Would Muslims of that age even recognize the innovated shortened Azan that we hear today?

The calls during the night are long chants, that of the daytime
is much shorter. Mr. Lane renders it thus: ”
God is most Great ” (four times repeated). “I testify that
there is no deity but God ” (twice). ” I testify that Mohammed
is God’s Apostle ” (twice). “Come to prayer ” (twice). “Come
to security ” (twice). “God is most Great” (twice). “There is
no deity but God.”

The muezzin whom I hear when the first faint light
appears in the east, has a most sonorous and sweet tenor
voice, and his chant is exceedingly melodious. In the perfect
hush of that hour his voice fills all the air, and might well be
mistaken for a sweet entreaty out of heaven. This call is
a long one, and is in fact a confession and proclamation
as well as a call to prayer.

It begins as follows: “[I extol] the perfection of God, the Existing forever and
ever” (three times) : ” the perfection of God, the Desired, the
Existing, the Single, the Supreme: the perfection of God, the
One, the Sole: the perfection of Him who taketh to Himself,
in his great dominion, neither female companion nor male
partner, nor any like unto Him, nor any that is disobedient,
nor any deputy, nor any equal, nor any offspring. His
perfection [be extolled]: and exalted be His name. He is a
Deity who knew what hath been before it was, and called
into existence what hath been; and He is now existing, as He
was [at the first]. His perfection [be extolled]: and exalted
be His name.”

And it ends: ” O God, bless and save and still beatify the
beatified Prophet, our lord Mohammed. And may God,
whose name be blessed and exalted, be well pleased with thee,
0 our lord El-Hassan, and with thee, O our lord El-Hoseyn,
and with thee, O Aboo-Farrag, O Sheykh of the Arabs, and
with all the favorites [' the welees'] of God. Amen.”

The mosques of Cairo are more numerous than the churches
in Rome; there are about four hundred, many of them in
ruins, but nearly all in daily use.

– “Mummies and Moslems”, Travelogue By Charles Dudley Warner Published 1876

Now one may compare this type of Azan to what one may hear in the company of Naksibendi Mureeds:

Arabic
——
Allahumma Salli ‘alaa Sayyidina Muhammad

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
Ashhadu an la ilaha illallah
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah
Ashhadu anna Muhammadan Rasulullah
Hayyi ‘alas salah
Hayyi ‘alas salah
Hayyi ‘alal falah
Hayyi ‘alal falah
Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar,
La ilaha illallah
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
alayka ya Sayyidiyya Rasullullah
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
alayka ya Sayyidiyya Habbibullah
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
ya man arsalahu-llahu ta’ala rahmatan lil-’alamin
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
alayka ya Sayyidiyya Awwalin wal Akhirin
As-Salatu was salamu ‘alayk,
wa ‘ala alika wa ashabika ajma ‘in
As-Salatu wa s-salamu ‘alaykum,
ya Anbiya wa Awliya Allah.
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin!

(Du’a)
Allahumma Rabba hadhihi da’wati tamma’ was salatil qa’ima, ati Muhammadan al-wasilata wal fazilata wad darajatir rafi’atal ‘aliyya, wab’athhu, ya Rabbi, al-maqamal mahmudal lazi wa’adtahu, warzuqna shafa’atahu yawmal qiyama, innaka la tukhliful mi’ad

English
——-
O Allah! Shower blessings upon Sayyidina Muhammad

Allah is Greatest
(four times)
I bear witness that there is no god but Allah
(twice)
I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah (twice)
Hasten to the prayer
(twice)
Hasten to salvation
(twice)
Allah is Greatest (twice)
There is no god but Allah.
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Messenger of Allah
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Beloved of Allah
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O you whom Allah Most High sent as Mercy to the Worlds.
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Master of Here and Hereafter
Blessings and peace be upon you,
and upon all your family and your Companions.
Blessings and peace be upon you,
O Prophets and Friends of Allah
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds!

O Allah! Lord of this perfect supplication and of this established prayer, grant Muhammad the means and the exellence, and the sublime and supreme rank. Raise him, O my Lord, to the Praiseworthy Station which You promised him, and grant us his intercession on the Day of Judgement, for You do not fail Your promise.

One of the most powerful ways to understand things is through a lens of historical context.

