Karbala: What they do not want you to know
Karbala: What they do not want you to know
In the month of Muharram the tragic events of Karbala are re-enacted. This is not normal for the majority of Sunni communities but this is specific for some communities of the indo-paks and the Turks. Yet none go into the detail that the latter do as others mention it briefly and not in the agonising detail that is vividly painted for us.
To actually understand the events that transpired takes a lot of time and a lot of study. It is a gut wrenching and heart rendering event which fills even the most sternest Muslim heart with grief. The question that the heart begs to be answered is why? Why did they kill the grandson of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him)? This is something we hope to address.
Precursor
To understand the events that occurred we must look back before we look at the event. After the murder of Ali (may Allah ennoble his face) his son Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) was given authority.
During this time of tribulation he sensed that the same forces that had caused the death of both his predecessors might consume the fledgling Muslim community and cause a civil war. So he gave up his right to the caliphate to bring peace. This was already predicted by the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “My child is a master. Allah shall reconcile two parties from a great sedition by him.” (Imam Ahmed 5/44), this occurred now.
During this time of tribulation he sensed that the same forces that had caused the death of both his predecessors might consume the fledgling Muslim community and cause a civil war. So he gave up his right to the caliphate to bring peace. This was already predicted by the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) said, “My child is a master. Allah shall reconcile two parties from a great sedition by him.” (Imam Ahmed 5/44), this occurred now.
Al-Hassan (may Allah be pleased with him) handed over his right to the caliphate to Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). This was something that pacified the disputing factions and meant that they had lost their rallying cry. Mu’awiyah had been keen to find the killers of his cousin Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him). The first sect of Islam the Khawarij was causing much sedition and tribulation.
So when Mu’awiyah passed away Al-Hussain (Al-Hassan’s brother) (may Allah be pleased with him) was keen to assert his right to the caliphate. Yazid (Mu’awiyah’s son) instead asserted his own authority which was something dissimilar to the manner the previous caliphates were declared. As other were voted for by the a group of the righteous. So Imam Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) had a rightful claim. Also due to the fact that Yazid was known to be unrighteous and all previous leaders were righteous.
Karbala
The residents of Kuffans kept writing to Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) to affirm his right and that they would pledge their allegiance to him. So after sending one of his cousins to oversee the situation in Kufa, he went with a small group and members of his family.
When news of this reached Yazid he sent Ibn Ziyad to quell this ‘revolt’ which was quelled in the most brutal manner possible. He was sent to either take the oath of leadership from Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) or to finish his rebellion. What followed would fill every believer’s heart with sorrow for many years to come. Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) , his party and all the males of his offspring were martyred with the exception of Zayn Al-Abideen (may Allah be pleased with him). Zayn stayed behind in Medinah because of illness.
Now this is where the story ends for most of the ‘historians’ who re-trace these events on a yearly basis. But the story does not end here? The date of his death is the tenth of Muharram 680.
Events that followed
Al-Mukhtar Ibn Abu Ubayd Al-Thaqafi (may Allah be pleased with him) was in prison and when news reached him he raised an army to avenge Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) which is something he did.
When he would kill one of those involved in the murder he would send the proof to his the martyrs son. The severed heads of the killers of Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) were sent to Zayn Al-Abideen (may Allah be pleased with him) and then were placed on poles. Snakes would arrive and prod the heads until eventually entering the head by the nostril. This was a fitting end to those who had committed such a heinous crime as kill a grandson of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him).
When he would kill one of those involved in the murder he would send the proof to his the martyrs son. The severed heads of the killers of Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) were sent to Zayn Al-Abideen (may Allah be pleased with him) and then were placed on poles. Snakes would arrive and prod the heads until eventually entering the head by the nostril. This was a fitting end to those who had committed such a heinous crime as kill a grandson of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him).
Yazid would die a few years later in 683. One of the most unfortunate practices of the Ummayyad caliphs was the cursing of Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) which continued until this practice was ceased by the pious caliph Umar ibn ‘Abdul-Aziz (d.720) (may Allah be pleased with him).
You have to understand that leaders will commit the most heinous of crimes just to remain in power and this was no different. The Ummayyads saw his claim as invalid and would continue their revenge with curses.
You have to understand that leaders will commit the most heinous of crimes just to remain in power and this was no different. The Ummayyads saw his claim as invalid and would continue their revenge with curses.
So all the killers who were involved were killed but was this end of the punishment that the tribe of Ummayyad? Yazid had died an unfortunate death but the punishment was still due. In this time much talk of rebellion was banded about and this occurred when the Abbasid Empire came into power in 750.
They enacted the final revenge upon the tribe of Ummayyad. They killed every single member of the family of the Ummayyad tribe and the only one to escape was Abdurrahman Al-Dakhil (d.788). He was known to be pious and extremely generous and he was the only person to survive the slaughter. He would flee to Al-Andulus (Spain) and make a new home there.
They enacted the final revenge upon the tribe of Ummayyad. They killed every single member of the family of the Ummayyad tribe and the only one to escape was Abdurrahman Al-Dakhil (d.788). He was known to be pious and extremely generous and he was the only person to survive the slaughter. He would flee to Al-Andulus (Spain) and make a new home there.
In context
Now that we have taken the events in context and looked at the entire picture we see a sad event but it was not without its consequences. This is something that is forgotten when we arrive at the month of Muharram. Ponder these facts closely and you’ll see that Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) was avenged in such a manner that left little doubt to who did it.
Harming the offspring of the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him) has dire consequences and this was a total revenge. These points that we have explained you will not find mentioned by any of the speakers during this month. Instead you’ll find two types of speakers about this event. One that considered Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) as a rebel and another that considers him as a hero. The group that consider him a rebel have yet to understand that he was making a stand for justice and Islam.
Reasons of exploitation
This event caused what would become the group known as the Shia – the party of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) to break off from the Sunni’s and form their own sect. At this point they were a political party and in favour of Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) and his offspring. This event would lead them to more radical and extreme tendencies.
In the indo-pak communities this event is brought out each year in some misguided love towards Ahl Al-Bayt which basically translates as the shouting of old men in Masjids around the country. This is what some consider as a sign of love towards them and the Messenger (may Allah bestow peace and blessings upon him). This is something that looks ugly and its causes some people to make takfir (declaring a disbeliever) of Yazid. The soundest position of takfir of Yazid is not to involve yourself out of caution. Why? because the Prophet (may Allah bestow peace and blessing upon him) cursed those who attacked Medinah and blessed those who tried to conquer Constantinople. Yazid was in the army that went to Constantinople (as a member of the army see Companions of the Prophet p.157 by AbdulWahid Hamid - the Shia deny this) and it was he ordered the attacking of Medinah. So for this reason many scholars have refrained from cursing him but you will find prominent scholars who have cursed him.
Yet this event is manipulated by the speakers during this period. The murder at Karbala is one of the most shocking tales in Islamic history and it leaves a person cold. It is almost impossible to comprehend. How could they do it? Why did they do it? Are just some of the questions that are banded about. It is not something that I would like to re-live every year as reading it once a lifetime was extremely difficult. I do think that this event should not be used in such a visceral and agonising way by week long television shows dedicated to this subject.
This is exactly what made me put pen to paper because one of my friends commentated on how I had explained something to him in five minutes what he had not got in a week’s worth of television programs on this subject. It was more than a shock but perhaps to be expected. As its a sign of manipulation not respect.
Final remarks
We find this story difficult to comprehend at times and sometimes find it difficult to think about. We would like to see this event commemorated but in a rational and normal manner like the rest of the Muslim world. We do not mean to offend people but we really need to look how we manipulate people’s emotions because this is plainly wrong. If we really want to practice love towards the Ahl al-bayt them we should honour them instead of using the murder of one of forefathers as an event that we rally around them once a year and spend the rest of the year opposing them.
Imam Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) shall forever be remembered as someone who was uncompromising in his stand for the justice. This stand for justice is one of the reasons why Imam Al-Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) is a master of paradise.
Yet how sad is that this martyrdom is manipulated in an inappropriate manner that increases grief and sadness. These are not part of the events and neither should they be. His killers were killed and they did not escape punishment nor would they.
The Shia have of course gone to the extreme of bodily harm during the commemoration of this event. One of my friends father once said they should not harm their shoulders and backs; they should slit their throats instead! You see that would be more effective than what they are doing or so he claimed. Even within the Shia they disagree about self harm and of course Sunni Islam totally rejects self harm in any circumstances as unlawful/haram.
Yet how sad is that this martyrdom is manipulated in an inappropriate manner that increases grief and sadness. These are not part of the events and neither should they be. His killers were killed and they did not escape punishment nor would they.
The Shia have of course gone to the extreme of bodily harm during the commemoration of this event. One of my friends father once said they should not harm their shoulders and backs; they should slit their throats instead! You see that would be more effective than what they are doing or so he claimed. Even within the Shia they disagree about self harm and of course Sunni Islam totally rejects self harm in any circumstances as unlawful/haram.
We need a balanced mind and we do not go to extremes because the extremists are not just those who murder innocents they are those who see only one valid interpretation of events.
We hope that this a balanced re-telling of the events that allows people to look at the entire event in the light of history without being boxed into one part of the story and wondering about its ending.
We hope that this a balanced re-telling of the events that allows people to look at the entire event in the light of history without being boxed into one part of the story and wondering about its ending.
May Allah bless our master Muhammad, his family, his companions; an endless blessing and endless salutations.
Sheikh Yusuf Al-Nabahani (may Allah show him mercy) is one of the greatest scholars of Islam and we drew heavily from his work.
AN OTTOMAN IJAZAH (1869)
AN OTTOMAN IJAZAH, 1869
(An ijazah (Arabic: الإِجازَة ) is a certificate used primarily by Sunni Muslims to indicate that one has been authorized by a higher authority to transmit a certain subject or text of Islamic knowledge. This usually implies that the student has learned this knowledge through face-to-face interactions "at the feet" of the teacher. The Ijazah was limited to the study of Islamic law (sharia))
Bir Osmanlı İcazet'i, 1869
Ajaran Wahabi mendorong orang menjadi teroris
Ajaran
Wahabi mendorong orang menjadi teroris
Wawancara Said Aqil Siradj (
Reporter : Mohamad Taufik
Ketua Umum Pengurus Besar Nahdhatul Ulama
(PBNU) Said Aqil Siradj menyebut ada kaitan antara aliran Wahabi dengan
jaringan terorisme. Sebab, ajaran ini menyebutkan ziarah kubur, tahlilan, haul,
dan istighosah itu musyrik dan bid'ah.
