Muhammad; the most perfect human

The Sunnah as Primordiality

by Shaykh Abdal Hakim Murad

“For the Prophet is humanity itself, in its Adamic perfection. In him, and in his style of life, the highest possibilities of our condition are realised and revealed. And this is beauty itself: the word jamil, beautiful, which is one of his names, refers also to virtue. Ihsan, the Prophetic state of harmony with God, means the engendering of husn, or beauty.”

This is a paraphrase of a passage from Ihya Ulum al-Din (it’s found in the article).

‘The Messenger of God (s) was the mildest of men, but also the bravest and most just of men. He was the most restrained of people; never touching the hand of a woman over whom he did not have rights, or who was not his mahram. He was the most generous of men, so that never did a gold or silver coin spend the night in his house. If something remained at the end of the day, because he had not found someone to give it to, and night descended, he would go out, and not return home until he had given it to someone in need. From what Allah gave him he would take only the simplest and easiest foods: dates and barley, giving anything else away in the path of Allah. Never did he refuse a gift for which he was asked. He used to mend his own sandals, and patch his own clothes, and serve his family, and help them to cut meat. He was the shyest of men, so that his gaze would never remain long in the face of anyone else. He would accept the invitation of a freeman or a slave, and accept a gift, even if it were no more than a gulp of milk, or the thigh of a rabbit, and offer something in return. He never consumed anything given in sadaqa. He was not too proud to reply to a slave-girl, or a pauper in rags. He would become angered for his Lord, never for himself; he would cause truth and justice to prevail even if this led to discomfort to himself or to his companions.
‘He used to bind a stone around his waist out of hunger. He would eat what was brought, and would not refuse any permissible food. If there was dates without bread, he would eat, if there was roast meat, he would eat; if there was rough barley bread, he would eat it; if there was honey or something sweet, he would eat it; if there was only yogurt without even bread, he would be quite satisfied with that.
‘He was not sated, even with barley-bread, for three consecutive days, until the day he met his Lord, not because of poverty, or avarice, but because he always preferred others over himself.
‘He would attend weddings, and visit the sick, and attend funerals, and would often walk among his enemies without a guard. He was the most humble of men, and the most serene, without arrogance. He was the most eloquent of men, without ever speaking for too long. He was the most cheerful of men. He was afraid of nothing in the dunya. He would wear a rough Yemeni cloak, or a woolen tunic; whatever was lawful and was to hand, that he would wear. He would ride whatever was to hand: sometimes a horse, sometimes a camel, sometimes a mule, sometimes a donkey. And at times he would walk barefoot, without an upper garment or a turban or a cap. He would visit the sick even if they were in the furthest part of Madina. He loved perfumes, and disliked foul smells.
‘He maintained affectionate and loyal ties with his relatives, but without preferring them to anyone who was superior to them. He never snubbed anyone. He accepted the excuse of anyone who made an excuse. He would joke, but would never say anything that was not true. He would laugh, but not uproariously. He would watch permissible games and sports, and would not criticize them. He ran races with his wives. Voices would be raised around him, and he would be patient. He kept a sheep, from which he would draw milk for his family. He would walk among the fields of his companions. He never despised any pauper for his poverty or illness; neither did he hold any king in awe simply because he was a king. He would call rich and poor to Allah, without distinction.
‘In him, Allah combined all noble traits of character; although he neither read nor wrote, having grown up in a land of ignorance and deserts in poverty, as a shepherd, and as an orphan with neither father nor mother. But Allah Himself taught him all the excellent qualities of character, and praiseworthy ways, and the stories of the early and the later prophets, and the way to salvation and triumph in the Akhira, and to joy and detachment in the dunya, and how to hold fast to duty, and to avoid the unnecessary. May Allah give us success in obeying him, and in following his sunna. Amin ya rabb al-alamin.’

