hi!!

 Hadith Qudsi

I think this is my favorite hadith right now. i just feel so comforted and uplifted by it.

[Edited 11th Dec 2012 I apologise for the length of this post. The interpretation I present here is very different to traditional ones and may be disagreeable to many Muslims.  I do not claim to have a correct understanding of the Quran, but offer this as a small contribution to the wider discussion.] ————————————————- The issue of homosexual relations and Muslims revolves around two broad issues: the interpretation of the story of Lut in the Quran and whether same-sex marriages are possible. An excellent book to read on the subject is Scott Siraj al-Haqq Kugle’s Homosexuality in Islam (Oneworld Publications, 2010) where he interprets the story of Lut in a way that shows it is not a condemnation of consensual homosexual relations.  He also draws on fundamental principles of traditional shariah law to argue same-sex marriages should be made possible. My understanding is a bit different. Bring forth in desire 26/165 and 27/55 are verses that have been traditionally used to condemn homosexual acts.  27/55 Do you bring [tatu] the “men” [l-rijāl] eagerly/in desire [shahwatan] besides the “women” [l-nisā]? Rather, you are an ignorant people [qawm]! The word tatu (plural of ata - ‘brought’) does not mean sexual approach. In 26/16 Prophets Musa and Harun were commanded to “bring [ati] Phirawn and say…” Obviously, they were not approaching Phirawn for sex.  The verb tatu is also found in a very common phrase of the Quran: “wa-aqīmū l-ṣalata wa ātū l-zakata” - “and establish the ṣalat and bring the zakat.”  No one “approaches” their zakat, sexually or otherwise. Secondly, see 3/14, 4/27 and 19/59 where the word for ‘desire’, shahwatan, is not sexual. 3/14 Beautified for mankind is love of the (things of) desire [l-shahawāti]… of the horses and the cattle… Mankind has a sexual desire for horses and cattle?  A useful comparison can be made with 12/24 in the story of Yusuf - a passage most definitely about sex and sexual desire.  The word used in reference to sexual lust is ‘hamma’ and not ‘shahwatan.’ 12/24 And certainly she desired [hammat] him, and he desired [hamma] her.  Had it not been that he saw the proof of his Lord; it was thus We directed from him the evil and the immorality. He is of Our loyal servants. Thirdly, Lut addresses the community [qawm], not the men. If the crime was of male homosexuality we would have expected Lut to address the criminals exclusively, not the entire people. The sex angle is not found in 26/165 either, especially when considering 6/139: And they say, “What is in the bellies of these, the cattle, is only for our males [dhukūrinā] and forbidden upon our partners [azwājinā]. But if it is dead then they in it are associates.” He will recompense them their attribution! Indeed He is Wise, Knowing. Note how there is no mention of females [ināth], the males are contrasted with their partners/kind [azwāj], so the people are treating the ‘males’ with favour and mistreating their ‘partners’. This verse is certainly not about sex, yet the language is very similar to what we find in the Lut story. 26/165 Do you bring [tatūna] the males [l-dhuk’rān] from the worlds [l-ʿālamīn], 26/166 And forsake [tadharūna] what created your Lord for you of your partners [azwājikum]? Rather, you are a people [qawmun] transgressing! The community (not the men exclusively) of Lut were forsaking those who by rights had equal status with them.  So why read this ‘forsaking’ as a reference to sexual practices?  The discrimination in these verses, 27/55 and 26/165-166, could be about economics, access to education, legal rights, or any number of injustices where one section of society are brought forth in desire at the expense of another.  It also makes no sense to say the community of Lut were guilty of homosexuality when we see that his wife was to be punished too: 11/81 So travel with your folk in a part from the night and do not look back, anyone of you, except your consort [im’ra-at].  Indeed, it will afflict her what will afflict them… The Quran makes it a point to highlight that what will afflict his people will afflict her as well.  Unless she was also having gay relations behind Lut’s back, or something to that effect, it’s obvious the crimes had nothing to do with homosexuality.  We can see this most clearly in 29/29: “Indeed you bring the “men” [l-rijāla], and you cut the way, and bring [tatūna] in your assemblies the evil?” But not was the response of his people [qawm] except that they said, “Bring upon us the punishment of God if you are of the truthful!” Cutting of the way can be understood when looking at 26/69, where it says that “those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways [subulanā], and indeed God is surely with the doers of good.”  Cutting the way [taqṭaʿūna l-sabīla], therefore, is to prevent people from doing good and improving their situations. “You bring the men” is not qualified with “in desire” or “besides the women” like in 27/55 because the bringing forth is not sexual.  If we understood it as referring to sex then the women who “bring the men” would in fact be acting lawfully.  There’s clearly something about bringing the rijāl in this context which is inherently bad, irrespective of which gender is doing it. This is about elitism and class domination.  Committing evil in their assemblies is the practice of the elite, assemblies that do not include the voice of those they dominate.  Cutting the way [taqṭaʿūna l-sabīla] of God, preventing people doing good, is also the trait of an elite social class; exploiting those below them and and creating structures that keep them subjugated.  When you bring l-rijāl and forsake l-nisā, you end up with a ruling elite that commits evil, and it’s only when you treat both equally do you achieve a just society. Lut’s guests and his daughters In 29/33 we see the Quran says, “came [jāat]* Our Messengers to Lut” and that they informed him his people would be destroyed. 11/78 And came to him his people [qawm], hastening to him, and from before they had been doing the evil. He said, “My people [qawm], these are my daughters [banātī], they are too pure/purer [aṭharu] for you, so be aware of God and do not disgrace me regarding my guests [ḍayfī]. Is there not among you a man right-minded?” Traditional interpretations of this verse depict the men coming in joy to see and rape the handsome male guests [ḍayfī]. In response, Lut offers his daughters [banāt] instead. Scott Kugle argues it is inconceivable that Lut would genuinely offer his women to be gang raped; no sane man would do such a thing let alone a Prophet of God. He goes on to suggest Prophet Lut was being sarcastic:

