of the scholars. Those ignorant of usūl’l-fiqh have sometimes argued that there is no single ḥadīth or Qur’ānic verse which prohibits drugs like marijuana. Not only is this not true, but Islamic law is also dependent on the use of qiyās or the tool of analogy. As Allah has prohibited alcohol consumption for its intoxicating effect, anything which similarly intoxicates is also impermissible. It is for this reason that the Ummah has unanimously held the impermissibility of drugs such as cannabis.

Ibn Taymiyyah said in Majmū‘ al-Fatāwa (34/206):

“Hashīsh is one of those things which Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have prohibited from the categories of alcohol and intoxicants – in name and meaning – and the aḥādīth on the matter are many. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ with his pithy speech has referred to every single substance which impairs the ability to think and intoxicates, and he did not differentiate between the forms they may take or whether they are eaten or drunk.

As for the one who claims there is no āyah or ḥadīth concerning these forms, then that is from his ignorance. The Qur’ān and Ḥadīth use comprehensive words, and establish general principles and rules that cover all matters under it. All of these products are mentioned in the Qur’ān and Ḥadīth using their general name because it wouldn’t be possible to mention all their many individual names.

So just like Allah sent Muḥammad ﷺ to all of the creation, He said, “Say [O Muhammad], ‘People, I am the Messenger of Allah to you all’” (7:158) and He said, “We have sent you [O Prophet] only to bring good news and warning to all people” (34:28) and He said, “Exalted is He who has sent the Differentiator down to His servant so that it may be a warning to all people” (25:1) and He said “It was only as a mercy that We sent you [O Prophet] to all people” (21:108).

The word “people” and “‘ālamīn” include the Arabs, the Persians, the Romans, the Indians, the Berbers etc. If someone said “Muḥammad was not sent to the Turks, the Indians and Berbers because Allah did not mention them in the Qur’ān” then he is an ignoramous, similar to if someone said that he was not sent to the tribes of Bani Tamīm, or Bani Asad, or Bani Ghaṭafān and any other tribes. Allah did not name these tribes by their specific names!”

This is not the place to go through all the evidences that establish the impermissibility of cannabis and intoxicants like it – perhaps another time – but the consensus on hashīsh’s forbidden nature is clear.

Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbali commenting on the statement of the Prophet ﷺ in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim that, “Every intoxicant is a khamr, and every khamr is forbidden,” said:

“An intoxicant brings about pleasure and joy…a group of the scholars said, “This doesn’t matter whether it is a solid or a liquid, whether it is eaten or drunk, whether it comes from a seed or a date or from milk or whatever.” That is why ḥashīsh resin made from the leaves of the cannabis plant was included as well as other substances which are consumed, because of the pleasure they induce and because of their intoxicating effect.” (Jāmi‘ al-‘Ulūm wal-Ḥikam, 2/464).

Ibn Ḥajr and al-Nawawi confirmed the same ruling as in al-Fatḥ al-Bāri, 10/47.

For those who just think that cannabis is prohibited due to its intoxicating effect should also be aware of its many health risks. Apart from the obvious short-term dangers related to being intoxicated such as driving and other mechanical tasks, and of course the inability to make dhikr and perform obligatory prayers, there are long term risks too. Fertility can be affected, carcinogens in the smoke can cause all the problems mentioned earlier, but worst of all are its links to developing a number of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia etc. Indeed, many cases presented to Muslim faith healers (for ruqyah) as jinn possession or black magic, are nothing more than drug use such as cannabis, something which I have personally witnessed a number of times.

The Ruling On Marijuana E-Liquid

The ruling on recreational use of c-liquid or any form of cannabis product, whether natural or synthetic cannabinoid, solid or liquid, smoke or vapour, is the same. They are all completely impermissible in Islam.

Islamic law does not look to the form of the substance, but to its impact and effect. As we have established above, once a substance has an intoxicating effect then it becomes forbidden to ingest it in any form, and in any amount, despite any argument that small amounts will not intoxicate. The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whatever intoxicates in large quantities, a little of it is also harām.” (Tirmidhi, 1865)

C-Liquid and other forms of marijuana e-liquid to be vaporised and inhaled, all aim to create a euphoric and intoxicating effect on the user, and this must be avoided at all costs.

Summary

– smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products is forbidden

– “vaping” or inhaling vapour from an e-cigarette with nicotine in it, is forbidden

– smoking and ingesting marijuana and cannabis products is forbidden

– vaping “marijuana” synthetic cannabinoid e-liquid is forbidden

– vaping substances which have no nicotine or marijuana, should be avoided

And Allah knows best.

Are You Being Tricked, A Treat? Halloween In Islam.

AlMaghrib — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT

That title is cleverer than you actually thought by the way. The pause at the comma is obligatory. The inflexion applied to the last two words in the same sentence is a must. The understanding of “Treat” to mean “very well” or “significantly” is essential. After all that is done, this entire article is encapsulated by that first sentence. But you guys already worked that out right?

Anyway.

So a friend of mine asked me, “What do I tell my kids about Halloween in Islam?”

To which I responded, “I haven’t got a clue!”

“But you teach classes on raising kids!”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I like them or understand them or know how to turn Halloween into a halal bedtime story!”

After that shocking admission, let me also admit that I have no idea how to explain to a Halloween-obsessed world full of adults let alone kids why you would have to be absolutely stark raving bonkers as a Muslim to either celebrate it, or partake in it, or think it is something nice and simple.

As you can imagine, any scholar trying to educate Muslims about Halloween is going to come in for a hiding to nothing. People have changed. Muslims don’t have that same self-respect that they were so well-known for. As a community, we have become far more liberal than we ever should have, an understandable reaction to the increase in folks going the other way: radical extremism. But an unprecedented level of feeling inferior to others – especially the wider society that we are part of in the West – means that our new found liberalism leads to us often going to great lengths to find excuses for things, to wash away facts, paper over the cracks and ignore matters which go against the very root of the Qur’an and Sunnah that we stand for.

If you were to try and explain the Islamic ruling on Halloween, the only thing people read is: “this guy wants to say kids going Trick or Treating for sweets is haram lol” – and therein lies the problem. Are we even mature enough as a community to discuss things like this? Are you willing to question those things you considered to be so innocent and innocuous, and put yourself in awkward positions trying to explain a different perspective to your kids, or neighbours, or colleagues?

Let us rewind a little so that I can mention a few things about Halloween:

There are enough historical and religious facts about the origins of Halloween to shock even the most sceptic of academics, and keep even the most talented of scholars busy.
Halloween is a Pagan festival, originating in Samhain. Those who denied this, said it has purely Christian roots. Note: that doesn’t make it much better.
At its core, Halloween’s rituals involve the warding off of demons, devils and anything else evil you can draw at school.
The concept of “Trick or Treating” today, is a later addition and doesn’t necessarily have a Pagan or religious origin per se.

I think pretty much everyone knows these few things about Halloween, or has seen a lecture or two somewhere about the same. It leads virtually all Imams to rule that concerning Halloween, the partaking in, or celebration thereof, or the preparation for, is all impermissible and contradictory to Islamic principles. I have no problem adding my voice to that, with a few caveats which I might mention later, but I think there is something of greater value here to explore.

