RRMCR

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 20

: field_muslim2; September 11th, 14:28

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. 'Class' Division in The Pharaonic System of Supremacism

The Qur'an (28:4) states

'Inna Fir`awna `Alā Fī Al-'Arđi Wa Ja`ala 'Ahlahā Shiya`āan Yastađ`ifu Ţā'ifatan Minhum Yudhabbiĥu 'Abnā'ahum Wa Yastaĥyī Nisā'ahum 'Innahu Kāna Mina Al-Mufsidīna

Surely Pharaoh exalted himself in the land and made its people into parties, weakening one party from among them; he slaughtered their sons and let their women live; surely he was one of the mischiefmakers.

According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, shiy'a-aan (noun, plural) means sects while shi'atun (noun, singular) means sect, group or party.

Fir'awn is the Qur'anic symbol of the supremacist or TAAGHOOT - one who has "gone beyond the limit" in shirk (association) from the side of the ma'bood (served/worshipped) in attributing uloohiyyah (godhood/ultimacy/absoluteness) to himself (see below). This sign/message (ayat) points to the fact that supremacist/TAAGHOOT systems will power-relations between groups/parties/sects (shiy'a-aan) of people such that (at least) one group/party/sect is placed in a position of weakness (d'af) relative to another.

Compare this to the way in which the globally operating system of Racism (White Supremacy) establishes, maintains, expands and refines relations of IMBALANCE between people classified as white and others classified as non-white.

2. The Pharaoh/Supremacist as Absolute/Ultimate Authority

The Qur'an (28:38) states

Wa Qāla Fir`awnu Yā 'Ayyuhā Al-Mala'u Mā `Alimtu Lakum Min 'Ilahin Ghayrī Fa'awqid Lī Yā Hāmānu `Alá Aţ-Ţīni Fāj`al Lī Şarĥāan La`allī 'Aţţali`u 'Ilá 'Ilahi Mūsá Wa 'Innī La'ažunnuhu Mina Al-Kādhibīna

And Pharaoh said: O chiefs! I do not know of any god for you besides myself; therefore kindle a fire for me, O Haman, for brick, then prepare for me a lofty building so that I may obtain knowledge of Musa's God, and most surely I think him to be one of the liars.

The phrase I want to focus on in the above sign/message (ayat) is lakum which means "for you (collective)". Here, the HIERARCHICAL natue of the TAAGHOOT power-system (bayt) is referred to - Pharoah and his chiefs (al-mala'u) - and the function of the apex of this PYRAMID of power - Pharoah himself - in relation to lower levels is demarcated, viz. ultimacy/absoluteness in terms of authority and right of obedience ('ubudiyyah).

Thus, in any supremacist/Fir'awnic system, the supremacist/Fir'awn functions as absolute/ultimate authority - 'God' (ilaah) - for its functioning components/parts - its 'chiefs' - and, by extension, for those groups (shiy'a-aan) over whom they wield (delegated) authority. This has deep implications for understanding the relation between Racists (White Supremacists), white people and (co-opted) non-white people in apparent "positions of power" - that is, the so-called "black leadership" (sic).

3. Supremacists as Those Who Lead to The Fire (of Hell)

The Qur'an (28:41) states

Wa Ja`alnāhum 'A'immatan Yad`ūna 'Ilá An-Nāri Wa Yawma Al-Qiyāmati Lā Yunşarūna

And We made them [i.e. Pharoah/Fir'awn and his hosts/forces] leaders/models who call to the fire, and on the day of resurrection they shall not be assisted.

This sign/message (ayat) indicates that Pharaonic/Fir'awnic systems, which are based on a pyramidical/hierarchical system of power-relations, function as leaders/models (a'imma) that invite/call to The Fire (of Hell). To the extent that the Pharaonic system is the archetype of TAAGHOOT - that is, supremacism - this would mean that the globally operating system of Racism (White Supremacy) must be pyramidical/hierarchical in nature, which is borne out by the facts. (In his regard, I would like to point the reader to the following article on the Bandung2 blog: "The Hierarchy of Race".)

Crucially, as a Pharaonic/Fir'awnic system, Racism (White Supremacy) leads to The Fire (of Hell).

4. Actions and Membership

The Qur'an (29:9) states

Wa Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Wa `Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti Lanudkhilannahum Fī Aş-Şāliĥīna

And (as for) those who are secure in their comment to God/Allah and act in a constructive manner (so as to effect reparations) that , We will most surely cause them to enter among (the class/category) of The Constructive/Reparational.

I find this sign/message (ayat) fascinating and of critical hermeneutic (interpretative) importance since it appears to distinguish the performance of ACTIONS by individuals from class/category membership. In short, it is the performance actions ('amaal) that are of constructive/reparational (saalihaat), in conjunction with secure commitment to God/Allah (imaan), that leads to class/category membership among those classified/categorised as The Constructive/Reparational (as-saaliheen).

What is this sign/message (ayat) saying? I think it is that consistent performance of action - constructive or otherwise - transforms an actor into the very personification/embodiment of the action: Rather than ACTING constructively/reparationally, one BECOMES constructive/reparational. In short, and philosophically-speaking, it is a progression from DOING to BEING.

Crucially, I think this may apply to other terms in The Qur'an used to describe people in relation to their acts. For example, alladheena aaminu as compared to mu'minoon/mu'mineen, and alladheena kaffaru as compared with kaafiroon/kaafireen; on this view, imaan and kufr should be understood in relation to their verbal roots - amina and kafara, respectively. According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar,

Amina - to trust, be secure, be in safety, confine in.

Kafara - to cover, deny, hide, renounce, reject, disbelieve (opposite of belief), be ungrateful, negligent, expiate, darken.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 19

: field_muslim2; September 9th, 21:34

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. Hell as Cyclical

The Qur'an (25:11-14) states

Bal Kadhdhabū Bis-Sā`ati Wa 'A`tadnā Liman Kadhdhaba Bis-Sā`ati Sa`īrāan
'Idhā Ra'at/hum Min Makānin Ba`īdin Sami`ū Lahā Taghayyužāan Wa Zafīrāan
Wa 'Idhā 'Ulqū Minhā Makānāan Đayyiqāan Muqarranīna Da`aw Hunālika Thubūrāan
Lā Tad`ū Al-Yawma Thubūrāan Wāĥidāan Wa Ad`ū Thubūrāan Kathīrāan

But they reject the hour [of Judgement], and We have prepared a burning fire for him who rejects the hour.
When it shall come into their sight from a distant place, they shall hear its vehement raging and roaring.
And when they are cast into a narrow place in it, bound, they shall there call out for destruction.
Do not call this day for one destruction, but call for many destructions.

I think the reference in the last of the above signs/messages (ayaat) to many destructions indicates that the reformatory activity that is to take place in the fire (naar) of Hell is cyclical in nature, i.e. it is a transformative process involving many repetitive phases (see the RRMCR entry for Day 13). I think additional support for this cyclical interpretation of Hell is provided by (4:56) which states

'Inna Al-Ladhīna Kafarū Bi'āyātinā Sawfa Nuşlīhim Nārāan Kullamā Nađijat Julūduhum Baddalnāhum Julūdāan Ghayrahā Liyadhūqū Al-`Adhāba 'Inna Allāha Kāna `Azīzāan Ĥakīmāan

(As for) those who reject Our signs/messages, We shall make them enter fire; so oft as their skins are thoroughly burned, We will change them for other skins, that they may taste the chastisement; surely Allah is Mighty, Wise.

2. The Master of The Universe (Space-Time)

The Qur'an (26:23-28) states

Qāla Fir`awnu Wa Mā Rabbu Al-`Ālamīna
Qāla Rabbu As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđi Wa Mā Baynahumā 'In Kuntum Mūqinīna
Qāla Liman Ĥawlahu 'Alā Tastami`ūna
Qāla Rabbukum Wa Rabbu 'Ābā'ikumu Al-'Awwalīna
Qāla 'Inna Rasūlakumu Al-Ladhī 'Ursila 'Ilaykum Lamajnūnun
Qāla Rabbu Al-Mashriqi Wa Al-Maghribi Wa Mā Baynahumā 'In Kuntum Ta`qilūna

Pharaoh said: And what is the Lord of the Worlds ?
(Moses) said: Lord of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, if you had certainty.
(Pharaoh) said unto those around him: Do you not hear?
He said: Your Lord and the Lord of your fathers.
(Pharaoh) said: Lo! your messenger who has been sent to you is indeed a madman!
He said: Lord of the East and the West and all that is between them, if you did but understand.

I find this sign/message (ayat) fascinating in that Moses/Musa here appears to be clarifying the 'vertical' - "the heavens and the earth" - and horizontal - "the East and the West" - spatial dominion as well as the temporal dominion - "your Lord and the Lord your fathers" (indicating generations, time) - of God/Allah as Rabb-ul-'Aalameen ("Lord of all the worlds").

Contrast this with the deceit (ghuroor) of the alienated and alienating personality (ash-shay'th'aan) who falsely promised dominion over space (mulk) and time (khuld) to Adam in (7:20) and (21:0).

3. Braiding Ropes and Arguments

The Qur'an (26:44) states

Fa'alqaw Ĥibālahum Wa `Işīyahum Wa Qālū Bi`izzati Fir`awna 'Innā Lanaĥnu Al-Ghālibūna

Then they threw down their cords and their staves and said: By Pharaoh's might, lo! we verily are the winners.

I think the cords (hibaal) mentioned in this sign/message (ayat) and elsewhere are symbolic and, in fact, refer to complex - that is, sophisticated (as in sophistry) - arguments that are false yet deceptive in nature. Why do I say this? Simply because I question the existential facticity of the 'miraculous', not because it is beyond the power and ability (quwaah, qudrah) of God/Allah, but rather because I do not believe that is how God/Allah acts in the world. If that makes me a 'rationalist' in the eyes of others, so be it.

I would argue that the view that the cords (hibaal) mentioned in this sign/message (ayat) are arguments is supported by the meaning of the verbal root from which the word cord (habl) is derived. According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, habala means "to ensnare, tie with a rope or cord, catch the game with a net." This is what sophistry - that is, "a subtle, tricky, superficially plausible, but generally fallacious method of reasoning" - is all about, viz. tying people's minds up in illusionary - magical - webs of deceit.

I am also inclined to make a connection between the verbs habala and jadala. According to 'Omar, the latter means "to twist firmly, become strong, be quarrelsome, contentious ... To dispute, contend with, wrangle, quarrel, plead, argue, discuss, dispute together." The basic meanings of the verb jadala derive from the idea of twisting fibres together in order to make a rope or cord; in short, to braid.

4. In Defense of Revolution

In an article entitled "Islam: Religion or Ideology?" written in 2006, Imam Zaid Shakir of the Zaytuna Institute stated the following:

[There is a] growing tendency among Muslims to read many of our foundational texts politically and not theologically. Such a reading shifts the emphasis of our religion away from the Hereafter and creates a distorted focus on the world.

However, [Islam's] political implications are subordinate to its religious teachings. Hence, for example, a Muslim individual or polity may succeed politically, while being damned religiously, because basic injunctions of the religion have been sacrificed to unsanctioned political imperatives, or unacceptable motives.

Insofar as "political" refers exclusively to power-relations between people, I would concur; however, if by "political" one also includes the power-relation between God/Allah as Master (Rabb) and the human being as servant ('abd), I consider Shakir's position to be deeply problematic.

