Tolerance & Taqwa

"O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allāh is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allāh is Knowing and Aware" [Quran 49:13]. 

In this verse, Allah addressed humanity which includes Muslims and non Muslims, and He said that He created us differently. He made us males and females, and nations and tribes which have different cultures, colors, languages, and foods. The reason for this is not that we harm, force, or kill one another. Rather, it is so that we may get to know one another. It is these differences that make the difference in the human family. 

We must learn to tolerate each other with all of our differences. This tolerance includes those we disagree with because we can agree to disagree with them and still coexist peacefully. We can include and tolerate others as human beings even though we may not support, promote, or condone their actions or beliefs. It is especially important today that we are able to civilly sit and talk with those we disagree with without immediately canceling them or shutting them down. It is a sign of one who is tolerant that he or she tolerates those who do not tolerate him or her. 

Allah concludes the verse by saying that the most noble of all people in the sight of God are not those who are just rich, famous, powerful, beautiful, a certain race or color, or how many degrees they have. Rather, the most noble to Allah are those who have the most righteousness/piety (taqwa). Imam Abdullah Al-Haddad defined taqwa as obeying Allah's commandments and avoiding His prohibitions inwardly and outwardly. It is this internal state of taqwa that manifests externally on the limbs that makes the difference between people to Allah. May Allah make us of the people of taqwa.

Duality of the Shahādah

﷽

Among the most famous words spoken by our beloved Messenger, Muhammad ﷺ, are those he most aptly delivered in reply to the inquisitions made by the angel Jibrīl, in which the latter requested that Allah’s Chosen inform him on the concepts and contents of Islām (specifying the fundamental actions required of Muslims), Īmān (specifying articles of faith), and Iḥsān (spiritual excellence). 

The first of these three includes what are known as the Five Pillars of Islam: uttering the Testimony of Faith, upholding the ritual prayer, giving specified alms to poor Muslims, fasting Ramaḍān, and attending the Ḥajj pilgrimage if one is able do so. While each of these ‘pillars’ can be understood independently of the others, in reality the latter four are only achievable when preceded by the most important, the Testimony of Faith, or Shahādah. It is useful to imagine the metaphor of Islam not as a house constructed on five equal pillars, but one built on the four pillars of Ṣalāh, Zakāh, Ṣawm, and Ḥajj, all of which are atop a singular, mighty foundation: the Shahādah. 

This phrase, as one the ḥadīth’s many commentators Sa’d ad-Dīn Taftāzānī expounds, consists of two parts. The first, “I testify that there is no god but Allah”, expresses the utterer’s belief in the Oneness of Allah Most High: absolute exclusivity from all others in His Essence, Attributes, and Actions. The second, “and, [I testify that] Muḥammad is the Messenger of Allah”, expresses one’s belief in Prophethood. 

Imam Taftāzānī says, “[Testimony towards the Oneness of Allah and in Prophethood] are two inseparable foundations in upholding the religion, by necessity of Islām being dependent on the two halves of the testimony.” Inseparable here can correctly mean that both parts are required to validate one’s belief; one alone does not suffice. But if we are to analyze this word further, in the language of the scholars of logic, it may further import that belief in each singular half of the Testimony leads one by necessity to the belief in the other. Thus, a thinking person’s belief in God should necessarily lead them to belief in Prophethood, and specifically to that of Muḥammad ﷺ. Likewise, one’s belief in Muḥammad ﷺ as a Messenger would lead them to believe in the Oneness of Allah Most High.

This latter half of this claim is clear: How could someone truly recognize the Messengership of Muḥammad and still claim divinity for other than Allah, with a fundamental, in fact the most fundamental component of the Message he preached and recited being the likes of, “So, be assured there is no god but Allah” (Qur’an, 47:19) and “Say, [the truth is] that Allah is One. Allah is Besought of all, needing none. He neither begot anyone, nor was He begotten. And never has there been an equal to Him” (Qur’an, 112:1-4).

However, it remains obscure, to many, how belief in Allah’s Oneness should lead us to accepting the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ, or any others among His noble Prophets, Allah grant mercy and peace to them and to our beloved Messenger, āmīn. Thus, the relation between the two concepts, God’s Oneness, and Prophethood, is worthy of further exploration.

