Re-Evaluating the Notion of Isrâ and Mi’râj in Ibadi Tradition

The notion of mi’râj (the heavenly journey of Prophet Muhammad) is an important non-homogenic topic, although it is not often handled in Ibadi intellectual, s¯ırah (biography of the Prophet) and exegetical traditions. In this article, we analyse the treatment of the subject chronologically in the Ibadi tradition. We discuss the Ibadis’ main concerns on the subject, how they differ, what inferences they make from the related verses, s¯ırah, hadith and exegetical (tafsir) reports, and most importantly whether they accept the notion of mi’râj. This article analyses the notion of isrâ because of its close relationship to mi’râj. In summary, there are variations on the issue of mi’râj among the North African and Omani Ibadis. Even more interesting is the existence of significant nuances among the Omani Ibadis. In short, while all North African Ibadis accept mi’raj as an event, it is observed that some Omani Ibadis accept it, while others sometimes reject it for religious and sometimes rational grounds.

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Concept and Historical Process

     Backed up by reference to texts and historical events, there is an analysis common in western political and cultural circles of the Muslim relationship with the modern state. It argues that most Muslims reject the state and the demands of citizenship. The argument further asserts that Muslims reject the equality of others and the need to find a modus vivendi with them, be that within societies whose majority is Muslim or any other. This assertion rests upon the perception that ‘citizenship’ in Islam is still a matter for debate at least with respect to how it is defined and whether it really belongs within the Muslim frame of reference.

     Hamilton Gibb who first put forward the thesis that Islam has no notion of ‘state’. State structures that came into being under Islam bore the names of the families who ruled them — the Umayyads, the ‘Abbâsids, the Fâtimids, the Ottomans, etc. Frontiers were not seen as defining sovereignty or nation; borders were used to define land tax (kharâj) and the alms tax (zakât) that could be collected. The land area of the state and its sovereign control, therefore, did not define a legally recognized citizenry. Furthermore, the interaction between those living within it was governed by religious and denominational distinctions. Therefore [non-Muslims] were subject to the religious head tax (jizyah). People’s loyalty was not attached to the state so much as it was governed by emotional and sectarian considerations.

     Sometimes this debate is blatant and at other times subtle, but Islamic revivalism has latched onto these principles elevating them to the level of theological teaching and dogma. Once the idea of the Caliphate was accepted and agreed upon as a political structure it was transformed into a matter fundamental to religion. Other ideas of the early Islamic periods, like the Muslim ‘commonwealth’ (ummah) and jihâd and others, have received a religious patina and been given ideological status at least among certain Islamic political parties.

     Clearly this has had an ongoing negative impact particularly upon Muslims who emigrate. They find themselves compromised with respect to their loyalties to the countries to which they have emigrated. Their sense of citizenship is rendered unstable by reason of their distressed perspective on the world and the people around them. God Almighty has said, “Whoever slaughters a soul save in response to murder or for sowing the earth with corruption, it is as though that person had killed all people; whoever saves a life, it is as though he gave life to all people.” (Qur’ân, Sûrah 5:32)

     In the first instance we note that the issue of citizenship, be that from a constitutional or a legal perspective, is a modern conundrum introduced by the nation state in its current international guise. But the principles it promotes — equality, rights, and reciprocal responsibilities that pay no attention to religion, or race, or doctrine, or political affiliation — these are bedrock Islamic principles supported by texts and the historical record. The word of God Almighty, as recorded in the Holy Qur’ân, speaks of truth and justice. The Holy Qur’ân reports that the Almighty created the human being as one soul and, from that soul, created its partner. Equality, therefore, is the rule governing human origins and human values, not least of all between man and woman. In Muslim society, as in all human societies, there are social, political and economic gradations. But there is no pyramid! There is no distinction in dignity or in justice. Human dignity is anchored in what the Holy Qur’ân says about the roots of the human person. This applies also to the innate value of the human being and to human rights. When the hypocrites said to the Muslims, their compatriots in the city of Madînah, ‘If we come back to Madînah, the strong will drive out the weak!’ the Holy Qur’ân answered that strength belongs to God, to his Prophet, and to the faithful. These are those, according to the Holy Qur’ân and according to the Prophet’s own witness, committed to upholding dignity and freedom.