He goes on to assert that

politicized readings of our texts can be seen as part of the growing tendency to reduce Islam to a political ideology. The implications of this reduction are grave. Perhaps the gravest of those implications is turning the primary focus of Islam away from the spirit or soul and orienting it towards the world, thereby reducing the sacred understanding to the level of the mundane.

While I would agree that Islam is not an ideology, neither is it a religion. Rather, it is a power-relation and life-transaction (deen). Furthermore, it is crucial to appreciate that, according to The Qur'an, the route to the sacred is through the mundane.

Shakir maintains that

at the heart of the Islamic call is a normative program for spiritual salvation. That program accommodates the political, but on its own terms, and it is never limited to it or by it.

Fine. However, Shakir concludes his essay by asserting that

as Muslims we may well continue in our various struggles. However, those struggles would be better informed by the revolutionary teachings of Bakunin, Georges Sorel, Rosa Luxemburg, Lenin, Mao, Che Guevara, and others than by the revelation given to our Prophet Muhammad, Peace and Blessings of God upon him. In some circumstances, we could possibly muster a credible defense against any number of threats confronting us. However, at the end of the day, we may find that we have very little left to defend.

It is here that I have the problem. Shakir's statement gives the reader the impression that revelation and revolution are, in some sense, antithetical, perhaps because he is unable to consider the possibility and formulate an understanding of 'revolution' (inqilaab) outside the "ideological straightjacket" of dialectical materialism. (I think this is self-evident from the list of revolutionary figures he mentions.)

Contrary to this view, I think it is quite possible to conceive of "revolutionary revelation" and "revelatory revolution"; in fact, this thesis has been explored in a work entitled Revolution and Revelation in Islam (1987) by Ziaul Haque which, despite its flaws, makes for fascinating reading.

However, perhaps the biggest problem I have with Shakir's view is that The Qur'an itself appears to indicate the possibility of "revolution" in the sense of the overthrowing/overturning of a situation. Consider (26:227), the latter part of which sign/message (ayat) states

Wa Saya`lamu Al-Ladhīna Žalamū 'Ayya Munqalabin Yanqalibūna

Those who do wrong will come to know by what a (great) reverse they will be overturned!

(3:127) is even more explicit about the possibility of overturning/overthrowing:

Liyaqţa`a Ţarafāan Mina Al-Ladhīna Kafarū 'Aw Yakbitahum Fayanqalibū Khā'ibīna

That He may cut off a part of those who reject, or overwhelm them so that they are overturned, frustrated.

According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, the verbal root kabata means "to abase, throw down, restrain, overwhelm, prostrate, expose ignominy, humble, vanquish with humiliation, be laid low and humbled, cause to perish." The verbal root qalaba, from which the word for heart (qalb) is derived, means "to turn, return, turn a thing upside down, change, change direction, turn it about to its face and back, turn inside out, change condition." Form VII of this verb, inqalaba, from which the word revolution (inqilaab) is derived has the meaning "to be turned about, be turned back" and the word munqalabin means "a place of turmoil". (I should like to point interested readers to an interesting article entitled "Qalaba: The Turning of The Heart" by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri which appeared in Nuradeen magazine, Vol. 4 No. 2, Spring 1984.)

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 18

: field_muslim2; September 9th, 21:27

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. No Thanks for Slavery

The Qur'an (23:45-47) states

Thumma 'Arsalnā Mūsá Wa 'Akhāhu Hārūna Bi'āyātinā Wa Sulţānin Mubīnin
'Ilá Fir`awna Wa Mala'ihi Fāstakbarū Wa Kānū Qawmāan `Ālīna
Faqālū 'Anu'uminu Libasharayni Mithlinā Wa Qawmuhumā Lanā `Ābidūna

Then We sent Moses/Musa and his brother Aaron/Haroon, with Our communications and a clear authority,
To Pharaoh/Fir'awn and his chiefs, but they behaved arrogantly and were an insolent people.
And they said: What! shall we believe in two mortals like ourselves while their people serve us?

Further on, The Qur'an (26:18) and (26: 22) state

Qāla 'Alam Nurabbika Fīnā Walīdāan Wa Labithta Fīnā Min `Umurika Sinīna

(Firon) said: Did we not bring you up as a child among us, and you tarried among us for (many) years of your life?
...
Wa Tilka Ni`matun Tamunnuhā `Alayya 'An `Abbadta Banī 'Isrā'īla

And is it a favour of which you remind me that you have enslaved the children of Israel?

In dealing with Racists (White Supremacists), seminal counter-Racist thinker, Neely Fuller Jr., offers the following advice:

Don't let flattery and/or so-called "gifts" blind you to Racism and other injustices.

Flattery and so-called "gifts" and "favours" are some of the basic tactics and weapons used by Racists (White Supremacists) to weaken, confuse, and more easily dominate their victims [non-white people]. (p.152)

2. Good for Evil and Like for Like

The Qur'an states (23:96)

Adfa` Bi-Atī Hiya 'Aĥsanu As-Sayyi'ata Naĥnu 'A`lamu Bimā Yaşifūna

Repel evil by what is best; We know best what they describe.

According to this sign/message (ayat), one should repel evil with good. However, The Qur'an also refers to dealing on a like for like (mithl bi mithl) basis in order to create balance (meezan). There is no contradiction if we understand that "like for like" refers to magnitude or quantity irrespective of direction (value or quality). (Mathematically-speaking, we can think of "like for like" as involving scalars, whereas "good for evil" involves vectors.)

The objective is balance (meezan) and husn ("good") compensates, like for like, for sayyiaat ("evil").

3. The Punishing Clouds of God/Allah

The Qur'an states (24:43)

'Alam Tará 'Anna Allāha Yuzjī Saĥābāan Thumma Yu'uallifu Baynahu Thumma Yaj`aluhu Rukāmāan Fatará Al-Wadqa Yakhruju Min Khilālihi Wa Yunazzilu Mina As-Samā'i Min Jibālin Fīhā Min Baradin Fayuşību Bihi Man Yashā'u Wa Yaşrifuhu `An Man Yashā'u Yakādu Sanā Barqihi Yadh/habu Bil-'Abşāri

Do you not see that Allah drives along the clouds, then folds them together, then piles them up, so that you see the rain coming forth from their midst? And He sends down of the clouds that are (like) mountains wherein is hail, afflicting therewith whom He pleases and turning it away from whom He pleases; the flash of His lightning almost takes away the sight.

Now consider (8:63),

Wa 'Allafa Bayna Qulūbihim Law 'Anfaqta Mā Fī Al-'Arđi Jamī`āan Mā 'Allafta Bayna Qulūbihim Wa Lakinna Allāha 'Allafa Baynahum 'Innahu `Azīzun Ĥakīmun

And folded their hearts together; had you spent all that is in the earth, you could not have folded their hearts together, but GodAllah folded them together; surely He is Mighty, Wise.

On this basis, I think the phenomena mentioned in (24:43) should be interpreted as follows:

Clouds: those securely committed to God/Allah - more specifically, the companions (sahaaba) of the Messenger of God/Allah whose hearts were "folded together" (i.e. united) by God/Allah as in (8:63)
Rain: revelation (ihaa/inzaal)
Hail: punishment of oppressors at the hands of believers as in (9:14),

Qātilūhum Yu`adhdhibhumu Allāhu Bi'aydīkum Wa Yukhzihim Wa Yanşurkum `Alayhim Wa Yashfi Şudūra Qawmin Mu'uminīna

Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them and heal the breats of a believing people.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 17

: field_muslim2; September 8th, 2:02

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. The Purpose of The Universe

The Qur'an (21:16-18) states

Wa Mā Khalaqnā As-Samā'a Wa Al-'Arđa Wa Mā Baynahumā Lā`ibīna
Law 'Aradnā 'An Nattakhidha Lahwan Lāttakhadhnāhu Min Ladunnā 'In Kunnā Fā`ilīna
Bal Naqdhifu Bil-Ĥaqqi `Alá Al-Bāţili Fayadmaghuhu Fa'idhā Huwa Zāhiqun Wa Lakumu Al-Waylu Mimmā Taşifūna

And We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between them for fun.
Had We wished to make a diversion, We would have made it from before Ourselves: by no means would We do (it).
Nay! We hurl the truth against falsehood, so that it destroys it, and lo! it vanishes; and woe to you for what you describe.

So what is the purpose of the universe? The answer is given in (11:7) which states:

Wa Huwa Al-Ladhī Khalaqa As-Samāwāti Wa Al-'Arđa Fī Sittati 'Ayyāmin Wa Kāna `Arshuhu `Alá Al-Mā'i Liyabluwakum 'Ayyukum 'Aĥsanu `Amalāan Wa La'in Qulta 'Innakum Mab`ūthūna Min Ba`di Al-Mawti Layaqūlanna Al-Ladhīna Kafarū 'In Hādhā 'Illā Siĥrun Mubīnun

And He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods - and His dominion (extends) on the water - that He might manifest to you, which of you is best in action, and if you say, surely you shall be raised up after death, those who disbelieve would certainly say: This is nothing but clear magic.

'Ahsanu 'Amalaan means actions which promote proportion/beauty (husn) in 'self' and 'other'.

2. Of Dust, Clay and Haste

The Qur'an (21:37) states

Khuliqa Al-'Insānu Min `Ajalin Sa'urīkum 'Āyātī Falā Tasta`jilūni

Man is created of haste; now will I show to you My signs, therefore do not ask Me to hasten (them) on.

In The Qur'an, it is stated that the human being was created from dust (turab) and clay (th'een) among other things and these words/terms are generally interpreted in a literal sense, viz. as referring to the stuff and/or substance of which the first human being was made.

However, I think (21:37) provides support for interpreting these words/terms symbolically since there is no stuff and/or substance called 'haste'; 'ajalin in this sign/message (ayat) is taken to refer to the NATURE of the human being.

On this basis, I think that references to 'dust' and 'clay' in The Qur'an should be understood as similarly shedding light on the NATURE and/or characteristics of the human being. Dust symbolises that which is lowly and humble. Clay symbolises that which is malleable/adaptable, but also impressionable; sticky clay, that which is clingy/attachable; and dried clay, that which is articulate/brittle. I think this has deep implications for understanding the the meaning of and difference between the terms ins and jinn in The Qur'an and for the "Adamic narrative". Insha'Allah/God-Willing, I will make a detailed presentation on this issue in the near future in a different forum.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 16

: field_muslim2; September 7th, 16:29

Peace e Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. How to talk to Racists (White Supremacists)

The Qur'an (20:43-44) states

Adh/habā 'Ilá Fir`awna 'Innahu Ţaghá
Faqūlā Lahu Qawlāan Layyināan La`allahu Yatadhakkaru 'Aw Yakhshá

Go to Pharoah/Fir'awn, surely, he has gone beyond the limit (and become a tyrant);
But speak to him a gentle word that perhaps he might consider/bear in mind (what you say) or fear (God).

According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, the verbal root laana means "to soften, make tender, lenient, smooth." Four other words/terms based on this root appear in The Qur'an:

(3:159) contains the word linta which is best rendered as "leniently".
(39:23) contains the word taleenu which is best rendered as "receptive" or "pliant".
(34:10) contains the word a-lanna which is best rendered as "pliable".
(59:5) contains the word leenat which, according to 'Omar, is "a kind of palm tree of which the dates are of very inferior quality and are unfit for human consumption."