Thankfully for us, authors of our illustrious Islamic inheritance, like Imam Taftāzānī, have authored an entire genre of works expounding their thoughts on this very subject, known as Uṣūl ad-Dīn, the Foundations of the Religion. While the scrupulous details of the science may be saved for a formal study of ‘aqīdah, which every Muslim is encouraged to embark on to know the beliefs fundamental to their religion, we hope here to take the holistic route of reflecting on the Qur’an as a guide to making our intended connection. Let us, then, turn our attention to the beginning verses of Sūrah al-Insān:

“There has come unto mankind a moment of time in which he was nothing worth mentioning.” (Qur’an, 76:1)

With this verse, we are instantly alerted to the most fundamental rule of not only our own existence, but the universe as a whole: change. Human beings, like all things, only came to exist through a process of continuous change and transformation. Reaching far back into the depths of time, we know that not only did humans not exist, but the universe itself cannot possibly have developed to what it is now via an infinite chain of similarly contingent events. To believe the opposite leads to a logical absurdity. It must thus have a beginning, and there must be a pre-existing actor capable of initiating that beginning. That actor, existing independently and eternally with no beginning nor end, is what we designate with the word God, Allah in the Arabic language.

This argument is summarized succinctly with the following assertions and conclusion:

The universe changes. Everything that changes is in need of an unchanging Creator. Thus, the universe is in need of an unchanging Creator.

So far, we have established God’s existence alone. But what of His qualities that we know of from the Qur’an, like Life, Power, Will, Knowledge, etc.? If we have established that the universe has a Creator, it is thus fundamental that these attributes be ascribed to Him. Else, the act of creating the universe would not be possible were the Creator nonliving, powerless, unwilling, and unknowing of His creation. As for His Oneness, it is absurd to imagine that God’s absolute Will to do a particular thing be even potentially rivaled by the contrary absolute Will belonging to any other being posited as a ‘god’. Thus, the only being capable of possessing that said Will and similar qualities of perfection and eternality is the One God. 

Let us proceed to the next verse:

“We have created Mankind from a mixed sperm-drop to put him to test; then we made him able to hear, able to see.” (Qur’an, 76:2)

What, thus far, is still missing in the creation of the universe as we know it, with all its complexity, beauty, terror, and specifically in the creation of Mankind, furnished not only with the physical components of life, but beautified further with an intellect capable of investigating difficult questions about the universe, his own place therein, and innovating solutions to solve many of life’s material and philosophical challenges? For all this to be the outcome, the Creator must be attributed with a quality necessitating assignment of order and ultimate purpose in all His actions. This attribute can be called Wisdom, and its opposite, an impossibility for God, is called foolishness.

The verse above illustrates the physical process of human development. By what intent did God carve out for us a notch in this universe, carefully nurturing us through the various stages of conception, embryo development, then emerging from the womb a fully formed human being? “To put him to test.” That is the purpose of our creation, exemplified also in Qur’an 51:56: “I did not create the Jinn and Mankind except for the purpose that they should worship me.” 

Further, Allah Most High made Mankind “able to hear, able to see”; he gifted us not only with the physical senses by which we experience His creation, but with the potential for insight necessary to draw conclusions regarding the universe’s absolute dependance on God and the purposefulness behind our own creation. Our beloved Messenger ﷺ informed us that, “there is no man born except upon his primal nature (i.e., that of recognizing his Creator)”. We are all born with the inherent ability to reason many essential truths about God and our subservience to His Majesty. While that ability does not necessarily go away, those of us who were not born amongst the Muslims are led down a path of spiritual blindness until those guided few of us, ultimately, may find our way back to reunite with the warmth of God’s intent for us through Islam. All praise be to Allah!

We must, somehow, figure out a way back to God. Yet there are various realities that are imperceptible to us. What other qualities belong to God? What is our purpose? How do we fulfill it? How can we gain real, lasting peace and felicity? Allah the All-Wise answers thus:

“We have shown him the way to be either grateful or ungrateful.” (Qur’an, 76:3)

Following the same idea of Divine Wisdom explained earlier, we recognize there are matters of reality and morality which cannot be explained with intellect alone. Thus, if we are to discover and fulfill the purpose of our creation, we need more information. Anticipating this in His infinite Knowledge, God inspired certain individuals with the message requisite to attain human perfection and the eternal felicity sought by all. This message is called Revelation, as it is dispatched from the realm of the unseen to God’s chosen prophets (upon them and upon His Final Prophet be peace), who then pass it on to their people to steer them towards God’s intent for them. Revelation teaches us to fulfill our place in the universe by willingly showing gratefulness to God, and it also shows us the ugliness of its opposite.