See, from a scholarly angle, the ruling on the celebrating of Halloween is a far more complex issue than meets the eye, and requires a very detailed and holistic study of some of the following questions:

For a celebration to be considered impermissible, does it have to be religious in nature or is it sufficient to be anything which is celebrated or remembered regularly as the word ‘Eid in the hadith suggests? And what would be the dhawābit or parameters of “regular”?
Those celebrations or festivals which are religious in nature, with specific reasons: if their reasons for celebration change, does the ruling also change?
If so, how would we measure that there has been enough of a change in perception or reasoning behind a celebration? To what measure is ‘urf the decider, and what if there are outliers in that ‘urf which would suggest the exact opposite. For example, if all kids on the planet see Halloween as a chance to get free sweets, but a small minority practice their modern version of Satanism and other Pagan rituals on that night, who is given priority from an usūl point of view, and what is the evidence? And what if a majority in terms of numbers see a festival such as Christmas to be a national Capatilist holiday, yet the media market it as a religious one? Who is given the greater weight in determining the change in perception, for the sake of the Islamic ruling on the issue?
How actually important is one’s intention in these matters? Can one’s intention to partake in something impermissible, for the sake of not looking out of place or awkward in a neighbourhood, ever overcome the apparent ruling on the matter?
What are the dhawābit for the concept of “celebration”? Do greetings and words carry the full connotation of celebration? Is it actions which are to be taken into account?
Is there still a place to try and solve these issues from an usūl perspective as opposed to just using a more lazy approach and citing dharūrah and fatwas (i.e. for the “sake of necessity”) associated with that? Or seeing ourselves in a paradigm of fiqh al-aqalliyyāt or “laws pertaining to a minority living amongst a non-Muslim majority”, or interacting with non-Muslims who are not mukhātab bi’l-furū’ and thus don’t come under Islamic rules and allow our full interaction with them on that basis.

These are reflections that might need their own research paper for each question! And this is why I always told my students that it won’t be a Faqīh who will solve this issue for us, but an Usūli, someone who can work with the principles of jurisprudence in a very comfortable and deep way to help us understand the mechanics at hand. The more you study these questions, the more you realise that modern day scholars largely skirt around the detail concerning them, because not only is there no consensus, but there is actually little agreement and scant evidence.

I often discuss this issue with my colleagues and we all admit that it requires further study and tahqīq, and it is for that reason why we will leave these for now, and just stick to an almost second-rate approach to fiqh and temporarily judge by what it looks like from the outside, in order to give the Muslims general guidance in the short-term.

So when it comes to Halloween, you’d have to be blind to not see that “outside” looking pretty crazy. People celebrating magic, the dark arts, dressing up as everything evil and celebrating the macabre and death itself etc etc.

But sometimes, it’s not even necessary to have to study a particular issue in detail such as what Halloween is, or was, or what it entails, or what it will lead to etc. Sometimes, if you have the right glasses on, you can step back and survey the field, and see a potential, more insidious danger for future (and this?) Muslims generations.

Reflect on this: how did we allow evil to become so sweet? Naughty but nice, right? Think of all the adverts: the devil either comes across as a charming, lovable rogue, or something so horrific and plastic, that it can only be a fake latex mask. Meaning: we’ve allowed evil to hide its identity very efficiently, and that cannot bode well. It’s either too nice to hate, or too crazy to be real.

“So what??” you might say. “Shall we ban Harry Potter movies now and stop kids watching Dynamo and not take opportunity of the cheap price of chocolate this week LOL??” you might argue.

Well, I don’t know. I will tell you something though: when I watch the eyes of children as they watch magic spells being cast by Harry, and then later hear them speaking amongst themselves about how they will summon the power of the xyz to do blah blah blah (fill in the gaps as you wish), it does make me wonder. When I see kids talking about Dynamo as a hero, I think to myself that if Shaytan offered these children the same power as Dynamo, would they take it, or would they feel enough fear to reject it outright without hesitation? At what point does child’s play, become a semi-belief taken into adulthood, and then left to linger as it mixes in your heart with pure iman?

If you are a believer, you should take those last few sentences above very, very seriously. Muslims believe in the Dark Side. And it is kufr to summon that Dark Side. This isn’t a joke or a movie trailer. This is Qur’anic and Prophetic fact and teaching.

So when I hear of Muslims – yes Muslims – amongst so many others, dabbling in Ouija boards and trying their hand at the dark arts, I wonder what was the role of the modern day movie culture in all that? What is the role of Halloween in that, if any? What is the role of celebrating escapism of this dunya in those things which are not Jannah-based, but Jahannam based? See, every industry will always rubbish these kind of associations with their product and teachings to protect their brand, but what about when that industry is Capitalism itself? What about when it has a $6 billion Halloween product to lose just in America?

There are many things that if you think upon them deeply, you will realise we have become desensitised to. And when one becomes desensitised, we often fall into it ourselves.

Nudity is the easiest example to think of, both at the observational level and at the level of individual practice as well. Many of us don’t bat an eyelid anymore if we see a near-naked girl walk by. Shock is old hat. Get with the times. But bring someone from the Sālihīn to visit, and they will be literally having a heart-attack on the streets. As for young girls themselves, then psychologically when everyone around you doesn’t cover, then to cover yourself becomes even more difficult. Likewise sexuality. Likewise ethics and values. Likewise evil. And likewise the Devil and all of his realm. The more innocent and natural and fun and normal it all becomes and it is sold as, the more easier it will be for us to fall into his game and no longer take him as the open enemy that Allah commands us to do.

Now you understand why I called this article “Have we been tricked, a treat?” ya‘ni, was it that easy for us as a community to have the wool so blatantly pulled over our eyes when it came to the realities of this dunya and evil and bid‘ah and kufr and its effect on our hearts and iman? But hey, you knew that already.

Reflect also on this: why have we failed to give our children and families and communities, enough reason to enjoy and celebrate good, healthy, pure, innocent reasons to celebrate and have fun? Why do we always have to go looking outside and genetically modify those acts which are anything but pure in their origin or their current reality, and use those instead? What are we saying about ourselves and our identity? Are we that weak and insecure? I don’t mean by this to pursue an isolationist policy within our community, but instead I would love for us to be proud of our own ethical and religious filter which removes those things objectionable to our theology and principles, and yet still live happy, fulfilling, beneficial and patriotic lives in our countries.

I think people give up far too easily on this. I certainly never had a problem living a fully Western and yet Islamic life, and neither should you. I never missed out on being authentically British despite never getting involved one iota in Halloween all my life, and neither will my kids, and neither should you. We sometimes exaggerate the impact of being different and are scared to make a change to the way we live our lives, or even perceive our lives. Well, you shouldn’t be so scared. And yes, sometimes that impact of being different is a significant one and might actually benefit you. In both worlds.

