I had a conversation with a taxi driver one day who seemed to be a mosque going member of Jamath judging by his attire. I started by saying Assalamu Alaikum which stunned him and I thought he will fall off the Cab. After negotiating the fare I climbed in and started chatting with him about recent fuel price hikes & this and that. The conversation drifted to various topics and came to family, I happened to mention that I have a very good family ?Masha Allah?. Before I could figure out the reason for him being so stunned he said that he never thought I was a Muslim. I think he was stunned since I was wearing a shirt and jeans and a guy like me to mention Masha Allah is too much for him to handle. (I have gone on Jamath many times and was a very close associate of the mosque)
Well, eventually I asked him if he knows any one who is well read in the QUran translation and study and if they conduct classes since I have heard Hadith and certain quotes from the Quran only since I was born. In fact I have read the Quran at least 10 times in Arabic without understanding a single word. We are actually asked to read the Quran in arabic for the betterment of everybody in the family and various other benefits. It is like reciting magical words.
He did mention a few names but he was annoyed in the fact that I was trying to read quran translation when I don?t even follow prophets sunnah and I was obliged to sit and listen to a lecture which ended only when I reached my moms home. I would like to take some of the things he said and confirmed as Islam & which god has ordered us as he learnt from Ulamas at mosque.
1. It?s OK to read the quran translation but it is not important.
2. Before doing that I must follow the prophets sunnah.
a. Specifically grow my beard
b. Wear loose cloths that resembles the prophet and his Sahabis (Companions)
c. I must distinguish my self from Cafirs by wearing different cloths.
3. Go on Jamath as the prophet & his companions did
4. Study and listen to Prophets Hadith.
5. Recite the quran in Arabic as the prophets companions did.
6. Believe in the prophet and his sunnah & allah will grace me with knowledge and wisdom about Islam.
7. If I follow prophets sunnah he will intercede on behalf of me on the day of judgment and ask Allah to send me to heaven.
8. Women don?t respect & serve men like they should any more.
9. They go to work & they drive.
10. If this goes on any longer they will want to go to the mosque.
11. They don?t wear hijab and cover their faces not even his wife.
12. If you want any special things done in life go to an Auliyas (Generally everyone here believes an Auliya is a saint) grave and read Surah Yaseen (In Arabic) and ask him what you want. When I said I dont believe in saints he got angry for that and said "You are un educated in Islam. Going to an Auliya is like hiring a lawyer to go in front of the judge because we dont know law"
He went on to tell me a lot of hadith about women being lower than us etc
Later I found out that he is a senior member of the mosque and Goes on Jamath every month.
HEy its OK. Everyone can talk and give many things for us to do. But one question always went through my mind. Who gave us the right to decide. That day I started studying Quranic translations. Many of them.
1. Allah has ordered us to obey the quran and nothing but the quran. The quran is great.
[ 17:88 ][ 59:21 ](39:23)(2:2)
Allah is simply telling us that the quran is our only guide. If we think this is not important or even if we keep anything in par with the quran we are challenging god.
8. The quran never distinguishes males & female in terms of mutual respect. This is a fabrication of men who are driven by their ego It calls men and women Auliyas of each other.
9. (3:195) (4:32)(9.71)
10. Men?s Ego is prohibiting women from going to the mosque for Friday prayers. But does the quran? Thus if we innovate aren?t we placing our self as an idle and aren?t we worshipping ourselves when we innovate. THe Quran never says only men ?Only Men?. (62:9)
11. This is what the quran says about the cloths & mannerisms of a Muslim in the 24th Surah.
30. Tell the believing men that they shall subdue their eyes (and not stare at the women), and to maintain their chastity. This is purer for them. GOD is fully Cognizant of everything they do.
31. And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is Apparent. They shall cover their chests, and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty. They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to GOD, O you believers that you may succeed.*
Against ?They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is Apparent.? we have innovated by giving our own verdict as some quran translations contain within brackets an assumption. Assumptions are what we have innovated about the quran but gods word is different. The quran has specifically asked women to cover their chests and not strike their feet hard when they walk and to lengthen their garments. Quran does not leave room for assumptions and fabrications.
How is this possible?!@#
Apparent = like palms of hands or one eye or both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, etc See Document ?Women?.
So remind them (O Muhammad), you are only a one who reminds. You are not a dictator over them. (88:21-22)
Most unsettling fact is this guy discussing Islam (Submission to Allah) mentioned Allah only 1% of the time. Who is his god?
?We learn about Islam from others, our practices are that have been practiced by ancestors. Why shouldn?t we follow in our ancestors foot steps?? is a question most people ask when questioned about religious compulsion & innovated religious practices are mentioned. The quran has an answer to this in surah Al-Baqarah.
170. When they are told, "Follow what GOD has revealed herein," they say, "We follow only what we found our parents doing." What if their parents did not understand, and were not guided?
171. The example of such disbelievers is that of parrots who repeat what they hear of sounds and calls, without understanding. Deaf, dumb, and blind; they cannot understand.
My beliefs since I was born was from various man made documents. Kalima, Prayers, 5 pillars, Sunna, Women etc.
When we watch the Bruce lee movie fist of fury we get enraged to see a board saying ?Dogs and Chinese not allowed?. Do you even dream that Islam would be worse than that? According to the books of Hadith, a woman is compared to a black dog or a monkey Bukhari 8/102 and Hanbel 4/86. if a woman or a monkey crosses your prayers are not supposed to be accepted by god. This is pure male chauvinism. The Quran on the other hand honors women and lifts up their status contrary to what is contained in the Hadith. A woman is called bad luck in the hadith (Bukhari 76/53). Also, according to the collection of Muslim (Sahih Muslim), most of the people in hell were of the feminine gender! According to Bukhari, "Women are naturally, morally and religiously defective."
La ilaha illallah. He is the only decider. I dont decide any more. I just follow the quran. Being an avid reader of many kinds of books truly the Quran is a miracle.
I am greatful to Allah for letting me stumble upon free minds.
If only peoples minds are open.
Shohorab