{Quick Reflections 45} Corrupted Islam 4

Clarification:

Last time we stopped at the classification that divided people into 4 groups; “Theoretical scholars”, “Average Muslims”, “Extremists” and “Hypocrites”. I would like to clarify that this classification includes the different parties whose actions and interactions in life form what we have called “Corrupted Islam”. This is by no means a comprehensive classification of all the Muslims. Of course there are millions who participate to form the picture of “True Islam” and can be divided into “True Scholars”, “True Leaders” and “True Average Muslims”. Unfortunately their voice and impact is less loud and difficult to identify amongst the chaos.
Similarly when I say that nowadays Islam is corrupted does not mean that there is no correct or true Islam nowadays but it just means that the general picture or presentation of Islam is corrupted. This is because the percentage of corruption dominates the percentage of true or correct Islam. Just like when we say that Egypt is a Muslim country does not mean that none of its people are non-Muslims. It just means that the majority (90%) and the governing authority are Muslims. Similarly when we say that Islam is corrupted it means that a major part of the presented and practiced picture of Islam is corrupted by a great percentage of Muslims and their leaders, be that intentionally (due to personal motives) or due to ignorance.
Generally throughout this series when I mention Muslim, or Scholar, I mean the ones contributing to the corruption and not all Muslims or all Scholars. Only in the last episode, if God wills, will I talk about the True Muslims that are struggling to hold some ground.


Enemies:

It is very well known that outsiders will never defeat true Muslims and true Islam but the defeat comes from within, which has been the case for nearly four hundred years now. This can be explained by defining what are the main themes of Islam and how have Muslims dropped them and what are the main enemies of Islam and how Muslims have not fought them as ferociously as they should have.

The three main themes of Islam are the Oneness of God, Perfection of Manners and Pursuit of Knowledge. I will discuss these themes in separate articles later if God wills.
On the other hand the two main enemies of Islam that are within us and that I am going to focus on in this article are the Hypocrites and Idol Worshiping.


The Hypocrites (Fifth Columnists):

When Allah first introduces the readers and listeners to Qur’an to the main three different types of people in Surat al-Baqarah (2; 2-20) He uses 4 ayat to describe the believers followed by 2 to describe the non-believers and then 13 to describe the hypocrites. Thirteen to describe a group that is a small percentage of people and 6 to describe the rest of the people on Earth! All that stress and detailed description of one type in contrast to the other two is because they are the worst and most complicated. They know the truth, they live amongst ones who practice it and they are given the freedom to choose yet they insist on pretending what they are not. Later on in the Qur’an there is a whole Surah in their name. They are a group of people who live in all ages and their main aim is to corrupt Islam from within. There is no logic to explain their attitude especially that Islam gives the freedom to every human being to choose. They could have simply chosen to be atheists or anything else they wish. They could just leave the place they grew up in and immigrated to live with whomever their ideology they agree with yet they do not. The only explanation for their attitude is the one given by God. Their hearts are sick.

They could be average Muslims or even scholars. Usually they are successful and have a high IQ. (I prefer not to use the word intelligent, as the true definition of that word is different in Islam than what it is commonly known for.)
We are not allowed in Islam as individuals to judge other people. This is left to certain authorities in certain situations and individual judgment is left to only God. Unfortunately one of the main diseases corrupting Islam nowadays is that most people most of the time tend to openly judge not only other average people but even scholars whom they do not agree with.
During the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, although he was informed by God about the names of the hypocrites living amongst them he did not openly declare them. He, peace upon him, mentioned their names secretly to one of his companions so that when each hypocrite dies he would prevent the Muslims from offering prayers for mercy on his soul. He did not do that while they were alive for three main reasons. The first is not to shock the Muslims confidence in some people whom they thought were good people and leaders and hence spread a sense of insecurity and mistrust amongst Muslims. The second is not to create chaos that would result if those people were confronted openly. They would become defensive and start mentioning many acts of good deeds they participated in with the Prophet, peace be upon him, to try to prove that he is mistaken. This would result in an escalating argument and up to a civil war amongst Muslims. The third is to teach the Muslims not to judge other people on individual basis openly. He, peace be upon him, was told by God, the All-Knower, about these people, so there is no doubt about that judgment yet he, peace be upon him, did not openly mention them. Accordingly, we, as very less knowledgeable human beings, should not judge anyone person and spread that judgment around.
However that does not mean that we trust everyone completely and act as if that category of people does not exist. We have been warned about the hypocrites and our Prophet, peace be upon him, mentioned their criteria to us so we can avoid them and not follow them if they call for one thing or another. When we spot those criteria in someone we do not accuse them openly of being hypocrites but we avoid them and do not trust them.
Basically, per the Prophet, peace be upon him, they are liars, who do not keep their promises and are traitors. However they can be shrewd enough to cover up for their defects at least temporarily for everyone or all the time for a certain audience of people.