Would anyone believe that a Prophet would offer his daughters to assailants intent on rape, as if their raping women would make the act “pure”? Rather, Lot makes a sarcastic comparison to show his assailants how wrong it is to rape guests over whom he has extended protective hospitality.  Both he and his tribe know that it is far from pure to take his daughters, whose dignity he protects; Lot argues that assaulting his guests is even worse in his sight than fornicating with his daughters.  Far from giving them license to rape his women, he is expressing, with sarcasm born of despair, that vulnerable strangers are as valuable to him as his own children.

Although I think this is a possible interpretation (far more reasonable than the traditional ones), some may find the point about sarcasm unconvincing.  Consider the way the Quran describes a related event involving Prophet Ibrahim: 11/69 And certainly came [jāat]* Our Messengers [rusulunā] to Ibrahim with tidings. They said, “Peace!” He said, “Peace!… And,   51/24-25 Has the narration been brought to you of the honoured guests [ḍayfi] of Ibrahim? When they entered upon him then said, “Peace!”, he said “Peace!”… The two sets of verses are speaking of the same event but the wording is slightly different in each. The guests [ḍayfi] are the Messengers [rusulu]; they are one and the same. The Quran often uses this style and may help explain Lut’s response to his people: 15/68 He said, “Indeed, these are my guests [hāulāi ḍayfī], so do not shame me!” And, 15/71 He said, “These are my daughters [hāulāi banātī], if you are doers.” The use of the same pronoun, hāulāi, in both verses suggests the guests are the people being described by Lut as his “daughters” (interestingly the Quran does not say til’ka banātī, ‘these are my daughters’ in 15/71 where both words would have been feminine). He was not offering his banāt to be raped over his ḍayf, rather he was referring to his ḍayf as his “daughters.” But why daughters?  What’s the significance of referring to them in this way?  There are some interesting entries found in the Classical Arabic dictionary, Lane’s Lexicon, under banāt where the meaning is not daughters.  One being:

“kāna iḥda banāti masjidi l-lahi” - He was one of the pebbles of the mosques of God.

For those that say that a person can be born with it, I ask you to prove it. There is no proof for it being related to genetics or anything. There is no gene that causes homosexuality.

It is caused by the environment and nurture, definitely not nature. One, as Muslims, we believe Allah is completely Just. It is not possible for Allah to create a person who is attracted to the same sex then completely forbid and condemn acting upon such desires.

Two, why is it that homosexuality is on the rise? Only because the society we live in today promotes homosexuality and says that it is normal. People say that it is not a choice because homosexuals want to change and like the other sex but they just cannot. That is not how mental diseases work. Do you think people with phobias want to be afraid? People who are afraid of the dark know that there is nothing going on, only the lights are turned off. Does it change the fact that they are afraid of the dark?

