Kuan Yew amal strategi bermusuh

Kuan Yew amal strategi bermusuh

Oleh Aziz Jamaludin Mohd Tahir

Yang Dipertua Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim)

Gesaan agar umat Islam Singapura 'tidak terlalu kuat berpegang pada ajaran Islam' merupakan natijah kebebalan beliau yang sengaja ingin mencuri kemarahan mereka yang ta’at beragama.

“Hubungan yang tidak mesra dengan jiran sebenarnya dicipta oleh Kuan Yew sendiri. ….Dalam situasi ingin berada di hadapan dan sebagai sebuah pelabuhan yang maju, Kuan Yew menyusun strategi bermusuh….dan suka sabotaj”

PANDANGAN sinis bekas Perdana Menteri Singapura, Lee Kuan Yew terhadap umat Islam cukup jelik. Gesaan agar umat Islam Singapura 'tidak terlalu kuat berpegang pada ajaran Islam' merupakan natijah kebebalan beliau yang sengaja ingin mencuri kemarahan mereka yang ta’at beragama. Ini kerana ajaran agama itulah yang dapat mengawal dan membimbing manusia menjadi terbaik, patuh dan ta’at kepada Allah dan pencipta-Nya. 

Gesaan tersebut boleh mendorong umat Islam melakukan kejahatan yang akan membahayakan sesebuah negara itu sendiri. Seharusnya Islam sudah difahami dengan baik oleh seorang pemimpin yang pernah memimpin selama 31 tahun, yang mana sebahagian kecil penduduknya beragama Islam. Memahami sejarah perjuangan peribadinya, baik menerusi tulisan-tulisan dan kata-kata beliau, ternyata Kuan Yew masih tidak mengakui bahawa Islam adalah agama yang paling banyak menyebarkan semangat toleransi, boleh hidup bersama penganut agama lain dan membangunkan negara dalam acuan yang bersifat madani, bukan seperti ajaran lain yang menganjurkan kebencian dan permusuhan sesama manusia.

Islam telah membuktikan bahawa sejak permulaan lagi, ia telah membentuk struktur masyarakat yang saling memahami, bekerjasama dan membantu. Hal ini dapat diperhatikan melalui sejarah bagaimana kepimpinan Nabi Muhammad (Sallallāhu 'alaihi wa sallam)  telah membangunkan tamadun kemasyarakatan yang terbaik dalam sejarah manusia di Madinah. Ketaatan penganut Islam berpegang kepada kalimah 'Tiada Tuhan Lain Yang Disembah Selain Allah' telah memperkuatkan kerohanian masyarakat sehingga muncul sebuah kehidupan yang beradab dan maju.

Sepanjang sejarah manusia, kejatuhan sesebuah tamadun adalah disebabkan rakyatnya telah melupakan atau menyisihkan kehidupan beragama. Tragedi yang menimpa Empayar Roman misalnya, salah satu faktornya adalah kerana terlalu menekankan falsafah materialisme dan kebebasan melampau sehinggakan agama dijadikan asas kehidupan pinggiran.

Analisis Paul Kennedy dalam bukunya yang pernah menimbulkan banyak perdebatan, The Rise and Fall of Great Power turut menyingkap bahawa agama merupakan penentu terbesar dalam mengekalkan sesebuah tamadun. Justeru, walau sehebat manapun kemajuan sesebuah negara dalam pembangunan fizikal dan kebendaan, ia hanya membangkitkan suasana kehidupan manusia yang tidak pernah puas, rakus, adu-domba dan saling berkonflik.

Kuan Yew menyelar sikap rakyat negara itu yang 'ketat pegangan agama' sebagai halangan kepada pembinaan negara bangsa Singapura bagi tempoh yang lebih lama pada masa depan. Buktinya, kerana dasar yang diamalkan oleh negara itu mengekang suara pembangkang dan menghalang politiking telah menyebabkan sebahagian mereka yang merasakan kedudukannya tertindas mula beralih kepada pematuhan beragama.

Inilah sebenarnya yang cuba disembunyikan oleh Kuan Yew apabila menasihatkan generasi yang ta’at beragama supaya melenturkan pegangan agama bagi membolehkan Singapura terus kekal sebagai negara moden dan terbaik pada masa depan. Dalam hal ini, Kuan Yew sebenarnya lupa bahawa kemakmuran yang dinikmati oleh rakyat Singapura adalah kerana kebijaksanaannya menguruskan sumber-sumber yang diperoleh negara jiran yang dilihatnya sebagai 'kurang mesra.'

Hubungan yang tidak mesra itu sebenarnya dicipta oleh Singapura sendiri. Dalam situasi ingin berada di hadapan dan melonjakkan kedudukannya sebagai sebuah pelabuhan yang penting, Kuan Yew menyusun strategi bermusuh. Hal ini tidak dilakukan oleh pewarisnya, Lee Hsien Loong yang mengambil alih pentadbiran sejak 2004 dari Goh Chock Tong. Chock Tong menjadi Perdana Menteri sementara bagi mengikis persepsi umum mengenai pewarisan kepimpinan politik yang dilaksanakan oleh Parti Tindakan Rakyat PAP pada tahun 1999.

