Who would do the social services for Bohra reverts?
Mu' meneen
Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be
upon all of you)
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear Burhan
I have gone through
many of your Q&A and find your language and explanations outstanding. The
good thing is your answers are black and white without having shades of grey
(doubts) in them.
You know Burhan,
for the past 30 years I have known and prayed the way I have been taught. Even
I do not agree with many things happening in the Bohra
community but where does one go. How can I learn the right things and which
social circle can one belong to. You have to admit
this is very important. For e.g which mosque do you
go for prayers with the imam? Who would pray your nikaah?
I mean how does one know whether the person praying the nikaah
is doing it in the correct way as given in the Quran
and Hadith?
I beg you to answer
my questions and tell me how I can learn the right things?
(There may be some
grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not
change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our
readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Who would do the
social services for Bohra reverts?
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
May Allah Subhanah reward you with the best of this world and the
Hereafter for your kind comments of encouragement for our humble efforts in the
propagation of the Truth. We humbly hope, beg,
and pray the Merciful Lord
accepts our humble and weak efforts,
forgives us our shortcomings, and
saves you, us, and all the believers
from the torment of the Hell Fire. Ameen.
Your Statement: The
good thing is your answers are black and white without having shades of grey
(doubts) in them.
Our beloved and
respected brother in Islam, we must admit that we are absolutely undeserving of
your kind and noble comments! If you
find our answers ‘black & white’ and without any shades of grey (or doubts)
in them, then the ‘Praise’ belongs to the One Who revealed the Book of Guidance
without any error or ambiguity!
Allah says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse
1-3: All Praise is for Allah Alone, Who has sent down this Book to His Servant
(Mohamed (saws), and assigned nothing crooked to it. This Book says everything directly, so that
he may warn the people of the severe chastisement of Allah and give good news
to the believers, who
do righteous deeds, that they will have
an excellent reward.
Allah says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse
89: We have sent down to you this Book, which makes everything plain, and is a Guidance, blessing and good news to those who have
surrendered themselves entirely.
Your Statement: You know Burhan, for the
past 30 years I have known and prayed the way I have been taught.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.597 Narrated
by Abu Huraira
The Messenger of
Allah (saws) said, "No child is born but has the Islamic Faith, but its
parents turn it into a Jew or a Christian.”
Indeed, my
beloved brother in Islam, what you have said is true and a reflection of the wise
words of wisdom related by the Messenger of Allah (saws)! Every child learns from his parents and
society, but when he reaches the age of understanding, he uses the faculty of
reasoning and logic to determine what is Truth and what is falsehood!
Your Statement 2: Even I do not
agree with many things happening in the Bohra
community but where does one go.
Allah Subhanah has bestowed two things to man (and Jinn), which
he has not bestowed on any amongst His innumerable creations:
And
therein lies the test of Allah Subhanah! The one who uses his
intelligence and power of reasoning and chooses to strive to seek and obey the
Truth, has been promised the Mercy and Forgiveness of the Merciful Lord.
The one
who refuses to use his faculty of intelligence, and chooses to deny the
importance of the Truth revealed by the All Mighty Creator, will deserve the
Wrath and Anger of the All Mighty Lord!
If your
heart is not absolutely content and satisfied with the religion of your
forefathers, where man is subjugated by man, where man invokes and worships
human beings and graves, where man bows down in ‘sajdah’
to another man, where
man is recognized as ‘abde-syedna’ (slave of syedna); if your conscience screams from your heart that
something is wrong in the path chosen by your forefathers, then it would not be
wisdom to keep following falsehood! It
is obligatory on every human being, who has been bestowed with wisdom, intelligence,
and power of reasoning from his Lord, that he strive
to seek and obey only the Truth from his Lord!
Following
a ‘deen’ or way of life, just because one’s
forefathers followed it, will not be accepted as an excuse in the Just Court of
Allah Subhanah!
That is exactly what every people said to the Prophets of Allah who came
to them with the Truth!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 170-171: When
it is said to them, “Follow the Commands that Allah has sent down”, they reply,
“We will follow only what we found our forefathers practising.” Well, will they go on following their
forefathers even though they did not use common sense and did not find the
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 31 Surah Luqman verse 21: And when
it is said to them, “Follow what Allah has sent down”, they say, “We shall only
follow that upon which we found our forefathers.” What!
Will they still be following them even if Shaitaan
had been calling them to the raging Fire?
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 34 Surah Saba verse 43: When Our clear Revelations are recited
to these people, they say,
“This person only wants to turn you away from those deities whom
your forefathers have been worshipping.”