And so, for all those folks who just got bored silly with the last few pages of philosophy and just clicked on this article to read a few do’s and don’ts and get their fatwa, then let me save you all the research that is needed and all the evidences that should be quoted and say in the best of scholarly traditions:

It is not permissible to dress up at Halloween time in those costumes associated with this festival. It is even more haram to dress up as a clown at this time because suicide is not permissible whatsoever.
It is not permissible to intentionally do things different in your normal routine because of Halloween. And if you feel ashamed of what the neighbours will think because you never bought extra sweets to give out to everyone, then just bottle it and don’t open the door. Or go to Blackburn Sharif for a few days. You won’t find any folks knocking for jack diddly squat there…well, other than TJs knocking on for gasht but then we pretend we’re not home when they come anyway so that’s cool.
If one is buying a normal box of chocolates or a latte as per usual, but now it’s Halloween-themed, or pumpkin-spiced, it is permissible for that to be purchased and taken.
It is not permissible to give celebratory greetings for Halloween. If it is coincidentally a national holiday, it is permissible to wish folks a happy holiday or happy break etc.
It should be obligatory upon all parents as a counter to the prevalent culture to use this opportunity and explain to their children the true nature of Shaytan, the Jinn, magical powers, and the entire Dark side, and inculcate in them instead a love for the pure, the human, the limited, the normal, as well as the Angelic realm.
It is impermissible to partake in bonfires as some sort of celebration or event as part of Halloween itself. However if you decide to do a bonfire at the same time for the sole reason of burning rubbish to save on rubbish-tip costs under the cover of the fact that everyone is burning bonfires for Halloween, then not only is that allowed but you Sir are a genius and I would like to shake your hand.
You should not let your children go “Trick of Treating”, neither for social, safety or religious reasons. However, if someone knocks on your door and you’re silly enough to open the door and they ask for a treat, it is permissible to give something. But of course it is better to hide behind the curtains with the lights off and threaten anyone at home with death if they make a single sound.

Okay, maybe not that last one then.

And Allah knows best.

The Only Solution To Domestic Violence…Is You

AlMaghrib — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 00:00:00 GMT

I guess you could react in a number of ways when you see an outrageous photo like this:

sadness, fear and bad memories if you have yourself been a victim of domestic violence
disappointment that I (AE) would use such a photo and article “to make an issue out of something which isn’t common at all”
fury that something which is completely prohibited in Islam happens at the hands of Muslims
shock perhaps because you never thought this even happened
impressed that someone is brave enough to allow themselves to become a public face in a matter so sensitive
angry that one is giving Islamophobes something new to bash Muslims with
irritated that the focus always seems to be on women and no mention of a number of men who suffer domestic abuse as well

I know people will hate it if I was to dictate what your reaction should be or shouldn’t be, but what I certainly will dictate to you is my own experience of dealing with hundreds of cases that have presented themselves to me in the last ten years odd when I settled down permanently in Manchester at my own Masjid.

Firstly, I should say that I’ve had a long history with domestic abuse and violence.

That was the money line or the sensationalised sentence if you like. Unfortunately for my haters, that history isn’t what you were quite hoping. Alhamdulillah I’ve never personally been involved in such an incident and I pray to Allah jalla wa ‘ala that I never will be, ameen.

The “history” that I’m talking about refers to the many desperate women presenting themselves to me because they had nowhere else to turn to; it refers to my efforts to help launch two charities helping such women, including Nour DV in 2010; it refers to my current support of Amirah Foundation which is based in Birmingham and helps so many people; it also refers to domestic violence in my own family, but more on that later.

Secondly, I know I shouldn’t interfere with your reactions to the photo but a few things must be said simply because it would be irresponsible of me to turn a blind eye.

Yes I know that people feel uncomfortable when they see realities like this, which isn’t nice but I tell you what’s even less nice and comfortable: being beaten like this and then being silenced and then to top it off, being ignored by your brothers and sisters too. All because they feel “uncomfortable”.

Also, I know men are suffering the same too. Actually – and I am not exaggerating – but there has been a significant rise in the number of men who have approached me and then after my investigating, I have found very unrepentant and frankly shocking wives who abuse their husbands in ways you would never believe. Seriously, I’m not making this up. And no, not all of those men are immigrants on temporary visas who won’t dare answer back their British-born Red-Passport privileged wives, because you might think that’s understandable and is the stereotype of the female abuser. In a number of cases, the man getting abused and often beaten badly – yes, not exclusively small, weak men – allows this to continue because of their noble refusal to hit a woman, even in self-defence. So they soak up the violence and try to claim the upper path. And they suffer as a result of it.

But it would be folly to try and compare abuse from women, to abuse from men, because the latter is ten times more prevalent if not more. And people (read: Muslims who second guess everyone’s intention) have just got to stop assuming that when a person addresses a subject, it doesn’t mean that every other subject has been downgraded or denigrated. When I highlight the abuse of women, it doesn’t mean that men don’t get abused, and it also doesn’t mean that I have to justify myself or write disclaimers each time when I am dealing with a specific issue. Our community does this all the time: make du‘a for five Muslim countries and it’s “But what about this country?!”, or raise money for one country and it’s “We always knew you were racist!”, or champion the rights of women and it’s “You American sellout, you’re just looking for more female fans!”

The last one makes me laugh the most of course. Female fans and AE don’t work well in the same sentence ya’ni.

Furthermore, on the publishing of such a provocative photo and giving Islamophobes ammunition to shoot our community down more with: well, I’d firstly say that they don’t need much ammunition frankly. We’ve given them the keys to the arms dump many years ago with the way we behave and conduct ourselves in all parts of the world. Once we left Islamic teachings and values, we lost our ability to claim the higher moral ground and can only depend on the charity of good-willed citizens who will stand up and defend us and our rights.

And on the issue of washing our dirty laundry in public: this is a valid point, and we should try and deal with matters ourselves, internally. Agreed. But when that laundry stinks so much that the stench can be smelt all through the neighbourhood, well, then it doesn’t matter what we publish or say or do. They know we Muslims suffer from it, and they know that they’ve got their own problem too. It’s no point me putting up a photo of a badly beaten girl in a bikini because I’m speaking to a Muslim audience, not a wider one. The wider world doesn’t give two hoots what I say, and the Muslim one isn’t far behind in its rejection of my messages, but at least I have a chance with the Muslims. At least if they see a Hijabi as opposed to a non-Muslim, they might actually realise that this does happen to our own women as well, and that it’s not just some problem that “happens to other bad women who live under the influence of the Big Satan in the Wild West”.

It’s our problem too and we have to own it. Especially as we have Scripture which is often misinterpreted to allow the beating of women. That puts an extra onus upon us.

So after saying all that, I do actually have a message I want to give in this article, because whatever anyone believes, we really do have a domestic violence problem within the Muslim community that only we Muslims can sort out and deal with. So let’s see how. Here are my three points:

1. I want to say that I don’t think the problem has got any better by using emotional rhetoric and shock tactics. We told the people a hundred times, “Imagine this happening to your own mother or your own sister, so how can you do it to your wife??!”

We showed them hundreds of videos and images. They expressed shock and outrage. And then they still went back to abusing their wives when they couldn’t control their anger or even after valid grounds for complaint.

But regardless, I’ll say it again just to make it clear: I’ve published a shock photo so look at it and think that this could be your daughter or sister or someone very dear to you. No woman should be seen as someone less because she is not a close relative. And no anger should justify violence, because that violence is a sign that you have failed to solve your problem. And abuse just shows that you can’t handle it either. Which probably means you’ve failed as a man, because men are meant to honour, protect and serve women, not abuse, terrorise and beat them.