Berasaskan persepsi negatif itu, maka dapat dirumuskan bahawa Kuan Yew sebenarnya tidak pernah cuba memahami Islam secara mendalam. Islam hanya difahami berdasarkan sikap peribadi yang ditunjukkan oleh segelintir penganut. Pada hal dalam kehidupan manusia, Kuan Yew faham bahawa tidak semua manusia mempunyai pendapat, sikap, perangai, tingkah laku dan keperluan yang berbeza. 

Perbezaan-perbezaan tersebutlah akhirnya menjadi sebuah nilai bersama melalui ikatan sosial ataupun keagamaan. Mungkin kerana Kuan Yew menghadapi kesukaran untuk memusnahkan akidah umat Islam agar menerima apa sahaja dasar yang dilaksanakan walaupun bertentangan dengan falsafah nilai agama, maka itulah persepsi negatif itu dikembangkan. 

Nampaknya beliau sedang menghadapi konflik dalaman yang besar. Ini kerana jiwa segelintir rakyatnya yang tertekan mula melontarkan pelbagai pandangan marah, geram dan tidak sukakan dasar pemerintah. Luahan itu walaupun disekat, namun ia terus disalurkan melalui pelbagai media baru yang merunsingkan Menteri Mentor itu.

Islam tidak pernah menyuruh penganutnya menyekat kebebasan seseorang. Justeru, Allah SWT berfirman bermaksud: "Tiada paksaan dalam agama" (Surah Al-Baqarah ayat 256). Islam tetap memberikan keutamaan terhadap kebebasan individu, asalkan kebebasan itu tidak mengenepikan keyakinan terhadap keesaan Allah SWT dan melakukan perkara-perkara yang disuruh. 

Jelas sekarang, Kuan Yew sedang mengeluh mengenai 'kemungkaran' yang tidak dapat diterima oleh umat Islam yang ta’at.

Sejarah Islam ketika zaman Umayyah misalnya membuktikan Islam sebuah agama yang bertoleransi. Ketika Pope John Paul II mengunjungi Masjid Umayyah di Damsyik, beliau tetap bertafakur di hadapan makam Nabi Yahya a.s. Mengulas tindakan itu, Pope John Paul memberikan alasan bahawa setiap penganut Islam dan Kristian mestilah saling mema’afkan. 

Beliau juga berkata, penganut agama terbesar tidak perlu berkonflik, saling menyalahkan antara satu sama lain, kerana ia akan menyebabkan keharmonian, keamanan dan kedamaian hidup bermasyarakat punah. Jika Pope John Paul II boleh memberikan pandangan agar saling hidup dalam keadaan bertoleransi, maka tidak ada sebab Kuan Yew tidak boleh menerima bahawa kepatuhan penganut Islam kepada agamanya bukanlah sesuatu yang merugikan matlamat pembinaan negara bangsa. 

Kuan Yew tentu sedar bahawa kehebatan Mahatma Ghandi adalah kerana beliau tidak menimbulkan sengketa dan menambah bara konflik dalam masyarakat. Ghandi mengamalkan tindakan 'membina damai' dalam suasana orang lain berkonflik, akhirnya kaedah perjuangan nasionalismenya menjadi sebuah perjuangan yang amat berkesan sekali.

Teladan itu sebenarnya perlu dilakukan oleh Kuan Yew memandangkan beliau yang dikenali sebagai peneraju sebuah negara kecil menjadi sebuah negara besar kuasa ekonominya, agar lebih dihormati atas nasihatnya. Itulah teladan yang seharusnya dilakukan oleh Kuan Yew, bukannya membangkitkan sengketa serta rasa benci orang lain. 

Sebagai bekas pemimpin, beliau seharusnya dapat menyelami sanubari rakyat yang sekian lama tercengkam oleh dasar autokratiknya. Inilah sa’at yang sesuai untuk memulihkan semangat baru agar hidup dalam kepelbagaian yang penuh dengan toleransi dan saling memahami.

 [ Via utusan.com.my]

Pemikiran Lee Kuan Yew Telah Luput Tarikh

Pemikiran Lee Kuan Yew Telah Luput Tarikh

Ustaz Nasrudin Hassan

Sel, 25 Jan 2011 

Zaman kegemilangan Lee Kuan Yew telah berakhir apabila beliau selaku tokoh negarawan besar Asia bahkan dunia telah mula berfikir seperti pejuang militan yang rasis dan mengalami penyakit Islamophobia yang parah

Saat dunia dan seluruh tokohnya bersidang serata dunia mencari formula penyelesaian terhadap konflik yang mencetus huru hara kepada dunia serta penghuninya, saya sangat kesal dengan sikap Lee Kuan Yew yang telah menyemarakkan lagi semangat dendam kesumat dan permusuhan yang tebal terhadap Islam dan ummatnya dengan prasangka-prasangka negatif tanpa berasaskan maklumat tepat mengenai Islam yang sebenar.