Here, we may encounter a problem: how can one differentiate between true and false claimants of Prophethood? This was also anticipated, and thus God supported every prophet with miracles: occurrences defying the laws of nature tied to their claim towards Prophethood. These occurrences are aptly called mu’jizah in Arabic, meaning that they rendered anyone’s denial of the divine nature of these occurrences utterly impotent. Mūsā silenced the influential magicians of his time when his staff turned into a living snake, ‘Īsā effortlessly cured ailments even the skilled doctors of the Roman Empire were clueless to handle, and finally, our Beloved Messenger Muḥammad ﷺ came reciting a scripture that astounded the most eloquent poets of the most illustrious language, bringing ocean-depths of meaning, masterful rhetoric, impossible accuracy regarding past and future and subtle events, and upright guidance for every person who walks this Earth. Being the Seal of Prophethood and culmination of God’s dispatching revelation to the entirety of mankind, his miracle is the one prophetic miracle we can continue to bear witness to over a thousand years later, and thus do we recognize the magnitude of his noble station among all of Mankind.

It is due to the perfection of his sublime message and person that his blessed name will forever be next to that of God’s, in the phrase, “I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.”

Tadabbur to Redemption

كِتَـٰبٌ أَنزَلْنَـٰهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَـٰرَكٌۭ لِّيَدَّبَّرُوٓا۟ ءَايَـٰتِهِۦ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ 

“This is a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might deeply reflect (tadabbur) upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded”(38.29).

There lived a man, Imam al Haram-Rabbani, Shaykh al Hijaz, who was considered by all accounts to be of the highest caliber from knowledge, spiritual, and practical standpoints. However, as the famous Oscar Wilde quote goes, “Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” Thus, before his illustrious rise, he spent many years as a shaatir, a highway robber, one of the most dangerous ones at that, between Sarakhas and Abyrd in Samarqand in the second century! His name was synonymous with evil. Born to a father who had traveled to Iraq and died when he was very young, he was part of a gang that ambushed caravans crossing his territory. His name and reputation as their terrorizing leader had spread far and wide. This young man was named Fudayl Ibn Iyad At Tamimi. He was also in love with a young woman. One night, he decided to scale the high walls of her dwelling and see her at midnight when suddenly he heard a verse of Surah al Hadid being recited.

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا يَكُونُوا۟ كَٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ ۖ وَكَثِيرٌۭ مِّنْهُمْ فَـٰسِقُون 

"Has the time not yet come for believers’ hearts to be humbled at the remembrance of Allah and what has been revealed of the truth, and not be like those given the Scripture before—˹those˺ who were spoiled for so long that their hearts became hardened. And many of them are still rebellious"(57.16).

A man who had negatively affected so many was suddenly paralyzed and in awe of what he had just heard. Something within him caused immediate and deep reflection. Muhasabah, an act Imam Ghazali (rah) mentions one should engage in daily, prompted him to start climbing down the wall and say, “قد انا" - "Yes, my Lord." He began looking for a dark place to sit and ponder. While in seclusion, he overheard people nearby mentioning the danger of staying in the area longer, as it was Fudayl's notorious domain. Fudayl ibn Iyad was deeply moved. He made his tawbah and, in his repentance, promised to live in the House of Allah in Makkah. It is mentioned that when he emerged, he reassured the people of the caravan not to fear and, in some traditions, even fed them.

After his tawbah, he immediately changed his location and embarked on his journey for 'ilm. Having newly returned to Islam, he learned from the greatest Tabi'een, including A’mash (rah), Muhammad Ibn Ishaq (rah), and Imam Jafar as-Sadiq (rah). He became a renowned 'alim, and his knowledge was sought by figures like Sufyan Ibn ‘Uyaynah (rah), Abdullah Ibn Mubarak (rah), Bishar Al Hafi (rah), and Imam Shafi (rah). His hadith can be found in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim. Known for his balanced gatherings, Abdullah ibn Mubarak called him a teacher of goodness. Reflecting on the numerous accounts of transformation and redemption seen in the lives of believers throughout Islamic history is not only unsurprising but also greatly astounding and motivating.

The redemption of Fudayl (rah) was sparked by a few moments of deep reflection over a single verse. When will such a moment arrive for us? I pray it is before the appointed time of meeting our Lord arrives. Ameen.

Spiritual Legacy

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "When a person dies, all action is cut off for him with the exception of three things: sadaqah (charity) which continues, knowledge which benefits, or a righteous child who makes supplication for him" (Muslim). 

As Muslims, we live in this life (dunya) to plan and prepare for the next life (akhirah). We do not live for this temporary world for we will eventually leave it. We live for the next world for it is eternal and never ends. This life is only a test to see if we pass and enter paradise by Allah's grace; or if we fail and enter hellfire by His justice (may Allah protect us).

