Your Letters
There is no dispute that you can find Allah (s.w.t.) everywhere but I believe that few minds are programmed without distractions and disturbances, few minds are so finely attuned to divinity and very few places have the kind of sacredness and sanctity which are crucial and conducive to prayer. This is why even if I find a part of God magically ensconced in my mind or heart, I leap, or at least without restrain, walk fast towards a mosque.
There is something about a mosque that stills the unnecessary externals of existence and sedates the snarls of a soul. There is something about a mosque that, like fresh river water, pours into the eyes, rushes up to jaded eyeballs and rinses away the residue left behind by all the ugliness seen and encountered.
There is something about a mosque that rejuvenates the blood in our veins and repairs the broken spring of our heart, charging us like nothing else. Knock and the door shall be opened to you, we have been told endlessly. However some of us have just tapped and the doors and heavens have opened up with the mosque hurriedly becoming an earthly paradise for us. The little task of taking the first step is up to us, just that one tiny step, just to raise a hand in prayer, then in that same unfurled palm we find a banister and we find that it is a banister belonging to the stairway to heaven.
The walls of a mosque with verses of the holy Qur’an engender peace, nooks holding religious books and duas provide reassurance, the same people meet at the same time at the same place of worship and encourage healthy dialogue away from the hurly burly of commercial life and the sanctuary the holy place offers in our dark and happy hours, deprives us off our misery. Surely mosques, like a magnet, should draw one and all to their seen and unseen glow and should distract us from our never ending work, friends, family and everything.
Going to a mosque is like going into a miracle cooler where one comes out faith-fresh and if I have to describe the sustenance, strength, security that mosques have offered me, the English language will have to invent new words.
It is ironical that these very places which give us so much should get such scant affection and scant attendance from the people they were built for. And the Molvis who tend to them are treated so shabbily, recipients of only our disrespect.
If after death our souls do visit places then I shall come and reverentially hover over my favourite mosque rather than returning to my home where I will painfully be reminded of how much time I spent towards uplifting my standard of living in the temporary world to which I will no longer return.
And until I live, I hope I have the blessing of being able to enter these little heavens amidst us daily. There is an old Greek saying which says "those with whom God is angry with, God grants all their wishes and when wishes are granted, nobody stops by at a place of worship." However for us let there be that one wish which prevails above all, that wish which leads us to the house of God.
How ironic that those who Allah (s.w.t.) has blessed with healthy minds and healthy bodies do not feel duty-bound to actually pray, be close to divinity, use their strength and gifts to exercise goodness and assist the universe in its upward march.
And how sad that those who can enter a mosque and reach out to God on behalf of others, don’t do it. They are unaware that a mosque is a place where you go not only to supplicate for yourself but also to plead for others including our religious leaders.
Come on brothers, let us remind each other on the important status that a mosque has in Islam.
Sultan Nasser, Flora Fountain, Bombay.
Indeed I was impressed to know about palmistry and horoscopes which have become common practices in our society. Many women from wealthy families spend lot of money just to know about their future life and unfortunately sometimes even scholars in our community encourage such practices and despite having good knowledge on this subject they appear to be making a living out of it.
A question arises in our minds when we talk on this subject and that is--- what is the difference between an Istikhara which most of us strongly believe in and astrology?
May Almight Allah (swt) keep us on the right path (amin).
Reader, P.O Box 15574, Nakuru, Kenya.
May I now draw the attention of readers to a practice which is very common in our marriage functions. Male photographers can often be seen taking video footage of ceremonies involving the bride and other females who are attending the ceremony. Is this not prohibited and if so why are we allowing this?
Moreover it is common to hear amongst the youths of today that a boy or girl who are engaged can meet each other or can go out together because after all they have already decided to marry. Is this allowed by Islam and if so would not this complicate matters if the engagement was to break?