Buku terbarunya Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going menampilkan pemikiran Lee Kuan Yew yang telah luput tarikh dan zaman apabila beliau mengaitkan Islam sebagai halangan kepada untuk mewujudkan integrasi kaum dan pembangunan di negaranya.

Saya melihat zaman kegemilangan Lee Kuan Yew telah berakhir apabila beliau selaku tokoh negarawan besar Asia bahkan dunia telah mula berfikir seperti pejuang militan yang rasis dan mengalami penyakit Islamophobia yang parah. Biarpun beliau begitu lama hidup dekat dengan komuniti ummat Islam, ternyata beliau masih gagal melihat secara positif bagaimana Islam dan ummatnya menjalani kehidupan dan menyertai politik mahupun ekonomi.

Tokoh sebijak Lee Kuan Yew sepatutnya tidak tergesa-gesa membuat kesimpulan mengenai Islam yang mungkin dilihat melalui kacamata yang salah dan serong tanpa terlebih dahulu merujuk kepada tokoh tokoh ulama' Islam sebagai pihak yang berauthoriti untuk menjelaskan kedudukan Islam dan ummatnya secara tepat dan benar.

Lee Kuan Yew selayaknya menyedari bahawa penghalang sebenar kepada keharmonian kaum sehingga mencetus sentimen perkauman yang melampau malah mendorong berlakunya jenayah adalah hasil dari penolakan agama Islam atau salah faham yang serius terhadap agama Islam.

Justeru Islam adalah agama yang sangat toleransi kaum dan menghubungkan silaturrahim. Definisi mudah mengenai ajaran Islam ini boleh difahami dari kenyataan Duta Besar Islam ke Habsyah Saiyyidina Jaafar bin Abi Talib dihadapan Raja Najasyi :

Wahai Raja, kami dahulunya orang-orang Jahiliyyah. Kami menyembah berhala, memakan bangkai, melakukan kekejian (zina), memutuskan ikatan kekeluargaan, jahat terhadap jiran dan orang yang kuat dari kalangan kami akan menindas orang yang lemah. kami terus dalam keadaan begitu, sehingga lah Allah membangkitkan kepada kami Rasul dari kalangan kami. Kami kenal titisan keluarganya, sifat benarnya, amanahnya dan bersihnya dari melakukan dosa.

Lalu ia mengajak kami kepada Allah, supaya mengEsakan-Nya dan menyembah-Nya, meninggalkan apa yang disembah oleh kami dan nenek moyang kami sebelum ini akan patung-patung dan berhala.

Ia menyuruh kami bercakap benar, menunaikan amanah, menghubungkan tali kekeluargaan, berbaik dengan jiran, meninggalkan perkara yang haram, dan meninggalkan pertumpahan darah. Ia melarang kami dari kekejian (zina), bercakap bohong, memakan harta anak yatim dan menuduh perempuan yang bersih dengan tuduhan zina.

Ia menyuruh kami menyembah Allah Tuhan yang Maha Esa dengan tidak mempersekutukan-Nya dengan suatu yang lain. Ia menyuruh kami mendirikan sembahyang, mengeluarkan zakat dan berpuasa....

Kenyataan diatas jelas menunjukkan bagaimana orientasi ajaran Islam. Berpegang teguh atau komited dengan ajaran ini tidak menjadikan masyarakat berpecah belah apalagi terperangkap dalam permusuhan dan perkauman sempit yang mencetus huru hara. Sebaliknya Islam menganjurkan kebaikan dan persaudaraan.

Sayugianya Lee Kuan Yew menyeru ummat Islam berpegang tidak teguh dengan ajaran Islam yang dianuti oleh mereka agar lahirnya sebuah masyarakat yang sejahtera, harmonis dan membangun. Cara Lee Kuan Yew melihat Islam sebagai penghalang tidak ubah seperti musuh - musuh Islam melihat Islam dengan api dendam dan permusuhan yang berpanjangan.

Lebih ketara apabila Lee Kuan Yew turut menaruh rasa curiga yang mendalam terhadap negara jirannya seperti Malaysia dan Indonesia sebagai sebuah negara Islam yang akan mengugat kedaulatan negaranya. Cara fikir dan sikap yang diambil oleh Lee Kuan Yew adalah suatu yang berisiko tinggi bagi keselamatan serantau ini. Malah ianya adalah fikiran yang aktif ke arah mencetus konfrantasi laksana gunung berapi yang aktif sedang menanti masa untuk memuntahkan lavanya.

Saya menggesa supaya Lee Kuan Yew lebih banyak mengkaji Islam dan mempelajarinya dari tokoh Islam yang mempunyai authoriti untuk membetulkan persepsi beliau terhadap Islam. Jika tidak, reputasi Lee Kuan Yew akan terus menjunam dan beliau semakin tidak popular sebaliknya dunia termasuk rantau ini sedang menumpu ke arah gaya, sikap dan pemikiran pemimpin-pemimpin muda yang dilihat oleh rata-rata penganalisis politik dan sosial sebagai lebih rasional dan efektif.

