The Ummah’s tragedy: court ulama

by Zafar Bangash July, 2013 The ulama are supposed to be inheritors of the Prophets but only if they adhere to the divine commands. When they fall for worldly temptations, they become a curse. This is what appears to have happened to Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a well-known alim, who has now joined the hate-spewing Saudis in spreading sectarianism. ‘Ulama are supposed to be successors to the Prophets (Å). Since no more prophets will come to guide humanity, the role of the ‘ulama has assumed great importance. If they adhere to the Qur’an and the Sunnah, they are a blessing for the Ummah; should they fall for temptations of the dunya, they become a curse. Who is unaware of the Pakistani politician Fazlur Rahman, a Deobandi maulana, whose antics and corruption are legendry? They have caused havoc in Pakistan. But in the hierarchy of ‘ulama, Fazlur Rahman is a minor figure. Much more serious is the role of figures like Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Egyptian ‘alim who has a television program on the Qatari-owned al-Jazeera with a following of some 60 million people worldwide. At a rally in Doha, Qatar on June 1, Shaykh al-Qaradawi called upon “Sunni” Muslims from around the Muslim East to go to Syria and fight against Hizbullah, which had joined the battle for Qusayr in support of Syrian government forces. Al-Qaradawi alleged that “the Shi‘is [meaning Iran and Hizbullah] wanted to exterminate the Sunnis.” He went on to denounce Hizbullah as the “Party of Shaytan [Satan].” Not surprisingly, the Saudi Grand Mufti, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Aal al-Shaykh welcomed al-Qaradawi’s call since Saudi Arabia is in the forefront of fomenting sectarianism in the Ummah. This is the only game they know and since the Saudi rulers and court ‘ulama cannot justify on the basis of Islamic principles their illegitimate rule over the Arabian Peninsula, they want to entangle Muslims in disputes that dissipate their mental and physical energies. One is constrained to ask, when did the Saudis or Shaykh al-Qaradawi ever call upon Muslims in the Muslim East or anywhere else to go to Occupied Palestine to help liberate their Palestinian brothers and sisters from decades of Zionist oppression and occupation? Iran, Hizbullah and Bashar al-Asad’s government are the only players that have confronted US-Zionist hegemony in the region. While every Muslim, indeed every human being that cares for human rights and dignity must support the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, the issue is no longer about the rights of the Syrian people. Thousands of mercenaries from neighbouring countries backed and armed by the Saudi, Qatari, Jordanian, Turkish, American and Zionist regimes have flooded into Syria to advance the imperialist-Zionist Anglo-Wahhabi agenda. Their aim is to undermine the resistance front against imperialist-Zionist hegemony. When their direct military assault failed, they unleashed sectarianism to divide Muslims in a conflict that has already claimed thousands of lives in Syria. Shaykh al-Qaradawi has lent his considerable weight to this perfidious campaign. As Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President of the International Movement for a Just World, Malaysia, wrote, “He was among the earliest public figures to endorse NATO’s airstrikes over Libya. In the middle of last year he even opined that if the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) came back today, he would support NATO. This earned him the derisive moniker ‘NATO Mufti’ among some Arab commentators.” Imagine a noted Muslim scholar maligning the noble Messenger (pbuh) in this manner! Contrast this with the joint appeal by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamed and former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami in May calling for an end to sectarian fighting and killings.

Regrettably, Muslim history is replete with examples of some scholars standing against injustice while others endorse it. Soon after the Khilafah was subverted into monarchy, the Umayyad and ‘Abbasid rulers punished those scholars — Imams Abu Hanifah, al-Shafi‘i and Ahmad ibn Hanbal — who refused to endorse their illegitimate rule, but those who went along with the corruption were richly rewarded with worldly goods and positions (read that: hush money). Shaykh al-Qaradawi and many in the Arabian Peninsula have also succumbed to the lure of political partronage from those who prefer to make tawaf around the White House instead of the Ka‘bah. Living in palatial homes lined with carpets and plush sofas and a bevy of servants at their call, these scholars have forgotten the Islamic duty of al-amr bi-al-ma‘ruf wa-al-nahy ‘an al-munkar. Instead, they are actively promoting munkar. Neither the Saudi nor Qatari rulers are legitimate; they have usurped power and authority in rebellion against Allah’s (swt) commands and are subservient to the power of global kufr. It is their shameless and treacherous behavior, and not the level of Islamic scholarship, that ought to determine how obedient ordinary Muslims should be to the errant recommendations of scholars who have never acquired a level of comfort with cogently analyzing things that matter. Muslims have paid a terrible price for such faulty thinking in the past and cannot afford any more disasters. Instigating hatred among Muslims to advance the illegitimate rulers’ agenda is not only shortsighted, it is also mean spirited and ultimately disastrous for the Ummah. The blood of innocent Muslims will be as much on the hands of these scholars as it is on those who pull the trigger. Zafar Bangash is Director of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought

Clerics forbid takfir

Jordan - July 07th, 2005
AMMAN - (JT) - Leading clerics on Wednesday endorsed fatwas (religious edicts) by top Muslim authorities forbidding the declaration of any Muslim an apostate (takfir). Concluding their three-day International Islamic Conference in the presence of His Majesty King Abdullah, the clerics issued a joint statement that forbids declaring any adherent to any one of the eight schools of Islamic jurisprudence an apostate.
Top clerics endorse fatwas forbidding takfir Following is the full text of the statement issued by the International Islamic Conference on Wednesday:
In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Peace and Blessings be upon our master Mohammad and his Family
“O mankind! Be careful of your duty to your Lord Who created you from a single soul...” (Al Nisa', 4:1)
In accordance with the fatwas issued by the honourable and respectable Grand Imam Sheikh Al Azhar.
The Grand Ayatollah Al Sayyid Ali Al Sistani, the honourable and respectable grand mufti of Egypt, the honourable and respectable Shiite clerics (both Jaafari and Zaydi), the honourable and respectable grand mufti of the Sultanate of Oman.
The Islamic Fiqh Academy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the grand council for Religious Affairs of Turkey.
The honourable and respectable grand mufti of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the respectable members of its National Fatwa Committee, and the honourable and respectable Sheikh Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi;
And in accordance with what was mentioned in the speech of His Majesty King Abdullah during the opening session of our conference; And in accordance with our own knowledge in sincerity to Allah the Bounteous; And in accordance with what was presented in this our conference by way of research papers and studies, and by way of the discussions that transpired in it;
We, the undersigned, hereby express our approval and affirmation of what appears below:
1) Whosoever is an adherent of one of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence (Hanafite, Malikite, Shafite and Hanbalite), the Jaafari (Shiite) school of jurisprudence, the Zaydi school of jurisprudence, the Ibadi school of jurisprudence.
Or the Thahiri school of jurisprudence is a Muslim. Declaring that person an apostate is impossible.
Verily his (or her) blood, honour and property are sacrosanct. Moreover, in accordance with what appeared in the fatwa of the honourable and respectable Sheikh Al Azhar.
It is not possible to declare whosoever subscribes to the Ashaari creed or whoever practices true Sufism an apostate.
Likewise, it is not possible to declare whosoever subscribes to true Salafi thought an apostate. Equally, it is not possible to declare as apostates any group of Muslims who believes in Allah the Mighty and Sublime and His Messenger (may Peace and Blessings be upon him) and the pillars of faith, and respects the pillars of Islam and does not deny any necessary article of religion.
2) There exists more in common between the various schools of jurisprudence than there is difference.
The adherents to the eight schools of jurisprudence are in agreement as regards the basic Islamic principles.
All believe in Allah the Mighty and Sublime, the One and the Unique; that the Noble Koran is the Revealed Word of Allah; and that our master Mohammad, may Blessings and Peace be upon him, is a Prophet and Messenger unto all mankind.
All are in agreement about the five pillars of Islam: The two testaments of faith (shahadatayn), the ritual prayer (salat), almsgiving (zakat), fasting the month of Ramadan (sawm), and the Hajj to the Sacred House of Allah.
All are also in agreement about the foundations of belief: Belief in Allah, His Angels, His Scriptures, His Messengers, and in the Day of Judgement, in divine providence — good and evil. Disagreement between the ulama is only with respect to the ancillary branches of religion (furou) and not the principles and fundamentals (usoul).
Disagreement with respect to the ancillary branches of religion is a mercy. Long ago it was said that variance in opinion among ulama “is a good affair.”
3) Acknowledgement of the schools of jurisprudence within Islam means adhering to a fundamental methodology in the issuance of fatwas.
No one may issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications which each school of jurisprudence defines.
No one may issue a fatwa without adhering to the methodology of the schools of jurisprudence. No one may claim to do absolute ijtihad and create a new school of jurisprudence or to issue unacceptable fatwas that take Muslims out of the principles and certainties of the Sharia and what has been established in respect of its schools of jurisprudence.
4) The essence of the Amman Message, which was issued on the Blessed Night of Power in the year 1425 Hijri and which was read aloud in Masjid Al Hashimiyyeen, is adherence to the schools of jurisprudence and their fundamental methodology.
Acknowledging the schools of jurisprudence and affirming discussion and engagement between them ensures fairness, moderation, mutual forgiveness, compassion and engaging in dialogue with others.
5) We call for casting aside disagreement between Muslims and unifying their words and stances; reaffirming their mutual respect for each other.
Fortifying mutual affinity among their peoples and states; strengthening the ties of brotherhood which unite them in the mutual love of Allah.
And we call upon Muslims to not permit discord and outside interference between them.
Allah the Sublime says:
“The believers are naught else than brothers. Therefore make peace between your brethren and observe your duty to Allah that haply ye may obtain mercy.” (Al Hujurat, 49:10)
Praise be to Allah alone.
The eight schools, or Madhahib, are Sunni Shafite, Malikite, Hanbalite and Hanafite as well as Shiite Jaafari, Ibadi and Zaydi in addition to Thahiri.
Signed by scholars and clergy of the eight schools, the statement, the first of its kind, also limited the issuance of religious edicts to qualified Muslim clerics in the eight schools.
The endorsement was based on fatwas by Grand Imam of Al Azhar (the top Sunni authority) Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Sistani, (the top Shiite authority in Iraq).
Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Jumaa, Shiite authorities from the Jaafari and Zaydi schools, Grand Mufti of Oman Ahmad Khalili, the Islamic Fiqh Academy in Saudi Arabia.
The Grand Council for Religious Affairs of Turkey, the Grand Mufti of Jordan Izzeddine Tamimi, and the Kingdom's National Fatwa Committee, in addition to leading cleric Yusuf Qaradawi.
Other elements of the statement were drawn from King Abdullah's address to the conference, which urged more than 170 scholars and clerics from the different schools of Islamic thought to unify the global Muslim community against threats to its integrity from both Muslims and non-Muslims.
The King said divisions within the global Islamic community, acts of violence and terrorism, and accusations of apostasy and the killing of Muslims in the name of Islam violate the spirit of Islam and generate global turmoil.
Because they give justification to non-Muslims to judge Islam according to acts that Islam disavows, and subsequently interfere in Muslims' affairs.