A Message of Unity
admin on 05 23, 2009
My observations and a conversation with a friend have prompted me to write this.
Firstly, I’d like to apologize for my ignorance and lack of knowledge, and I pray that Allah presents me with the gift of wisdom in the course of writing.
I am not acquainted with the Jemaah Tabligh or the Deobandi school of thought, but I would like to express my disappointment with the exclusivists attitudes displayed by some students who claim to be from this school of thought (note the careful distinction between school of thought and actions by those who CLAIM to be from the school of thought). It is not my intention to be critical and hurtful, but part of my ignorance suggests an irony with the terms ‘jemaah’ which presents a unifying connotation and ‘tabligh’ which means ‘to convey’ and is one of the characteristics of a Rasul as argued by most scholars. Unfortunately, part of my ignorance also show the lack of participation from those who claim to be from the Jemaah Tabligh in activities that require a united front from the Muslims and activities that require the conveying of the message of Islam. In particular, I am referring to the Islamic Awareness Week.
I would like to make a personal reference to sectarianism with regards to the issue above, if there is any link to be made. I was brought up with a Sufi orientation, particularly, from Tariqah Syattariyah and Tariqah Ahmadiyyah Idrisiyyah. I used to think in a black-and-white fashion, with minimal grey areas in between, and with an absolutist anti-Wahabbi fervour. Until I was exposed to different school of thoughts and became interested in the discourses of the Sufi intellectual, Syed Muhd Naquib Al-Attas.
At first I used to develop a defensive attitude towards the sharp criticisms that come from the Salafiyyah Wahabbiyah camp. And then I started to reflect; what defines a Sufi? WHO defines the Sufi? His line of thought? His opposition against the notions of Tauhid Rububiyyah and Uluhiyyah by Ibn Taimiyah and Ibn Qayyim Al-Jauzi, the supposedly ‘Wahabbi’ scholars? His passionate support for the maulid, tahlil, group zikr sessions, visits to the tombs of Saints etc.? The kuffar labelling to distinguish us from the ‘terror-minded’ extremists?
Or is it his Sufi character and Sufi actions that would undoubtedly be judged by Allah s.w.t in the Hereafter? Whether he is Sufi, Salafi or Deobandi, everyone will undoubtedly be judged in the Hereafter!
And then I read Syed Naquib’s “Risalah Untuk Muslimin”, which defines the Sufi as the one who worships Allah and lives his life with Ihsan, that is, with the ability to ‘see’ Allah in everything he does, and realizes the different levels of existence and being in totality. With this definition, undoubtedly I am excluded from this categorization, because my experiences, my worship, fail to manifest Ihsan.
I am not Sufi. I am Pro-Sufi.
And with readings of this eminent scholar and the association with its scholars, I am presented with the beautiful concept of adab, that is, recognizing the proper places of things. I can recall being pulled over by Dr Khalif Muammar who would then explain the need to exercise adab towards scholars, to put them in their different places as authorities of different branches of knowledge, partly to curb my anti-Ikhwan tendencies that were growing because of my misinterpretation of Syed Naquib’s works. And I was presented that the need for us to display unity is more fardhu than the need to be associated with mazhabs, sects and school of thoughts.
This is adab, or in particular, adabul ikhtilaf (adab towards differences in opinion). This concept was not just theoretical, it was manifested in the establishment of ISTAC where scholars from different schools of thought were invited to pass on their knowledge to hungry knowledge-seekers, whether it comes from the Salafi Ismail Faruqi or the Shiite Sayyed Hossain Nasr.
My dear friends, we have the tendency to treat perception as reality. As rightly put by our friend Surya, we need to distinguish between the words of God and the words of Man. While subscribing oneself to a school of thought is natural, it should not end with condemnation of others different from us, as if ours are the absolute, when we ourselves have not attained Ihsan, let alone meet God.
How different are we from the times of Al-Ghazali where the Ummah was wrecked with sectarianism and confusion? When will the labelling stop, at the expanse of the fardhu which is unity in the Ummah?
I would refrain from quoting verses of the Qur’an to exemplify the need for adab and spirit of unity for fear that it may be treated as an authoritative speech among those who have lost their adab towards the REAL authorities of knowledge.
Unfortunately, what we face today is the opposite, that is, the loss of adab. This is due to our lack of knowledge and hikmah, our lack of passion and true love for knowledge and reading scholarly works. How would one recognize the proper places of things and proper authorities of knowledge, without KNOWING firstly what and where the proper places are?
The real challenge is not among us, but with the modern manifestation of Greek philosophy known as secularism which attempts to uproot us even from our very fundamentals of the Islamic worldview (this is rather ironic, since I myself, upon reflection, am more Secular than anything else). This overwhelming challenge comes from many fronts, in our education, in our media and even from our friends in MUIS! (as exemplified in their choice of secularist speakers in their ‘intellectual’ platforms).
Will we form a united front, a jemaah that conveys, against the challenge of secularism? Or will we still let our ‘differences’ divide us and exclude us from the bigger Ummah?*
*This is not to deny the role of uzlah or temporary seclusion as a means to strengthen our faith and spirituality to Allah.
