One should listen to reason
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa
Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
As Salaam Aleikum,
* Burhan, can you please explain the meaning of Bohora Namaaz
dua's we recite. * Also in one of
your email you state that Umar, Osman and Abu-Bakar (spelling) were the chosen
one but we Bohora treat them as enemy of Islam. Is their a Central
Islamic think tank where by this issue can be resolved ? To my Bohora brethren:
Under the leadership of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, we as a community have
certainly made great strides in both positive and some negative directions
through out the world. When we are challenged or asked a thought
provoking questions we should not immediately categorized the inquirer as
"Dawaat-no-Dushman" and shower him with all swear words
possible. I say lets refrain from using foul language and threats to
anyone who questions the Bohora faith. I think the true strength of our
Bohora faith "Dawaat-nu-Safinu" should be defendable with clear
reasons and logic. So far from our side (Bohora) we simply become
defensive instead of answering basic Burhan's questions such as... * Do we (Bohora)
have an approved translation of Quran in English or Dawaat ni Zaban? * Where is
our Imam, why still in seclusion after 900+ years? * Are we serving the religion and its
leaders or the religion is serving us'?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the
above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments
and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
One should listen to reason
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He
allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there
is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!)
worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is
His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Your comment: Burhan, can you please explain the meaning of
Bohora Namaaz dua's we recite.
My beloved
brother in Islam, there are many duas the Bohras recite in the ‘namaaz’ as well
as after it. If you could give me the
exact duas of which you need the translations or meanings, we would be honored
to do so.
Your question: Also in one of your email you state that Umar,
Osman and Abu-Bakar were the chosen one but we Bohora treat them as enemy of
Islam. Is their a Central Islamic think tank where by this issue can be
resolved ?
Firstly,
brother I would just like to make a correction or elaborate your statement to
make it clearer. The first three
Khalifas were chosen by the believers, not through any Divine authority. Only the Messengers and Prophets of Allah
are the ones who are chosen and appointed by Allah Subhanah.
The truth of
the matter is that the Shia-Sunni issue was not prevalent during the times of
the first four Khalifas of Islam.
These issues started many years after the death of these noble
souls. In the beginning there were
political differences between the noble ‘ahle-bayt’ of the Messenger of Allah
(saws) and the Banu Umayyah rulers, and it has been recorded that the majority
of the believers were on the side of the rightful ‘ahle-bayt’. Many years later, these political
differences converged into religious differences under the influence of some
unscrupulous leaders, who aroused the emotions of the muslims and gave the
political environment a religious fervor; thus breaking the unity of the Ummah
of Islam.
These religious
differences took such a turn in the past one thousand plus years, that it has
become very difficult to resolve this issue.
Each sect distrusts and negates the beliefs of the other to such an
extent, that the ummah of Islam fell into the same quagmire that effects the
communities of the Jews and the Christians.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 23 Surah Mu’minoon verse 52-54:And you all
belong to one and the same ummah, and I(Allah) am your Lord; so fear Me
Alone! Yet afterwards the people
divided themselves into different sects, and each sect rejoicing in what it
has. Well, leave them deeply involved in their heedlessness up to an appointed
time.
Thus the only way to resolve this issue is for us to take
advice from the above command of Allah Subhanah and implement it in our lives;
individually and collectively. Leave aside all the sects, whether they be Shia,
Sunni, Bohras, Ismaelis, Itna-Asharis, etc.
and let us work to be united into the One Ummah of Islam. If someone asks us what sect of Islam we
belong to, our answer should always be that we belong to the sect that the
Messenger of Allah (saws) belonged to; and he was a ‘muslim’. We should leave behind all the man-made
sources of guidance, and come back to
the guidance revealed by Allah; the Al Quran.
Your statement: To my
Bohora brethren:
Under the leadership of Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, we as
a community have certainly made great strides in both positive and some
negative directions through out the world. When we are challenged or
asked a thought provoking questions we should not immediately categorized the
inquirer as "Dawaat-no-Dushman" and shower him with all swear words
possible. I say lets refrain from using foul language and threats to
anyone who questions the Bohora faith. I think the true strength of our Bohora
faith "Dawaat-nu-Safinu" should be defendable with clear reasons and
logic. So far from our side (Bohora) we simply become defensive instead
of answering basic Burhan's questions such as... * Do we (Bohora) have an
approved translation of Quran in English or Dawaat ni Zaban? Where is our Imam,
why still in seclusion after 900+ years? Are we serving the religion and
its leaders or the religion is serving us'?
Allah-o-Akbar!
May Allah bless you and increase yours and our quest in the search for
the Truth. You have said in a few
words, which we have been trying so hard for our Bohra brethren to
understand. May Allah reward you with
contentment in this world, and honor you with Paradise in the Hereafter.
My beloved brother, Allah has given us the power of
reasoning and intelligence which He has not bestowed on any of His other
creation. And this is exactly what we
will be held accountable for on the Day of Judgement. Did we, with this gift
and blessing of reason and intelligence,
determine the Truth and obey it?
Or did we, deny the Truth and
followed the ways we found our elders and forefathers following? We have the very words of Allah Subhanah in
the form of the Holy Quran amongst us in its exact original form? Did we try to understand, obey and follow
the commands of Allah; or did we spent
our entire lives following some holy person or Personalities in the name of
Islam?
Intelligence dictates, that we can an open mind and give
the person a chance to give his views,
especially if they are backed by evidence from the Holy Quran. If the views of the person are indeed from
the guidance and teachings of the Holy Quran,
then it is a duty unto every believer,
who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day, to submit to the commands of his Lord and
Creator. And if the views of the
person is not backed by the evidence from the Holy Quran, no matter who the
person is, we should refrain from obeying them in Islam. Only Allah and His Prophet (saws) have the
right that they should be obeyed and followed unconditionally. Anyone else, no matter who the person is,
cannot be followed unconditionally;
the pre-condition to obeying and following them is that they guide only
from the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws).
