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| Problem at Masjid |
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| AbdulMuhsee |
| 02/22/05 at 07:58:18 |
| Assalemu Alaikum I've been going to the [...] for about a year now since i've reverted to Islam and am just now discovering several horrible things going on there... and nothing i can do about it. There are pictures of men and women on the walls, the men and women share the same hallway and usually end up rubbing against eachother in their rush to get to jammah due to the corwded hallways. We just got a sheikh about a month ago and I expressed my concerns and he merely said "you can't change the world overnight." Meanwhile, a brother moved here to [...] and is opening another masjid a few miles away. He tells me that there are even more horrible things going on at the [...], ie: they are pocketing money and not using it to fix the masjid, some of their books give false information, and this is why we never had a sheikh up until now: nobody would work for us, or they were fired because they tried to change the masjid. This newcomer is 'Salafi' and he says the people in charge of the [...] are 'Answari' and only care about how much money is in their drop box. He is going to write a 12 page refutation article and hand it out to everyone apparently. My concern is: I have many people from school that may be reverting to Islam sometime soon and I don't want them caught in a crossfire between these two masjids. The 'Answari' people at the [...] stopped the building of the 'Salafi' masjid last time, but this new guy claims they won't be able to this time. I just want some advice as to what to do and some info on 'Salafis' and 'Answaris' Juzzak'Allah Khair [Edited by Admin] |
| 02/22/05 at 09:57:54 |
| jannah |
| Re: Problem at Masjid |
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| jannah |
| 02/22/05 at 09:55:50 |
| slm, I removed the name of your masjid b/c i feel it is inappropriate to post to the world about it when ur claims (not doubting them) cannot be verified. Bro, many of our communities go through things like this... you know what it's called: FITNA... and anyone who is near it gets sucked in and ends up becoming PART of the fitna... you know what the sahabah like abu dharr did during times of fitna... they went way out to the desert and stayed out of it.. even when ppl came knocking on their door asking the sahabah to pick sides at the end of a sword they refused to get involved. So I suggest for your benefit you stay out of it and quietly do dawah the best ways that you can in your locality and do your best to stay out of the gruesome politics there. .... The more I read your post the more upsetting it is. This is how Muslims destroy their communities and then they wonder why they are in the situation they are in the world over. You did the right thing in expressing your concerns to the imam and maybe you should to the masjid board/leadership. Over time they may be able to change things and make them better. They are the one's that will ultimately be responsible for these things. For individual people to undermine the leadership and decide to create their own masjid, write 12 page papers etc... is exactly how fitnah begins. Seriously people need to look at their own selves and try practicing Islam before they go around trying to force their version of it on others. |
| 02/22/05 at 10:10:49 |
| jannah |
| Re: Problem at Masjid |
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| bhaloo |
| 02/22/05 at 23:08:22 |
| [slm] I think instead of writing the 12 page refutation and distributing it to all the members at the masjid, the individual should take up his concerns with the sheikh and present the problems that he sees. Maybe they can come to an understanding. When something wrong is being done, people should not sit back and do nothing, they need to command the good and forbid the evil. Allah tells us (what means): "...And command good and forbid evil, and be patient with whatever afflicts you..." (Surah Luqman 31:17). Sheikh Munajjid addressed the issues of groups here: With regard to joining some group or other, there is no doubt that Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have enjoined us to be with the jamaa’ah (main body) of the Muslims. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The hand of Allaah is with the jamaa’ah.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2167) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani. And he said: “You must stay with the jamaa’ah, for the wolf eats the sheep that wanders off alone.” Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, 847 and classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i. And he said: “The Shaytaan is with one, but he is further away from two.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2165; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. And there are many ahaadeeth on this topic. Undoubtedly it is prescribed for the Muslim to cooperate with a group of his brothers in obeying Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) with regard to matters such as enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil, calling others to Allaah, seeking knowledge and encouraging one another to adhere to the truth and be patient, etc. In this manner a person can protect himself against the Shaytaan as indicated in the ahaadeeth quoted above. This is included in the words of Allaah (interpretation of the meaning): “By Al‑‘Asr (the time). 