     Nur | Wednesday, February 14, 2001 - 10:52 pm
Dear Brothers and sisters,
Sister ASRAR, a regular on this forums has asked me to elaborate in detail on past ( SALAF ) Arabic terminologies and its present day meaning.
Before I treat terms she wanted to understand and their present day connotation, I thought a discourse on the first and most important term of all is in order. The term is ILAAH.
So , I begin.
We live in the 21 century, 15 centuries ago, Allah sent a prophet (SAWS) for mankind, he was raised in Makkah, present day Saudi Arabia, from a tribe called qwuraish who are the decendants of Ismail and Abraham (aleyhimaa assalam).
He was sent to an Arab speaking people, therefore he communicated with them in Arabic language.
Quraish was the center of attention of all Arabs at the time as it controlled the holly Kaaba, a tribute erected by Abraham and his son Ismail for the remembrance og Allah on earth.
These days, life was simple, there was no TV, Radio, newspapers, sitcoms, tabloids and the WWW.
So people communicated one-on-one and they enjoyed poetry and oratory in public places, similar to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
They mastered the language early in their childhood, and as adults they were quick to understand the meaning of every word.
When the prophet SAWS called for Islam, they asked him about the essense of his message.
The prophet told them ( My message is laa ilaaha illa Allahu)
A bedouin responded, (then all Arabs and non Arabs wil fight you).
The bedouin new the meaning of the word ILAAH in Arabic language.
This brings us to the core issue, TERMINOLOGY. understanding these terminology the way the SALAF understood it, will make us do what they did.
SALAF is not a group of people,it is a time period in history, in which Islam blossomed, and the word of Allah reached the corners of the world.
Today we are trying to understand what used to drive these people to do monumental achievements in every sphere of life.
The key in that understanding lies in the components of the very word that changed history
" Laa ilaaha Ilaa Allah)"
Once Quraish heard the word, they became alarmed.
why? because they understood its far reaching meaning more than most muslims understand today.
This strategy to present this Word was not the choice of our prophet Muhammad SAWS. He was commanded. There is a Hikmah.
So, how can the decendants of the father of TAWXIID Ibraahim, Caleyhi Salaam, put three hundered and fifty asnaam (Gods) inside a house dedicated to the sole reverence of Allah, the one and only?
It is all about terminology.
Just like Satan persuaded Adam and Hawaa, to eat from the forbidden tree, calling it ( Shajaratul Khuld), Satan inspired Quraish to worship extensions of Allah through what they have claimed as his daughters, just as christians today ascribe a son to Allah (subhaanahu wa tacalaa camma yaquuluuna culuwan kabeera).
So Sheitaan inspired them to select the names of these goddesses from the root name of Allah, to make it easy for people ta accept it (like copying a trade mark with slight change, like naming your supermarket SAFESTWAY instead of SAFEWAY, or naming your autopart shop TRECKAUTO instaead of TRAKAUTO).
So they named the first godess ( Al Laata, from Allah and Al Uzza, From Al Azeez etc.)
This tactic in Arabic language is called ILXAAD, allah mentioned in the Quraan saying " ( Inna ladeenu yulxiduuna fee asmaaih laa yakhfowna calaynaa)". (Those who change the purpose behind the meaning of His Names, are not hidden from our view)
It means swaying the purpose apart from the name.
Just like unsuspecting SAFEWAY customers can shop at a phony store called SAFESTWAY, The decendants of Abraham were sawyed by SATAN to worship others beside Allah therby sheitan scored a point to support his promise to mislead mankind.
When Prophet Muhammad came with his message, he challenged quraish that all but Allah is fake as an ILAAH.
But what does ILAAH mean.
The root meaning of the word ILAA caomes from the Arabic word (ALIHA) the masdar of this word means among others:
1. To seek a protection ( Like an infant seeks mother's love , wormth and protection)
2. To seek a rescuer ( in times of distress)
3. To seek the highest authority, no one scapes from ( Jurisdiction and Sovreighnty).
4. It meant leadership. ( ZACIIM UL QOWM)
5. Any thing one follows even desires is called ilaah
Now when all these meaning were assigned to Allah alone, Quraish had a reason to be alarmed. After all they were the masters of the Arabs at the time. They controlled the trade routes, the Pilgramage and the business it created, The slave trade, Gambling, fornication, drinking and all social evils. They were the losers if the system changed and Muhammad came with a very radical view of the world and how it should be run.
They offered him to lead Quraish as their Zaciim, if he stops this word.
They offered him money, and most beautiful women.
But Mohammad SAWS said his famous statement " If they plave the sun on my right palm, and the moon on my left palm, I would not stop preaching that man submit to his creatora at will)
(note that all creatures are submiting to Allah unwillingly since they have no control on their creation and death and all natural causes).
" and then Allah ( STAWA) on the heavens while it was smoke ( Dust particles) and said to them and the earth "submit willingly or unwillingly" they said, we submit willingly,....."
before him Jesus (aleyhi salam) delivered the same message, and the Romans with the help of Jews, planned for his murder, but Allah lifted him up to the heavens and saved him from their wickedness.
Today, the word exists, but there is no correspondense between this word and the reality of those who say it, hence, saying shahaada today is like a tenant signing a rental agreement he did no understand,
is such a document binding? scolars say NO.
A further proof for the above observation is that this word has not stirred in our lives, what it has stirred in the lives of the SALAF AL SAALIX, before us.
They said the word, and its effects were detected in their lives and the entire world.
We also said the word, and it has no significant effect on our lives.
A wise person shouldn't then fool themselves that the King has still some clothes.
A good way to measure understanding of this word, is a measure of actions it creates in our lives.
If the actions are not there. There is no gold in the Bank to validate the currency. The root cause, the meaning of the word and the belief may not be there.
Something is terribly wrong. |
