Remembering days in history when ppl loved discourse more than the air that they breathed; in memory of the Muslim philosophers, whom all contemplated the great questions of their time, the nature of God, the nature of the soul, whether they were right or wrong, Muslim or Kafir, all studied and learned in Cordoba and pondered the great mysteries. I dedicate this post to modern day scholars who care about truth. DD
I wanted to call this "the Refutation of the Refutation" but that's already been taken. #Ghazali #Ibn Sina #Ibn Rushd #Cordoba #The Refutation of the Refutation are more labels ppl could try searching.
I wrote and posted three posts yesterday in response to comments I had entertained. So today, I’m posting this explanation of who are the true Muslims, vis a vis a discussion about the meaning of the word Salafist, “Salafi” in Arabic, or the word “Wahhabi” and what it really means. This is an issue which is of paramount concern to me; because it is something I consider a part of the propaganda against Islam and Muslims, particularly Sunni Islam and its adherents, especially those in the Arabian Peninsula.
Just a brief description of both words, the way that Sunni Muslims generally think of the words in the original Arabic – this doesn’t include the opinion of many people who believe wrongly that Salafi is a “bad word”. It is a word we often use so it is important to explain what it does mean.
Salafi – someone who follows the original teachings of Muhammad, pbuh, the Holy Prophet of Islam, and which the following three or four generations of Muslims also followed or preached. The Sahabi (companions of Muhammad, May Allah grant them peace and blessings, and the Tabai’i, the following generation of Muslims who never met the holy Prophet, but had met the Sahabi, and so on). These we consider the proper examples of pious and good people of their day, who we try to emulate in word and deed.
Wahhabi – this is a new label, used very recently, beginning a few years back, which non-Muslims use to mean the Sunnis in Saudi Arabia whom they believe are preaching hate. I’d like to note that Muhammad Ibn Abdul Wahhab, was a scholar who preached Islamic monotheism and was largely concerned with teaching the people in his generation in the place he practiced, not to worship the Taghut (idols) or to do unislamic things, such as following the traditions of other people or religions in their country, which were not sanctioned by Islamic teachings and traditions. He was sometimes opposed by the rulers or other people who didn’t want him to preach, this is why some even called him a “kafir”. His little book Kitab atTauhid is one of the best written on the subject of Islamic monotheism, which contains advice about avoiding shirk (polytheism) and disbelief. He was the most concerned about teaching the common and ignorant people about their religion because many evils had entered into the people’s religious practices or had become a part of their daily lives. The book is a collection of the important hadiths, which are taught in all Islamic studies courses at University level in the past AND even up until today but is very simple and straightforward so that anyone can grasp the concepts and meanings easily. It is one of the easiest and best books recommended for a basic understanding of Islamic creed or monotheism.
Question –
Are Muslims now supposed to change their usage of the word “salafi” to match the current and very negative interpretation, just to avoid being labeled “evil”? Shouldn’t it be the non-Muslims who learn the Arabic meaning of “salafi” and stop using that when they are referring to “extremists”?? Even the word “fundamentalist” has been engineered to be a bad thing. So, we don’t use that word much to refer to “pious” and “good” people, or “believers” of a faith, because it now usually is used in the most negative way to mean someone “extremist”. In the past “fundamentalist” only was a word to mean a person who is adhering to the basics of his religion.
One asks, why is this need for “labeling” others with names they don’t approve? There is no Muslim on earth who calls himself/herself a “Wahhabi” > this word is a new label we don’t accept. And the word “salafi” is still commonly used by Muslims, it is an Islamic terminology. It isn’t right for others to usurp the word for their own purposes; which has always meant someone who follows the original teachings of Muhammad, pbuh. (I already gave a more comprehensive definition above.)