We have to be very careful in the way we interprete Islamic laws because at times we justify our actions by saying that some sins are small and hence forgivable by Allah (s.w.t.). Surely God is the greatest of all forgivers but when one knowingly commits a sin can he or she expect God to forgive? Surely one can not say so in certainty and if that is the case why do we need to indulge in such sins when staying away from them requires only a few sacrifices in our ceremonies. After all are not even the best of ceremonies soon forgotten by one and all?
Let us refine our behaviours to maturity in stead of interpreting or changing laws to our convenience.
Mustafa Mohamed, Karachi, Pakistan.
The points mentioned are valid. It is prohibited for male or female photographers to undertake video shooting of mixed gatherings.
With regard to going out after engagement, apparently an engagement ceremony is not recognised by Islamic Sharia'h which defines engagement as a revokable agreement between two persons to marry each other through which the two affected persons do not become Mahram to each other.
If however a boy wishes to meet his fiancee after engagement, this can be done by performing Nikah. To safeguard the interest of both parties, can there be a condition when reciting such a Nikah that no sexual relations will be indulged in ubtil the actual marriage day? We stand to be enlightened. Editor
This can be verified from the Zavvars returning from Ziarats at Iraq. The plight that I saw them in when I went for Ziarat in 1994 was probably far worse than the past endurance of the Sadaats when some of them were even buried alive in walls and their blood used in the construction work.
On page 23 of the same Samachar the "Chairman Launches the Foundation Fund in Nairobi" and in a short period is blessed with pledges of US$ 220,000 with a further pledge of US$ 100,000. When our Philanthropists can donate so generously, why should we have an eye on Khums money to enable us to re-invest in communal projects? I feel the Wajibat of Khums should be discharged by helping our fellow brothers in Iraq. I hope good sense prevails when we discharge our duty of this essential Wajibat.
P.G. Asserwalla, P.O. Box 80575, Mombasa, Kenya.
Recently while at the offices of the World Federation, I read a copy of the Federation Samachar. Will it be possible to place us on your mailing list to receive regular copies. As a matter of fact the magazine appears to be so valuable that we would like to receive any available back issues.
Our attention was also drawn to the tapes available on the Open Forum in Toronto with Dr. Sachedina and Mullah Asghar and also the English Majlises held during Muharram 1417 in Mombasa. Can we please have copies of these tapes for our library?
Farid Scoon, London, United Kingdom.
I differ on this statement and for the benefit of your readers may I say that Zanzibar was the first Jamaat to start a primary and secondary school for boys and girls in the 40's and 50's respectively.
I can strongly say this because I personally was one of the beneficiaries at Kiponda whilst my sisters studied at Datoo Hemani primary school.
Zakirhussein M. Lakha, P.O. Box 19725, Dar es Salaam.
The 'Questions and Answers' page is enlightening and so are a number of other columns which are regularly featured and I am sure the kids too will be looking forward to your next issue where presumably (as advertised in your last issue) you will also be keeping them occupied. Surely this is a nice way to get them reading community magazines early.
The 'Datelines' from Mauritius and Toronto update us on news from far and wide and how we wish we could have similar Datelines from Pakistan, India, USA, Australia and London amongst other major Jamaats. Please give it a thought Mr. Editor though it may mean increasing the size of your Editorial team!
The page for women involves a fine effort but we would like to see more articles coming in from our ladies and girls......they need to tell us what they think of the current infrastructure and who knows, if they are not heard when raising issues verbally they could get better results through our very own media. Write girls, you might get your message right on target!
For youths you have a page and for men you have a bounty of pages and surely the advertisers have not let you down because we can see them featuring prominently issue after issue. However are our businessmen out of Dar es salaam saving costs by not advertising or are they running highly successful businesses which stops them from advertising?
The elderly in particular miss Down Memory Lane in the few issues it is not carried. They probably would also be delighted if a page is allocated for them...perhaps to be called the 'seniors page'. What would such a page include?...we leave that for you to decide Mr. Editor.
