Al-Madinah Academy

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

I received this commentary about an article that I wrote about Remembrance Day and thought I should briefly respond to some of the main points. The original comments are in red and my responses are in black:

this article in my opinion is wrong.

The issue of right and wrong, good and bad, Halâl and Harâm, etc. are not based on opinion. They are based upon the Qur’ân and the Sunnah, according to the understanding of the Sahâbah and the scholars after them.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تُقَدِّمُوا بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ 

O you who Believe! Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allâh and His Messenger [1]

 

Al-Qurtubî said, “In other words, do not put any action nor any statement forward before Allâh and the statements of His Messenger, صلى الله عليه وسلم, and his actions, in that which taking from him is possible in matters of the Dunyâ and the Religion.” And he said also: “(Do not put (yourselves) forward before Allâh), is a basis for abandoning any opposition to the statements of the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, and the obligation of following him and taking him as a leader.” [2] 

And Ibn Al-Qayyim said, “(Do not put (yourselves) forward …) In other words do not say (anything) until he says, and do not order (anything) until he orders, and do not give Religious verdicts until he gives religious verdicts, and do not state any matter for certain until he is the one who ruled concerning it and concluded it…” – until he said – “…and the all inclusive opinion concerning the meaning of the Âyah: Do not be hasty with a saying nor with an action before the Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, says or acts.” [3]

And he said: “The origin of every Fitnah is from nothing except putting the opinion ahead of the Shara’ and the desires ahead of the intellect.” [4]

wrong i say because the person writing has torn apart and twisted the things about remembrance day and taken them out of context.

I would understand this claim had I stated that Remembrance Day was something that it was not, or made up an explanation from my own mind. However, when the explanation and definition quoted is the explanation and definition of those who invented and continue to celebrate the day, I am not sure what one could do that would be considered leaving things in context. If they state that the day they invented is such and such, would it make sense for me to come and say: “No, actually what they define it as is such and such.”

i am a muslim, Alhamdulillah for that. But, i am also a Canadian, and i enjoy the freedoms i have as a Canadian that i only have because of those that fought in war to protect those freedoms. I wear a poppy, and i wear it because i remember EVERYONE that died so that i could have the freedoms i have today. soldiers enlisted, and civilians as well who died from as they say 'collateral damage' these days. there were men and women from all walks of life and continue to be. they fought for freedom of oppression among other freedoms. and perhaps they fought for other reasons too, i don't know, because i don't know their intentions. i don't know what was in their hearts and minds when they fought, but i do know the result of that which they did and i am thankful for the result. i see many countries in the world that do not enjoy the same freedoms that i have, now and in the past, and i am thankful to Allah first that i was not born there and must live there all my life. But i am also thankful to those people who in their ability to make a choice on how to live their life, chose to try to keep me and countless others that will follow me after my death able to enjoy these 'freedoms'. i am sorry for the writer of this article, that he does not understand this. when i wear my poppy or give my minute of silence, i do it as a collaborative way of saying 'Thank you'. If this is wrong, then i do not know what right is. May Allah guide me and all persons to the straight path, may he forgive me and all persons for our sins committed knowinglly and unknowingly. May he help those in the world that still live under oppression and may he continue to give courage to those that are willing to try and do something about it. Ameen. And Allah knows best.

There is an idea that is propagated today that freedom is something that is unrestrictedly good. There is also the idea that the words freedom and tyranny or freedom and oppression are antonyms in every sense of their meanings. What I mean is that, someone will say that: “If you are against freedom, you are for tyranny,” or “If you are against freedom, you are for tyranny.”

In Islâm, we do not view things in these terms; that it is either freedom (good) or oppression (bad). We view things in light of the Qur’ân and the Sunnah. If something is restricted in the Qur’ân and Sunnah, then upholding this restriction, which takes away an aspect of freedom, is good.

قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُم مَّا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ لَكُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ فَجَعَلْتُم مِّنْهُ حَرَامًا وَحَلاَلاً قُلْ آللّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمْ أَمْ عَلَى اللّهِ تَفْتَرُونَ 

Say (O Muhammad SAW to these polytheists): "Tell me, what provision Allâh has sent down to you! And you have made of it lawful and unlawful." Say (O Muhammad SAW): "Has Allâh permitted you (to do so), or do you invent a lie against Allâh?" [5]

 

تِلْكَ حُدُودُ اللّهِ فَلاَ تَقْرَبُوهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللّهُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ 

These are the limits (set) by Allâh, so approach them not. Thus does Allâh make clear His Âyât (proofs, evidences, lessons, signs, revelations, verses, laws, legal and illegal things, Allâh's set limits, orders, etc.) to mankind that they may become the pious. [6]

And if something is permitted by the Qur’ân and the Sunnah, then restricting it is bad; not because it is anti-freedom, but because it contradicts the Sharî’ah.

Allâh, تعالى, stated:

قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللّهِ الَّتِيَ أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِ وَالْطَّيِّبَاتِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِ قُلْ هِي لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا خَالِصَةً يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كَذَلِكَ نُفَصِّلُ الآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ 

Say (O Muhammad, صلى الله عليه وسلم): "Who has forbidden the adoration with clothes given by Allâh, which He has produced for his slaves, and At-Tayyibât [all kinds of Halâl (lawful) things] of food?" Say: "They are, in the life of this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (believers) on the Day of Resurrection (the disbelievers will not share them)." Thus We explain the Âyât (Islâmic laws) in detail for people who have knowledge. [7]

Another extremely important issue to note here is that the fact that something good comes from an action or from a person, this does not by any means prove that this person or action was good, nor does it warrant us to thank the person for the action they performed.

الم غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِن قَبْلُ وَمِن بَعْدُ وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنصُرُ مَن يَشَاء وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ 

Alif­ Lâm ­Mîm. The Romans have been defeated. In the nearer land (Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine), and they, after their defeat, will be victorious. Within three to nine years. The decision of the matter, before and after (these events) is only with Allâh,. And on that Day, the believers will rejoice (at the victory given by Allâh to the Romans against the Persians), With the help of Allâh, He helps whom He wills, and He is the All­-Mighty, the Most Merciful. [8]

And when this event took place, despite the Romans being closer to the truth, the Muslims did not give days of remembrance for them, have moments of silence, and so on. They were happy for the good that came out of it, yet they did not thank them for what they did, praise them, say: “We have a connection because we both follow a book,” or anything similar to what is done today.

And on the authority of Abû Hurayrah, رضي الله عنه, that the Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said, “Verily Allâh will support this Religion with a wicked man.” [9]

And this statement was regarding a man who was found dead on the battlefield. The Sahâbah stated that he was in Jannah, but the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, replied that he was in the Fire. Then they found out that he had stolen from the spoils of war.

So despite the fact that this wicked man was a Muslim who directly supported Islâm, this did not make him praiseworthy due to what he did. So what would we say about someone who is not even Muslim, and did not support the religion?

You are right in the fact that we do not know what is in the hearts. And it is exactly this point that makes us say that we do not look beyond the fact that these people died fighting for something other than Islâm, and they died fighting for the ‘freedoms’ that we ‘enjoy’ today.

When the outward is good, we accept it until it is proven otherwise:

On the authority of Usâmah Ibn Zayd, رضي الله عنه, who said: “The Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, sent us out in a platoon and in the morning we attacked al-Huruqât from Juhaynah, at which point I met a man. So he said: ‘Lâ Ilâha Illâ Allâh,’ then I stabbed him. Then something took place within me concerning that, so I mentioned it to the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم. So the Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said: ‘Did he say ‘Lâ Ilâha Illâ Allâh’, and then you killed him?’ He said: ‘I said: ‘O Messenger of Allâh, he only said it out of fear of (being struck by) weapons.’ He said: ‘Did you open up his heart to see whether it (i.e. his heart) said it or not? ’ Then he did not cease repeating that to me until I had wished that I had entered into Islâm that day.” [10]

When the outward is bad, we judge based upon that, until we are disproven.

