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A call for Self-Examination and Reform
Shaykh Saalih bin Humayyid [(Dhul-Hijjah 22, 1424 (February 13, 2004)]
All praise is due to
Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. Peace and blessings of Allaah be upon the
Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims! Fear
Allaah as He should be feared. Take of this world what is enough for you and
prepare for your Hereafter.
Dear brethren! The life
of this world will come to an end and the appointed time is the Day of
Resurrection. The unfortunate is the one who knows his Lord on specific only
days or specific hours and after that goes back to his heedlessness and error.
Brethren in faith! Though we have said farewell to blessed season of Dhul-Hijjah
and we are getting prepared to say farewell to the outgoing Hijrah year and
receive a new one, we still need to make a sincere and serious review of our
situation.
Fellow Muslims! We are,
in the world of today, experiencing constant changes that make it necessary for
the Ummah to re-examine itself and review its ways. The Ummah needs to review
its recent past and what has happened to it in the past half a century in order
to sort out the wheat from the chaff.
The evil plots made by
the enemies against this Ummah have been exposed. It is now clear that the Ummah
is faced with violence, barbarism and occupation in Palestine and other Muslim
lands and in places where Muslims are in minority. We need to ponder over this
situation. We need to know how to make our plans, how to negotiate and how to
face these problems. At the same time we need to review our relationships with
various Muslim nations, governments and organisations.
Dear brethren! The
challenges faced by this Ummah in its lands and over its religion, external
pressures that we face, the terrorism that aims at weakening our societies and
the efforts of those with diseased hearts whose goal is to cast doubt on our
religion and capabilities are not hidden to anyone. The combination of all these
challenges makes it incumbent on us to unite and face them with decisiveness.
The Muslim countries are therefore in dire need of concerted efforts from the
scholars, the experts and the political leaders to ward off the evil
machinations aimed at this Ummah.
Dear Muslims! The
entire world is now talking about extremism. This horrible menace has left
frightening impacts on the contemporary world. Though extremism and its effects
are not a contemporary phenomenon, it is unfortunate that the modern age's share
of it is unparalleled in human history. This is in spite of its technological
and scientific progress.
It is also paradoxical
that those countries that have produced the greatest technology in the history
of mankind are substantially extremist and bigot in imposing their thoughts and
ideologies in a way that exposes the whole world to dangers.
Extremism leads to
contradiction between actions and principles as it leads to disunity. The major
problem about extremism is that it breeds hostility. Show of force, suppression
and subjugation are influential in all activities of the extremist. They
influence him in his cultural, educational, social and economic activities.
Dear Muslims! In the
course of making self-examination and reform, all sections of this Ummah should
realise the scope of their great responsibility. They need to understand the
lessons of the past and today's lessons. Some of these lessons are: to leave
behind the passivity of the past and to shun mere arguments and debates that
neither address the situation nor solve the problems.
Dear brethren! The Book
of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, sallallaahu 'alayhi wasallam,
are the authority of the Muslims. The authority of these two sources does not
lie in their texts alone, but also in how they are applied, interpreted and how
instructions are derived from them. These are, however, the speciality of
Islaamic scholars.
It is therefore,
incumbent upon every Muslim to adhere to the religion of Allaah and actualise
acts of worship for Him alone. Allaah says,
"And
I (Allaah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me
(Alone)."
(Adh-Dhaariyaat 51:56)
The Muslim must also surrender to the
judgment of Allaah and His Messenger. Allaah said,
"But no, by your Lord, they can have no
Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) judge in all
disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your
decisions, and accept (them) with full submission."
(An-Nisaa 4:65)
He also says,
"And let those who oppose the Messenger's
(Muhammad (peace be upon him)) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders,
acts of worship, statements, etc.) (among the sects) beware, lest some Fitnah
(disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant,
etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them."
(An-Noor 24:63)
Allaah also says,
"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when
Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option
in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed
strayed in a plain error."
(Al-Ahzaab 33:36)
Fellow Muslims! Seeking for real reform
necessitates affirming and respecting the authority of religious science. This
is the way to success and the way to sound methodology and ideological
stability. It is through the people of knowledge that the Ummah is exonerated
and the sincere admonition is given. It is through them that those who would
like to bypass the law of Allaah through extremism or negligence are reined in.