     Human equality, so dignified by the text of the Holy Qur’ân, has been a powerful force in Islam’s worldwide mission. The folk of religious insight (fuquhâ’) see the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] as belonging to ‘the Muslim fold’ (dâr-ul-islâm). In modern terms that might be rendered, they have the rights of citizens. It is a recurring refrain, with regard to the people of the covenant (ahl-ud-dhimmah) in the peace treaties following conquests, ‘They have what we have; they are held to account in the same way we are.’ The experience of the Muslim state expanded to include within its embrace people other than the People of the Book — Zoroastrians, Buddhists, and Hindus. Most of the religious scholars entered them into the lists of Peoples of the Book as regards rights and responsibilities.

     This has implied several things. First, ‘there is no compulsion in religion.’ They are free to hold to their religion, pray and conduct their religious observances. These are guaranteed under the law of Muslim society. Second, human freedom will be protected, including the freedom of expression and action. Third, there is the right to own property and to travel. Fourth, social security in the Muslim state embraces even the non-Muslim poor. They all benefit from the proceeds of the alms tax (not just from the treasury of the state as such). It is unreasonable to expect, in the long course of history, that everything will have conformed to the ideal, but through most of our normative history there were no policies laid down to discriminate between Muslims and non-Muslims. True, there remain issues outstanding that have to do with laws of personal status, evangelistic witness and payment the head tax (jizyah). We do not think these will prevail against the principle of citizenship so long as freedoms, commitments, and mutual bonds remain intact.

     All of this means that the state in the Muslim social context is an administrative and political instrument for a society that is pluralistic in religion and also with regard to the whole gamut of political, social and cultural tastes. The state, therefore, looks upon its constituents with a watchful eye toward equality and commitment. Neutrality in this regard does not mean that the state pays no attention to religion (as may be the case in some of Europe’s systems). On the contrary, it means that it is committed — as is required by its position of Islamic trust — to preserve religious freedom, to strengthen that which is ethical and those values that sustain social stability, security, well-being, accountability, and the rights of its individuals and groups.

     The notion of citizenship has a specific and individual dimension that is the person’s own. But that personal significance is incarnated within society, a body politic and a state that has the responsibility to care for its citizens. It begins with a sense of neighborhood and a willingness to show respect. Within the dynamic of social interaction through civil society, it funnels into the effort to develop cooperation that is founded upon equality and universal justice. This all is rationalized under the umbrella of the state, its executive agencies, and its benign oversight. You cannot pull apart these interlocking circles, individual tribal, provincial, ideological or religious predilections notwithstanding. This is because citizenship is founded upon a shared language and history that conspires to defend the homeland and shoulder the responsibility to protect it.

     Citizenship is not established through rendering the people docile. It must cross-pollinate with the identity the migrants in the cause of coexistence. Diversity and pluralism are the hallmarks of civilized society. But all of that returns to a sense of common direction.

     As for interaction with non-citizens or those not subject to the regulations of the state, the well-known qur’ânic verse in the Sûrah of ‘The Stones’ applies: “O people, we created you, male and female, and formed you into peoples and tribes so that you might come to know each other.” (Qur’ân, Sûrah 49:13) This brings us back to the common root of humankind. Each person has the same value. Subsequent differentiations on the basis of gender or social status do not contradict that common root but, perversely, confirm it. In the end we will come to know one another. What that means is that we will recognize each other as individuals, as people with opinions, beliefs, predilections and personal interests. First and foremost, we will recognize each other under the rubric of the one notion of human dignity. If human relations within Muslim society and beyond rest upon reciprocal knowledge and recognition, there remains no space for major conflicts except on the basis of two conditions that the Holy Qur’ân defines: “God does not restrict relations between you and those who show you no violence because of your religion or who do not drive you from you homes. You may declare them innocent and deal fairly with them.” (Qur’ân, Sûrah 60:8) Therefore there are two main threats to Islam throughout the world. They are, on the one hand, oppression and imperialism and, on the other, discrimination and religious, cultural and racial persecution. These are two things that, in dignity, honorable and lofty-minded human nature must reject. No Muslim and not any person with a sense of his or her worth can tolerate them. Events in our new and modern world and all its institutions seem founded upon these two problems: the usurpation of property (imperialism) and religious, racial and gender discrimination.