The Samachar is already proving to be popular amidst the young and old and with the current world-wide circulation, you enjoy a readership like no other community paper. Keep it up, your work is being appreciated.
A. Hussein, London, United Kingdom
Curious reader, Mombasa.
It is self evident and a fact acknowledged among friends and foes, that in Dr. Sachedina we have an eminent and leading Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri scholar who is widely respected by most of our Ulemas, the Shias, his peers and other Muslims also. In the academic world he occupies a unique and indeed a rare position as a spokesman of Islam. Dr. Sachedina has and continues to defend Islamic ideals intelligently and convincingly in Muslim and non-Muslim and in academic and community gatherings alike. He has been instrumental in influencing policy decisions in the Western world from education to medical ethics.
He is the only Muslim scholar who has been appointed as a Senior Associate in Preventive Diplomacy at the prestigious Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. And, again he is the only Shia representative on the Advisory Board Panel for teaching Islam in the British school system. He is one of the two Muslim co-ordinators of the Islamic Medical Ethics Network in the International Association of the Bioethics, representing Muslim views on biomedical technology globally. In this capacity he was called to present Muslim views on cloning in the Congressional Commission on Bioethics.
These are no small feats for a man who is known as a practicing and devout Shia. Let us not forget that in the current anti-Islamic climate in the West in general and in North America in particular, where there is a strong movement to declare the Shias as "terrorists" by non-Muslims and as "Kafirs" by some Muslims, these achievements cannot be but a sign of divine providence.
We all know in this community that Dr. Sachedina started reciting majalises at the age of 13 and has made countless positive contributions in our communities in East Africa and the West. He has written several books, of which ISLAMIC MESSIANISM is just one.
It is to his credit that Marhum Ayatollah Khui personally assigned to him to translate his introduction to the Qur’an, AL-BAYAN FI TAFSIR AL-QUR’AN, which is being published by Oxford University Press this year.
Again, it is a well known fact in the community that Dr. Sachedina is a man of impeccable character and is humble in his demeanour. He continues to make positive contributions within the Khojas, the Shias, the Muslim and humanity at large, with his knowledge, good works and deeds. In most instances his contributions and scholarship are exemplary. He combines the best of the Islamic and Western education that most people continue to benefit from, especially the Muslim and non-Muslim youths in the West.
Against this background we have allowed ourselves to sling the proverbial "mud" and "lynch" our own in the hope of degrading him, without mercy, for the matter that we have wisely and consciously chosen to put behind us. All this we have allowed in spite of the fact that his actions and contributions to Islam, both past and present, affirm nothing but his religious convictions and his humble servanthood of Islam and the holy Ahlul-Bayt.
To some self-righteous individuals in the community little does it matter when in all sincerity Dr. Sachedina maintains his fallibility as a human being and his sensitivity to the concerns of his fellow believers in the community. Despite this we have allowed ourselves to act like God in judging his intention and even condemning him to Hell. Now we are asking him to do "TAUBA" to us, in a very subtle way. Such a demand on our part is certainly very foreign to Islam. Yes, the Christians have confessions to the priests but Muslims turn to God in repentance. We repent and ask forgiveness to Allah (SWT) ONLY. Are some of us trying to usurp what rightfully belongs to Allah (SWT) only? And, who can tell that Dr. Sachedina who, despite all the insults that we have hurled at him still continues to serve our community, has not been considered by God to be among His servants?
In our prejudicial treatment of our own brother, we have perfected the art of double talk (NIFAQ). We sound gracious and innocent in public but deliver scathing and emotionally uncontrollable accusations, character defamation and engage in spreading sedition endlessly. We spend community’s money and our time in printing and spreading these vile materials. The zeal in promoting these derogatory materials far surpasses the zeal we put into spreading the good word of Islam. It is in defense of Islam where our energies are most needed today. The unfortunate part is that in this character assassination and spread of dissension even some of our well-known leaders are participants.