“Nah, di hati dan pikiran anak-anak muda, kalau begitu orang NU musyrik, kalau gitu orang tua saya tahlilan musyrik juga, halal darahnya, bisa dibunuh,†kata dia. Sebab itu, ajaran Wahabi sangat berbahaya.
Berikut penuturan Said Aqil kepada Muhammad Taufik dari merdeka.com, Rabu (26/9), dalam perjalanan semobil menuju sebuah tasiun televisi.
Sejauh mana pengaruh asing membentuk radikalisme di Indonesia?
Kita awali dulu dari Timur Tengah. Dulu, begitu Anwar Sadat berkuasa di Mesir, tahanan kelompok Ikhwanul Muslimin dipenjara, semua dilepas. Mereka kebanyakan pintar, ahli. Setelah keluar dari tahanan, kebanyakan megajar di Arab Saudi. Di Arab mereka membentuk gerakan Sahwah Islamiyah atau kesadaran kebangkitan Islam. Sebenarnya pemerintah Arab Saudi sudah prihatin, khawatir mereka menjadi senjata makan tuan.
Tapi, kebetulan pada 1980-an, Uni Soviet masuk ke Afghanistan. Pemerintah Arab menjaring, menampung anak-anak, termasuk kelompok Ikhwanul Muslimin, berjihad ke Afghanistan, termasuk Usamah Bin Ladin. Bin Ladin ini keluarga kaya, pemborong Masjidil Haram. Singkat cerita, setelah Soviet lari, kemudian bubar, Arab Saudi memanggil mereka kembali. Yang pulang banyak, yang tidak juga banyak.
Lalu Bin Ladin membentuk Al-Qoidah. Menurut mazhab Wahabi, membikin organisasi bid’ah. Maka Bin Ladin diancam kalau tidak pulang dicabut kewaranegaraannya. Sampai tiga kali dipanggil, tidak mau pulang, maka dicabutlah kewarganegaraanya. Nah, sekarang jadi sambung dengan cerita teroris di Indonesia. Di sini ada DITII, di sana ada Al-Qaiudah. Tapi saya heran, mereka ini berjuang atas nama Islam, tapi tidak pernah ada gerakan Al-Qaidah pergi ke Palestina.
Walau mengebom itu salah, saya heran, padahal mengatasnamakan demi Islam, tapi tidak pernah ada Al-Qaidah pergi ke Israil mengebom atau apalah. Yang dibom, malah Pakistan, Indonesia, dan Yaman. Kenapa tidak pergi ke Israil kalau memang benar-benar ingin berjihad. Walau saya sebenarnya juga tidak setuju kalau sekonyong-konyong mengebom Israel, itu biadab juga. Tapi artinya, kalau benar-benar ingin berjuang kenapa tidak ke Israel.
Lalu hubunganya dengan Indonesia?
Kemudian beberapa organisasi di Indonesia mulai tumbuh. Mohon maaf, ketika beberapa lembaga atau yayasan pendidikan di Indonesia didanai oleh masyarakat Saudi beraliran Wahabi, Ingat, bukan pemerintah Arab Saudi. Dana dari masyarakat membiayai pesantren baru muncul, di antaranya; Asshofwah, Assunnah, Al Fitroh, Annida. Mereka ada di Kebon Nanas, Lenteng Agung, Jakarta, Sukabumi, Bogor, Jember, Surabaya, Cirebon, Lampung dan Mataram.
Mereka mendirikan yayasan Wahabi. Tapi sebentar, jangan salah tulis, saya tidak pernah mengatakan Wahabi teroris, banyak orang salah paham. Tapi doktrin, ajaran Wahabi bisa, dapat mendorong anak-anak muda menjadi teroris. Karena ketika mereka megatakan tahlilan musyrik, haul dan istighosah bidah, musyrik, dan ini-itu musyrik.
Nah, di hati dan pikiran anak-anak muda, kalau begitu orang NU musyrik, kalau begitu orang tua saya tahlilan musyrik juga, halal darahnya, bisa dibunuh. Kalau seperti itu, tinggal ada keberanian atau tidak, ada kesempatan dan kemampuan atau tidak, nekat dan tega atau tidak. Kalau ada kesempatan, ada keberanian, ada kemampuan, tinggal mengebom saja. Walau ajaran Wahabi sebenarnya mengutuk pengeboman, tidak metolerir, tapi ajaran mereka keras,
Contoh, di pesantren Assunnah, Kalisari Jonggrang, Cirebon Kota. Pemimpinnya Salim Bajri, sampai sekarang masih ada, punya santri namanya Syarifudin mengebom masjid Polresta Cirebon, punya santri namanya Ahmad Yusuf dari Losari, mengebom gereja kota di Solo. Ajarannya sih tidak pernah memerintahkan mengebom, tapi bisa mengakibatkan.
Anda setuju Wahabi pembentuk radikalisme?
Saya tidak pernah mengatakan Wahabi teroris, banyak orang salah paham. Tapi doktrin, ajaran Wahabi dapat mendorong anak-anak muda menjadi teroris. Karena ketika mereka megatakan tahlilan musyrik, haul dan istighosah bidah, musyrik, dan ini-itu musyrik. Jadi ajaran Wahabi itu bagi anak-anak muda berbahaya.
Bisa dibilang ada persaingan antara Wahabi dan Sunni?
Ya jelas dong. Jadi mereka punya sistem, uang, dana, pelatih. Tapi sekali lagi jangan salah paham. Saya hormat kepada Raja Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz karena saya alumnus sana. Tapi saya menentang Wahabi.
Jadi sebatas perbedaan pendapat?
Ya, yang saya tentang Wahabi, bukan raja Arab Saudi. Karena duta besar Arab Saudi bilang saya ini mencaci Raja Arab. Itu salah.
Berapa pesantren beraliran Wahabi ini?
Setahu saya ada 12 pesantren, di antaranya Asshofwah, Assunnah, Al Fitrah, Annida. Pesantren seperti ini (Wahabi) lahirnya baru sekitar 1980-an.
“Nah, di hati dan pikiran anak-anak muda, kalau begitu orang NU musyrik, kalau gitu orang tua saya tahlilan musyrik juga, halal darahnya, bisa dibunuh,†kata dia. Sebab itu, ajaran Wahabi sangat berbahaya.
Berikut penuturan Said Aqil kepada Muhammad Taufik dari merdeka.com, Rabu (26/9), dalam perjalanan semobil menuju sebuah tasiun televisi.
Sejauh mana pengaruh asing membentuk radikalisme di Indonesia?
Kita awali dulu dari Timur Tengah. Dulu, begitu Anwar Sadat berkuasa di Mesir, tahanan kelompok Ikhwanul Muslimin dipenjara, semua dilepas. Mereka kebanyakan pintar, ahli. Setelah keluar dari tahanan, kebanyakan megajar di Arab Saudi. Di Arab mereka membentuk gerakan Sahwah Islamiyah atau kesadaran kebangkitan Islam. Sebenarnya pemerintah Arab Saudi sudah prihatin, khawatir mereka menjadi senjata makan tuan.
Tapi, kebetulan pada 1980-an, Uni Soviet masuk ke Afghanistan. Pemerintah Arab menjaring, menampung anak-anak, termasuk kelompok Ikhwanul Muslimin, berjihad ke Afghanistan, termasuk Usamah Bin Ladin. Bin Ladin ini keluarga kaya, pemborong Masjidil Haram. Singkat cerita, setelah Soviet lari, kemudian bubar, Arab Saudi memanggil mereka kembali. Yang pulang banyak, yang tidak juga banyak.
Lalu Bin Ladin membentuk Al-Qoidah. Menurut mazhab Wahabi, membikin organisasi bid’ah. Maka Bin Ladin diancam kalau tidak pulang dicabut kewaranegaraannya. Sampai tiga kali dipanggil, tidak mau pulang, maka dicabutlah kewarganegaraanya. Nah, sekarang jadi sambung dengan cerita teroris di Indonesia. Di sini ada DITII, di sana ada Al-Qaiudah. Tapi saya heran, mereka ini berjuang atas nama Islam, tapi tidak pernah ada gerakan Al-Qaidah pergi ke Palestina.
Walau mengebom itu salah, saya heran, padahal mengatasnamakan demi Islam, tapi tidak pernah ada Al-Qaidah pergi ke Israil mengebom atau apalah. Yang dibom, malah Pakistan, Indonesia, dan Yaman. Kenapa tidak pergi ke Israil kalau memang benar-benar ingin berjihad. Walau saya sebenarnya juga tidak setuju kalau sekonyong-konyong mengebom Israel, itu biadab juga. Tapi artinya, kalau benar-benar ingin berjuang kenapa tidak ke Israel.
Lalu hubunganya dengan Indonesia?
Kemudian beberapa organisasi di Indonesia mulai tumbuh. Mohon maaf, ketika beberapa lembaga atau yayasan pendidikan di Indonesia didanai oleh masyarakat Saudi beraliran Wahabi, Ingat, bukan pemerintah Arab Saudi. Dana dari masyarakat membiayai pesantren baru muncul, di antaranya; Asshofwah, Assunnah, Al Fitroh, Annida. Mereka ada di Kebon Nanas, Lenteng Agung, Jakarta, Sukabumi, Bogor, Jember, Surabaya, Cirebon, Lampung dan Mataram.
Mereka mendirikan yayasan Wahabi. Tapi sebentar, jangan salah tulis, saya tidak pernah mengatakan Wahabi teroris, banyak orang salah paham. Tapi doktrin, ajaran Wahabi bisa, dapat mendorong anak-anak muda menjadi teroris. Karena ketika mereka megatakan tahlilan musyrik, haul dan istighosah bidah, musyrik, dan ini-itu musyrik.
Nah, di hati dan pikiran anak-anak muda, kalau begitu orang NU musyrik, kalau begitu orang tua saya tahlilan musyrik juga, halal darahnya, bisa dibunuh. Kalau seperti itu, tinggal ada keberanian atau tidak, ada kesempatan dan kemampuan atau tidak, nekat dan tega atau tidak. Kalau ada kesempatan, ada keberanian, ada kemampuan, tinggal mengebom saja. Walau ajaran Wahabi sebenarnya mengutuk pengeboman, tidak metolerir, tapi ajaran mereka keras,
Contoh, di pesantren Assunnah, Kalisari Jonggrang, Cirebon Kota. Pemimpinnya Salim Bajri, sampai sekarang masih ada, punya santri namanya Syarifudin mengebom masjid Polresta Cirebon, punya santri namanya Ahmad Yusuf dari Losari, mengebom gereja kota di Solo. Ajarannya sih tidak pernah memerintahkan mengebom, tapi bisa mengakibatkan.