I ask all honest people to not use “salafi” or “Wahhabi” to refer to Muslims or Saudi Arabian people in a negative way. Wahhabi itself is wrong, and a misnomer. Muslims never use it to refer to themselves, and it is a label used “against” them. And “salafi” should be used by English speakers to mean someone who is “Sunni”, as that is what it intends, really. While Sufi Muslims accept the word “sufi” general Muslims don’t accept the word “Wahhabi” and they DO NOT use “Salafi” to mean a person who is an “extremist” in any way, who is not following his religion properly but has extremist views. Likewise, the word “Salafist” is another label, from the same root, but a NEW word in the vocabulary of non-Muslims who use it to mean an extremist from Saudi Arabia or an extremist who follows the path of extremism which they believe (wrongly) is a way of life for many in Saudi Arabia – the only Islam practiced in Saudi Arabia (not speaking of Shias, who also live in Arabia and are a small minority in Saudi Arabia) is mainstream Islam. It means they also abide by the Sharia in their own country. There is no imposing their religion or culture on others, except if one is in the kingdom, then one must abide by the sharia, in his dress or outward appearances and worship (if he is a Muslim in Mecca, for example)and not to do or say things which contravene the Sharia. For example, there is a blasphemy law in Saudi Arabia, much as there are laws against treason in America, or something equivalent.
The rest of the post is a repeat of what I had posted previously, last week.
There is a common misconception today, that Muslims are not also Salafis. This labeling the majority of Sunnis as "Salafists" or "Wahhabis" is starting to border on hate speech, so I have to clear something up now. Firstly, Sunnis and Sufis all call themselves Muslims, and hardly do they get into discussions about their differences, except as an educational exercise. We are very united in our views and aspirations, but appear to be disunited; the media perpetrates the appearance of great schisms, which don't really exist (or result in disunity) among Muslims in their daily relationships with each other.
Secondly, just as people find Sufis loveable, so are the general Muslims loveable. They are not murderers, bigots, rapists, haters; they are people with religious convictions and beliefs, which reflect their upbringing and also their love of God Almighty and Muhammad, and Islam. Their goal in life isn’t to cause others pain and suffering. They are just as kind and compassionate as anybody else. I really resent these labels, which America and the media are attaching to Sunni Muslims.
All Muslims call themselves Muslims, and don’t believe they need any labels apart from that to be counted among the true believers. Some words, such as “Hanbali” or “Maaliki” denote the school of thought a person might adhere to in his daily practice and way of worship, such that his hands are placed a certain way, or he makes certain specific actions in the prayer, which other Sunnis who are not from the same school, or raised in the same country or region where he would have learned the same traditions don’t do, but which are all based on Islamic traditions found in the books, such as Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim, and others. When someone has studied under a scholar he may change the way he practices in some small ways, which might reflect more closely how the Prophet did things, compared to many others who have learned Islam from their parents or an older sibling or their cousins. None of this is dangerous or removes one out of the fold of Islam. Most common people don’t know about the finer points or the discussions which are held in classrooms as intellectual exercises, or to discover which traditions match more closely with what the early Muslims did, who we call in Islamic terminology, “the salaf”. (If you understand what “the salaf” means, then you should be careful of using the term “salafi” to refer to bad or evil Muslims who you fear are the enemy, because they don’t exist~!! There is no evil “salafi” because a “salafi” person is one who tries his best to be a Muslim in the tradition of the earliest Muslims, who are all our best examples.
Non-Muslims and especially the media want to “label” many of the Muslims as terrorists, and using the label Salafi for Muslims as though they are evil, and as though the word “Salafi” means something which it doesn’t - or a bad person, or a bad “cult” (which it really doesn’t in the original usage) Salafi is just another way to say a person who follows the way of the Prophet Muhammad and the early generations of Muslims.
If someone is afraid of Muslims in general, without good reason, then he is an Islamophobe, and there is little hope he will learn the truth of Islam and what Muslims really believe. But if someone is just confused by labels, they should try to discover the truth about Islam and Muslims by reading or going to proper Islamic websites, and ask a Muslim about their concerns. I for one am willing to entertain anyone who is sincere about learning more about any issue related to Islam and Muslims. If I can give evidence or at least tell my personal beliefs, which I can say are the mainstream, then I’m happy to oblige. I don’t insist someone has to become a Muslim. I am not preaching Islam to convert people, though that would please me, but I am really more interested in explaining the true meaning of Islam and teaching others about what I really believe. Islam is not “of the devil” or a strange “cult”; it is a “religion” in the truest and best sense of the word.
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