It is through the religious authority that laws are made clear, conditions are
stabilized, peace of mind are attained, the religion is understood and the
rights of the Ummah and those of individuals and the lead are preserved.
Brethren in faith! It is a path of reform to
respect the scholars and their positions and to refer to them in all religious
matters. The religion, should, under no circumstances be concealed nor should
specialization in religious sciences be scorned.
However, this concealment is perpetrated by
two groups: the extremists and the uncouth ones. As for the extremists and the
bombers who declare other Muslims as infidels, they did not commit their heinous
crimes till after they had declared the scholars ignorant and accused them of
baseless allegations.
On the other hand, the uncouth ones
disrespect the scholars and they accuse them of not understanding the reality,
the changing world and the new things. There is therefore, a need to understand
the underlying danger in the thinking of the extremists and the uncouth ones for
both of the two groups attack the religious authority, conceal it and cast doubt
on qualification and eligibility of the scholars. Though the Ummah must be wary
of the evil plans of its enemies, it must also look inward. For both the
above-mentioned groups are enemies of reform.
The extremists stop the reform by putting
impediments in its way. Allaah addresses His Messenger about the extremists,
"Say (O Muhammad (peace be upon him)) "O
people of the ure (Jews and Christians)! Exceed not the limits in your religion
(by believing in something) other than the truth, and do not follow the vain
desires of people who went astray in times gone by, and who misled many, and
strayed (themselves) from the Right Path."
(Al-Maaidah 5:77)
Reform can also be stopped by diverting it
from its correct path. This is what the uncouth and the negligent ones are
doing. It is they that Allaah addressed as follows:
"And when it is said to them: "Make not
mischief on the earth," they say: "We are only peace-makers."
(Al-Baqarah 2:11)
The uncouth ones manipulate the misbehaviour
of the extremists to attack the Ummah and cast doubt on its values under the
guise of fighting extremism. The result of the efforts of both the extremists
and the uncouth ones is that both of them destroy the Ummah, strengthen the
enemy, spread disunity and weaken the Ummah. The Ummah must therefore resist the
efforts of those who disrespect Islaam as it resists the extremists. For as the
extremists leads the Ummah to rigidity so do the uncouth ones want to obliterate
the identity of the Ummah.
Dear Muslims! The real and sincere reformers
are sure that the fast majority of this Ummah are balanced and just people who
are not swayed by the extreme views of the extremists or by misguided efforts of
the prattlers. Allaah says,
"If only there had been among the generations
before you persons having wisdom, prohibiting (others) from Al-Fasād (disbelief,
polytheism, and all kinds of crimes and sins) in the earth, (but there were
none) - except a few of those whom We saved from among them. Those who did wrong
pursued the enjoyment of good things of (this worldly) life, and were Mujrimūn
(criminals, disbelievers in Allāh, polytheists, sinners). And your Lord would
never destroy the towns wrongfully, while their people were right-doers."
(Hood 11:116-117)
Fellow Muslims! Though the discussion about
reform should be frank and decisive, it should also be done with utmost
deliberateness and logically, optimistically, tolerantly and with good
intention. It should be free of western influences and bigotry. Useful and
correct contribution should be respected and supported and mistaken views should
be corrected. Scholars and reformers should be impartial, compassionate and
tolerant and they should steer their followers away from silly statements and
conducts. The truth should be preserved even in differences, and opinions and
points of views should be aired with utmost decorum and good intention.
In the course of making reform and doing
self-examination, tolerance and guarantee of free expression that are within the
limits of Sharee'ah should not contradict the obligation of giving sincere
advice, calling attention to mistakes and discussing the views.
Further, scholars should guide the errant,
explain the truth and correct mistake without having bad opinion of the person
who made the mistake. If qualified individuals refuse to perform these
obligations, the arena will be open for ignorant people who cannot distinguish
between good and bad.
Fellow Muslims! Let the truth be established,
let matters be clarified and let us clearly reveal the differences between
realities and rumours. This is because wading into issues that affect the fate
of the Ummah in the name of reform, without adequate knowledge and qualification
only obstructs the way to real reform. It also causes more corruption.
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