Khanqa verses tabligh jamaat, salafi verses salami, hanafi verses shafi, deobandi verses wahabi, barfi verses jelebi.......LOLOL
So recently I was on a chat forum and someone posted a question enquiring as to what a salafi is.Who is a salafi and who is a wahabi and should a Muslim be speaking to salafis and allowing a
salafi to read in our masjids? A good few years ago whilst growing up I didn't come across this
concept of who is this and who is that. As far as I knew we were all Muslims who followed the
five pillars of Islam and read the kalima..The fact that we believed in the kalima and the shahaada
made us a Muslim. Nowadays in South Africa there is this disease that has spread, a disease of
labeling and branding Muslims into a certain category. Pretty ridiculous I think with one group
thinking that they are more superior over the other. I have also come across individuals who feel that
the Sheikh they follow is more powerful and learned over the other. To me its like one big circus.
Recently, South Africa played host to Sheikh Mahir bin Hamad al mu3ayqaly who is the Imaam of the haram in Makkatul Mukarrama. Whilst the Muslims of the country welcomed him with open arms there were religious scholars from within the country who made it a point to shout out loud and clear that he will be only allowed to perform the salaah prayers in the masjid but will not be allowed to give a talk in the masjid. Why is this? What do they have to fear? Are they more learned than he is?A few years ago, another Imaam of the haram in Makkah was not allowed to visit the Islamic Institute in Azaadvile, South Africa as he was branded a Salafi. The irony here is that these same religious clerics go to Makkah ten times a year and perform salaah behind these very same Imaams.This is definitely not the manner in which a guest is suppose to be treated in Islam.
How can Muslims unite when we have one scholar calling the other a reverend.There is no consensus on simple things like halaal and haraam. My personal opinion is this, whilst it is important to have religious clerics teaching our kids about Islam and the Islamic way of life, I do not believe in taking a pledge to any one sheikh or religious figure. They are also human beings at the end of the day with flaws and weaknesses. I think it is foolish to take pledges to religious clerics of this time when the greatest living example and person we should be pledging ourselves to is none other than the Prophet (saw). What better example could we possibly follow?
I will relate a story to you that brought tears to my eyes to the point where I felt ashamed of my way of thinking. Whilst I do not agree with many aspects of the Shia belief system, I do have many friends who are Shi3a and many of them are good human beings with good values and ethics. A few weeks ago I went by the office of a colleague of mine who is shi3a. I knocked the door but he did not hear me. So I stood at the door whilst listening to him recite the Quraan in the most beautiful voice with so much of feeling and passion. It brought tears to my eyes. And then I thought to myself, this man is reading the Quraan from deep within his heart. Won't God Almighty be pleased with him? Throughout history there are thousands of stories of Allah showing mercy and kindness to his creation. If Allah could grant a prostitute paradise for simply giving a thirsty dog water in her shoe then who are we to brand, label and judge other people. None of us knows what is deep inside the heart of the next human being.....
To these foolish religious clerics who are famous for judging, branding and labeling people, I honestly feel sorry for all of you, for you have missed your goal in life and that is to unite the Muslim Ummah. It is narrated in Saheeh Muslim that the Prophet (saw) said :"My ummah will be divided into seventy three sects. All of them will be in the Fire except one."Thus at present we can see that our very own religious scholars are causing our Muslim societies to divide into various sects and schools of thought. Islam is such a simple religion that can accommodate to the needs of any person irrespective of class, creed or nationality. All we need to do is follow the Sunnah and the Quraan. Everything else is absolute nonsense and baseless innovations in my opinion.
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