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Is THEM Guilty of Shirk? - Dr. Wesley Muhammad

Is THEM Guilty of Shirk? - Dr. Wesley Muhammad

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When Imam Mubaashir stated; ―As a follower <strong>of</strong> Imam Waarithud-Deen Mohammed, it is important that<br />

I point out that we have been taught that the Qur'an is the number one source <strong>of</strong> our guidance and is the<br />

criteria by which we judge the validity <strong>of</strong> all knowledge, including the reports (hadeeth) <strong>of</strong> what Prophet<br />

<strong>Muhammad</strong> said and the debates between scholars. I would also note that students <strong>of</strong> Imam Mohammed<br />

do not accept hadeeth at face value, even Sahih hadeeth, without first sifting them through the lens <strong>of</strong> the<br />

Qur'an‖<br />

That is to say; the Qur‘an is our first source, contact, reference before we go to any other book for clear<br />

understanding! A hadith is a saying <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong> or a report about something he did. Over time, during<br />

the first few centuries <strong>of</strong> <strong>Is</strong>lam, it became obvious that many so-called hadith were in fact spurious sayings<br />

that had been fabricated for various motives, at best to encourage believers to act righteously and at worse<br />

to corrupt believers' understanding <strong>of</strong> <strong>Is</strong>lam and to lead them astray. Since <strong>Is</strong>lamic legal scholars were<br />

utilizing hadith as an adjunct to the Qur'an in their development <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Is</strong>lamic legal system, it became<br />

critically important to have reliable collections <strong>of</strong> hadith. While the early collections <strong>of</strong> hadith <strong>of</strong>ten<br />

contained hadith that were <strong>of</strong> questionable origin, gradually collections <strong>of</strong> authenticated hadith called<br />

sahih (lit. true, correct) were compiled. Such collections were made possible by the development <strong>of</strong> the<br />

science <strong>of</strong> hadith criticism, a science at the basis <strong>of</strong> which was a critical analysis <strong>of</strong> the chain <strong>of</strong> (oral)<br />

transmission <strong>of</strong> the hadith going all the way back to <strong>Muhammad</strong>.<br />

These debates are indeed healthy, because how else will we send falsehood to its proper place. As the<br />

Prophet <strong>Muhammad</strong> (SAW) taught us as Muslims:<br />

Volume 8, Book 73, Number 135: Narrated Abu Huraira:<br />

Allah's Apostle said, "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong<br />

is the one who controls himself while in anger."<br />

So a Muslim should always keep his anger in check. I know it is hard, but when we become angry we lose<br />

our senses and this makes us unfit to defend <strong>Is</strong>lam as we are not thinking properly. So what should we do<br />

in the face <strong>of</strong> such attacks against our religion? The answer is extremely logical; we must study our<br />

religion so that we will be able to defend it. How can we defend our religion when we do not even know<br />

much about it? Thus, if Muslims want to do something about it then they should start learning about this<br />

faith (Al-<strong>Is</strong>lam) and therefore we can engage into these healthy debates.<br />

Surah 17 Ayat 81 And say: "Truth has (now) arrived, and Falsehood perished: for Falsehood is (by its<br />

nature) bound to perish."<br />

Surah 21 Ayat 18 Nay, We hurl the Truth against falsehood, and it knocks out its brain, and behold,<br />

falsehood doth perish! Ah! Woe be to you for the (false) things ye ascribe (to Us).<br />

So all we need is the truth (Al-Qur'an) and we do have the truth. All we must do is reveal the truth against<br />

the falsehood and the falsehood shall crumble and fall apart.These points are crucial for a Muslim to<br />

understand because if there is no wisdom in defending the religion, then the religion shall never be<br />

defended and the false accusations shall continue to be spread against the true religion <strong>of</strong> <strong>Is</strong>lam.<br />

<strong>Muhammad</strong> Abdur-Rahman<br />

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