Salam Imam Zaid

I need some practical advice…

I am so glad you mentioned this topic area. At my curent workplace I am the only Muslim individual and Alhumdulilah my name is Muhammad.

My colleagues asked me about the whole issue and I pretty much said that the way the Sudanese handled it was very poor etc..

However, I started to talk about the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and it hit me after work, how much responsibility I have, and maybe how I am not living up to standards.

I remembered the dua, ‘O Allah enter in my heart, eyes hears light....’--however what can I do practically to try and exemplify the reality of the Prophetic character--so at least they can be inclined towards Islam…

Really, your article is a written format of the thoughts that were in my mind, esp. about her intention etc, and that the spirit has been removed by the Muslim in dealing with others.

What would you advise me....?

Thanks You So Much

Wassalam

Thank You Imam Zaid for addressing the issue in a dignified manner, may people understand issues such as these in this light.

Sallam Wu Alakum

As salaamu alaykum
I just want to share a reflection I had after reading your article as well as Shaykh Hamza’s on this same subject this afternoon.
“Defending the Prophet” with behavior contrary to his way is like trying to inflate a balloon after punching holes in it.
-You waste time and breath
-You work against your intentions
-You increase the size of the holes (damage)
-You look like a fool
-Instead of aiding the purpose and cause of the balloon, you debilitate it
-Nobody would trust you with their balloons or anything else!

We need to take more Surah ‘Asr vitamins.
thank you for your scholarship & time,
A.H. Sellars

Mash’allah!

If only the message of true Islamic Scholars and real Muslims were spread! It is a shame that this sort of message cannot be shared widespread in this nation as the very essence of this case is shared.

Jazakallah Khairun for another wonderful piece.

Jazakumallahu khairan Imam Zaid, for the nice article.  If I may share a few comments, and hear your feedback on them it would be great:

Allah the Most High says in Surah Baqarah:

“And do not take the Signs/Verses of Allah as a mockery.”

We often make mention of the Prophet’s kind and forgiving nature, in condemning the actions of our Muslim brothers.  It is true that the Prophet never held a personal grudge, and even forgave Abu Sufyan, and his wife Hind, who once chewed on the liver of the Prophet ‘s beloved uncle Hamza. 

However, what should be mentioned is that while his kindness extended to personal transgressions against himself, he held firmly when it came to compromise on religious principles.  They way this case was handled, in a court of law, with lawyers and a judge, and not personal attacks, is an indication that it was not a simple knee-jerk reaction by Muslims to what happened.  Isn’t it the resonsibility of an Islamic government to protect religious symbols?

Omar, may Allah be pleased with him, was firm in protecting the religion, and this was a result of his gheerah for justice and the truth.  While the Prophet did not permit Omar to act on this gheerah, the Prophet did not condemn him for it either.  Rather, the Prophet praised him for it, in one instance saying “Oh Omar, if the devil himself was walking on a path and saw you coming, he would take another route!”

What we lack as an Ummah is this gheerah for the religion and signs of Allah, especially for those of us who grew up in the West.  I appreciate that Shaykh Hamza tried to explain why this would be considered mockery of the signs of Allah.  What we see today is enormous pressure on Muslims to change classical Islamic positions on mockery of Islam, apostasy, shariah, and we should be careful.  Incidents like this distract us from much more important things.

While both Muslims and non-Muslims have been enamoured by the hype of this story, 800,000 destitute Somalis, mostly women and children, are on the brink of starvation, disease, and destruction.  A friend of mine from Somalia told me that as the cities are no longer safe as a result of the war, these Somalis have abandoned everything to live in refugee camps.  The recent torrential rains worsened their conditions, to the extent that flood waters have even brought crocodiles that are attacking them.  Who knows how many countless souls will be lost, children sticken with illnesses, babies malnourished, while we enjoy our philosophical debates about a teddy bear.

May Allah guide us to love our Muslim brothers and sisters, from all over the world, and strive for true justice.

And Allah knows best.

As-Salaam
jazakallah!
may we all learn from this inshallah!