When examining Shariat (Divine Law) we often think of the historical context, even if it is involuntary. We may understand the Shariat as a need that came to a people of lawlessness and injustice. We may further understand the books of Hadith through the need to capture and maintain the traditions of the Prophet (Sallalahu’alaiheewassalam) for future generations. While we know that Tassawuf (also known as Tazkiyat and Tariqat) much like Shariat, existed for all times with different names and slightly different means, we can certainly examine the rise of Tassawuf in an Islamic and historical sense.

Where do we put the spiritual sciences, Tassawuf, or the Tariqats in the larger context of history?

The best way to come to build a historical context for the Tariqat is to examine the society around the great saints and namesakes of the Tariqats.

All of these high saints and their large bodies of students came from societies very different from the one we live in today. They were surrounded by Muslims, they lived in societies where praying in Jamaat was the norm. This is where everyone in the country (and beyond) was fasting and giving their zakat. Pilgrimage was much more arduous, yet performed by thousands. If someone didn’t rise for Tarawih, they became the talk of the town.

It is within this environment that we see the great Saints of Islam rising and gather students. Teacher of the likes of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (R), Shah Naksiband (R), Moinuddin Chishti (R) were all living in the reality of a ubiquitous Shariat, when the laws of Islam were being canonized. They lived in the type of society of Imam Ghazali (R), from whose writings we can witness the high level and respect that religious scholars of Islamic Law and doctrine were given. In fact, we can see from his writings in the “Deliverance from Error” how the people considered him insane for leaving his high teaching position in order to pursue the inner side of Islam.

Tassawuf, and Tariqat flourished in this environment. What was about its message that was so uniquely fitted within this time period?
Read the rest of this entry »

Some people are able to take a recipe and create the meal perfectly. Most often, these are people who themselves have years of experience in cooking. I am definitely not one of those people. When I cook, recipes often turn into completely different dishes from the original intent. Some taste good, most are (not surprisingly) disasters. Either way, it’s certainly a gamble.

Why is it that even following simple directions ends up in disaster? It may have to do with the nuances and need for interpretation that is found within recipes. The examples could fill libraries: a “pinch” of salt here, a “dash” of this there, “reducing heat” to a “simmer”, being careful not to “over-mix”.

The truth is that recipes are an attempt at capturing the reality of a person’s practice and experience. We are not ‘creating’ a meal, we are attempting at ‘recreating’ it.

The best cooks are those who after real training are able to apply a ’sixth sense’ in determining what these nuanced phrases mean. The interpretation of the recipe becomes key. With proper interpretation a recipe may unlock within another chef a means to create the same delicious dish.

Better yet, one recipe may yield two equally delightful, but certainly different dishes, based off of the interpretation of the chef, as long they both have a fundamental training in how to make good meals.

At this point one may be thinking, did I land on yursil.com or cooking.com? Don’t worry… you are at yursil.com!

The truth is that Islam is just like a good dish, a dish that will be ready on the day of our death. After that, there is little we can do to add to that dish or take away.

So, when we look at our so-called “recipes of life” (Quran and Hadith or Fiqh manuals), are we certain we are able to understand the nuances of those instructions? Like recipes, these books of instructions are necessary tools to “recreate” the reality that existed during the Prophet’s (Sallalahu’alaiheewassalam) time. But are we able to apply the proper interpretation and context to all of those words or will we end up with a deflated soufflé of deeds to present to our Lord?

We are fortunate that we don’t need to be so specific as a recipe when dealing with life. We are also fortunate that we have many chances to go back and fix what we have erred in.

Although, to go back and make the same mistakes in interpretation over and over again is a sign of madness, but that is really what we end up doing.

So, isn’t it better to learn from a “master chef” or in our case, a shaykh?

Why try to deal with recipes when you can opt for personalized instruction? We are lucky we are discussing Islam and Tariqat instead of cooking, since, unlike food, teachers and guides are even able to work on hearts from far distances away.

So time to put that batter down, turn off the Food network, and get connected with your teacher.

Who needs “Iron Chef”, when you have life?

One of the aspects of the Islamic faith that has been lost has been our history. We have sites which are devoted to current problems, however, very few focus on understanding of our past.

A major part of the problem is the curriculum of modern Islamic teaching institutions and youth groups. Such groups focus on the Prophet’s life (Sallahu’alaiheewassalam) and immediately jump into modern day understanding of Fiqh (law) and principles of Aqidah (doctrine).

What happened in between?

