Surah An-Nasr
For several weeks now we have been seeking to remind each other the surah Nasr, one of the last chapters that Allah Almighty descended to the Prophet (PBUH). In the last verse of this surah, which we covered last week, Allah Almighty seeks from us, from adherents (and initially from the Prophet (PBUH) to exalt Him and to seek repentance from Him). In this section, there is a personification of the sacred concept, of the sacred word of Allah Almighty, and that is through the Prophet (PBUH); this is very significant to keep in mind. Allah Almighty turns to the Prophet (PBUH) and says “Fasabbih bi hamdi rabbika” / “Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord”, and the Prophet (PBUH) practices this verse in his everyday life. Then this tasbih reaches us through the Prophet’s (PBUH) life; his blood, flesh and morality. This is also very important. In many cases, in Islamic history there have been attempts to shape the Prophet (PBUH) into the historical dimension, they say he has lived 1400 years (14 centuries), he has lived in that era and that has nothing to do with our life today; whereas it is very clear that the Qur’an has an eternal presence. From the moment that the Prophet (PBUH) separates from Islam, there is no Islam left on earth. It is because the Revelation is a sacred word and the catalyzer of the sacred word, or better said, the Prophet (PBUH) is the one who gives the humanly dimension to the sacred word. He tells us with his own life as example that this sacred word is able to mingle and become part of peoples’ lives, and thus he says: “Fasabbih bi hamdi rabbika”. Let me give you some important examples from the aspect of religious practices. For instance, the Prophet (PBUH) tells us how he prays, in the Qur’an the method of prayer cannot be found, the conditions of prayer are found dispersed in the Qur’an (you are able to locate ruku, sajda, kiyam), but the way you conduct the prayer is not shown in the Qur’an. Also, how one conducts Hajj is also not elaborated in the Qur’an, but the rules for conducting ibadah during Hajj are found dispersed in the Qur’an. However, these have been summoned in the personality of the Prophet (PBUH) and he is the one who has described them in a visual manner. The same goes for fasting and giving zakkah. And the personality of the Prophet (PBUH) from this domain has been described throughout centuries by the Muslim culture. Nowadays when one speaks of the Prophet (PBUH) it seems as if they only refer to him for jurisdictional matters. In a jurisdictional dimension we know the Prophet (PBUH) is the executor of the sacred word, then we should pray on the same manner that the Prophet (PBUH) did. Then, isn’t it the same case for the ethical and spiritual dimension? Or are we smarter in the ethical domain or closer to God, so we don’t need to take the Prophet (PBUH) for reference? Indeed not, the Prophet (PBUH) has a central importance and people who don’t have a profound love towards him cannot feel the authentic pure Islamic religion. Love towards the Prophet (PBUH) can be in many ways. We have institutionalized this throughout Islamic history through ibadah and special remembrance (for example now we are about to enter the month of Mawlid, being the third month of the Islamic year, Rabi’ al-awwal it is the month in which the Prophet (PBUH) was born). In our traditions during the Mawlid month, a mawlud is read. And why is it so? To respect, honor and convey the love to the Prophet (PBUH).
People usually create art for the ones they love. Mawlud is art, and if we want to try and transmit religion into society mainly through the jurisdictional domain, then religion will be left as a thick layer that cannot penetrate peoples’ souls. Have you ever thought (let us broaden the limits of this topic) why athletics, gymnastics and some other forms of arts have been mainly developed in communist states? Because they have replaced religion. Communism was only a physical social dimension engraved in the world, and the metaphysical dimensions was covered by arts, sports, the sports halls and cultural artistic castles that have been the main attractions of the communist culture. It has been so because humans cannot be kept alive only through the physical dimension. The same goes for religion. Lately people attack religious art (mawlud is a religious art, don’t try and see if mawlud is haram or halal, it’s the same as seeking jurisdictional norms within an artist). Also, lately there has been a form of religious puritanism that has blocked the development of culture and art within religion. Such a thing is not acceptable, both from the Islamic learning aspect as well as from the Islamic metaphysical and anthropological aspect. You know that Fakir here tries to understand others, and people’s different ways of approaching God does not bother me, but here I would like to emphasize one important matter for us. The recent religious puritanism, meaning that religious transmit only through jurisdictional and strict religious doctrines, leaves religion within a corner small space where it cannot perform. This is a dangerous pursue from the aspect of religion, and never throughout history has it been like this. For example, when we visit the Sarena (Painted) Mosque in Tetovo, why do we find the decoration of the walls so beautiful and we take enjoyment into praying there? Now if you want me to tell you if this is halal or haram or it is mubah or farz, I won’t be able to tell you this. But if I ask you, where do you feel yourselves more comfortable in the Sarena (Painted) Mosque, that has this decoration and one which has an artistic background but also religious background, or a mosque that is full of concrete and bricks? Surely that in the Sarena (Painted) Mosque you feel more comfortable, whomever it may be.