On this basis, it might be argued that the Muslim counter-Racist is required to adopt a lenient/pliant manner when talking to Racist (White Supremacist) Man and Racist (White Supremacist) Woman. By this I understand that what is required is that the Muslim counter-Racist should speak to the Racist (White Supremacist) in such a way that the Racist (White Supremacist) becomes receptive to what is being said to him/her; in other words, lenient/pliant speech (Qawlāan Layyināan) on the part of the speaker is designed to engender receptiveness (leen) on the part of the listener. In this connection, it is crucial to appreciate that the aim/objective of the counter-Racist is to RWSWJ - that is, Replace White Supremacy With Justice - not to exterminate white people. For the Muslim counter-Racist, the following signs/messages (ayaat) are of particular reference since it indicates that no-one, even a supremacist, is beyond hope: (79:17-19)

Adh/hab 'Ilá Fir`awna 'Innahu Ţaghá
Faqul Hal Laka 'Ilá 'An Tazakká
Wa 'Ahdiyaka 'Ilá Rabbika Fatakhshá

Go to Pharoah/Fir'awn, surely he has gone beyond the limit (into tyranny).
Then say: Have you (a desire) to purify yourself for growth:
And I will guide you to your Lord so that you should fear.

(The reader is referred to the following articles on the Bandung2 blog: "Purification of The Tyrant: Hobson, Bennabi and Mutahhari" and "REFLECTIONS: Tyranny and Purification".)

According to seminal counter-Racist thinker, Neely Fuller Jr., author of The United Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept: a textbook/workbook for thought, speech and/or action for victims of racism (white supremacy),

Under most circumstances, it is always correct to try to be as friendly as possible, even to persons whom you suspect may be enemies.

Hostile speech or action should always be initiated by the enemies of justice - never by the major victims of injustice. (p.119)

Crucially, Fuller maintains that the counter-Racist should "not speak or act in such manner as to promote hatred of white people." (p.122)

However, it is important to appreciate that gentleness and softness does not mean compromising or apologetic. As The Qur'an states elsewhere, Muslims should use language that is clear, straightforward and decisive (sadeed) (33:70), recognisable (m'aroof) (4:5) and proportionate/beautiful (husna) (2:83). They should avoid using language that is deceitful and false (zoor) (22:30), and subdue/lower the voice when talking (31:19).

According to Fuller, the counter-Racist should "speak the truth, but be certain to speak it in a manner that the person listening will understand what is being said." (p.129)

Most importantly, The Qur'an (6:153) states that when one speaks, one should be just/equalising ('adl) in speech. Consistent with this, Fuller maintains that one should "always say everything in a manner that will best promote justice and correctness." (p.129)

2. Being clear about the motives behind RWSWJ (Replacing White Supremacy With Justice)

The Qur'an states (20:131)

Wa Lā Tamuddanna `Aynayka 'Ilá Mā Matta`nā Bihi 'Azwājāan Minhum Zahrata Al-Ĥayāati Ad-Dunyā Linaftinahum Fīhi Wa Rizqu Rabbika Khayrun Wa 'Abqá

And do not stretch your eyes after that with which We have provided different classes of them, (of) the splendor of this world's life, that We may thereby try them; and the sustenance (given) by your Lord is better and more abiding.

I think this sign/message (ayat) can - and should - act as a directive to the Muslim counter-Racist that the underlying motive of Islamic counter-Racism is to establish, maintain, expand and refine Justice, that is balance (meezan) between 'self' and 'other'.

It has nothing to do with pursuing - that is, 'racing' (sic) to obtain - what the 'other' - in this case, the Racist (White Supremacist) - has in terms of the privileges associated with their 'class' [=Race].

Islamic counter-Racism abandons class-based notions of value/worth (karam) in pursuit of Go/Allah-given standards of TAQWA, i.e. self-preservation through consciousness of God/Allah (49:13).

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 15

: field_muslim2; September 7th, 16:27

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

The Qur'an (17:64) states

Wa Astafziz Mani Astaţa`ta Minhum Bişawtika Wa 'Ajlib `Alayhim Bikhaylika Wa Rajilika Wa Shārik/hum Fī Al-'Amwli Wa Al-'Awlādi Wa `Id/hum Wa Mā Ya`iduhumu Ash-Shayţānu 'Illā Ghurūrāan

[God/Allah said to Iblees/The Desperate Personality:] And beguile whomsoever of them you can with your voice, and collect against them your forces riding and on foot, and share with them in wealth and children, and hold out promises to them; and The Shaitan [The Alienated and Alienating Personality] does not make promises to them except to deceive.

I find this sign/message (ayat) fascinating in that, from an Islamic counter-Racist perspective, it addresses each of the major areas of activity identified by seminal counter-Racist thinker, Neely Fuller Jr. in The United Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept: a textbook/workbook for thought, speech and/or action for victims of racism (white supremacy). According to Fuller, these areas are as follows:

Economics, Education, Entertainment, Labour, Law, Politics, Religion, Sex and War

A tenth area, Language, has also been identified by Muslim counter-Racist analyst, Isa Ibrahiim.

Consider how the terms mentioned in (17:64) correspond to the areas of activity identified by Fuller and Ibrahiim:

TERMS	AREAS
Voice	Education, Entertainment, Language
Forces riding and on foot	War
Partnership in wealth	Economics, Labour
Partnership in children	Sex
Holding out promises	Law, Politics, Religion

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 14

: field_muslim2; September 5th, 14:54

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

The Qur'an (15:19) states:

Wa Al-'Arđa Madadnāhā Wa 'Alqaynā Fīhā Rawāsiya Wa 'Anbatnā Fīhā Min Kulli Shay'in Mawzūnin

We stretched the earth and placed upon it firm stabilisers and made all things grow upon it balanced evenly.

Now connect this with (55:7-9)

Wa As-Samā'a Rafa`ahā Wa Wađa`a Al-Mīzāna
'Allā Taţghaw Fī Al-Mīzāni
Wa 'Aqīmū Al-Wazna Bil-Qisţi Wa Lā Tukhsirū Al-Mīzāna

And the heaven, He raised it high, and He made the balance
That you may not be inordinate in respect of the measure.
And keep up the balance with equity and do not make the measure deficient.

I think The Qur'an is pointing to ECOLOGICAL BALANCE in (15:19) and, when considered in the light of (55:7-8) which states "do not trangress/exceed/upset the balance" based on use of the verb th'aghaa which means "to go beyond the limit", has deep implications for the Muslim counter-Racist.

Racism (White Supremacy) is the dominant contemporary manifestation of THAAGHOOT (tyranny). Counter-Racists are committed to RWSWJ - that is, Replacing White Supremacy (Racism) With Justice. However, as seminal counter-Racist analyst, Neely Fuller Jr. states in The United Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept: a textbook/workbook for thought, speech and/or action for victims of racism (white supremacy), in reality, justice - that is, a condition of balance (Arabic meezan) - has two forms - balance between human beings and balance between human beings and non-human beings (Fuller refers to the latter as 'correctness'.) Insofar as (15:19) points to ECOLOGICAL BALANCE, I think it refers to justice in the sense of correctness, that is, balance between human-beings and non-human beings in the shared biosphere of the earth (ardh). To the extent that Racism (White Supremacy) as a globally operating system of injustice leads to ECOLOGICAL CHAOS/DESTRUCTION (fasaad f'il-ardh), I believe that counter-Racists - especially, Muslim counter-Racists - are required to struggle for ECOLOGICAL BALANCE, correctness as well as justice.

In short, Muslim counter-Racists must be ECOLOGICAL activists.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 13

: field_muslim2; September 5th, 14:23

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

The Qur'an (13:17) states

'Anzala Mina As-Samā'i Mā'an Fasālat 'Awdiyatun Biqadarihā Fāĥtamala As-Saylu Zabadāan Rābīāan Wa Mimmā Yūqidūna `Alayhi Fī An-Nāri Abtighā'a Ĥilyatin 'Aw Matā`in Zabadun Mithluhu Kadhālika Yađribu Allāhu Al-Ĥaqqa Wa Al-Bāţila Fa'ammā Az-Zabadu Fayadh/habu Jufā'an Wa 'Ammā Mā Yanfa`u An-Nāsa Fayamkuthu Fī Al-'Arđi Kadhālika Yađribu Allāhu Al-'Amthāla

He sends down water from the cloud, then watercourses flow (with water) according to their measure, and the torrent bears along the swelling foam, and from what they melt in the fire for the sake of making ornaments or apparatus arises a scum like it; thus does Allah compare truth and falsehood; then as for the scum, it passes away as a worthless thing; and as for that which profits the people, it tarries in the earth; thus does Allah set forth parables.

Much has been written about this sign/message (ayat) by others.

The only (possible) contribution I want to make here is to point to the separating function of FIRE (naar) in extracting (pure) metal from ore which, in the process, leaves behind slag/scum/froth. (Interestingly, this ayat is used to compare - rather, separate (Yađribu) - truth (haqq) and falsehood (bāţil).) I am led to wonder whether this separating function of fire has implications for what is to happen to the inmates of Jahannam ('Hell'). Is 'Hell' a place/state/condition wherein those who have committed crimes against themselves and others are separated from the effects of such crimes through a transformative process in which these effects are slowly burned away? Does this mean that 'Hell' is not forever? The poet-philospher Iqbal did not believe in an eternal 'hell' and this view is supported by Mohammad Zia Ullah in Islamic Concept of God (1984) who states:

About hell, let us remember the divine promise.

My Mercy encompasseth all things (7:157).

According to this, even hell is proof of divine mercy. Does not the sick man who knows what he should do make for a hospital, where arrangements exist for restoring him to health? He suffers all the pains involved and even spends and gives for their sake and for the sake of the health that results from them. He even submits to surgery. Why? Only that he may have health again. This is exactly what our gracious Lord and Creator will do for those who go spiritually sick from here, so that the impediments to the spiritual destiny - the end of our being - which they themselves had created may disappear. It was the destiny they had missed by their own deeds. It is what they will now reach. Hell is not a place for punitive exercise. It is a place for reeducation, reform. It is wrong to think of divine rewards and punishments as arbitrary findings delivered to suit the whims of the divine despot. Many anti-religionists think so. The Holy Qur'an describes hell as the sinner's `mother'.

Their mother is Hell (101:10).

A child is carried by a mother in her womb only for such time as is necessary. Necessary for the requirements of life after birth. The mother is all affection, all concern for the child. The metaphor is full of meaning: where there is love, there is also punishment, but punishment not for the pleasure of it but for the good of the child. Hell is a reformatory; its purpose is reform, reeducation, recovery. Hell, therefore, is not - it cannot be - a permanent institution. True, there are expressions in the Holy Book which may be so construed (misconstrued to be exact). Khalidina fi ha abada ('will live there for ever') only means a good length of time. We have decisive passages in the Holy Qur'an on this subject. Inmates of paradise and inmates of hell are described, as it were, in parallel columns:

As for those who will prove unfortunate, they shall be in the Fire, wherein there shall be for them sighing and sobbing.
Abiding therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, excepting what thy Lord may will. Surely, thy Lord brings about what He pleases. But as for those who will prove fortunate they shall be in Heaven, abiding therein so long as the heavens and the earth endure, excepting what thy Lord may will - a gift that shall never be cut off (11:107-9).