We have about 1400 years of scholarly progress which has suddenly gone up in smoke!

Alhamdulillah, some groups are looking to rectify this, but one piece is missing from this equation. Spiritual progress. Muslims are forgetting that while Fiqh was helpful is solving disputes and determining the exact position of ones hands in the obligatory prayers, little is being remembered of the personalities who were deeply impacted by the tradition of purification of the self which is also part of Islam.

Without realizing it we are forgetting the greatest of the greats of our religion, as we become knee deep in legal texts and linguistic differences, we have forgotten the heart of our religion. Character, Manners, Love of Allah.

Sainthood.

Sainthood in Islam is a special concept, unlike Catholicism, Muslims do not debate over whether someone is a saint in committee. In fact, the word itself is awkward for use in English. The actual Arabic word: Awliya or Wali, means Friends/Friend (as in Friend of God).

In Islam such great people receive their titles from heavenly sources, and while some remain hidden from public eyes, some become popularized through their words or deeds which they have been ordered to do.

So the question now becomes, why is it that we are so quick to forget the greats of Islam? Why have they become the equivalent of Muslim fairy tales that our fathers and mothers tell their children? In fact, just recently when I mentioned Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (rad) to someone, all the person could remember of the name was a story his mother told him some time ago of how a group of robbers repented at his hands.

This is a sad state of affairs for those of us looking to lay the bricks of strength, tolerance, hope and peace of Islam for the future. We have to know what our foundation is made of.

It is through understanding these Saints of Islam that Muslims can learn about how Islam was taught to their ancestors and how it has now reached them. We need this so we can learn about picking up from where we left off, rather than trying to tread unknown paths in the darkness.

It is also through understanding these Saints that Non-Muslims can learn what characteristics and values are important to Muslims, and how the study of the life of the Prophet (Sallalahu’alaiheewasalam) is -supposed- to impact our lives.

In closing this brief introduction, I leave you with the retelling of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani’s experience with the group of robbers.

Here is the actual retelling of his experience:

How seasoned highway robbers were moved to repentance at the hands of Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir.

“‘I traveled with a small caravan, bound for Baghdad. When we had reached the vicinity of Hamadhan, and found ourselves in a stretch of rugged terrain, sixty men on horseback suddenly attacked us from an ambush, and seized the caravan. None of them took the slightest notice of me personally, until one of the brigands turned to me in passing, and said: “Hey there, poor beggar, what do you have with you?” So I told him: “Forty dinars,” and he said: “Where are they?” “Stitched in the lining of my coat,” I replied, “underneath my armpit.” He assumed that I was testing his sense of humor, so he left me alone and moved elsewhere. Then a second brigand passed by me, and when he asked me the same question, exactly as the first had asked it, I repeated the answer I had given the first time, and so he also left me alone.

“‘Then the pair of them got together in the presence of their leader, and they told him what they had heard from me. “Bring him here to me,” said the leader, so they brought me to him. They were up on a hill, sharing out the goods they had robbed from the caravan. “What do you have with you?” he asked me, so I said: “Forty dinars.” He then asked: “Where are they?” and I told him: “Stitched in the lining of my coat, underneath my armpit.” So he commandeered my coat, ripped the stitching apart, and discovered that it did indeed have forty dinars inside the lining. “Whatever prompted you to make this confession?” he wanted to know, so I told him: “My mother made me promise to commit myself to truthfulness, and I would never betray my binding covenant with her.”

“‘As soon as he heard these words, the chief brigand began to weep, and he said through his tears: “You did not betray your mother’s covenant, whereas I, for so many years up to this present day, have been betraying the covenant of my Lord!” He thereupon repented at my hands, and his fellow brigands said to him: “You have been our leader in highway robbery [qat' at-tariq], and now you shall be our leader in repentance [tawba].” So they all repented at my hands, and they restored to the caravan whatever items they had seized from the travelers. They were thus the very first of all those sinners who have by now repented at my hands.”‘

His works, his life, and his miracles are accessible here: http://www.al-baz.com/shaikhabdalqadir/

Two promising books that I found in my searches, both to-be-released within the next few months.
They are quite expensive, but they may be worth it!