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 43 Surah Zukhruf verse 22-25: Nay! But they say, “We found our forefathers on a
way and we are only walking in their footsteps.” Even so, whenever before you We sent a warner to a habitation,
its people of means said, “We have found our forefathers on a way and we are
only following in their footsteps.”
Every Prophet asked them, “Will you still go on following the same old
way even if I guide you to a more right way than that you found your forefathers following?” They replied, “We disbelieve the religion
with which you have been sent.”
Consequently, We took vengeance on them. Just consider what was the
end of those who denied.
Your Question 3: How
can I learn the right things?
Allah says in Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah aayat 185: "Ramadan
is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this
Book is a Perfect Guidance for mankind and consists of CLEAR Teachings which
show the
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32: O
Prophet, tell
the people, “If you sincerely love Allah,
follow me. Then
Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His
Messenger.” And if, in spite of
this, they do not accept your
invitation, warn them that Allah does
not love those, who refuse to obey Him
and His Messenger.
True Guidance is
guidance which is rooted in the teachings of Allah and His Messenger (saws);
anything other than that is nothing but guaranteed misguidance. The Holy Quran is
amongst us in its perfect form as revealed to the Messenger of Allah from the
All Knowing Lord, and the Sunnah of the Messenger of
Allah (saws) is appropriately recorded.
Thus to learn the ‘right things’, one need not look any further than
these two sources of Divine wisdom.
Thus,
first and foremost read, understand and study for yourself the Quran and the Sunnah; and if one
needs any clarification whatsoever, he may ask any good believer or teacher and
refer the answers back to the guidance of the Quran
and Sunnah. If
the answers match the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah, accept it; and if they do not match the teachings
of the Quran and Sunnah,
reject it!
Your Question 4: which social
circle can one belong to?
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Al-Mu’minun verse 52: And
this ‘Ummah’ of yours is one ‘Ummah’, and I (Allah) am
your Lord, so fear Me Alone!
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith
171 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Amr
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “There will befall my Ummah exactly (all those) evils which befell the people of Isra'il, so much so that if there was one amongst them who
openly committed fornication with his mother, there will be among my Ummah one who will do that; and if the people of Isra'il were fragmented into seventy-two sects, my Ummah will be fragmented into seventy-three sects. All of
them will be in Hell Fire except one sect.” They (the Companions) said: “O
Allah's Messenger (saws), which is that?”
Whereupon he (saws) said: “It is one to which I and my companions
belong.”
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 49 Surah Hujurat verse 10: The believers are but a single Brotherhood: So make peace and
reconciliation between your two (contending) brothers: And fear Allah that ye may receive Mercy.
There are close to 1.8 billion people in the world today who claim to be
muslims! There is no better or bigger social circle
than the Brotherhood of the Believers, who are united in their worship of the
One and Only True Lord of the Worlds.
And if
one dares to ask a true believer which social circle (or sect) one belongs to,
he should proudly declare that he belongs to the sect of the Prophet (saws) and
his companions, who were recognized neither as Sunnis, nor Shias,
nor Dawoodi Bohras, etc.,
but by the name Allah Subhanah had chosen for the
believers: that is, ‘Muslims’!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse 77-78: O you who have believed, do ‘rukooh’ (bow down) and do ‘sajdah’
(prostration), and worship your Lord Allah Alone, and do righteous deeds: it
may be that you attain true success!
Exert your utmost for the cause of Allah, as one should. He has chosen you for His service, and has
not laid on you any hardship in your religion.
Therefore, be
steadfast in the religion of your father Abraham. Allah had named you ‘Muslims’
before this, and has named you (Muslims) in this Quran
also, so that the Messenger may be a
witness in regard to you, and you may be
witnesses in regard to the rest of mankind.
Your Statement 5: You have to
admit this is very important.
Yes, my beloved
brother in Islam, nothing; and I repeat, nothing is more important in this
world and the Hereafter than being a true Muslim, and being counted in the
sight of Allah Subhanah amongst the Ummah of Muslims.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith
184 Narrated by Mu'adh ibn Jabal
Allah's Messenger (saws) said: “Verily Shaitaan
is the wolf of a man just as the wolf is (the enemy) of a flock! He seizes the solitary sheep going astray
from the flock or going aside from the flock. So avoid the branching paths; it
is essential for you to remain along with the Ummah.”
Your Question 6: For e.g which mosque do you go for prayers with the imam?