Anda setuju Wahabi pembentuk radikalisme?
Saya tidak pernah mengatakan Wahabi teroris, banyak orang salah paham. Tapi doktrin, ajaran Wahabi dapat mendorong anak-anak muda menjadi teroris. Karena ketika mereka megatakan tahlilan musyrik, haul dan istighosah bidah, musyrik, dan ini-itu musyrik. Jadi ajaran Wahabi itu bagi anak-anak muda berbahaya.
Bisa dibilang ada persaingan antara Wahabi dan Sunni?
Ya jelas dong. Jadi mereka punya sistem, uang, dana, pelatih. Tapi sekali lagi jangan salah paham. Saya hormat kepada Raja Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz karena saya alumnus sana. Tapi saya menentang Wahabi.
Jadi sebatas perbedaan pendapat?
Ya, yang saya tentang Wahabi, bukan raja Arab Saudi. Karena duta besar Arab Saudi bilang saya ini mencaci Raja Arab. Itu salah.
Berapa pesantren beraliran Wahabi ini?
Setahu saya ada 12 pesantren, di antaranya Asshofwah, Assunnah, Al Fitrah, Annida. Pesantren seperti ini (Wahabi) lahirnya baru sekitar 1980-an.
·
Doktrin
dalam fahaman wahabi yang salahfaham terhadap definisi/takrif bid’ah, syirik,
kufur, fasiq membawa kepada gluluw/ekstrim…salahfaham tersebut serta kekeliruan
perlu dijelaskan supaya umat islam memahami sesuatu secara haq dan sahih.
Diantara puncanya ‘nas sahih wafahmu khatiq’ nas sahih tapi faham salah. Tidak merujuk
kepada ahli sesuatu bidang (ahl zikr), dll.
Kesatuan Ulama Sufi Sedunia (Ittihad Alami Ulama'Sufi)
37
عالما أزهريا يدشنون "الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية
لأول مرة فى تاريخ أهل التصوف، دشن 37 عالما أزهريا صوفيا "الاتحاد
العالمى لعلماء الصوفية " على رأسهم الدكتور "حسن الشافعى" عضو
هيئة كبار العلماء، ورئيس المكتب الفنى لشيخ الأزهر، وبعضوية جمع كبير من العلماء
منهم الدكتور "على جمعة" مفتى الجمهورية، والدكتور "أسامة
الأزهرى" رئيس مكتب رسالة الأزهر، والشيخ "صلاح نصار إمام"، وخطيب
الجامع الأزهر، والشيخ "محمد يحيى الكتانى"، والدكتور "محمد
مهنا" مستشار شيخ الأزهر، والدكتور "إبراهيم نجم" مستشار مفتى
الجمهورية، وجمع كبير من العلماء الأزهريين المتصوفين.
واتخذ الاتحاد مقرا له فى حى المقطم، وسوف يتم الإعلان رسميا فى حفل كبير يضم علماء الصوفية، من جميع أنحاء العالم بعد انتهاء إجازة عيد الأضحى المبارك.
الدكتور "حسن الشافعى" رئيس الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية، أكد لـ"اليوم السابع" إننا نقدم للأمة هذا الاتحاد، لندرك كل الإدراك عظم المسئولية التى تحملنا بها فى تقديم التصوف على صورته الحقيقية المشرقة، والسعى فى تخليصه من ما شابه من بدع الجهلاء، وانتحال الأدعياء فى الوقت الذى يتطلع فيه الناس إلى رجال التصوف، وينتظرون منهم الكثير إذ هم الخلاصة التى جمعت بين الحسنين، وأخذت بالطرفين واستمسكت بالهدى النبوى الذى من تمسك به وصل واتصل، وقرنت به سعادة الآباد، وعن الشقاوة انفصل.
وأضاف "الشافعى" أن هدفنا هو "التصوفَ الحقَّ" المؤسسَ على الكتاب والسُّنة، النقى من كل بدعة ودجل، هو النبراسُ الذى يضىء لأُمتنا طريق الرُّقى والحضارة والتقدم.
وتابع، فقد هالنا وأفزعنا ما آل إليه حال التصوف الإسلامى المعاصر على يد بعض منتسبيه من المتصوفة، الذين لم يحصنوا أنفسهم بالعلم الشرعى الصحيح، ولم يسيروا على طريقة أسلافهم من أهل الله تعالى أهلِ المجاهدة والولاية والذكر والفكر، والترقى فى مجالات الرُّقى الرُّوحى، الذى يأخذ بيد الإنسان إلى أعلى درجات المعرفة بالله تعالى، فنزلوا بالتصوف من مقامة الإحسان الراقى إلى مدركات من كل ما يمجه العقل السليم والفكر الواعى المستنير.
واستطرد "من هنا أرشدنا الله تعالى إلى هذه الفكرة، وهى تأسيس اتحاد عالمى لعلماء التصوف، هذه الرابطة العالمية ليست طريقة صوفية لتربية المريدين، ولا جماعة دعوية وظيفتها الدعوة والوعظ والإرشاد فحسب، ولا منظمة حكومية ترتبط بسياسات دولة معينة، بل هى جماعة علمية عالمية تقوم على إصلاح وترشيد حركة التصوف المعاصر فى مجالاته المختلفة، إيمانا منها كما أسلفنا بأهمية وخطر التصوف الرُّوحى الرَّاشد فى تقدم الأمة ورقيها.
وأشار إلى "أن وظيفة هذا الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية وظيفة جسيمة ومهمة خطيرة، ربما يكون لها إن صلحت النوايا لله رب العالمين، وجرد القصد له وحده، وحددت الأهداف والوسائل بدقة وعناية، أعظم الأثر فى نهضة الأمة الإسلامية فى واقعها المعاصر، الذى غص بما نشاهده لحظيا من تطورات وتغيرات، لا يسع الصوفية الراشدين أن يقفوا منها موقف المشاهد المتفرج المتعجب، فالصوفى الحقُّ هو ابن وقته، والصُّوفى الحقُّ هو المدرك لشأنه العالم بزمانه، وليس الصوفى الحق هو المتقوقع المنعزل الجاهل بقضايا أمته، وما تمر به من تغيرات وتطورات.
و أوضح لـ"اليوم السابع" أنه تم وضع لائحة عامة للاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية منها:
المادة1 : الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية هيئةٌ إسلاميةٌ سُنيةٌ صوفيةٌ تضمُّ أعضاء من علماء التصوف والمهتمين بالنهوض به، من أنحاء العالم الإسلامى، وهى هيئة مستقلة عن المؤسسات الرسمية، والمؤسسة لها شخصيتها الاعتبارية القانونية وذمتها المالية الخاصة، ويشار إليها فى هذا النظام باسم "الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية".
المادة 2: الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية مرجعيته العلمية الأزهر الشريف، وعقيدته عقيدة أهل السُّنة والجماعة بمناهجها المتعددة "الأشاعرة والماتريدية و أهل الحديث".
المادة 3: المقر الرئيس للاتحاد، جمهورية مصر العربية محافظة القاهرة، ويجوز بقرار من مجلس الأُمناء إنشاءُ فروع خارج القاهرة، وعلى رئيس الاتحاد أو من ينوب عنه، أن يعتمد الأعضاء الممثلين له، فى كافة المقار الفرعية.
المادة 4: يعمل الاتحاد وفق هذا النظام الأساسى والنظم والقوانين السارية فى جمهورية مصر العربية، وتعمل الفروع وفق هذا النظام الأساسى.
المادة 5: عضوية الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية مفتوحة للعلماء من خريجى الكليات الشرعية، أو الأقسام الإسلامية فى الجامعات المختلفة فى العالم الإسلامى، أو المعنيين بعلوم الشريعة والثقافة الإسلامية، وبخاصة علوم التصوف ممن لهم فيه إسهام، أو نشاط ملموس فى مجال من مجالات التصوف الإسلامى، وفيما عدا الأعضاء المؤسسين يجب أن توافق لجنة العضوية على طلب الراغب فى الانضمام إلى الاتحاد قبل أن يعرض على مجلس الأمناء للنظر فى قبول عضويته.
وتُقبل عضوية جمعيات العلماء، ومؤسساتهم واتحاداتهم على أن يمثل كُلَّ تجمع فى الجمعية العامة شخصٌ، أو أكثر بحسب ما تقرره لائحة العضوية.
المادة6: يعد عضو مؤسِّس كُلّ من شارك فى الاجتماع التأسيسى للاتحاد، ويكون قبول الأعضاء بعد تأسيس الاتحاد بناء على تزكية اثنين من الأعضاء المؤسسين، وبموافقة مجلس الأمناء بناء على اقتراح لجنة العضوية.
وتشترط موافقة الراغب فى العضوية من الأفراد أو تجمعات العلماء على اللائحة العامة للاتحاد.
ويشترط فى العضو المنضم للاتحاد بالإضافة إلى ما ورد بالمادة رقم "5"الشروط الآتية:
1- أن يكون العضو من ذوى النشاط العلمى بمشرب صوفى ومرجعية أزهرية.
2- أن يكون له إسهامات فى خدمة التصوف دعوية أو علمية.
3- ألا يكون معتقدًا فكرًا أو عقيدة تخالف ما أشير إليه فى المادة (2).
4- أن يلتزم العضو بالنظام الأساسى للاتحاد.
المادة (7): عضوية الاتحاد دائمة، ولا يجوز إسقاطها إلا بقرار من الجمعية العامة بناء على اقتراح من رئيس الاتحاد يوافق عليه مجلس الأمناء ولجنة العضوية.
كما يعمل الاتحاد على التواصل مع التيارات المناوئة للتصوف الإسلامى، العاملة على بث الأفكار المغلوطة عنه، وتشويه صورته، بهدف تقديم النصح لهم، وإزالة ما قد يكون وقع عندهم من خلط أو أفكار مشوشة دفعتهم إلى محاربة التصوف، والغرض من هذا التواصل التقريب بين هؤلاء وبين التصوف الراشد، ويكون هذا التواصل عن طريق:
1- رصد ومتابعة نشاط هذه التيارات والعمل على تصنيفه وترتيبه بشكل مستمر حسب الأهمية.