We are not guaranteed life but we are guaranteed death as it will come to all of us one way or another. The real question is not what you amassed and took from the life of this world, but rather what you left behind. What is your spiritual legacy that continues after you are gone that will benefit the generations to come? What will continue to benefit and reward you in your grave and hereafter? 

When you die, you will want people to say he left a continuous charity, beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who supplicates for him. All other actions will be cut off and nothing else after death will really help you. We must live our lives planning and preparing for what really matters in the next life.

Protest & Self Immolation

In the past six months, we have traversed a tumultuous journey of anguish, helplessness, and indignation witnessing the unfolding tragedy of the Palestinian genocide. While the impact has been profoundly distressing for the Ummah, we have found solace in our solidarity and even support of non-Muslim voices joining our call for an end to the violence and the liberation of the Palestinian people. Witnessing the collective outcry, from impassioned marches denouncing the heinous actions of the IDF to urgent appeals for divestment from U.S. support to Israel, has been both heartening and sobering. The recent act of self-immolation by an Air Force officer, though shocking, underscores the depth of despair and desperation felt by many. However, with this act of self immolation, a new challenge has emerged, stirring debate among Muslim American youth about how to interpret and respond to such acts of extreme protest. The spectrum of reactions spans from outright dismissal to unreserved admiration and elevation to a status of martyrdom, reflecting the complexity of emotions evoked by such a drastic gesture. In navigating this polarizing terrain, Islam offers profound guidance, urging us to champion justice and empathize with the persecuted, validating the anguish felt by many in these seemingly hopeless times. However, Islam also implores us, perhaps even more significantly, to cling to hope in the face of despair, to persevere in the struggle against oppression, and to reject the temptation of despair that leads to self-destruction. This crucial aspect of Islamic teachings, especially pertinent within the context of Muslim American youth development, warrants careful consideration in light of the act of self immolation. Many young individuals in our community may find themselves teetering on the precipice of despair, viewing self-harm as a viable solution not only to the current crisis but to other challenges they confront in their lives.

Aaron Bushnell, an Air-Force officer, shocked the world with his act of self-immolation protesting Israeli genocide against Palestine, and the USA’s involvement in the war and complacency in bringing it to a close. The Muslim community has been confused about how to deal with this entire incident.  We have a non-Muslim, using a radical method to stand up in defense of Palestine against the actions and inactions of the country he quite literally serves. In order to understand this situation, we need to compartmentalize its various aspects: one can understand the motivation, and even the despondency, that lead to such extreme measures. As a Muslim however, one must remind oneself that we have a blueprint to follow. We have a guide in the greatest of creation, the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and the principles he left for us. These are principles that will guide us to worship and live our lives in the way that is most pleasing to Allāh Most High.  

I am concerned at the Muslim discourse around the incident.  Muslims are joining in with others in calling this “the highest form of protest and sacrifice.”  Firstly, when referring to the “highest form” of anything, as Muslims, we must first determine who considers it the highest form and then whether or not it fits that criteria.  In the Muslim paradigm, who is a reference to Allāh the Exalted and not the human intellect.  As far as the act itself, it is paramount that we exercise great caution in its praise. What is praiseworthy is his motivation and what he wished to accomplish. However, self-harm is not an action that is praiseworthy in Islām.  Allāh states: “Do not kill a soul that Allāh has made sacred except with legal right”(6.151).  This verse, as well as maqāsid ash shar’īah (higher objectives of Islāmic law), inform us that every soul is sacred. Every soul and body is to be honored both in life and after death.  There are exceptions to honoring life, for example, in justified warfare and against those who commit the most heinous of crimes.  Even in those cases, the objectives behind sanctioned war or the death penalty is to prevent further harm and to save human life.  Allāh Most High further states: “whoever takes a life - unless as a punishment for murder or mischief in the land - it will be as if they killed all of humanity”(5.32).  One could argue that since, in the same verse, Allāh mentions “and whoever saves a life it is as though they have saved all of humanity” that self-immolation can save further destruction.  It will however be disingenuous to isolate verses and not view the shar’īah as a whole.  We have other verses and a plethora of ahādīth literature wherein suicide is expressly forbidden.  Allāh Most High says “Do not kill yourselves”(4.28). This is an unrestricted prohibition.  The fact of the matter is that in Islām we are not accountable for our results or the lack thereof.  What we are accountable for is the effort and means used to gain those results.  As such, the ends do not justify the means.  For example, all would agree that if a man is struggling to provide for his family, crosses paths with a billionaire who negligently left a thousand dollars for the taking, the theft of it will remain a theft.  The objective of providing for ones family is noble and in fact a necessary responsibility.  The billionaire will not even feel the loss. However, the means of fulfilling such noble ends will be unanimously rejected.  

