A Call For Coexistence
Episode 15
In the name of Allah,
the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful. Peace and blessings of Allah be upon
Prophet Muhammad (SAWS).
As we continue today with the
story of Imam ash-Shafi'y, I should say that today’s episode is the most
important part of the story. Today we will be applying the ten points, by
which we can learn the art of coexistence, using ash-Safi’y’s life as our
example.
Learning the art of
coexistence is of a great thawab (reward). The Prophet (SAWS)
taught us that believers should live in harmony with the people around them and
be able to extend bridges to the others. There is no good in a person who
could not live in harmony with the others. Accordingly, learning the art
of coexistence means that one is a believer.
Now, let us apply the ten
points to ash-Shafi’y.
First point: Do your
best in order to find something in common with others.
This applies to everyone and
everything in your circle, starting from war in Iraq and Darfur (the wider
circle), to your relationship with your own family. It takes a real effort
to achieve it.
In ash-Shafi’y’s biography,
you can see how he found something in common with his own teacher. His
teacher did not pay him much attention, because he was a poor kid and as a
result was not paying any money. Ash-Shaf’iy, who was only a child back
then, returned home crying and told his mother that he does not want to return
to that teacher.
“O son, do your best to
acquire knowledge. Try to sit beside the other boys (richer), whom are
given special attention by the teacher, and listen to what he is telling them,
but do not bother him with your presence.” said ash-Shafi’y’s wise mother.
Ash-Shafi’y tried to do what
his mother told him, and it worked. He acquired a great deal of knowledge,
to the extent that when his teacher happened to leave the class for a while, the
five-year old Shafi’y; stood amongst his classmates and gave them the lesson.
The teacher saw him and realized that this smart child could actually help him
in teaching the lessons. Thus, he relied on ash-Shafi’y in return for
giving him free lessons. He even paid more attention to him, so that he
would help him even more.
Ash-shafi’y then said to his
mother, “O mother, I trully learned how to humble myself for knowledge, and have
good manners towards my teacher.”
Ever since, it became
ash-Shafi’y’s mission in life to find something in common with others.
This is due to the lesson his mother taught him. Do we teach our children
to do the same? Does anyone we teach their students how to coexist?
Does anybody teach their children how to live in harmony with others?
Islam was the first to teach
people the art of coexistence. There isn't a single constitution in this
world that has what is said in the Qur’an and can be translated as, “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. Surely the most
honorable among you in the Providence of Allah are the most pious; surely Allah
is Ever-Knowing, Ever-Cognizant.” (TMQ, 49: 13).
The Prophet (SAWS)
himself told us that he was ready to cooperate with the tribe of
Quraysh, should they invite him for
something like Hilf al-Fodool. Hilf al-Fodool is a confederacy formed by the
powerful Arab tribes, for the suppresions of violence and injustice at the
restoration of peace after the sacrilegious war. The Prophet (SAWS) was
willing to jooin this confedracy just for the sake of finding something in
common with them.
The Qur’an too, seeks the common things bewteen people. “Say,
"O population of the Book, (Or: Family of the Book, i.e., the Jews and
Christians) come to a level word between us and you, that we worship none except
Allah, and that we do not associate anything with Him, and that some of us do
not take to themselves others (Literally: some "others") as lords, apart from
Allah." So, in case they turn away, then say, "Bear witness that we are
Muslims.” (Literally: we have surrendered "to Allah").
(TMQ, 3: 64). The Qur’an
addresses them as people of the book, not as disbelivers; asking them to agree
that there is but one God, that is Allah (SWT).
We have
to learn how to make use of the others’ interests to find something in common
with them. If your son loves football, why not you learn about it and make
use of it to get closer to him, so that you would be able to protect him from
falling into sins like drugs, adultery, etc. Similarly, if your daughter is
facinated by fashoin, why not talk to her about fashion which suits her from the
Islamic precpective.
Second point: Search for any
knowledge that may help you find something in common with others.
Ash-Shafi’y had excellent
command of the Arabic language. Once, when he was thirteen, he heard the
great Imam of Egypt, al-Layth Ibn-Sa’d -who was in Makkah then - saying that the
disunity of the ummah (Muslim nation) and disagreement between scholars
stems from the weakness of the Arabic language of some of them.
“If only we would have a man
who is skilled at Qur’an, hadith and Arabic language, this man, then, would
unite this ummah.” said al-Layth.
While the Prophet’s (SAWS)
language was of the finest levels, the scholars’ was not up to the level, so
they debated among each other about the meaning of the Prophet’s (SAWS)
words.
Here I would like to ask some
Muslims who are living in the West, how could the West respect Islam, when they
could not even communicate with you? Look at ash-Shafi’y who stayed with
the tribe of Hothayl, which was famous for their eloquence, for four years just
to improve his Arabic language.
Notice that the more knowledge
you acquire, the more overlap with others you would have. Ash-Shafi’y
excelled at Qur’an, tajweed (A system of rules regulating the correct
oral rendering of the Qur'an), hadith, tafseer (Interpretation of the
Qur’an), Arabic language, genealogy, poetry, archery, physiognomy, the
jurisprudence taught in Hijaz. He collected these sciences during his
travels. They helped him find many common areas with others, who excelled
at same sciences.
Third point: Integrate with
people in your society, if you wish to find a common ground, to integrate in the
society.
Unfortunately, some religious
people resort to using expressions that are uncommon in their society. In
some cases, it turns people away from them, while they should search for what
bring them closer to people, just as ash-Shafi’y did.
Before ash-Shafi’y left for
Hothayl, his mother advised him to play sports. It would serve him in two ways,
first: as a kind of leisure. Second: he will not be isolated among his
peers. She was afraid that he might become isolated from the society; and
will not be able to integrate into it. Therefore, he played archery, and
memorized 10000 verses of poetry. Archery and poetry were of the common
activities among his peers at the time.
