04-06-2007, 08:11 AM
<b>Episode 3</b>
Even though we might differ, let us coexist. Coexistence is derived from the word existence, which means to live together. Differences are part of the law of nature on which the universe was built. The reason behind this program is the awful hardship the Muslims are facing nowadays. We can disagree but we should still talk, converse, respect, and accept each other’s existence. Our motto through out these episodes will be the following verse that says, <b>“O you mankind, surely We created you of a male and a female, and We have made you races and tribes that you may get mutually acquainted</b>….” (TMQ[1], 49:13). Therefore these differences exist to enable us to mutually acquaint.
Harmony is a commitment in Islam and every juristic judgment in Islam aims at spreading harmony among people in general and Muslims in particular. Allah[2] created earth so that we may develop it through the exchange of interests, thoughts, economy and trade.
We are different, but can we still coexist.
The 4 imams, Imam Abu-Hanifa, Imam Malik Ibn-Anas, Imam ash-shafe’iyy and Imam Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal (great scholars) are credited for being the first to shape Islamic jurisprudence and have their own schools. Jurisprudence, one of the most important sciences in Islam, is the science of finding solutions for peoples' problems in life in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah[3].
Throughout this program I will endeavor to achieve what the following verse says, “Surely the believers are only brothers ...” (TMQ, 49:10). My intention is to bring us together and Allah is my witness. We will not get mutually acquainted unless we coexist together, only then can we talk about revival and how to deal with other nations and races in this revival. The first step will be how to live and coexist together?
We shall start with Imam Abu-Hanifa; a prime example of how to effectively coexist. His name is No’man Ibn-Thabet al-Mazraban, a Persian. His grandfathers were non-Arabs but they embraced Islam. He was born in Koofah in the year 80 after hijrah[4] and died in the year 150 after hijrah. Thus he lived for 70 years. He paved the way for those who followed him. He was the first to develop the revered science Islamic jurisprudence.
Scholars say, "Muslims should supplicate for Abu-Hanifa in their prayers because he was the first to shape Islamic jurisprudence and laws in Islam". Today we find Muslims in disagreement with one another, yet Islam and Muslims at that time accepted Abu Hanifa despite being a non-Arab.
Ibn-Abu Laila, a scholar, was once sitting with Eissa Ibn-Hisham, the ruler of Koofah who was fanatic about Arabs. Ibn-Hisham asked him about the best jurisprudence scholars and Ibn-Abu Laila replied with many great names. When Ibn-Hisham discovered that the scholars of Al-Madinah, Makkah, Yemen, Yamamah, Levant, the Arab Peninsula and Basra were all non-Arabs, his face turned red with anger. He then asked who is the scholar of Koofah, Ibn-Abu Laila was going to say Hammad, the teacher of Abu-Hanifa who was a non-Arab but instead he mentioned an Arab called Ibrahim al-Nakh’iyy. Ibn-Hisham breathed a sigh of relief and said “Allahu Akbar (Allah is the greatest)”.
Non-Arabs excelled in science, meanwhile Arabs were preoccupied with battles and conquests therefore they were not able to delve in science. Non-Arabs wanted to be part of the new nation and Islam so they concentrated on science; hence a balance between the two groups (Arabs and non-Arabs) was achieved. Arabs are credited for accepting the study of non-Arabs of Islamic sciences, and as a result the community became integrated.
Are community members nowadays ready to accept each other? When Arabs gave the chance to non-Arabs to study and excel; they effectively preserved many revered sciences of Islam. A man like Abu-Hanifa, for example, was accepted by the community although he was of Persian origin. Later on, Abu-Hanifa becomes known as the ‘Greatest Imam’ and the ‘Imam of Imams’.
Abu Hanifa was brought up in Koofah, the center of the Islamic reign during the rule of Ali Ibn-Abu-Talib. A huge mosque was built in Koofah which held up to 40,000 people. This mosque was to be the starting point for Abu-Hanifa.
Abu-Hanifa's father was a fabric merchant. When he was about 17 years old, he decided to make his father’s shop the largest in Iraq. He looked for the finest man who taught marketing science as he had a scientific approach to every thing in life. By the way, three of the four imams were encouraged by their mothers to study science. This was the year 80 after hijrah. Interestingly enough, very few people today apply science to trade. Yet Abu-Hanifa wanted a specialist to teach him the essence of trade. At this stage studying was never on his mind, all that mattered to him was to be successful in life.
