Selasa, 13 Julai 2010
New to Islam from Glasgow, Scotland
IMAN President’s conversations (via email) with Sr Elena Vidican, a Romanian sister who recently converted to Islam.
(EV: Elena Vidican; KO: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamar Oniah)

Date: Monday, 5 July, 2010

EV: Salam Aleikum Dr. Kamar Oniah,
My name is Elena and I would first like to say that I felt great joy attending the meeting that you were present at, here in Glasgow, at Andalus. I am new to Islam and listening to your words and thoughts I identified myself with the way I am thinking and I realise that thinking in a particular way does not mean you are not following Islam.

Wa 'alaikumu salam warah matullah wa barakatuh, Elena. So nice of you to mail and so happy to have met you at the Andalus Center in Glasgow. First of all, my heartiest congratulations indeed on your conversion too Islam. You are truly blessed, Elena, and may Allah keep you ever in His Mercies and Love.


KO: Yes, Elena, Islam is called deen al-fitrah i.e. a "natural religion" (religio naturalis) in that it fits with the natural disposition or character of human beings, i.e., the inclination in human beings to think good and to do good, and the need to reach out to God their Creator. So everything that is good, that result in good is Islamic, be this in thinking or acting or feeling. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that every human being is born a Muslim but their upbring made them to be a non-Muslim.

EV: For example I often hear or I am told that Islam is only about obeying without asking or questioning why something is in a particular way, that a true believer is someone who hears and believes because this is what was told. As we humans have limited knowledge and can not comprehend.
I am studying law, and maybe as it is in my nature I tend to always ask and compare things or analyse certain situations.
I remember that when I was a child, and I used to ask my dad, who is an orthodox priest, about different "dogmas" and often got the same reply, 'believe without questioning' . So to me, religion was something that didnt' really made lot of sense and I couldn't understand why should I believe in something that, at that time, for me was 'not making lot of sense'

What should be different about Islam?

KO: Elena, as I mentioned in my talk, the very first revelation given to the Holy Prophet Muhammad was Iqra', which connotes read, think, reflect, ponder. The essence of religion in Islam is understanding and from understanding comes conviction. Understanding requires thinking, assessing, reflecting. So much so is the significance of thinking in Islam that alcohol and all such items that destroy the ability to think is prohibited by Islam. Also, because the lunatic, children and the senile (very old people) are not able to think rationally, they are exempted from responsibility to the laws (shari'ah).

In fact, Islam, unlike Medieval Christianity, has always promoted thinking and expansion of knowledge and because of this when Medieval Europe went into the Dark Ages because the Church prohibited acquiring science, Islam was at its glory and contributed tremendously to scholarship, science and human development. It is very sad now that the Muslim world is in a state of disorder which makes the development of scholarship by brilliant Muslims very difficult today.

Indeed, in Islam, a person is highly encouraged to think. So Elena, go on questioning and thinking - this is Islamic. When a person says you should not ask, in all probability, the person doesn't know how to answer you. I asked a lot of questions before when I was in school too and my poor teachers whom I really adore, could not answer them. Then I realized that why should they be the ones to answer my questions; these were my questions, I should search for the answers myself. Because I have asked a lot of questions, alhamdulillah, I am able to reach out to people who have lots of questions, like you. And I am truly happy to be with people who ask and think, people like you, Elena. So keep on asking and we both can search for the answers.

EV: Also, I have many times, been thinking about how can so many texts of the multitude of the Hadiths be preserved with so much accuracy, having in mind that they were not written down in the time of the Prophet, and they are related by hearsay.?
From what I know, a message that is transmitted orally , looses from the accuracy as it is transferred from one person to another.

KO: Unlike the history of many religions' oral traditions, Islam came in the 7th Century C.E. into a society (Mecca) that was literate and many were scholars. Even Europe in the 7th Century had well read scholars among the clergy. The sayings of the Holy Prophets were memorized and his actions duly noted by many of his Companions. However, he did not allow them to write these down for fear that his words and actions may be confused up with the revelations he received from God. He only dictated the revelations down. When he died, the revelations were compiled together within 2-3 years of his death by Caliph Abu Bakar (i.e., the Qur'an) and later copies were made by Caliph Uthman to be distributed to different parts of the Muslim world then.

The originality of the revelations (Qur'an) was thus secured, and after that, the younger Companions started to compile the sayings (Hadith) and noted the actions (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophet from the witnesses and memories of the Companions. These were cross-checked and only those that had many narrators, or popularly known were accepted as authentic Hadith and Sunnah. Even so, the possibility of error is there unlike in the case of the Qur'an. Because of that Muslim scholars are very meticulous in identifying true strong Hadith from doubtful and weak narrations. The narrators are traced to the origin of the sayings and if the person has no contact with the Holy Prophet, the saying will not be acceptable.