No doubt that if we were a secular society and not people bound by Islamic code of ethics, these actions of spreading sedition would be considered politically "savvy" or "smart". Such a move would be in tune with our endeavours to promote our own self righteous image and defend the community from any so-called attack. Let us not forget that because we are bound by Islamic ethical and moral codes this behaviour is unbecoming. We are all dependent on Allah’s mercy for our salvations on the Day of Judgement. How, then, can we act in an unmerciful manner with each other and expect Allah’s mercy on us?
It is also worthy to note our double standards that when a scholar wears an "ABU" and is NOT a Khoja he can get away with any error of judgment, even while sitting on the mimber of the Prophet. However, when it comes to our own Khoja scholars we are readily willing to lynch. Let us look around all over the world and see how we treat our Khoja scholars and the message we are sending out to our future generations. It is no wonder then that no bright Khoja boy wants to even consider taking up Islamic Studies as a career. Can we blame them? With out actions that are contrary to our values, beliefs and interests we have discouraged any well meaning bright student to take up Islamic studies. In the meantime, as a community, we are losing out and should continue to expect mediocrity and unintelligent Islam unless we change our ways. God will not change the condition of a people until they change that which is within them.
When the entire Muslim Ummah, especially the Shias, are suffering and are under siege from all directions, we the followers of the Ahlul Bayt need to reach out to each other in a spirit of brotherhood and forgiveness and to unite together to face the enormous challenges that face us and our children everywhere.
To our leaders, we humbly appeal, please be amongst those who set an example, in ethics, mercy and forgiveness that is worthy of emulation by the community at large, the impressionable young and the old. Let us leave a legacy, when we pass on, of a people who encouraged, nurtured and respected their scholars, both established and aspiring ones, and who created a vibrant environment for those aspiring to become Islamic scholars. Let us leave a positive legacy of having contributed to building and consolidating our communities with good and positive works. Destroying and tearing down is easy; building is very hard but it earns us more rewards and endears us to Allah (SWT).
Let us deal with each other with love and mercy. Love and forgiveness is from Allah (SWT). Hate is from Shaytan. May Allah (SWT) spare us from indulging in hatrd and may He guide us all to the right path and make us worthy of His love and mercy.
Gulamabbas Dhala, Los Angeles, USA
I was privileged enough to be at the Forum in late 1995. I realize that for those who were not present, their only source of information are the video cassettes. However we must realize that a Video camera is not the equivalent to being present at the event. I noticed gross fallacy in some of the facts reported by those who chose to write summaries of the report when not even present at the event. Br. Fidahusein Hameer (Vol.29, No.3, March 1996), writes that "Mawlana Rizvi of Toronto chose to sit with the public and contributed to the proceedings when called upon by the chair". This is not true because being present at the Forum myself, I know that Mawlana Rizvi came into the Forum a little late and promptly took his place on the top table. On the video, there is only one panoramic shot of the whole front table and that is at the beginning. You will notice that there is an empty chair - that was reserved for Mawlana Rizvi. Notice also that Dr. Sachedina greets someone in the middle of his speech - this was directed to Mawlana Rizvi who had just entered. Whether Mawlana Rizvi chose to sit with the public or on the front table hardly makes a difference but nevertheless the facts must be known. For three issues nobody corrected this flaw and many years from now when this issue of the Samachar becomes part of historical archives, the truth will be flawed. Hence I deemed it appropriate to correct this flaw in the narration of history.
By simply reading a script of the Forum and watching the forum on video does not give a precise summary of the proceedings. The video camera will only show you what the videographer is filming on. If the videographer misses something, so do all those who watch his/her videos. Those present of course are not limited by the eye of the video camera.
