The first Revivor: Umar bin Abdul Aziz

Intro here

Sheikh Nadwi mentions several key characteristics that marked the short Ummayid rule of the Muslim world. Those include the return of the tribalism mentality and the idea of the superiority of one race over another (particularly Arabs over non-Arabs), which the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) had worked hard to eradicate. Also, there was a very dangerous change in the drivers and motivators of people, for many no longer performed good deeds (fighting in battle, generosity to neighbours,...) to get closer to Allah (swt), but rather to be talked about amongst the people.

There was also the unjustness of the rulers who would take from the poor and spend on their lavish lifestyles. Thus came to existance a very pampered 'aristocratic' class of people who were preoccupied by worldly pleasures. Nevertheless, this did not affect the majority of the ummah who still had a great respect for scholars and rightoeous people.

This is the world into which Umar bin Abdul Aziz was born and in which he was raised. It was said that his perfume could be smelt everywhere he went and that he had a particularly elegant walk which some of the women would try to learn. That was before his ascension to the 'throne' of khilafah.

The first thing he did was replace the unjust rulers of the Muslim provinces. He stopped the opressive taxes and was strict about rulers not accepting gifts or bribes, and about them not spending lavishly of the people's wealth.

On a personal level, he returned all the gifts he got to beit al-mal (the treasury of the ummah)and gave of his wealth and his wife's jewlery in charity. His zuhd and aversion of worldly comforts and pleasure was beyond that of any of the worshippers, let alone kings. He was also very conscious about not spending any of the ummah's wealth on himself. He would put off a candle which was fueled by money from the treasury if one busied him asking about himself (Umar's wellbeing).

He opened his doors to the people and announced rewards to those who would bring him news of the true state of society, or would advise him on something of benefit to the ummah.

He was able to embody the role of a true Muslim khalifah, one who takes responsiblity of the administrative and ruling affairs of the state, yet is also responsible for the knowledge and righteousness of the people (a role which had become restricted to the scholars of the time). He would send letters to the rulers of the Muslim provinces reminding them of their duties, guiding them to the straight path, enjoining the good and forbidding the evil.

Afterall, Umar bin Abdul Aziz was a knowledgable scholar of his own right. Mujahid (a famous scholar of the time) had said of him:"we came to him to teach him, but we did not leave until we learnt from him".

One of the greatest favors of this revivor on the Muslim ummah is his attention to the Hadith of the Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him). For although hadith was written as early as the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), it was Omar bin Abdel Aziz who started the movement of collecting and preserving it by focusing the scholars' attention to it, just as his great grandfather Omar bin Al Khattab had encouraged the first khalifah Abu Baker al-Sideeq to do with the Quran (for more on Hadith collection, check out this post).

The effects
The reforms which Omar bin Abdel Aziz began were not favoured by all, and some worried they would lead to financial crises and losses for the ummah. However, what happened was to the contrary. The Muslim ummah was blessed with prosperity and security to an extent that the rich did not know where to spend their zakat. Yahya ibn Saeed narrates that Umar bin Abdul Aziz sent him to collect zakat from Africa. He did so, but could not find any poor people deserving of the money so he used it to free slaves.

The great khalifah passed away in 101 A.H., only two years and five months from the day he took responsibility of leading the Muslim ummah. May Allah (swt) have mercy on him and reward him for his great deeds.

An inspiring read...

It's called Rijjal al-Fikr wa ad-Da'wah fi al-Islam [Men of Thought and Dawah in Islam]. The book came about when the great Indian Muslim scholar Abu al-Hasan Ali al-Nadawai , may Allah (swt) have mercy on him, was invited to give a series of lectures at the University of Damascus. After much thought he picked the topic of revivors throughout Islamic history. The lectures were a huge success and were eventually turned into a very popular book. I've been trying to get my hands on it for a couple of years now and finally managed to borrow a copy, alhamdulilAllah. (Funny thing with books of knowledge, Allah (swt) sends them at the perfect time.)

The book covers seven giants of Islamic history, may Allah (swt) have mercy upon them and be pleased with them: Omar bin Abd-el-Aziz (62-101 A.H.), al-Hasan al-Basri (21-110 A.H.), Ahmad ibn Hanbal (164-241 A.H.), Abul-Hasan al- Asha'ri (270-324 A.H.), Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (450-505 A.H.), Abdul Qadir al-Jilani(470-561 A.H.), Jalal ad-Deen ar-Roumi (604-672 A.H.).

The power of the book lies in the fact that it is not simply a collection of biographies. Rather than focus on the lives of the great scholars, the author chooses to present their lives and achievements in the context of the larger historical events and the particular challenges facing the dawah movement and the Muslim ummah at the time, be them theological, societal, or political (usually a combination of the three).

Although each reformer had his own personal characteristics and faced unique challenges, there is definitely a consistent theme throughout the book: particular traits that are common in all of the above named scholars.