EV: Also, the Quran is the word of God, why was it necessary to have additional guidance? Aren't we 'adding' things to the Qur'an?

KO: The status of the Hadith is never to add on but to clarify, explain and to elaborate. Thus if there seems to be contradictions between the Qur'an and particular "hadith", then that is not an authentic Hadith but the works of mischievous people who claim such to be a Hadith; and this so-claimed "hadith" has to be discarded because it is false.

EV: Is it possible that traditions are also a part of the Hadiths?

KO: It is possible only if the Prophet endorsed the traditions. This is because Islam does not reject anything good and valuable, and Islam acknowledges that there were many people who were given wisdom by Allah.

EV: As an explanation I was told that for example there is no mention in the Qu'ran how to pray and how many times. But does it matter if a certain ritual is followed while praying or the important thing is that we pray truly with our hearts and we manage to establish a 'real' connection with Allah ?

KO: This is one example of how the hadith elaborates the Qur'an. In the Qur'an, we are asked to pray, to be consistent in our prayers. Since Allah cannot be seen, we need a person to show us how, and Prophet Muhammad was that person. Prayers and all other rituals cannot be invented or creatively developed because the possibility of them leading to the worshipping of other than God. For example, people many takes means or medium such as idols or people to act as a bridge to God and end up by worshipping these, and so will end up by having a God that is not the actual God, Allah the Creator of everybody, everything and every being. In fact, that is the history of other religions; they started by worshipping Allah but got deviated little by little. The prophets were actually sent to lead people back to the religion of Allah. With Prophet Muhammad, however, the revelations and his teachings were well documented and therefore there is no need for other prophets anymore. People can all refer to the Qur'an and the Hadith for authentic guidance.

EV: Regarding the haram/halal issue I wonder if for example the fact that, let's say at a family reunion, where there are also people who are not Muslims, is it necessary that the halal food to be prepared in separate vessels using separate utensils? what is actually the real meaning of halal/haram?

KO: In such cases, go with the "safe" food, i.e. that you know for sure has no haram ingredients. As for the utensils or vessels, if these have been cleaned properly and nothing haram is suspected to be still there, it is alright.

EV: I would also like to know how can I purchase a copy of your book that you mentioned and also if you can recommend me some books on Islam that I can read?

KO: Elena, just mail me your postal address. It is my pleasure to give you one.

EV: Thank you for taking time reading this e-mail and I apologize for making it too long

Kind regards,
Elena

KO: No apologies please. In fact, I apologies for my late response. If you want to share my mail around, please feel free to do so.

God speed. Salam.
Dr. Kamar

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Date: Thursday, 8 July, 2010

EV: Salam Aleikum Dr.Kamar,

I would very much like to receive a copy of your book. My postal address is: ********, Glasgow, Scotland, UK., (Elena Vidican).

KO: Wa'alaikumu salam wm wb Elena. Insha Allah, I will post it soonest possible and will let you know when I have done so.

EV: Thank you for taking time in replying in lenght to my questions :-) Yes, I think that it is right to say that we should try and search for answers ourselves, and find the true meanings.
I have began reading the Qur'an, an English translation, as I do not know Arabic.

KO: Good. The most important thing is to understand what Allah says to you, whatever the language this may be. In fact, as stated in the Qur'an, the revelations that came before the Qur'an came to non-Arab prophets too and in their own languages which surely were not Arabic.

EV: Is it obligatory to learn Arabic in order to benefit from the blessings of Allah?

KO: Not obligatory since not every person has assess to the means to learn Arabic, but learning Arabic for understanding Islam is certainly both meritorious and helpful. But for the formal rituals such as the solat (formal 5 times a day prayer), these must be performed in Arabic and you must understand the meaning (translation). This is because these prayers are formal and like everything formal, they should be done properly and translations is not as accurate as the real ones. The du'a (personal invocations) can be done in your own language and with your own words.

EV: I have often heard and known people who can recite the Qur'an in Arabic without understanding much or nothing at all, from what they are reading. For example, today, as I attended a New to Islam meeting, one of the speakers (an imam) was saying that even if you don’t' understand , but know how to recite the Qur'an in Arabic is it considered valuable and you will get more rewards.

Now, my mind again started asking, how can you, your intellect, your heart connect to something that you do not comprehend? Is it the fact that the message of the Qur'an was in Arabic, that gives it a special meaning? Or should it matter if is Arabic or any other language?

