LIVING REAL ISLAM
from
"Living Islam – East & West"
(Excerpts Only)

By: Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

Wherever I have been, I have noticed that there are new people who want to know Islam and the way to God; new people who are suffering from the way of unbelief or kufr. People only deny the existence of Allah because they lack the knowledge of La ilaha illa'llah, Muhammadun Rasulu'llah (There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet). At the same time, I have met a considerable number of Muslims whose Islam has become diluted or has not been confirmed by their actions – it has merely been inherited. The Qur`anic statement

You are the best of the nations raised up for (the benefit of) men; you enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong and believe in God. (3:110)

has not taken root in them.

There are many countries in the modern world where Islam has failed to take root as a complete way of life. Malaysia is a good example. A few hundred years ago some of the sultans embraced Islam and thereafter the people accepted the basic practices and rituals. But, for the most part, it has remained just another convenient way of keeping people at bay and maintaining the economic class structure. It is not the Islam of Muhammad. It is not the Islam described by the Prophet's words: "Poverty is my pride." Instead of establishing a dynamic Islam, they have introduced Islamic studies departments within the universities – what they have established is academic Islam.

In the last few years the demand for, and curiosity about, Islam has, to a great extend, coincided with the Islamic Revolution in Iran. People everywhere have been asking, 'How can a country live without either being under the control of America or Russia?' After fifty or sixty years of oppression, mediocrity, and kufr, the people in Iran are attempting to establish, in every aspect, the true way of Islam. It will take some time for it to succeed. It will take time for the outer changes to enter into the heart so that the outer and the inner unify.

There have been an increasing number of people, especially amongst the poor and the oppressed, who want to know: What is the way of abandonment? What is the way of freedom? How can man live on this earth, yet not belong to this earth? For a few years we are imprisoned in our bodies on this earth but, in essence, we do not belong to this earth. We all know we are dying and that every step brings us closer to the death when everyone will encounter the face of his Lord:

With your Lord shall on that day be the place of rest. (75:12)

We all know, whether we like it or not, that this life is a short journey from which we shall enter another zone of experience which is beyond time, which is forever. The entity which is called 'I' will exist in the next world just as I have left it while living on this earth. If I die as a good Muslim and a believer, this will be the state of that entity in that beyond-time-zone.

Wherever we go, we find people who want to know the way to submission. They want to know the way to Allah, to "la ilaha illa'llah" (There is no god by Allah). We find that this step is not difficult: even in the worst system of unbelief or kufr people are ready to accept the fact that there is one Entity behind what is happening. They are ready to accept that there is one hand behind all things. Scientific research shows us, through the laws of cause and effect, that the entirety of this existence is but one fiber. Whatever we do affects the rest of existence. We are not isolated. As the individual evolves, this knowledge gains a hold within him and he begins to embrace the knowledge of "la ilaha illa'llah". But the acceptance of this knowledge is difficult. To come to know the Prophet, his people, his companions and his kinsmen, the Ahl al-Bayt, requires time and study. One has to become acquainted with the Prophet's behavior and special qualities. How were he and his followers and household able to be in this life and yet not of it? The Prophet said: "If you want to look at a dead man walking, look at me." He also said: "Die before you die." What do these statements mean? True Islam only comes alive through the example of the Prophet and his pure family and followers.

I have just come from Peshawar [a city in the North Western part of Pakistan, bordered Afghanistan] where I was with some of the mujahidin (fighters for God). Two of them whom I met had just come from the front the day before, having lost many of their friends. You could feel that there was a different quality of life amongst them. My experience of them was a proof that Islam without jihad (struggle in the way of God Alone) cannot exist. We cannot take one part of Islam out of convenience and reject another because it is uncomfortable. Islam is not about convenience but about God Alone. It means living as though at any moment you will see nothing other than Allah. The spiritual state of excellence consists of acting as though you are seeing nothing other than Allah. Although people unavoidably become attached to certain aspects of Islam, the Qur`an or their teacher, a time comes when the true seeker is weaned from that to which he is attached, thereby enabling him to see nothing other than his Creator. The teaching of Islam leads us to understand that.