When ash-Shafi’y came to
Egypt, he studied the Egyptians before starting his work at giving fatwa
(Religious rule). He found two things. One: the Egyptians highly
admired lady Nafeesah, the grand daughter of Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), so,
he asked her to teach him.
Second: he found that the
Egyptians might underestimates the others and at the same time, they like jokes.
Once in one of his lectures, he told his audience that he heard a story.
One day, a group of people sat to have their dinner, which was two chickens.
They went to pray Isha’ first. While they were praying, a fox came and
snatched a chicken. No sooner, they finished their prayer, than they ran
after the fox. They saw it standing away, holding the chicken in its
teeth. They approached it, but it ran away, leaving the chicken behind.
They ran to take the chicken back, but it turned out to be a piece of cloth that
looked like a chicken. Then they looked behind them to find that the fox
has stolen the second chicken and ran away with it. The attendees laughed.
However, he said, “O people of Egypt, be on your guard, and do not underestimate
those who steal from you, even if they stole only a chicken.”
Though he only lived in Egypt
for four years, the Egyptians grieved so deeply for his death.
Scholars of his time used to
appreciate how eloquent he was. At the same time, when he was to sit with
the public, he would simplify his language so that they would understand what he
says, even the youth of his time, loved him dearly. Playing sports was one
of the reasons of their love to him, for he was close to them. They used
to go and ask him about their problems, out of love. One day, a young man
sent him a piece of paper on which he wrote, “Could you tell me what one could
do, when he is so deeply in love?” ash-Shafi’y answered him back by
saying, “He should treat his love with piety and patience until Allah grants him
what he longs for.”
Forth point: Do not refute
any opinion entirely. It can be useful after minor changes.
There were three sciences
entirely rejected by the Abbasids religion scholars. Among which was
poetry because, at the time, it was full of impudence. However,
ash-Shafi’y used it in a different way. He used to resort to poetry to
help people understand some
ayat (verses) of the Qur’an. Al-Asma’y - who was one of the most
popular poets of the Abbasids - learned poetry, and Qur’an from ash-Shafi’y.
He also started to write ethical poetry. Then, other poets imitated his style.
Genealogy was also one of the
sciences rejected by the religion scholars at the time. That dynasty was
raging with conflicts. Raising issues about lineage at the time would
create conflicts. Nevertheless, ash-Shafi’y tackled this problem
differently. He taught the genealogy of women. It was a unique
approach of his, for nobody cared about the lineage of women. It did not raise
any conflicts. To the contrary, it made women appreciate him even more,
for they appreciated his respect for them.
Fifth point: Do not oppress
who disagrees with you and consequently turn him into an enemy.
At the time of ash-Shafi’y,
Yemen was full of various sects other than Sunnis, among which were the
atheists, who were oppressed by the ruler. Although ash-Shafi’y was one of
the Sunnis imams, he could not help asking the ruler to stop his aggression
against those sects. He said the same to the Caliph, Haroun ar-Rasheed.
He, even, advised him to treat them kindly.
Sixth point: Have pure
intention
Ash-Shafi’y’s son once said,
“I have never seen my father discuss an issue with anybody in a loud voice.”
Ash-Shafi’y himself said, “I
have never debated with someone, without wishing that he would win the debate.”
“I have never debated with
someone, out of the intention of advising him.”
He once debated with Imam
Ahmad Ibn-Hanbal, the fourth imam and ash-Shafi’y’s student, about the rule on
the Muslim who does not pray. He won the debate, yet at the end, he said,
“O Ahmad, I have not debated with you but for the sake of revealing the truth.”
He also used to say, “My
opinion is right unless it can be turned to be wrong, and the others’ opinion is
wrong unless it can be turned to be right.”
When he was dying, he said,
“If only the knowledge I have would reach all people, and yet not be attributed
to me.”
Seventh point: Respect
others in order to win their hearts and consequently coexist together.
There was a disagreement
between him and a man called Yunus. He met him again after a year of their
debate. He asked him, “Can we try not to disagree, and still keep our
friendship?” Yunus replied, “O Shafi’y, you really have half of the world’s
wisdom, I swear it.”
Eighth point: Be flexible
Ash-Shafi’y was flexible that
when he went to Egypt, he changed many rules of his fiqh (Islamic
jurisprudence), which he wrote in Iraq. It was due to the differences
between the two countries.
Rigid people suffer a lot.
Therefore, we have to learn flexibility. Look at the Prophet (SAWS)
on the day of the Conquest of Makkah, when he gave protection all those who
would enter Abu-Sufyan’s house, despite all what Abu-Sufyan committed against
Muslims.
Ninth point: Be a loving
person even with those who disagree with you.
He showed a great sympathy to
a lady, who told him about her separation from her husband despite the great
love they had for each other; their separation was because of another woman.
Ash-Shafi’y even cried, and offered to act as an intermediary between them.
He, once, advised his son not
to be arrogant to people or Allah (SWT) would punish him.
Tenth point: Coexistence
does not mean dissolving into other cultures.
Ash-Shafi’y acquired his
knowledge from various sources and cultures, yet he never dissolved in any of
them. Malik was his teacher, and yet he wrote a book titled “A
disagreement with Malik”. He began his book by saying, ‘Malik is the one
who taught me, but I disagree with him, just for the sake of the truth.”
At the same time, when he was dying, he said, “I owe nobody on earth as much as
I owe Malik”
Muslims, who live in the West,
should learn how to coexist and integrate into the society, and yet not dissolve
in it.
During the next episode, we
will be meeting a scholar of Shafi’y fiqh, to tell us more about his
school.
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.