Three, it is definitely a spiritual disease. Anything that goes against one’s natural pure fitrah (disposition) is a spiritual disease. Our natural fitrah pulls us toward the worship and obedience of Allah (swt). The belief we hold is that every child is born a Muslim since their natural disposition is towards Allah and it is only their own bad choices due to their environment and nafsul ammara (carnal desires) that pulls them away from Allah. “No man, athiest kids are born athiests.” No. They are born Muslims but the way they are brought up and the way they think has caused them to move away from their own natural disposition.

Our natural disposition is to be married to the other sex. If anything goes against that, it is moving away from our fitrah. As the connection with Allah (swt) is weakened, it gives rise to spiritual diseases.

Basically, the distinction is moot.  Environmental influences can be as ineluctable as our genes, in which case our attitudes towards both should be the same.  So yes, God does make people queer, if not solely through their genes then certainly through the environment He willed for them.  The issue isn’t how or why people become queer, the issue is whether or not they should lose rights that are afforded to straight people simply for not being straight.  

This also makes calling on our ‘natural disposition’ moot as well.  If our fitrat is affected by our genes and environment then what does it matter? In fact, the term ‘natural’ is superfluous and meaningless: whatever happens in this world by definition is natural, as nothing operates outside natural laws anyway.  Which is why when people call on nature they don’t mean laws of the universe, they use it as an ethical term. 

Calling some kind of behaviour natural is to say we ought to behave in this way.  For example, a woman might be told she ought to breast-feed her child because she’s a mammal and it is natural for all mammals to suckle their young.  The usual response would be ‘so what?’  You can’t make a moral judgement from ‘one ought always to do what is natural’ because simply stating something is natural is not a reason to accept it.  So even though the claim ‘it’s in our nature to be straight’ is a meaningless statement to begin with, if we were to accept it as true it still doesn’t follow that we ought to be straight. 

The argument that allowing gay marriages and the like will destroy the traditional family is funny given Traditionalist Islam created a culture where it was typical for men to have several wives, to be promiscuous via muta’/misyar contracts, and were allowed an unlimited number of concubines.  Divorce was far from uncommon in ancient Arabia because wives could be easily discarded.  And children of slaves were born into bondage.  If this is the ‘family structure’ you’re trying to protect then know that straight people have undermined this definition themselves for centuries.

Muslims should stop this kind of nonsense.  If you are against queer people having relationships then be honest about the reason.  The reason is because you believe God said so.  That’s it.  Don’t pretend there’s any logic behind this belief because there really isn’t. 

And it’s condescending af and insulting to claim someone’s sexual orientation is a psychological and spiritual disease.

Rabia al-Adawiyya/ رابعة العدوية القيسية

Rābiʿah al-Baṣrī/ رابعة البصري

The Sufi Saint/Mystic

Some fun facts about a female Islamic figure who garners very little recognition. 

Rabia was born 713-717 C.E. in Basra, Iraq, the fourth daughter to a poor yet respected family. Due to hardships in her early life and the devastating death of her father, Rabia parted with her other sisters during a time of famine in Basra and was abducted by a man and sold into slavery.

 Rabia worked strenuously in the employment of her master but never forgot her service to God. She spent her days fasting and her nights praying. One night her master awoke and looked through a window that overlooked her quarters and witnessed Rabia, head bowed and praying to her Lord. She was entreating in these terms:

“Lord! You know well that my keen desire is to carry out Your commandments and to serve Thee with all my heart, O light of my eyes. If I were free I would pass the whole day and night in prayers. But what should I do when you have made me a slave of a human being?”

Upon hearing such beautiful prayers and (some historians mention) upon seeing a halo of Saintly light emanating from above her, Rabia’s master chose to set her free, for he could not deny someone so loved by God the freedom to pursue her devotion. 

Rabia traveled and grew in her knowledge and understanding of Islam under her mentor or murshid, Hazrat Hassan Basri. With time her fame reached the furthest corners of the empire and she gained many disciples.

Also many many marriage proposals followed her. Rabia chose an ascetic lifestyle turning down man after man in her quest to find the Divine Love. She turned down men such as Abd al-Wahid b. Zayd, who was known as a theologian, preacher and advocate of solitude and …..

Although there are more thirsty wedding proposal stories, I’d rather like to mention her amazing contribution to the Sufi order. Rabia was the first to introduce the idea/concept of Divine Love. She claimed that God should be loved for God’s own sake instead of out of fear.

She prayed: “O God! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell,

and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise.