2. Verily, man is in loss, 3. Except those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth, and recommend one another to patience” [al-‘Asr 103:1-3] But if what the questioner means is joining a group in the sense of thinking that this is the only group that is following the truth and that all others are following falsehood, loving those who follow this group with him and hating others – as happens with many of those who are members of these groups nowadays, then this is a kind of injustice which Allaah and His Messenger, and the believers, do not like, and which only makes the ummah more fragmented and weak. Rather the believers love all the believers, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Verily, your Wali (Protector or Helper) is none other than Allaah, His Messenger, and the believers” [al-Maa’idah 5:55] “The believers are nothing else than brothers (in Islamic religion)” [al-Hujuraat 49:10] And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The Muslim is the brother of his fellow Muslim.” All of these groups which are agreed upon the bases of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa’ah are defending Islam one way or another. No one group has a monopoly on the truth, and the call to Allaah (da’wah) needs the efforts of all of them and more. The believer loves and supports all the believers and cooperates with them in obeying Allaah, even if they are far away from him, and he refrains from helping them to disobey Allaah, even if they are the closest of people to him. Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him was asked about the ruling on joining Islamic groups and following the methodology of a particular group and not others. He replied: It is obligatory on every person to adhere to the truth, what Allaah and His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, not to adhere to the methodology of any group, whether it is the Ikhwan al-Muslimeen or Ansaar al-Sunnah or any other group. He should adhere to the truth. If he joins the Ansaar al-Sunnah and helps them with regard matters in which they are following to the truth, or he joins the Ikhwaan al-Muslimeen and agrees with them on matters in which they are following the truth, without going to extremes or being negligent, there is nothing wrong with that. But if he adheres to their set of beliefs and never deviates from it, this is not permitted. He has to follow the truth wherever it leads him. If the truth is with the Ikhwaan al-Muslimeen, he has to follow it, and if it is with the Ansaar al-Sunnah, he has to follow it, and if it is with another group, he has to follow it. He has to follow the truth, and help all other groups with regard to the truth, but he should not adhere to a particular way of thinking never forsaking it even if it turns out to be false or mistaken. That is wrong, and is not permitted. He should be with the group in every way in which they are correct, and not with them in the matters in which they are wrong. Majmoo’ Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanaawi’ah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), p. 237. |
| Re: Problem at Masjid |
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| se7en |
| 03/01/05 at 14:36:44 |
| as salaamu alaykum, I hope you're doing well insha'Allah :) I agree with jannah.. I think the best thing to do is to stay out of the politics (which are just a waste of time, energy and emotion) and instead focus your time on doing positive things, with other people who also want to do positive things. It's awesome to hear that some people from your school are thinking about embracing Islam. Maybe you can think about organizing an "Islam 101" class on the basics of Islam, for them and for others who are new to Islam or are thinking about converting. You may not have liked the response the imam has given you ("you can't change the world overnight"), but perhaps he is thinking long term, and is trying to be strategic in how to bring about change. The sunnah of Allah is a sense of gradualism. Even if you look to the seasons.. it doesn't go from the dead of winter to the extreme heat of the summer over night, right? And this is something we too should imbibe. If people are engaging in improper behavior, what would be the most effective way of changing things: a.) yelling at them to desist that behavior *at that exact moment*; or b.) educating them so that they realize what they are doing is wrong and stop doing it *forever*? I believe the second brings about a much stronger and more long lasting change than the first. if a person is really seeking to change the way things are in a certain community or masjid, they have to seek to change hearts. otherwise people can always build another masjid. and, perhaps this behavior at the masjid comes very low on the list of priorities -- maybe the community needs to first learn about more important things, such as 'aqeedah, how to perform salah properly, eman, etc. the roots needs to be firmly established before getting to the branches. work to better the masjid. the worst thing you can do is break way from the community and try to start your own thing. this happens all too often and the consequences of it are nothing but bad. what good does this do except divide a community? and you leave the masjid without anyone like you to work to improve it and change things. remember, the masjid doesn't belong to the imam or the board of trustees or anyone who may be influential in the decision making process. it is a house of Allah; a place for those who submit to Him and love Him to come together to get closer to Him. don't feel like it's not the right place for you, because you may think differently from others. also.. being polite and diplomatic with someone doesn't mean that you support and love everything that they do. work together with the masjid on things that you agree on, in the areas where you have similar goals.. and one last thing, as a personal advice to you: don't label. don't label yourself away from other Muslims, and don't put a label on others, no matter how true they may seem to be. it's really a shaytanic method of keeping hearts distant and causing discord among people. keep in mind that if that person is Muslim (even if they may be totally wrong about something) we have to remember the hadeeth that says that the honor of a Muslim is sacred and not violate that. In short: Don't waste your time trying to figure out whether this group or that group is on the straight path. and don't give up on your masjid. work on your soul, and using your time for beneficial things, that benefit you and benefit others.. wasalaamu alaykum |
| 03/01/05 at 15:05:37 |
| se7en |
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