As’salaam Alaikum Imam Zaid,

Thank you for these articulate and eloquent reminders of the Prophet’s way in treatment of others.
The Prophet Muhammed (peace upon him) was most gentle towards women, especially his wives. It is sad and frustrating that some Muslim men would treat women harshly and unfairly.
Of course, these actions are due to individual choices and laws of nation states; they are NOT laws of Islam. The Shariah law is not black and white. It is meant to extend mercy, wisdom, common sense and justice; NOT rigorous, unyielding punishment.
Unfortunately, the teddy bear debacle and other shameful events and mistakes by Muslims are repeatedly talked about, exaggerated and broadcast on every Western media station as yet another stain on Islam.

Jazakallah Khair Imam Zaid for a well written article and getting to the heart of this matter.  I would also like to take note of what Br.Abu Hamza has written in his commentary.  Although the punishment applied to the teacher was harsh and she did not know what she did, we still have the “gheerah” in this day and age to react with the same passions as Islam calls for.  Unfortunately, in this situation the Sudanese gov’t could have been more reprimanding and less about inflicting punishment in such a manner.  Inshallah, we can learn and better deal with such issues in the future.  May Islam be elevated by this ummah to the high status it deserves...Ameen.

Great article! Very sophisticated.

As Salaamu Alaikum, Imam Zaid,

Following on the heels of the Saudi rape debacle, this case made me wonder (yet again), whatever happened to “erring to the side of mercy”?

But I’m glad you pointed out the creative journalism at work in this drama. While they claim to have never heard of such a thing, many Christians instinctively understand the prohibition against naming children, pets, or toys after God. 

It is common practice amongst English-speaking Christians to avoid using the name “Jesus” (SAAS) for their children.  They will use Moses, Daniel, John, etc. but never “Jesus”. To most of them, “Jesus” is another name for God. And since they would never name a child “God”, they equally avoid naming him “Jesus”.
(Spanish-speaking Christians are the exception… Jesus Rodriguez, Jesus Martinez, etc.)

However, this example does raise a question from a Tawhid point of view. IS it actually possible to “blaspheme” by misusing a prophet’s name, or does blasphemy only apply to the misuse of Allah’s name? SHOULD we avoid using any prophet’s name for something we love, the same way we avoid using Allah’s name or attributes? And is this actually haraam, with a prescibed punishment in the Shari’ah?

YSII,
Sr. Jana bint Dawoud

thank you Imam Zaid for the nice article. You really articulated what I was feeling about the issue. Muslims have to be more understanding to the nonmuslim minorities in their countries in the same way they demand it from the larger western socities when they are the minority

Although I’ve seen Muslims take all sorts of positions on this affair from a political perspective, this is the best articulation of the Islamic legal perspective I have seen on the issue. Very inspiring! May Allah swt reward you.

As-Salaam ‘Alaikum Muhammad,

I think the best way you can represent the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah upon him, is by studying the prophetic biography and then in every challenging situation you find yourself in ask yourself, “What would the Prophet, peace upon him, do?” I think that is a practical measure you can take to help yourself deal with the situation you describe.

As-Salaam ‘Alaikum Sister Jana bint Dawoud,

In response to your question, yes, as Muslims, we can blaspheme by misusing a prophet’s name, especially that of our Prophet, Muhammad, peace and mercy of Allah upon him. However, there are considerations governing the issue that I attempted to mention in the article. Further discussion of the issue is mentioned below.

As-Salaam ‘Alaikum Abu Hamza,

First of all allow me to commend you for your thoughtful and insightful reply. Such critical feedback is very important. Never hesitate to provide it. I would like to say in response that I am very much aware of the Somali situation. The post before this one, “God’s Justice Will Not Forever Sleep,” dealt specifically with that issue.

I do not disagree with the point you make about mockery of God being a legal ruling, my point is that as a legal ruling it is governed by a legal philosophy, legal objectives, legal maxims, and contextual considerations. Once the law is divorced from the framework these collectively provide, it loses much of its power and beauty.