2- عقد حلقات نقاش حوارية مع هذه التيارات حول هذه الشبهات المثارة ليس الغرض منها المناظرة أو المنافسة أو المغالبة بل الغرض منها إيصال الفكرة الصحيحة عن التصوف.
3- إرسال منشورات وإصدارات الاتحاد لدعاة هذه التيارات بشكل دورى ثابت.
المادة 29: يعمل الاتحاد على التقريب بين كافة المؤسسات والهيئات العاملة فى مجال خدمة التصوف، كما يعمل على إزالة ما قد ينشب بين هذه المؤسسات من خلافات أو نزاعات.
واتخذ الاتحاد مقرا له فى حى المقطم، وسوف يتم الإعلان رسميا فى حفل كبير يضم علماء الصوفية، من جميع أنحاء العالم بعد انتهاء إجازة عيد الأضحى المبارك.
الدكتور "حسن الشافعى" رئيس الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية، أكد لـ"اليوم السابع" إننا نقدم للأمة هذا الاتحاد، لندرك كل الإدراك عظم المسئولية التى تحملنا بها فى تقديم التصوف على صورته الحقيقية المشرقة، والسعى فى تخليصه من ما شابه من بدع الجهلاء، وانتحال الأدعياء فى الوقت الذى يتطلع فيه الناس إلى رجال التصوف، وينتظرون منهم الكثير إذ هم الخلاصة التى جمعت بين الحسنين، وأخذت بالطرفين واستمسكت بالهدى النبوى الذى من تمسك به وصل واتصل، وقرنت به سعادة الآباد، وعن الشقاوة انفصل.
وأضاف "الشافعى" أن هدفنا هو "التصوفَ الحقَّ" المؤسسَ على الكتاب والسُّنة، النقى من كل بدعة ودجل، هو النبراسُ الذى يضىء لأُمتنا طريق الرُّقى والحضارة والتقدم.
وتابع، فقد هالنا وأفزعنا ما آل إليه حال التصوف الإسلامى المعاصر على يد بعض منتسبيه من المتصوفة، الذين لم يحصنوا أنفسهم بالعلم الشرعى الصحيح، ولم يسيروا على طريقة أسلافهم من أهل الله تعالى أهلِ المجاهدة والولاية والذكر والفكر، والترقى فى مجالات الرُّقى الرُّوحى، الذى يأخذ بيد الإنسان إلى أعلى درجات المعرفة بالله تعالى، فنزلوا بالتصوف من مقامة الإحسان الراقى إلى مدركات من كل ما يمجه العقل السليم والفكر الواعى المستنير.
واستطرد "من هنا أرشدنا الله تعالى إلى هذه الفكرة، وهى تأسيس اتحاد عالمى لعلماء التصوف، هذه الرابطة العالمية ليست طريقة صوفية لتربية المريدين، ولا جماعة دعوية وظيفتها الدعوة والوعظ والإرشاد فحسب، ولا منظمة حكومية ترتبط بسياسات دولة معينة، بل هى جماعة علمية عالمية تقوم على إصلاح وترشيد حركة التصوف المعاصر فى مجالاته المختلفة، إيمانا منها كما أسلفنا بأهمية وخطر التصوف الرُّوحى الرَّاشد فى تقدم الأمة ورقيها.
وأشار إلى "أن وظيفة هذا الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية وظيفة جسيمة ومهمة خطيرة، ربما يكون لها إن صلحت النوايا لله رب العالمين، وجرد القصد له وحده، وحددت الأهداف والوسائل بدقة وعناية، أعظم الأثر فى نهضة الأمة الإسلامية فى واقعها المعاصر، الذى غص بما نشاهده لحظيا من تطورات وتغيرات، لا يسع الصوفية الراشدين أن يقفوا منها موقف المشاهد المتفرج المتعجب، فالصوفى الحقُّ هو ابن وقته، والصُّوفى الحقُّ هو المدرك لشأنه العالم بزمانه، وليس الصوفى الحق هو المتقوقع المنعزل الجاهل بقضايا أمته، وما تمر به من تغيرات وتطورات.
و أوضح لـ"اليوم السابع" أنه تم وضع لائحة عامة للاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية منها:
المادة1 : الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية هيئةٌ إسلاميةٌ سُنيةٌ صوفيةٌ تضمُّ أعضاء من علماء التصوف والمهتمين بالنهوض به، من أنحاء العالم الإسلامى، وهى هيئة مستقلة عن المؤسسات الرسمية، والمؤسسة لها شخصيتها الاعتبارية القانونية وذمتها المالية الخاصة، ويشار إليها فى هذا النظام باسم "الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية".
المادة 2: الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية مرجعيته العلمية الأزهر الشريف، وعقيدته عقيدة أهل السُّنة والجماعة بمناهجها المتعددة "الأشاعرة والماتريدية و أهل الحديث".
المادة 3: المقر الرئيس للاتحاد، جمهورية مصر العربية محافظة القاهرة، ويجوز بقرار من مجلس الأُمناء إنشاءُ فروع خارج القاهرة، وعلى رئيس الاتحاد أو من ينوب عنه، أن يعتمد الأعضاء الممثلين له، فى كافة المقار الفرعية.
المادة 4: يعمل الاتحاد وفق هذا النظام الأساسى والنظم والقوانين السارية فى جمهورية مصر العربية، وتعمل الفروع وفق هذا النظام الأساسى.
المادة 5: عضوية الاتحاد العالمى لعلماء الصوفية مفتوحة للعلماء من خريجى الكليات الشرعية، أو الأقسام الإسلامية فى الجامعات المختلفة فى العالم الإسلامى، أو المعنيين بعلوم الشريعة والثقافة الإسلامية، وبخاصة علوم التصوف ممن لهم فيه إسهام، أو نشاط ملموس فى مجال من مجالات التصوف الإسلامى، وفيما عدا الأعضاء المؤسسين يجب أن توافق لجنة العضوية على طلب الراغب فى الانضمام إلى الاتحاد قبل أن يعرض على مجلس الأمناء للنظر فى قبول عضويته.
وتُقبل عضوية جمعيات العلماء، ومؤسساتهم واتحاداتهم على أن يمثل كُلَّ تجمع فى الجمعية العامة شخصٌ، أو أكثر بحسب ما تقرره لائحة العضوية.
المادة6: يعد عضو مؤسِّس كُلّ من شارك فى الاجتماع التأسيسى للاتحاد، ويكون قبول الأعضاء بعد تأسيس الاتحاد بناء على تزكية اثنين من الأعضاء المؤسسين، وبموافقة مجلس الأمناء بناء على اقتراح لجنة العضوية.
وتشترط موافقة الراغب فى العضوية من الأفراد أو تجمعات العلماء على اللائحة العامة للاتحاد.
ويشترط فى العضو المنضم للاتحاد بالإضافة إلى ما ورد بالمادة رقم "5"الشروط الآتية:
1- أن يكون العضو من ذوى النشاط العلمى بمشرب صوفى ومرجعية أزهرية.
2- أن يكون له إسهامات فى خدمة التصوف دعوية أو علمية.
3- ألا يكون معتقدًا فكرًا أو عقيدة تخالف ما أشير إليه فى المادة (2).
4- أن يلتزم العضو بالنظام الأساسى للاتحاد.
المادة (7): عضوية الاتحاد دائمة، ولا يجوز إسقاطها إلا بقرار من الجمعية العامة بناء على اقتراح من رئيس الاتحاد يوافق عليه مجلس الأمناء ولجنة العضوية.
كما يعمل الاتحاد على التواصل مع التيارات المناوئة للتصوف الإسلامى، العاملة على بث الأفكار المغلوطة عنه، وتشويه صورته، بهدف تقديم النصح لهم، وإزالة ما قد يكون وقع عندهم من خلط أو أفكار مشوشة دفعتهم إلى محاربة التصوف، والغرض من هذا التواصل التقريب بين هؤلاء وبين التصوف الراشد، ويكون هذا التواصل عن طريق:
1- رصد ومتابعة نشاط هذه التيارات والعمل على تصنيفه وترتيبه بشكل مستمر حسب الأهمية.
2- عقد حلقات نقاش حوارية مع هذه التيارات حول هذه الشبهات المثارة ليس الغرض منها المناظرة أو المنافسة أو المغالبة بل الغرض منها إيصال الفكرة الصحيحة عن التصوف.
3- إرسال منشورات وإصدارات الاتحاد لدعاة هذه التيارات بشكل دورى ثابت.
المادة 29: يعمل الاتحاد على التقريب بين كافة المؤسسات والهيئات العاملة فى مجال خدمة التصوف، كما يعمل على إزالة ما قد ينشب بين هذه المؤسسات من خلافات أو نزاعات.
Skyfall Cuba Kembalikan Kemegahan M16
Skyfall Cuba Kembalikan Kemegahan M16, Realitinya Masih Jauh
‘Kematian’ Bond pada babak awal dalam kemegahan terbaharu francais agen perisik British, menyebabkan filem Skyfall yang mula ditayangkan di Malaysia awal Novemberi ini seakan memberikan saya satu ingatan semula kepada buku The Art of Betrayal: Life and Death in the British Secret Service, tulisan Gordon Corera, koresponden keselamatan Perbadanan Penyiaran British (BBC).
Perkhidmatan Rahsia British atau dikenali sebagai M16 sudah terancam kehebatannya setelah negara itu gagal dalam beberapa pertarungan menjadi kuasa hegemoni kerana ia telah diambil alih oleh Amerika Syarikat dengan CIA dan Israel dengan Mossadnya. Jadi, siri James Bond yang sudah memasuki episod ke-23 dan mencapai tahap kemasyhurannya selama 50 tahun pada tahun ini hendak ditebus semula dengan kemunculan Skyfall, kerana filem sebelumnya, Quantum of Solace (2008) kurang menyerlah.
Tahun 2008 memberikan banyak kesukaran dalam perkembangan psikologi rakyat Britain kerana mula terkena lantuman kemelesetan ekonomi Amerika Syarikat yang kemudiannya diwarisi dengan payah oleh Barrack Obama yang mengambil alih pentadbiran Rumah Putih dari George Walker Bush dari parti Republikan.
