Assalaamu alaykum

you say that the Grand Mufti COULD assert that qur’ans be confiscated and outlawed for the masses but i think that the question ought to be WOULD the Grand Mufti (or any other credible scholar for that matter) do something of this nature. Remeber that Islam is not like any other religion…it cannot be so easily distorted just like any other religion because the people of knowledge are bound by their duty to Allah. As long as the lay worshipper continues to develop his/her knowledge, then those who transgress the boundaries of Islam can be easily challenged….becasue Allah has demarcated those boundaries so clearly.

Anyway, what do you think? Is Islam more like a science than it is an art?

Salaam alaikum sister daughter of Islam,

I think the Quran is the uncorrupted word of Allah as passed through the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed (pbuh). I believe it to be true that are seven different meanings (at least) to each verse of the Quran, and that perhaps only god will ever know the seventh. I attempt to walk in the path that Allah (swt) and Mohammed (pbuh) have put before me with guidance from the Quran (and reliable Sunnah) through application of the fitnah and the inspiration that Allah (swt) sends into my heart, as informed by the information I have and the situation before me. On this path I struggle (jihad). My actions may make no sense to anyone else and that’s OK as long as Allah (swt) knows the sense of my actions.
Islam is inspiration and a direct relationship with god. The mediation of the Grand Mufti and others is more likely to muddle and obscure than to enlighten and guide me. I will allow that the Grand Mufti and others can certainly teach me, and I welcome and crave that—as I do talking to you—but only Allah can tell me right from wrong. The information from other humans can be corrupted by politics, desire, culture, emotion, various needs, cravings and rationalizations. The Grand Mufti’s weaknesses are not my weaknesses. My weaknesses are not your weaknesses. Only Allah (swt) knows your and my weaknesses as well as we know them ourselves, and can guide us in the path away from them.

mediation. that’s the word i was waiting for.

as far as i know, no sunni shcolar, upon the path of the salaf has ever claimed to be a mediator between Allah and His servants. they instead opt for the role of transmitters of knowledge.

in fact the qur’an itself was transmitted to the people orally (although it was recorded physically during the time of the Prophet but not in a single mushaf), from one human to the next until the khilafah of Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him). there was plenty of time for the qur’an to be corrupted by then, but we know that the companions were trustworthy….they had no desire except to preserve, maintain and spread Islam as and how the beloved Messenger had practiced it. Also when the standard copy of the qur’an was being compiled during Uthman’s khilafah, we know that he called upon the most knowledgeable and trustworthy companions in order to aid him in this task. He did not call upon everyone to voice their opinion because the goal was to serve Islam and then the people, and not the people and then Islam…

i guess what i’m trying to say is that sometimes a little trust goes a long way…Allah will not let us go astray so easily

Salaam alaikum sister,

Alhamduillah for the companions, who were what Allah (swt) made them.

......and the scholars?

‘Whoever travels a path seeking sacred knowledge, Allah will place him on a path leading to Paradise. The angels lower their wings for the student of sacred knowledge, pleased with what he is doing. The creatures in the heavans and the earth seek forgiveness for the student of sacred knowledge, even the fish in the water. The superiority of the religious scholar over the devout worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over the other heavanly bodies. The religious scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets leave no money as a bequest, rather they leave knowledge. Whoever seizes it has taken a bountiful share.’ (hadith of the blessed Messenger)

Any thoughts on the above hadith?

Salaam alaikum sister,

The best path is to proceed from principle to principle, and the first and highest principle is submission to Allah (swt). If the next principle presented contradicts the first, then go back to that first true principle and gather more information/inspiration/guidance.

Knowledge givers are worthy for giving knowledge, but not receiving my submission. Does superiority in this hadith connote submission? That’s the way it sounds…

Assalaamu alaykum

this hadith means something quite different to me.

read it carefully – sentence by sentence – without the ‘zero sum’ mindframe. think about yourself in relation to Allah first, and then about yourself in relation to the scholars.

let me know what you come up with – insha’allah it will clear a few doubts.

wassalaam

The path of knowledge is of the highest calling, and Allah rewards a seeker by promising them Paradise, or better yet, because of the journey Allah places Paradise at the journeys end. A seeker of knowledge is superior in the eyes of God than someone who blindly worships with no idea of what or why they are doing.
Even the animals will help a person seeking knowledge, animals who are ignorant of earthly wisdom understand that someone on the path of knowledge are on the path to paradise. The prophets were poor, and persecuted, they had no money and left none, but they left their knowledge to us. Whomever follows in the footsteps of the prophets receives bountiful blessings.