If hell were a permanent institution, as indeed is paradise, why not the same expression to project permanence of both? The rewards of paradise are clearly described as rewards "which will cease not", unambiguously and eloquently permanent. But this is not said of the punishments of hell. Why not? The Qur'an passage is loud about one permanence, silent about the other. And yet it is one and the same passage which describes both paradise and hell. What does it mean? Only this, that hell is a temporary institution, to serve for a term [emphasis added]. (pp.62-64)

Food for thought at a time when those struggling to self-surrender to God/Allah are abstaining from food.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 12

: field_muslim2; September 5th, 14:21

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. The Wretched of The Earth

The Qur'an (11:27) states:

Faqāla Al-Mala'u Al-Ladhīna Kafarū Min Qawmihi Mā Narāka 'Illā Basharāan Mithlanā Wa Mā Narāka Attaba`aka 'Illā Al-Ladhīna Hum 'Arādhilunā Bādiya Ar-Ra'yi Wa Mā Nará Lakum `Alaynā Min Fađlin Bal Nažunnukum Kādhibīna

But the chiefs of those who rejected (the truth) from among his [i.e. Nuh/Noah's] people said: We do not consider you but a mortal like ourselves, and we do not see any have followed you but those who are the meanest of us at first thought and we do not see in you any excellence over us; nay, we deem you liars.

In my opinion, this sign/message (ayat) points to what might be described as a 'class' dimension associated with the struggle of those who received revelation from God/Allah (al-anbiya) and the fact that, in general, it is among the "wretched of the earth" that the supporters of the messengers of God/Allah are to be found.

This thesis has been explored by Zia-ul-Haque in his seminal work, Revelation and Revolution in Islam (1992). However, as the late Murtada Mutahhari establishes in Part V: Society and History of Man and Universe, it is important not to assume that "the weak" (al-mustad'afoon) are necessarily "blessed" by God/Allah. The Qur'an states explicitly that (some of) the weak are among the inhabitants of 'hell'; in this connection, see (7:75), (14:21), (34:31-33), (40:47), (28:5) and (7:137).

2. Difference is not a mercy

The Qur'an (11:118-119) states

Wa Law Shā'a Rabbuka Laja`ala An-Nāsa 'Ummatan Wāĥidatan Wa Lā Yazālūna Mukhtalifīna

'Illā Man Raĥima Rabbuka Wa Lidhalika Khalaqahum Wa Tammat Kalimatu Rabbika La'amla'anna Jahannama Mina Al-Jinnati Wa An-Nāsi 'Ajma`īna

And if your Lord had pleased He would certainly have made people a single nation, and they shall continue to differ.

Except those on whom your Lord has mercy; and for this did He create them; and the word of your Lord is fulfilled: Certainly I will fill hell with the jinn and the men, all together.

I think this sign/message (ayat) is pretty clear. Difference (ikhtilaaf) is something that is inevitable among people; its absence is a 'mercy' (rahima) from God/Allah. Difference has its place and should be tolerated; however, it is far from being an ideal state of affairs. We also need to distinguish between what might be regarded as tolerable difference within boundaries/limits, and intolerable/irreconcilable difference across boundaries/limits.

3. Tawheed as Grace of God (Fadlillah) Upon Humanity

The Qur'an (12:38-39) states

Wa Attaba`tu Millata 'Ābā'ī 'Ibrāhīma Wa 'Isĥāqa Wa Ya`qūba Mā Kāna Lanā 'An Nushrika Billāhi Min Shay'in Dhālika Min Fađli Allāhi `Alaynā Wa `Alá An-Nāsi Wa Lakinna 'Akthara An-Nāsi Lā Yashkurūna

Yā Şāĥibayi As-Sijni 'A'arbābun Mutafarriqūna Khayrun 'Ami Allāhu Al-Wāĥidu Al-Qahhāru

And I [i.e. Yusuf/Joseph] follow the social power-relation (MILLAT) of my fathers, Ibrahim and Ishaq and Yaqoub; it beseems us not that we should associate aught with Allah; this is by Allah's grace upon us and on mankind, but most people do not give thanks:

O my two mates of the prison! are sundry lords better or Allah the One, the Supreme?

Serving ONE ultimate authority, having ONE absolute, being a member of a society based on ONE power-relation - in short, TAWHEED - is a grace (fadl) from God/Allah for humanity. Multiple sources of authority mean conflict and fragmentation (firaaq), both of society and 'self' (nafs).

Look around. The signs (ayaat) are there for those with eyes to see.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 11

: field_muslim2; September 2nd, 11:18

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. 'Spending', Justice and Self-Preservation: Further Thoughts on Getting Close to God/Allah

The Qur'an (9:99) states:

Wa Mina Al-'A`rābi Man Yu'uminu Billāhi Wa Al-Yawmi Al-'Ākhiri Wa Yattakhidhu Mā Yunfiqu Qurubātin `Inda Allāhi Wa Şalawāti Ar-Rasūli 'Alā 'Innahā Qurbatun Lahum Sayudkhiluhumu Allāhu Fī Raĥmatihi 'Inna Allāha Ghafūrun Raĥīmun

And of the dwellers of the desert are those who believe in Allah and the latter day and take what they spend to be (means of) the nearness of Allah and the Apostle's prayers; surely it shall be means of nearness for them; Allah will make them enter into His mercy; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

In a previous entry (Day 6), I attempted to examine the link between the notion of "the means of nearness" (Arabic Al-Wasīlatu) and the concept of qurb or "nearness/proximity/closeness", from the verbal root Qaruba. (The word 'Aqrabu is an elative and means "nearer/closer/nearest/closest".) I closed by stating that:

THE means of approach - Al-Wasīlatu - to God/Allah which enables the individual to draw CLOSEST to God/Allah - 'Aqrabu - is an active commitment to JUSTICE (equalisation) - 'Adl - which is CLOSEST - 'Aqrabu - for the attainment of self-preservation - Taqwa - which, in turn, is the criterion set by God/Allah for human worth/value.

How does this assertion hold up in the light of (9:99)? Does this sign/message (ayat) point to an alternative route to attaining closeness (qurb) to God/Allah, viz. 'spending' (i.e. keeping wealth/resources open for and in circulation to others)? I don't think so, for (at least) two reasons:

First, (9:99) does not involve use of the elative, 'Aqrabu, and so is not, arguably, referring to action/behaviour that draws the individual CLOSEST to God/Allah, but rather action/behaviour that draws the individual CLOSE to God/Allah.

Second, infaaq ('spending', keeping open/circulating wealth/resources) is a MEANS of establishing justice ('adl), that is, equalisation, among people. In this regard, I would refer the reader to (92:18) which states

Al-Ladhī Yu'utī Mālahu Yatazakká

Who gives away his wealth, purifying himself

Here a connection is established between giving away wealth and the purification and growth of the 'self' (TAZKIYYAT-AN-NAFS). This sign/message (ayat) is readily connected to (91:7-10) which links self-preservation (TAQWA) to the purification and growth of the 'self' and this, in turn, is readily linked to (5:8) which states that equalisation ('adl) is CLOSEST FOR (the attainment of) TAQWA. Thus, it might be argued that 'spending'/sharing/circulating resources (infaaq) is a means by which to establish justice ('adl).

It is in this that (9:103) should be interpreted:

Khudh Min 'Amwālihim Şadaqatan Tuţahhiruhum Wa Tuzakkīhim Bihā Wa Şalli `Alayhim 'Inna Şalātaka Sakanun Lahum Wa Allāhu Samī`un `Alīmun

Take alms out of their property, you would cleanse them and purify them for growth thereby, and pray for them; surely your prayer is a relief to them; and Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

2. Solid Structure (Bunyaanan Marsoos)

The Qur'an (9:109-110) states:

'Afaman 'Assasa Bunyānahu `Alá Taqwá Mina Allāhi Wa Riđwānin Khayrun 'Am Man 'Assasa Bunyānahu `Alá Shafā Jurufin Hārin Fānhāra Bihi Fī Nāri Jahannama Wa Allāhu Lā Yahdī Al-Qawma Až-Žālimīna

Lā Yazālu Bunyānuhumu Al-Ladhī Banaw Rībatan Fī Qulūbihim 'Illā 'An Taqaţţa`a Qulūbuhum Wa Allāhu `Alīmun Ĥakīmun

Is he, therefore, better who lays the foundation of his structure on fear of Allah and (His) good pleasure, or he who lays the foundation of his structure on the edge of a cracking hollowed bank, so it broke down with him into the fire of hell; and Allah does not guide the unjust people.

The structure which they have built will ever continue to be a source of disquiet in their hearts, except that their hearts get cut into pieces; and Allah is Knowing, Wise.

According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, the word bana (Arabic root Ba-Noon-Yaa) means "to build, construct, erect" and bunyaan means "building, structure, fabric". Interestingly, 'Omar maintains that nouns deriving from the verbal root refer to "any production or piece of work consisting of parts joined together in some definite manner and order". This is significant in light of the user of the term bunyaan in (61:4):

'Inna Allāha Yuĥibbu Al-Ladhīna Yuqātilūna Fī Sabīlihi Şaffāan Ka'annahum Bunyānun Marşūşun

Surely Allah loves those who fight in His way in ranks as if they were a firm and compact structure.

What were the "parts" that were "joined together in some definite manner and order" resulting in a force that fought in the Way of God/Allah - i.e. for JUSTICE - such that they were like a a firm and compact structure, "cemented with (molten) lead" (according to the entry for Rassa in 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar's dictionary)?

I think it is clear that the "definite manner and order" are the ranks (Şaffāan). But what are the "parts" and how were they "joined together"? To answer this question, one needs to consider the following signs/messages (ayaat):

Wa A`taşimū Biĥabli Allāhi Jamī`āan Wa Lā Tafarraqū Wa Adhkurū Ni`mata Allāhi `Alaykum 'Idh Kuntum 'A`dā'an Fa'allafa Bayna Qulūbikum Fa'aşbaĥtum Bini`matihi 'Ikhwānāan Wa Kuntum `Alá Shafā Ĥufratin Mina An-Nāri Fa'anqadhakum Minhā Kadhālika Yubayyinu Allāhu Lakum 'Āyātihi La`allakum Tahtadūna

(3:103) And hold fast by the covenant of Allah all together and be not disunited, and remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so by His favor you became brethren; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does Allah make clear to you His communications that you may follow the right way.

Wa 'Allafa Bayna Qulūbihim Law 'Anfaqta Mā Fī Al-'Arđi Jamī`āan Mā 'Allafta Bayna Qulūbihim Wa Lakinna Allāha 'Allafa Baynahum 'Innahu `Azīzun Ĥakīmun

(8:63) And united their hearts; had you spent all that is in the earth, you could not have united their hearts, but Allah united them; surely He is Mighty, Wise.