I will give you a brief example to illustrate this. Since one of the key issues in this discussion is blasphemy, consider the hadith of the man who losses his mount with all of his provisions on it in the middle of the desert. When he despairs of it returning and considers that he is doomed, suddenly he looks up and finds it before him. He then proclaims, “O Allah! I am your lord and You are my servant!” The Prophet, peace upon him then adds, “He erred [in this way] due the intensity of his happiness.” On the surface this man is guilty of blasphemy and shirk, the highest of all crimes. However, would it be conceivable in any way to think that the man should be punished for his “transgression?” No, because the context surrounding the error moves it beyond the realm of a punishable offense. This is the point I was trying to make in the article.

The Prophet, peace upon him, understood these legal nuances, and they informed his application of the law. As I mentioned the Prophet, peace upon him, was disrespected -in ways that denigrated the prophetic office- many times. He was disrespected by known enemies, by ignorant desert Arabs,and by jokers among his companions such as Nu’ayman. His response varied in each instance. He responded harshly and firmly to the enemies, he generally ignored the desert Arabs, and he laughed at Nu’ayman. All of these responses occurred in Madina after the establishment of Muslim political authority. He is providing many rich examples of how the law is to be applied.

Such a nuanced understanding of the law, and a deep understanding of the current international political climate we are in, and the role that the media plays in that climate are critical for advancing the interest of the Muslim people.

This “teddy bear” situation and similar crises are not used by the corporate media and right wing “hawks” in the West to show how backwards Muslims are. They are used to create a political climate that will engender the tax-paying public’s support for the overthrow of Muslim governments, the usurpation of Muslim resources, and the potentially genocidal destruction of Muslim lands.

Working to prevent the entrenchment of the attitudes that buttress that climate is a higher strategic priority than a rigorous prosecution of a possible insult of the Prophet, peace and mercy of Allah, upon him.

The fact that Muslims leaders fail to attempt to manage the media to our strategic advantage is a major political flaw that has existed since the advent of mass communications. Malcolm X presciently observed over forty years ago, “The Arabs are poor at understanding the psychology of non-Arabs and the importance of public relations.” I feel this observation is as true today as it was then. Unless it is addressed, we will suffer in myriad ways that are connected to the plight of Muslims in places like Somalia. That is why we have to understand the importance of such issues and not minimize them. These crises, as mentioned above, help to create attitudes in the West that generate support for policies, such as the US-orchestrated Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, that has led to the current humanitarian crisis there. It also helps to create attitudes that lead to insensitivity to the suffering of Muslims, i.e. “If those barbarians all starve, who cares!”

In conclusion, there is another aspect of the issue that has generally gone unexplored, that is the issue of the role of civil society in a Muslim state. Is it the desire of Muslim political theory that all affairs of legal implication be adjudicated by the state? I would argue that the spirit of the law argues for small government, and taking societal measures to mitigate the role of official state-sponsored adjudication in societal affairs.

In my view, in a healthy Islamic polity, this affair would have been handled by the children’s parents. They would have met privately with the teacher and their children, who advised the teacher to name the teddy bear Muhammad in the first place, and instructed them all of the inappropriateness of such an act. The affair would not have been known beyond a small circle of individuals in a corner of Khartoum. Such a response is a greater sign of a vibrant Muslim society than the sometimes empty legalism we see in parts of the Muslim world.

In any case, your points are valid and appreciated. May Allah reward you all and bless your efforts.

Salam Sheikh Zaid,

I also firmly believe that this whole issue could have been kept within the classroom had there been a person there to just say to her: Look, I don’t think it is a good idea and bla, bla, bla ... By the same token, I must also recognize that it is not up to us to bend over backwards to please non Muslims. Before I was a Muslim, I made a great effort to understand Muslims and Islam. That being said, the Sudanese could have approached the matter in a more dawa type of way. I think this experience is a lesson we should learn and the conclusions of which should be applied. I believe it is in Dar Al-Islam where many Westerners embrace Islam because the curtain of Western media does not reach them there. You as a Westerner are witness to the Akhlaq of your Muslim neighbors daily and this experience is a vaccine against the lies of Western Media. Again, a very good article and a lesson we should all learn from.

Happy Eid!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. To me, the Imam is sounding very pessimist in the first paragraph. Have we given up? That is also against the soul of Islam.