Again I show Br. Hameer another problem in his narration of the event, later repeated by M. Hemani (Vol.30, No. 2, November 1996). They both state that Dr. Sachedina chose to remain silent when asked if he would stop defending the book. I vividly remember, being seated quite close to the front, that Dr. Sachedina picked up a microphone which was on his table and tested it, however it had not been turned on. In the meantime, somebody else said that his non-defense of the book was to be taken for granted. Therefore as far as a voice over the microphone is concerned, he may have remained silent. But this is not to say he was not willing to say that he would not defend the book.
We cannot rely on mere verbatims and videos to give us an accurate summary of details. They may be reliable to summarize what was verbally said but they certainly do not cover every action, which can only be reported by those physically present at the event. Feelings, emotions, actions and intended actions, tension in the crowd and other similar aspects can never be recorded on tape. Again, I felt compelled to point this out. Whether it affects our conclusions is irrelevant. The fact remains that history must be narrated correctly, flawlessly and with minimum room for personal bias.
I must say I was rather disturbed by what Br. Hameer wrote in your last issue, when he said Mulla Saheb "implicitly told Dr. Sachedina that he should show remorse and do tawba". And he later gave his own opinion that Dr. Sachedina "should show remorse in order to wipe the slate clean". My first problem is with the way Br. Hameer manipulates the words of Mulla Asgher. Why does Br. Hameer discuss implicit issues? If Mulla wanted to demand tawba, surely he has the guts as a community leader to stand up and say exactly what he believes, explicitly without the need to be implicit!
The aim of the Forum was to be explicit about problems and resolutions, not to be implicit! I think that Br. Hameer, by reading between the lines of what Mulla said, has misinterpreted the proceedings. Mulla Saheb is a religious scholar and knows very well that something like tawba is not something to be demanded by a human. It is not for us to ask any individual to do tawba because this is a personal issue between an individual and God.
Today, in the majority of Western Universities, Islam is being taught by Christians, Jews and Bahais. Inevitably, their approach is less then cordial. I have taken classes where professors teach things like the Prophet (S.A.W) had 18 wives simultaneously or teach that the Qur’an exists in multiple versions or that the Prophet was a political opportunist. Some teachers even claim there was no Muslim persecution in Mecca before the Hijrah.
It is explicitly clear that there is a desperate shortage of Muslim, let alone Shi’a Professors of Islamic Studies. And yet when Muslim Professors like Dr. Sachedina who genuinely teach the true Islam arrive, he is shunned by members of his own community! I do not understand how so many of us can stand up and condemn members of our community who take up the challenge of becoming university professors by making preposterous statements such as "they must enter a state of suspended belief". It is up to the few Muslim professors that exist in Western Universities to set straight the misinformation being spread by non-Muslim professors teaching Islam. This is a challenging task and noble in itself. They deserve our unrelenting support rather then incessant condemnation.
You need only to listen to a few of the lectures/majlis of Dr. Sachedina to realize that he is one of the highly learned aalims in our community. One can only admire his challenging style, rigorous preparation and highly substantiated narrations (something which many Indian and Pakistani molvis can not give).
To shun him is not a loss to him, as much as it is a loss to the rest of us all over the world. His belief in the 12th Imam should never have been and must never be the issue. How can we make such ludicrous statements against personal beliefs of a Mo’min? Dr. Sachedina has always made his belief in the 12th Imam very explicit, although personally I do not think he has to prove anything to us. As stated by Mulla Asgher and repeated by several others, Dr. Sachedina's belief is professed in the conclusion of his first book. In addition, he has recently completed the translation "Al-Imam Al-Mahdi: The Just leader of Humanity", personally requested by Ayatollah Ibrahim Amini. Why do we then stand up and say he does not believe?
To quote Mulla Asgher once more, "The Forum was a demonstration of the maturity of the community in resolving a long outstanding issue" (Samachar, Vol.29 No.3). Rather then using what Lutfullah Safi has to say on this issue, I would much rather use what the President of the World Federation has to say - The long outstanding issue has been resolved.
Wasalaam,
Tehsin M. Takim, Toronto, Canada.