(Ustaz Nasrudin Hassan merupakan graduan Usuluddin dari Universiti Al-Azhar, Mesir. Selain aktif dalam aktiviti kemasyarakatan, beliau kini merupakan Pengarah Akademi Ar-Rasyidin yang berpusat di Kuantan, Pahang. Blog episodeperjuangan.blogspot.com menjadi medium untuk beliau menulis di alam maya.)

[Artikel iluvislam.com]

Kuan Yew Takut Negara Jiran

Kuan Yew Takut Negara Jiran

oleh Syukri Sha’ari,  Utusan

Kuan Yew sebenarnya sentiasa dibelenggu oleh mentaliti hasad, penghasut…  terkepung…takut dengan negara jiran terutamanya Malaysia yang semakin pesat membangun.

KUALA LUMPUR 26 Jan. - Dakwaan bekas Perdana Menteri Singapura, Lee Kuan Yew bahawa terdapat usaha antara Malaysia dan Indonesia untuk menjejaskan perniagaan pelabuhan di negara itu adalah tidak berasas.

Malah dakwaannya mengenai kewujudan kempen dari luar untuk menjatuhkan negara tersebut kerana dianggap sebagai penceroboh menggambarkan ketakutan beliau kepada negara-negara jiran yang semakin membangun.

Ketua Kluster Politik Keselamatan dan Hal Ehwal Antarabangsa Majlis Profesor Negara, Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohamed Mustafa Ishak berkata, dakwaan demi dakwaan yang dilakukan oleh Kuan Yew itu adalah disebabkan negara tersebut sentiasa dibelenggu oleh mentaliti terkepung.

Katanya, Kuan Yew bijak memainkan isu ancaman dari negara luar untuk mencipta satu situasi di mana rakyat berasa terancam dan bersatu padu menyokong kerajaan Singapura di dalam apa juga keadaan sekali gus mengukuhkan kedudukannya di dalam senario politik republik itu.

"Kuan Yew bijak memainkan isu ancaman dari luar walaupun sebenarnya negara itu yang menjadi ancaman kepada negara-negara jiran kerana sering tidak sensitif dengan pelbagai isu membabitkan negara di sekelilingnya.

"Kuan Yew juga mempunyai pandangan skeptikal terhadap jiran seperti Malaysia dan Indonesia serta sering memandang rendah terhadap negara-negara ini," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika mengulas dakwaan Kuan Yew menerusi buku Lee Kuan Yew: Hard Truths to Keep Singapore Going mengenai wujudnya kempen dari luar untuk menjatuhkan negara itu kerana dianggap sebagai penceroboh selain menurut beliau terdapat usaha antara Malaysia dan Indonesia yang mahu menjejaskan perniagaan pelabuhan negara berkenaan.

Menurut Mohamed Mustafa, dakwaan yang dibuat itu juga membuktikan bahawa Kuan Yew sebenarnya takut dengan negara jiran terutamanya Malaysia yang semakin pesat membangun.

Katanya, pembangunan Malaysia menjadikan persaingan terutamanya dalam bidang membabitkan perdagangan semakin sengit dan Singapura amat bimbang mengenainya.

"Bagaimanapun Kuan Yew tidak boleh melihatnya sebagai ancaman kerana setiap negara jiran juga berhak untuk maju dan membangun seperti Singapura," jelasnya.

Pensyarah Kolej Undang-Undang, Kerajaan dan Pengajian Antarabangsa, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Mohamad Faisol Keling pula berkata, Kuan Yew sememangnya takut dengan Malaysia dan Indonesia kerana beliau pernah membuat kenyataan bimbang dengan kebangkitan rumpun Melayu di rantau Asia Tenggara.

Katanya, kenyataan tersebut keluar daripada mulut Kuan Yew sendiri pada era pemerintahan Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

"Kuan Yew sebenarnya bimbang dengan pengembangan kuasa Melayu Nusantara seperti yang pernah dinyatakannya sebelum ini.

"Selain itu, kebangkitan Malaysia dalam sektor perdagangan dan pelaburan telah menyebabkan Kuan Yew semakin bimbang dan menjadi faktor utama beliau menjadikan Malaysia sebagai ancaman kepada Singapura," katanya.

Geostrategis Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Dr. Azmi Hassan berkata, dakwaan-dakwaan Kuan Yew tidak perlu diberikan perhatian terlalu serius kerana beliau telah menggunakan strategi yang sama sewaktu menjadi Perdana Menteri Singapura.

"Dakwaan-dakwaan Kuan Yew tidak berasas. Kita boleh memberi perhatian terhadap dakwaan tersebut tetapi jangan terlalu serius.

"Ini kerana ia merupakan strategi yang digunakan untuk mendapatkan sokongan rakyat dan mengukuhkan penguasaan politiknya sama seperti semasa beliau menjadi Perdana Menteri dahulu," katanya.

[ Via Utusan.com.my ]

The Concept of Bid'ah in the Islāmic Sharī’ah

The Concept of Bid'ah in the Islāmic Sharī’ah

By Nuh Ha Mim Keller

In the name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful;

All the praise and Thanks are due to Allāh, the Lord of the al-‘alameen. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allāh, and that Muhammad, Sallallāhu alayhi wasallam, is His Messenger.