From al-Andalus to Khurasan
Documents from the Medieval Muslim World
Edited by Petra M. Sijpesteijn, Lennart Sundelin, Sofía Torallas Tovar and Amalia Zomeño

Description from Publisher:

As in many areas of pre-modern history, the study of medieval Islamic history has been critically hindered by the lack of available evidence. Unlike many parallel fields, however, the shortage of contemporary documentary evidence for medieval Islam has less to do with the survival of documents and archives as with their accessibility.
A rich documentary legacy survives, but because of its inaccessibility and unfamiliarity to all but the most specialised scholars in the field, it has remained sadly underutilised. This volume contributes to the redressing of that problem. It collects papers given at the conference “Documents and the History of the Early Islamic Mediterranean World,” including editions of unpublished documents and historical studies, which make use of documentary evidence from al-Andalus, Sicily, Egypt, the Arabian Peninsula, Syria and Khurasan.

Till God Inherits the Earth
Islamic Pious Endowments in al-Andalus (9-15th Centuries)
Alejandro García Sanjuán

Description from Publisher:

Till God Inherits the Earth deals with the origins and evolution of the Islamic institution of pious endowments in al-Andalus, analysing its juridical basis and its social-economic role.
Evidence is primarly drawn from Andalusi Maliki jurisprudence and from narrative and biographical traditional sources as well.
Separate chapters examine private and public donations and special importance is given to the analysis of the public goals of the institution, namely, charitative, religious (mosques, rabitas), educational and for the jihad. The book is completed with several appendices including complementary information, translations of Arabic texts and figures.
This study provides us with a complete knowledge of several and important issues such as the relevance of Islamic jurisprudence as an historical source, the structure of economic property, the idea of charity, the Islamic concept of general or common interest and the social and juridical role of men of religion.

If you want to understand Islam, what it thinks of terrorism, what it thinks of democracy, respecting people (Muslims and Non-Muslims)… all of that you must watch this. It is a half an hour. If in your day you have 24 hours, spare one half hour for this. It may change your outlook on everything.

Shaykh Maulana Nazim al-Hakkani is the worldwide leader of the Naksibendi Hakkani Sufi Order, he is a scholar of traditional Islam of the highest station today. He is recognized wordwide as an authority on Islam and its true message.

I have done a poor and incomplete job of transcribing this, but inshaAllah I will finish and make it better. It does not help that my space key is broken,but inshaAllah. I will make it better.

Transcription:

Audhu bi-llahi mina shaitani rajim,
Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim,
La haula wa la quwatta illa bi-llahi-l Aliyu-l Adhim.

It is not..

Medat Ya Sultan Awliya..

It is not a good sitting for me, but… I am trying to take my rest.

And… I am asking forgiveness and apologizing that I am sitting in such a way in front of you.

[Someone says, "You can sit on us!"] Astaghfirullah

Really. Our really Islam, coming to… to show people about their values. If Prophets not coming, no one knowing the value of mankind. Now, because people they lost value of mankind, when they are losing value of mankind, they’re losing also respect to each other.

Allah created man, and He Almighty honored them. That means He is giving respect, that extraordinary, or most distinguished creature, through whole creation. Most valuable, most honored one.. is mankind.

That means Allah Almighty giving His Respects to them, therefore he order to angels to bow to Adam.

Sajdah [Shaykh shows] To bow to Adam

That is the limits of respection! Sajdah, to bow, to make Sajdah only for Allah. But He ordered to angels, that just I honored these new ones. These new creatures. I am giving my respect and honor , and my blessings on him! Beware, not to give, not to be not to be unrespected to them. You must respect.. to mankind.

Even they (angels) were saying “Oh our lord, why are you going tomake a khalifa on earth? They are coming and making.. They are going to be trouble makers .. first-class! On earth. Killing themselves, making every badness, every wildness violence and you are giving honor to them? Let to be that Honor for ourself”

Allah said No no… You don’t know, I know! I am not in need to remind me, you! I know! Don’t say it! Such things. I know what I am doing, I know about what I am creating. I know there is such a characteristic, but even I am making them my representatives or deputies on earth.

[Shaykh shows bowing]

Shaitan says… says, no I am not making…. democracy! [smiling]

Let to make angels to say if they are saying yes to Adam or for me. Must be election, democracy! Teaching democracy to.. that Shaitan.

[Speaks to the side, Shaykh Abdul Kerim was on this side in other video's] First democracy, they are!