The "parts" were the hearts (quloob) of those securely committed to God/Allah and they were "joined together" - or rather, folded together (like clouds) - into a fratenity (ikhwaan) by God/Allah Himself.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 10

: field_muslim2; September 1st, 1:37

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. The 'Spiritual' Cleansing Power of Rain

The Qur'an (8:11) states:

'Idh Yughashshīkumu An-Nu`āsa 'Amanatan Minhu Wa Yunazzilu `Alaykum Mina As-Samā'i Mā'an Liyuţahhirakum Bihi Wa Yudh/hiba `Ankum Rijza Ash-Shayţāni Wa Liyarbiţa `Alá Qulūbikum Wa Yuthabbita Bihi Al-'Aqdāma

When a blanketing drowsiness came over you as a security from Him and He sent down upon you water from the cloud that He might thereby purify you, and take away from you the uncleanness of the Shaitan, and that He might fortify your hearts and steady (your) footsteps thereby.

This is a fascinating sign/message (ayat) which requires deep analysis (taddabbur).

The verb Yughashshī means "to cover, wrap up, veil, envelop" and used in connection with the noun An-Nu`āsa seems to imply a shift in 'spiritual state' (haal) on the part of those securely committed to God/Allah. This shift was caused by God/Allah in order to provide them with a sense of peace/security (amn) in the face of the impending battle (of Badr).

(5:6) mentions the use of water in washing prior to As-Salaat (contact with God/Allah through focused remembrance of Him), and its function of purification (tahhaarah). Such purification is not, however, to be understood physically/materialistically. On the contrary, the 'spiritual' significance of this act - which is usually referred to as Wudhu/ablution - is clear since the ayat mentions the use of wholesome elevated soil/earth (sa-'eedan tayyiban) in the event that water is not available; since such dust cannot effect physical cleansing, it must have another function - 'spiritual' - which means that water, in this instance, also has the same function. It is important to note the reference to that which is tayyib ('wholesome') here; the latter term is explained using the metaphor (mathal) of a wholesome tree in (14:24-27).

In The Qur'an, water - more specifically, rain or water sent down/nazala from the sky - is used to symbolise 'revelation'/inzaal/tanzeel. The function of revelation is to purify people from SHIRK, since it is only those who are purified - i.e. the muwaahidoon (or people of TAWHEED) - who are capable of 'touching' - that is, accessing the inner content of - The Book (Al-Kitaab). (Here touching is obviously symbolic.) Only those who have rejected the THAAGHOOT - that is, the tyrant who is alienated from God/Allah (since there is a link between THAAGHOOT and Ash-Shay'thaan/The Alienated and Alienating Personality) - and are securely committed to God/Allah have grasped the firm handhold which will never break (2:256).

I would argue that the "uncleanness of The Shaitan" (Rijza Ash-Shayţāni) is fear/anxiety/doubt/uncertainty in the face of the enemy, which is a disgraceful attitude for one securely committed to God/Allah. This interpretation derives support from 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar's explanation of the meaning of the verb rajisa and the noun rijs:

Rajisa: To disgrace and defile, thunder, be unclean, commit foul deeds, be filthy, bellow loudly, be in doubt, become hated.

Rijs: Punishment; deed deserving punishment; doubt; suspicion; something in which there is no good; bad deed; sin; uncleanliness; suggestion of the devil; dirt; filth; crime.

2. TAQWA, The Bridge between The Criterion (Al-Fur'qaan) and A Criterion (Furqānāan)

The Qur'an (8:29) states:

Yā 'Ayyuhā Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū 'In Tattaqū Allāha Yaj`al Lakum Furqānāan Wa Yukaffir `Ankum Sayyi'ātikum Wa Yaghfir Lakum Wa Allāhu Dhū Al-Fađli Al-`Ažīmi

O you who believe! If you are careful of (your duty to) Allah, He will grant you a standard/criterion and do away with your evils and forgive you; and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.

In this sign/message (ayat), God/Allah tells those who are secure in their commitment to Him (Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū) that if they preserve themselves by remaining conscious of Him (Tattaqū Allāha), He will grant them a standard/criterion (Furqānāan). Thus, there is a link here between TAQWA and FUR'QAAN.

(2:183) states that abstention/siyaam (in Ramadhan) has been prescribed by God/Allah so that those securely committed to Him might perhaps attain TAQWA; and (2:185) states that Ramadhan is the month in which Al-Fur'qaan (THE CRITERION) was sent down.

Thus, THE Criterion (2:185) - The Qur'an - mandates abstention in order to promote the attainment of TAQWA (2:183) which, in turn, leads to the award of A criterion to those securely committed to God/Allah (8:29).

In short, there is a movement from THE Criterion to A criterion via TAQWA.

3. The Attribution of the Acts of Those Securely Committed to God/Allah to/by God/Allah Himself

The Qur'an (8:17) states:

Falam Taqtulūhum Wa Lakinna Allāha Qatalahum Wa Mā Ramayta 'Idh Ramayta Wa Lakinna Allāha Ramá Wa Liyubliya Al-Mu'uminīna Minhu Balā'an Ĥasanāan 'Inna Allāha Samī`un `Alīmun

So you did not slay them, but it was Allah Who slew them, and you did not smite when you smote (the enemy), but it was Allah Who smote, and that He might confer upon the believers a good gift from Himself; surely Allah is Hearing, Knowing.

However, (9:14) states

Qātilūhum Yu`adhdhibhumu Allāhu Bi'aydīkum Wa Yukhzihim Wa Yanşurkum `Alayhim Wa Yashfi Şudūra Qawmin Mu'uminīna

Fight them, Allah will punish them by your hands and bring them to disgrace, and assist you against them and heal the hearts of a believing people.

and (9:52) states:

Qul Hal Tarabbaşūna Binā 'Illā 'Iĥdá Al-Ĥusnayayni Wa Naĥnu Natarabbaşu Bikum 'An Yuşībakumu Allāhu Bi`adhābin Min `Indihi 'Aw Bi'aydīnā Fatarabbaşū 'Innā Ma`akum Mutarabbişūna

Say: Do you await for us but one of two most excellent things? And we await for you that Allah will afflict you with punishment from Himself or by our hands. So wait; we too will wait with you.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 9

: field_muslim2; August 31st, 13:06

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. None can be The Deputy (Khalifah) of God/Allah

One often sees the term khalifah rendered as "viceregent/vicegerent" of God/Allah in translations of The Qur'an. An alternative rendering is "deputy", as in the expression khalifat-ullah, that is, the deputy of God/Allah. (NB: This expression does NOT appear in The Qur'an.) The interpretation of khalifah as "deputy" has precedent in The Qur'an in the deputisation of Haroon/Aaron by Musa/Moses (7:142). Here the phrase akhlufnee - deputise [for] me - appears. It is important to note that this is a construction involving a pronoun, viz. "be MY deputy". In this instance of deputisation, the deputiser (Musa/Moses) becomes absent (ghaa-ib), while the deputised (Haroon/Aaron) remains present (shaa-hid).

Can a human being - or human beings - deputise for God? Is the notion of khalifat-ullah Qur'anically mandated?

I would argue that it is not on the basis of (7:7) which states maa kunna ghaa-i-been - "We were never absent". If a condition (shart) for deputisation is absence of the deputiser - as established in (7:142) - and God/Allah is never absent - a stated in (7:7) - then it follows that God/Allah cannot be deputised.

Thus, none can be the deputy (khalifah) of God/Allah.

2. "Let My People Go, Mr/Mrs White Supremacy (Racism)"

The narrative (qassas) of Musa/Moses and Fir'awn/Pharaoh in The Qur'an is multifaceted and, in my opinion, of pivotal significance for Muslim counter-Racists. In this entry, I want to look briefly at one dimension of this narrative - the power-dynamic of slavery.

In (7:105), Musa/Moses tells Fir'awn/Pharaoh to send the Children of Israel with him (Moses), i.e. to free them from their bondage to him (Pharaoh) and allow them to leave Egypt. However, Pharaoh's nobles (7:110) and Pharoah himself (7:123) interpret Moses' request as the desire to drive Pharaoh and his people from their land, even though Moses has made no explicit statement to this effect. It appears that Pharaoh and his nobles were fearful/anxious about Moses, arguably on account of their having enslaved the Children of Israel and their assuming that what Moses really intended was to "turn the tables", i.e. effect a reversal of the Master-Slave relation between the Children of Israel and the Egyptians and oppress the oppressors to the degree of exiling them from their land.

The oppressor's fear/anxiety of the oppressed is a well understood phenomenon and, in the context of Racism (White Supremacy), has been explored in Frank Furedi's The Silent War: Imperialism and the Changing Perception of Race (1998) among other works. However, it is in Bobby S Sayyid's A Fundamental Fear: Eurocentrism and the Emergence of Islamism (London: Zed Books, 1997) that the link between fear/anxiety and the projection of Master-Slave assumptions onto the oppressed 'other' is explicitly, albeit briefly, examined.

Consider the following relevant extract:

Hegel's master-slave dialectic provides a paradigmatic account of this logic of mirroring. It appears to show how the relations of domination and oppression are, at the basic level, symmetrical relations. The motives and desires of the lord and the bondsman are mirror images of each other. The slave wants to be master and the master does not want to be a slave. In this attempt to be a master, the slave is caught in the master's game - a game which is predicated on the desire of the slave to be master ... It is this symmetry which enables their reversal. The master becomes the slave and the slave becomes the master. It is this possibility of reversal that continues to justify and legitimatize systems of oppression in the aftermath of the Age of Europe.

In contrast to Hegel's allegory of master-slave, [Paul] Gilroy (1993) tells a story which provides another reading of lord and bondsman, this time in a black idiom. Gilroy bases his reading on the accounts of Frederick Douglass's personal struggle with Covey (a slave breaker). Douglass's struggle to be free culminates in a two-hour tussle in which Covey is unable to subdue him. As a result Douglass frees himself from Covey and leaves. Gilroy notes the difference between Douglass's account and Hegel's fantasy in which:

[For Hegel,] one solipsistic combatant in the elemental struggle prefers his conqueror's version of reality to death and submits. He becomes the slave while the other achieves mastery ... For [Douglass], the slave actively prefers the possibility of death to the continuing condition of inhumanity on which the plantation slavery depends.

Unlike Hegel's bondsman, Douglass does not desire to become a slave breaker; he does not want Covey's position. It is by this refusal that Douglass de-legitimizes slavery, whereas Hegel's allegory endorses slavery by treating it as an elaborate form of saturnalia. In other words, in Hegel's version, the promise of reversal transforms the asymmetry of a relationship of power into symmetrical collusion and compliance. The promise (and fear) of reversal legitimizes the violence of the master at two levels: as a matter of strategic necessity (if the master should relax his grip, the slave will take his place), and as ethical relativism (the slave is no different from the master, if he could he would do the same). The logic of mirroring is based on the assumption that the discourse of the dominant order produces its own resistance. That is, those who resist the hegemonic order can only do so in the terms of that hegemony. It has the effect of transforming any struggle against a particular hegemony as another moment in the expansion of that hegemony. This precisely is the last bastion of eurocentrism: the position that there is nothing outside the Western project [emphasis addded]. (pp.134-135)

I see the stance of Musa/Moses - get free and then leave - as a rejection of the (Hegelian) Master-Slave assumptions of Fir'awn/Pharaoh and his nobles. The Musa narrative is, in my opinion, a precursor of the Douglass narrative - at least insofar as the issue of rejection/refusal of the Master-Slave dialectic is concerned. I also interpret seminal counter-Racist analyst, Neely Fuller Jr's assertion of RWSWJ - Replace White Supremacy With Justice - as similarly a rejection of the "logic" (sic) of mirroring. As Fuller has repeatedly stated in numerous settings, the aim of RWSWJ is not to replace one form of supremacism - Racism (White Supremacy) - with another (e.g. Black Supremacy), but rather to move beyond supremacism per se to Justice, i.e. balance between people. I fully endorse this position and maintain that the objective of Islamic counter-Racism is NOT to replace one form of supremacism - Racism (White Supremacy) - with another - Muslim Supremacy - but rather to move beyond supremacism per se to Justice, i.e. balance in 'self' (nafs) and between 'self' and 'other' (bayna nafs wa ghayri nafs).