But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.”

Many stories are accounted to her but all are written and recorded by others since she left behind no written works. She was an influential figure to many and yet her recognition today does her no justice. 

“In the history of Islam, the woman saint made her appearance at a very early period, and in the evolution of the cult of saints by Muslims, the dignity of saintship was conferred on women as much as on men. The goal of the Sufi’s quest was union with the Divine, and the Sufi seeker after God, having renounced this world an its attractions, being purged of self and its desires, inflamed with a passion of love to God, journeyed ever onward, looking towards his final purpose, through the life of illumination, with its ecstasies and raptures, and the higher life of contemplation, until at last he achieved the heavenly gnosis and attained to the Vision of God, in which the lover may become one with the Beloved, and abide in Him forever. Such a conception between the saint and his Lord left no room for the distinction of sex. In the spiritual life there could be neither male nor female.”

from 

Rabi’a The Mystic and Her Fellow-Saints in Islam

Don’t you realize that what is thought to be impossible is made possible through the will of your faith, in the bonds of your community, in your trust in God?

We are expected to be more patient. We are expected to be more kind. We are expected to be more hard-working. We are expected to be more hospitable. We are expected to be more generous. We are expected to be more ambitious.

You are not unique in facing challenges, not even the one’s you are facing right now. Do I know about them? No, but God does. Other Muslims do. That is why we are an Ummah, not to share jokes that only we get, and not even just to support each other, but to push each other to be better.

What we do, on the most basic, everyday level is considered daunting by others. The level of strength we have displayed, the hardships we have endured, the successes we have celebrated, the joys we have shared, we have overcome it all.

So stop setting the bar so low. Don’t beat yourself up for not being at your goal, but remember that you can achieve it.

By saying “La ilaha il-Allah, Muhammadu rasullah,” you are agreeing to strive to reach your potential, to strive through this short life in the best possible way, to be among the best.

Stop talking about what your limits are, stop talking about the fact you’ve lost patience, that you don’t think you’re strong enough; because you can destroy those limits, you can gain more patience, and you are strong enough.

You are a Muslim, act accordingly.

Basic Summary of Islamic Beliefs for Non-Muslims:

1. The Spirit of Islam by Afif Tabbarah 

2. A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam by I. A. Ibrahim. 

  History of Islam:

1. The Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir 

2. Stories of the Quran by Ibn Kathir

3. Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources by Martin Lings

4. Biographies of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs prepared from the works of Ibn Kathir, Tabari, Suyuti and others. 

5. The Companions of the Prophet, Part 1 and Part 2 by Abdul Wahid Hamid

6. History of the Caliphs by As-Suyuti(Political History of Islam)

7.  Revival of the Islamic Spirit by Ali Al Nadawi(Religious Scholarship History of Islam)

8. End of Days by Ibn Kathir(Prophecies of the Last Day)

  Aqeedah/Islamic Theology:

1. Fundamentals of Islamic Faith by Al Ghazali

2. Al Aqeedah Al Tahawiyah by Imam Al Tahawi

3. Book of Emaan by Ibn Taymiyyah

4. Foundation of the Sunnah by Ahmed ibn Hanbal

5. Kitab Al Wasiyyah by Imam Abu Hanifah

6. Major Sins by Imam Ad-Dhahabi

7. Fate and Destiny by Sheikh Shaarawi

  Fiqh/Juristic Issues in Islam:

1. The Evolution of Fiqh by Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

2. Fiqh Us-Sunnah by Sayyid Sabiq

3. The Four Imams by Muhammad Abu Zahra

4. The Nature of Fasting by Ibn Taymiyyah

  Quran:

1. The History of the Quranic Text by Muhammad Mustafa Al Azami

2. An Introduction to the Sciences of the Quran by Ahmad von Denffer

3. Usool At-Tafseer by Abu Ameenah Bilal Phillips

4. Reasons of Revelation by As-Suyuti

5. The Abrogated and Non Abrogated Verses by Ibn Al Arabi

6. Tafsir Ibn Kathir

  Hadith:

1. The Authority of the Hadith by Ahmed Yaar Khan

2. Usul Al Hadith by Abu Ameena Bilal Philips

3. An Introduction the sciences of Hadith by Suhayb Hasan

4. The Compilation of Hadith by Abdul Ghaffar Hassan

  Philosophy/Debate:

