format_quote Originally Posted by
Ali_008
:sl:
I don't know how to keep this short, but I had this argument with a fellow Muslim today which turned weird from a peaceful talk about Islam. I, literally, had an argument, and I regret every bit of it.
Well, the gist of it is it actually started with a difference of opinion about Islamic attire. I was putting forward the claim that there are six parameters mentioned in the hadith, and those being:
- The clothes shouldn't resemble the opposite sex.
- The clothes shouldn't be transparent enough to see through.
- The clothes shouldn't be so tight that they reveal the physique of the person wearing it.
- It shouldn't contain any symbols or ideologies of non-Muslim faiths.
- The extent of the clothes covering the body; for men, from navel to knees; and for women, the entire body except the face and hands upto the wrist. Some scholars propose that even the face should also be covered.
- It should not be so flashy that it attracts the opposite sex.
According to him, imitating the Prophet (PBUH) is more important than any criteria whatsoever. I was saying we have no clear evidence what they used to wear during his time, and that clothes are more a matter of region than religion, and as long as they are in accordance with the above mentioned 6 factors then they shouldn't be a problem. That was one disagreement.
Then I said I believe so because I've heard Zakir Naik himself say that. He said he doesn't like Zakir Naik, and his preaching in "western" attire, and him wasting time with non-Muslims. He said he didn't need to waste time with learning the other religions, he should have focused more on Muslims etc etc. I said his attire, his knowledge of other religions is all because he wants to connect with his "western" audience because he preaches in English, and also let his listeners know that he knows their religion and chooses Islam over them all because of such and such reasons. He uses logic in dawah and that is why so many people respect him.
Then he said that he doesn't believe in all this "logic" stuff, because all you need is Allah to bring them to Islam. It all went silly after that and I said to him that I embraced Islam practically in 2007 because Islam made sense to me (I'm a born Muslim, but started practicing only in 2007). He said you're self contradicting because faith doesn't need to make sense to you for you to believe in it; you just believe in it. I said to him that applies to non-Muslims, not to Muslims because the specialty of Islam is that it is a totally logical faith. There is hardly anything in it that is just a random commandment. Rather, every aspect of Islam has a lot of wisdom behind it.
It became uselessly vehement after that. Alhamdulillah, both of us remained within our limits but we could sense each other's anger. imsad
I know his stance is valid that all you need is Allah. I can't say that he is wrong, but the fallout of this argument left me thinking if everyone thinks that they are Muslims because it "appeals" to them, or are they just Muslims with blind faith in Allah and His Messenger (PBUH)? I understand that being Muslim you need to have utter faith in both Allah and His Rasool :saws1:, but is that the only reason for your devotion. In other words, are you a Muslim because it makes sense to you or you're just Muslim with little to no regard for logic and reasoning?
:sl:
Jazakallahu khayr for sharing your issues with us. My brother in life you will come across many who will argue and fight with you about trivial matters or use their little understand of Islam to give a distrorted view about a particular matter/s. That is why "little knowledge is dangerous knowledge". What i would sincerely advise you to do is to avoid getting into such arguments as much as you can even though it may be difficult at times. If you know about the issue in accordance with the understanding of reliable scholars then state your stance using wisdom and tact and then leave it at that. But if are unsure about the matter then simply say that you are unsure and will look into it or ask the relevant knowledgable people and then get back to him and that he should also do the same rather than merely state his own opinion without much knowledge about it. There is nothing wrong with not knowing the answers, as we are all human and even scholars do not know the answers much of the time and they themselves have to look into certain issues and topics or ask or refer to those more knowledgeable than them.