He (Shaitan) saying I’m not accepting such a thing from you, no.. we must do an election, or, Referandum!! As we are making referandum in Cyprus! Even if referendum, if people saying Adam is in trouble, I am happy. If not I am must do it. Even he was saying in himself, even referandum coming for him (Adam’s favour) … I am not accepting that. I am going to say no. As our President saying, if whole world saying yes, referendum, I am not saying. He learned very good lesson fromShaitan. Referendum. Democracy!

Allah saying … demon! Jahanamigate. Who are you to speak in my Divinely presence to say this. I am making that King on you, I am giving that honor. You can’t give honor, therefore democracy is Batil.. Honor just give to people from heavens. Not common people making President,, prime minister. You are doing that? Bengali people you are voting also? You are so foolish ones also?

We are foolish, but you also? What is that?

Persian? That they are saying first class Muslims, Persian. And they are making elections. From which bookare they bringing that election? French people.. ahhhh if we are not making this one, this one, prime minister, we are bombing you. And Chirac.. Chirac? Chirac trembling (saying) “yes sir yes, we? we are changing quickly this prime minister, away.”

Americans, saying “what is happening? We are not fearing from you. from Arabs. from China. from Russia.”

Let trouble.. let what Allah giving respect and honor.. you must respect. Whole creation respecting man. And only we are not, only 21st century people not respecting each other. Making the value of mankind less than a mouse. Less than a small creature. They are claiming.. Animal’s rights. Hm? Hm?

They’re some foolish people making such a.. [arabic] They are saying Oh! we must keep rights of animals. There are no rights for mankind? They are making mankind like dustbin? Garbage? Killing? Not Asking? And asking rights for Animals?

Allah saying rights of animals.. yes, they have rights! but rights of mankind that is important! No nations giving respect to other nations. Even nations they are not giving through themselves. Through their citizens, through their nations, respect that Allah respecting. That is the sources of troubles and fightings now.

I am coming because I am making my feets towards you, it is not a seating of respect. Because Allah respected you. I must respect you. Everyone much respect each other.

That is Islam!

No .. fundamentalist. No.. terrorist. No.. such a… a groups of such a people. Trouble makers. That is another name, that is another name. If anything happen. explosion, they are saying we are that one. we are making this. That is because of Islam.

That is not Islam, No! No, Allah should ask them, should punish them.

[arabic]

There is something that must be written to hang everywhere, Islam preventing to harm people or to make harm. If anyone harming you. Allah preventing, saying don’t come to him with, harming him.

No Harm in Islam! Islam keeping respects of everyone. Particularly Islam taking much more care of non-Muslims, to keep their rights, who are living with ourselves. Not to touch them, not to harm them! Because it is so difficult thing, Day of Resurrection. Allah is saying you may take, what he harmed you, takingyour rights. Not keeping your rights. Now take from him, give to Him, your rights! Finish..

People, people not taking any care.

Islam just coming to keep [arabic] rights of mankind. [arabic] Give everyone their honors according to their levels. And to bring lowest level person to highest level person, it is also forbidden. Because his level is first level, you can’t bring him top level. Therefore this democracy taking the lowest level person to be highest level position, that is Batil. Muslims.

But Muslims no mind now.

Whole misunderstanding. No more good understanding people from Muslims, finish!

Yeah.

Respect.

[Arabic]

You must give the value amoung yourselves… That is teacher. That is professor. Don’t do that one as student. Must be between you, a line for respecting. He must be honored one. At home. Women must give her respect to her husband. Children to must give their respect to parents. Younger ones must give their respect to elder ones, their brothers. In such a way. That is the essence of Islam. Islam just coming to give honor or…[arabic] tradition?.. to give back the respects that people lost.

For the time of Jahiliyya.. period of ignorant.

Arabs, they never taking any respect for poor people, for women, for weak ones, for old ones, for … servants, for slaves. They never taking any care, any respect. They are only giving who are powerful [Shaykh Maulana taps arms], who their pockets with golden. They giving respect. Others no. Therefore Islam coming to give back the respects to everyones respects. Everyon should be respected on their levels. Because Allah Almighty making also so many levels, people must be on their levels. To give respect, the high level people. The high level people they are carrying the responsibility of the whole nation of the whole ummah. It is not only the top level person, if reaching to highest positon. High level. They also loaded on their shoulders heavy responsibility. They should be asked, from their nations from their people in divinely presence, if he gave the rights of that ones. That he was over them.

