A follow up to the last post
There is proof that the prophet would speak out about an issue as opposed to being silent (about what was permissible [not about what was impermissible or forbidden, obviously; the brother unnecessarily argued about this]).
The link was provided, as to the proof, and I share it again here for any who are interested. This is the fiqh part of the answer (some people want me to 'study more fiqh' and Islam, before I even share anything I have already learned! But
I am not afraid to speak out, when I think it is necessary, that is how I share my knowledge (however small or great it might be considered by the ummah!)
"If something was spoken about" "Yes" "this has more weight than silence", wrote the islamic scholar or advisor I chatted with online; the discussion was whether speaking out or merley permitting something was a stronger; e.g. there were questions or
problems about matters which needed to be understood by the people in the presense of the prophet Muhammad, pbuh.
Everyone is a shepherd, a woman is the shepherd of her children, a man is the shepherd of his family, and so on. So, there is a level at which anyone is capable of teaching others, without having to have an Islamic Degreee. In the first
generation Muslims didn't have degrees, but they had knowledge. If we are blessed with knowledge and right thinking, all praise is due to Allah, who has given us the ability to read and understand. Doesn't the Quran say, "Read!"? It means "recite",
(the words). And if we know something, and I have proven sufficiently that I'm not in the wrong here, then we have the duty to speak.
I didn't finish my thought, probably due to the fact that sometimes my keyboard on the other computer I used to use made it hard for me to type; therefore, to explain, when I mentioned the couches in Paradise, and the clothing I was pointing out that
they are befitting of good people, and nothing 'bad' happens in Paradise, nor is there vain speech, as I mentioned as an example of something 'bad'. Some scholars have called music "vain speech" too. This is all related to the video, where Muslim men and
women are dancing to a song.If we expect to earn Paradise, for actions in this life, and more importantly by the generous mercy of Allah, then we should strive to be better Muslims and to follow His Book, and also the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
Others gave reasons and evidence for why music or dancing or "[imitation]" are 'forbidden'. Muslim scholars or 'students of Islam' know about the hadiths which support this view and about 'fatawas' or judgments which state this view. Whether or not general
Muslims know, understand, agree, follow or care about or defend the judgments regarding such questions is a different matter.
We can look to our Christian brethren for an example that will teach us something important about ourselves (or help us to find an answer as to why we are divided, and not united); if you ask any random Christian in the street, in America or Canada, if they hate people like Mennonites, or people like the Amish, you would probably find that most would say that the Amish (or Mennonites) are living their lives peacefully and not harming anyone and that they are living decent 'Christian' lives. But when we see Muslims living a similar lifestyle, oftener than not, we have many of our Muslim brethren criticizing such a Muslim lifestyle as too ascetic, or boring or extremist. The fact is that many Muslims live simply, eating clean and wholesome food, and drink wholesome drinks, and perform their sacred religious duties quietly and that they are living peacefully, not bothering others or being bothered either. It is in fact life in villages, or small communities - whether in the ME, or Africa, or somewhere in the West.
Why are Muslims criticized and hated for being 'good'? And why do other Muslims also criticize their Muslim brethren who are living decently? Often, it's true that people don't want to be reminded that we really can live a meaningful or productive life without having to accept every new thing that comes along. And we would even be better Muslims for it! That doesn't mean we shouldn't progress, where it is beneficial and good. But we should also be aware of wrong beliefs or customs that are not part of our Islamic culture.
Someone makes the point that Islamic practices are not necessarily only what was done a long time ago, during the prophet's lifetime, but that Muslims today also have their own culture, which they believe is legitimate. But we also have to judge the culture today by
Islamic standards of morality, or according to what was taught earlier, in order to know whether or not it is really 'good'.
Each person is his own master and does what he wants or believes is his right, in the end. Absolute Morality is not something that will be agreed upon, because anyway it's impossible that everyone will share only one opinion. Of course there are usually two main voices in debates such as this, one
voice that criticizes the latest culture, and the other that criticizes the 'fundamentalists'. As we Muslims all agree, God will tell us about those things about which we disputed, just as all people will learn about those things about which they disputed in this life.
Another point I made is that the lyrics were not even considered by anyone, (except me) as far as I could notice in the comments, as to whether the message/s is/are 'okay' or not. Muslims can also read the lyrics for themselves by doing a search and see whether they
agree that the lyrics are "good" or "unislamic" according to Islam's teachings. If they don't know, they should ask someone who knows, whether a scholar or a learned friend, someone whose opinion they can trust.
One line reads, "Happiness is the truth." That doesn't sound like something I would agree is a universal "wisdom". It sounds more like saying, "do whatever makes you feel good"!
For anyone who's interested, (again) there is a recent post on my blog which I will share on G+ about this 'lively' discussion.