An average one would usually be seen as very strictly adherent to the “looks” but when it comes to true practice he is nowhere to be seen. For example, he could have a beard, or she could wear hijab or even niqab, and always talking about God and his Prophet and shows up on most religious occasions telling you what to do and what not to do. On the other hand he would have a terrible relationship with his parents, treats his spouse and children offensively, does not give a damn about his neighbor and has foul manners in general. S/he is always judging others and is on the offensive towards others. S/he talks about prayers all the time and gives you a hard time if you miss one. However when you ask them to participate in hidden voluntary work they are no where to be found.

A real life example that I have experienced with some of these people is very interesting. Let us say he is called Smiley. Smiley starts a religious group in college. He is very active and attracts many people with him. Some of the people who join are also dishonest like Smiley while the majority is sincere. It is very democratic in that group and some of the sincere people rise to power but they are not aware of the insincere ones amongst them who also have the chance to rise to power. The group grows and grows with many true sincere successes. However there are always setbacks and punitive actions taken against the sincere from time to time. Thanks to Smiley and friends who originally started the group to be able to keep track of the sincere and keep them checked back.
A lesson to learn is to always have an open eye for the causes of setbacks. Do not trust people who are responsible for them and at the same time work hard to accomplish your goal enduring the hardship you will suffer in the process. God is there for you and will support you but you have to take all possible human measures to ensure success of the work.


On the other hand one who is a leader or in a high rank or even a scholar would act as follows. He focuses on minor issues that are the source of argument amongst people for centuries. He does not talk about major issues that concern the wellness of Islam and Muslims. He is very hard on the public and never says a word of truth or advice to stop the rulers or political leaders from their corruption. He tends to spend a lot of time in attacking other scholars. When he sees that Muslims are uniting on a certain action or opinion, which is a rare event nowadays, he discourages that and tries to disperse that unity. They also tend to relate themselves to important very early Islamic figures. They discourage advancement and thinking and tend to be very productive in terms in the amount of books they write and spread.
Unfortunately their followers nowadays are in the millions due to their ignorance. We need to watch out for those kinds of “scholars” and avoid them.

Here is an imaginary exemplary quiz with 6 examples to try to see for ourselves whom to trust and whom not to, whom to follow and whom to avoid (be that due to them being dishonest or theoretical -continuously misguided- scholars).

1- Two men agree to split the political leadership and religion leadership between them such that each one of them leaves the other to do what he wishes and not to harm each other.

2- A scholar praises the ruler and indulges in minor details that make people’s daily life hard and avoids major issues that concern Islam and Muslims.

3- A scholar is constantly praising the ruler and pleasing him and does not care about the welfare of Muslims.

4- A scholar is avoiding the authorities and working on reform amongst the general population with an eye on the general welfare of Muslims.

5- A scholar does not aggressively oppose the ruler but tends to be polite and advises him wisely and is working hard on teaching Islam to the people.

6- A scholar is a “troublemaker” with the authorities through his harshness with them while trying to stop their corruption, and tends to be very patient and polite with the average people and at the same time caring for their advancement and ease.

The difference between the first 3 examples and the last 3 is very clear.

Who Am I? (2)

This story is based on the true events of the Gaza Holocaust. Israel launched its deadly attack on besieged Gaza on Saturday, December 27, 2008 through January 22, 2009 and beyond.