1. Manhuj Us-Sunnah by Ibn Taymiyyah

2. The Correct Reply to those who changed the Religion of the Messiah by Ibn Taymiyyah

3. Deliverance from Error by Al Ghazali

4. Revival of the Islamic Sciences by Al Ghazali

I found this post written by Jamerican Muslimah and found it to be one of the most accurate (sadly) and greatest things I’ve read on the immense amount of privilege men have in Muslim communities. It is written from the point of view of a man:

As a Muslim man: 1. I can set foot in any masjid I like. No one will stop me at the door and tell me that I am not allowed in the masjid.  2. When I attend Jumah prayer I know that I will have full access to the main prayer hall. I can enter through the front door and I am not required to sit behind a partition, one-way mirror or placed in a separate room. Also, I can see and hear the Imam when he is giving the kutbah (sermon). I do not have to worry about a speaker or closed-circuit system malfunctioning thereby preventing me from hearing the kutbah or seeing the Imam. 3. My voice is not interpreted as being a part of my awrah (parts of the body that are not meant to be exposed in public.) I can stand up and speak freely in an Islamic gathering. I can ask questions or challenge statements made by the imam or visiting speaker without worrying that my actions will be viewed as inappropriate. I am not told that I must write any questions I have onto a piece of paper.  4. I can use my position as a sheikh, scholar or imam to perpetuate my own sexist, misogynistic beliefs as long as I incorporate those beliefs into my interpretation of the Quran and the Sunnah. When others challenge me about my beliefs I can use my Islamic education, command of the Arabic language and position in the community to effectively silence them. If the dissenters are women, I can always make them seem crazy, emotional or neurotic. I can also accuse them of being influenced by the West, Western secularism, Feminism or “the Kufaar.” 5. If I do not dress in accordance with Islamic guidelines, for the most part, I am left alone by Muslims of both genders. Few people will approach me and inquire about the way in which I am dressed. I will not be written off as a “bad Muslim” nor will my dress code be used as an excuse to prevent me from attending the masjid or other Islamic functions.  6. Interpretations of Quran and Ahadith, fatwas, kutbahs, and Islamic books are often biased in favor of my gender. The body of scholarship produced by members of my gender is available and accessible to all. Their texts, legal opinions and names have not been ignored or virtually erased from Islamic history. 7. When I read a book about marriage, my rights and responsibilities or gender dynamics in Islam, the author is almost always the same gender as me. It is the same when I wish to contact a scholar in regards to any questions I might have. 8. If I have problems in my marriage I can go to an Imam for counseling services and I don’t have to be concerned about sexism or his “traditional” views of women. 9. If I become visibly upset during a marriage counseling session, I am not told that I am too emotional and therefore incapable of thinking logically or making major decisions about my marriage. On the contrary, any decisions I make are presumed to be well thought-out.  10. If I wish to end my marriage, my decision is not scrutinized by an imam or other members of the Muslim community. It is respected as the final one. I am not denied a divorce or told to make tremendous personal sacrifices in order to remain in the marriage. 11. When I convert to Islam, if I have the means (or the financial support of others), I can travel aboard to predominately Muslim countries in order to seek Islamic knowledge. I can be sure that my gender will not be a hindrance any way. At the same time, no one will ever tell me that I must wait until I am married in order to begin my travels. 12. I can stand up for the rights Allah has given me or challenge interpretations of those rights without people associating me with secularist Muslim movements. 13. If I cannot have children or suffer from a condition that interferes with my ability to have sexual intercourse I do not have to worry about my wife taking a second husband. Even if/when she decides to divorce me I can be sure that an imam or other community members will ask her to reconsider her decision. 14. If I am struggling with the temptation to fornicate, I know that I can discuss my predicament with an Imam or other Muslim men without fear that they will think I’m lewd or promiscuous. 15. I am not a visible representative of Islam. When I interact with non-Muslim colleagues, co-workers and members of the general public they may not necessarily know that I am a Muslim. Unless I make my religion/ethnicity known, I am not subjected to a barrage of questions about Islam, Muslims and my gender’s status in the religion. (The exception here would be Muslim men who don a thobe, turban, and wear a lengthy beard. Also, brothers who clearly appear to be Indian/Pakistani or Arab in the eyes of the public). 16. When a visiting scholar/imam comes to the masjid, by virtue of the seating arrangements (men in the front, no partition between the speaker and the men), I am able to speak with him face-to-face. I do not have to worry about crossing into “the women’s space” in order to ask a question or to make a comment.