     If this is the situation, then why are Muslims so concerned about the issue of citizenship? Indeed, why does this issue so preoccupy others throughout the world? The problem does not have only one source. The world at large has to bear much of the responsibility for what we suffer in our land, as well as for the emergence of extremism. We, ourselves, must bear a great deal of responsibility for misunderstanding how we relate to others and to each other. Ours alone is the responsibility for those extremist expressions that deny the ‘other’. And that’s not just limited to calumnies against Muslims and non-Muslims. After all we have both rights and responsibilities. What we want for ourselves, for our societies and for our world at large is that we may, competently and responsibly, be enabled to rise to the challenges of accountability and move forward so that we may claim our rights.

 

Reference:

Concept and Historical Process, by: Abdullah bin Muhammad al Salimi, Al-Tafahom Magazine, issue number 03/2008.

 

Is The Holy Qur'an Really from Allah?

The Doctrine of the Holy Qur’an

Is the Holy Qur'an really from Allah?

﴾But [as for thee, O believer,] verily, thou hast received this Qur’an out of the grace of One who is wise, all-knowing (6).﴿ [Surah An-Naml: 6]

How can we verify that this Holly Qur'an is not from the words of men, that this religion and this law are not of their laws, and that they are truly from Allah?

In this conclusion, we will first go beyond the verses of promise and threat, and we will go beyond all the verses that highlight the Holy Qur’an’s scientific, linguistic and semantic miraculousness. Allah Almighty says:

﴾Say: 'If mankind and jinn combined together to produce the like of this Koran, they would never be able to produce one like it, not even if they were to help one another. ' (88)﴿  [Surah Al-Isra:88]

We contemplate its purposes, objectives, legislations and ultimate goals, and follow carefully to the end:

Allah the Greatest says in His Holly Book:

﴾Taha.(1) We have not sent down the Qur'an unto you to cause you distress. (2) ﴿ [Surah Taha: 1-2]

Meaning: you should not suffer while you have this Qur'an; a speech to all who believed in it, followed it and applied it as a system for their lives.

We find this interpretation in Surah Taha: 123 itself:

﴾He said: Go down hence, both of you, one of you a foe unto the other. But, if there come unto you from Me a guidance, then whoso followeth My guidance, he will not go astray nor come to grief. (123) ﴿ [Surah Taha: 123]

His Almighty said:

﴾but whosoever turns away from My remembrance, his life shall be narrow and on the Day of Resurrection We shall raise him blind (124) ﴿ [Surah Taha: 124]

﴾If they (the idolaters) tread the right path, We shall give them to drink of water in abundance (16) ﴿  [Surah Al-Jinn:16]

Allah Almighty says:

﴾Whosoever doeth right, whether male or female, and is a believer, him verily We shall quicken with good life, and We shall pay them a recompense in proportion to the best of what they used to do.(97) ﴿ [Surah An-Nahl: 97]

When we reflect on the verses of the Qur'an from the beginning to the end and contemplate its legislations and laws, we find that the Holy verses centered on protecting, preserving, and purifying us as well as cleansing us from the contamination of the mind, the dispersion of thought and the tightness of the chest. This is through watching over the integrity of the foregoing along with the protection of our body, its wellness, purity and health.

1- For when Allah, the Absolute Truth, addresses me in His Holy Book and tells me to believe that there is no Allah but Him; Who Has no partner, He has thus saved my mind from the dispersion of thought and its confusion in the multiplicity of gods and idols (Polytheism). Further, He graced me with the mind to weigh things in its scales to realize that by the multiplicity of gods the universe is corrupted, and thus has preserved my dignity from submitting to a weak creature just like myself.

2- When He says to me: you should glorify your Lord with His praise; He purified my soul, cleansed my heart, soothed my chest, relieved my mind and healed me from obsessions, worries and anxiety.

