A UNIVERSAL MESSAGE TO MANKIND
Abdullatif ALJIBURY PH.D.
Danville. CA USA

OTHER OBLIGATORY PRACTICES IN ISLAM

1. Learning and seeking knowledge: This is the first command in the revelation in which God ordered humanity through Prophet Muhammad to:

Read in the name of your Lord the Creator

The Quran; 98:1

Prophet Muhammad advised us in one of his well authenticated sayings to “Seek knowledge even if it be in China.” Learning and the pursuit of knowledge through observation and reflection are, therefore mandatory and of primary importance in Islam. Throughout the holy Quran God always challenges us with the words, “don’t you realize, don’t you comprehend, don’t you think, don’t you see….”

2. Consultation in matters of public concern: God has emphasized the importance of this practice by making it part of the believer’s conduct and placed it alongside of the practice of Prayers and giving Alms. “(Holy Quran 42:37-40. It shall be given to all who attain to faith and place their trust in their sustainer and who shun the more heinous sins and who whenever they are moved to anger readily forgive and who respond to the call of their sustainer in prayers and whose rule in all matters of common concern is consultation among themselves and who spend on others what we provide for them as sustenance and who whenever tyranny afflicts them defend themselves.)

3. Conduct one’s self with dignity and moderation. Muslims are, as is prescribed by our Creator, advised to be moderate in their behavior and are forewarned not to commit excesses and to avoid extremism. All forms of extremism in attitudes, behavior and appearance are repugnant to the true spirit of Islam. This conduct is prescribed throughout the Koran. Here are a few of the pertinent verses that make this point abundantly clear.

a. Verse 2:143 reminds us that “God has willed that Muslims are to be a community of the middle way…”

b. Verse 16: 125 tells us to “Call to the way of God with wisdom and civility…”

c. Verse 5:87 admonishes us “to commit no excesses…”

d. Verse 8:61 orders Muslims” that when our adversary inclines to peace that we should also incline towards peace…”

e. Verse 23:96 advises a Muslim to “Repel evil with goodness that which is best…”

f. Verse 17: 110 instructs the Muslim to”Neither speak your prayer aloud, nor speak it in a low tone, but seek a moderate course in between.”

g. Verse 17: 29 tell a Muslim to “Neither make your hand tight, nor overspend…”

h. Verse 31:19 impresses upon the Muslim to”Be moderate in your pace and lower your voice…”

i. On reflection upon the above verses, one cannot but conclude that extremism in behavior and action is completely unacceptable and does not conform to the spirit of the Islamic norms. The violence and extremism that we witness, now a days, are un- Islamic and are not condoned by the teachings and the spirit of Islam as we see in this discourse.

THE AUTHENTIC SUNNAH (THE LIFE AND SAYINGS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD)

To Muslims, there are two acceptable sources of information, on matters regarding the religion of Islam. These are the Quran and the Authentic Sunnah. God has urged in many verses in the Quran that Muslims should benefit from the exemplary life of the prophet Muhammad and that Muslims should look to him as a role model. e.g. the (Holy Quran 33: 21”

You have in the life of your Prophet an exemplary example to follow…..

The Sunnah has been succinctly summarized by the Prophet himself when asked by one of his companions, “Oh! Messenger of God what is your Sunnah?” The prophet answered:

“Knowledge is my capital
Intellect is the basis of my religion
Love is my foundation
Longing is my vehicle
Remembrance of God is my pleasure
Confidence is my treasure
Sadness is my companion
Science is my weapon
Patience is my cloak
Solace is my gain
Poverty is my pride
Humility is my profession
Belief is my strength
Truthfulness is my atonement
Obedience is my desire
Striving is my character
Prayer is the apple of my eye”

The above guideposts are to be followed by all Muslims who should do their best to gauge their actions in their measure.

The Prophet ordered his companions not to write down his sayings lest they be confused with the Quranic text as had happened to earlier revelations. His order was adhered to during the reign of the four caliphs (from the time of Abu Bakir to Ali.)The Quran had been fully documented and written in its final form at the time of the third caliph Othman. Unfortunately and contrary to the order of the prophet, his sayings were later on recorded and were not fully authenticated and were consequently subject to many errors. The scholars are still in disagreement about the authenticity of many of the sayings that have been erroneously recorded. The true measure of the authenticity of the sayings is that they must be in total agreement with the Quranic revelation. Any saying which does not fulfill this acid test must be rejected. This controversy would have been entirely avoided had the Muslims of late listened and obeyed the order of the prophet in not recording his sayings.

All is not lost, for there are serious efforts to research the field in order to arrive at fully authenticated and agreed upon sayings of the prophet. Some Turkish scholars have made a good start in this direction and have, so far, collected some forty saying of the prophet that have been totally authenticated.

Any other source of information about Islam is to be regarded as a contribution by scholars and learned individuals who hold no special place in the Islamic library except that their effort is a sincere and welcomed contribution to assist Muslims in better understanding the Quran so they can apply its teachings to their daily lives.

Since there is no clergy class in Islam, the opinion of the Muslim scholars is non-binding. Every Muslim is free to choose between the opinions of the scholars to find that which he or she feels comfortable with, provided that the scholar has sought to derive his or her opinion based on the Quran and Sunnah. God, throughout the Quran, admonishes Muslims to make matters and obligations simple, and easy and non-cumbersome. Verse 2:185 states that:

…God intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship…

Also verse 92: 7 states:

We will ease you ( believers) towards ease

Muslims are encouraged to benefit from the contribution of their scholars whose differing opinions are a healthy sign of a vibrant and well-informed community. Prophet Muhammad said in this respect that the difference of opinions of the Muslim scholars is a grace from God. The contributions of the scholars who may share similar views may be considered as a school of thought for the benefit of better understanding and interpreting the Quran and Sunnah. Muslims are to look at these contributions as opinions by well intending scholars to clarify questions and matters that evolve with life’s dynamics as time changes. The main principles and guideposts contained in the Quran and Sunnah are time independent. The contribution of the Muslim scholars, who are human beings, is by definition time dependent and subject to change. There is always a need for scholarly contribution to help Muslims, who do not have the time to delve deeply into Islamic thought, gauge their actions towards matters and issues of their generation so that they fall within the guideposts of Islam.

It must be emphasized here that the Quran does not tolerate any sectarian tendencies in matters of religion. The Quran states very clearly in Chapter 6 verse 159 that:

verily those who have broken the unity of their faith and have become sects, you, meaning the prophet or Muslims, have nothing to do with them

Also in Chapter 6 verse 50 :

And know this is the straightway leading to me, follow it then, and follow on other ways lest they cause you to deviate from His path

As a matter of fact, Muslims cannot call themselves any other name, since the name Muslim has been chosen by God to call His religion Islam and the followers of the religion as Muslims. Islam is the name of all of God’s revealed religions from the time of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and ending with Muhammad, the last and final messenger of Islam. In the Quran chapter 2, verse 136 states what we have just mentioned:

Say, [O believers], “We have believed in Allah and what has been revealed to us

and what has been revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants and what was given to Moses and Jesus and what was given to the prophets from their Lord.

We make no distinction between any of them, and we are Muslims to Him