Regarding the issues that both of you were debating then firstly we should try our utmost to imitate not only the characteristics and sayings and actions of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) but also what he wore like the Jubba, Imaamah, topi, Kohl, Miswaak, Ithar, leather socks etc. This is because inner purification is just as important as outer purification. We know very well what the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) wore as is stated in many ahadith and the sayings of the companions etc. Although his clothing etc was for the region it is also something we as his followers should aspire to follow and implement just like the followers of any idol and celebrity would aspire to want to dress and be like his idol. Our idol and the one we want to be like and imitate is the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) and therefore we should aspire to want to dress and be like him. But you are correct in that as long as one conforms to the conditions set out by the Qur'an and Sunnah regarding the way we dress etc then it is perfectly acceptable. But we should all aspire to follow the Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) FULLY with regards to dress as well as actions, sayings and purification of the heart and soul.
Also just because Dr Zakir Naik wears a suit then that is no reason to put him down like your friend did. We should not put another Muslim down by making ourselves seem more superiour for that is arrogance. Dr Naik is doing good work by spreading the word of Islam and trying his best to clarify misconceptions of non believers. He is not perfect and makes mistakes, but dont we all? What is apparent that most of his work is good and beneficial to both Muslim and non Muslim. He or anyone else has no right to put im down. In life there will always be haters but we should not be one of those people who hate, but we should look at ourselves first and reflect over our own flaws before we put others down. So he has no basis in his criticisms of Dr Zakir Naik.
I think you should take the brother to a man of knowledge or even send him a good online lecture from a scholar on the obligation of dawah in Islam because he seems to wrongly think that it is not upon us to spread the word of Islam and to clarify misconceptions of the non believers when it is our duty:
"Invite to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Revelation and the Qur’an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided."
[Quran 16:125]
Prophet Muhammad ( completed his assignment in his lifetime by conveying the message to the entire Arabian Peninsula and sending letters to the heads of surrounding countries. In his Khutbah (ceremony) of his farewell Hajj (pilgrimage), he passed on the responsibility to every Muslim when he said : "Those who are present should convey (my message) to those who are not".
[Al-Bukhaari]
Remember! Da'wah has great rewards. The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said: "Whoever guides someone towards good, will receive the reward of the one who acts upon it."
[Muslim]
Therefore it is clear that the obligation of dawah is upon us and that means we must also give dawah to non Muslims to in the best way that we possibly can, even if it is one good word, even a smile or acting good towards a non believer, showing them the superiour characteristics taught to us by the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) who was the best example for the WHOLE of mankind.
Regarding Islam being logical then it is completely logical to believe wholeheartedly in the Qur'an and the Sunnah in the way the Qur'an was revealed, memorized and written down having no linguistical errors, and the hadith being transmitted and validated in accordance with the chains of narrations etc all of which logic applies. It is completely logical to believe that the Qur'an is a continuation of the revelation revealed to all the Prophets. The proof is in the Qur'an itself and its contents. It is also completely logical to believe that the Prophet Muahammad (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was the last and the seal of the Prophets and this proof is also in the Qur'an and Sunnah and by examining the remarkable life of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam), by his deeds, actions, sayings and his whole life which is a miracle in itself.
Everything Allah revealed to us through the Qur'an and through the actions and sayings of the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wasallam) is completely logical and makes sense to the human mind. Have you not heard of countless reverts to Islam saying "Islam made complete sense to me"? That is because it appeals to human logic. Even myself i was attracted to the logic of the Qur'an and Sunnah and that appealed to me in a way that no other religion or faith did. Obviously there are many things which are beyond our logic and reasoning. For example the angels, death, hereafter, heaven and hell etc but then again so are things like black holes and how the Universe was created, big bang etc, our mind cannot comprehend what they really are, we can only guess or imagine in accordance with our limited thinking and understanding.
So as Muslims we know everything in Islam does make sense, even though we have never seen or experienced death, or the hereafter we know that it only makes sense that it does exist. Therefore Islam is completely compatible with human logic in the way that it makes complete sense to us. That which is beyond our reasoning, understanding to comprehend still makes sense to us. Even that which may or may not makes sense to us becomes something that we believe in without a doubt because we trust in Allah and know that there is always a special wisdom behind his creation and that which he commands from us.
And Allah knows best in all matters