Allah, Who is beyond time, knows what is going to be in time, because time is contained in beyond-time. Time is an outer manifestation of non-time. He is the First and the Last. You and I experience time, and yet there is something in us that tells that we do not belong to this chain of events. The ignorant kafirun, that is to say those who reject the truth, want to live long. This is the extent of their understanding of `ibadah – the worship and glorification of God. God says:

Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth declares the glory of God. (64:1)

We glorify that Entity. The whole of creation glorifies God, even the kafir. But we as Muslims do it in the correct way; we unify our will with destiny, with God's will. And therefore, the believer (mu'min) finds nothing other than the blessedness of God's perfection even when everything around him is crumbling, because he remembers God's will and God's way. The Qur`an, the Book of Discrimination, says:

God is not unjust to them, but they are unjust to themselves. (3:117)

If we are in misery, if we are attacked, if we lose Afghanistan [Note: obviously, this speech was delivered during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan], it is our fault. The blame for whatever occurs falls upon us. God has given us, His representatives, the choice to be grateful or disbelieving. Gratitude (shukr) is a condition of the heart. In other words, gratitude should not only be on the tongue but in the heart as well. What is the use of knowing the Qur`an by heart and not applying it to our lives as a manual of existence from minute to minute? You must be careful:

Therefore read what is easy of the Qur`an. (73:20)

Every one of us can take what he can of it, joyfully, and move on. The Qur`an says:

Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability. (2:286)

This means that God imposes a duty upon everyone to the maximum of his or her ability. God, by forcing us to make efforts, is teaching our hearts to be always turning, always grateful. He says:

That you grieve not for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what He has given you. (3:153)

The believer never looks back in sorrow or regrets what has happened. If he does, it is only to attain the capacity to discriminate – to understand the underlying causes. Usually, loss and failure is caused by distraction (ghaflah), or by a lack of unity between the intention and the action. If I have failed, it is because I have not heard or properly understood the call to prayer which includes the words, "Hayya `ala'l-falah". Falah implies to succeed as well as to turn the earth upside down. If our hearts, or our fields, which are this world, are not ploughed and made ready for the Hereafter, there will be nothing for us but indignities. We will have no right to claim the title God has given us.

The vicegerent or khalifah of Allah is he who, with every breath, is aware and is willing. He is totally free of what is in this world yet enslaved to his Creator. His heart turns freely within him. Whenever he looks inward, he sees the incredible universe. Outwardly, he is a slave who cannot but follow the example or sunnah of Muhammad. Outwardly he is sober, inwardly he is drunk. Inwardly he is gratified at all times with knowledge, not because he has had a good meal or he has taken a drug. The believer is, at all times, prepared to unify his intention with his action.

The Islam of the East has been diluted. Even so, in agricultural communities God's blessedness manifests outwardly through the call to prayer (adhan) and going to the mosque. Rural Pakistan is the land of hearts. A land in which walis are produced. But walis (great men of God, inheritors of the Prophetic message) do not come by inheritance. There is no guarantee that the children of walis will also be walis. God says:

He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living. (30:19)

Though dead inwardly, God may bring us to life at any moment in our life. Usually we are woken up through trouble that occurs in our lives which causes us to conclude that nothing in this world is worth struggling for – neither our wealth nor our position. We have come into this world alone to be dumped under six feet of dust. Our awakening usually occurs when we are in distress and loss. Generally speaking, most of us wake up.

The Prophet said, "You are not a Muslim if there is one person in your neighborhood who goes to sleep hungry." There are individuals in the world who have incomes of millions of dollars which they spend on their petty luxuries while millions of people amongst the Muslim communities have barely a meal each day.

Islam has become diluted by becoming an official Islam, paid for by the government which provides each of the Imams with an official khutbah (discourse or sermon). This is official Islam. Vibrant Islam, found amongst the people, is what the system of unbelief is afraid of. Vibrant, green Islam, is an Islam which people want to know. There are no professional practitioners in Islam. Who were the professionals at the time of the Prophet, or at the time of the early Caliphs? The last leader of the army whom Muhammad appointed was Usama who was one of his youngest companions. Why did the Prophet not appoint one of the others who were much older? Who were the professionals and the graduates? I am not against Islamic colleges, but it is a reflection of the darkness of our times that because Islam is not deep within us, we have to create institutions to preserve it as a museum piece.

I cannot give you the good news without the bad news. The good news is that Islam is vibrant and growing in practically every land, from West Africa to Japan. We have been establishing small centers in which Islam flourishes. Into them we bring young people to learn about their din, the path of their religion, and then they are sent out into the world. In this way they see how unbelief creeps into people's lives, and they are then able to advise others on how to fight it.

There are billions of devils or Shaytans; every one of us has many of them. Every individual must be like a lion tamer of his Shaytan, for unless we watch him he will come out of his corner.

If we are Muslims, we must follow the entire way of Islam without omitting anything. It must not become a nice ceremonial thing, only for marriages, divorces, births and burials, carried out by a class of professionals who are only following the lure of a few rupees [Pakistani currency]. Our heritage was the reverse; those who were teaching gave money in charity.