And Shaitan, thousands of years always trying to make people into two parts: powerful ones and weak ones. And powerful ones never taking any respect or kindness, or mercy on weak ones. Islam coming and giving everyones rights, even weakest ones. They are going to be most pwoerful ones for their rights. The state must look after weak ones! Not powerful ones, no! Therefore Abu Bakr (R) first Khlaipha of Rasulullah (Sallahu’alaiheeWassalam) He was saying, Oh people you must know that if a weak one, anyone taking not giving his right, we are going to support him. That weak one to be the most powerful one through community. And who we are claiming that we are powerful ones, we are rich ones, and asking to take the rights of weak ones. He must know that he is the weakest one in community.

Where is this? W here is Islam? Finish. Where is humanity? Just on name. Finish.

Yes we must.. Therefore I am asking forgiveness, I am making my feet my towards to you. I must keep your respect. But for some reasons, I am making my feet like this. This i s essence of Islam. In Islam mankind, through their obediency. Going to be much more valuable in Divinely presence. According to obediency and good manner, Allah Almighty giving you much more honor here and hereafter. And Islam never making a difference between people, except what we said that, according to their good dealings with people, and dealings with their lord. And Islam ordering to try, to give their most high respects to Allah and to make their best to servants. Two only.

You must try to give your most high respects to Almighty Allah and to do you best for his servants for his creatures. Who is harming people is not Islam!

Eh, saying, that is African person. That Asian person. That is European ones. Western people thinking that they are first class people, because their color. white. If different colors going to be no value, no.. not with color but through your actings, your dealings, your respect to Allah Almighty and respect to Allah Almighty passing through respecting His servants. Keep everyones respects, then coming to your respect also. Everything giving through your respect. Give for everything respect. And they are giving to you respect also. May Allah forgive us. And blessings to you, for the most honored one in His Divine Presence, Sayiddina Muhummad (Sallalahu’alaihewassalam). Fatiha.

Taqlid is a powerful and divisive word for Muslims. Even its very definition is a point of contention between practicing Muslims of all types. For its opponents it is often translated as “Blind Following”, by its proponents it is translated as “Following qualified scholarship”.

I have a problem with the common definitions. Taqlid is not “blind” in any way, and neither is it limited to “qualified scholarship” in an Islamically legal sense.

Rather, Taqlid is the fulfillment of the Quran’s commandment of following the righteous.

Bismimg

Surat Yasin : 21 “Follow those who ask of you no fee, and who are rightly guided.” (tran: Pickthall)

This is the power of Taqlid, which is represented in this holy verse as simply “follow”. It relates the masses to the righteous, and within this is the true secret of a Muslim’s success in this world and in the hereafter. It is clear from this verse and others that the rightly guided are those who believe and work in righteousness and call us to do the same.

For me, Taqlid is far more than a tool to debate details of authority within Islamic Law, it is the pragmatic way of Islam to push Muslims towards righteousness.

But what does this vague term ‘righteousness’ mean? In direct contradiction to certain neo-cons who believe Islam is evil, we see that righteousness is clearly defined in Islam. Specifically in the Quran:

Bismimg

Surat al-Baqarah: “It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah-fearing. ” (tran: Yusuf Ali)

Looking at this verse alone, we find that Allah tells us that righteousness is to believe in the principles of faith and be honest, patient, charitable and otherwise be good people. People of manners. In this regard we have been told that the best example is the Holy Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم).

It is clear that the ‘belief’ aspect of this verse is absolutely important and has implications on the intentions (niyyat) of all those actions which follow. So let us be careful and not say that Islam is mere humanism, whose ethics stem solely from the enhancement of mankind’s well-being in this world.

While Islam is not limited to worldly humanism, the Quran is emphasizing a goal towards righteousness in this world, which translates to what is universally understood as ‘good’ by most people (Atheists, Christians and Jews alike). Islam also holds that a recognition of this good is also something which is innate in all of mankind since birth.

It is also clear that mankind is very easily capable of forgetting righteousness and manners. As our worldly pursuits begin to precede our spiritual pursuits we began to calculate various compromises and give various excuses as to why it is best for this or that to happen. On a global scale this represents itself as our politics turn to protectionism and our economies into greed-factories. Our armies become death bringers and our souls are lost in the process.

Is reading and studying the answer to this? No. We return to the verse in Surat Yasin, where it is made clear that we must follow the righteous.

Hence, Taqlid.