KO: The Qur'an is the words of Allah and is a miracle. Reading and understanding it gets higher rewards and reading without understanding gets lesser reward. This is because when people read the Qu'ran, they feel close to it and therefore close to Allah too. When people are close to Allah, they will be conscious that Allah is with them always and thus will not do the bad and forbidden things and will do the good and praiseworthy things, i.e. be good Muslims. Reading the Qur'an is therefore as much an intellectual and rational matter as it is a spiritual and psychological matter. In fact, there are people who understand Arabic and may have read the Qur'an but are not Muslims as in the cases of the Arab Christians and Jews who understand Arabic in the Middle East and also the orientalist scholars. This is because such people reject Allah and Islam both intellectually and spiritually. Thus understanding does not always lead to acceptance. Moreover, Muslims who do not understand Arabic still do understand the general message of the Qur'an.

EV: In relation to this, I would also like to know, if you can indicate some source in the Qur'an or Hadiths, where it is said that the mere fact that a person is born Muslim, or is a Muslim, that person will for sure find the place in heaven, regardless of his actions[as i was told].

KO: Heaven is to be deserved. However, all those who acknowledges Allah as their Creator and do not regard that there are other gods other than Allah, then they will eventually go to Heaven after they have got their due punishments. If a person is a born Muslim but he or she rejects Allah as the Creator, then this person has gone out of Islam and is no longer a Muslim; no Heaven for such persons. You may want to refer to the following Qur'anic verses - 2:82, 4:48, 4:137, 29:58 . The first number is the chapter and the second number is the verse of the chapter e.g. 4:48 means chapter 4 verse 48 (Yusuf Ali translation).

EV: Again, I wonder, doesn’t' this mean that by having this belief, we as Muslims are basically trying to 'separate' from the rest, and we try to think as 'the chosen ones'?

KO: No, there is no such thing as "the chosen ones" because Muslims will be punished too if they do bad things and there are very many verses in the Qur'an that warn Muslims of the punishment of Allah if they do wrong. That is why good Muslims are very concern about doing good and rightful things and always avoid doing the forbidden and bad things. In fact, the more religious and committed the Muslims are to Islam, the more concern they are about doing good as compared to bad Muslims because the good Muslims are afraid of Allah's punishment. Being Muslim by itself does not protect us from Hell fire and punishment will come both on this earth in various forms as well as in the next life; thus no such understanding as the "chosen ones" in Islam.

EV: Is it true that Allah had chosen the Muslims (like special souls were meant for Muslims) ? What happens then with the rest of the humanity that is not Muslim, and have never heard about Islam?

KO: No, no such thing as special souls for Muslims above all other human beings. Same soul for all human beings. For those who have not heard about Islam, they come under a special category of those who have not received or aware of Islam. Allah will relate to them in a special way. If they are pure at heart and felt that there is only one Creator, the All Supreme God and they are not evil and do not do bad things, these people may be classified as Hanifs (plural hunafa') and are highly regarded by Allah.

EV: Salam
Elena

KO: Elena, what we are discussing here are very informative. You ask very profound questions and I am grateful to you for opening for me the venue to respond. Is it okay with you if I mount this on my website so that others may benefit too? This is called da'wah and in doing so, you are contributing much to Islam and to those who are in similar situation as you. You certainly have my permission to forward and mount our mails unto websites.
Wassalam,
Dr. Kamar Oniah

---------
Date: Fri, Jul 9, 2010


EV: Yes, I very much agree with posting our conversations on your website. I think it might benefit others as well.

Today I do not have questions, or so many as usual :-).
I was thinking what does Islam say about the period of Greek Philosophy?

Date: Mon, Jul 12, 2010

KO: Wa 'alaikumusalam wm wb, Elena. Tq very much for the permission to mount our mails on websites.

The Qur'an does not say anything precise about Greek philosophy but it is very appreciative of rational thinking. Muslim scholars have benefited much from Greek philosophy and were the inheritors of it and expanded it. Europe, however, under Christian power was very antagonistic to Greek philosophy and it was only during the Crusades that European scholars got to appreciate and re-learn Greek philosophies when they were exposed to it in the Muslim lands. Thus, after the Crusades, the socio-political and intellectual landscapes of Europe changed, bringing in the Renaissance and Reformation.

---------------
Date: Fri, Jul 16, 2010

EV: Assalamu alaikum Dr Kamar,

Thank you very much! I am looking forward to receiving it!