If you do not know Islamic history, go and find out. Beware of the fabrications of the Umayyad and the 'Abbasid dynasties. Simply because a historical account has come from the government does not mean that it is necessarily true. Yazid, one of the Umayyad rulers actually ransacked Mecca and tore down the Ka`bah.

If Islam is not based on a combination of intellect ('aql) and action (`amal), it is of no use. You will neither gain in this worldly life (dunya) nor in the Hereafter (akhirah). It is because of this principle that we find our 'Islamic' world in such a state of confusion. As far as the Hereafter is concerned, only God has knowledge of it. He says:

And whoever is blind in this (world), he shall (also) be blind in the Hereafter and more erring from the way. (17:72)

If in this world, which is clumsy and obvious, we cannot be successful, how can we be successful in a situation which is so subtle such as the next world?

Depend on Allah, and Allah will bring you to the true path. He is not exclusive to a few shaykhs (teachers of the spiritual way) or walis (men considered friends of Allah because of their piety). Whey don't you claim Allah? Allah is not the Preserver of the one or two. The Prophet was asked, "Who are the Ahl al-Bayt" (the People of the Household of the Prophet)? He said, "The Ahl al-Taqwa (People of fearful awareness)". Taqwa means precaution. How can you be cautious of something unless you know its nature? The nature of Reality manifests in the laws of creation. If we do wrong, we do wrong to ourselves because there is one one nafs (self). If we are insincere, we are insincere to ourselves. If we really want knowledge, it will come to us. The walis will come running after us. Otherwise, the situation is a superstitious nonsensical 'bless me' type. That is not Islam.

Inherited Islam is dangerous, because, although the people have had the blessedness of having been born and brought up in sweetness and with the constant invocation of God (dhikr), they also have the tendency to disregard it. Familiarity breeds contempt. I have regained much of my Islamic heritage through those who have embraced Islam as adults because they ask questions that had never occurred to me. I took Islam for granted. They ask why the Muslim world is in misery. The answer is because their Islam is outward and not inward. It is very simple. Nine hundred million people profess Islam, but within this quantity of people there is very little quality. You, in this part of the world, are blessed with purity, with what has come to you from centuries of the original stream of Islam. If it is not fully revived on the basis of tawhid (unification), it will become diluted and lose its virility. So many great cultures went by the wayside because they became settled – they lost their ability to expand. It is for that reason I pray that God will give us some young people from here who have gained their Islam properly. We will send them out so that they may see that everywhere in the world people are seeking the true light of Islam.

All over the world people are asking for Islam but there are not enough teachers. I will not take a teacher unless he is Islam: he should embody the Book and the Sunnah; what he says should come from his heart and be confirmed by his intellect. I do not want preachers. There are enough of them in the forty-six so-called Muslim countries. Their boring propaganda comes to us through the media of television, radio, and so on. They are the people who love to be in the king's parlor. In our way, the king comes to the man of knowledge; the men of knowledge do no go to the king.

In spite of us, Islam will prevail in the world. This is the way of God. At best we are but His slaves. God promises in the Qur`an that this way, His light, Nur Allah, will prevail, and this will occur in man when he is fully awake. God says:

If you do good, you will do good for your own souls. (17:7)

Both inwardly and outwardly, this life is jihad – a struggle in the way of God alone. We should be continually singing the one and only song of God: "La ilaha illa'llah, Muhammadun Rasulu'llah" (There is no god but God alone, and Muhammad is His Prophet), wherever we go. We have come to this town in order to change the direction of events. Recently, you have been losing your best people to the system of unbelief. We would like to bring back the best of them to help you, using the new outer technology of the West and the revived inner technology of the East. Simply importing outer technology will ruin us unless it is subservient to our knowledge of the way of Islam. If our moral values are not the dictating factors as to what and when this outer technology is used, it will be of no use to us. We are here with the hope that some people from this community will step forward. We hope that today's young walis or friends of Allah will be the people who are familiar with the language of unbelief, who not only know how it works but also understand the religion which they aim to revive. We visited some of the tribes in the North West Frontier [of Pakistan]. There you still see the purity of their hearts and the closeness of their tribes. But you can also see that this way of life is being eroded. Soon it will be a museum piece, unless they allow themselves to be led by walis. I gave them that message and that warning, and they all understood it; they were desperate and asked what they could do about it.

<snipped>

God says:

Do men think that they will be left alone (at ease) on saying, we believe, and will not be tried? (29:2)

It is a sign of God's love for us that He does not allow us to say something without meaning it. Even amongst rascals, good may come. Whatever we look for we will find, whether it be good or bad. God has instructed us in Surah Al-`Imran:

Enjoy what is right and forbid the wrong. (3:110)