Bush bermula dengan langkah “balas dendam” apabila hampir menemui kekalahan di tangan parti Demokrat pada tahun 2000, dan mencipta ruang pengkhianatan sejagat terbesar dalam sejarah politik antarabangsa apabila dikaitkan sebagai perancang dan dalang serangan Menara Berkembar New York pada 11 September 2001.
Namun teori konspirasi dengan pelobi Yahudi itu sukar untuk dibuktikan kesahihannya kerana penguasaan maklumat rahsia oleh CIA dan Pentagon, dikunci kemas oleh agen-agen Mossad yang mahukan berlakunya sebuah realiti abad ke-21 benar-benar sebuah pertembungan peradaban antara Barat dan Islam.
Gemanya mula kedengaran pada tahun 1995 hasil rumusan seorang yang kental dengan nilai-nilai zionisme-intelektual, iaitu Samuel P Huntington, murid seorang lagi ientelektual Yahudi yang pernah menyamar dan berpura-pura sebagai pakar rujuk sejarah Asia Barat, Bernard Lewis.
Ketika itu, rantau Asia dan nilai-nilai timur dikatakan sebagai faktor yang bakal menyumbang pembinaan tamadun baharu yang lebih besar, sehingga mampu mencabar kemampuan dan daya saing Barat.
Kemunculan Jepun sebagai kuasa ekonomi yang besar dan diikuti oleh Korea Selatan dan Taiwan menjadikan kuasa Barat rasakan dunia seterusnya adalah milik Asia, dan kerana itu, suatu doktrin perlu dicipta dan dipropagandakan sebagaimana Amerika Syarikat begitu takut dengan idelogi komunis.
Kemunculan ideology komunis menciptakan teori domino dan akhirnya Amerika Syarikat benar-benar mengambil peluang untuk menyekat kemaraannya dengan menjadikan Vietnam sebagai “medan pertembungan antara komunisme dan kapitalisme” pada tahun 1964, tetapi terpaksa mengaku kalah pada tahun 1974 meninggalkan kesan buruk yang mendalam.
Hari ini, selepas agenda perang ideologi sudah berakhir, Perang Dingin, peranan agen perisikan British, M15 sudah berakhir, maka digantikan dengan M16. Wajah gagahnya tidaklah sehebat watak James Bond, yang mempunyai kecekapan dan daya pemikiran yang hebat. M16 dilihat semakin kurang menyengat, kerana terperosok jatuh apabila lebih banyak agen-agen perisikan Rusia yang berpaling tadah dibawa masuk.
Bekas perisik KGB digunakan membantu pengintipan maklumat rahsia negara-negara komunis, akhirnya berjaya dikesan serta dibunuh secara terancang, sedangkan CIA dan Mossad menumpukan perhatian untuk memperkuatkan kedudukan ekonomi menerusi penguasaan lebih banyak telaga minyak menerusi kegiatan Economic Hit Man dan organisasi perundingan projek.
Reputasi Perkhidmatan Rahsia Perisikan British berada dalam situasi terburuk selepas Perang Dunia Kedua disebabkan pengaruh dan penerobosan pengaruh Soviet dalam organisasi itu. Ketika M16 menerima kemasukan agen perisikan Soviet, Oleg Penkovsky, seorang yang cenderung menakluki perempuan, mencerminkan bahawa agensi tersebut penuh dengan skandal dan mewujudkan tekanan sehingga beliau akhirnya ditembak mati oleh skuad penembak tepat.
Meskipun buku tulisan Gordon Corera ini melalui proses kajian yang mendalam mengenai badan perisikan tersebut, ia masih belum menghasilkan analisis yang mantap mengenai peranannya di akhir period Perang Dingin. Membawa masuk Oleg Gordievsky, seorang bekas pegawai kanan KGB dan Vasili Mitrokhin, pegawai arkib KGB, peranan M16 dilihat membantu dalam usahanya membantu Barat memahami dengan lebih mendalam dan tepat kelemahan Moskow sehingga runtuhnya Tirai Besi pada tahun 1989.
Keruntuhan Tembok Berlin yang menjadi simbol pemisahan dua pengaruh ideology pada tahun 1989, yang disifatkan oleh Francis Fukuyama sebagai “penamat sejarah” dan Samuel P Huntington titik penting “pertembungan peradaban”—kemenangan besar kapitalisme liberal—menjadikan M16 terus menyepi jauh daripada senario perebutan maklumat rahsia. Britain dilihat semakin lemah kerana kebangkitan mula tertumpu kepada Jerman dan Perancis dalam mendominasi politik Eropah.
Peranan tersebut meskipun ada, M16 melemahkan pengaruh Soviet—kejayaannya hanya diraikan secara senyap dalam acara minum “champagne” oleh Menteri Kabinet. Dengan lenyapnya “empayar hantu—rujukan kepada pengaruh komunisme—M16 sebenarnya terpaksa berhempas pulas mencari makna sebenar peranan selanjutnya dalam jentera Whitehall (pusat pentadbiran kerajaan Britain).
M16 hanya sedikit timbul apabila memainkan peranan apabila Tony Blair, Perdana Menteri Britain mengambil bahagian dalam membantu Amerika Syarikat untuk menyerang Irak pada tahun 2003. Bagaimanapun, pembabitan tersebut menyebabkan Tony Blair menerima kecaman pelbagai pihak kerana pada anggapan rakyat, Britain tidak mempunyai sebab yang kukuh untuk bersengkongkol dengan AS, kerana yang menciptakan permusuhan dengan Islam ialah AS dan Britain tidak sepatutnya terjebak dengan ego Bush.
Selepas Perang Dingin, M16 menjarakkan kaitannya dengan ahli politik di mana Sir Colin McColl, ketua perisik atau dikenali “C” hanya berbincang dengan Perdana Menteri secara puratanya 40 minit bagi setiap enam bulan. Ketika bersengkongkol dengan AS menyerang Irak, Sir Richard Dearlove, ketua perisikan, berpindah ke No 10 (kediaman Perdana Menteri), menjadi pusat maklumat rahsia untuk Perdana Menteri mengenai rancangan menjatuhkan Saddam Hussein.
Perpindahan pejabat bagi Dearlove itu dilihat wajar untuk membekalkan maklumat perisikan dengan cepat dan segera, dan ini membayangkan M16 bukan lagi sebuah badan perisikan yang cekap dan benar-benar boleh bertindak seperti James Bond. M16 penuh dengan kongkongan dan terikat dengan kepentingan politik Perdana Menteri, dan bukannya untuk menjaga kepentingan rakyat Britain.
Dakwaan AS bahawa Saddam Hussein mempunyai simpanan senjata pemusnah besar-besaran (WMD) diterima tanpa penelitian mendalam oleh M16, yang sebenarnya maklumat tersebut berdasarkan dakwaan segelintir saintis Irak sendiri yang dikumpulkan oleh Mossad setelah mereka berpaling tadah, bukanlah sesuatu yang sahih, ia banyak dikutip menerusi bahan dalam internet.
Atas sandaran maklumat yang kurang tepat itulah pentadbiran Blair menerima kecaman hebat daripada rakyatnya sendiri, kerana terpaksa berbelanja besar menanggung kos tentera dan M16 pula dituduh mula cenderung bersifat politik. Sedangkan dalam masa yang sama, Britain masih berhadapan dengan masalah kemelesetan ekonomi dan hanya bergantung kepada pendapatan daripada sektor pelancongan. Pembabitan itu menyebabkan lebih banyak pelancong dari Timur Tengah mula mencari destinasi baharu, dan tidak lagi menjadikan Britain sebagai “syurga pelancongan.”
Corera percaya M16 belajar daripada kes tersebut, memetik pendapat seorang pegawai kanan badan perisikan tersebut: “The vehicle of WMD as an argument for war was incapable of sustaining the weight put upon it, given that we didn’t have all the answers and we didn’t have the sources.” Pegawai tersebut dan lain-lainnya berpendirian M16 sepatutnya menghapuskan bayangan tersebut, dan kembali menemukan semula imejnya.
Nampaknya, kehadiran filem Skyfall ini menjadi bahan propaganda berkesan untuk memberikan semula nafas baru kepada M16, walaupun menurut Corera, budaya perisikan macho gaya James Bonda sebenarnya sudah berakhir, tetapi ia tidak boleh dihapuskan sepenuhnya, kerana kemachoan itulah menarik penonton kepada watak utama filem tersebut.
Malangnya, untuk Skyfall kita tidak akan menemukan skandal seks dan tarikan seks sebagai kaedah “mencuri maklumat” tetapi, sebenarnya, tarikan tersebut masih memerangkapkan anggota perisikan Britain sehingga kadangkala terjerat dengan agen-agen perisikan dari Moskow yang bekerja dengan KGB, termasuk kes yang melibatkan Anna Chapman (nama asalnya ialah Anna Vasil’yevna Kushchyenko), wanita Rusia yang berkahwin dengan rakyat Britain dan kemudiannya diusir kerana dia adalah perisik Rusia yang cekap dan bijak.
Anna Chapman bekerja di NetJets dan kemudiannya di Barclays Bank. Pada tahun 2001, bertemu dengan Alex Chapman di sebuah parti Docklands, London. Tidak berapa lama, mereka berkahwin di Moskow, dan membolehkan Anna mendapat dua kerakyatan, iaitu Rusia dan Britain. Sebaik sahaja memperoleh passport Britain, membolehkan beliau bermastautin di New York antara tahun 2009-2010.
Anna tinggal di Exchange Place, berdekatan Wall Street, Manhattan. Mendakwa sebagai CEO Property-Finder, memasarkan hartanah menerusi internet. Alex memberitahu untuk beberapa tahun, syarikat tersebut dibelenggu hutang, tetapi pada tahun 2009, bertukar menjadi sebuah syarikat yang berjaya dan mempunyai 50 orang pekerja. Pernah dikaitkan dengan Michel Bittan, pemilik restoran yang berjaya dan berpengaruh, pada 27 Jun 2010 ditangkap oleh pihak berkuasa AS kerana didakwa melakukan pengintipan bagi pihak Rusia. Beliau ditangkap bersama Sembilan orang lain yang melakukan pengintipan.
