بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Alhamdulillaahi Rabbi Al-Aalamin Wa As-Salaatu Wa As-Salaamu ala a rasulillaah was a’la aalihi wasahbihi wasallim.
Assalaamu alaykum warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuhu
We are all welcome to the Halqah Session for this night.
Baarakallaahu feekum
As we have said previously in our notice and reminder, tonight’s topic is titled:
Islam, Culture and Traditions. We ask Allah to bless it and make it easy for the presenter and understandable for the listeners, Aameen
We will commence by saying, contrary to the impression that most people have, Muslims alike, Islam cannot be referred to as a religion as the word is used in modern times
Oxford dictionaries maintain that the origin of the word religion derives from middle English which was in the sense of: ‘Life under monastic vows’ and could mean:
An obligation, a bond and a reverence for and with a matter a particular spiritual being.
Online dictionaries describe religion as:
‘A set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature and purpose of the universe. Especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs’
Or:
‘A specific fundamental that dry if beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects.’
None of these definitions qualify Islam, as
Islam is not just a set of beliefs neither is it a moral code governing human conduct
Rather, Islam is life in itself. It is the essence of creation and it is the absolute reality, The universal truth. There is no truth outside it, neither is there life.
Allaah – ta:aala said:
ان الدين عند الله الاسلام
“Indeed DEEN in the sight of Allaah is Islam”
And also:
ومن يبتغي غير الاسلام دينا فلن يقبل منه وهو في الاخرة من الخاسرين
“And whosoever seeks other than Islam as a DEEN, it will not be accepted from him. And in the Hereafter he will be among the losers.”
Surat Al-Imraan
What that means is that Islam as a word should replace the words; Religion, ideology, creed, worship, law, constitution , culture, tradition and norms etc. This is because it is the absolute way of life outside which nothing exists. There is no aspect of life for which that codes and precepts have not been laid down. And it is man’s obligation divinely sanctioned to abide by all of these injunctions.
This is the reason for which some of the Ulmaa are against the adjective; ‘islamic’ used by many. An adjective is that part of speech that defines or qualifies a noun, but because, every noun must be qualified and defined by Islam, adding the adjective ‘Islamic‘ is completely unwarranted and unnecessary.
I hope we understand what that implies. Grammarians say that adjectives describe nouns
or qualifies them. Every noun, for it to deserve existence must be in accordance with Islam
Therefore, there should be no need for ‘Islamic’ as an adjective.
It is for this same reason that English lexicographers do not preface a definite and proper noun with the definite article ‘the’. What this means is that in the past days of Islam, you don’t build a school and then name it ‘Islamic School’ or describe it as such.
Instead, You just call it a ‘school’ and that is because there shouldn’t be a school in the first place unless it abides by Islaam. If a school is not in accordance with Islam, then it should not exist or should be so understood.
They saw it as life in itself and the adjective of all nouns and therefore did not describe any noun, by default, with Islam. Instead, it is when a noun disagrees with Islam’s conduct that they describe it as such. They could say ‘madrasatun nasraani’; meaning that is ‘a christian school’. Another example is what some Muslims today term ‘Islamic Dress’ or ‘Islamic Lecture’ or ‘Islamic Home’
We only got to be using that adjective because we have so much accustomed to what does not agree with Islam. Had Islam been the default to us, We would not be in this situation of terming things as such. Had we been adhering to Islam as it should be, then we would have realised that by mere saying ‘dress’, ‘school’, ‘lecture’, reference is to Islam alone.
What we have mentioned is a very important phenomenon that Muslims are supposed to pay attention to – scholars and commoners alike.
“Islam is not a Religion, it is Religion. Islam is not a way of life, it is the way of life.”
The human race has existed for millennia and centuries on the earths surface and have inhabited the land since the time of Aadam – alayhi as-salaam.
Historians of civilization tell us that when men began inhabiting cities and settlements, and began to see the need of living together in a place – hamlet, village, town, city – they began to develop ways and ethics by which they lived together and coexisted. These ethics and codes developed over time through generations and centuries. By consequence, different cities, tribes and races developed different sets of ethics and codes of living. These ethics sometimes converge and sometimes diverge.
Some of our great historians and sociologists concur with this; Such as Imaam Abuu Ja’far In Jarir At-Tabari and Al-Haafidh In Khaldun among many others. Na’am With human cities and civilizations generating all of these, Cambridge English dictionary defines culture as
‘The way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs of a particular group of people at a particular time.’
This group of people are most times a tribe or a race who transmit these customs or beliefs from generation to generation in what is described as their tradition. They also develop some sets of standards of proper and acceptable behaviour which is referred to as the NORM of that society, tribe or race. This means that these cultures, traditions, and societal norms have existed and have continued to develop throughout human history.
Personality traits also develop in societies due to cultural traditional or social factors. Personality is simple all about differences among people and patterns of behaviour, emotion and cognition.
We shall inshaa Allaah stop here.
What we have just done is to take us through what each if Islam, Culture and Tradition truly mean.
InshaaAllaah, Next week, we will take us through what exactly Islam has to say about culture and traditions.
Please keep a date with us and don’t miss the next week’s inshaaAllaah
Baarakallaahu feekum
Answer to the first question: we can change that attitude by ensuring that we embody Islam.
Don’t forget that when our mother Sayyida Aa’isha – radiyallaahu :anha – was asked about the Manners and Characters of the Rasul – salallaahi alayhi wasallam – she said:
كان خلقه القران
“His character was the Qur’an’
So, let us all try to ensure Islam becomes our life and not an alien thing we describe as Islamic.
Answer to second question :
Yes, Islam is Peace
It is peace with Allah, ones soul, one’s associates and the environment But peace is not always the absence of war, it is always the presence of justice.
AlhamduliLLaah, we thank Allah for bringing us to the end of this session
May He give us the best understanding of all we ‘ve learnt today and spare us till next week.
Aameen.
JazaakumuLLahu khayran