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 8

: field_muslim2; August 30th, 19:18

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. The Interplay of Supremacist Desperation (Ibleesiyaat) and Alienation (Shay'thaaniyyaat)

2. Etiquette (adab) of The Muslim Counter-Racist

The Qur'an (6:108) states

Wa Lā Tasubbū Al-Ladhīna Yad`ūna Min Dūni Allāhi Fayasubbū Allāha `Adwan Bighayri `Ilmin Kadhālika Zayyannā Likulli 'Ummatin `Amalahum Thumma 'Ilá Rabbihim Marji`uhum Fayunabbi'uhum Bimā Kānū Ya`malūna

And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus have We made fair seeming to every people their deeds; then to their Lord shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they did.

According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, the verb sabba means

to revile, defame, cut, wound, insult, slander, abuse, curse, hamstring, peirce.

Thus, the Muslim counter-Racist must NOT revile, defame, cut, wound, insult, slander, abuse, curse, hamstring, peirce the Racist (White Supremacist) when thinking, speaking and/or acting to replace the system of Racism (White Supremacy) with a system of Justice (based on the teachings of The Qur'an).

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 7

: field_muslim2; August 30th, 12:34

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

The Qur'an (5:93) states

Laysa `Alá Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Wa `Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti Junāĥun Fīmā Ţa`imū 'Idhā Mā Attaqaw Wa 'Āmanū Wa `Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti Thumma Attaqaw Wa 'Āmanū Thumma Attaqaw Wa 'Aĥsanū Wa Allāhu Yuĥibbu Al-Muĥsinīna

A crude translation (by Muhammad Shakir) is as follows:

On those who believe and do good there is no blame for what they eat, when they are careful (of their duty) and believe and do good deeds, then they are careful (of their duty) and believe, then they are careful (of their duty) and do good (to others), and Allah loves those who do good (to others).

A more accurate - and informative - rendering becomes possible once the Arabic text is spatially restructured into phrases as follows:

Laysa `Alá Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Wa `Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti Junāĥun Fīmā Ţa`imū
'Idhā Mā Attaqaw Wa 'Āmanū Wa `Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti
Thumma Attaqaw Wa 'Āmanū
Thumma Attaqaw Wa 'Aĥsanū
Wa Allāhu Yuĥibbu Al-Muĥsinīna

On this basis, I would render the text as follows:

Those who are secure in their commitment (to God/Allah) (Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū) and act constructively/reparationally (`Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti) will not be held guilty for what they have eaten (in the past)

WHEN ('Idhā) they preserve themselves (Attaqaw) and are secure in their commitment (to God/Allah) (Āmanū) and act constructively/reparationally (`Amilū Aş-Şāliĥāti)

MOREOVER (Thumma) preserve themselves (Attaqaw) and are secure in their commitment (to God/Allah) (Āmanū)

MOREOVER (Thumma) preserve themselves (Attaqaw) and compensate so as to enhance proportionality ('Aĥsanū)

AND (Wa) God/Allah loves the compensators who enhance proportionality (Al-Muĥsinīna)

The word Thumma, which I have rendered as "moreover", comes from the verbal root (Thamma) which means "to pick up, collect, repair, heap up (things in a place)". According to 'Abdul Manna 'Omar, Thumma can also mean "then, afterwards, thereafter, thereupon" and is "mostly used as a conjunction indicating a sequence in line or order" although it is "also used as a simple conjunction equivalent to And". However, another usage is, in my opinion, the one that is relevant in the context of (5:93):

It has the significance of repetitive stress, alluding to something that has already been stated and is now again emphasised, to be rendered as 'and once again'.

Now consider the shift in terms/concepts within this sign/message (ayat):

IMAAN + 'AMAAL

TAQWA + IMAAN + 'AMAAL

TAQWA + IMAAN

TAQWA + IHSAAN

IHSAAN

Reflection on this sign/message (ayat) indicates that it is TAQWA (self-preservation) that is emphasised in (5:93). However, it is important to appreciate the subtle shift in focus from IMAAN to IHSAAN, and constructive/reparational action ('AMAAL) to compensation and the enhancement of proportion (IHSAAN).

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 6

: field_muslim2; August 29th, 4:42

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

The Qur'an (5:35) states

Yā 'Ayyuhā Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Attaqū Allāha Wa Abtaghū 'Ilayhi Al-Wasīlata Wa Jāhidū Fī Sabīlihi La`allakum Tufliĥūna

This is rendered (by Muhammad Shakir) as follows:

O you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah and seek [the] means of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful.

(5:35) refers to "the means of nearness" (Arabic Al-Wasīlatu). According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, the verbal root wasala means

To seek the favour, seek the means of nearness approach, access, honourable, rank, degree, affinity, tie, nearness, come closer.

Crucially, 'Omar maintains that "the word Wasīlat does not mean an intermediary between God and [the] human being." This word ppears in only two places in The Qur'an - (5:35) and (17:57). The latter sign/message (ayat) may be rendered as follows:

'Ūlā'ika Al-Ladhīna Yad`ūna Yabtaghūna 'Ilá Rabbihimu Al-Wasīlata 'Ayyuhum 'Aqrabu Wa Yarjūna Raĥmatahu Wa Yakhāfūna `Adhābahu 'Inna `Adhāba Rabbika Kāna Maĥdhūrāan

Those whom they call upon, themselves seek the means of access to their Lord - whoever of them is nearest - and they hope for His mercy and fear His chastisement; surely the chastisement of your Lord is a thing to be cautious of.

(17:57) establishes a connection between Wasīlatun - "a means of nearness", link or connection - and the concept of qurb or "nearness/proximity/closeness", from the verbal root Qaruba. (The word 'Aqrabu is an elative and means "nearer/closer/nearest/closest".)

I find this interesting since (5:8) contains within it the following statement with the term 'Aqrabu:

A`dilū Huwa 'Aqrabu Lilttaqwá

which may be rendered as "equalising (treatment of people) ('adl) is closest for (li) self-preservation (Taqwa)".

It is important to appreciate that the concept of 'adl - that is, equalising or balancing - is linked, in (5:8) and elsewhere, to the term/concept qisth' - or distributive justice/equity - and is the opposite/antonym of zulm (or imbalance, disequilibrium). 'Adl involves qisth' so as to effect "load balancing", thereby transforming a condition of zulm (imbalance/disequilibrium) to one of meezan (balance/equilibrium).

(5:8) can be linked to (49:13), which contains the following construction:

'Inna 'Akramakum `Inda Allāhi 'Atqākum

For certain, the most worthy/valued of you in the precinct/vicinity of God/Allah is the one who preserves himself/herself the most (by remaining conscious of God/Allah)

Putting all this together, it can be argued that THE means of approach - Al-Wasīlatu - to God/Allah which enables the individual to draw CLOSEST to God/Allah - 'Aqrabu - is an active commitment to JUSTICE (equalisation) - 'Adl - which is CLOSEST - 'Aqrabu - for the attainment of self-preservation - Taqwa - which, in turn, is the criterion set by God/Allah for human worth/value.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 5

: field_muslim2; August 27th, 2:32

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

1. The Higher Rank (darajat) of Those Who Fight to Defend The Weak (Al-Mustad'afoon)

The Qur'an (4:74-76) states

Falyuqātil Fī Sabīli Allāhi Al-Ladhīna Yashrūna Al-Ĥayāata Ad-Dunyā Bil-'Ākhirati Wa Man Yuqātil Fī Sabīli Allāhi Fayuqtal 'Aw Yaghlib Fasawfa Nu'utīhi 'Ajrāan `Ažīmāan

Wa Mā Lakum Lā Tuqātilūna Fī Sabīli Allāhi Wa Al-Mustađ`afīna Mina Ar-Rijāli Wa An-Nisā' Wa Al-Wildāni Al-Ladhīna Yaqūlūna Rabbanā 'Akhrijnā Min Hadhihi Al-Qaryati Až-Žālimi 'Ahluhā Wa Aj`al Lanā Min Ladunka Walīyāan Wa Aj`al Lanā Min Ladunka Naşīrāan

Al-Ladhīna 'Āmanū Yuqātilūna Fī Sabīli Allāhi Wa Al-Ladhīna Kafarū Yuqātilūna Fī Sabīli Aţ-Ţāghūti Faqātilū 'Awliyā'a Ash-Shayţāni 'Inna Kayda Ash-Shayţāni Kāna Đa`īfāan

This may be rendered as follows:

So let those fight in the way of Allah, who sell this world's life for the hereafter; and whoever fights in the way of Allah, then be he slain or be he victorious, We shall grant him a mighty reward.

And what reason have you that you should not fight in the way of Allah and of the weak among the men and the women and the children, (of) those who say: Our Lord! cause us to go forth from this town, whose people are oppressors, and give us from You a guardian/protector and give us from You a helper.

Those who believe fight in the way of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight in the way of the TAAGHOOT [=Tyranny/False-God-ism]. Fight therefore against the friends of The Alienated and Alienating Personality [=The Shaythaan]; surely the strategy of The Alienated and Alienating Personality is weak.

Now link this to (4:95-96):

Lā Yastawī Al-Qā`idūna Mina Al-Mu'uminīna Ghayru 'Ūlī Ađ-Đarari Wa Al-Mujāhidūna Fī Sabīli Allāhi Bi'amwālihim Wa 'Anfusihim Fađđala Allāhu Al-Mujāhidīna Bi'amwālihim Wa 'Anfusihim `Alá Al-Qā`idīna Darajatan Wa Kullāan Wa`ada Allāhu Al-Ĥusná Wa Fađđala Allāhu Al-Mujāhidīna `Alá Al-Qā`idīna 'Ajrāan `Ažīmāan

Darajātin Minhu Wa Maghfiratan Wa Raĥmatan Wa Kāna Allāhu Ghafūrāan Raĥīmāan

which may be rendered as follows:

Not equal are those who hold back from [fighting] among the believers, not having any injury, and those who strive hard in Allah's way with their property and their persons. Allah has made those who struggle with their property and their persons excel those who hold back a (high) degree, and to each (class) Allah has promised good; and Allah shall grant to those who struggle above those who hold back a mighty reward:

(High) degrees from Him and protection and mercy, and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

2. Opportunism (Nifaaq)

The word munaafiq is often translated as "hypocrites", by which is meant "two-faced" in the sense of publically affirming one thing (e.g. Al-Islam/Al-Imaan) while privately endorsing another (e.g. Al-Kufr). However, I think this interpretation of nifaaq as hypocrisy is problematic.