I know this is a very literal interpretation but consider that anyone reading the Quran should be able to read and understand because they may not have education or a scholar to lead them, but they can when able seek guidance.

Assalaamu alaykum

well done! i was hoping you would focus on knowledge as the central theme in this hadith and not submission – and you did! and in doing so you’re halfway there in answering some of your own questions.

after reading this hadith, it makes me want to learn. (does it make you feel like that too?)

By believing in Allah and His Messenger and all that they have prescribed, muslims become beautiful, we become bright – and we ourselves become sources of guidance for the rest of mankind, just like the stars and the other heavanly bodies. Allah wants this deen to spread and by asserting ‘la ilaha illallah’ we become ambassadors for His beautiful deen. we possess something that no-one else does – light.

But we should not settle for that. we should aspire to become bigger and brighter just like the moon – just like the scholars.

you see, i feel that the scholars are a source of knowledge. i do not consider them to BE knowledge – they have knowledge, something that we have too, only they have it in greater quantities. But, as you say, they themselves, as people, are not worthy of submission since the knowledge that they have gained has come from something more powerful – the Messengers – just as the moon acquires and gives out light from the sun.

However, just as the stars do not stop shining when the moon is out, so too do we continue to shine; continue to be beautiful; continue to be signposts for the rest of humanity – we do not submit to the scholars, but we should acknolwedge their value, and their superiority – know that they have only become so bright through personal struggle…and when the sun comes out, the moon and the stars vanish- they disappear and give way to something greater, something much more superior. sincere Muslims whether scholar, or non scholar do not even attempt to outdo the Messengers.

And all of the Muslims including Messengers, scholars and students are infinitely inferior to Allah, the Creator of knowledge. May He be glorified and exalted

i hope i haven’ t confused you.

wassalaam

By believing in Allah and His Messenger and all that they have prescribed, muslims become beautiful, we become bright

By “doing” as Allah and his Messenger have done, Muslims become beautiful. Even Shaitan, Iblis “believed”
Belief is not quantifiable, but “doing” is. If you see a person hungry and you “feed” them, then you are like Allah, if you see a person hungry and you say, “how sad, I believe someone should feed him.” Then you are like Iblis.

Assalaamu alaykum lailah23

when i said ‘believing’, ‘doing’ was implicit – sorry for not being clear. although, in my defence, action – an important topic in itself – was not the point of this discussion.

i do however have a slight problem with what you have said, but i agree with your general sentiment.
yes, belief is not quantifiable but actions are – the latter exemplifying our sincerity and commitment to the deen

BUT

1) we can never be like Allah (may He be glorified and exalted); we can only do things which are pleasing to Him
2) Iblees sympathises with no-one. He wants us all to be dragged into jahannum with him, as if trying to prove a point. thus, he wouldn’t even stop to think about the hungry person.

im not sure if the above sounds abrasive – but if it does, then it was not intended.

wassalaam

As Salaam Alaikum Sister

I don’t find your words abrasive, I love having this discussion with you. You are knowlegable and I like that.
When I say like Allah, I think I am referring to the source of all goodness, and all that is perfect, not that we can be Gods, no.
When you think about it, we strive in our actions to be as good as God, we strive for perfection. But we know that sort of perfection is not within us. But we try.
Of course Iblis sympathizes with no one, this was an example to make a point. That we sometimes talk so much about theory and not the application in a practical way of our Islam. This is what made Isa so wise pbu, is that he took a Judaism that had become a religion for the rich, and exploited the poor, and turned it around to a practical religion. Though they say he was Christian and founded Christianity we know this is not true, instead he created what was practical reformed Judaism.