But to revile and not allow the person to give his views
at all, without referring whether his source is the Holy Quran or not, is not
intelligence. It could be arrogance,
ignorance, prejudice, or the inability to arrive to the Truth, but never
intelligence.
All we ask and urge our brethren to do is read the Holy
Quran with understanding, even if only once.
And if after this exercise, they still think that the deen they are
following is the right way; by all means follow it. And if they find that the deen they have been following is
against the very guidance of the Holy Quran, they are welcome to align their
lives to the commands and teachings of Allah Subhanah. At least this way, they will have the
knowledge of the Holy Quran to back up their actions in the Court of
Allah.
And this is exactly the guidance of the Holy Quran.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 29: Proclaim, “This is the
Truth from you Lord: now whoever wills
may accept it, and whosoever wills may reject it”.
Allah is our witness, that is all we invite our brethren
to do. One thing we have realized, that if one reads the Holy Quran with
understanding, no one will ever be able to mis-guide him/her in the name of
Islam. Allah has laid upon the
believers to invite mankind to the Truth of Islam. To believe or deny is left to each individual’s own free
will. There is absolutely no
compulsion in religion, an ultimately
all of us will be gathered on an Inevitable Day in the Court of the One
Lord, and He will Judge between all of
us with Justice.
The questions that you have asked are indeed thought
provoking, and one must endeavor to answer these himself in the earnest search
for the Siraat al Mustaqeem.
Your Question: * Do we
(Bohora) have an approved translation of Quran in English or Dawaat ni Zaban?
If the answer is yes,
and they do have an approved translation of the Glorious Quran; our advice is please do yourselves a favor
and read it. The words of each
translation done by any eminent scholar may differ, but the meanings and
guidance of the Quran will never change.
The All Knowing, All Wise has
Himself revealed this Glorious Book for our guidance, and He time and again exhorts us to read, ponder,
think, and use common-sense to
understand the teachings and guidance of this Glorious Message.
And if the answer is no, they do not have an approved
translation; then we must ask
ourselves, ‘why’? Why have we not been
allowed to understand the Holy Quran?
Why have they not made a translation, nor approved an existing one? Why have they translated so many other
books, but not this Book, which is the constitution of Islam? Why is it that only some ‘chosen’ people
are allowed to understand the Glorious Quran? Why is it that we are constantly
reminded that if we try to understand the Holy Quran, we will be mis-guided in
Islam? How is it possible for the Book
which has been revealed by Allah Subhanah Himself for the guidance of mankind,
to misguide those who want to understand its teachings?
Allah says in Chapter 2, Surah Baqarah aayat
185: "Ramadan is the month in
which the Quran was sent down: this Book is a perfect guidance for mankind and
consists of CLEAR teachings which show the right way and are a Criterion of the
Truth and falsehood."
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 16 Surah Nahl verse 89: We have sent down to you
this Book, which makes everything plain, and is a guidance, blessing and good
news to those who have surrendered themselves entirely.
Allah
says in the Holy Quran Chapter 18 Surah Kahf verse 1-3: All praise is for Allah
Alone, Who has sent down this Book to His Servant (Mohamed (saws), and assigned
nothing crooked to it. This Book says
everything directly, so that he may warn the people of the severe chastisement
of Allah and give good news to the believers, who do righteous deeds, that they
will have an excellent reward.
Your Question: * Where is our
Imam, why still in seclusion after 900+ years?
There are many more questions regarding
the imam in seclusion, which come to mind.
Where is the
Imam today?
Is he alone
living somewhere, or does he too have a following like the Syedna?
If he has a
following in today’s world, we would definitely know it, as they would be
similar in belief and actions to the Dawoodi Bohras. Wouldn’t they?
Why is he still
in seclusion?
Why does he not
come out and proclaim himself? There
is no apparent threat to his life or belief today.
We are made to
believe that the Imam and Syedna correspond to each other by ‘ilhaam’, whereby
the Imam comes in the Syedna’s dreams.
Has Allah indeed given any man the power to come in another’s dream at
will and correspond with him? Allah
did not even give this kind of powers to His appointed Messengers!!
Is it the same
4 year old Imam Tayyeb alive today after these hundreds of years, or is it his
descendants?
Today we live
in a secular and non-Godly world.
There would absolutely be no harm to the Imam’s life or mission if he
were to reveal himself to mankind today (if there is indeed one to be
revealed!).
How come the
leadership never mention anything about the Imam, except his name?
And the most
important question of all…. If this
concept of the appointment of the Imam is so important and pivotal to Islam and
its survival, how come nothing (absolutely nothing) has been mentioned about it
in the Holy Quran? How come the
Messenger of Allah (saws) never mentioned anything about this Imam and his
seclusion? Did Allah and His Messenger
(saws) forget to tell us about this very important aspect of Islam and its
survival?
Your Question: * Are we
serving the religion and its leaders or the religion is serving us'?
Your question is so comprehensive, that I have nothing to
add here!
May Allah reward you immensely for having given us the
opportunity to give our views and questions.
If any brother or scholar has the answers to the above questions, and can give evidence from the Holy Quran
for the answers; we would really like
to hear from them. This is not, and should never be taken as an exercise to
prove one party right or wrong. This
exercise is only so that we are able to determine the Truth from the falsehood,
and to increase our knowledge in this beautiful deen of Islam.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your brother and well wisher in Islam,
Burhan