According to 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, the verbal root nafaqa means "to come out of a hole, be exhausted (store), consumed, spent." Crucially, the third form of this root, naafaqa, which is related to the word munaafiq means "to enter into a hole where there is another outlet" as in a tunnel or tube. The Andalusian philosopher, Ibn Hazm, defined nifaaq etymologically with reference to "the hole of a field-mouse" (naafiqa al-yarboo); I have seen the same term defined elsewhere in relation to a lizard'. Nifaaq, in this sense, is a small entrance to the burrow (i.e. tunnel), which the animal has covered with a little bit of earth. (This 'tunneling' aspect of nifaaq serves to differentiate the term from kufr and kaafir which, in the non-technical sense, can be used to refer to a farmer who covers the earth with seeds and/or covers the seeds with earth as in (58:20).) Crucially, the third form of the verb in Arabic indicates that one person makes use of that quality towards another and affects them thereby; thus, nifaaq has social/behavioural implications.

On this basis, 'Omar maintains that

a hypocrite [is one] who professes to believe first one thing and then another, thus entering faith through one door and leaving it through another.

I think this interpretation gets to the heart of the matter in that it points to the opportunistic nature of nifaaq ('hypocrisy'): The 'hypocrite' is one who keeps his/her options open, shifting allegiances on a materialistic (dunyaawi) basis.

More importantly, I think 'Omar's view is supported by The Qur'an (4:142-143):

'Inna Al-Munāfiqīna Yukhādi`ūna Allāha Wa Huwa Khādi`uhum Wa 'Idhā Qāmū 'Ilá Aş-Şalāati Qāmū Kusālá Yurā'ūna An-Nāsa Wa Lā Yadhkurūna Allāha 'Illā Qalīlāan

Mudhabdhabīna Bayna Dhālika Lā 'Ilá Hā'uulā' Wa Lā 'Ilá Hā'uulā' Wa Man Yuđlili Allāhu Falan Tajida Lahu Sabīlāan

Surely the hypocrites strive to deceive Allah, and He shall requite their deceit to them, and when they stand up to prayer they stand up sluggishly; they do it only to be seen of men and do not remember Allah save a little.

Wavering between that (and this), (belonging) neither to these nor to those; and whomsoever Allah causes to err, you shall not find a way for him.

Thus, one of the traits/characteristics of the munaafiq is that he/she is a waverer. According to Muhammad Mohar Ali, author of A Word for Word Meaning of The Qur'an (2003),

Mudhabdhabīn [are] those wavering, vacillating, fluctuating. (From dhabdhaba, to swing.)

If nifaaq is connected to the notion of a burrow, tunnel or tube, that is, a passage with two ends - or two 'faces' - then the munaafiq is one whose entrance(madkhal) is different (mukhtalif) from his exit (makhraj). Contrast this with the entrance and exit of the mu'min (that is, one securely commited to God/Allah) as described in (17:80):

Wa Qul Rabbi 'Adkhilnī Mudkhala Şidqin Wa 'Akhrijnī Mukhraja Şidqin Wa Aj`al Lī Min Ladunka Sulţānāan Naşīrāan

And say: My Lord! Let my entrance be with truth (sidq) and let my exit be with truth and grant me a warrant from you with who help (sustain) me.

It is important to appreciate, however, that the wavering, vacillating, fluctuating of the munaafiq is not idle; on the contrary, it is purposeful. The purpose is preservation of self, with self (nafs) understood in a strictly materialistic and this-wordly (dunyaawi) sense. For this reason, I see the munaafiq as an opportunist, not merely a hypocrite, ready to shift his/her allegiances depending on which deen [=power-relation/life-transaction] dominates. I think this is what is alluded to in Surah An-Nasr (110) which states:

'Idhā Jā'a Naşru Allāhi Wa Al-Fatĥu
Wa Ra'ayta An-Nāsa Yadkhulūna Fī Dīni Allāhi 'Afwājāan
Fasabbiĥ Biĥamdi Rabbika Wa Astaghfirhu 'Innahu Kāna Tawwābāan

This is translated by Muhammad Shakir as follows:

When there comes the help of Allah and the victory,
And you see men entering the religion of Allah in companies,
Then celebrate the praise of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness; surely He is oft-returning (to mercy).

However, I think a more accurate rendering is as follows:

When there comes the Help of God/Allah and The (Socio-Political) Opening,
And you see people entering into God/Allah's deen [=power-relation/life-transaction] en masse
Then busy yourself with ensuring that it is God/Allah's rabubiyyat [=caring/fostering developmental provision for all] that is the object of praise (hamd) - this is the objective of the power-relation/system - and seek his protection (Astaghfirhu) [because evil forces of the counter-revolution will surely try to hatch conspiracies to create chaos/disorder in your power-relation]. For certain, He (God/Allah) makes it possible to adopt the correct course of action in the event that a wrong course of action was adopted (Tawwābāan).

Put another way, when a tyrannical power-relation/system is overthrown by Islamic revolutionary forces, people, including the munaafiqoon ('hypocrites'), will "jump on the bandwagon" and enter into the new power-relation/system, that is, the deen based on The Qur'an. Because the munaafiqoon are opportunists, they will spare no effort to attempt to undermine the Islamic deen in a covert/clandestine fashion, and so it is necessary to adopt preventative and curative measures (maghfiraat) to ensure the continuance of the power-system/relation. If and when there are short-term/minor lapses in the execution of such measures, what is needed is to return to the point at which the lapse was made and correct accordingly.

On this basis, I see Surah An-Nasr as intensely political in nature. (I should like to refer the reader again to the Tafseer/Commentary on Surah Al-Fatiha by Munir Hassan, in particular, to the section on Hamd and Rabb in this article.)

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 4

: field_muslim2; August 25th, 21:43

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

The Qur'an (3:103-105) states

Wa A`taşimū Biĥabli Allāhi Jamī`āan Wa Lā Tafarraqū Wa Adhkurū Ni`mata Allāhi `Alaykum 'Idh Kuntum 'A`dā'an Fa'allafa Bayna Qulūbikum Fa'aşbaĥtum Bini`matihi 'Ikhwānāan Wa Kuntum `Alá Shafā Ĥufratin Mina An-Nāri Fa'anqadhakum Minhā Kadhālika Yubayyinu Allāhu Lakum 'Āyātihi La`allakum Tahtadūna

Wa Ltakun Minkum 'Ummatun Yad`ūna 'Ilá Al-Khayri Wa Ya'murūna Bil-Ma`rūfi Wa Yanhawna `Ani Al-Munkari Wa 'Ūlā'ika Humu Al-Mufliĥūna

Wa Lā Takūnū Kālladhīna Tafarraqū Wa Akhtalafū Min Ba`di Mā Jā'ahumu Al-Bayyinātu Wa 'Ūlā'ika Lahum `Adhābun `Ažīmun

And hold fast by the rope of Allah all together and be not disunited, and remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts so by His favor you became brethren; and you were on the brink of a pit of fire, then He saved you from it, thus does Allah make clear to you His communications that you may follow the right way.

And from among you there should be a party who invite to good and enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong, and these it is that shall be successful.

And be not like those who became divided and disagreed after clear arguments had come to them, and these it is that shall have a grievous chastisement.

Both (3:103) and (3:105) contain the term tafarraqū ("to be divided among themselves"), Form V of the verb faraqa "to separate, distinguish, divide, decide, split."

Now consider (42:13),

Shara`a Lakum Mina Ad-Dīni Mā Waşşá Bihi Nūĥāan Wa Al-Ladhī 'Awĥaynā 'Ilayka Wa Mā Waşşaynā Bihi 'Ibrāhīma Wa Mūsá Wa `Īsá 'An 'Aqīmū Ad-Dīna Wa Lā Tatafarraqū Fīhi Kabura `Alá Al-Mushrikīna Mā Tad`ūhum 'Ilayhi Allāhu Yajtabī 'Ilayhi Man Yashā'u Wa Yahdī 'Ilayhi Man Yunību

He has shown you the way to the power-relation/life-transaction [deen] that He enjoined upon Noah/Nuh and that which We have revealed to you and that which We enjoined upon Abraham/Ibrahim and Moses/Musa and Jesus/Isa: Establish/maintain the power-relation/life-transaction and do not be divided therein; hard to the associators is that which you call them to; Allah chooses for Himself whom He pleases, and guides to Himself him who turns (to Him), frequently.

This sign/message (ayat) contains the phrase aqeemud-deena wa la tattafarraqoo fihi which may be rendered as "establish/maintain the power-relation/life-transaction and do not be divide therein". Note, the sign/message (ayat) does not say "do not divide it", but rather "do not divide in it".

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 3

: field_muslim2; August 25th, 2:03

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

The Qur'an (3:18) states:

God/Allah is witness that there is no god but He, and so are the angels (or forces) and men of learning. He is One Who stands firmly on the basis of justice. There is no god but He, The Mighty and All-Wise.

The transliteration from Arabic of the highlighted phrase is "qaa-imum b'il-qisth". The word qaa'im comes from the verbal root qaama (originally qawwama) which means "to stand, stand fast or firm, stand still, stand up" among other things. A qaa'im is one who stands firmly (for something).

It is interesting to note that the statement that God/Allah is One Who stands firmly on the basis of justice is bounded by two identical statements, viz. "there is no god/ultimate except Him" (laa ilaaha illa hu), thereby linking ultimacy (uloohiyyah) to justice (qisth) and justice to ultimacy.

It is also interesting to compare this construction - "He is One Who stands firmly on the basis of justice" (qaa-imum b'il-qisth) - with the following two constructions:

(4:135) O you who believe, stand firmly for justice as witnesses for God, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be [against] rich or poor...

Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo koonoo qawwameena bialqisti shuhadaa lillahi walaw AAala anfusikum awi alwalidayni waalaqrabeena in yakun ghaniyyan aw faqeeran...

(5:8) O you who believe, stand firmly for God as witnesses for justice, and let not the hatred of others to you make you swerve to wrong and depart from justice...

Ya ayyuha allatheena amanoo koonoo qawwameena lillahi shuhadaa bialqisti wala yajrimannakum shanaanu qawmin AAala alla taAAdiloo...

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 2

: field_muslim2; August 23rd, 16:40

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

I am currently reading the second part (juz') of The Qur'an. A number of issues have caught my attention, but time is, unfortunately, against me and so I will have to be selective in terms of what I write about today.

In this post, I want to offer some brief reflections on (2:177). A lot of analysis has been done by commentators (mufassireen) on this sign/message (ayat), but I think they may have missed something significant (at least so far as I can tell).

Muhammad Asad renders (2:177) as follows:

True piety does not consist in turning your faces towards the east or the west - but truly pious is he who believes in God, and the Last Day; and the angels, and revelation, and the prophets; and spends his substance - however much he himself may cherish - it - upon his near of kin, and the orphans, and the needy, and the wayfarer, and the beggars, and for the freeing of human beings from bondage; and is constant in prayer, and renders the purifying dues; and [truly pious are] they who keep their promises whenever they promise, and are patient in misfortune and hardship and in time of peril: it is they that have proved themselves true, and it is they, they who are conscious of God.

English transliteration (of the original Arabic text) is as follows:

Laysa al birra an tuwalloo wujoohakum qibala almashriqi waalmaghribi walakinna al birra man amana biAllahi waalyawmi alakhiri waalmalaikati waalkitabi waalnnabiyyeena waata almala AAala hubbihi thawee alqurba waalyatama waalmasakeena waibna alssabeeli waalssaileena wafee alrriqabi waaqama alssalata waata alzzakata waalmoofoona biAAahdihim itha AAahadoo waalssabireena fee albasai waalddarrai waheena albasi olaika allatheena sadaqoo waolaika humu almuttaqoona

I want to draw attention to two terms, one of which is mentioned at the start of this sign/message (ayat) - al-birro - and one of which is mentioned at its end - al-muttaqoon.

