An evening with a scholar

Suitably refreshed but disappointed after the weekend. No surprise to know that I am about to talk about the football, so skip the next couple of paragraphs if you're not interested. I can now declare that the Premiership is over for Liverpool, any lingering hope I had was wiped out with an abysmal display yesterday resulting in another defeat. Liverpool are now 11 points behind Chelsea and Man Utd, and there is just now way they will be able to make that up. Not only will Chelsea and Man Utd need to lose 4 times, Liverpool will need to go on a long unbeaten run and that looks highly unlikely, there is no confidence in the team, no-one is performing well and it's all gone wrong.

Looking back, feeling so hopeful at the beginning of the season was a gross misjudgment. I should've seen it coming. Steven Gerrard, the most important player at the club had just finished a grueling season which started in July 2005 and culminated in the disappointing World Cup in July 2006. Over a year of continuous football, only to start again in August with the new season. There is no way he was going to fire on all cylinders and usually when he doesn't perform, the team struggles and that's exactly what's happened. I should have seen it coming. The positive side is I can now focus on other things which will please my wife a great deal! Just have to get over the overwhelming sense of disappointment first.

Now that I have your attention again (hopefully), I can move on to today's blog. For the past couple of weeks I have been attending lectures every evening by Hassanain Rajabali. He is an extremely good and successful speaker and spoke on a variety of issues in and outside Islam. I have been following his lectures for sometime, since his first visit to the country in 2001. He is extremely knowledgeable on a range of issues and seems to be able to talk about anything and everything. His lectures over the past two weeks have included a range of topics including religion, philosophy, social issues, health issues, manners and behaviour and political issues affecting muslims today.

On a personal level he has been very motivating and inspiring for me and has helped increase and reaffirm my faith in God and my religion. During my student days, I had the opportunity to spend time with him after the lectures to discuss pretty much any topic. He visits to give lectures during the months of Ramadan and Muharrum and each time he manages to inspire the community and I have seen with my own eyes how many people he affects in a tremendously positive manner. The lecture hall for his last talk on Saturday was absolutely packed. After each talk has finished he is surrounded by people wanting to greet him, ask questions and talk to him, often keeping him there for over an hour after the lecture has finished.

Yesterday evening, I was fortunate enough to have dinner with him. Along with my wife and siblings I had the opportunity to spend sometime with him and his parents. We talked about a whole range of issues and it proved to be an enlightening evening. We decided to go to a restaurant in Edgware Road, his mother wanted Lebanese so I recommended Maroosh restaurant. When we walked in the first thing he noted was that the place served alcohol. If the place serves alcohol it immediately raises a doubt on whether the meat is halal. He pointed out that if they're making a profit on alcohol, there is no way one can believe that the meat they serve is halal, any claim or certificate pronouncing the authenticity of the meat simply cannot be trusted and therefore we would be ill-advised to eat there. In a stroke he wiped out many of the restaurants I've eaten at in the past! He highlighted a simple rule in Islam, if there is ever a doubt over any issue in Islam then to always assume the correct aspect except when it comes to meat. For example, if you are unsure whether you have missed a rakaat in namaaz by mistake and there is doubt in your mind, then you should assume you recited it and move on, if you touch water from an unknown source and you question whether it is clean or dirty, you can assume it is clean, if you doubt whether you broke you wudhoo before prayer, then you can ignore that doubt and carry on with namaaz. However, when it comes to meat, the rule is switched, therefore if there is any doubt then you must assume it is haraam. A place serving alcohol and halal meat places sufficient doubt for the meat to be haraam.

We finally found a suitable restaurant further along Edgware Road which didn't serve alcohol and there was no real doubt of the authenticity of the meat. During the meal we managed to discuss a variety of issues. One of the first topics we talked about was the hijab, given all the recent media attention it had been receiving, plus it was something I've discussed in my blogs. He pointed out, that the main reason for it coming under attack was because of what it represents. The fact that it represents decency, protection, elegance and respect for a woman is something that goes against the grain of Western culture. Islam is the only religion which has such respect, something that used to be present in the Christian and Jewish faiths but has been stripped by human interference. Islam has not allowed that and as a result it is being attacked because people don't like it. Whenever you see a statue of the Virgin Mary, she always has her head covered as a sign of respect, but when muslim women do the same thing they are criticised.

He went on to discuss the importance of maintaining the hijab now, more so than before, because it provides an opportunity to engage in discussion to promote the correct values and ideals of Islam, especially since people are more receptive towards it, albeit from a negative point of view, but it at least provides that chance. We briefly spoke about the nikaab and he stated that there is no mention for the need of nikaab in Islamic rule, either the Quran or otherwise, and he agrees that it could interfere with interactions between people, especially for a teacher and her students and that needs to be considered carefully.