3- When He commands me to mention Him frequently and recite His Book, He protects me from the evils of myself and protects me from the evils of the hidden worlds surrounding me that are only known by Him. He says:

﴾Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the daybreak (1) ﴿ [Surah Al-Falaq:1] And ﴾Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the mankind (1) ﴿  [Surah An-nas:1]

As well as in many verses and in the adhkkar of the purified Sunnah.

4- When He commands me to walk on the earth, to look carefully and to implement reasoning by contemplating into His kingdom, His cosmic miracles and His Qur'anic verses, He brings serenity, peace to my heart and comfort, relaxation and well-being to my body.

5- When He commands me to perform His worship rituals of prayer, fasting, zakat, among others, there is an urgent benefit and an urgent need for the serenity of my spirit and my soul, and the goodness of my body and my life.

6- When He commands me to be dutiful to my parents, He commands my children, in return, to be dutiful to me.

7- When He commands me to raise up my child well, take care of him, discipline him, educate him, and choose his name well, then that is part of my duties.

8- When He commands me to maintain my kinship ties, He commands my relatives to maintain kinship ties with me too.

9- When He commands me to treat my neighbour well and warns me not to hurt him, He commands him to treat me well and warns him not to hurt me. This further includes the passerby, poor, captive, companion, and whoever remains under my protection. He, too, warns me not to hurt or offend them as He commands them to treat me in the same way, as I might be, to others, one of the previously mentioned.

10- In His commandments, He stresses on His right to be worshipped by me and that I should be dutiful to my parents. He elaborates on my responsibilities towards my kinship and the poor, and speak good to all people whoever they might be, and pardon them, and commands me to restrain my anger, He actually, aims at goodness and virtues to lift me out of racism, discrimination and inferiority to be a valuable balanced individual in my humanity with those around me. Hence, that is my right, which Allah have granted me and imposed onto them.

Continued…

11- When He gives the poor great value in His Holy Book in several occasions, and He commands me to give to charity, help the needy and aid the oppressed. And when Allah, further, urges me to take good care of the poor, and consider their needs by observing their outside appearance and life conditions as to preserve their dignity and save their face. And when Allah warns me not to follow the charity with injury, He actually commands them to be kind to me and pay attention to my needs, as I might be like them.

12- When He punishes the criminal, the corruptor, the thief, the bribe-taker, the cheater, the aggressor and the oppressor, and threatens to torture them, He actually protects me from them and saves my life, money, and all my rights from their evils.

I believe: ‘There is ˹security of˺ life for you in ˹the law of˺ retaliation’ as Allah says in His Holy Book; (179)) Surah Al-Baqarah

13- When Almighty sets the inheritance laws and even sets the rights for those in the wombs of their mothers, according to given authorities and priorities, He imposes my rights and protects them from manipulation and violation.

14- He warns me against arrogance, envy, and rancor, and urges me to be patient and forgiving. He warns me against gossip, ridicule, slander, lying, false statements and espionage. He warns me against gazing at the free women of other men (non-mahram), spreading obscenity, accusing chaste man or women and committing indecent assaults, in deed or in words. He orders me to cover up, be chaste and reconciler among people, seek to bring their hearts together, stay away from persecution or sedition (fitnah), violence, and mistrust. Accordingly, Allah imposes on others to respect my privacy, and thus protects my dignity, honor, home, and my family from any violation. This is to live my life and those around me in a dignified, compassionate, clean and pure environment.

15- When He commands me to be kind to the orphans and warns me from devouring his property unjustly, He, further, instructs me to keep the covenant and treat well the weak, the widow, the poor, the traveler and the beggar. Hence, Allah preserves my rights, as I might be one of them.

16- When Allah makes the truth, justice and balance basic requirements for every right-holder, He consolidates the laws and regulations of transactions such as selling, buying, and having debts, among others. He, further, warns me from tampering with my money in gambling, pleasure and corruption. As such, Allah controls my rights and protects them from manipulation, recklessness, injustice and deceitfulness.