The following is the text of a talk given by Shaikh Nuh Ha Mim Keller at Nottingham and Trent University on Wednesday 25th January 1995.  

There are few topics that generate as much controversy today in Islām as what is Sunnah and what is bid’ah or reprehensible innovation, perhaps because of the times Muslims live in today and the challenges they face. Without a doubt, one of the greatest events in impact upon Muslims in the last thousand years is the end of the Islāmic caliphate at the first of this century, an event that marked not only the passing of temporal, political authority, but in many respects the passing of the consensus of orthodox Sunni Islām as well. No one familiar with the classical literature in any of the Islāmic legal sciences, whether Qur'anic exegesis (tafsir), hadith, or jurisprudence (fiqh), can fail to be struck by the fact that questions are asked today about basic fundamentals ofIslāmic Sacred Law (Sharī’ah) and its ancillary disciplines that would not have been asked in the Islāmic period not because Islāmic scholars were not brilliant enough to produce the questions, but because they already knew the answers. 

My talk tonight will aim to clarify some possible misunderstandings of  The Concept Of Innovation (Bid’ah) in Islām, in light of the prophetic hadith. The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:

”Beware of matters newly begun, for every matter newly begun is innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in hell." [Muslim]

The sources I use are traditional Islāmic sources, and my discussion will centre on three points:  

The first point is that scholars say that the above hadith does not refer to all new things without restriction, but only to those which nothing in Sacred Law attests to the validity of. The use of the word "every" in the hadīth does not indicate an absolute generalization, for there are many examples of similar generalizations in the Qur'ān and sunnah that are not applicable without restriction, but rather are qualified by restrictions found in other primary textual evidence.  

The second point is that the sunnah and way of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) was to accept new acts initiated in Islām that were of the good and did not conflict with established principles of Sacred Law, and to reject things that were otherwise.  

And our third and last point is that new matters in Islām may not be rejected merely because they did not exist in the first century, but must be evaluated and judged according to the comprehensive methodology of Sacred Law, by virtue of which it is and remains the final and universal moral code for all peoples until the end of time. 

Our first point, that the hadith does not refer to all new things without restriction, but only to those which nothing in Sacred Law attests to the validity of, may at first seem strange, in view of the wording of the hadith, which says, "every matter newly begun is innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in hell." Now the word "bid’ah" or "innovation" linguistically means anything new, so our first question must be about the generalizability of the word every in the hadīth: does it literally mean that everything new in the world is harām or unlawful? The answer is no. Why?  

In answer to this question, we may note that there are many similar generalities in the Qur'ān and Sunnah, all of them admitting of some qualification, such as the word of Allāh Most High in Surah al-Najm,”. . . A man can have nothing, except what he strives for" (Qur'ān 53:39), despite there being an overwhelming amount of evidence that a Muslim benefits from the spiritual works of others, for example, from his fellow Muslims, the prayers of angels for him, the funeral prayer over him, charity given by others in his name, and the supplications of believers for him;  

Or consider the words of Allāh to unbelievers in Surat al-Anbiya, “Verily you and what you worship apart from Allāh are the fuel of hell” (Qur'an 21:98), “what you worship” being a general expression, while there is no doubt that Jesus, his mother, and the angels were all worshipped apart from Allāh, but are not “the fuel of hell”, so are not what is meant by the verse;  

Or the word of Allāh Most High in Surah al-An’am about past nations who paid no heed to the warners who were sent to them,  "But when they forgot what they had been reminded of, We opened unto them the doors of everything" (Qur'ān 6:44), though the doors of mercy were not opened unto them;

And the hadith related by Muslim that the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said:  "No one who prays before sunrise and before sunset will enter hell", which is a generalised expression that definitely does not mean what its outward generality implies, for someone who prays the dawn (fajar) and mid-afternoon (dzuhur) prayers and neglects all other prayers and obligatory works is certainly not meant. It is rather a generalization whose intended referent is particular, or a generalization that is qualified by other texts, for when there are fully authenticated hadiths, it is obligatory to reach an accord between them, because they are in reality as a single hadith, the statements that appear without further qualification being qualified by those that furnish the qualification, that the combined implications of all of them may be utilized.  

Let us look for a moment at bid’ah or innovation in the light of the Sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) concerning new matters. Sunnah and innovation (bid’ah) are two opposed terms in the language of the Lawgiver, such that neither can be defined without reference to the other, meaning that they are opposites, and things are made clear by their opposites.

Many writers have sought to define innovation (bid’ah) without defining the sunnah, while it is primary, and have thus fallen into inextricable difficulties and conflicts with the primary textual evidence that contradicts their definition of innovation, whereas if they had first defined the sunnah, they would have produced a criterion free of shortcomings.  