As far as self-sacrifice is concerned, Prophet Muhammad ﷺ mentioned: “the best of martyrs is Hamzah the son of ‘Abd al Muttalib, then a man who stands up to a ruler, commands him [of what is good] and forbids him [of what is wrong] according to the rights of Allāh, and he [the ruler] kills him. Indeed the best form of jihād is to speak a word of truth to a tyrannical ruler”(Hākim).  This is a clear and decisive statement regarding the highest form of sacrifice and protest.  Prophet Muhammad ﷺ further states “Whoever amongst you sees a wrong, then let him change it with his hand, if he is unable then with his tongue, and if he is unable then with his heart, and this is the weakest form of faith”(Muslim).  Within the stratagem of the the hand and the tongue fall innumerable options including but not limited to protests and marches, campaigning, petitioning, boycotting, debating, educating, etc.  As the hadīth states “all of you are shepherds and responsible for your flock”(Bukhārī).  This entails that we all have different capacities and potentialities of doing our part. If the hand and tongue are exhausted and seeming futile, then we move to the heart.  That heart is a heart that must be spiritually firm to maintain itself and not fall into despair, lest we use our hands in an unsanctioned way.

In praise of Bushnell, some have gone as far as inferring him to be a shahīd or a martyr.  It should go without saying that a pre-requisite to Islāmic martyrdom is that the individual first and foremost have actually accepted the da’wah of Allāh’s last and final Messenger ﷺ and have openly accepted it or exhibited clear signs of being a Muslim. We can recognize his intentions as noble but that does not mean we break the very foundations this beautiful religion is based on.  As the scholars say “We give judgement based on the apparent and Allāh takes care of what is hidden.”  We can recognize the catastrophe of Bushnell taking his life, and it is a catastrophe, but then we misplace our sorrow and attempt to raise his rank to a station that is neither apparent nor appropriate.  He outwardly was not a Muslim and that is a fact.  It is part of our fitrah and even the Prophetic urge to wish everyone into Paradise, to be saddened over the unguided, especially those who act as a support to humanity, let alone Muslims.  We can remind ourselves, however, that there was a man who was arguably the greatest non-Muslim:  Abū Tālib, the uncle of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ who was beloved to him and took care of him ﷺ.  If there was ever a non-Muslim deserving of our du’ā’ it would have been Abū Tālib.  After his passing Prophet Muhammad ﷺ vowed to supplicate for Abū Tālib as long as Allāh would not prohibit it.  Soon after, Allāh Most High revealed “It is not permitted for the Prophet and those who believe to seek forgiveness for the idolators even though they may be their close of kin after it becomes clear that they [the deceased polytheists] are companions of the fire”(9.113). 

The scholars of Islām have been very cautious to praise and glorify suicide as it is definitely harām and often produces copycats. In the event of suicide, Allāh protect us all, our scholars saw it as essential to dissuade the population, with wisdom and sensitivity, from further engaging in it.  Finally, just as we refrain from praising Aaron Bushnell’s actions and elevating him in inappropriate ways, we also do not need to ridicule him as an enemy to Islām.  It's also not from the prophetic sunnah to insolently wish him to the fire and eternal damnation.  Be sensitive to the situation, the context, the loss of life and what lead to it and simply know that his affair is with Allāh and will be according to Allāh’s divine judgement.

Finding balance like this and being careful with our words can be instrumental in validating the emotions experienced by many, particularly young Muslims, while simultaneously ensuring we preserve our beliefs and dissuading those who may be dangerously close to considering self-harm as a solution. 

Finally, if you find yourself struggling profoundly during these difficult times, whether you're a Muslim youth, adult, or from any background, please don't hesitate to seek help. Professionals within our community are available to provide support and guidance. Remember, your presence, your voice, and your actions are invaluable for our collective growth. Whatever challenges you're facing, you don't have to face them alone. We need you to thrive, to persevere, and to live. Let us cling to hope, knowing that Allah’s (Most High) mercy and guidance will sustain us through even the darkest of times. As we embark on the blessed month of Ramadan, let us once again turn back to Allah (Most High) and make sincere dua for positive change and may we witness again the miracles and deliverance this month has always provided for the Ummah.

Allāh protect us, guide us, spread righteousness in the lands amongst the inhabitants and leaders, and grant victory to all the oppressed. Āmīn.