17- And when Allah legislates an integrated system to manage household affairs, starting with how to treat and be kind to my husband, my children, and whoever lives with me in my house, and ending with the entire community and all that is related to marriage, divorce, breastfeeding, weaning, visits, and the etiquette of asking permission to enter. When He even determines to me the most sensitive times of the day (to rest or sleep), and guides me to lower my gaze (ghadh albasar). In this sense, Allah directs disciplines and teaches them to guarantee my rights, happiness, stability, and tranquility in my home, family, and environment.

18- When He distinguishes my female kind with a surah in His Holy Book (Surat al-Nisaa) that highlights my affairs and preserves my right to whatever possible injustice, domination and oppression of some men, He, in fact, takes justice for me.

19- Allah enacts general rights and morals for the gathering halls (majalis) and the paths, such as removing what is harmful from the path, clearing the path for the passers-by and respecting their rights and being moderate in my pace. He commands me to speak the truth, be polite and lower my voice, and to return the greetings in the same way or better (whatever this greeting is or whomever it is from). He orders me to be faithfully true to their trusts, Amanat (all the duties, which Allah has ordained, honesty, moral responsibility etc.) and warns me against perjury or suppress the testimony of truth, even if it means putting parents, my relatives, and myself on the line. He recommends me to establish justice and balance, and He commands me to keep the secret. As such, He disciplines them all to deal with me accordingly, and to respect my personality by rejecting racism and discrimination, and He recommends them all to coexist peacefully with me, as a human being created by Him; Allah Almighty.

20- Allah makes lawful the good types of food (waste not by extravagance). He prohibits for me the evil food, such as the flesh of the swine and the dead animals (those animals killed by strangling or by a violent blow or by a headlong fall or by the goring of horns, and those from which a wild animal has eaten). He prohibits me from drinking blood and wine. Consequently, He takes care of my health and saves my body from ills and misfortunes.

21- He commands me to give my opponents their rights and supports my enemy against me, if he is subjected to my injustice. He orders me to be fair and tell them the truth, even if this means I turn against the dearest people to me. He commands me not to cheat or betray them in a treaty or in a trade of peace or war, even in the worst times of war. He forbids me to be harmed by a non-combatant like an elder man, a child, a slave, or the man who is secured in his house. He orders me not to cut a palm tree or any other tree in vain, drown or burn it. He orders me not to burn down a building, or demolish it. He orders me not to kill an animal or hurt it, and most of all, not to maltreat dead bodies of any creature, whoever or whatever it is. In doing so, He preserves my right as a human being, even if I am a disbeliever of His true religion of Islam.

22- He forbids me from exaggeration in the consumption of the sources of good and bounties, and commands me to be merciful in the slaughter of cattle and to be kind to animals as well as to void harming insects, birds or plants. In this way in fact and only for my sake, He takes care of my surroundings and environment and preserves my right in what He has created and subjected for my benefit.

23- He undertakes me in my life style and sets laws and manners similar to the so-called "art of etiquette", though incomparable. He has disciplined me in how to eat, drink, dress, cohabit, relieve oneself, sleep, walk, bathe, purify (in the state of Janabah or at the end of a woman’s monthly period) and present a good appearance. He explored attentively the details of my movements in His Holy Book, in addition to the illustrations of the purified Sunnah of our Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) who speaks not of (his own) desire. The common Sunnah of cleanliness routine elaborates on, for example, using stones to clean one’s private parts after answering nature call, cutting off the foreskin of the male organ, shaving the pubic hair, cutting the mustache, clipping the nails, plucking the hair found in the armpits. Also, using siwak stick (the exalted to clean the teeth and the mouth), washing and applying oil to the hair and combing it. This is among other nuances of the delicate, polite and elegant Sunnah. This is to the extent where I think of myself a descendant of a noble and royal monarch, who is committed to abide by the shape and the form of royal protocols. Not the protocols of the kings of the earth, but rather the path of the kings of the prophets and apostles.

What a religion is this? What a law is this? What a constitutional Holy Book is this? That not only elevates soul and myself to the highest degrees and ascents of perfection, but also prepares me to enter the kingdom of heaven and the vastness of paradise. If it is not from Allah, the Wise and the Aware, then who?