Sunnah, in both the language of the Arabs and the Sacred Law, means the “ way”, as is illustrated by the words of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) :  

"He who inaugurates a good Sunnah in Islām [dis: Reliance of the Traveller p 58.1(2)] ...And he who introduces a bad sunnah in Islām...”, sunnah meaning way or custom. The way of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) in giving guidance, accepting, and rejecting: this is the Sunnah. For "good sunnah" and "bad sunnah" mean a "good way" or "bad way", and cannot possibly mean anything else.

Thus, the meaning of "sunnah" is not what most students, let alone ordinary people, understand; namely, that it is the prophetic hadith (as when sunnah is contrasted with "Kitab", i.e. Qur'ān, in distinguishing textual sources), or the opposite of the obligatory (as when sunnah, i.e. recommended, is contrasted with obligatory in legal contexts), since the former is a technical usage coined by hadith scholars, while the latter is a technical usage coined by legal scholars and specialists in fundamentals of jurisprudence.

Both of these are usages of later origin that are not what is meant by Sunnah here. Rather, the sunnah of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) is his way of acting, ordering, accepting, and rejecting, and the way of his Rightly Guided Caliphs who followed his way acting, ordering, accepting, and rejecting. So practices that are newly begun must be examined in light of theSunnah of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and his way and path in acceptance or rejection.  

Now, there are a great number of hadiths, most of them in the rigorously authenticated (sahih) collections, showing that many of the prophetic Companions initiated new acts, forms ofinvocation (dzikir), supplications (duā’), and so on, that the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) had never previously done or ordered to be done. Rather, the Companions did them because of their inference and conviction that such acts were of the good that Islām and the Prophet of Islām came with and in general terms urged the like of to be done, in accordance with the word of Allāh Most High in Surah al-Hajj: "And do the good, that haply you may succeed" (Qur'an 22:77), and the hadith of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alaihi wa sallam):

"He who inaugurates a good sunnah in Islām earns the reward of it and all who perform it after him without diminishing their own rewards in the slightest." 

Though the original context of the hadith was giving charity, the interpretative principle established by the scholarly consensus (def: Reliance of the Traveller ) of specialists in fundamentals of Sacred Law is that the point of primary texts lies in the generality of their lexical significance, not the specificity of their historical context, without this implying that just anyone may make provisions in the Sacred Law, for Islām is defined by principles and criteria, such that whatever one initiates as a sunnah must be subject to its rules, strictures, and primary textual evidence.  

From this investigative point of departure, one may observe that many of the prophetic Companions performed various acts through their own personal reasoning, (ijtihad), and that the sunnah and way of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) was both to accept those that were acts of worship and good deeds conformable with what the Sacred Law had established and not in conflict with it; and to reject those which were otherwise.

This was his sunnah and way, upon which his caliphal successors and Companions proceeded, and from which Islāmic scholars (radiyallāhu`anhum) have established the rule that any new matter must be judged according to the principles and primary texts of Sacred Law: whatever is attested to by the law as being good is acknowledged as good, and whatever is attested to by the law as being a contravention and bad is rejected as a blameworthy innovation (bid’ah). They sometimes term the former a good innovation (bid’ah hasanah) in view of it lexically being termed an innovation, but legally speaking it is not really an innovation but rather an inferable Sunnahhas long as the primary texts of the Sacred Law attest to its being acceptable.  

We now turn to the primary textual evidence previously alluded to concerning the acts of the Companions and how the Prophet, (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) responded to them:  

(1) Al-Al-Bukhāri and Muslim relate from Abu Hurayrah (radiyallāhu`anhu) that at the fajar solah the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said to Bilal bin Rabab (radiallāhu`anhu):

"Bilal, tell me which of your acts in Islām you are most hopeful about, for I have heard the footfall of your sandals in paradise", and he replied, "I have done nothing I am more hopeful about than the fact that I do not perform ablution at any time of the night or day without praying with that ablution whatever has been destined for me to pray."  

Ibn Hajar Asqalani (rahimahullah) says in Fath al-Bari that the hadith shows it is permissible to use personal reasoning (ijtihad) in choosing times for acts of worship, for Bilal reached the conclusions he mentioned by his own inference, and the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) confirmed him therein.  

Similar to this is the hadith in Al-Bukhāri   about Khubayb (who asked to pray two rak’at before being executed by idolaters in Makkah) who was the first to establish the Sunnah of two rak’at for those who are steadfast in going to their death. These hadiths are explicit evidence that Bilal and Khubayb (radiyallāhu`anhum) used their own personal reasoning (ijtihad) in choosing the times of acts of worship, without any previous command or precedent from the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) other than the general demand to perform the solāt.  

(2) Al-Bukhāri   and Muslim relate that Rifa'ah ibn Rafi (radiyallāhu`anhu) said, "When we were praying behind the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and he raised his head from ruku’ and said, "Allāh hears whoever praises Him", a man behind him said, "Our Lord, Yours is the praise, abundantly, wholesomely, and blessedly therein." When he rose to leave, the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) asked "who said it", and when the man replied that it was he, the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, "I saw thirty-odd angels each striving to be the one to write it."