Hence the personality of the Prophet (PBUH) is important to us both from the jurisdictional and ethical dimension. This also tells us that nowhere in the Qur’an does Allah Almighty say good for the Prophet, he did a great job praying and conducting namaz, nowhere in the Qur’an does it say that he gave zakah on regular basis or that he went to Hajj on regular basis. Instead it says “Wa innaka la ala khuluqin adzim” (Al-Qalam, verse 4). / “And indeed, you are of a great moral character”. God also turns to us “If you wish to observe how you can approach God and how you need to appear as true believers, then insert the mirror of the Prophet (PBUH) in front of you”. One day, the Prophet (PBUH) together with his most beloved companion, Abu Bakr (was walking in Mecca and the sunset was about to take place, (the desert is exceptionally beautiful during sunset, if you have read my paper regarding the birth of the Prophet (PBUH) “the rose of mercy that sow on the sand of the desert”, you might have noticed this experience of the sunset on the desert), Abu Bakr perceives the sunset, the red dusk, the light caress breeze of the desert, and in this context Abu Bakr refers to the Prophet (PBUH) as well, he tells him “oh how beautiful you are, Muhammad”. The Prophet (PBUH) turns to his friend and says “Saddakte” /” Yes, you have spoken right”. Later, they come across Abu Jahl (one of the greatest enemies of the Prophet (PBUH) and Islam and this man says, “how disgusting you are, Muhammad”. The Prophet (PBUH) answers “Saddakte”/ Yes, you have spoken right”. He gives the same answer he gave to Abu Bakr, and the latter gets surprised by this to a great extent. In this moment the Prophet (PBUH) says hadeeth that is very important and teaches us a lot, “I am a mirror, each person sees himself in me.” Consider that manners of behavior are not transmitted through books. Renewed people in society, throughout world history, haven’t learnt decency, ethics, morals and aesthetics in books, they have learned this from their teachers, theirs mentors in life. That’s why the Prophet (PBUH) seeks from us to teach our children three elements. The first one is to transfer the manners of consuming food / eating properly (how to hold a fork, how to eat, where to eat, he says before you start eating you should say Bismil-lah, and second, to eat in front of your plate). The second element is to teach them the manner of having a discussion or communicating, a verse from the Qur’an rebukes a group of people for raising their voice before the Prophet (PBUH): “O you who have believed, do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet” (Al-Hujurat, verse 2). And the third element is the element of behavior, the way we act, and this has been described to us by the Prophet (PBUH) through many examples and events that took place in front of his companions (as-habs). When Allah Almighty turns to the Prophet (PBUH) and says “Fasabbih” / Worship me / Praise Allah Almighty”, He also turns to us as well; this decree reaches us through the Prophet (PBUH), and this is very important to have in mind. Meaning that the manner we should praise and exalt Allah Almighty, has been delineated by the Prophet (PBUH). Nowadays, especially in our world people take the courage to make conclusions about sacred matters merely through simple logical thinking (in the past people would fear speaking about the metaphysical because they were scared of the jinn, magic and so on whereas today the contemporary life removed this fear from people but left an empty space in their spirituality); we are facing a confusion of thoughts reigned by inertia in religion. For instance lets say you had a garden and in it a tree, then you remove the tree but don’t fill in the hollow space where the tree was; this empty space will be filled with water and will cause more damage than the withered tree that was there. In same manner, the fear we had from “superstitions” we replaced it, we have unrooted it from the modern life, but we left its space empty and now this space is being filled with whatever comes its way. We even started erasing the cult of some persons. People think that what applies to democracy, the same should apply to metaphysics. We must understand that generally people cannot compare or be the same as the Prophet (PBUH). People nowadays will consider themselves prophets and sometimes we hear them say “I believe in God, but I have my own God”. This is not how one is supposed to think when dealing with metaphysical matters. The rules for approaching God are set by the authority of God and are through the Prophet (PBUH). We can often notice this in some formal life events; maybe some of you have a lot of free time during lunch time and they want to pray 10 farz rakat, but you cannot do this. You can pray nafila, kaza 1 million times if you wish but lunch time prayer (dhuhr) has 4 farz rakat, and if you ask me why is it so, I will tell you that I don’t know. That’s what Allah Almighty ordered to the Prophet (PBUH) to pray, that’s how he has prayed and that’s how we are praying today. This religious aspect of approaching Allah Almighty is one sort of cult that contemporary people need to understand it and accept it as such. In a social dimension, religion can discuss all sorts of matters, however in the aspect of approaching Allah Almighty, He is the one who inserts the rules of the game. Maybe you can say that you are good hearted Muslims, you love God, but you don’t pray; this is simply not complete. It is your right to pray or not to pray, but the road that leads to God is the road of ibadah (of course here we understand that aside from this there are other things as well, like doing good deeds, charity, generosity, bravery and so on, but we cannot be fully committed without praying). This is why the persona of the Prophet (PBUH) is important, since he transmits the manner in which religion has been practiced.