Selesai membaca buku ini, saya terus membuat perbandingan apakah Skyfall itu sebenarnya merupakan jelmaan baharu generasi M16 yang sedang dilakukan proses perubahan agar badan perisikan British akan menjadi lebih cekap dan berpengaruh pada masa depan?
Realitinya, M16 masih terkebelakang dalam senarai badan perisikan antarabangsa, bahkan, tidak dapat menandingi kehebatan badan perisikan Australia, Perancis atau Itali. Nampaknya, M16 semakin tidak bermaya kerana dibayangi kehebatan Mossad dan CIA, tetapi, James Bond telah berjaya menutupi banyak kelemahan yang ada. Itulah yang hendak digambarkan oleh Gordon Corera dalam buku setebal hampir 500 halaman ini.
Nama Buku : The Art of Betrayal: Life and Death in the British Secret Service
Nama Pengarang : Gordon Corera
Nama Penerbit : Widenfekd, London, 2011.
Jumlah Halaman : 472
Nama Pengulas : Kamarun KH
http://ummatanwasatan.net/2012/11/skyfall-cuba-kembalikan-kemegahan-m16-realitinya-masih-jauh/
Islamic Spirituality: the forgotten revolution
Islamic Spirituality:
the forgotten revolution
© Abdal-Hakim Murad
THE POVERTY OF
FANATICISM
'Blood is no
argument', as Shakespeare observed. Sadly, Muslim ranks are today swollen with
those who disagree. The World Trade Centre, yesterday's symbol of global
finance, has today become a monument to the failure of global Islam to control those
who believe that the West can be bullied intochanging its wayward ways towards
the East. There is no real excuse to hand. It is simply not enough to clamour, as
many have done, about 'chickens coming home to roost', and to protest that Washington's
acquiescence in Israeli policies of ethnic cleansing is the inevitable generator
of such hate. It is of course true - as
Shabbir Akhtar has noted - that powerlessness
can corrupt as insistently as does power. But to comprehend is not to sanction
or even to empathize. To take innocent life to achieve a goal is the hallmark of
the most extreme secular utilitarian ethic, and stands at the opposite pole of
the absolute moral constraints required by religion. There was a time, not long ago, when the
'ultras' were few, forming only a tiny wart on the face of the worldwide
attempt to revivify Islam. Sadly, we can no longer enjoy the luxury of ignoring
them. The extreme has broadened, and the middle ground, giving way, is
everywhere dislocated and confused. And this enfeeblement of the middle ground,
was what was enjoined by the Prophetic example, is in turn accelerated by the
opprobrium which the extremists bring not simply upon themselves, but upon
committed Muslims everywhere. For here, as elsewhere, the preferences of the
media work firmly against us. David Koresh could broadcast his fringe Biblical
message from Ranch Apocalypse without the image of Christianity, or even its
Adventist wing, being in any way besmirched. But when a fringe Islamic group
bombs Swedish tourists in Cairo, the muck is instantly spread over 'militant Muslims'
everywhere.
If these things go
on, the Islamic movement will cease to form an authentic summons to cultural
and spiritual renewal, and will exist as little more than a splintered array of
maniacal factions. The prospect of such an appalling and humiliating end to the
story of a religion which once surpassed all others in its capacity for
tolerating debate and dissent is now a real possibility. The entire experience
of Islamic work over the past fifteen years has been one of increasing
radicalization, driven by the perceived Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 2
failure of the
traditional Islamic institutions and the older Muslim movements to lead the
Muslim peoples into the worthy but so far chimerical promised land of the 'Islamic
State.'
If this final
catastrophe is to be averted, the mainstream will have to regain the initiative.
But for this to happen, it must begin by confessing that the radical critique of
moderation has its force. The Islamic movement
has so far been remarkably unsuccessful. We must ask ourselves how it is
that a man like Nasser, a butcher, a failed soldier and a cynical demagogue,
could have taken over a country as pivotal as Egypt, despite the vacuity of his
beliefs, while the Muslim Brotherhood,
with its pullulating millions of members, should have failed, and failed
continuously, for six decades. The radical accusation of a failure in
methodology cannot fail to strike home in such a context of dismal and
prolonged inadequacy.
It is in this context
- startlingly, perhaps, but inescapably - that we must present our case for the
revival of the spiritual life within Islam. If it is ever to prosper, the
'Islamic revival'
must be made to see that it is in crisis, and that its mental resources are
proving insufficient to meet contemporary needs. The response to this must be grounded
in an act of collective muhasaba, of self-examination, in terms that transcend
the ideologised neo-Islam of the revivalists, and return to a more classical and
indigenously Muslim dialectic.
Symptomatic of the
disease is the fact that among all the explanations offered for the crisis of the
Islamic movement, the only authentically Muslim interpretation, namely, that
God should not be lending it His support, is conspicuously absent. It is true
that we frequently hear the Quranic verse which states that "God does not
change the condition of a people until they change the condition of their own
selves."[1] But never, it seems, is this principle intelligently grasped.
It is assumed that the sacred text is here doing no more than to enjoin
individual moral reform as a precondition for collective societal success.
Nothing could be more hazardous, however, than to measure such moral reform
against the yardstick of the fiqh without giving concern to whether the virtues
gained have been acquired through conformity (a relatively simple task), or
proceed spontaneously from a genuine realignment of the soul. The verse is
speaking of a spiritual change, specifically, a transformation of the nafs of
the believers - not a moral one. And as the Blessed Prophet never tired of
reminding us, there is little value in outward conformity to the rules unless
this conformity ismirrored and engendered by an authentically righteous
disposition of the heart. 'Noone shall enter the Garden by his works,' as he
expressed it. Meanwhile, the profoundly judgemental and works - oriented tenor
of modern revivalist Islam (we Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 3 must shun
the problematic buzz-word 'fundamentalism'), fixated on visible
manifestations of
morality, has failed to address the underlying question of what revelation is
for. For it is theological nonsense to suggest that God's final concern is with
our ability to conform to a complex set of rules. His concern is rather that we
should be restored, through our labours and His grace, to that state of purity
and equilibrium with which we were born. The rules are a vital means to that
end, and are facilitated by it. But they do not take its place.
The Holy Qur'an Sura
13:11.
To make this point,
the Holy Quran deploys a striking metaphor. In Sura Ibrahim, verses 24 to 26,
we read: Have you not seen how God
coineth a likeness: a goodly word like a goodly tree, the root whereof is set
firm, its branch in the heaven? It bringeth forth its fruit at every time, by
the leave of its Lord. Thus doth God coin likenesses for men, that perhapsthey
may reflect. And the likeness of an evil word is that of an evil tree that hath
been torn up by the root from upon the earth, possessed of no stability.According
to the scholars of tafsir (exegesis), the reference here is to the 'words' (kalima)
of faith and unfaith. The former is illustrated as a natural growth, whose florescence
of moral and intellectual achievement is nourished by firm roots, which in turn
denote the basis of faith: the quality of the proofs one has received, and the certainty
and sound awareness of God which alone signify that one is firmly grounded in
the reality of existence. The fruits thus yielded - the palpable benefits of the religious
life - are permanent ('at every time'),
and are not man's own accomplishment, for they only come 'by the leave of its
Lord'. Thus is the sound life of faith. The contrast is then drawn with the
only alternative: kufr, which is not grounded in reality but in illusion, and
is hence 'possessed of no stability'.[2]
This passage,
reminiscent of some of the binary categorisations of human types presented
early on in Surat al-Baqara, precisely encapsulates the relationship between
faith and works, the hierarchy which exists between them, and the sustainable
balance between nourishment and fructition, between taking and giving, which
true faith must maintain.
It is against this
criterion that we must judge the quality of contemporary 'activist' styles of
faith. Is the young 'ultra', with his intense rage which can sometimes render him
liable to nervous disorders, and his fixation on a relatively narrow range of
issues Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 4
and concerns, really
firmly rooted, and fruitful, in the sense described by this Quranic image?
Let me point to the
answer with an example drawn from my own experience.
I used to know, quite
well, a leader of the radical 'Islamic' group, the Jama'at
Islamiya, at the
Egyptian university of Assiut. His name was Hamdi. He grew a luxuriant beard,
was constantly scrubbing his teeth with his miswak, and spent his time
preaching hatred of the Coptic Christians, a number of whom were actually attacked
and beaten up as a result of his khutbas. He had hundreds of followers; in fact,
Assiut today remains a citadel of hardline, Wahhabi-style activism. The moral of the story is that some five
years after this acquaintance, providence again brought me face to face with
Shaikh Hamdi. This time, chancing to see him on a Cairo street, I almost failed
to recognise him. The beard was gone. He was in trousers and a sweater. More
astonishing still was that he was walking with a young Western girl who turned
out to be an Australian, whom, as he sheepishly explained to me, he was
intending to marry. I talked to him, and it became clear that he was no longer even
a minimally observant Muslim, no longer prayed, and that his ambition in life was
to leave Egypt, live in Australia, and make money. What was extraordinary was that
his experiences in Islamic activism had made no impression on him - he was once
again the same distracted, ordinary Egyptian youth he had been before his conversion
to 'radical Islam'.
This phenomenon,
which we might label 'salafi burnout', is a recognised feature of many modern
Muslim cultures. An initial enthusiasm, gained usually in one's early twenties,
loses steam some seven to ten years later. Prison and torture - the frequent lot
of the Islamic radical - may serve to
prolong commitment, but ultimately, a majority of these neo-Muslims relapse,
seemingly no better or worse for their experience in the cult-like universe of
the salafi mindset.
This ephemerality of
extremist activism should be as suspicious as its content. Authentic Muslim
faith is simply not supposed to be this fragile; as the Qur'an says, its root
is meant to be 'set firm'. One has to conclude that of the two trees depicted
in the Quranic image, salafi extremism resembles the second rather than the
first. After all, the Sahaba were not known for a transient commitment: their
devotion and piety remained incomparably pure until they died.
What attracts young
Muslims to this type of ephemeral but ferocious activism? One does not have to
subscribe to determinist social theories to realise the importance of Hakim
Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 5the almost universal condition of insecurity
which Muslim societies are now experiencing. The Islamic world is passing
through a most devastating period of transition. A history of economic and
scientific change which in Europe took five hundred years, is, in the Muslim
world, being squeezed into a couple of generations. For instance, only thirty-five
years ago the capital of Saudi Arabia was a cluster of mud huts, as it had been
for thousands of years. Today's Riyadh is a hi-tech megacity of glass towers,
Coke machines, and gliding Cadillacs. This is an extreme case, but to some
extent the dislocations of modernity are common to every Muslim society, excepting,
perhaps, a handful of the most remote tribal peoples.
