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What Exactly is "Moderate" Islam, and Where can we find it? - Rami Zahra

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“Moderate Islam” is merely a linguistic game whose function is to propagate triviality, ignorance, superficiality, and to disdain intellect on a broad scale.  “Moderate Islam” is a linguistic invention whose primary function is to propagate triviality, ignorance, superficiality, and disdain for intellect on a broad scale. Yet despite its frequent use in contemporary political and media discourse, the term itself remains undefined, ambiguous, and inconsistent both in Islamic tradition and in comparative religious studies. In my personal research into Islam, I sought to locate early Islamic or Qur’anic texts that explicitly define the concept of “moderate Islam.” I found none. Classical Islamic jurisprudential, theological, and philosophical texts do not employ the term “moderation” in this sense. At most, there is reference to “gentleness” — treating people with kindness and equality, and inviting them to submit to Allah “freely.” However, “gentleness” and “moderation” are conceptua...
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Ash-Shama'il As-Sahabiyyah [3] - Sayyiduna Umar bin al-Khattab radiyallahu 'anhu

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Ab ū Ḥ af ṣ al-F ā r ū q, the illustrious Ṣ a ḥā b ī, Am ī r-ul-Mu’min ī n ‘Umar bin al-Kha ṭṭā b bin Nufayl bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzz ā bin Riy āḥ bin ‘Abdull ā h bin Qur ṭ bin Raz āḥ bin ‘Ad ī bin Ka’b bin Lu’ayy bin Gh ā lib al-Qurash ī al-‘Adaw ī  radiyallahu 'anhu  (d. 23 AH | 644 CE) Imām al-Dhahabī rahimahullah describes him in Siyar A’lām an-Nubalā’, ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Umar radiyallahu 'anhu reports, ‘My father was fair-skinned with a reddish tinge, tall, bald, and grey-haired.’ Others said, ‘He was pure white, tall, brownish, left-handed.’ [Tahdhīb-ul-Kamāl] Abū Rajā’ al-‘Aṭāridī rahimahullah reports, ‘He was tall, hugely built, very red, lightness in his cheeks, he had a large moustache, with a reddish brown colour at its edges, if something struck it, it would twist.’ Mizzī says in Tahdhīb al-Kamāl, ‘He was intensely brownish, tall, as if he were riding whilst the people walked; he had a thick beard, bald, ambidextrous, i.e., he worked with both ...
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Interfaith Initiatives of Habib Umar

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  1.       Interfaith is an un-Islāmic Heresy. It has no basis in the Noble Qur’ān, or the Blessed Sunnah. It is not an agreed upon concept in any religion, and it conflicts with reason and common sense. 2.      Interfaith is an attack on the Khatm-un-Nubuwwah, a denial of the authenticity of the entire religion of Islam and is a stab in the heart of the suffering Muslims in Ghazza and elsewhere around the world. 3.      Habib Umar, the controversial Sufi figure from Yemen participates in interfaith dialogue and bridge-building initiatives focused on Muslim-Christian dialogue, and global peace-building frameworks. 4.      Examples of the interfaith activity of Habib Umar: 4.1.           A Common Word Between us and You: In 2007, Habib Umar joined international Muslim scholars as a signatory to A Common Word, a landmark open letter aiming to build theo...
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Ash-Shama'il As-Sahabiyyah [2] - Sayyiduna Abu Bakr radiyallahu 'anhu

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  The First Undisputed Khalīfah: Sayyidunā ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Uthmān radiyallahu 'anhu Abū Bakr aṣ-Ṣiddīq, the great and illustrious Ṣaḥābī, ‘Abdullāh bin ‘Uthmān bin ‘Āmir bin ‘Amr bin Ka’b bin Sa’d bin Taym bin Murrah bin Ka’b bin Lu’ayy al-Qurashī at-Tamīmī radiyallahu 'anhu [d. 13 AH | 634 CE] Description: Sayyidunā Anas radiyallahu 'anhu reports, ‘Abū Bakr radiyallahu 'anhu used to dye his hair with henna and katam, i.e., Yemeni box tree. Abū Bakr radiyallahu 'anhu was thin, with a light beard, a prominent face i.e., little facial flesh, a high forehead; his back was slightly bent, and his waistcloth would not stay in place; it would slip off his waist, and the waistcloth refers to the lower garment. He had bare finger joints, and he used to dye his hair with henna and katam (Yemeni box tree). Zuhrī rahimahullah reports that Abū Bakr radiyallahu 'anhu was fair-skinned, slightly yellowish, and his limbs were close together. His hi...
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Iran's Playbook

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  𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝟏𝟗𝟕𝟗. The Mulla regime arrives from France with a banner of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel." 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎𝐬: 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐥. While chanting for Israel’s destruction, the regime secretly bought hundreds of millions in Israeli arms and sold oil to Israel through middlemen during the war with Iraq. 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏: 𝐀𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬. Brokered by Algeria, the U.S. unfreezes billions in Iranian assets in exchange for releasing the American hostages. The "Death to America" banner had a price tag. 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏-𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟔: 𝐈𝐫𝐚𝐧-𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚. The same regime that chants "Death to America" secretly buys American TOW and HAWK missiles through Israel to fight Iraq. The "Great Satan" was their arms dealer. 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟔: 𝐂𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞. Reagan’s National Security Advisor, Robert McFarlane, secretly flies to Tehran with a cake and a Bible signed by the President. The "Death to America" crowd happ...
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The UAE sponsored Sufis: Habib Umar & Habib 'Ali al-Jifri