How so? When I see the waves of people, from all corners of the earth, heading towards Him, the sensible minds sheltering in Him and settling on Him, and the righteous hearts thirsty for His oasis. Every day I see droves of people surrender to Him in the East and the West of the world and only a malicious and vicious disbeliever deviates away from Him. Thus, I am certain that this Book is not the work of men or others, nor of their laws that are plagued by imperfection, injustice and imbalance; the laws designed to fit only a particular time. Rather, it is the true and eternal religion of the Great Wise Creator Who has revealed the Qur’an to guide me, light the path before me, to have mercy upon me and to heal me. Hence, I am the ultimate beneficiary, if I perceive it as He commanded me or otherwise, I am to be doomed as the greatest loser.

﴾We have brought down to you the book for the people with the truth. (41) ﴿  [Surah Az-Zumar:41]

A Holy Book meets the interests of human beings and its discourse addressed to them all.

If there is no promise neither threat, but this mortal world, then I should not want anything instead of this Holy Book. If I have a weight of an atom of reason, sense and awareness, I would still choose this religion. How could I not? Especially, when Allah has promised to grant me a garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth, prepared for the righteous who believed in him, obeyed him, stood uprightly on His path. When He, on the other hand, promised severe torment to those who disbelieved in Him, disobeyed His commands and rebelled against His rule.

As a woman, it is enough for me that Almighty God honored the action of a woman like me (Hajar, peace be upon her) when she was walking back and forth between Al-Safa and Al-Marwa for the sake of saving her son (Ismail, peace be upon him), and made her path a sacred ritual of Islam, to be followed (in pilgrimage rites) by the whole nation, men and women, till the Day of Judgment.

Almighty God also dedicated a whole chapter (Surah) in His book to a woman, namely the Virgin Mary (peace be upon her) as a praise and honor for her, while there are prophets who are not mentioned in His book. Almighty God also mentioned in His book how He conciliated the mother of His prophet Moses with great ease. Her story is recited in His great Book till the Day of Judgment as an honor to her.

So, what religion honors woman as the religion of Islam, and what religion preserves her dignity as it does?

 

By: Khalsah Said Alharthy

 

Eid

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The Relationship Between Hajj and the Hereafter

Here is a Friday Khutbah delivered by Sheikh Hatim Aal Abdissalam. It is about the relationship between Hajj and the Hereafter. This Khutbah is so beneficial for those who have been chosen by Allah to take the amazing Journey of Hajj, and are preparing themselves for this journey.

Hajj is one of the Pillars of Islam and performing it is prescribed on us once in a lifetime.

The Journey of Hajj is not like any other journey. It is a journey that reminds us of the Hereafter, and believing in the Hereafter is one of the Pillars of Faith.

Ibadi Hadith and the Reliability of its Transmitters

Despite being a school that began its formalization process in the second half of the first century AH, the Ibāḍī school remains under-appreciated and often misunderstood by mainstream Islamic scholarship. A limited understanding of its early sources, foundational figures, and guiding principles has led both Muslim and non-Muslim researchers to unevidenced conclusions and has denied Ibāḍī scholars a voice in detailing the history of their own school.

In order to offer a corrective perspective, Terron and Roxanna from the Real Talk Podcast are very pleased to have the opportunity to talk to Shaykh Al-Muatasim Said Al-Maawali of Sultan Qaboos University, who is currently completing his PhD on Ibāḍī ḥadīth literature at the University of Birmingham. His previous work includes an extended comparative study of Ibāḍī and Ḥanafī jurisprudence, a seminal article that takes a multidisciplinary approach to examining the distinction between the Ibāḍīs and the Khawārij, and a seven-volume series on Ibāḍī Jurisprudence called al-Mu‘tamad. The first volume, "The Reliable Jurisprudence of Prayer," he has translated into English himself. In his PhD work, he is seeking to carry out a codicological and jurisprudential study of the rarely studied manuscripts of the Ibāḍī ḥadīth collection Musnad ar-Rabīᶜ b. Ḥabīb, addressing key questions regarding its early provenance, the historical existence of its compiler, and the reliability of its transmitters and the ittiṣāl between them. The project will then focus on a case study of one of the collection’s unique narrations and its current application in the growing Islamic banking industry in the Sultanate of Oman.

 

Eid

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