That was the title for Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah’s last session at the recent ALIM Winter Program. This was going to happen in the Muslim Community Association of the San Francisco Bay Area (MCA). Historically, this lecture had many ramifications. It is well-known that the MCA has had issues with tasawwuf being talked about, practiced or even mentioned in the halls of the mighty MCA.

With the graciousness of the ALIM staff, we were invited to listen to Dr. Umar and Dr. Abdul Hakim Jackson’s lectures on the 3rd day of their weekend program. With ultimate Grace of Allah, we were treated to a different topic then what we expected. Dr. Umar continued his topic from the day before, Modernity.

Here are some notes:

• Dr. Umar’s definition of modernity: based on 3 elements - an economic system, a political/legal system and a culture system.
• Solo problem solving vs. Group problem solving = Groups are always more successful
• Working with others, listening to them, learning from them allows us to establish an improved idea/system
• Muslims have to be future-oriented
• Most people cannot deal with being future-oriented: have to ‘move’, have to innovate, have to change to be future-oriented
• As Muslims, we should not have this problem as we have a sophisticated economic, political/legal sytem
• A religion cannot flourish without: Identity, Community, Continuity
• Spirituality is VERY IMPORTANT, it is EVERYTHING, however, it is very difficult to achieve. If you can achieve spirituality, then you have a connection with the vertical, then you are ‘home safe’ (Baseball fans can ponder on this)
• Spirituality: you have to drink it, eat it and imbibe it.
• Dr. Umar’s prediction about the 21st century: a century about rivalries and religious battles
• Knowledge cannot just be ‘horizontal’, then it becomes metaphorical. Knowledge needs to have vertical connection.
• Infinite infinite multiplicities - each moment in time is infinitely different than the moment before it or after it. This is the creative magnificence of our Creator.
• The world around us is beautiful but it is fading. To put the color back into the world we need to put more color into ourselves.
• Secret cure: when nothing can cure you, go home.

So what is the lesson from this? Sufism is real and necessary. It is so real, a wonderful scholar like Dr. Umar does not need to discuss sufism to discuss sufism. As for the hidden men (and women)… they will continue to remain hidden.

Happy 1429! The new hijri year has begun and we wanted to wish our readers a blessed year. Here are some important articles and reminders for this blessed month.

Muharram - the Month of Allah

Muslim reported from Abu Hurayra (Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said , “The best of fasts after the month of Ramadan are in the Month of Allah, which you call Muharram. And the best of prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.” [Muslim, 1163] (Source)

Ashura - A day (or two) of fasting

Fasting is particularly encouraged on Ashura (the 10th day of Muharram) and the day before it. [Reliance, e2.1(2)] (Source)

Ashura - Audio reminder

The Blessings of the Day of Ashura - Imam Zaid Shakir

Fasting advice

From the Book of Assistance by Imam Al-Haddad - Chapter on Fasting

Today, Muslim unity has been resolved. In our Gmail inbox, we received back-to-back messages from SunniPath and Al-Maghrib Institute. From the hundreds of emails we receive everyday, it struck us that unity has been achieved. Check it out:

Some of you might be thinking “IslamCrunch subscribes to Al-Maghrib’s newsletter’s???” To clarify, just because we subscribe to a newsletter, it does not mean we adhere to a certain methodology. We also subscribe to newsletters from the corporate tech sector and newsletters of other faiths yet we still remain MUSLIM. And may Allah continue to make us Muslim in our actions, deeds, thoughts, speech and intentions. Simply put, we subscribe to many newsletters to get a pulse of what is happening in the Muslim community.

Let’s all strive for Muslim unity (outside of our inbox).

Imam Zaid Shakir has just uploaded an audio file where he addresses questions he received at the Reviving Islamic Spirit Convention 2007. Due to time constraints, he could not attend to these questions at the event. With usual generosity with his time, Imam Zaid has taken time out of his busy schedule to answer important social, community, personal, environmental and religious questions relevant to today’s Muslim.

Here is a brief outline of what Imam Zaid addressed:

• Tattoos - Can I get one? Are they allowed? Permissible?
• Is it true that a large portion of the Muslim population do not follow a madhhab? (In fact, many Muslims follow a madhhab, only the Arab heartland has a tendency of not following a major school of thought)
• A lot of harmful images bombard us in the media, how do we overcome this? (Lower the gaze)
• Can we follow any of the 4 school of thoughts rulings as long as there are no conflict? (Yes but not a good idea for the average practicing Muslim)
• As a teacher, how do we intervene if we feel that a student is getting abused at home? (In light of the recent Aqsa Parvez tragedy in Canada)
• Pollution from driving, should we stop driving?
• Leadership in our communities, to be a leader or to stay away from positions of leadership?
• Unity in the community. Uniformity is a key virtue.
• Imam Zaid touches upon moonsighting and the beginning of the lunar months. (See this post for 3 important points for the next moonfighting session)
• About the day of ‘Arafah.
• Hadith: Warning believers not to imitate the disbelievers. How do we heed this warning? (Adapt and ‘Islamize’ our customs. Being comfortable with our deen)
• Reminder about walking in front of a person who is praying.
• What advice to give to a Muslim who has been involved with fornication?
• The issue of slavery
• The meaning of traditional Islam
• Hadith: No crying for the deceased
• Hijab & Niqab - Mandatory?
• Halal/Zabihah meat. Can we eat meat from people of the book? (Importance of organic milk due to the hormones)
• Calling people to Islam
• How to make Allah and the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) a priority in our lives? (Fully assume one’s religious responsibilities, individually and communally. Perform regular dhikr)
• How to find a shaykh, teacher or guide?
• Brief synopsis of Imam Zaid’s CD - Purification of the Soul: Treatise on the seekers of guidance. General Islamic teachings to improve one’s spiritual growth
• Views on RAND Report
• Leaders like Sayyidina Abu Bakr, Sayyidina Umar, Sayyidina Uthman and Sayyidina Ali (may Allah be please with them all) in our times.
• Bayah - oath of allegiance
• Adoption advice

To listen to the questions and Imam Zaid’s answers, please visit: Questions from “Reviving The Islamic Spirit” Conference.

To learn more from Imam Zaid, please register for Zaytuna Institute’s Distance Learning Program:

Living The Quran

Getting Right with Allah 

Note: Thanks to Sidi Adnan Tariq for posting this on his blog.

Disclaimer: I am the Zaytuna Distance Learning Program Manager and a blog admin on Imam Zaid’s blog. Please help to support my endeavors by registering on those sites.

Selamat Hari Raya, ‘Eid Mubarak and Happy Holidays! We hope everyone had a blessed ‘Eid holiday and we pray that you holiday season abounds with mercy, safety and happiness!

IslamCrunch has been involved with several behind-the-scenes projects. We look forward to bringing you more news and updates.