Taqlid is the key which unlocks all the doors of Islam’s inner beauty as well as outer sucess, including all the references in Islam to the ego (nafs).

Muslims on the path of Taqlid are simply following the righteous in their manners as they themselves have learned from other righteous ones, who have learned from other righteous ones until we reach the most righteous: The Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم).

This was the approach of Islam in the past, traditional Islam. The best Caliphs were those who were righteous in themselves, not those who fell into some legal framework. In examining their lives we see that they followed the saints themselves and gave respect and took council from them.

The opposite of Taqlid is the approach taken by the Ahl ul Hadith (People of Hadith), otherwise known as Salafi’s or Wahabi’s. Their influence has been far and the printing press has been their friend indeed. Wrapped in source texts they seek every answer in between marks on paper, not realizing the heaviness of those texts and the burden they bear.

Hadith were an attempt at capturing the Amal (Manners) of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم) in a supplementary way for future generations. They were not meant to replace those who the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم) himself described as his inheritors and those who the Quran praises. Reading Hadith to achieve those manners is possible for pieces here and there, but at the same time it is quite like parents communicating to their child only through one way text messages. Such an approach is insufficient to handle the needs of transmitting the fundamental expressions of our faith (including ritual prayer) much less raising a well rounded person.

Today’s Muslims are, for the most part, like such children. Disconnected from the true means to finding the Prophet’s (صلي الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) example they delude themselves by believing the truth is somewhere between the lines of text. It is this preoccupation with the legal source texts which gives us ’scholars’ who use falsified textual interpretations to justify what is anti-righteous, whether it is clerics who support gaining and threatening the use of nuclear weapons or madman bombing innocents. For those preoccupied with the text, the world becomes binary: allowed or disallowed, permissible or not. There is no room for a living, growing understanding of righteousness which is necessary as the world encounters new evils and situations.

The reason that we find that the Muslim leaders of our past were so tolerant and malleable was because they worked through the filter of Taqlid and hence it was not source texts which were given priority but righteousness itself.

Babur Shah’s (d. 1530, founder of the Mughal Dynasty of India) will to his son Humayun Shah

“My son take note of the following: Do not harbour religious prejudice in your heart. You should dispense justice while taking note of the people’s religious sensitivities, and rites. Avoid slaughtering cows in order that you could gain a place in the heart of natives. This will take you nearer to the people.

Do not demolish or damage places of worship of any faith and dispense full justice to all to ensure peace in the country. Islam can better be preached by the sword of love and affection, rather than the sword of tyranny and persecution. Avoid the differences between the shias and sunnis. Look at the various characteristics of your people just as characteristics of various seasons.”
[wikipedia]

Could today’s Muslims have come to tolerant conclusions such as this?

It is with Taqlid that Muslim’s advanced and carried Islam with strength, compassion, tolerance, mercy, and a rich developing tradition from the time of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه Ùˆ سلم) to today.

The Ahl ul Sunnat (People of the Example of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم or Sunni Muslims need to remember that Sunnat is living today in the inheritors of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ), the Awliya (Friends of God), those who have dedicated their lives to Him. It is not dead in the index of dusty books or electrified within search engines.

The main purpose for every Muslim needs to be to find the righteous and be with them. This is where one’s intelligence comes into play, and this is what opens up Islam to a marketplace of ideas. Taqlid isn’t “Blind”. Come to your own determination on who is on the right path, using your intellect and asking Allah for support. But once you have used your intellect and found a righteous one, someone who is learned in the tradition of other righteous ones, someone who “asks you no fee” (as the holy verse orders), then hold tightly to them. Use the tools which Allah has provided you, intellect and judgement (which some are so keen on using against source texts) to apply instead towards this direction.

Taqlid represents the true fight of the nafs (ego). Who is superior, your ego or that holy, righteous one? Allah has put degrees and stations on earth and everyone has rights over each other: parents over children, employers over employees, governments over their citizens. This is a natural order.

But what happens when the one who needs to obey abandons his or her duty? This is the state of Muslims today, most of whom have rebelled in every way, taking their own ego’s as their guides. In such cases we find Muslims taking themselves greater than the Islamic rulers of yesterday, who carried far greater burdens and reached high worldly stations but are still historically recorded as putting their ego’s aside for the Awliya.

When you realize you need to submit yourself in Taqlid to the righteous, for no other gain except peace for your soul, that is when you have won the first battle against your ego.