Such a transition
period, with its centrifugal forces which allow nothing to remain constant,
makes human beings very insecure. They look around for something to hold onto,
that will give them an identity. In our case, that something is usually Islam.
And because they are being propelled into it by this psychic sense of
insecurity, ratherthan by the more normal processes of conversion and faith,
they lack some of the natural religious virtues, which are acquired by contact
with a continuous tradition, and can never be learnt from a book.
One easily visualises
how this works. A young Arab, part of an oversized family, competing for scarce
jobs, unable to marry because he is poor, perhaps a migrant to a rapidly
expanding city, feels like a man lost in a desert without signposts. One morning
he picks up a copy of Sayyid Qutb from a newsstand, and is 'born-again' on the
spot. This is what he needed: instant certainty, a framework in which to
interpret the landscape before him, to resolve the problems and tensions of his
life, and, even more deliciously, a way of feeling superior and in control. He
joins a group, and, anxious to retain his newfound certainty, accepts the usual
proposition that all the other groups are mistaken.
This, of course, is
not how Muslim religious conversion is supposed to work. It is meant to be a
process of intellectual maturation, triggered by the presence of a very holy
person or place. Tawba, in its traditional form, yields an outlook of joy, contentment,
and a deep affection for others. The modern type of tawba, however, born of
insecurity, often makes Muslims narrow, intolerant, and exclusivist. Even more
noticeably, it produces people whose faith is, despite its apparent intensity, liable
to vanish as suddenly as it came. Deprived of real nourishment, the activist's soul
can only grow hungry and emaciated, until at last it dies. Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 6
THE ACTIVISM WITHIN
How should we respond
to this disorder? We must begin by remembering what Islam is for. As we noted
earlier, our din is not, ultimately, a manual of rules which, when meticulously
followed, becomes a passport to paradise. Instead, it is a package of social,
intellectual and spiritual technology whose purpose is to cleanse the human heart.
In the Qur'an, the Lord says that on the Day of Judgement, nothing will be of any
use to us, except a sound heart (qalbun salim). [3] And in a famous hadith, the
Prophet, upon whom be blessings and peace, says that "Verily in the body there is a piece of
flesh. If it is sound, the body is all sound. If it is corrupt, the body is all
corrupt. Verily, it is the heart.Mindful of this commandment, under which all
the other commandments of Islam are subsumed, and which alone gives them
meaning, the Islamic scholars have worked out a science, an ilm (science), of
analysing the 'states' of the heart, and the methods of bringing it into this
condition of soundness. In the fullness of time, this science acquired the name
tasawwuf, in English 'Sufism' - a traditional label for what we might nowadays
more intelligibly call 'Islamic psychology.'
At this point, many
hackles are raised and well-rehearsed objections voiced. It is vital to
understand that mainstream Sufism is not, and never has been, a doctrinal
system, or a school of thought - a madhhab. It is, instead, a set of insights
and practices which operate within the various Islamic madhhabs; in other
words, it is not a madhhab, it is an ilm. And like most of the other Islamic
ulum, it was not known by name, or in its later developed form, in the age of
the Prophet (upon him be blessings and peace) or his Companions. This does not
make it less legitimate. There are many Islamic sciences which only took shape
many years after the Prophetic age: usul al-fiqh, for instance, or the
innumerable technical disciplines of hadith.
Now this, of course,
leads us into the often misunderstood area of sunna and bid'a, two notions
which are wielded as blunt instruments by many contemporary activists, but
which are often grossly misunderstood. The classic Orientalist thesis is of
course that Islam, as an 'arid Semitic religion', failed to incorporate
mechanisms for its own development, and that it petrified upon the death of its
founder. This, however, is a nonsense rooted in the ethnic determinism of the
nineteenth century historians who had shaped the views of the early Orientalist
synthesizers (Muir, Le Bon, Renan,
Caetani). Islam, as
the religion designed for the end of time, has in fact proved itself eminently
adaptable to the rapidly changing conditions which characterise this final and
most 'entropic' stage of history. Hakim
Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 7What is a bid'a, according to the classical
definitions of Islamic law? We all know the
famous hadith:
Beware of matters
newly begun, for every matter newly begun is innovation, every innovation is
misguidance, and every misguidance is in Hell. [4]
Does this mean that
everything introduced into Islam that was not known to the first generation of
Muslims is to be rejected? The classical
ulema do not accept such a literalistic interpretation.
Let us take a
definition from Imam al-Shafi'i, an authority universally accepted in Sunni
Islam. Imam al-Shafi'i writes:
There are two kinds
of introduced matters (muhdathat). One is that which
contradicts a text of
the Qur'an, or the Sunna, or a report from the early Muslims (athar), or the
consensus (ijma') of the Muslims: this is an 'innovation of misguidance'
(bid'at dalala). The second kind is that which is in itself good and entails no
contradiction of any of these authorities: this is a 'non-reprehensible innovation'
(bid'a ghayr madhmuma). [5]
This basic
distinction between acceptable and unacceptable forms of bid'a is
recognised by the
overwhelming majority of classical ulema. Among some, for instance al-Izz ibn
Abd al-Salam (one of the half-dozen or so great mujtahids of Islamic history),
innovations fall under the five axiological headings of the Shari'a: the
obligatory (wajib), the recommended (mandub), the permissible (mubah), the offensive
(makruh), and the forbidden (haram).[6]
Under the category of
'obligatory innovation', Ibn Abd al-Salam gives the following examples:
recording the Qur'an and the laws of Islam in writing at a time when it was feared
that they would be lost, studying Arabic grammar in order to resolve controversies
over the Qur'an, and developing philosophical theology (kalam) to refute the
claims of the Mu'tazilites. Category two
is 'recommended innovation'. Under this heading the ulema list such activities
as building madrasas, writing books on beneficial Islamic subjects, and indepth
studies of Arabic linguistics. Category
three is 'permissible', or 'neutral innovation', including worldly activities such
as sifting flour, and constructing houses in various styles not known in
Medina. Hakim Murad’s Islamic
Spirituality | 8
Category four is the
'reprehensible innovation'. This includes such misdemeanours as overdecorating
mosques or the Qur'an.
Category five is the
'forbidden innovation'. This includes unlawful taxes, giving judgeships to
those unqualified to hold them, and sectarian beliefs and practices that explicitly
contravene the known principles of the Qur'an and the Sunna.
The above classification
of bid'a types is normal in classical Shari'a literature, being accepted by the
four schools of orthodox fiqh. There have been only two significant exceptions
to this understanding in the history of Islamic thought: the Zahiri school as
articulated by Ibn Hazm, and one wing of the Hanbali madhhab, represented by Ibn
Taymiya, who goes against the classical ijma' on this issue, and claims that
all forms of innovation, good or bad, are un-Islamic.
Why is it, then, that
so many Muslims now believe that
innovation in any form is unacceptable in Islam? One factor has already
been touched on: the mental complexes thrown up by insecurity, which incline
people to find comfort in absolutist and literalist interpretations. Another
lies in the influence of the well-financed neoHanbali madhhab called Wahhabism,
whose leaders are famous for their rejection of all possibility of
development.
In any case, armed
with this more sophisticated and classical awareness of Islam's ability to
acknowledge and assimilate novelty, we can understand how Muslim civilisation
was able so quickly to produce novel academic disciplines to deal with new
problems as these arose.
Islamic psychology is
characteristic of the new ulum which, although present in latent and implicit
form in the Quran, were first systematized in Islamic culture during the early
Abbasid period. Given the importance that the Quran attaches to obtaining a 'sound
heart', we are not surprised to find that the influence of Islamic psychology has
been massive and all-pervasive. In the formative first four centuries of Islam,
the time when the great works of tafsir, hadith, grammar, and so forth were
laid down, the ulema also applied their minds to this problem of al-qalb
al-salim. This was first visible when, following the example of the Tabi'in,
many of the early ascetics, such as Sufyan ibn Uyayna, Sufyan al-Thawri, and
Abdallah ibn al-Mubarak, had focussed their concerns explicitly on the art of
purifying the heart. The methods they recommended were frequent fasting and
night prayer, periodic retreats, and a preoccupation with murabata: service as
volunteer fighters in the border castles of
Asia Minor. Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 9
This type of pietist
orientation was not in the least systematic during this period. It was a loose
category embracing all Muslims who sought salvation through the Prophetic
virtues of renunciation, sincerity, and deep devotion to the revelation.
These men and women
were variously referred to as al-bakka'un: 'the weepers', because of their fear
of the Day of Judgement, or as zuhhad, ascetics, or ubbad, 'unceasing
worshippers'.
By the third century,
however, we start to find writings which can be understood as belonging to a
distinct devotional school. The increasing luxury and materialism of Abbasid
urban society spurred many Muslims to campaign
for a restoration of the simplicity of the Prophetic age. Purity of heart,
compassion for others, and a constant recollection of God were the defining
features of this trend. We find references to the method of muhasaba:
self-examination to detect impurities of intention. Also stressed was riyada:
self-discipline.
By this time, too,
the main outlines of Quranic psychology had been worked out. The human
creature, it was realised, was made up of four constituent parts: the body (jism),
the mind (aql), the spirit (ruh), and the self (nafs). The first two need
little comment. Less familiar (at least to people of a modern education) are
the third and fourth categories.
