Bismillahir Rahmanir raheem

The fiqh1 of a sinner

Islam, the way of peaceful submission, is the attempted creed of a billion human beings.
The use of the verb attempted here to highlight the fact that this way though
acknowledged is not always sought and thus not always found. We being governed and
influenced by our very environment in which we find our most influential relationships.
Relationships that may serve to educate us with values of equity and humility yet can also
serve to convey whispers to foment our egos and fears thereby undermining our faith and
consciousness. It is always down to us to choose which relationships we accentuate.

How readily we compromise our Islam for the sake of worldly gain or out of fear of a
hostile response and perceptions from our most influential relationships be they our
family or our communities.

Last night (17/02/2011) I witnessed the courage and confidence of a well-built, casually
dressed Arab Brother as he sat on the train and recited the Quran loudly, mashAllah the
Brother was reciting it well. I sat, listened and…I felt uncomfortable as a Muslim recited
the Quran in amongst so many fellow travellers considering the climate we live in. My
discomfort was something that I was disgusted in, I reflected and I couldn’t explain it. I,
who seek out Brothers with long beards in traditional Arabic attire to speak to them in
front non-Muslims, to highlight in some small way, the fact that my Brothers are just as
normal as me, someone with a much shorter beard and indistinctive dress sense, that they
need not be perceived or looked at as a ‘potential security threat’.

In response to my racism, and yes I call it racism, I took out a collection of ayat2, that I
myself was in the process of memorizing and I started reciting them, though not loudly
but with a clear movement of my lips and as a co-passenger peered over to see what I was
reciting, I was steadfast, this was my struggle against myself. “O mankind! Be dutiful to
your Lord, who created you from a single person and from him he created his wife and
from them both He created many men and women and reverence Allah through whom
you demand your mutual rights and do not cut the ties of kinship from the wombs that
bore you. Surely, Allah is ever an All-Watcher over you”

Over the coming days I reflected further around my initial discomfort and I concluded
that it wasn’t at all natural, my fitrah3 was battered because I felt threatened, threatened
because of the overwhelming pejorative images of Islam and Muslims and my
1
Fiqh translates as ‘understanding’. It is a term used to refer to the understanding of social issues in light
of the Quran and the Sunna, that is the ‘sayings’ and ‘doings’ of the Prophet Muhammad PBUH. For
instance the fiqh of marriage in Islam or the fiqh of economics in Islam seek to offer an Islamic ethical
foundation when determining solutions to problems in these vast areas.
2
Ayat which better translate as ‘wonder’ though popularly translated as ‘verse’ which is devoid of the
experience of revelation. The ‘wonders’ would often captivate the Prophet, causing him to shiver, sweat
and palpitate as the ‘wonders’ were absorbed and became ingrained onto his heart and soul.
3
Fitrah is essentially one’s ‘natural disposition’. A difficult word to translate and elaborate especially in
light of contemporary prevalent behaviour which may cloud one’s judgment as to what their natural
disposition is.

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perceptions of how the general public would most likely feel or react with such a
confident display of one’s Islam. Though my environment had affected my initial
reaction it was also the better parts of my environment that allowed me to fight against
my self. Alhamdulillah. May Allah grant us all strength, wisdom and perseverance
against the worst of ourselves. Ameen.

I could end this blog here; I wish not to, bear with me, as the principles that have been
outlined have allowed me to ponder over the behavior of Muslims who undermine the
ethical principles of Islam by placing the values of their relationships above that of Allah.
They are surely misguided. I understand why our scholars would lay much emphasis on
the consciousness of Allah, taqwa4. It was to make us think thrice over our actions to
ensure we behave justly, to be good people under Ar-Raqeeb as He watches over us.

It is out of fear of the loss of false prestige have I witnessed those who compromise their
Islam with misogyny and nepotism. Most especially when they have witnessed the
Sunnah exemplified in front of them, but choose to deny it. It makes me wonder how
they’d take to the Prophet PBUH should he have stood before them.

Do men think that they will be left alone on saying "We believe" and that they will not be
tested? (2) We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are
true from those who are false. (Surah Al-Ankaboot)

Our tests come in many different guises; through our relationships, at many different
times of our lives, testing our resolve unto values that seek to liberate humanity from the
prejudices of our times. Anger and arrogance are of those vices if not checked deafen our
capacity to grow spiritually, as if our emotions impede us from heeding the values of the
Shariah5. Our tragedies of not achieving our expectations for ourselves or our children
can also lead to madness where we find it difficult to distinguish the light from the dark.
However, fundamentally it all begins with our basic lack of steadfastness in iman6 which
leaves that first black mark on our hearts that distances ourselves from all that is good.

“Were you to follow the common run of those on Earth, they would lead thee away from
the Way of Allah. They follow nothing but conjecture: they do nothing but lie.” 6:116

The fiqh of the sinner refers to the expression of Islam by those who appear to have all
the trimmings of a supposedly ‘ideal’ Muslim; truly, they pray five times, sport the beard,

4
Taqwa as stated is the consciousness of Allah though it has also been incorrectly translated as the ‘fear of
Allah’ at times, though our consciousness of Allah could certainly relate to a fear of His punishment. Our
daily lives should be conducted in a manner in which we serve humanity to best of our abilities and we can
only do that should we be conscious of an authority over us, much like how a child is conscious of the
authority of his or her parents over them.
5
Shariah translates as “the path to be followed” or more specifically “the path to a watering place”. It is a
term which relates to the principles found in the Quran and Sunnah which will lead to a content, pious life
for humankind, living together in peace and diversity.
6
Iman is essentially ‘faith’, specifically a faith in Allah and his attributes i.e. The Just. We know that life
brings with it joys and challenges which require us to make sacrifices not merely materialistically but also
egotistically rather than taking short cuts to protect our pride by committing sin.

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the nikab7 but feel at ease snubbing the values the Prophet PBUH sought to inculcate in
humanity, when their more important relationships are threatened, relationships that have
substituted Allah…La illaha, there is no God, illalah, but Allah.

‘Don’t judge a person by their salah or their fasting; you don’t know their intentions’
was the advice I was given once by one of my Shaykhs, it was also the advice of Umar
RA.

“It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East or the West; but it is
righteousness to believe in Allah and the Last Day… (177)” (Surah Al-Baqarah). If we
believe in Allah, we believe in the Quran, thus believing in the Prophets, thus accepting
the last messenger of Allah as the finest expression of the Quran. May we aspire to the
ranks of the Prophets, may we be strengthened against all impediments, most importantly
the impediments within our hearts. May we serve to liberate men and women from the
shackles of those who have a false picture of what they feel is noble and pure and accept
the criteria laid down by Allah and his final Prophet PBUH, taqwa. Ameen.

- End

Mohammad Uz-Zaman

7
Nikab, a face cover worn by a few Muslim women, sometimes believing it to be the fiqh of Islam in
relation to modesty. The logic being, covering one’s face closes additional doors to any potential sin
thereby their Nikab being one more tool in their quest to better their piety.