1. I would like to discuss again about the halal/haram issues in Islam.
It is understood that haram is something forbidden as it brings only bad effects upon one person. For example, alcohol produces intoxication of the body and mind and that is why was considered bad.
However, I have often heard people saying that for example products (not for eating) that might contain alcohol are also prohibitted. Such as: a gel used for hair, or perfumes or mouth wash, etc.
Why would these be haram? One will not be 'intoxicated" or drunk after using them in no way
So if we consider these things as haram, that means we are adding to the Quran, which is prohibited.

KO: Haram things are also impure things and cannot be on us when we pray. Alcohol is one of these. When perfumes contain alcohol, we may have it with us when we pray. If hair gel, then make very sure that it is thoroughly removed from our hair when we clean our hair. As for mouth rinse, the alcohol in the rinse can surely penetrate into our cells in mouth. Because of all this fuss about cleaning them, etc., surely it will be wiser for Muslims to just go for the non-alcoholic things. Thus, in saying that it is haram, it is not adding but translating into operation the injunctions of the Qur'an.

EV: 2. Why is music and dancing forbidden (if they are) in Islam? Does the Quran provides for such an interdiction or it is only in the traditions (Hadiths) ? And if is only in the Hadith, doesn’t that mean 'adding' something new?

KO: Music and dancing per se is not forbidden. The Holy Prophet was welcomed into Madinah with songs and cheer, and he also attended weddings with songs. Even today many Muslim weddings have dancing but these dances are confined to male or female-only groups. What is forbidden is music and dancing that portray lewdness or loose mixing and frolicking which is against the ethical values of Islam. Songs or sonoral art is a big thing in the Muslim world and Muslims, particularly the Sufis (Muslim mystics) express their devotion to Allah in songs of praises of His Majesty and some Sufi groups also have their dances of devotion.

EV: 3. Also there is the saying that people should follow the Sunna, the practice of the Prophet. For example eating with your hand (without using a fork or a spoon) or other acts that were done in a certain way. But shouldn't we also consider the time we are living in and the evolution of a society? While the main principles should remain the same, like being just and leading a moral life, eating in a particular way has changed since that time.

KO: Yes, you are right and you will see Muslims using fork and spoons and the Chinese Muslims using chop sticks. But again, if Muslims choose to eat with their fingers because they want to follow the Holy Prophet, surely this too is well intended and good. If you are not comfortable with Muslims who are so imposing and demanding in their character, making the sunnah (recommmended) matters as wajib (obligatory) please find other Muslims. Among Muslims, like other religious groups too, there are those who are ultra dogmatic, even petty at times. Move out of this circle and join the more general type, please.

EV: 4. What about superstition? Are they accepted in Islam? To be more specific: wearing a certain necklace that contains verses from the Quran and that can keep one away from troubles, or wearing a ring that also has some verses , enclosed.

KO: No, superstition is never accepted in Islam and talisman such as necklaces etc with Quranic verses or Islamic emblems are not acceptable practices. This in fact has its traditions in Judaism where symbols are much used as sacred and holy connections, as it were. In Islam, we turn to Allah Almighty, and only to Allah, for protection and guidance and we do it with a simple du'a (prayer) from our hearts and lips, in our own words or we can also recite the relevant Qur'anic verses.

EV: 5. What does Istikhara represent? Can it be performed by a 'scholar or imam', as I know the practice can be, and then that particular person can give an advice on the matter? How different is that, from making recourse to a 'wizard' or persons who think they can predict the future?

KO: Istikharah, in simple words, is a prayer to ask for guidance in decision making where we are uncertain and not confident in our own decisions. Therefore, before we make istikharah, we should first to evaluate and think thoroughly the possible consequences of our decision. If we are still uncertain, then we do istikharah. No, others should not do istikharah for us; we do it ourselves because the guidance should come to us. Those who seek Imams and scholars to do so are often those who are not sure of the strength of their own faith and prayers. Istikharah should not be looked upon as a completion of our needs; we should always work hard and seriously towards the goal even after our istikarah. Istikharah also does not mean that we do not have problems after we are guided into making the decision. The problems and difficulties may be necessary for the goal, i.e., part of the whole package, as it were. Istikharah means the guided decision is the best for us in the ultimate.

EV: Kind regards,

E.

KO: May Allah be with you always, Elena. I am linking you up with my niece, Shakirah, who was with me at our meeting in the Andalus Center, Glasgow. If you happen to come to London, do meet her and her friends. I am sure you all will have lots of fun and cheer, which are of course, very Islamic. Muslims should be happy and cheerful, not dull in look and in appearance, looking like zombies. Get away of such a gloomy and intense circle, Elena.

Wassalam,
Dr. Kamar

posted by Interactive Muslimah Association (IMAN) @ 1:01 PG   0 comments
 

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