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The Sufi/Neo-Traditionalist Network The Sufi neo-traditionalist network can be said to be the most sponsored by the UAE. The neo-traditionalist discourse emphasizes adhering to one of the traditional four schools of fiqh (jurisprudence) and one of the two schools of ‘aqīda (theology) as well as practising Sufism. For that, they consider themselves the true representatives of ahl al-Sunna wa-l-Jamā‘a (Sunni Islam) and the continuation of the Islamic tradition transmitted to them through an unbroken chain of transmitters. As “neo-traditionalism” doesn’t have an Arabic counterpart, neo-traditionalists are usually referred to as “Sufis” in the Arabic-speaking world.  The most critical figures for the UAE-sponsored neo-traditionalism are al-Habib Ali al-Jifri – a Yemeni Sufi scholar from the Ba‘Alawi tariqa, Abdullah bin Bayyah – a widely-respected Mauritanian scholar, Hamza Yusuf – an American scholar and founder of the Zaytuna college in the US in 2008, and Aref Ali Nayed – a Libyan s...
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Why the West Backs un-Islamic Rituals of Sufi Mawlids - Muhammad Gamal Arafa

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Exaggerated celebrations during the mawlid (birthday festival) of "Sayyid Ahmad Al-Badawi" in Egypt, followed by "Sidi Ibrahim Al-Desouki," organized by Sufi orders, have sparked widespread questions. The spread of vulgar scenes inside the mosques where these celebrations are held—alongside the promotion of these festivals by media outlets and Western organizations—has raised concerns regarding the underlying reasons behind the excessive embrace of these un-Islamic rituals. Egyptian Sufi orders celebrate 23 annual mawlids dedicated to "righteous saints." However, the violations and excesses occurring during some of these festivals form part of a broader image promoted globally under the label of "popular Islam," "civil Islam," or "non-political Islam"—terms used by Western newspapers and think tanks that celebrate such festivals and promote the activities of Sufi orders within them. The underlying rationale for celebrating the...
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Ash-Shamā’il Aṣ-Ṣaḥābiyyah – Sayyidunā Ḥasan bin ‘Alī raḍiyallāhu ‘anhumā [d. 50 AH/671 CE]

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The Description of the great Ṣaḥābī, the blessed and beloved grandson of   Nabī ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, leader of the youth of Jannah, the flower of the greatest of the Ambiya',  is mentioned in Ṣifat al-Ṣafwah of ibn Jawzī raḥimahullāh (vol. 1, pp. 374- 375) 1. ‘Uqbah bin al-Ḥārith raḥimahullāh says,  “Abū Bakr raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu performed the ‘Aṣr (ṣalāh), then he went out walking. He saw al- Ḥ asan playing with some of the children. He carried him on his shoulders and said, “By my father, he resembles Nabī ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, not ‘Alī (i.e., he resembled Nabī ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam – his grandfather – more than ‘Alī raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu – his father. ‘Alī laughed (i.e., agreeing with him in his statement, expressing his satisfaction and joy at it). [Bukhārī] 2. Abū Ḥujfah raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu said, “I saw Nabī ṣallallāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and al-Ḥasan resembled him.” [Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr] 3. Anas bin Mālik raḍiyallāhu ‘anhu said, “al-Ḥasan...
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The Hypocrites were never in charge over the Muslims

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The hypocrites (munafiqin) never held control over the affairs of the Muslims—neither during the lifetime of Rasulullah sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam nor after his passing—nor did they ever act as the guardians or administrators of Muslim affairs.  Our disagreement with the Shia does not concern the mere existence of hypocrites; rather, it centres on the fact that throughout the entire history of Islam, the reins of Muslim leadership were never in the hands of hypocrites.  The Qur'anic prophecy—that the hypocrites would no longer be able to remain alongside Rasulullah sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam in his city—was fulfilled to the very letter.  As for the lesser-tier hypocrites, or those who merely exhibited certain traits of hypocrisy, they too met their end during the Caliphate of Sayyiduna Abu Bakr al-Siddiq radiyallahu 'anhu. The system of governance was established in all its splendour upon the Nabawi methodology (minhaj-e-nabuwwat), and the world witnessed the banner...
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Performing at the Graves: The Sore Case of Habib Umar & His Followers

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Commenting on the performances done by Habib Umar and his followers at the grave of Shaykh Abu Bakr bin Salim,  @badralialotibi1 [Dr Badr bin Ali Al-Otaibi] says,  'This practice of drumming at graves and other places, chanting heretical and polytheistic poems, and dancing to them in gatherings—all of this is innovation and misguidance. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) neither permitted nor practised it. The Rightly Guided Caliphs (Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali, may Allah be pleased with them) neither said it nor did they. Nor did the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Nor did those who followed them in righteousness. Nor did the seven jurists of the Successors (Sa'id, Urwah, al-Qasim, Kharijah, Ubaydullah, Sulayman, and Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman). Nor did the four imams of the major cities (Malik, Sufyan, al-Awza'i, and al-Layth). Nor did the four imams of jurisprudence (Abu Hanifah, Malik, al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad). Nor did the author...
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