We then moved on to talk about entertainment, in terms of music and movies. It is something I engage in as do many others and a subject which has caused much discussion about in the past, with reference to whether it is allowed or not. He was very straight forward in his argument. Firsts of all there is no direct ban in Islamic rule to listen to music or watch movies. What becomes a grey area is in the moral values they represent. If engaging in music and movies leads to immoral acts and behaviours, then it must be avoided.

In moderation, it is something that can be fun, but moderation is different for each individual, and therefore each person needs to decide how much it affects their life. If it leads to immoral actions then it must be avoided. He went on to explain that all the major sins rely on a history of minor sins which lead up to it, it is the minor sins which can be triggered with music and movies which can prove to be the downfall of most people. His viewpoint was simple, why waste time with movies or music? There are so many other activities that one can engage in which are much more fulfilling, so why not do that instead? We are only on Earth for finite time, so why waste it watching movies and listening to music? Obviously we are allowed to indulge in entertainment, but why in such areas which can have lethal potentials?

Personally speaking, I am comfortable with the level of music/movies I currently absorb. It used to be a lot worse, but now I feel confident that it doesn't interfere in a negative way and is something I keep to a moderate level. I only listen to music in the car, that to when I can't find anything on the radio and I have cut down on my movie watching a great deal, even though I have a large DVD collection, I haven't watched over 70% of the films, they just look good on the shelves!

I also mentioned the fact that I keep a blog and spoke about the Shias and Sunnis blog I typed last week. He agreed with the basic principal I tried to highlight; can the Prophet leave this world without appointing a successor? We spoke about the justice of God and how the Sunnis have tried to manipulate it to suit themselves, when it comes to explaining this very question. They argue that if God is all just, then he must be governed by justice, in everything he does. Couple this with the idea – that Sunnis have – of predestination, where everything we do is already set and we have no free will, and it combines to create a theory that everything we do is because God has ordained it and therefore we have no control. Hence if God didn’t want Abu Bakr to be the successor to the Prophet then he wouldn’t have allowed it. However, this theory falls down when you suggest why do men like Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Ariel Sharon come into power and cause such devastation? Why would God allow that? Usually they struggle to come up with an answer.

God is all just because he chooses to be, justice does not control God. So this theory that we don’t have free will is not true. There is a lengthy discussion to be had about this subject and maybe I’ll attempt to type about it in a subsequent blog.

Carrying on from this I asked about a personal issue of mine, which I have touched upon in my blog a few weeks ago about passing judgment, especially when it comes to my family. Certain actions that certain individuals are involved in just annoy me and as a result I don’t communicate with them and just ignore them. It has got to a point that is beyond repair in my eyes. They are beyond redemption and I am beyond caring to do anything about it.

He spoke about the need to maintain bridges between people which can be rebuilt over time. This struggle I have, to engage with people who I disapprove of is personal to me, and therefore God has made it something that I need to overcome and develop from. He highlighted the need to take small steps to establish relationships and to then advice and help as necessary. If nothing happens, then my part is at least fulfilled. On the Day of Judgment, they can’t argue that no-one helped them and I can say that I tried to do my bit.

Leading on from that, he went on to explain that the reason he speaks out and gives lectures is because of this very reason. He’s not bothered whether people listen, but he can at least say that he did his part and God cannot ask for more than that. The fact that he has this knowledge to share means it is his duty to do so.

In all we spent 3 hours in the restaurant and it was just non-stop talking. It was amazing. All he had was great knowledge and an approachable personality and we all felt as if we could have just carried on talking and talking. There was never any awkward pause or silence where we had nothing to say. My brother joked afterwards it was like meeting a celebrity, and in some ways it did feel like that, but there was no arrogance or ego which may be associated with such a status.

Overall it was a wonderful evening and I was really fortunate to experience it. We managed to talk about a range of issues, about anything and everything and all of us learned something which has inshallah helped develop our faith that bit more. It’s a shame that we can’t speak to him as more often, but just having such conversations was a great experience.

However, it doesn’t have to end there. Even though I am no where near as educated or knowledgeable when it comes to Islam, it is something I definitely want to improve and is something that can be done individually and collectively. I know we can have such meetings amongst ourselves where we can gain knowledge about any issue if we discuss them and teach each other. I know of family and friends who feel the same way, but it is just a matter of getting organised and to stop being so lazy, to actually get out there and do something. I guess this blog is developing into something along those lines which allows me to discuss these issues and learn more as I go along, and hopefully allows other to comment and pass on their experiences. There is much more to do and hopefully this determination and zeal will last, enabling me to learn more from others and continue to develop.

Take care all,
Thoughts just flow, when do they have to make sense?