2. I want to say that I don’t think the problem has got any better by the scholars stepping up and really taking this battle to the masses by clarifying how anti-Islamic all of this is. One thing that the last decade has really seen is the rise of the English-speaking Western-born speaker/leader who will not let a village mentality and regressive cultural mindset stop him from speaking the truth. They have openly and proactively condemned all abusive practices, revived sacred texts and the alternative ideal, and shown what the true way is.

They told everyone that Allah ‘azza wa jall has said that the believing men and women are protectors of one another, not abusers.

They told everyone that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) never hit a women ever.

They told everyone that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) forbade everyone from hitting the female servants of Allah, leaving any kind of visible mark or bruise or cut or anything.

They told everyone that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that the Believer is not one who curses, or abuses, or lies, or slanders, or physically hurts, or emotionally harms other people.

They told everyone that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said that the best of men were those who were best to their wives.

They told everyone that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) warned women of marrying certain men who had a reputation for violence to their spouses.

They told everyone that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) expressed incredulity that a man could possibly beat his wife and then want to enjoy her love and warmth at the end of the night.

They told everyone, everything and more. All that Islam says and calls for. May Allah bless them for their work. But I don’t think it worked very well.

Why? Because this was never a religious issue frankly. This is a human issue. A human failing.

Domestic abuse is carried out by “name-only” Muslims who don’t practise their religion at all, and also by very practising Muslims with beards and hats and short trousers. That’s because this is an issue with Muslims when it comes to our community; a human failing, not the Divine.

We can tell them all what the Deen says until we are blue in the face. If a person cannot control himself, or thinks that no-one is going to prosecute him, or believes that people will value their “honour” more over going public with the news that their daughter was abused and thus destroying her chances of remarrying etc, then religious exhortation has little effect. And it has had little effect and that’s my observation. Allah knows best.

But regardless, I’ll say it again just to make it clear: it is absolutely haram, haram, haram to abuse anyone in this way that causes so much pain and physical damage. All the best my friend when you choose to meet Allah with this kind of abuse on your neck, and with the abused being free to speak and make their complaint with no more fear about honour or reprisals or culture or reputation or “What about the children?? I’ll keep quiet for their sake!” or any other type of emotional pressure or blackmail. All the best son, all the best.

3. But I’ve already told you that I think we failed when it came to the effectiveness of the above. So we have one last real chance, and to my mind, this is the one that really At two levels. And they both depend…on you.

See, it is you, me, us, who really control the outcomes of this problem. No public awareness program, or poster campaign, or Domestic Violence Month promotion, or quoting of hadith and verses, is ever going to stop abuse if we ourselves don’t decide to become proactive and deal with it ourselves.

And this happens at two levels.

The first is obvious. You need to stop at the end of this paragraph and say to yourself, “I will never, ever hit or abuse or hurt another person except in self-defence or for that which is required from me by duty. Ya Allah help me to fulfil my promise and strengthen me to not become weak, and fail in my manliness when the situation gets out of control.” Ok, so you should be saying that now. Ameen.

The second level though is where things really heat up.

I found that more so than anything else, the only real solution to this ‘ayb on our community – this slur and disgrace – is to boycott and shun those who show signs of it, and worse, actually go ahead and do it.

See, loyalty is a very misunderstood concept when it comes to friends and family. There is this absurd understanding that if someone close to you does something wrong, you should stick by them regardless of the crime. This is absolutely wrong, not least as shown by the statement of the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) to his daughter Fatimah (radhyAllahu ‘anha) that if she was ever to steal something then despite her being his daughter, she would be punished without hesitation.

Compare this to today. Not only do you have friends – and “religious” ones too! – who turn a blind eye to clear and proven abuse – because the perpetrator is “one of the lads” or “a good brother who isn’t like that” etc etc – but you also find even female family members rallying around the perpetrator due to this misplaced loyalty. In many cases, this gives the abuser the moral support and confidence that he is in the right, and that the abused “deserved it”, and moreover it can also act as the green light to others who take the wrong message from it all.

I will not pretend that this is easy. The concept of boycotting someone in Islam is a detailed and restricted tool which is to be used to try and improve a situation and help sinners to reform, and not to completely destroy someone for one big mistake or crime. Its rules and parameters differ on a case-by-case basis, and that makes the entire process a subjective and difficult one to start, maintain and then end.

When exactly do you resume relations? How far does one go in the boycott process? Does it even work?

The answer to the last question is clear: yes it does. There’s no feeling in the world than being shunned and shamed by those who you love and trust implicitly. Sure, bravado and ego might take you forward a week or two, but then you will really feel the pain of isolation and abandonment. And remember, we did this to the perpetrator only after a long process where we advised and censured, openly and without fear or shame. The abuser deserves what it happening to them.

When I look at most cases that I can recall, I found that out of all the ways of trying to solve this problem, it was this that was the most effective but unfortunately, it was this approach that requires the biggest personal sacrifice. No-one wants to boycott or shun their friend or family member, but when they won’t empathise with the “fragile glass vessels” of our community as the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) described them, when they ignore the painful pictures and videos, when they refuse to act upon the verses and narrations condemning them for this crime, then the only thing left is for you to be brave, step up, and call that person out big time. And it will be hard. And it will cost you.

I told you I had history in this area and so to complete that story, this happened to me as well and I don’t mind sharing this in the hope that it achieves some good. A distant but well known family member of mine hit his wife in an argument. The wife was from “outside the family”. My family member and my relatives came to me to try and solve the situation and they were incredibly bitter that I sided with the girl. That’s not to say that the girl didn’t play her own little part in this story and she certainly wasn’t any angel but she never deserved to be treated like that. Ever. And I was not going to accept it. Subhanallah, she was punched in the face. In the face.

The anger from my relatives reached such a level, that I was ostracised from a large portion of the family due to their misplaced loyalty. That was difficult for me for all the natural reasons you can guess, but, hey. Someone had to make a stand amongst all this cultural ignorance and if I had to be that sacrificial bakrah, then yaa Zindabad.

To cut a long story short, they tried to mediate between the couple, and it only got worse, with even more violence. After many years, the family resumed relations with me. I never apologised. They knew they were wrong but they won’t admit it. And the abuser himself I shunned in a very direct way and you could see the impact on him.

It was the same impact it had on a very close friend that I used to have about 12-13 years ago who also started beating his wife. That was extremely difficult to deal with because he was very close to me – I think friends are more difficult than family in some ways and many will agree – but I had to tell him straight that I couldn’t handle or accept this any longer, that I wouldn’t just laugh it off, that I wouldn’t just try and sneak in a few hidden words of advice in a soft way so that it didn’t feel like a proper rebuke, that I wouldn’t turn a blind eye, that I wouldn’t avoid the big moment just because of how incredibly awkward it made me feel, that I wouldn’t let the fact that my voice trembled and my throat was drier than sandpaper stop me. No. I told him straight. And he was shocked. And it worked. But I lost him forever. He can’t look me in the eye anymore and it’s been all those many years.