He asked his father to modernize the shop and in a few years he became the owner of one of the biggest shops in Koofah. He always excelled in anything he did. His father allowed him to develop the business hence the shop flourished and they became richer by the day, their yearly income became 200,000 dinars. Abu-Hanifa only kept 4000 dirhams per year for himself and his family and spent the rest on charitable causes.
Nowadays we find problems arising between generations when the son joins the father’s trade. The father wants to apply his method and the son wants to innovate.
One day Abu-Hanifa passed by a man called ash-Sha’biyy, one of the greatest and well-known Islamic scholars. Ash-Sha’biyy asked Abu-Hanifa about the scholars from whom he learns from to which Abu-Hanifa replied, "a marketing lesson", but ash-Sha’biyy was referring to scholars' lessons. Ash-Sha’biyy found in Abu-Hanifa the attentiveness, activeness, intelligence and drive that cannot be satisfied by trade alone. Science was the advice of Ash-Sha’biyy to Abu-Hanifa to make use of his intelligence.
We suffer these days in our countries because no one knows how to spot talented people. Talents are born, then die and get buried without being discovered. Ash-Sha’biyy took one look at Abu-Hanifa and knew that trade was not the only thing he would be good at. If he learns religious science as well, then he was destined to be unique. Ash-Sha’biyy's words led to the emergence of a great Imam in Islam who founded the first Islamic jurisprudence school and the most famous to date. Abu-Hanifa is the most widespread juristic school in the Islamic world, especially among non-Arabic speaking Muslims.
Abu-Hanifa started by asking about the different religious sciences available for study, and he was told, “Qur'an, hadeeth, linguistics, poetry and jurisprudence.” Those were the sciences at that time. He asked Ash-Sha’biyy about the best scholars in the field and was told “Hammad Ibn-Abu-Sulaiman”.
It was after this encounter that the young Imam began his quest for knowledge, and he accompanied Hammad for 18 years. After just 3 years, Hammad felt that Abu-Hanifa was progressing so well that he let Abu-Hanifa sit beside him in his circle.
Nowadays, we hear of professors or seniors who when faced with an exceptional employee, they would either harass him or expel him. Hammad allowed others to succeed, that is why Abu-Hanifa was always grateful to him.
Coexistence is evident in such a society that accepted the success of a young man of Persian origin. Coexistence is clear in this community of scholars who accepted and welcomed a merchant, and in Hammad who accepted a young, well-dressed man to become his student and then his colleague.
Abu Hanifa sought the teachings of Ja’far as-Sadiq, the founder of the Shiite jurisprudence. Abu-Hanifa studied Shiite jurisprudence although he disagreed with it in some aspects. This is a great example of coexistence on Abu-Hanifa’s part. Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with a certain concept, individual, or idea, one must accept and respect its existence. This was a healthy community that reinforced coexistence where a mentor helps his students to excel and then distinguishes one to be his equal. Such attitudes result in a mature, tolerant, and prosperous community.
Today, we want to say that coexistence is evident in our everyday life. You have to coexist with yourself, your family, your mentors, and with your society.
In today’s society, many of us are actually pushing each other backwards. Coexistence is clearly lacking even within the same home. Courts are filled with lawsuits. Think about this verse, “..<b>and We have made you races and tribes that you may get mutually acquainted</b>.” (TMQ, 49:13)
Later on, Hammad was informed that he inherited a relative in Basra. As he was the sole beneficiary he had to go there himself to receive the inheritance. Hammad left the circle and asked Abu-Hanifa to take his place.
Have you ever heard of a research group that succeeded together, and then stayed together? The West is more successful because they work in a joint institutional system.
Abu-Hanifa replaced him for two months. During this period, he faced questions that have never been asked before. When Hammad returned, Abu-Hanifa presented the questions to him. They dealt with 60 questions. He agreed with him on 40 and disagreed on the remaining 20. He then realized that he was wrong about the remaining 20 questions.
One major problem in our countries is that our companies, factories, universities and research work all lack teamwork spirit. We also lack coexistence between mentors and students?
Abu-Hanifa had disagreed with Hammad on more than one occasion. Nonetheless, he still asked Allah’s forgiveness to be bestowed upon Hammad in as much as he asked it for his parents. He even asked Allah's forgiveness for all those who taught him and all those he taught. People asked him why, and he would reply, “so that they may stick to the right path “and I may continue to be rewarded for their work”.