There is another element found in the character of the Prophet (PBUH), something he himself describes, and people of his society; this religion is not a utopia. Lately we are facing a problem with this in the Muslim world. Have you noticed how every time you say to a Muslim there is an issue with Islam, those who consider themselves devoted say that Islam is good, but the problem is with Muslims. If in essence, in its core we say this knowing what we are saying (for the most part we don’t know what we even speak), what we are actually saying is that Islam is a utopia and cannot be practiced by people. If Islam is good as a religion, but Muslims cannot practice it in their everyday life, then we have an issue with Islam since it’s not manageable and practical. That’s what communism was, because communists used to say the same thing; they said communism is good but there aren’t any good communists. This is not the case with Islam; I would like to clarify this.
We became used to bringing conclusions from unverified sources, and this is not right. Maybe Muslims nowadays don’t have a state which functions according to Islamic laws, but we have communities around the world which function according to the Islamic norms, we have many families who live by the Islamic rules and they are happy with their lives, we also have individuals who live as Muslims and they too are happy with their lives. “But why don’t we have a state that functions according to Islamic laws”; this right here my friends, this statement is our issue, many people make this statement and the problem with it is that they make this an Islamic problem. This is our problem here; we are way too traditional; we transmit the messages as it has been in original form and impose it to people living in different eras. Or on the contrary we become too much of reformists and liberalistic by trying to unroot the traditional and insert a new mentality (this might be possible, but this seeks hardship and a lot of time). For example, lets say Muslims had a state for 12 centuries, a successful powerful one. But for 100 years Muslims haven’t been reigning the world, which tells us that we haven’t prospered, which is normal from a sociological point of view. Both the Islamic state and the society are alike. The people and communities for which the Qur’an speaks about are a prototype for us, that’s why the Qur’an infers them, I have said this several times. Noah’s population were nephews of Adam (PBUH), they didn’t descent from Mars; those people who trusted Noah are the nephews of Adam (PBUH); there was a prophet from which people came from. Then in different scenarios and various circumstances they have strayed from the right path and automatically their civilizations have been destroyed. The windstorm of Noah was built above the nephews of Adam (PBUH), it was even built above Noah’s son, and this is a normal social development of humans, from which even Muslims today aren’t very far away. There is an important element in the transmission of the personality of the Prophet (PBUH), Fakir here thinks that since the Qur’an praises the Prophet (PBUH) from the ethical point of view, the foundation for carrying his personality in our life should encompass the ethical dimension of morality, spirituality, exaltation and of the relation between the Prophet (PBUH) and God, and approaching Him.