There are the obvious ones: Their solid knowledge of the deen which they acquired though spending years with great teachers of their time. However, their insatiable quest for knowledge did not distract them from their ibadah (worship) nor their work and worldly duties (ruling, teaching, working,...). This balance was essential.
There was also their unparalleled motivation and sincerity to use their knowledge and abilities to benefit their ummah the best way they can. They all worked tirelessly for the sake of this deen until their very last breath, may Allah (swt) reward them for their efforts.

There was also their zuhd, their complete disregard for the pleasures of this world. Not only did they refuse to sell their knowledge for worldly gains, or be satisfied with high-ranking positions in governmental institutions and universities, they stood against the tyrants of their time and were not afraid to speak out against the injustices committed by Muslim rulers, sometimes in the name of Islam.

However, what really distinguished these inspirational figures was their ability to not only grasp the sacred knowledge and be famous scholars and leaders within academic circles, but to also understand the unique challenges of their times and societies well and be able to bring about a revolution of thought in applying the sacred knowledge to revive the people's faith and fight falsehood, which ever form it may have taken.

Out of the many powerful points made in the introduction of the book, there was one key point which stood out. The Muslim ummah has gone through many turbulent times and been exposed to numerous external and internal threats, yet Islam remains strong and virtually unchanged 1400 years later. Why? First, it the vitality of this religion which Allah (swt) has made to be appropriate for all places and all times. The second is that Allah (swt) has promised to provide this ummah with strong, pious, knowledgable, fearless revivors to ensure the the continuity and regeneration of this deen till the end of time, a blessing which he has not provided to any other religion or group.

The author goes on to point out that history books may only highlight a handful of individuals, thus it may seem that the lineage of revivors is scattered and discontinuous. However, for those who dive deep into the books of history and knowledge, it becomes obvious that the movement of Islamic revival is a continuous one, for there has never been a time which was devoid of righteous groups and individuals striving to call out to the truth, speak out against injustice, challenge tyranny and corruption, and open new windows of thought and reform.

God willing, I hope to be able to post glimpses of the scholars lives from the book in the coming weeks...short stories which I found particularly touching and inspiring (if I get lazy please start nagging).

May Allah (swt) make us of those whom He uses in His Way, ameen.

"Losing my Jihadism"

Check out this article in The Washington Post by Mansour al-Nogaidan on his spiritual journey (excerpts below):

It's time for Muslims to question our leaders and their strict teachings, to reach our own understanding of the prophet's words and to call for a bold renewal of our faith as a faith of goodwill, of peace and of light.

I didn't always think this way. Once, I was one of the extremists who clung to literal interpretations of Islam and tried to force them on others. I was a jihadist.

I grew up in Saudi Arabia. When I was 16, I found myself assailed by doubts about the existence of God. I prayed to God to give me the strength to overcome them. I made a deal with Him: I would give up everything, devote myself to Him and live the way the prophet Muhammad and his companions had lived 1,400 years ago if He would rid me of my doubts.

I joined a hard-line Salafi group. I abandoned modern life and lived in a mud hut, apart from my family. Viewing modern education as corrupt and immoral, I joined a circle of scholars who taught the Islamic sciences in the classical way, just as they had been taught 1,200 years ago.

My involvement with this group led me to violence, and landed me in prison. In 1991, I took part in firebombing video stores in Riyadh and a women's center in my home town of Buraidah, seeing them as symbols of sin in a society that was marching rapidly toward modernization.

By the time I turned 26, much of the turmoil in me had abated, and I made my peace with God. At the same time, my eyes were opened to the hypocrisy of so many who held themselves out as Muslim role models. I saw Islamic judges ignoring the marks of torture borne by my prison comrades. I learned of Islamic teachers who molested their students. I heard devout Muslims who never missed the five daily prayers lying with ease to people who did not share their extremist beliefs.

Read on here

Of course, every 'religious' group has its own share of corrupt and hypocritical leaders. Check out this story which appeared in the LA Times recently (slightly different ending than the first one though).

AlhamdulilAllah, I'm so glad the brother figured out that Islam and attacks against the innocent don't go together. I'm sure his journey was not an easy one, and one which took a lot of courage. However, I don't like the whole "modern" vs. 'traditional' Islam idea. Who said that the Islam revealed 1400 years ago called for isolation and promoted the killing of innocent Jews and Christians? To the contrary; for example:

"Allah forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for (your) faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loveth those who are just." [The Holy Quran, chapter 60, verse 8]

Yes, we do need strong, pragmatic, charismatic and more importantly knowledgeable and wise Muslim scholars and preachers who can connect with the masses and challenge corrupt leaders and twisted ideologies. We need them, not to "reconcile us with the wider world", but to first reconcile us with the faith we claim to practise. Once that happens, we will not only be 'ideal' Muslims, but 'ideal' global citizens.

We , the global Muslim community, need revivers not reformers. I believe we already blessed to have some great scholars and 'preachers' around: Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi and Amr Khaled are the first that come to my mind of each category. AlhamdulilAllah, individuals like those have helped our ummah come a long way in the past ten years, and insha'Allah the coming ten years will witness an even stronger growth with Muslims figuring out how to truly put their faith in action to benefit themselves and the people around them, wherever they may be.

By the way, anyone know anything about the Ibn Taymiyya story al-Nogaidan mentions?