There is proof that the prophet would speak out about an issue as opposed to being silent (about what was permissible [not about what was impermissible or forbidden, obviously; the brother unnecessarily argued about this]).
The link was provided, as to the proof, and I share it again here for any who are interested. This is the fiqh part of the answer (some people want me to 'study more fiqh' and Islam, before I even share anything I have already learned! But
I am not afraid to speak out, when I think it is necessary, that is how I share my knowledge (however small or great it might be considered by the ummah!)
"If something was spoken about" "Yes" "this has more weight than silence", wrote the islamic scholar or advisor I chatted with online; the discussion was whether speaking out or merley permitting something was a stronger; e.g. there were questions or
problems about matters which needed to be understood by the people in the presense of the prophet Muhammad, pbuh.
Everyone is a shepherd, a woman is the shepherd of her children, a man is the shepherd of his family, and so on. So, there is a level at which anyone is capable of teaching others, without having to have an Islamic Degreee. In the first
generation Muslims didn't have degrees, but they had knowledge. If we are blessed with knowledge and right thinking, all praise is due to Allah, who has given us the ability to read and understand. Doesn't the Quran say, "Read!"? It means "recite",
(the words). And if we know something, and I have proven sufficiently that I'm not in the wrong here, then we have the duty to speak.
I didn't finish my thought, probably due to the fact that sometimes my keyboard on the other computer I used to use made it hard for me to type; therefore, to explain, when I mentioned the couches in Paradise, and the clothing I was pointing out that
they are befitting of good people, and nothing 'bad' happens in Paradise, nor is there vain speech, as I mentioned as an example of something 'bad'. Some scholars have called music "vain speech" too. This is all related to the video, where Muslim men and
women are dancing to a song.If we expect to earn Paradise, for actions in this life, and more importantly by the generous mercy of Allah, then we should strive to be better Muslims and to follow His Book, and also the teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
Others gave reasons and evidence for why music or dancing or "[imitation]" are 'forbidden'. Muslim scholars or 'students of Islam' know about the hadiths which support this view and about 'fatawas' or judgments which state this view. Whether or not general
Muslims know, understand, agree, follow or care about or defend the judgments regarding such questions is a different matter.
We can look to our Christian brethren for an example that will teach us something important about ourselves (or help us to find an answer as to why we are divided, and not united); if you ask any random Christian in the street, in America or Canada, if they hate people like Mennonites, or people like the Amish, you would probably find that most would say that the Amish (or Mennonites) are living their lives peacefully and not harming anyone and that they are living decent 'Christian' lives. But when we see Muslims living a similar lifestyle, oftener than not, we have many of our Muslim brethren criticizing such a Muslim lifestyle as too ascetic, or boring or extremist. The fact is that many Muslims live simply, eating clean and wholesome food, and drink wholesome drinks, and perform their sacred religious duties quietly and that they are living peacefully, not bothering others or being bothered either. It is in fact life in villages, or small communities - whether in the ME, or Africa, or somewhere in the West.
Why are Muslims criticized and hated for being 'good'? And why do other Muslims also criticize their Muslim brethren who are living decently? Often, it's true that people don't want to be reminded that we really can live a meaningful or productive life without having to accept every new thing that comes along. And we would even be better Muslims for it! That doesn't mean we shouldn't progress, where it is beneficial and good. But we should also be aware of wrong beliefs or customs that are not part of our Islamic culture.
Someone makes the point that Islamic practices are not necessarily only what was done a long time ago, during the prophet's lifetime, but that Muslims today also have their own culture, which they believe is legitimate. But we also have to judge the culture today by
Islamic standards of morality, or according to what was taught earlier, in order to know whether or not it is really 'good'.
Each person is his own master and does what he wants or believes is his right, in the end. Absolute Morality is not something that will be agreed upon, because anyway it's impossible that everyone will share only one opinion. Of course there are usually two main voices in debates such as this, one
voice that criticizes the latest culture, and the other that criticizes the 'fundamentalists'. As we Muslims all agree, God will tell us about those things about which we disputed, just as all people will learn about those things about which they disputed in this life.
Another point I made is that the lyrics were not even considered by anyone, (except me) as far as I could notice in the comments, as to whether the message/s is/are 'okay' or not. Muslims can also read the lyrics for themselves by doing a search and see whether they
agree that the lyrics are "good" or "unislamic" according to Islam's teachings. If they don't know, they should ask someone who knows, whether a scholar or a learned friend, someone whose opinion they can trust.
One line reads, "Happiness is the truth." That doesn't sound like something I would agree is a universal "wisdom". It sounds more like saying, "do whatever makes you feel good"!
For anyone who's interested, (again) there is a recent post on my blog which I will share on G+ about this 'lively' discussion.
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