Assalam alaikum, Do I have to listen to another `you must do this, brother'? It's a blind contradiction. The `must do' act masked with the `sincerity' of identifying me as a `brother in Islam' yet failing to recognize that in offering advice, 9/10 of the time, it is less advice and more a commandment. Well boo-hoo to you I say, has the story reached you of the man who approached a scholar and said, `I have come to debate religion' to which the scholar said, `I know my faith, if you have lost yours, go and find it' - my sentiment is the same.
If a man is known by his actions then I dread to imagine the picture `my brother' has conceived of me in his mind. If a man is known by his intentions, then it is impossible for `my brother' to know what it is I wish for. This isn't about judging or being judged, it is about the insincerity of sincerity. It is about having such strong conviction that a person is unable to see whether what it is that they are doing is right or wrong. The confused mind is a funny thing. Why just the other day we sat in a Starbucks in China as my translator and I wondered, `Why is it that everyone in this shopping mall speaks fluent English, yet when we step outside the front doors, speaking in English we are met with blank faces?'. But wait, it becomes even stranger. Picture this. A factory in China manufactures products exported to Europe/ Americas. The retailer adds a hefty margin selling an item which costs less than $5 for $50. Despite the factory being around the corner, the people in this shopping mall are paying the same $50, when the market stall down the street is selling the same item for $30. That's when it hits you. This has nothing to do with demand and supply, pricing is irrelevant. It is about the brand. Am I a Nike or an Adidas? A Gucci or a Fendi? That is `my brother'. He isn't concerned about my situation, the motivators behind my actions. He doesn't care for my condition. His only interest it seems is in my acceptance of his brand. We look at Islam as being a way of life, yet we do not give credit to the processes undertaken in coming to understand that way of live. We hear of the Prophet Muhammad, upon whom be peace, and his companions, may God be pleased with them, yet we do not pause to consider the implications of the changes they lived through in life. We identify a life, a way of living, yet we confuse the meanings of the aspects of faith. Some examples. We talk about the separation of men and women, the descent of the hijab, but ignore that the verse was revealed to separate a male companion from the Prophet Muhammad as he overstayed his welcome on the wedding night. We talk about avoiding `idle chat' which is more commonly interpreted as `music' or `singing' yet we ignore the reference to a certain style of men who used to sit by the side of the road mocking religion, or the specific songs which were sung which mocked Islam. Instead of understanding the reasons, the context, why certain things were addressed, we have taken the response to those things and created a new faith. All of this dressed in a more pious than pious attitude. Imagine a baker with his flour, water, yeast and salt, baking a loaf of bread the differing aspects of Islam brought together to make the totality of faith. Now a man comes along takes the loaf of bread, cuts it into pieces, reworks it, adds a little of this a little of that, and before you know it, you have sandwiches. `My brother' is offering me a sandwich but I don't want it. I point to the sandwich filling asking, `What is that extra stuff there?' to which he says, `Go on, in the name of God, taste it, you know you will like it' hang on, you're telling me that you know I will like what not even I know I will like? Who made you all wise, all knowing? There comes a story of the man who found a cocoon. One day as he watches he sees a tear in it, the butterfly inside is trying to escape. Watching for hours he observes the butterfly is struggling to escape so he `my brother'- takes a pair of scissors and cuts open the cocoon. Sadly the butterfly is unable to take flight. In his eagerness to help, `my brother' failed to realise that part of the wisdom of Allah Almighty is that when a butterfly escapes from its cocoon, the bodily motions push a fluid into its wings, enabling the butterfly to fly. Without having to force its way out of the cocoon the butterfly will not be able to fly. Thus in thinking that he was helping `my brother' actually destroyed the life of the butterfly. Did `my brother' ever pause to think what it was that made the Prophet and the early Muslims, men and women, such good examples of what it was to be Muslim? I'm not really interested in his brand and I'm not a fan of his sandwiches. I want to know about the ingredients used to make the bread, and that's what I want a slice of. fi amanillah, wa salam, f ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Get fast access to your favorite Yahoo! Groups. Make Yahoo! your home page http://us.click.yahoo.com/dpRU5A/wUILAA/yQLSAA/TXWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest". Yahoo! 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