You are ALL invited to read about the Cinderella of Islam, a
book by Soud H. Al Ma'awaly.
But why this book has this unique title? The author says:
"Some of those who reviewed the book before publication
were not happy with its title. They felt the name was reminiscent of a
fairy-tale while Ibadhism was a fact which existed within the Islamic
community. The word Cinderella means a person or thing of unrecognized or
disregarded merit.
In all Islamic
sects there are differences not only among themselves but also within each one
of them. These differences are the result of disagreements in the
interpretations of the Qur’an or Hadiths or historical events. They are
tolerated and papered over if they occur within a group of sects. They are only
magnified
and made serious if the Ibadhi sect is involved.
And the fact
that they share the same beliefs in the basic principles of Islam and that
Ibadhis differ only in the subsidiary issues is not enough, in the eyes of the
sectarian fanatics, to qualify them for full membership of the Islamic
brotherhood. The sectarian fanatics are determined to exclude the sect from the
mainstream of Islam and to treat them as heretics or even apostates.
For the reasons
stated above, the author could find no better
title than the one he has chosen for the book." [
And, here is the contents List of the book with direct links to each chapter.
CONTENTS
And, here is the contents List of the book with direct links to each chapter.
CONTENTS
About the
Author
Title
Acknowledgment
Chapter 6: Allah’s
Attributes
-
Part 1
-
Part 2
Glossary
Genealogical
Charts
Now!
I know that you are so excited to read
the book. So let's start to read The Introduction. Bismillaah.
INTRODUCTION
Thanks to Allah, the Almighty for
creating us in a world of infinite diversities in
which people of different races, complexions, languages and religions live
together; in each group some are tall, others short, some are fat while others
are slim. Within each race, there are tribes and within a tribe, clans and
within a clan, there are families. Thus the chain of varieties is endless, both
in the animal and in the plant kingdoms. Life would have been boring and
monotonous if the world we live in consisted of uniform creation, and thus we
perceive the wisdom of Allah.
As in the physical, so in the
spiritual world. There are different religions in which some people worship one
God, some several gods, and others no god at all. So we have Judaism,
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, paganism and several others. And in
each religion there are sects, and in each sect further sub-divisions. Thus
among Christians there are Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Protestants with their
multiple subdivisions. And so in Islam, we have Sunnis, Shias, and Ibadhis and
in each sect there are sub-sects.
Strangely enough, the followers of
each sect claim that their sect or Madh-hab is the right one and the others are
wrong or heretic. What is the basis of their claim? Have they studied the
teachings of all religious schools and then come to the conclusion that their
madh-hab is right and the rest wrong? No! In all honesty their claim is based
on one factor and one factor alone, namely, that they happen to be born into
that particular religion and sect, that is the religion and sect of their
parents. A Sunni Muslim is so because he was born of Sunni parents, and the
same is true of those born of parents of other religious denominations. In
other words, we belong to a particular madh-hab by accident of birth, and not
by choice. It is true, though, there are some people who change from one faith
to another but those are relatively very small in number, they are the
exception to the rule. The general rule is that millions of people are born every day
into one or other of the world’s religions, and into one or other of the
madh-hab of their parents.
The influence of parents at home and teachers at school on children is
tremendous and indelible. If a parent persistently and over a long period of
time tells his child, for example, that the sun is god and at the same time
enumerates the various benefits the sun bestows
on man, the child will eventually grow up to worship the sun. The father can go
on with his indoctrination by telling his son or daughter that anyone who does
not believe the sun is god is an infidel (kafir) and
should therefore be killed. Children brought up under such religious environment grow up to
become blind, fanatic adherents of their religion or sect. In the above
example, the sun has been selected as an object of worship but the reader can
substitute the dogma of his madh-hab for the sun and he will find it fits in
perfectly. Many of us are thus the products, if not the slaves, of our
upbringing and parent’s prejudices.
What is to be done then? The solution
is, while giving religious lessons to children, we should at the same time make
them respect other people’s religions and madh-habs. In this Way we should be
able to promote an atmosphere of religious tolerance, understanding and respect
for people of other faiths and sects. In actual fact the majority of people
work towards that end, but unfortunately there are a few religious and
sectarian fanatics in positions of influence who are bent on fomenting
dissension and misunderstanding among people of different religions and sects.
In secular societies parents refuse to have their children indoctrinated with
religious teachings and prefer them to make their own free choice when they
grow up as adults. Finally since we blindly adopt the religion or madh-hab of
our parents we have no right to criticize other religions or sects. It would
have been different if our religious or sectarian beliefs were based on rational
grounds. But, regrettably, for some sects, rationalism is tantamount to
heresy!!
Ibadhism is one of the most
misunderstood Islamic sects, and is wrongly considered as one of the Khawarij
group of sects that are regarded as heretic or even apostate that has deviated
from the mainstream of Islam. This is not the opinion of all Muslim scholars, at least at
present, but it is still held by a core of sectarian fanatics partly as a
result of ignorance and prejudice and partly due to political ambitions to
dominate all or part of the Islamic world. The main issues of contention
between the Ibadhis and some other sects are two, the first arising from
historical events which happened after the death of the Holy Prophet (Peace be
upon him) or, to be more precise, during the third and fourth administrations
of Caliph Uthman and Caliph Ali respectively. The second issue of dispute
results from the interpretation of certain Qur’anic verses dealing with the
events expected to take place in the Hereafter. Fortunately there are no
serious disagreements in the present life as to the forms of Worship, for we
all pray five times a day together, fast during Ramadhan together and perform
pilgrimage once a year together at the same place and time, and most important
of all, we all believe in the same one God who has no partner, and in the
Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as the last of His messengers. We are also
generally agreed on what acts are lawful (halal) and what acts are unlawful
(haram) with probably a few minor differences.
I will deal first
with the historical issues.
>>>>>>
(To be Continued)
Reference:
Ibadhism, The Cinderella
of Islam, by Soud H. Al Ma'awaly, pg: 7-9.
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