The Gaza Strip was under siege by Israel for three years.

If you went to the Gaza Strip, you would see empty storehouses and cemeteries growing larger – it is too hard to keep a tight hold on one’s emotions. If you strolled near the outpost of the city, you would feel the uncertain freedom or even a future.

This made it so had for the world to sympathize anymore with the Jews’ holocaust, after the holocaust they committed in the Gaza Enclave.

Here the story goes...

I am six years old; I used to live in a small place in besieged Gaza with my mom, dad and three brothers. My dad used to go every day to work, while my mom stayed at home to take care of us, especially my five months old baby brother.

I was so happy this September because it was my first day of school. I was then old enough to be in grade one, I would make many friends, we would grow up together and who knows, maybe we would all go to the same university and work at the same place too.

I love my family and like to go out every weekend to play soccer with my neighbours.

I am doing great at school and my teachers are very proud of me. It is my third month in school and I already made three close friends, we want to be together forever.

Mom said that I had to start wearing heavy clothes because by the end of December, it would get much colder and she was worried that I might catch cold.

Friday was our weekend and we would all go to the mosque close by to pray. I love it there; it felt so peaceful. After that, we would all go for lunch at my cousins’ home.

Tomorrow is a new day at school; I could not sleep the night because we had a field trip. For the first time in my life, I was going on a field trip with my friends. I went to sleep dreaming of it.

I heard a big bang and felt as if the ground was shaking, I thought that the school bus took the wrong route to the field trip or one of its tires blew up. Suddenly, I woke up; I was not in the school bus, it was not the tire that blew up. What was that then!

My mom came dashing into my bedroom, my two brothers were still in their pyjamas, and my dad was carrying my baby brother. Where are we going? What was that noise? Am I not going to the field trip?

There was no answer, we just fled our home and went to the mosque. At the mosque, there were my other neighbours some of my friends and many more people. What is going on mom? Today is Saturday; I must go to school now!

The big blowing noise started to get louder, children started to cry, I felt hungry and...

Dad said, school will be closed today son, I do not know when it would open. Aeroplanes are dropping bombs, we do not know if our home is safe. Dad, I am hungry!

Dad left the mosque with some other men to bring some food.

I asked my mom, who were those people? Why were they sending their aeroplanes to hit our homes? What did they want from us?

Mom said, it was Israeli aeroplanes, they did not like us to have any kind of weapons to protect ourselves, and they do not want to see us here. But why mom? This is where we were born and this is our land! That is exactly why son, because we are Palestinians, because we are Muslims, and they do not want us to be here in besieged Gaza anymore.

Dad came with some food and water and said, be careful we might not be able to get more food afterwards. Dad said that many buildings were destroyed, black smoke was all over and there was complete chaos. We heard boisterous ambulance sirens and other cars screeching to a halt.

The ground shook again and a big opening on the sidewall of the mosque suddenly appeared,

people were trying to transfer wounded women and children to the hospital.

Everyone was running everywhere, babies were crying, blood was all over, people were covered with dust, some were trying to pull others from under the rubbles, the aeroplanes were bombarding us from every direction.

Mom took me, my brothers and ran out; we did not know what hit us! We did not know where to go! I looked around only to see our neighbourhood destroyed. I wish everything would stop, please stop. If you love God stop, just stop!

We went inside one of the houses and hid there. After a while a few soldiers found us, they had their huge guns pointed at my brother’s chest and they fired.

My mom screamed and fell over my brother trying to wake him up, my baby brother was crying. The soldiers kicked us out. We kept running. I could see fireworks in the horizon, except they were all white and fell on the ground instead of spreading colourfully in the sky, and then I saw something fell on a woman and her baby, white smoke came out and she started to burn.

A car came, picked us up and took us to the hospital, the woman was my mom and the baby was my baby brother, his face and chest were so red and looked very strange.

I looked around for my dad, but he was not there, one doctor said that my mom would be all right.

