Dawoodi bohras are like any other community
Mu
As Salaam Aleikum wa
Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah
One of our
brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Dear Brother Burhan, Assalamualaikum Mashallah,a very thought provoking website...i feel sorry for you,with the
amount of hate mails you are receiving...i was always
of the opinion that the Dawoodi Bohras
are a very tolerant and open minded people...clearly they too,like
any other group,have their oddballs...somehow though,i am of the opinion that although there are some
wrong beliefs and `irregularities` in some branches of our faith,we
should strive for unity,and try to keep brotherhood
amongst muslims alive,be it
AhleSunnah,Ithnashari,Ismailliyyah or anybody else.Idealistic?maybe...but its a start....and who knows?maybe there IS some Bohra
out there who would be able to clearly point out HIS definition of shirk to
you...without the bonus lanats and curses :) Ma Salaama
(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:
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 reward you for your
kind comments and your supplication and efforts in striving to unite this Ummah of Islam into One Ummah. You are absolutely right when you say that
it is idealistic; and we absolutely agree with you that this is a start! On the Day of Judgement,
Allah Subhanah will not ask us whether we were
successful in uniting the Ummah or not; what He will
ask us is what did we do for the propagation of His Deen
and ask us about our deeds…. Not the results!
The results are always in the Sole Domain and Power of Allah Subhanah Alone. This
Islamic Ummah was one Ummah,
but with time, some people broke away and formed their own sects and creeds.
Just look at the Anger and Wrath
of Allah described on those who break up their religion into sects:
Allah says in Chapter
45 Surah Al-Jathiyah aayat 17:"Then they differed amongst themselves after
the knowledge (of Islam) had come to them, only because they wanted to wrong
one another. Your Lord will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection
concerning the matters in which they have been differing."
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon verse 52-55: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. What?
Do they think that, by continuing to provide them with wealth and
children, We are solicitous for their welfare? Nay, they do not understand the reality of
the matter!
The duty that Allah Subhanah has laid upon the believers is to invite all those
who wish to listen to good caution to the clear guidance and teachings of the Quran; and that is all we intend to do. To guide someone to Islam or to leave them
astray is the Power and Domain of Allah Subhanah
Alone.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran: Chapter 16, Surah
An-Nahl Ayat 125:Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and excellent
admonition and argue with people in the best manner. Your Lord knows best who
has gone astray from His Way and who is Rightly
guided.
Your
Statement: maybe there IS some Bohra out there who would be able to clearly point out HIS
definition of shirk to you...without the bonus lanats
and curses.
The Glorious Quran
just does not leave any room for the heinous sin of ‘shirk’ or associating
others with Allah Subhanah in any way! The whole concept of Islam is based on the
foundation of Tawheed – the Oneness of Allah Subhanah! And Shaitaan has always tried to indulge people into committing
the heinous sin of shirk….as he very well knows that this sin of shirk is
unforgivable in the Court of Allah Subhanah. All the communities that Allah destroyed and
annihilated in the times gone by, were destroyed
because they were predominantly involved in Shirk!
It is indeed unfortunate that
today, even though we have the Holy Quran and the
established Sunnah of the Messenger (saws) amongst
us; some people call themselves muslims but are
involved in this unforgivable sin of shirk!
They invoke human beings alive and dead in their graves for their needs;
they call upon them in times of distress; they are grateful to them for the
bounty that Allah bestows upon them; they spend all their lives doing deeds to
please their holy men and the ancestors of these holy men, thinking that somehow
these people will intercede for them and grant them Paradise!; and bow down in sajdah and prostration to their holy men and graves in
submission, whereas only Allah Subhanah deserves our total submission!
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 72:Whoever commits
‘shirk’ (invoking anything with Allah), Allah shall forbid for him
Allah says in the Quran: Chapter 4 Surah An-Nisa Verse 48:Shirk (associating
other deities with Allah) is the only sin that Allah does not forgive, and He
forgives, whomsoever He pleases, sins other than this. For whosoever associates any other partner
with Allah, does indeed forge a big lie and commits the most heinous sin
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 65-66:If you commit
‘shirk’ all your works will be rendered vain and you will be among the
losers. Therefore, you should worship
Allah Alone, and be among His grateful servants.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 39 Surah Zumar verse 67:These people (who
commit shirk) have not recognized the true worth of Allah, as His worth should
truly be recognized. (As for His
Omnipotence) the entire earth on the Day of Resurrection shall be in His grasp
and the heavens shall be rolled up in His Right Hand. Glorified is He and Exalted above the
‘shirk’ that these people commit.
We have tried to give evidence
upon evidence from the Holy Quran to prove to our Bohra brethren the difference between Tawheed
and Shirk…. Not once have they or any of
their scholars or bhaisahebs tried to give an
explanation of the shirk that they commit in the name
of Islam! Not once! Instead all they can do is curse and use
foul language; most of which is so foul and vulgar that it is not possible for
us to circulate them to our readers!
We ask for absolutely no reward
and no thanks for this service from our brethren. Our only objective is to do this work for
the Pleasure and Good will of Allah Subhanah. And if our Merciful Lord wills, we will
continue to do this work till the last breath leaves our body! Our only duty is to invite our brethren to
read and understand the Glorious Quran, which are the
very words of Allah Subhanah and then decide which is the Straight Path of Islam that leads to His Mercy and
Forgiveness. Allah has given
human beings the faculty of intelligence and a free choice to choose the path
he wants.
Allah says in the Holy
Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verses 40-44:Some of these
people will believe in (The Quran), and others will
not. Your Lord knows these
mischief-makers very well indeed. If
these people deny you, say to them: “I am responsible for my deeds and you are
for yours. You are not accountable for
what I do, nor am I for what you do.”
There are many among them who hear what you say, but will you make the
deaf to listen to you, even though they be incapable
of understanding this? Then there are
many others among them who see you. But
will you show the way to the blind, even though they be bereft of sight? The fact is that Allah does not in any way
wrong the people, but they wronged themselves!
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,