This approach is not easy like I said. After many years of experience, both being married, and then dealing with community problems, I can tell you that if we were to get involved in every single marital dispute that comes your way, then not only would you go crazy but life would stop. This is something unnatural and reality dictates that people argue all the time and may even say things to hurt one another, but that doesn’t mean we run in gung ho trying to be a hero to save the day. Often, married couple kiss and make up – quite literally. And before someone misquotes me, that wasn’t my attempt to justify beating your wife and then engaging in make-up sex to make it all better. I’m of course referring to non-serious disputes. But how would you know what is serious or not if you are prying into every single argument? Often, non-interference deals with the majority of disputes, even the loud and what seem quite scary ones from the outside. Husband and wife usually know best.

When we were taught the science of Qadha’ – “the giving of judgement between people in their disputes” – our teachers always advised us the importance of discouraging people from our formal intervention, especially in such marital problems cases. Our teachers would say, “They know each other best. They’ll work it out. Trust them. Even if they ask you many times, you should only get involved if you absolutely must.”

Being born in the West, this was difficult to swallow. We live in an age where there are experts and professionals for everything, and when there’s even the slightest whiff of a problem, we run to someone else to help or to fix it. It’s our new accepted culture.

And then when folks do come to see you, our fear of getting it wrong, i.e. by encouraging a couple to keep trying themselves and then things getting far worse leading to potential abuse and violence, is always in the back of your mind. Remember, especially in marriages, the man perhaps more so than the woman, resents the fact that internal household secrets have been exposed to others. This would make sense especially as the man is usually the abuser and the abused woman is always being silenced, even more so when our cultures are taken into account. She is genuinely terrified what will happen to her, her family, her reputation, her children, her immigration status, so many things actually, if she was ever to go public. She sometimes lives in a foreign country, no close family, might end up in a shelter with other women who come from backgrounds of abuse or even crime leading to an environment which is less than ideal.

But if what if there was no abuse or violence between the couple but one of them, again usually the woman who has more to lose here, jumps the gun and gets you involved. Well, usually that only increases the problems and distrust between them. So the main thing to take home here is that these matter are incredibly complex and the masses rarely get that. Single people especially have no idea.

Anyway, 20 years later – wiser? – of being in this game, I only see more and more proof that our scholars were right. Most of the time they do fix it themselves. And our involvement often makes things worse. I was just reading that the famous Shaykh ‘Ali al-Tantawi who presided over 20,000 marital dispute cases, said that 3/4 of those cases ended up peacefully and for the better when no-one external became involved and they decided to sit down and heart to heart it out themselves.

And believe me, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t get involved in all marital disputes because of some religious reason, or because of the famous hadith narrated by Imam Abu Dawud (2/225) that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A man should not be asked about why he beat his wife,” – a weak narration which cannot be used as an evidence and thus is not a statement of the Prophet – but I say this because of our social reality. It is just one of the facts of life that people argue and most of the time, they sort it out themselves. In fact, it is not even permissible for us to stick our noses in these private affairs all the time. For us to do so, there must be compelling reason and evidence.

Yes there are times when we must get involved to protect people, but sometimes, we just need to trust them more as well. But this is an article focusing on when that trust has broken down, and when there is clear and painful abuse and harm being afflicted. The abused needs your help. And it’s going to take your time and huge mental and emotional effort.

Like I said, it’s not going to be easy, but until we all adopt the same attitude of zero tolerance to this kind of abuse, and we sacrifice all our friends and family and great relationships that we have with people, until they realise that hurting and abusing other people is never acceptable, never justified, and never okay…well, things won’t change.

That’s why I say: the only real solution to domestic violence is you.

All the khutbahs and reminders and campaigns and photos in the world will always remain aimed “at someone else” until YOU make it specific and personal to yourself by committing to never do such a crime, and until YOU make your loved ones around you realise that you will never tolerate the same, and that so help you God, if they don’t change then they will hugely regret it afterwards and in the Hereafter.

And Allah knows best.

At The Last Gate

AlMaghrib — Sat, 19 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMT

The war
Took mama’s arm and
three walls of our little blue house.
The journey
Took five chocolate bars and my favourite doll,
And now I see purple blisters on baba’s feet and-at night-
Tear streaks on mama’s cheeks.
On the way we play a game where
each gate is the next level
we have to unlock
And baba says some guards will be meaner
than the others
That on some days there will be no bread and
our shoes might tear
But that’s okay,
It’s all part of the game and
we need to keep our eyes open while walking,
not stopping to smell the yellow flowers
because at the last gate
There is a warm bed, waiting, with soft pillows,
And blankets to cover my shivering legs.
At the last gate we don’t have to beg and
At the last gate we can stop walking and rest
At the last gate mama and baba will smile
And At The Last Gate
I can close my eyes.

A Tale Of Two Text Messages

AlMaghrib — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMT

You wake up to two text messages. The first says, “My beloved father has passed away”, and the second says, “We’ve had a beautiful baby girl!”

Sadness, tears, send condolences. That’s then followed by joy, smiles, send congratulations. Close the phone.

You go to the Masjid. The Imam asks everyone to make du’a for a number of ill people, and then tells you the good news of those folks back in your congregation from travelling abroad.

Concern, make du’a. That’s then followed by relief, giving salams all round. Go back home.

You put on the news. The first item shows hundreds of thousands of your brothers and sisters running for their lives seeking refuge, and the second item shows thousands of happy pilgrims preparing for their Hajj.

Sadness, helplessness, anger, donate, du’as, help in anyway. That’s then followed by happiness, memories, pride, make du’a for them. Close the TV.

You check your email. A school has been destroyed by Israel, another by Western drones in their “war on terror”, another by Muslim terrorists who are scared of education. Then you read of a new fully funded Islamic school being opened in a significant victory for local Muslims in a Western country, as well as a small independent Islamic college successfully achieving its funding target through crowd funding.

Anger, despair. That’s then followed by delight, hope. Close your inbox.

You check your timeline. You see a photo of someone starving eating bark, you see a photo of someone eating delicious cuts of meat in a gourmet restaurant.

Thankful for what we have, grief, guilt. That’s then followed by envy, happiness, satisfaction. Close all social feeds.

This is not a unique day, and this doesn’t happen uniquely happen to me either. This is every day for us, happening to every single one of us. Just another day of conflicting emotions, not knowing when to be sad, when to grieve, when to be happy, being guilty about showing that happiness, wanting to criticise someone for getting it “wrong”, praise others for getting it “right”. And on. And on.

My brothers and sisters, we all live in really difficult times. The global age means we don’t miss any single event or news, and we get to hear about all of them at the very same instant, throwing our hearts and minds into a frenzy.

This can drive people to utter grief leaving them clinically depressed in life. Or it can make people deliriously happy and leave them blind to true reality. Or it can make people extremely angry and it burns and consumes them so that they end up harming themselves and others. Or it can cause such a shock to the heart that it cannot be revived again, apathy setting in, ‘ibadah being seen as pointless and an onset of paralysis which leads to the Dunya and the Akhirah being thrown away.

Absolutely worst of all, it can lead to such a state of confusion that it makes people question God. Their inability to process the onslaught on their senses and feelings, the mixed messages, the opera of opposites, the show of contradictions, the contortions of the mouth smiling upwards and frowning downwards, is just too much. Why? What does it mean? Where is the logic in this narrative? Why the variance?

We have seen people abandon their Deen as some short-term fix to this experience of contradictions. The irony is not lost on us that actually it is only our faith that makes it worth putting up with life as we see and experience it, and only our Deen that brings understanding as to how to balance our delight and our grief, how to realise that things are not as straight forward as they seem and how justice is for the Hereafter and only very rarely for this life we live in.