He gave me some water. I sipped half and went to give my mom the other half; I told her that the doctor said that she would be ok. I told her that soon they would stop, I told her not to worry and that I would take care of her until my dad comes back right mom?

Mom! Mom... mom... maaaaaaa

The six years old boy’s life will never be peaceful anymore...

Zionism has always been carrying out the policy of the “burnt land[1]”, under the banner of extending their land from The Nile to The Euphrates Rivers[2], no matter if that was over the dead bodies of the Palestinians or any other humans; the end justifies the means.

‘The Guardian’ has obtained vivid footage of the effect of white phosphorus[3] allegedly used by Israel during a bomb attack on Gaza (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/20/gaza-white-phosphorus)[4].

The result – this time around too - was the disfiguration and destruction of Gaza City, one can look there at the face of hunger and plagues, the face of fire and the face of death; worst of all - the face of betrayal and the dreams that have not been fulfilled.

GAZA ATTACK TIMELINE can be seen at: http://mapmash.googlepages.com/gaza.html

It is important to note that the annexation of Jerusalem by Israel is illegal under international law.

---

[1] See “Wikipedia: Scorched earth” in http://www.answers.com/topic/scorched-earth

[2] Euphrates River history; http://web.bryant.edu/~langlois/ecology/history.htm

[3] “’Indisputable evidence’ of Israel’s use of white phosphorous against civilians” – see

http://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18024

[4] Also see “White phosphorous ignites on contact with oxygen. Flechettes expel razor sharp darts. DIME bombs cause large blasts over small areas.” http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/phosphorous%20controversy%20in%20gaza%20%20/2909012

Reconstruction of Gaza?

Becoming aware of one’s reality and surroundings, not only within ones arena, but also in and ‎around the world is vital and indispensable to a healthy future of any country.‎

Many leaders all over the world and through history have been trying to mask reality from their ‎people in an attempt to attain their own personal goals and ambitions.‎

Hence, raising awareness, as much as it is essential for dignity, freedom, and autonomy, is as ‎difficult to achieve, yet never impossible.‎

Muhammad Hasanain Haikal ‎ ‎, an Egyptian journalist, author, and politician, gave a talk on ‎television about the war on Gaza and the surrounding political back staging operations that took ‎place before, during and after. The following is a summary of his talk. ‎

The Arab world is on the brink of a new phase on the ground. It is in the throes of a very painful ‎phase, or one of transition, because the US and the West reached the conclusion that, it was no ‎more important that Arabs agree or object, or say yes or no, because they became highly ‎dispersed. Moreover, the most dangerous thing about this dispersion is that there is no longer a ‎party on the ground that could exist for negotiation.‎

In the midst of what was happening with the plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, there was a ‎visit by the European leaders to Israel, which was, at the time, a tantamount to save Israel from ‎the international claims seeking to put the Israelis on trial for what they have committed in Gaza. ‎The intent was to provide a sort of an “instrument of forgiveness” to Israel. ‎
‎ This came in response to Israel’s worry about voices calling to bring Israeli leaders to ‎prosecution, while others called for a trial by The International Criminal Court for the war crimes ‎committed in the Gaza Holocaust.‎

Mr. Haikal said that he was worried that all such preparations for the reconstruction of Gaza ‎would divert all attention to an entire and different arena in place of the political one dealing ‎with the Palestinian problem.‎

While former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, was being awarded a medal of honour by G. W. ‎Bush, Blair advised Bush to forget about the concept of spreading democracy among the Arab ‎countries. He further explained that the Arabs in the Middle East are far from understanding it, ‎not to mention accepting such concept because of their economic and social problems.‎

In the year 2006, there was an American planning set in place to get rid of Hamas (incidentally, ‎this was published in American newspaper). T. Blair requested from the Palestinian president ‎Mahmoud Abbas to work on the implementation of such plan. The failure of this plan caused ‎Israel to carry out the task of toppling Hamas itself, and to make the Palestinian arena filled with ‎emptiness.‎