Fathers may ask how they can contain their children. Children may ask how they can deal with their fathers. Women may ask how they can live in harmony with their husbands. Abu-Hanifa was 40 years old, when he founded the greatest school. He was the first to reject the idea of individual jurisprudence. Thus, he started a group of 40 scholars. The group contained all specialties: commerce, language, hadeeth, Qur'an, interpretation and poetry. This group would gather and address the needs and problems of the society through searching for provisions in the Qur'an and the Sunnah. If nothing could be found, they would think together to reach a solution. In fact, hundreds or even thousands of people attended these sessions. But the 40 experts would sit in the first few rows.
Abu-Hanifa would begin by presenting the problem, and then the discussion would start. They would analyze the problem, discuss the assumptions and search for the cause. A member was designated to write the minutes of the session. Indeed, this is scientific methodology which involves analyzing the problem, proposing assumptions, and then presenting solutions. This could last for one day, two days, or even a week .The group members would also participate by raising their hands and having their say. Eventually, they would reach a final decision concerning the given problem, in light of the collective opinion. What if the decision was different from Abu-Hanifa's opinion? That did not matter as the decision was a result of combined opinions of the group members.
A very important role was played by a man called Abu-Yusuf, one of Abu-Hanifa's distinguished students. He occupied the position of the chief judge in the Islamic state during the reign of the four Caliphs. During his time with Abu-Hanifa, he would write the final decision or fatwa (legal opinion issued by Islamic scholars), and the reasons behind it. This group worked for 30 years, starting from when Abu-Hanifa was 40 till he became 70. They bridged the gap between worldly life and religion. Abu-Hanifa offered the first scholarship to Abu-Yusuf. Although he was a poor student, Abu-Hanifa thought he was very promising. Occasionally, Abu-Hanifa would give him 100 dirhams. He even told him that when he ran out of money he should go back to him. Then, he gave him a monthly allowance.
Abu-Yusuf decided to start his own circle. One day Abu-Hanifa asked one of his attendees to go to Abu-Yusuf's circle and present to him the following question: A man went to a tailor (Abu-Yusuf was originally a tailor), and asked him to shorten a garment for a dirham. The next day the man returned to find that the job was not done. When he tuned up on third day the tailor denied taking the garment. On the following day, He passed by only to find his shortened garment up for sale. Feeling embarrassed, the tailor, gave it to him.
The question to Abu-Yusuf was: Does the tailor deserve the fee? If he says, “yes”, the man would tell him, “You are wrong”. If he says, “no”, the man would tell him, “You are wrong”. Abu-Yusuf said, “Yes, the tailor deserves to be paid”. The man said, “You are wrong”. Abu-Yusuf thought again and then said “No, he does not deserve it”. The man again said, “You are wrong”. Abu-Yusuf asked the group in his circle to wait while he went to Abu-Hanifa's circle.
Abu-Hanifa went to meet him alone. He said, “Perhaps you are here because of the tailor's question”. Abu-Yusuf said, “Yes”. He said, “If the tailor shortened the garment before intending to keep it, he deserves the fee but if the tailor shortened it after intending to keep it then he does not deserve the fee”. Abu-Hanifa looked at him and said, “Whoever thinks that he can do without working with others, should really pity himself. I have faith in you Abu-Yusuf, if you leave us, you will lose and so will we”. Abu-Yusuf remained with Abu-Hanifa until his death. He later became the chief judge for the entire Islamic state.
I suggest you think about this example, its logic, wisdom, and tolerance. Take a good look at our Islamic history. The West says that we are terrorists and that our thinking methods are stagnant because those who founded our jurisprudence were stagnant.
Can we start thinking of how we can live in harmony with the other for the sake of Islam and for this poor nation? “<b>And adhere firmly to the Rope of Allah</b> …” (TMQ, 3:103).
May the Peace and Blessing of Allah be upon you!
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[1] TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.
[2] The word Allah is the Arabic term for God. Although the use of the word "Allah" is most often associated with Islam, it is not used exclusively by Muslims; Arab Christians and Arabic-speaking Jews also use it to refer to the One God. The Arabic word expresses the unique characteristics of the One God more precisely than the English term. Whereas the word "Allah" has no plural form in Arabic, the English form does, and the word 'Allah' in Arabic has no connotation of gender. Allah is the God worshipped by all Prophets, from Adam to Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad.
[3] Prophetic traditions.
[4] Immigration of the Prophet to the city of Madinah.
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