It is only when you are unbalanced, unstable, not worshiping Allah as He should be, not prioritising your Deen as it should be, that you get thrown off kilter so much so that you actually don’t just fall over, but fall out of your faith.

My message to you: don’t let your emotions get too extreme. Life is both too short, and definitely not worth it. So, don’t cry too much, don’t laugh too much, don’t deprive yourself, don’t drown yourself in indulgence, don’t hate too much, don’t love too much, don’t detest anyone to a huge level, don’t idolise anyone to a huge level, don’t get too sad, and don’t get too happy.

One of the most profound statements in this matter is that of Sayyidina ‘Ali (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) who advised us, “Don’t love your beloved too much, perhaps he will become someone you hate one day. And don’t hate the one you detest too much, perhaps he will become your beloved one day.” (al-Baihaqi, 6596)

Meaning, never let yourself fall into extremes with anyone, or indeed anything you witness or what presents itself on your doorstep. You are usually too emotionally weak to take it all in, and you are certainly intellectually ignorant of understanding the secrets of life and the decision of Allah and His wisdom when it comes to His creation, what it deserves and how it will be rewarded for what it goes through.

Keep balanced. Let things come and go. Let your heart be not too soft, or too hard: keep it solid and yet empathising, like that glass heart Ibn Taymiyyah spoke about.

Do this and you won’t break down every time you get those messages and watch the news and witness extraordinary events. You have still yet to see some real horror in your life, and perhaps experience more of it first hand too. And you are still to really taste some delights in this world, and you have yet to feel more happiness that makes you want to just drift away.

Remember it’s just temporary, just a test, don’t get carried away. As long as you don’t cheat yourself, then just do whatever you can each time according to your ability to help or to celebrate. Don’t let your personal circumstances change what others deserve. If we allow this to become an excuse for inaction, then no-one will ever do anything ever again for anyone, because all of us are in this constantly shifting good day/bad day paradigm. Our excellence to others is never dependent on the news or your mood. It’s dependent on the fact that its independent from all of the above, because it is your responsibility.

Focus on getting through to the End with your mind, heart and emotions balanced and intact, and then get to enjoy “the Hereafter which is better, and more lasting.”

O Allah, make our hearts steadfast upon your Deen.

The Syrian Child

AlMaghrib — Tue, 08 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMT

في الطفل السوري
The Syrian Child

عجِبتُ للبحرِ إذ يُلقيكَ مُنفرِدا … ويرحلُ الموجُ عن جَنْبَيكَ مُبتعِدا
I was amazed at the ocean that left you like that. All alone.
Even the waves have departed far from your side

أخالهُ واجماً من هولِ صدْمَتِهِ … أو لائماً نَفْسَهُ إذ لم يَمُدَّ يدا
I thought perhaps he is in shock at the great grief he has seen
Or perhaps he blames himself for not putting out his hand to help

أو جاء معتذراً مما ألَمَّ بهِ … ويُشهِدُ الأرضَ في قتلاهُ ما قصدا
Or perhaps he was remorseful about what had happened within him
Wanting to establish witnesses on Earth, that he had not intended to kill

كأنه مُشفِقّ أدى رسالتَهُ … يعاتبُ البَرَّ والإنسانَ والبلدا
Like a sincere one just delivering his message
He approached: land, mankind, civilisation

جلبْتَهُ سالماً من قَعْرِ مُظلِمةٍ … ليرقدَ الْيَوْمَ بالشطآنِ مُلتَحِدا
You brought him sound, from the middle of darkness
So he will sleep on the shore, and make it finally to his grave

احْفَظْهُ يا بَرُّ فالأجيالُ قادمةٌ … كيما ترى بائعَ الأوطانِ ما حَصَدا
Please, land, protect this body for the generations to come
So that those who sold their nations will see what they have harvested

حتى يكونَ على الأيامِ ملحمةً … تُردِدُ الأمُّ فحواها ومن وَلَدا
So that it will be the story of our time
repeated for ever, by all mothers, and fathers likewise

ولا أُراهُ إذا زاروه يرمقهم … فما رأى سائلاً منهم ولا مدَدا
Don’t think that when the people visit him, that he will even look at them
For he never heard them asking about him before, or giving him any support

أكبَّ للأرضِ حيث الأمُّ قد فُقِدَت … وأطرقَ الطَّرفَ إغضاءً لِما شَهِدا
So he placed his face on the Earth, looking out to where he lost his mother
And he has not looked at anyone else, out of shame as to what he has seen

كي لا يَرَى باكياً منهم إذا قدِموا … فدمعُهم كاذبٌ لا شكَّ إن وُجِدا
Let no-one cry about him as they come
Their tears are a lie, no doubt, if they even exist at all

وما عسى دمعُهم يوماً سينفعُه … إذا دَعَتْهُ جنانُ الخلدِ لو وَفَدا
What kind of benefit will their tears have for him anyway
When the Eternal Heavens call him, when he goes to it

لا باركَ اللهُ في الأشرارِ قاطبةً … وأنجز اللهُ في بشارَ ما وعدا
May Allah never bless the evil people, all of them
And may Allah see out His threat against Bashar as promised

Our Deceased Are More Than Just Corpses

AlMaghrib — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 00:00:00 GMT

I feel reluctant to be talking about fiqh and adab and sensitivity issues when we have such a tragic backdrop of the deaths of hundreds of thousands on land and sea fleeing from al-Assad and the Syrian Regime. Our thoughts should be focused on overcoming the pain of the graphic photos and videos and instead looking to help support refugee charities and creating political pressure upon the criminals who have allowed this to happen, but we shall probably see instead a glut of comments on how we shouldn’t share photos of the dead instead.

And here I am with my comment saying the same too. And it doesn’t make me feel any better explaining myself either. Or writing clever little lines of poetry describing the tragedy as some sort of ointment for my grieving soul.

But ultimately, there are many who have died and many more that shall die. And whilst we try to save as many as we can in whatever way possible, it is important to save our souls and hearts too. And to know what our Islamic sensitivities tell us to do as well.

Death is inevitable, especially in these impossible situations that are blighting Third World countries yet caused by the political games of the Developed World.

But the inevitability of death should never justify the spreading of despair. And that is what these photos and videos do: inculcate the most heavy and painful feelings of dread, sadness and helplessness that only serves to harm people as opposed to bring actual, real benefit.

If there was benefit in being shocked by the dead, or being outraged by loss of life in all the insane ways we witness today, the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would have indicated it so.

However, he did the exact opposite. Never did anyone die except that the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) would rush to have the body covered, often by any means necessary. So if cloth was unavailable, then even plants would have to do. Anything. Everything. Whatever it takes to protect the honour of the dead, to preserve the sanctity of those who are intrinsically sanctified: Bani Adam or “humans” as we know it.

Political/social benefits/advantages which are gained through raising awareness of crises and tragedies using shocking photos of the dead and murdered, are subjective at best. Whether the aim is to stoke the fire of revenge, or to inspire people to donate and be more charitable, we do not have the right to use the dead in such campaigns.