At times, the US tempts us to pounce at that that we imagine is a risk to us, and when we ‎remove him from the scene, we become increasingly vulnerable.‎

Mr. Haikal is urging all Arabs, especially youth to open their eyes, be on the alert, and start ‎thinking about the US and European plans to dominate the Middle East, but in a new and ‎unfamiliar way.‎

Any Arab country would be wrong in thinking that any other than the North Atlantic Treaty ‎Organization would oversee the reconstruction of Gaza. A political process of an utmost ‎importance, is that there are large amounts of reconstruction would be allocated, and would not ‎be given to Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.‎

The Treaty Organization would govern all the allotted monies; NATO is coming to the region ‎strongly. We have to be aware that Israel exists as an associate member in the European Union ‎‎(EU). Mr Haikal added, “Here I say that the engineer of this movement is the European Tony ‎Blair, former British Prime Minister.”‎

Eliminating Hamas is not entirely accomplished yet. The signed treaty between Condoleezza ‎Rice (on her last days in office) and Israel’s Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, was about the ‎preparations in the area without the consultation of the concerned parties, aiming at imposing ‎some effects there.‎

There will be a backlash against Hamas, when such stage comes about and the awakening (after ‎the terrible nightmare) takes place and that is when Hamas will face its great losses.‎

Mr. Haikal ended his talk by referring to a new book called “A World of Trouble”, by Patrick ‎Tyler. The author “draws on newly opened presidential archives to dramatize the approach to the ‎Middle East across U.S. presidencies from Eisenhower to George W. Bush.‎ ‎” ‎

Understanding what is happening around us makes us recognize the need to become aware of the ‎much deviant propaganda that minimizes Israel’s war crimes by turning the world into spectators ‎looking at the crime scene merely as an amusement park, where the Arabs are regarded as ‎terrorists worthy of execution.‎

Clearly, what all this boil down to are two main problems; one is that some people, calling ‎themselves leaders of the superpower and the “advanced” countries, are playing games to see ‎who wins and keeps his presidency and popularity the longest. They are playing the weaker ‎countries as marionettes in their hands, believing that such third world and backward countries ‎are idiots and that with propaganda they would easily turn those Arabs into pallid clones of the ‎West.‎

The second problem is that the leaders and many of the people in the Arab world, especially from ‎among the youth find it somewhat appealing to be dominated, and thus accepting being ripped ‎off their dignity, in order to keep their power, position, image and all false and old myths about ‎the West being their idle and even their saviour.‎

In the end, the only way to counteract all such problems would be a unified awakening; that is to ‎spread awareness and that all Arabs would unite under the same goal and adopt the propaganda ‎that neutralizes that of the superpower.‎

{Quick Reflections 44} Corrupted Islam 3

To set the records straight and make sure we are all on the same page I would like to reiterate the following.
Islam is a very practical and realistic way of life. Nothing in its teachings or directions is theoretical. Definitely any topic or issue that is managed theoretically is not Islamic and if it is said to be then it is part of the corrupted Islam.

To understand in depth the difference between theory and practice and hence between corrupted and authentic Islamic topics or authorities I will relate a couple of experiences I went through. Each one of them could be considered a phase in my life that lasted for several years in my journey in trying to understand and filter through the ruble the diamond from the brass. After that understanding we will be able to recognize whom to trust and whom not to in terms of Islamic authorities or leaderships with a very high accuracy. Once we reach that stage of recognition we can then start believing and thinking about a plan for reform. Until then the corruption will further erode through all of us lead by the fifth column (whom we will extensively talk about at a later stage if God wills).


The first phase was experiencing “Islam the theory” which started as early as I can remember until college, around 18. The second phase is what I call “Real Life Islam” or “True Islam” that has started since then is on going until now.