A muslim can go into any of the millions of mosques anywhere
in the
The mosques are
the declared houses of Allah,
and no muslim has a right to stop
another muslim from worshipping Allah in any house of
Allah. Thus if any muslim
comes to any mosque, no matter the differences, no one has a right to stop the person
from worshipping Allah in the mosques.
It is a
grave sin for anyone to stop a muslim from entering
any mosque, and
thus stopping him from worshipping Allah Subhanah.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 72 Surah Jinn verses 18-19: And that the mosques are for
Allah. Therefore, do not call upon anyone else in them
along with Allah. And
that when the servant of Allah stood up to invoke Him, the people got ready to
assault him.
The truth
is brother, that
these sects of Shias,
Sunnis, Bohras, etc. are all man made and have absolutely no
basis in Islam. Islam is One Ummah,
and anyone who propagates breaking this Ummah
into sects and sub-sects is going against the clear commands of Allah Subhanah, and will
be severely accountable in the Court of Allah on the Day of Judgement.
Allah says in Chapter 30 Surah Rum aayat 31-32: "This (Islam) is the right and true
faith, but most people do not know. (Be steadfast on this) turning wholly and
sincerely towards Allah Alone, and fear Him, and establish the Salat, and do not be like the mushriks,
who have set up their separate creeds and divided themselves into sects, each
sect rejoicing in what it has."
Allah says in the Holy Quran
Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon
verse 52-54: And you all belong to one and the same ummah, and I Allah) am your
Lord; so fear Me Alone! Yet afterwards
the people divided themselves into different sects, and each sect rejoicing in
what it has. Well, leave them deeply
involved in their heedlessness up to an appointed time.
Q-7: Who would pray your nikaah? I mean how does one know whether the person praying
the nikaah is doing it in the correct way as given in
the Quran and Hadith?
Contrary
to popular belief or practice, there is absolutely no concept of ‘priestism’ or ‘moulvi-ism’ in
Islam! Some unscrupulous people have
self-appointed themselves as priests and ‘holy men’, and have apparently
‘hijacked’ and taken the sole right to perform these simple and normal rites of
Islam!
In
Islam one definitely does not need a priest or ‘holy man’ to do the ‘aqiqa’, or nikaah, or janaaza, or lead the prayer, etc. Every muslim,
who has even basic knowledge of the deen from the Quran and Sunnah can perform
these simple tasks!
Eg: Nikaah
It
is not the dua which is prayed at the time of the Nikaah which sanctifies the Nikaah. The conditions of Nikaah
are the following, without which the Nikaah would be
deemed null and void in the sight of Shariah:
If any
one of the above four obligatory conditions of Nikaah
are missed, the Nikaah will be deemed invalid in the
Sight of Shariah; regardless of who recites the dua or what duas are
recited! The dua
or supplication to bless the couple is not an obligatory condition of the Nikaah contract, and a Nikaah
which is done without any recitation of ‘dua’, but
meets all the above four conditions will be absolutely legal and valid in the
sight of Shariah.
Your Question 8: I beg
you to answer my questions and tell me how I can learn the right things?
Allah says in Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah aayat 185: "Ramadan
is the month in which the Quran was sent down: this
Book is a Perfect Guidance for mankind and consists of CLEAR Teachings which
show the
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imran verse 31-32: O
Prophet, tell the people, “If you sincerely love Allah, follow me. Then Allah will love you and forgive you
your sins, for He is All Forgiving, All Merciful.” Also say to them, “Obey Allah and His
Messenger.” And if, in spite of
this, they do not accept your invitation, warn them that Allah does not love
those, who refuse to obey Him and His
Messenger.
If
one sincerely wants to learn the ‘right things’ or the Truth, one need not look
further than these two sources of Divine Guidance:
1.
The Holy Quran
2.
The Sunnah of the Messenger of
Allah (saws).
There
is neither a third source, nor is one needed to obtain true guidance!
My
beloved brother in Islam, read the Message the
Merciful Lord has sent for the guidance of mankind with understanding from
cover to cover, even only once; and these issues of ‘nikaah’
and ‘janaaza’, etc. will become non-issues! These are simple and basic Shariah or Jurisprudence
issues which are outlined sufficiently in the Quran,
and if you need any clarifications whatsoever, you will find them sufficiently
and clearly explained in the Sunnah.
My
beloved brother in Islam, ‘arm’ yourself with these two sources of the
knowledge of ‘Truth’, and judge for yourself the value of these ‘self-declared’
holy men and priests in Islam!
If one
trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger
(saws), he can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes,
obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His
Messenger (saws), he
can be assured of being led astray.
Whatever written
of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and
whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone
Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