Ibn Hajar Asqalani (rahimahullah) says in his book Fathul-Bari that the hadith indicates the permissibility of initiating new expressions of dzikir in the solāt other than the ones related through hadith texts, as long as they do not contradict those conveyed by the hadith [since the above words were a mere enhancement and addendum to the known, sunnah dzikir].  

(3) Al-Bukhāri related from Aishah (radiallāhu`anha) that the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) dispatched a man at the head of a military expedition who recited the Qur'an for his companions at solat, finishing each recital with al-Ikhlas (Qur'an, 112). When they returned, they mentioned this to the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam), who told them, "Ask him why he does this", and when they asked him, the man replied, "Because it describes the All-Merciful, and I love to recite it." The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said to them, "Tell him Allāh loves him."

In spite of this, we do not know of any scholar who holds that doing the above is recommended, for the acts the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) used to do regularly are superior, though his confirming the like of this illustrates his sunnah regarding his acceptance of various forms of obedience and acts of worship, and shows he did not consider the like of this to be a reprehensible innovation (bid’ah), as do the bigots who vie with each other to be the first to brand acts as innovation and misguidance. 

Further, it will be noticed that all the preceding hadiths are about solāt, which is the most important of bodily acts of worship, and of which the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said,"Pray as you have seen me pray", despite which he accepted the above examples of personal reasoning because they did not depart from the form defined by the Lawgiver, for every limit must be observed, while there is latitude in everything besides, as long as it is within the general category of being called for by Sacred Law. This is the sunnah of the Prophet and his way (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and is as clear as can be. Islāmic scholars infer from it that every act for which there is evidence in Sacred Law that it is called for and which does not oppose an unequivocal primary text or entail harmful consequences is not included in the category of reprehensible innovation (bid’ah), but rather is of the sunnah, even if there should exist something whose performance is superior to it.  

(4) Al-Bukhari related from Abu Said al-Khudri (radiyallāhu`anhu) that a band of the Companions of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) departed on one of their journeys, alighting at the encampment of some desert Arabs whom they asked to be their hosts, but who refused to have them as guests. The leader of the encampment was stung by a scorpion, and his followers tried everything to cure him, and when all had failed, one said, "If you would approach the group camped near you, one of them might have something". So they came to them and said, "O band of men, our leader has been stung and we have tried everything. Do any of you have something for it?" and one of them replied, "Yes, by Allāh, I recite healing words [ruqyah, def: Reliance of the Traveller p.17] over people, but by Allāh, we asked you to be our hosts and you refused, so I will not recite anything unless you give us a fee". They then agreed upon a herd of sheep, so the man went and began spitting and reciting the Fatihah over the victim until he got up and walked as if he were a camel released from its hobble, nothing the matter with him. They paid the agreed upon fee, which some of the Companions wanted to divide up, but the man who had done the reciting told them, "Do not do so until we reach the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and tell him what has happened, to see what he may order us to do". They came to the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and told him what had occurred, and he said, "How did you know it was of the words which heal? You were right. Divide up the herd and give me a share."  

The hadith is explicit that the Companion had no previous knowledge that reciting Al-Fatihah to heal (ruqyah) was countenanced by Sacred Law, but rather did so because of his own personal reasoning (ijtihad), and since it did not contravene anything that had been legislated, the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) confirmed him therein because it was of his sunnah and way to accept and confirm what contained good and did not entail harm, even if it did not proceed from the acts of the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) himself as a definitive precedent.  

(5) Al-Al-Bukhāri  related from  Abu Said al-Khudri (radiyallāhu`anhu) that one man heard another reciting al-Ikhlas (Qur'an 112) over and over again, so when morning came he went to the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and sarcastically mentioned it to him. The Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, "By Him in whose hand is my soul, it equals one-third of the Qur'ān."Daraqutni recorded another version of this hadith in which the man said, "I have a neighbor who observe solāt at night and does not recite anything but al-Ikhlas." The hadith shows that the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) confirmed the persons restricting himself to this surah while performing solat at night, despite its not being what the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) himself did, for though the Prophet’s practice of reciting from the whole Qur'an was superior, the man’s act was within the general parameters of the sunnah and there was nothing blameworthy about it in any case.  

(6) Imam  Ahmad and Ibn Hibban related from Abdullah ibn Buraydah that his father said, I entered the masjid with the Prophet (Sallallāhu 'alayhi wasallam), where a man was at prayer, supplicating: “O Allāh , I ask You by the fact that I testify You are Allāh , there is no god but You, the One, the Ultimate, who did not beget and was not begotten, and to whom none is equal”, and the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: "By Him in whose hand is my soul, he has asked Allāh  by His greatest name, which if He is asked by it He gives, and if supplicated He answers".It is plain that this supplication came spontaneously from the Companion, and since it conformed to what the Sacred Law calls for, the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) confirmed it with the highest degree of approbation and acceptance, while it is not known that the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) had ever taught it to him (Adilla Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jamaah, 119-33). 