There is little doubt that people react very emotionally to such pictures. Who from among us did not recoil in horror and cry when we saw the heart-rending photo of this drowned Syrian child on the Turkish shore? Who didn’t immediately start to think about the whole Syrian issue again, the refugee crisis again, thinking about what we can do, where can we donate, what is possible for us in our countries?

Of course that all happened, and naturally some will see this as a positive outcome which will help prevent further tragedy, and it was achieved by a necessary evil because “the means justifies the ends.”

That’s all fine and understandable, but who asked the permission of the dead? That’s not a rhetorical question. If we were trying to raise awareness in some kind of PR campaign and we wanted to use a living person in that campaign, we would have to ask his or her permission. This is undoubted. So why do you not accept that we need to see them the same way when they are dead?

The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) prohibited damaging or harming the body of the deceased. He authentically said as narrated by Abu Dawud that, “Breaking the bone of he who is dead is like breaking it when he is alive.”

This shows that the dead are not to be disrespected as the living are not to be disrespected. And that the sanctity of the dead is the same as the sanctity of the living, in fact their sanctity is even more so because they are unable to speak up for themselves and defend their honour and sanctity.

Quite apart from dishonouring the dead, is the issue of what kind of benefit it really gives to those who witness the tragedy and the shocking aftermath. In the majority of people, it is little more than intense traumatic shock and despair, which often leads to desensitization. In fact, in our social media world today where timelines can become so painful for the eyes for so many different reasons, we quickly scroll past anything which remotely looks graphic and thereby miss out on much important news and content that we must be kept up to date on in order to help find real solutions. If we just wish to avoid, or these images become the norm in our minds, we have not enacted changed. We have brought despair and enacted avoidance of the issue for the sake of our hearts and minds.

When the noble companion Humzah (radhyAllahu ‘anhu) was martyred by his enemies, the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) did not allow his family to view the body. He saw no benefit in that. There was nothing to gain except for despair and anger and helplessness on our side, and dishonour and disrespect on the side of the dead. If we could to try to understand this principle when we deal with our daily tragedies – and this is made admittedly very difficult with the refusal of the masses to get involved and help without such shocking photos and videos that emotionally jolt people so severely – then perhaps we will be better off for it and the dead will at least have preserved whatever tiny little sanctity they have left from the catastrophe that we have allowed to happen on our watch.

Spread the news as best as you can. But please, respect the dead.

——————–

Please see my thoughts below on changing our attitude on how to bring awareness to tragedy without disrespecting the dead. I wrote it straight after the Newtown massacre.

—–

Tragedy

Let’s analyse our responses to tragedy especially post the unthinkable atrocities in Newtown, Connecticut with the massacre of 27 children and adults.

I decided to write it only after I read a comment which mentioned “their” and “our” children as we collectively mourned. See, there’s no such thing as “their” children. Period. We’re Muslims. We don’t accept the position of “someone else’s children”.

What I do accept though is a basic lack of understanding on how we are given, and how we handle news of tragedy.

As someone who regularly watches AlJazeera and “our” foreign news channels, just forgive me using a massive paintbrush, but in general when some tragedy such as a massacre or killings in the Muslim world becomes news, they tend to focus on the extremity and gory details and graphic shock factor to try and make the story as big as it should be, and to try and make us emotionally connect with the suffering. You will see images of the dead that you’d never get to see in the West, and you see them continuously again, and again, and again. When one reflects upon the loss of these beautiful children such as presented above, you have to ask yourself when was the last time you saw the death of children or indeed anyone presented like that such as in the Syrian uprising or Gaza or Iraq or drone strikes in Pakistan? I can only speak for myself and I would say at least the majority of the time, the only image I can recall from such conflicts are pictures of bloodied children, mutilated children, children’s faces contorted in agony, dead children, etc. Maybe there should be argument that suggests that no pictures of anyone should be shown and that Islamically all of this is reprehensible anyway (meaning nice/bad pics, memorials, montages, evoking of emotions etc) but when the Arab and Eastern news networks once to play the same game as the Western networks with the same style, methodology and look, then why stick to their raw horror, shock approach?

We have to know about this news, and quickly, and in detail too so that we can organise help as quickly and correctly as possible but this general approach is sad on many levels. Firstly, it is truly horrific and psychologically damaging and harmful to see some of these images. Secondly, the Muslims are one family as decreed by God and therefore there should never be a need to oversell the tragedy and the deaths, but of course we usually respond so poorly that we basically ask for this kind of broadcasting decision. Finally, we have become so desensitized to horrible pictures of slain children, or decapitated citizens or whatever, that not only has it lost some meaning but we’ve also unintentionally created this sick culture where the image or the news has to push the boundaries of perversion even more, to the levels of pornographic violence and horror graphics almost, so as to maintain our interest and keep a line of hope and help open for the suffering who are dependent upon us. Of course, living thousands of miles away also doesn’t help the situation when we feel physically and psychologically removed from the crime zone, even though we should be closer to it through our Islamic sensibilities.

This is just so incredibly sad to believe, but it is true.

The Western networks on the other hand generally try to focus on the human side of the issue. They will rarely use very graphic images. Raw emotion is what they expertly extract. They will instead focus on creating a story as per classic film-making principles, and take their time to develop a narrative that we can all relate to as humans. They hit all the right notes and push all the right emotion buttons to make us weep at a story – and most often deservedly so of course – by breaking it down to our level, talking to the parents and making us live their lives and even force our empathy out of us if necessary so that the entire tragedy becomes personal.

It is amazingly effective. That makes it sound like it’s all some kind of cunning plan, which it might well be, but then everyone wants to have a cunning plan for people to empathise with the suffering of others. The Arab networks spend enough billions trying to do the same as well, but don’t do it well enough despite their best efforts.

So the BBCs and the CNNs pull on our heart strings, subtly personalising the incident in a way which has incredible results. It leads to that outpouring of grief over the deaths of those who are not related to us in anyway whatsoever, or us crying when the US President – a man remember with blood on his hands with his Drone Army – cries himself. You couldn’t make it up. But it’s true. Indeed we are all the living proof of that. And it is this incredible skill and success of these networks which leads many people, especially some Muslims, angry and frustrated, to make rather short-sighted and ignorant albeit well-intentioned statements such as, “What about the Palestinians!” and “Why didn’t you cry or scream or Facebook this much when the Syrian children were massacred!” etc.

I want to end in saying that I truly don’t hold networks accountable. In fact, I can’t. I get to first hear most of the crazy depressing news of deaths in the Muslim world from the BBCway before anyone else. It’s only when the BBC goes with a story does it elicit major responses from Muslims, even when the Arab networks et al might be going big on said story for days and days. So how can one blame the likes of the “kuffaar” media?! And even beyond just the news and information, I can say that it has often been when the BBC and other Western networks goes “Western style” and “personal” on some of the Muslim victims in tragedies in the Muslim world, where I have felt even more connected and emotionally invested, than by watching AlJazeera or Geo or al-Arabiyyah talk about it day and night. I’m not ashamed of saying that. That’s what professionals, psychologists, PR folks and media people are trying to do to me, and that’s what they pride themselves on. And good on them. I’m just a consumer like everyone else, who at least can keep his eye on the bigger picture during all tragedy but still has a human heart which can be manipulated (and rightly too) when needed, and thus the word for “heart” in Arabic (qalb) comes from the word to “turn around” and “change”, and that’s why we ask Allah for steadfastness and a well-grounded and solid heart during times where all that we see and consume is turning our heart around like crazy, day and night.