According to 'Abdul-Mannan 'Omar, the verbal root Barra means

To be pious, just virtuous, to act justly, be truthful, beneficence, bestow bountiful gifts, show kindness, keep (an oath), act well, be true, behave courteously, deal benevolently.

All well and good except that this dictionary definition essentially recapitulates the contents of (2:177). However, I do find the last element in 'Omar's rendering of the noun Birrun insightful:

Piety; virtue; gift; favour; obedience; righteousness; thoughfulness; extensive goodness; goodness of high order; acting well towards relations and others.

I think the crucial point for understanding al-birr, at least in relation to the notion of taqwa (which is connected to the term at-muttaqoon) is good behaviour towards others which I might render as "care for the other", irrespective of whether 'the other' is biologically-related or otherwise.

In terms of understanding the term birr, I find the rendering of this term given by the Qur'an commentator, G A Parwez, in his book Islam: A Challenge to Religion (1968), to be most insightful:

The basic meanings of the word are extensiveness, largeness, amplenes. It, therefore, signifies conduct that tends to expand the personality of the individual and to ensure the fulfilment and happiness of the whole society. Such conduct helps to rid men of narrow-mindedness and to widen their outlook, and ensures for all an abundant supply of the necessities of life [emphasis added]. (p.24)

(2:177) states that al-muttaqoon (those who act to preserve themselves by remaining conscious of the behavioural parameters laid down by God/Allah) act in a manner consistent with birr, that is, with a broad-minded outlook that focuses on care/concern for 'the other'. In (5:2), God/Allah links birr and taqwa - concernful care for 'the other' with concernful care of 'the self' - explicitly, and contrasts these terms with crime (ithm) and hostility ('udwaan).

(2:177) also states that al-birr - care for 'the other' - does not lie in setting/turning one's outlook (literally 'face', Arabic wajh) towards the East or the West. Although this is taken to refer to turning one's face in the direction of the East or the West during prayer, I don't think this interpretation is warranted. I would argue that to understand what is really meant here, one needs to examine (2:177) in relation to (2:143-150) , viz. the setting/turning of one's outlook (face/wajh) in the direction of masjid-al-haraam (the inviolable place of humility), where the 'house' of God/Allah has been appointed, by God/Allah, as a place of stability and peace/security for humanity (mathaabit li'n-naas wa amnaa) (2:125). (Thaabit means firmly planted, as in (14:24).)

In my opinion, (2:177) asserts that al-birr - that is, broad-minded concernful care for 'the other' (which is the means by which 'the self' purifies and develops itself) - is not an "Eastern" or "Western" outlook (literally, a turning of one's face in the direction of the East or the West), but is something that transcends the particular towards The Unconditional that is God/Allah. I find support for this understanding in (24:35), the so-called ayat-an-noor or sign/message of Light which states:

(24:35) Allah is the light of the heavens and the earth; a likeness of His light is as a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp is in a glass, (and) the glass is as it were a brightly shining star, lit from a blessed olive-tree, neither eastern nor western, the oil whereof almost gives light though fire touch it not - light upon light - Allah guides to His light whom He pleases, and Allah sets forth parables for men, and Allah is Cognizant of all things.

On this basis, I think that the binary opposition "Islam and The West" is fundamentally misguided. Al-Islam is neither Eastern nor Western because God/Allah, the source of the deen (power-relation and life-transaction between the human being and God/Allah) is neither Eastern nor Western. Nor is Al-Islam opposed to 'The West' if, by the latter, one means those who reside in a particular geographical region of the world. As I have argued elsewhere, the conflict between Al-Islam and the dominant contemporary manifestation of Th'aaghoot (tyranny or 'False-God-ism') should be understood as the conflict between Al-Islam and Racism (White Supremacy), a globally operating system of unjust exploitation. (Interested readers should refer to the article entitled "Islam vs. White Supremacy (Racism), Not Islam vs. The West" on the Bandung2 blog.) Al-Islam is only opposed to 'The West' - and the (neo-)colonised co-opted 'East' - insofar as White Supremacy (Racism) has cloaked/disguised itself with the mask of 'Westernness'. (In this connection, I shoudl like to point the interested reader to an article by Alastair Bonnett entitled "From white to western: 'racial decline' and the idea of the West in Britain, 1890-1930", Journal of Historical Sociology 16 (3), 2003, pp.320-348. A related article by Bonnett, "From the Crises of Whiteness to Western Supremacism" ACRAWSA: Australian Critical Race and Whiteness Studies Association Vol1 (2005), pp.8-20 is available online here.)

To sum up, I think the message of (2:177) and The Qur'an overall is:

Look after your 'self' by looking after others and remain committed to replacing White Supremacy (Racism) with Justice.

Peace

Ramadhan 2009 - Day 1

: field_muslim2; August 22nd, 12:35

Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.

In preparation for commencing my reading of the first part (juz') of The Qur'an - The Final Proclamation of God/Allah to Humanity - I decided to re-read a blog article that I read recently written by 'Maulana' Munir Hassan, a scholar based in South Africa. The article is a tafseer (commentary) on Sura Fatiha (The Opening) of The Qur'an which should be read in its entirety and pondered over deeply.

In my Islamic counter-Racist writings on the Bandung2 blog, I constantly refer to The Qur'an as The Final Proclamation, by which I mean a scriptural "throwing down of the gauntlet", from God/Allah to humanity, warning the oppressor (zaalim) and counselling the oppressed (mazloom) alike, and it is interesting that 'Maulana' Munir renders the word 'Qur'an' similarly.

However, I now turn my attention to the kalimat (statement) that functions to demarcate the first Surah (Thematic Enclosure/Chapter) of The Qur'an, Al-Faatiha (The Opening). This statement is known as the basmala.

1. Bismillah, Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem

The first word in the first statement demarcating the first thematic enclosure in The Qur'an is the particle "Bi". This word has a number of meanings. According to Dictionary of The Holy Qur'an (2005) by 'Abdul Mannan 'Omar, it carries the following meanings:

With the help of; during; for; by; on account of; according to; in; from.

On this basis, 'Omar maintains that the basmala - that is, the phrase "Bismillahi Ar-Rahmaani Ar-Raheem", should be rendered as follows:

I begin with the help and assistance of the name and attributes of Allah and with establishing communion with Him.

However, 'Maulana' Hassan provides a more radical interpretation:

I seek the help and protection of Allah in this dangerous, perilous undertaking.

What perilous undertaking? Why should proclaiming/reading out The Qur'an be dangerous?

Proclaiming The Qur'an was/is intrinsically an extremely dangerous task [since] it unleashes chain reactions of hostility. It causes men to unsheathe swords, plot assassinations ... The proclamation of The Qur'an unites against its qaa'ri/proclaimer, diverse, international, hostile forces ... With the invocation of Allah, Muhammad rejects the authoritative basis and metaphysical sources legitimating any and all zulm (oppression) since his Allah is Rahmaan-Raheem. These, Rahmaan-Raheem are the defining characteristics of Allah and hence, Islam and Iman ... The normative demands that these qualities [that is, Rahmaan-Raheem] make are able to help the mus'tad'afoon/weak/oppressed [and] the dhaal'oon/those pondering solutions to humanity's sundry crises..."

2. Ar-Rahmaan, Ar-Raheem

The basmala also mentions two of the asma-ul-husna (Most Beautiful Names) of God/Allah - Ar-Rahmaan and Ar-Raheem. In connection with these words, 'Maulana' Munir Hassan states the following:

Ar-Rahmaan: [vibrant, loud] full of compassion, SHE who runs to the aid of her children, creation. SHE whose eyes are always watching HER children, creation. SHE who will strike with an iron fist any who harm her children, creation.

Ar-Raheem: [subtle, delicate, serene] always loving

All explanation, commentary of these two names cannot do justice to them.

Islam-Iman are based on these two qualities: Rahmaaniyyah and Raheemiyyah. They define Allah and the way of life (shariah) that Allah calls to. Rahmaaniyyah and Raheemiyyah must permeate the economic, political, legal etc orders that Muslims create.

To engage classical kalaam (theology) – Rahmaaniyyah and Raheemiyyah are the absolutely necessary qualities (sifaat laazima). All other qualities are born from and informed by these qualities and must be interpreted through them. Because SHE is Rahmaan and Raheem, SHE has ilm, kalaam, is hayy etc.

Rahmaaniyyah and Raheemiyyah serve a heuristic and exegetic purpose.

All disciplines must be brought to the task of understanding Rahmaaniyyah and Raheemiyyah. Field investigation is also necessary in the human, animal and plant worlds.

I find this analysis to be most insightful. The words Rahmaan and Raheem are derived from the same verbal root - rahima (Ra-Haa-Meem) - from which the word rahm (pl.arhaam) meaning womb or relationship is derived.

It is important to appreciate that the womb is only present in the female and that human (biological) relationships are established matrilineally. The womb is a reproductive organ that provides a nourishing, secure and protective environment for the developing foetus. If the world, which is the realm through which God/Allah manfests Himself/Herself, similarly manifests traits of Rahmaaniyyah and Raheemiyyah, it then provides a nourishing, secure and environment for the developing self (nafs).

According to 'Abdul Manna 'Omar,

Rahmaan: It is an active principles noun in the measure of fu'laan which conveys the idea of fullness and extensiveness and indicates the greatest preponderance of the quality of love and mercy which comprehends the entire universe without regard to our effort and asking even before we are born. The creation of the sun, the moon, air and water etc are all there because of this attribute.

Raheem: It is in the measure of Fa'eel. This denotes the idea of constant repetition and giving of liberal reward to those who deserve it and seek it. The manifestation of this attribute is in response to and is a result of the action of the human being. So the Raheem means extremely and continuously loving and merciful and dispenser of grace and love s a result of our deeds and supplications, and one in whom the attribute is constantly and excessively repeated.

While I accept this rendering, I don't think it brings out the forcefulness associated with the notion of Rahmaaniyyah. According to Sayed Abdul Wadud, author of Gateway to The Qur'an (1985),

Any word that creates the sound or vocal expression of the word fa'eel [such as Raheem] carries the concept of a happening which is slow and gradual. On the other hand, any word which creates the vocal expression of the word fu'laan carries the concept of a happening which is sudden [i.e. spontaneous] and violent [i.e. forceful]. (p.50)

One attempt to draw out the vibrant, loud, sudden, forceful nature of Rahmaaniyyah is presented in the article Al Rahman, Al Raheem: The Most Important "Pair" available on the Free-Minds website. Although I'm not sure I would fully endorse the rendering of Ar-Rahmaan as "The Almighty", I think the general thrust of the article is sound in pointing to the forceful nature of Rahmaaniyyah.

The female womb nourishes and protects the growing foetus. Once the child is born, the mother continues to nourish (Raheemiyyah) and protect Rahmaaniyyah) it. In this sense, I think Munir Hassan is on to something when he says:

SHE who runs to the aid of her children, creation. SHE whose eyes are always watching HER children, creation. SHE who will strike with an iron fist any who harm her children, creation.

Peace

Previous 20

field_muslim2

RRMCR

Ramadhan Reflections of a Muslim Counter-Racist

Advertisement