We are now able to return to the hadith with which I began my talk tonight, in which the Prophet (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) said, ". . . Beware of matters newly begun, for every innovation is misguidance". And understand it as expounded by a classic scholar of Islām, Sheikh Muhammad Jurdani, who said:  

"Beware of matters newly begun", distance yourselves and be wary of matters newly innovated that did not previously exist, i.e. things invented in Islām that contravene the Sacred Law, "for every innovation is misguidance" meaning that every innovation is the opposite of the truth, i.e. falsehood, a hadith that has been related elsewhere as: "for every newly begun matter is innovation, every innovation is misguidance, and every misguidance is in hell" meaning that everyone who is misguided, whether through himself or by following another, is in hell, the hadith referring to matters that are not good innovations with a basis in Sacred Law. It has been stated (by Izz ibn Abd al-Salam, rahimahullah) that innovations (bid’ah) fall under the five headings of the Sacred Law (n: i.e. the obligatory, unlawful, recommended, offensive, and permissible):  

(1) The first category comprises innovations that are  obligatory , such as recording the Qur'an and the laws of Islām in writing when it was feared that something might be lost from them; the study of the disciplines of Arabic that are necessary to understand the Qur'ān and sunnah’ such as grammar, word declension, and lexicography; hadith classification to distinguish between genuine and spurious prophetic traditions; and the philosophical refutations of arguments advanced by the Mu'tazilites and the like.  

(2) The second category is that of unlawful innovations such as non-Islāmic taxes and levies,giving positions of authority in Sacred Law to those unfit for them, and devoting ones time tolearning the beliefs of heretical sects that contravene the tenets of faith of Ahl al-Sunnah.  

(3) The third category consists of recommended innovations such as building hostels and schools of Sacred Law, recording the research of Islāmic schools of legal thought, writing books on beneficial subjects, extensive research into fundamentals and particular applications of Sacred Law, in-depth studies of Arabic linguistics, the reciting of wirids (def: Reliance of the Traveller w20) by those with a Sufi path, and commemorating the birth (mawlid), of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallāhu ‘alayhi wasallam) and wearing ones best and rejoicing at it.  

(4) The fourth category includes innovations that are offensive, such as embellishing mosques; decorating the Qur'ān and having a backup man (muballigh) loudly repeat the spoken Allāhu Akbar of the imām when the latter's voice is already clearly audible to those who are praying behind him.  

(5) The fifth category is that of innovations that are permissible, such as sifting flour, using spoons and having more enjoyable food, drink and housing. (Al Jawahir al-luluiyya fi sharh al-Arbain al-nawawiyya, 220-21).  

I will conclude my remarks tonight with a translation of Sheikh Abdullah al-Ghimari, (rahimahullah), who said: In his “Al-Qawaid Al-Kubra” , Izz ibn Abd al-Salam (rahimahullah), classifies innovations (bid’ah), according to their benefit, harm, or indifference, into the five categories of rulings: the obligatory, recommended, unlawful, offensive, and permissible; giving examples of each and mentioning the principles of Sacred Law that verify his classification. His words on the subject display his keen insight and comprehensive knowledge of both the principles of jurisprudence and the human advantages and disadvantages in view of which the Lawgiver has established the rulings of Sacred Law.  

Because his classification of innovation (bid’ah) was established on a firm basis in Islāmic jurisprudence and legal principles, it was confirmed by Imam Nawawi, Ibn Hajar Asqalani, and the vast majority of Islāmic scholars, (rahimahumullah), who received his words with acceptance and viewed it obligatory to apply them to the new events and contingencies that occur with the changing times and the peoples who live in them. One may not support the denial of his classification by clinging to the hadith "Every innovation is misguidance", because the only form of innovation that is without exception misguidance is that concerning tenets of faith, like the innovations of the Mutazilites, Qadarites, Murjiites, and so on, that contradicted the beliefs of the early Muslims. This is the innovation of misguidance because it is harmful and devoid of benefit.

As for innovation in works, meaning the occurrence of an act connected with worship or something else that did not exist in the first century of Islām, it must necessarily be judged according to the five categories mentioned by Izz ibn Abd al-Salām (rahimahullah),. To claim that such innovation is misguidance without further qualification is simply not applicable to it, for new things are among the exigencies brought into being by the passage of time and generations, and nothing that is new lacks a ruling of Allāh Most High that is applicable to it, whether explicitly mentioned in primary texts, or inferable from them in some way.

The only reason that Islāmic law can be valid for every time and place and be the consummate and most perfect of all divine laws is because it comprises general methodological principles and universal criteria, together with the ability its scholars have been endowed with to understand its primary texts, the knowledge of types of analogy and parallelism, and the other excellences that characterize it. Were we to rule that every new act that has come into being after the first century of Islām is an innovation of misguidance without considering whether it entails benefit or harm, it would invalidate a large share of the fundamental bases of Sacred Law as well as those rulings established by analogical reasoning, and would narrow and limit the Sacred Laws vast and comprehensive scope. (Adilla Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah, 145-47).  

Wa Jazakum Allāhu khayran, wal-hamdu lillahi Rabbil ‘Alamin.

 [Via www.masud.co.uk: Nuh Ha Mim Keller on The Re-Formers of Islām Excerpts, The Mas'ud Questions series, 1995]