I just want to add that while the West is also crying over the Teddy bear incident and how Muslims must be more comprehensive, the West is not exactly a model of ethics. One of the brothers just mentioned the humanitarian disaster in Somalia. Somalia was on the verge of becoming a stable nation. It had a functioning government, the first in decades and people were starting to look towards a brighter future. Then the US pushes its Ethiopian ally to go in and destroy this project (of course with military and air back up). This is just a grain in the sand (what about Iraq, Palestine, etc). These are also Islamic issues. Sorry to ruffle feathers here. I try to always give an example when I am in the West. I don’t talk politics. I don’t participate in rallies. But if I have to choose between giving priority to the Super Nanny spending a couple of days in jail (where I am sure she is being well treated - the Sudanese are not monsters)or the death of millions of my Somali brothers (or Iraqis or Palestinians), I choose the second.

Sorry,

John (being politically incorrect)

This is the sort of higher discourse the Muslims lack.  May Allah preserve you sidi so that we may read many more!

That is such a well-written article, Imam Zaid. I wish I had read it before penning my letter to the local newspaper about this incident.

Assalamu Alaykum

Jazak Allah Khayr Imam Zaid for a very insightful article that was greatly needed in the ummah and May Allah Azza Wa Jal continue to reward you for your sincere efforts.

There is one issue that continues to disappoint me however and that is the silence resonating from scholars, particularly in the west, about certain incidents around the world. The most obvious of those is the Lal Masjid massacre that occured in Pakistan, where thousands of students, including many of our sisters, were butchered in cold blood by the army. Pages of the Qur’an were drenched in blood and these innocent brothers and sisters, many of whom were children and orphans, were buried at night so as to not reveal the true figure. I have yet to hear any scholar in the west speak about this and you and Shaykh Hamza have a responsibility, as scholars in the public eye who give regular talks, to talk about this horrific massacre that occured in full sight of the world without a hint of a sound from Muslims. This greatly hurt and disappointed me and many others that this was brushed under the rug and not spoken about by yourself or Shaykh Hamza or any other scholar. A huge number a Muslims look up to you and Zaytuna Imam and it is a responsibility to speak about this crime that was committed because they are our beloved brethren.

I have the greatest respect for you Imam Zaid and your continuing work.

With love and peace

Wa Salam

Sohail

As-Salaam ‘Alaikum Shahab-e-Saqib,

What you perceive to be pessimism in the opening paragraph is a statment of fact that is subject to change. It is mentioned to set up the argument. If our strategic weakness is in fact true, I do not see it as a cause for pessimism or despair. I see it as an opportunity for us to be pushed to exploit and develop our strengths, which are not things that can be quantified in material terms. This is one of the great paradoxes of contemporary Islamic discourse. We are perhaps strategically weaker than any other people, yet we can only assess our strength or weakness in strategic terms. I think this is a result of the secularization of our thought. We think in material categories and although we recognize the existence of the spiritual and metaphysical realities, they do not inform our thinking. Allah knows best.

John, I appreciate your comments. However, I remind you, as I mentioned in response to an earlier comment, that the article before this one, “God’s Justice Will Not Forever Sleep”, dealt with the Somali crisis. We are not trapped in a zero sum game here, we either condemn Muslims and ignore the excesses and atrocities of the west, or we condemn the west and ignore the excesses and atrocities of the Muslims. We have tried to do both. The deeper issues related to the situation in Sudan have little to do with the particulars of the case, they are related to symbolic issues and what they say about us and how they are exploited by our enemies.

Sohail, The Lal Masjid situation deserves a lot more attention. I was extremely busy at the time and could not give the situation the attention it deserved. It was not a case of “brushing it under the rug”, it was a lack of time to analyze the situation and assess its significance to Muslims here in the West. Perhaps we can revisit it in the context of the overall situation in Pakistan.

Wa alaikum assalaam,

Thank you for the clarification. I will the aforementioned article.

Yours,

John

Wa alaikum assalaam,

Thank you for the clarification. I will read the aforementioned article.

Yours,

John

Edited by John

Jazak Allah Khayr Imam. May Allah continue to benefit us from your lucid writing

Wa Salam

Sohail