The spirit is the
ruh, that underlying essence of the human individual which survives death. It
is hard to comprehend rationally, being in part of Divine inspiration, as the Quran
says:
"And they ask
you about the spirit; say, the spirit is of the command of my Lord. And you
have been given of knowledge only a little."[7]
According to the
early Islamic psychologists, the ruh is a non-material reality which pervades
the entire human body, but is centred on the heart, the qalb. It represents that
part of man which is not of this world, and which connects him with his
Creator, and which, if he is fortunate, enables him to see God in the next
world. When we are born, this ruh is intact and pure. As we are initiated into
the distractions of the world, however, it is covered over with the 'rust'
(ran) of which the Quran speaks. This rust is made up of two things: sin and
distraction. When, through the process of selfdiscipline, these are banished,
so that the worshipper is preserved from sin and is focussing entirely on the
immediate presence and reality of God, the rust is dissolved, and the ruh once
again is free. The heart is sound; and salvation, and closeness to God, are
achieved. Hakim Murad’s Islamic
Spirituality | 10
This sounds simple
enough. However, the early Muslims taught that such precious things come only
at an appropriate price. Cleaning up the Augean stables of the heart is a most
excruciating challenge. Outward conformity to the rules of religion is simple enough;
but it is only the first step. Much more demanding is the policy known as mujahada:
the daily combat against the lower self, the nafs. As the Quran says:
'As for him that
fears the standing before his Lord, and forbids his nafs its desires, for him,
Heaven shall be his place of resort.'[8]
Hence the Sufi
commandment:
'Slaughter your ego
with the knives of mujahada.' [9]
Once the nafs is
controlled, then the heart is clear, and the virtues proceed from it easily and
naturally. Because its objective is
nothing less than salvation, this vital Islamic science has been consistently
expounded by the great scholars of classical Islam. While today there are many
Muslims, influenced by either Wahhabi or Orientalist agendas, who believe that
Sufism has always led
a somewhat marginal existence in Islam, the reality is that the overwhelming
majority of the classical scholars were actively involved in Sufism. The early Shafi'i scholars of Khurasan:
al-Hakim al-Nisaburi, Ibn Furak, al-Qushayri and al-Bayhaqi, were all Sufis who
formed links in the richest academic tradition of Abbasid Islam, which
culminated in the achievement of Imam Hujjat al-Islam alGhazali. Ghazali
himself, author of some three hundred books, including the definitive rebuttals
of Arab philosophy and the Ismailis, three large textbooks of Shafi'i fiqh, the
best-known tract of usul al-fiqh, two works on logic, and several theological
treatises, also left us with the classic statement of orthodox Sufism: the Ihya
Ulum al-Din, a book of which Imam Nawawi remarked:
"Were the books
of Islam all to be lost, excepting only the Ihya', it would suffice to replace
them all." [10]
Imam Nawawi himself
wrote two books which record his debt to Sufism, one called the Bustan
al-Arifin ('Garden of the Gnostics', and another called the alMaqasid(recently
published in English translation, Sunna Books, Evanston Il. trans. Nuh Ha Mim
Keller).
Among the Malikis,
too, Sufism was popular. Al-Sawi, al-Dardir, al-Laqqani and Abd al-Wahhab
al-Baghdadi were all exponents of Sufism. The Maliki jurist of Cairo, Abd al-Wahhab
al-Sha'rani defines Sufism as follows:
Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 11
'The path of the
Sufis is built on the Quran and the Sunna, and is based on living according to
the morals of the prophets and the purified ones. It may not be blamed, unless
it violates an explicit statement from the Quran, sunna, or ijma. If it does
not contravene any of these sources, then no pretext remains for condemning it, except one's own
low opinion of others, or interpreting what they do as ostentation, which is unlawful.
No-one denies the states of the Sufis except someone ignorant of the way they
are.'[11]
For Hanbali Sufism
one has to look no further than the revered figures of Abdallah Ansari, Abd
al-Qadir al-Jilani, Ibn al-Jawzi, and Ibn Rajab. In fact, virtually all the great luminaries
of medieval Islam: al-Suyuti, Ibn Hajar alAsqalani, al-Ayni, Ibn Khaldun,
al-Subki, Ibn Hajar al-Haytami; tafsir writers like Baydawi, al-Sawi,
Abu'l-Su'ud, al-Baghawi, and Ibn Kathir[12] ; aqida writers such as Taftazani,
al-Nasafi, al-Razi: all wrote in support of Sufism. Many, indeed, composed independent
works of Sufi inspiration. The ulema of the great dynasties of Islamic history,
including the Ottomans and the Moghuls, were deeply infused with the Sufi outlook,
regarding it as one of the most central and indispensable of Islamic sciences.
Further confirmation
of the Islamic legitimacy of Sufism is supplied by the enthusiasm of its
exponents for carrying Islam beyond the boundaries of the Islamic world. The
Islamization process in India, Black Africa, and South-East Asia was carried
out largely at the hands of wandering Sufi teachers. Likewise, the Islamic obligation
of jihad has been borne with especial zeal by the Sufi orders. All the great nineteenth
century jihadists: Uthman dan Fodio (Hausaland), al-Sanousi (Libya),
Abd al-Qadir
al-Jaza'iri (Algeria), Imam Shamil (Daghestan) and the leaders of the Padre
Rebellion (Sumatra) were active practitioners of Sufism, writing extensively on
it while on their campaigns. Nothing is further from reality, in fact, than the
claim hat Sufism represents a quietist and non-militant form of Islam.
With all this, we
confront a paradox. Why is it, if Sufism has been so respected a part of Muslim
intellectual and political life throughout our history, that there are, nowadays,
angry voices raised against it? There are two fundamental reasons here.
Firstly, there is
again the pervasive influence of Orientalist scholarship, which, at least
before 1922 when Massignon wrote his Essai sur les origines de la lexique technique,
was of the opinion that something so fertile and profound as Sufism could never
have grown from the essentially 'barren and legalistic' soil of Islam.
Orientalist works translated into Muslim languages were influential upon key
Muslim Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 12
modernists - such as
Muhammad Abduh in his later writings - who began to questionthe centrality, or
even the legitimacy, of Sufi discourse in Islam. Secondly, there is the emergence of the
Wahhabi da'wa. When Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, some two hundred years ago,
teamed up with the Saudi tribe and attacked the neighbouring clans, he was
doing so under the sign of an essentially neoKharijite version of Islam.
Although he invoked Ibn Taymiya, he had reservations even about him. For Ibn
Taymiya himself, although critical of the excesses of certain Sufi groups, had
been committed to a branch of mainstream Sufism. This is clear, for instance,
in Ibn Taymiya's work Sharh Futuh al-Ghayb, a commentary on some echnical
points in the Revelations of the Unseen, a key work by the sixth-century saint
of Baghdad, Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. Throughout the work Ibn Taymiya shows himself
to be a loyal disciple of al-Jilani, whom he always refers to as shaykhuna
('our teacher'). This Qadiri affiliation is confirmed in the later literature of
the Qadiri tariqa, which records Ibn Taymiya as a key link in the silsila, the
chain of transmission of Qadiri teachings.[13]
Ibn Abd al-Wahhab,
however, went far beyond this. Raised in the wastelands of Najd in Central
Arabia, he had little access to mainstream Muslim scholarship. In fact, when
his da'wa appeared and became notorious, the scholars and muftis of the day applied
to it the famous Hadith of Najd:
Ibn Umar reported the
Prophet (upon whom be blessings and peace) as saying: "Oh God, bless us in
our Syria; O God, bless us in our Yemen." Those present said: "And in
our Najd, O Messenger of God!" but he said, "O God, bless us in our
Syria; O God, bless us in our Yemen." Those present said, "And in our
Najd, O Messenger of God!".
Ibn Umar said that he
thought that he said on the third occasion: "Earthquakes and dissensions
(fitna) are there, and there shall arise the horn of the devil."[14]
And it is significant
that almost uniquely among the lands of Islam, Najd has never produced scholars
of any repute.
The Najd-based da'wa
of the Wahhabis, however, began to be
heard more loudly following the explosion of Saudi oil wealth. Many, even most,
Islamic publishing houses in Cairo and Beirut are now subsidised by Wahhabi
organisations, which prevent them from publishing traditional works on Sufism,
and remove passages in other works considered unacceptable to Wahhabist
doctrine.
The neo-Kharijite
nature of Wahhabism makes it intolerant of all other forms of Islamic
expression. However, because it has no coherent fiqh of its own - it rejects
the Hakim Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 13orthodox madhhabs - and has only the most basic and primitively
anthropomorphic aqida, it has a fluid, amoebalike tendency to produce divisions
and subdivisions among those who profess it. No longer are the Islamic groups
essentially united by a consistent madhhab and the Ash'ari [or Maturidi] aqida.
Instead, they are all trying to derive the shari'a and the aqida from the Quran
and the Sunna by themselves. The result is the appalling state of division and
conflict which disfigures the modern salafi condition.
At this critical
moment in our history, the umma has only one realistic hope for survival, and
that is to restore the 'middle way', defined by that sophisticated classical consensus
which was worked out over painful centuries of debate and scholarship. That
consensus alone has the demonstrable ability to provide a basis for unity. But
it can only be retrieved when we improve the state of our hearts, and fill them
with the Islamic virtues of affection, respect, tolerance and reconciliation.
This inner reform,
which is the
traditional competence of Sufism, is a precondition for the restoration of unity
in the Islamic movement. The alternative is likely to be continued, and agonising,
failure.
NOTES
1. Sura 13:11.
2. For a further
analysis of this passage, see Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Key to the Garden
(Quilliam Press, London 1990 CE), 78-81.
3. Sura 26:89. The
archetype is Abrahamic: see Sura 37:84.
4. This hadith is in
fact an instance of takhsis al-amm: a frequent procedure of usul al-fiqh by which
an apparently unqualified statement is qualified to avoid the contradiction of
another necessary principle. See Ahmad ibn Naqib al-Misri, Reliance of the
Traveller, tr. Nuh Ha Mim Keller (Abu Dhabi, 1991 CE), 907-8 for some further
examples.
5. Ibn Asakir, Tabyin
Kadhib al-Muftari (Damascus, 1347), 97.
6. Cited in Muhammad
al-Jurdani, al-Jawahir al-lu'lu'iyya fi sharh al-Arba'in alNawawiya (Damascus,
1328), 220-1.
7. 17:85.
8. 79:40.Hakim
Murad’s Islamic Spirituality | 14
9. al-Qushayri,
al-Risala (Cairo, n.d.), I, 393.
10. al-Zabidi, Ithaf
al-sada al-muttaqin (Cairo, 1311), I, 27.
11. Sha'rani,
al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (Cairo, 1374), I, 4.
12. It is true that
Ibn Kathir in his Bidaya is critical of some later Sufis. Nonetheless, in his
Mawlid, which he asked his pupils to recite on the occasion of the Blessed
Prophet's birthday each year, he makes his personal debt to a conservative and
sober Sufism quite clear.
13. See G. Makdisi's
article 'Ibn Taymiyya: A Sufi of the Qadiriya Order' in the American Journal of
Arabic Studies,a 1973.
14. Narrated by
Bukhari. The translation is from J. Robson, Mishkat al-Masabih (Lahore, 1970),
II, 1380.
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