Aqeedah
Question
· Is the Islamic Aqeedah only a spiritual aqeedah?
· Should one not perfect their A’qeeda (i.e. learn and teach every thing linked with their personal worship) befour reading and talking about societal affairs?
· Why is it said that ibadats are not reasoned?
· Which Aqeedah/Ideology did the Muslim Countries adopt after the fall of the Khilafah?
Answer
· Is the Islamic Aqeedah only a spiritual aqeedah?
The importance of this discussion relates to the outlook on life of peoples and nations, this Insha Allah will become ever more clearer as we continue in this discussion.
Firstly, it is important to briefly understand what is meant by the Spiritual Aqeeda and the Political Aqeeda as both are descriptions of realities.
The spiritual Aqeeda is held by a people who have recognised the Creator exists by whichever process; it is therefore concerned with worship. That is the hereafter, accountability for actions, prayer etc. Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism are examples of the spiritual Aqeeda because they are concerned solely with the hereafter. They do not effectively discuss anything other than moral codes and principles which underpin mankind’s relationship with his Creator as well as certain matters relating to person to person transactions such as marriage, family values etc. They have no system for organising life’s relationship, that is the organisation of societies, conducting of foreign policy, economic transactions, Penal codes and Judicial system etc. This is because the latter area is a description of the reality of the political Aqeeda, as its focus is purely upon dealing with life’s affairs with no relationship to the Creator, that is the hereafter. Capitalism is an example of this as it defines life’s affairs without connecting them to the origin of life and therefore the Creator.
Islam fuses both outlooks as a natural consequence of the view of life it uniquely holds. We understand that the Creator exists from the understanding of the reality that we see around us, we then realise the authenticity of the communication that defines the relationship of humanity to the Creator. In other words our understanding of the Creator informs our approach to life, in that we realise there is no part of life that Allah has not defined. This effectively means that worship for us has a broader definition than that held by religions. We realise that Salah is worship, reading the Qur’an is worship, performing Jihad Fee Sabee Lillah is worship, engaging in the Prophetic method to re-establish the Khilafah is worship and discussion of the situation of the Muslims with a view to finding resolution is worship, this is because Allah defines worship as being obedience to His (Subhanahu wa ta’aala’s) Shar’iah.
· Should one not perfect their A’qeeda (i.e. learn and teach every thing linked with their personal worship) befour reading and talking about societal affairs?
If I were to say that what is more important, salah or jihad, how would we answer? Could we say that one is more important than the other, or are they both commands from Allah (Subhanhu wa ta’aala)? Aren’t they both acts of worship which emanate from the Aqeeda? If one prioritises one Hukm over another, there must be a criterion by which he is doing this. Our criterion is only the halal and the haram. If we impose a prioritisation based on what seems correct or what we feel is more important, this is basing our actions on benefit, the criteria on the Capitalists. Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’aala) says about this:
“Do you believe in a part of the Book and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Judgement they shall be consigned to the most grievous torment.”[TMQ 2:85]
Imagine if I related to you the incident of a man who died of thirst, yet he had the tools to access the water, yet he didn’t, would we believe that this man was intelligent or insane? What would you say of the people given the last Message for mankind, but who turned instead to other than Islam in its entirety? It is like saying that only some of Allah’s (Subhanahu wa ta’aala) laws deserve our attention and application. The one who is contented with this has not adopted Islam in its entirety, he has only adopted Islam as a spiritual Aqeeda.
· Why is it said that ibadats are not reasoned?
Why is it said that ibadats are not reasoned? Firstly let us provide a context for this discussion. When we talk about the reason for something we mean the Shar’ii Illah (divine reason). That is the reason Allah (Subhanahu wa ta’aala) gave for why He (subhanahu wa ta’aala) legislated the rule. The short of it is the matters pertaining to the Ibdaat (worships), Morals, Clothing and foodstuffs have not been accompanied by an Illah for us. So for example Rasool Allah (sallAllahu alaihi wasallam) said: “Khamr (intoxicants/alcohol) has been forbidden for itself.” Therefore someone cannot argue that Khamr intoxicates and that is the Illah, otherwise it would be allowed to drink drinks which contain 5% alcohol content as long as you didn’t drink enough to intoxicate, this is incorrect as even one drop of alcohol intentionally consumed is a sin. In the absence of the Illah in these areas many began to concoct them in order to justify why Allah allowed women to wear silk but forbade man, or why men are not allowed to wear gold why women can adorn it. This is a dangerous mentality to possess because the absence of the illah (reason) leads to the absence of the rule. So some say that man cannot wear silk because it is contrary to the reason for the rule, which they determine is modesty. But if in a society everyone wears silk, and therefore wearing silk is no longer seen to be immodest, then the rule could be deemed to no longer exist, but this is completely incorrect. Some also say that the Illah for fasting is to remove the toxins from the body and therefore the Illah is its benefit to the health of the person. But what if eminent doctors agree that it is harmful to the body, would we stop fasting? No because we fast for Allah’s sake alone as an act of worship. If we try to concoct an Illah we are trying to comprehend the intentions of Allah na’uzubilla, may Allah save us from this mentality, how can human beings determine the intentions of the legislator unless he (subhanhu wa ta’aala) informed us of this in the Qur’an or through His Rasool.
· Which Aqeedah/Ideology did the Muslim Countries adopt after the fall of the Khilafah?
As for the Aqeeda the Muslims adopted following the demise of the Islamic Khilafah by 1924, this needs to be understood in light of the previous discussion. Adopting the political Aqeeda of the Capitalists means rejection of Islam as there is no halfway house between the two as the view of the Capitalists from its inception is that the existence of the Creator is immaterial to life. Their view rests on Secularism which is a compromise, they believe that Human Beings have the Freedom to Worship a creator but this should not interfere with society, government and politics. We believe that far from being immaterial, the questions concerning the origin of humanity are the single most important questions in life. Therefore had the Muslims adopted Capitalism, a foreign ideology they would certainly have had to reject Islam, which they didn’t. This did not mean that they fully realised Islam in life, it was partly due to our negligence over time, coupled with other reasons that resulted in the destruction of the Khilafah, the Muslims did adopt the non-Islamic solutions and thoughts in life and that led to confusion and lack of progress. Today we believe in Islam, but that applied upon us throughout the world is other than Islam, the emotions of the Muslims are Islamic, the criteria of the Muslims in the political sphere are affected by benefit. The Muslims did not reject Islam once Islam was removed from life, unlike the Communists. The Russian people following the destruction of the Soviet Union and Communism rejected it and adopted Capitalism, the Muslims did not reject Islam, but the reality meant that the Political Aqeeda was removed from practical effect, yet they still possessed the understanding and application of the Spiritual Aqeeda. The Ummah have awakened to many realities that is a natural consequence of possessing the unique Aqeeda, this has meant that there is a yearning for Islam in the complete sense.
Ramadhan
Khilafah