‛Ubaydullâh bin Abî Râfi‛, said, ‘I heard ‛Alî, may Allâh be pleased with him, saying, ‘The Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه و سلم, sent me, Az-Zubayr and Al-Miqdâd somewhere saying, ‘Proceed till you reach Rawdhat Khâkh. There you will find a lady with a letter. Take the letter from her.’ So, we set out and our horses ran at full pace till we got at Ar-Rawdhah where we found the lady and said (to her), ‘Take out the letter.’ She replied, ‘I have no letter with me.’ We said, ‘Either you take out the letter or else we will take off your clothes.’ So, she took it out of her braid. We brought the letter to the Prophet, صلى الله عليه و سلم, and it contained a statement from Hâtib bin Abî Balta‛ah to some of the people of the Mushrikîn of Makkah informing them of some of the plans of the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم. So the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم said, ‘O Hâtib, what is this?’ Hâtib replied, ‘O Messenger of Allâh, do not rush to judgment in my case. I was a man closely connected with the Quraysh, but I did not belong to their tribe. While the other emigrants with you, had their relatives in Makkah who would protect their families and wealth in Makkah. So, I wanted to recompense for my lacking blood relation to them by doing them a favor so that they might protect my relatives. I did not do that, while disbelieving nor while apostatizing from my religion.’ So the Prophet, صلى الله عليه و سلم, said, ‘Verily, he has told you the truth.’ Then ‛Umar said, O Messenger of Allâh, permit me to strike his neck.” So he (i.e. the Prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم) said, ‘Verily, he participated at Badr. And what informs you? Perhaps Allâh, the Powerful, the Mighty, looked upon the people of Badr and said, ‘Do as you wish, for I have forgiven you.” ‛Amr said, ‘And for him, was revealed: O you who believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies as friends (Awliyâ’)… [11] – The Hadîth. [12]

And in a narration of Muslim, “And I did not do so while disbelieving, nor while apostatizing, nor while being pleased with disbelief (Kufr) after Islâm.”

So despite the virtue that was given to Hâtib, the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم, did not rebuke ‘Umar for his reaction, as he only did so based upon what he was shown.

And in a Hadîth of ‘Â’ishah, رضي الله عنها, that when the Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, went out to Badr, a man came to him and told him that he came to go out with him and attain spoils of war with him. The Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, asked him: “Do you believe in Allâh and His Messenger?” He said: “No.” He said: “Then go back, as I will not seek help from a mushrik.” He came back two more times, and the Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, asked him the same each time, and replied the same way, until the third time when the man replied: “Yes.” So the Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, said to him: “Then go forth.” [13]

So here a man was going to bring a direct benefit to the Muslims, yet the Messenger of Allâh, صلى الله عليه وسلم, did not thank him, and did not even accept him being present amongst the Muslims until he entered Islâm. Compare this to thanking and commemorating people who fought and/or died for something other than Islâm.

Lastly, this idea of freedoms is one that needs to be examined. The freedoms being mentioned may give people less coercion and more economic freedom, and other benefits, especially compared with other countries in the world. However, these same freedoms give people the freedom to worship whatever they want, however they want. People have the right to legislate anything they want, that contradicts the Sharî’ah. People are free to fornicate with whomever they want before and during marriage. Alcohol can be bought, sold, made and consumed freely. Muslim countries are attacked without issue, as long as those in authority approve it. Islâmic marriages and divorces are not recognized. Niqâb is being systematically banned. And so on and so on.

One might say that: “Well at least we are free and aren’t being persecuted.”

But Allâh, تعالى, said:

وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ 

And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. [14]

Referring to disbelief being worse than fighting in the Haram.

وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ

And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. [15]

Referring to disbelief being worse than fighting in the Sacred Months.

As for the issue of being Canadian, then this is something that does not mean anything in Islâm. I have discussed this in detail in an article entitled: “The Islâmic View Concerning Canada Day,” so please review these matters there.

And Allâh knows best.