Phase I: The Genius of Muhammad (Peace be upon him)

Unfortunately adults often underestimate children's memory and understanding. Hence many talents and potentials are buried underneath heaps and heaps of stereotyped school curricula and an unending list of meaningless do's and don’ts being learnt either at home or in school. Even worse they are usually misused to serve the most shallow meanings or causes. In the few instances that parents have recognized and well directed their children how to think and believe those children grew up to be great men who have a noble mission and a smart cause. For example Ralph Nader’s father, when he was 10 he asked him: “Well, Ralph, what did you learn in school today? Did you learn how to believe or did you learn how to think?”
That is not what I intended to talk about here, perhaps later!

When I was 4 years old I remember hearing my father discussing with my mother how they want to raise my brother and me. I remember him focusing mainly on morals and ethics. He continued to raise us in a “protected environment” where almost everything was perfect and there was minimal chance for any form of corruption or evil to cross our path until I was 12 years old. I did not realize that I was raised in a protected (unreal or theoretical) environment until years later when I went out to the “Real Life”. At that point I was reading the series of the “Geniuses” by Abbas el-Aqaad like, “The Genius of Omar”, “The Genius of Khalid” and others. The most intriguingly simple of which, at that time to me, was “The Genius of Muhammad” (peace be upon him). Of course Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has the most humanly perfect manners. However the way el-Aqaad presented it, in light of being raised in a protected environment on the same concepts, it seemed simple.

Phase II: Morals of the Muslim

After I was released from my protective cage to the real world, every day and every encounter with others was a test to all what I had learnt. I was around 18 when I started reading “Morals of the Muslim” by el-Ghazaly (may God’s mercy be upon him). It took me almost 2 years to finish the book. After each chapter discussing one moral or another I would stop and evaluate myself to see where I stand from that based on my daily interactions with others. After some achievement on the relevant moral in real life I would then move to the next chapter. It was the simplest book and most difficult one I have ever read in my life. Only then I started to realize the genius of Muhammad (peace be upon him) and that I know nothing and understand nothing. I had to start learning for real….

Only then I understood how easy it is to talk and preach and how difficult it is to practice what you preach in real life. Only then I slowly started to realize the difference between a preacher and a real practical Muslim living life at its fullest. Only then I realized the genius of Omar Ibn-el-Khattab as a man of actions not words.
You will notice that the most prominent companions of the Prophet (peace by upon him) and leaders of early Islam where not scholars and have not narrated many ahadeeth. On the contrary they all had tough jobs through which they earned money with which they helped Islam. They were not there all the time sitting at the feet of the Prophet (peace be upon him) listening to him. They would hear from him (peace be upon him) and be out there in life implementing what they learnt. That is how tough and strong they were. They were leaders from, and in, real life. They were not theoretical heroes and carriers of immense amounts of knowledge.

One of my best friends, who is a physician, was much stricter than me, in religious terms, when he was in a certain “research” position where life is easier and time is more abundant. Once he moved to another much more demanding clinical job with less free time and much more interaction with people he started to loosen up more and his views became more lenient, practical and applicable. Real life is not a protected environment like that entertained by most researchers and scholars.

It is easy to lock yourself up in a room amongst a pile of Islamic scholarly books and then come out every once in a while to tell people what to do and what not to do. After all you “learned” much more than them and they would not have the knowledge to argue with you. It is easy to direct people and judge them when you are living in a protected environment, where you receive your salary in a protected job, with everyone looking up to you and respecting you because of your knowledge. However that knowledge is mostly theoretical. You have not experienced the hardships of true life that an average man faces. Accordingly your “opinions” and “directions” to the poor average man are not practical or realistic.

With time the rift between the “theoretical scholars” and the “average Muslim” widens because most what the former directs to the later is not applicable and does not address real life. After a while some average people who try to listen to the theoretical scholars lose balance and become extremists in one part of the religion or another and totally abandon another part. The majority of other people lose interest in whatever those theoretical scholars say and slowly sway away from religion. After centuries of that practice you end up with the current situation of corrupted Islam. You have “knowledgeable unrealistic scholars”, “extremists to one end or another” and a majority of Muslims losing trust in Islam as a whole because of the 2 other groups.

However that is not the whole story. There is a very important fourth group that ensures the maintenance of the status quo; the hypocrites or the fifth columnists.