It’s beyond ridiculous to blame the “kuffaar” for our inability or lack of planning in such an area. This video here shows exactly why we shouldn’t be so naive and encapsulates my entire argument above: you have “Western” outlets promoting the murder of these beautiful children by drone-attack in Pakistan in an attempt to evoke the same emotions we did for the Newtown children. The (Muslim) film-maker has also tried to do the same but unfortunately seems to have mostly pictures of the children when they are dead as opposed to happy smiling ones, almost certainly because many Muslims especially from tribal and rural areas aren’t so much in to taking pictures of their young both culturally and financially. I’m not a psychologist but there is a definitive difference in seeing a child in both states. Dead and lifeless almost doesn’t seem real, detached. Faith and family is not enough to depend on when trying to feel the pain of the Ummah for millions of Muslim consumers out there. This is the age of empathy, psychology, presentation. Yet even with these limitations, one can connect far more with this video at a human level and feel the pain, as opposed to the standard fare that one is unfortunately used to.

I conclude to myself that this reality above – after analysing the skill and power of some news networks – should never lead us to lose the ability to grieve at the human level. That is one of our most beautiful and precious qualities and must be protected at all times as displayed by the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) numerous times. It should instead lead us to rethink our strategies on how to make current even bigger tragedies in places far away, that little bit more personal and real so as to elicit in us the right amount of empathy and action that would allow justice and peace to reach the suffering, without ever having to quota, ration or restrict our grief and humanity in a complete and undivided fashion at any other time in any other place.

Allāhumma thabbit qulūbanā ‘alā dīnika yā Rabb.

O Allah, Forgive My People…

AlMaghrib — Wed, 26 Aug 2015 00:00:00 GMT

It is narrated by Bukhāri and Muslim that ‘Abdullah b. Mas‘ud (radhyAllāhu ‘anhu) said:

It is as if I am looking right now at the Prophet (sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) speaking about one of the prophets from before, who is assaulted by his people leaving him bleeding. He wipes the blood from his face and says, “O Allah, forgive my people for they know not what they do.”

This noble prophet – who we do not even know the name of – was attacked by his people, did not strike them back, neither did he swear at or curse them and neither did he make du‘ā against them.

Actually, he only made du‘ā for them, and made excuses to Allah for the crime that they committed.

Take a moment to reflect on this incredible magnanimity.

It seems as if his people were Muslims because if they were not then it would have not have been permissible to make du‘ā for forgiveness for them. Forgiveness would not have benefited them, but rather du‘ā for guidance for them would have been more beneficial and correct. Yet it is also possible that the prophet’s du‘ā for “forgiveness” included or meant a supplication for guidance as well, that would lead the people to tawbah and istighfār.

The prophet’s statement “for they know not what they do” seeks to find excuse for his people i.e. “they just don’t know, and they only did what they did out of ignorance and not oppression”. It’s almost as if he’s saying that if they had known the reality of what I was calling them to, they would not have beaten me or harmed me.

This is similar to what Allah jalla wa ‘alā mentions in Sūrah Yāsīn concerning the man who advised his people saying:

يَا قَوْمِ اتَّبِعُوا الْمُرْسَلِينَ

“My people, follow the Messengers!” (36:20)

He clearly presented the evidences for his claim and established the truthfulness of the Messengers, but his people killed him. And so Allah jalla wa ‘ala honoured him with Jannah.

Yet despite that, he really wanted his people to see what he had been honoured with by Allah in Jannah so that they may also be guided. Allah says:

قِيلَ ادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ قَالَ يَا لَيْتَ قَوْمِي يَعْلَمُونَ

“He was told, ‘Enter the Garden,’ so he said, ‘If only my people knew’.” (36:26)

This is the way of the Prophets and their companions. They knew how to put the Akhirah first over their lives in this world. They knew that to forgive and forget was the key to achieving this.

We are far more in need to learn how to forgive and pardon than they ever were, because we are so far removed from knowledge and goodness, and so much closer to disobedience, sin and following the desires of our souls which are in great need for discipline and patience.

From the things that help develop patience is the Believer recognising that Allah jalla wa ‘ala created him and them, and created his actions and their actions, and that every single thing that ever happens in life only happens by His Decree, by His Wisdom and by His Will.

وَلَوْ شَاءَ رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ

“If it had been your Lord’s will, they would not have done this: leave them to their inventions.” (6:112)

When we look at our situation today as du‘āt – or as callers to Allah – then we are most definitely struggling in our da‘wah to the people in our countries; and by this we mean our countries in the East and West i.e. the traditional Muslim countries and the Western countries that we live in like the UK or US etc, as well as referring to both our Muslim and non-Muslim audiences.

Frankly, we have not gained the respect or acceptance of our people.

Another problem is that even though we can identify the ethos of the prophets and the righteous people as being so magnanimous and forbearing with their people and excusing those people by saying that “they know not what they do”, du‘āt who are of lesser quality i.e. us should be careful that we don’t use the same line and then as a result become arrogant or believe that we are perfect and that everyone else is just ignorant and doesn’t know.

This looking down upon others is a major sin and we can often fall into it by misunderstanding the attitude of the prophets, and not applying it properly ourselves to our people.

Indeed perhaps one of the reasons that we suffer in our da‘wah, and we do not have the success that we should have had, and we go through such difficulties whilst living amongst our people is because of our sins as callers/du‘āt and this falling into arrogance and believing that we will all be ok and everyone else will be destroyed. Allah says:

وَمَا أَصَابَكُمْ مِنْ مُصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُو عَنْ كَثِيرٍ

“Whatever misfortune befalls you [people], it is because of what your own hands have done – and Allah forgives much.” (42:30)

Let this reminder be an opportune moment for all of us to inspect our nafs/selves and repent and return back to Allah. It is quite possible that such trials are actually better for us especially if it leads us to recognise our own sinning state and thus pushes us to forgive and pardon our people in order to be forgiven ourselves, as Allah says:

فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ

But anyone who forgives and puts things right will have his reward from Allah Himself; He does not like those who do wrong. (42:40)

Let the believers learn an important lesson here: don’t busy yourselves with reciprocating enmity to your people. Let the haters hate. Anything else is usually a waste of time, and a loss of focus on the key matter for which Allah actually created His creation.

Your pardoning your people for their harm they inflict on you and your patience with them will often lead them to introspection as well, and even push them towards change and good outcomes. Likewise, your getting angry with them and taking revenge might lead you to take more than what is your right, thus turning you from the oppressed into now the oppressor. This will only increase mutual enmity and cause more problems.

Suffice yourself with this fact: perhaps the greatest fruit that patience, pardoning and forgiving others will bring is that you will be blessed with the “ma‘īyyah” of Allah i.e. Allah jalla wa ‘alā will always be with you. For indeed Allah is with the people of righteousness, and He is with the people of patience, and He is with the people who are always conscious of Him, and so you will never be harmed by any of your detractors.

O Allah, especially due to our shortcomings in conveying your message, forgive or guide our people for indeed they know not what they do.