format_quote Originally Posted by
brotherubaid
Yes al azhar has that reputation , but out here in UAE n dubai i see shoyoukh n khateebs n muftis that come from Azhar n most of them r CLEAN SHAVED !!!
Dear brother Ubaid,
I lived in UAE and lived in Egypt and have to say that God save all muslims and nations from sins and al-hamdolellah that there are countries that are safe and growing like UAE.
This is just a gentle note to a brother hoping to create a gentle understanding for the situation as someone who studied at Azhar in Egypt and belong in nationality to that nation.
First I tell you, that the prophet -pbuh- said: "Think of an excuse for your brother, and when you can't find an excuse, think that there might be an excuse that you don't know about." The prophet meant to keep the unity of muslims together, otherwise people will point at each other with blame about things when they do not know the whole story and more separation will be created and that is something muslims hardly need these days.
Second, as for Al-Azhar and its teachers, know my brother that they follow the Shafei math-hab, and based on the Al-Bukhary and Muslim Al-Shafei sees shaving the beard to be makrooh (unliked without sin), not haraam. I KNOW you might say that Ibn Al-Refaa said that Imam Al-Shafei originally said it is haraam, but the Shafei math-hab that Egypt follows says it is only makrooh, and so does Qadi Ayyad and Allama Baigramee and others. Know that I am not arguing for that opinion, I actually follow the majority of scholars on this one and keep a strict beard al-hamdolellah, however it is a valid math-hab and it is permissible for them to follow it.
Now, that is still not reason enough for the Islamic leaders of a community to commit makrooh you might think, and that would be correct, but this is where a bit of perspective might bring things around for you:
This might happen when you take into consideration that for over thirty years Egypt "security forces" has held a war against Islamic extremists and whomever "resembled" them. Assassination of Sadat, along with many journalists and politicians and even the attempt on Nobel prize winner Najib Mahfooz, along with all the terrorist attacks and blowing up of cafe's markets and Sharm and Luxor tourist attacks, have put the country into extended martial law for all that time. Easiest way to attract attention of a paranoid police officer is to have... "a beard". People have been pulled outside mosques by the bunches, dragged outside of vehicles, stopped in the markets just based on the beard, but unlike the discrimination in the USA, they are not questioned and searched and then let go. No, the lucky ones are taken down to the Egyptian police station or Mudereyyet Al-Amn (Department of Central Security), wama adraka ma heya the Egyptian police station or Mudereyyet Al-Amn! Those are the lucky ones, the unlucky ones would have a mistaken name, or just were praying at a mosque where another suspect was picked up and therefore everyone is a higher grade suspect. A friend of mine had his brother (we are all brothers but this one is blood related brother that is) taken from outside his mosque after fajr prayer. After putting my friend and their parents through 7 whole grueling months with no news about him, he was dropped off in front of their house. He entered and stayed in his room for two weeks, eating off the floor from the tray the parents leave and do nothing else. He spoke to his parents very short statements after one month, and left the house for the first time after 6 months. My friend noticed that his brother is now permenantly limping. His brother did not smile for over a year and went for counceling. During the year he frequently woke everyone in the house with his screaming and crying.
So if you can muster the imagination to bring to yourself the images of what a pious fajr-praying in the mosque muslim would have to be put through in order to be this damaged, and then match that the biggest trigger for such a horrific treatment can come from simply being mistaken for an extremist or a possible terrorist, and that the indication is primarily the beard, which to them is not haraam to shave but only makrooh, then you can start understanding.
As for their fatwas that you might find strange, people who are learned enough are working in great masjeds outside of the Middle East, and have learned to work with Islamic foundations and Islamic channels, unfortunately the Gulf countries now are getting the bottom of that barrel because it is to them it is prayer leading and Friday speech so only the weak ones are applying. I know of what you mean and sometimes you hear stuff that are almost funny. :)
However I hope I am bringing things in perspective and that you might have more tolerance for your brothers across the Red sea.
May God not test us with what we cannot bare, and may He grant us tolerence from others as well as the capacity to tolerate others.