This seek, doesn’t refer to traditionalism or liberalism; the soul of man doesn’t experience the difference. From a social aspect there is a difference; even when a Prophet (PBUH) sent people to rule in a different society he said the rules need to be inserted according to the Qur’an and hadeeth then if we don’t find a solution among these two, then we will make a decision based on the rational thinking. Hence in order to seek the ethical reasoning we need to get acquainted with Allah Almighty and the Prophet (PBUH), as we mentioned that it has been said in the Al- Ikhlas Surah. The connection with the Prophet (PBUH) is made through reading about his virtues and attitude in society but also through the ibadah practices that he conducted. Tasbih / exaltation through different formulas, like for example after namaz we say 33 times subhanallah, 33 times Alhamdulilah and 33 times Allah Akbar; these are key to getting to know the Prophet (PBUH). There is a lot of argument whether namaz tarawi is 2 rakkah, 4, 8 or 10. What is important here is to note that that namaz tarawih is the formula through which our soul becomes acquainted and befriends the soul of the Prophet (PBUH). For example, now I will say, Prophet sal-lAll-llahu te’ala aleyhi ve sel-lem, and you will say All-llahumme sal-li ‘ala Muhammedin ve ‘ala ali Muhammed. And why do we say this? We say this because in one hadeeth it has been marked “there are three groups of people I don’t seek to meet in the hereafter, they will be in disparagement: in the first group are the persons who reached Ramadan month but didn’t fast, in the second group are those whose parents are alive (or one of them) and they don’t take care of them and the third group are those who hear my name but don’t send salutation -salawat”. Now if you look at this from a rational point of view it won’t make much sense, like why can’t I say “All-llahumme sal-li ‘ala Muhammedin ve ‘ala ali Muhammed, and not meet the Prophet (PBUH)?”. But if you say “All-llahumme sal-li ‘ala Muhammedin ve ‘ala ali Muhammed” and if this salawat becomes part of your life, then the Prophet (PBUH) will approach you, he will appear in your dreams. He will create a friendship with those who mention him, send salutation – salawat.
Beloved people reading this, this aspect of approaching the Prophet (PBUH) can only experienced by opening our doors and inserting the relationship with the Prophet (PBUH) that’s why we say All-llahumme sal-li ‘ala Muhammedin ve ‘ala ali Muhammed; this is also why during Mawlid we stand up, not because its haram or halal, muhab or mustahab, but to create a relationship with the Prophet (PBUH). You cannot install this spiritual connection in jurisdictional platform, namaz of tarawi either. Let me ask you a simple question: why people mostly pray the namaz of Eid, and not so much the namaz of fajr (morning prayer)? From a jurisdictional point of view Eid namaz is at a lower scale but there is surely something more to it. During Eid prayer there is a metaphorical meaning, something that symbolizes a belonging to a group “I am part of it too” (at least for Eid), that these people are not excluded from Islam, aside from this Eid prayer gathers within all evliya or Allah Almighty’s companions; wherever they may be spread across the world, Eid prayer brings them all together at the Mosque; this is why Eid prayer is attractive since there is a special spirituality about it. (I would just like to mention another event, and this will be it for tonight). It has been said by the companions of Allah Almighty (evliya) that (you have heard about one evliya that is mentioned in the Qur’an in the case of Moses and his relation to a devoted slave of God, among us he is known as Hz. Al-Khidr). He prays the Eid namaz in the Fatih Mosque of Istanbul (If you ever visit Istanbul it is good to visit this mosque, it’s a beautiful mosque built by Fatih Sultan Mehmed and the most significant religious and scientific researches of the Osman time were conducted in that mosque; this mosque remained alive in the presence of the scholars; there was even a madrasa that served as an institute for highly advanced studies). During one Eid prayer Al-Khidr (PBUH) went inside the Fatih Mosque to pray and after prayer the usual lecture began so he sat next to a pillar. Next to him was a man leaning on a pillar who seemed like he would fall asleep. Al-Khidr (PBUH) advised him to pay attention and not fall asleep, the person only looked at him and didn’t say a word. Then again after 2-3 minutes, Al-Khidr saw that he was going to fall asleep and again warned him, and again the person just looked back at him and did not say a word. When he tried to awaken this man again, the latter turned to him and said “look, if you dare touch me once again, I will tell everyone in here that you are Al-Khidr and no piece of hair will be left in your head (people would run to try and take whatever they could from him since he is an evliya). Al-Khidr (PBUH) was left speechless and didn’t venture to say another word. When he made contact with Allah Almighty he said: “Ya Rabbi’lalemin, I have the list of evliya but this person wasn’t found on the list. How did he know who I was?”, Allah Almighty turned to him and said: “I have provided you the list of those who love Me, but those whom I love, I haven’t shared that list with you; that person was among those whom I love”. I gave this example from Eid prayer since it is very appealing, since all evliya around the world gather in the mosque for this namaz.
Thank you!