Thursday, May 17, 2007

Where do we go from here?

The Egyptian Mufti: "It was common to seek blessing by drinking the Prophet's urine. And anyone who finds this idea to be repulsive has doubts concerning his faith." Click here to read >>

Where are we heading people? Isn't it enough that Egypt which used to lead the development in the region and rose the torch of culture for others to follow, is now allowing itself to be dragged in the course of countries of less civilization and retarded thought? Are we now seeking to prove we can go way backwards further than them or what? Do we aim to dig our own way down to the bottom? What's that?! I can't get it!

The Mufti is supposed to be the spiritual compass for Muslims in our country. Now he writes a book that says that drinking Prophet Muhammad's urine was a source for blessing and that his sweat, blood, hair (in short anything which dagaleen consider as attar) are blessed and can be used for this purpose!

Of course many sheikhs have attempted to object to this, saying that they can't find anything in Islamic history of sunnah to backup those claims. But what actually makes me pose those previous questions was that the Mufti's fatwa is not an isolated incident or single attempt. When put in context, we'll find out that what we're really facing here is a process of turning the prophet into a deity (dropping off his human quality).

Before you accuse me of any exaggeration, please take a few minutes to review some recent tendencies which are very smoothly sneaking into our modern Islamic thought and which were never mentioned before. Let's take a look at the qualities that modern sheikhs are attributing to the Prophet. The insistence that Muhammad was a "Man of Miracles" is being stressed by many nowadays.

As any other Muslim, the only miracle that I know of Muhammad delivering to his people was the Qur'an. If anybody knows of something else, please enlighten me. But what we've been hearing recently is that the Prophet could read the future (misinterpretations of stories when the Prophet gave advice and then turned out that he was right. Like the woman who came to ask his advice as to which of her suitors to marry. The Prophet then told her that both her suitors were not good for her and he recommended a third man whom she didn't like. He then insisted that she would reconsider, and when she married him she said she found all the good in him. Such stories aren't originally intended to make us think that the Prophet could foretell the future. He was just a wise man giving sincere advice. But the way such stories are being used nowadays imply that he had supernatural powers.), heal the sick (the unjustified persistence to make Muhammad a doctor is so big nowadays. What is known to be Alteb Alnabawy and curing illnesses using cattle urine is bogus. You find hundreds of books talking about how the Prophet prescribed cures for various illnesses. There are swindlers who make use of this, selling what they claim to be Islamic cures. Many people have died out of such practices and we still can't learn that the Prophet wasn't a doctor. Again, he was just giving advice to sick people at a time where there were no scientific solutions. If I tell you to tie up your head when you have a headache and it worked, does this make me a doctor? He only told people about coventional methods used and tried at this time. If we stopped brushing our teeth and used the wooden brush (sewak) does this protect us against cavities?), exorcise evil spirits (Again this is used by swindlers to claim that a person can be possessed and those who heal by Qur'an. The Prophet used to say certain prayers in order to seek the blessing of God during his day. These prayers were also used to pacify people who face a crisis or who want to remember God in order not to be deviated by the devil. It was a way of bringing peace to those in distress or those who suffer psychologically or mentally.), being holy. (This is the part which the Mufti drew upon. By claiming that anything that happened to be in contact with the Prophet is blessed, he and others are bestowing a holy nature on Muhammad, seeking to elevate him from the human condition. The danger of this notion will be witnessed when it becomes common among the illiterate masses, who went as far as seeking blessing from a tree.)

Finally, attacking the faith of those who find the idea of drinking the urine of the Prophet to be disgusting is a method of terrorism, which aims to stop people from even questioning the ideas that those "respectful" sheikhs are delivering. I honestly don't think this can bring about any good to our nation which is already suffering enough. Terrorizing people in such a way, deforming a religion which is based on logic to make it supernatural, and seeking to remove the human quality off our Prophet, will cause us to enter deeper into our dark ages. But unlike the European dark ages, this will be even fiercer and will witness more victims. My prayer to God is to spare us all that.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

astaghfer Allah. Last time I checked the Prophet was just a Prophet. This is a type of worship and idolism if we think of drinking his urine. I know he is such a blessed person, but going that far does seem to lead to shirk right? It's sad the mufti went that far, I thought he was a reasonable man?

And I disrepect it when people tell me that something is wrong with my faith if I don't believe in this or that. It's between me and God thank you very much!

Thanks for the post :)

Om Luji said...

Unique Muslimah, Thanks a lot for your comment.
I also thought he was a reasonable man only to wake up on this horrible nightmare! Seems nobody can help getting caught into this wave of fanaticism!
And I can't agree more with what you said. Surely nobody has the right to judge anybody's faith.

Anonymous said...

Dear Om,
I watched an interview on arabic tv two days ago. They were interviewing the mufti asking if what he said was true. His eyes teared up and said that he couldn't lie, the hadith was true. However, it only happened once. They used to urinate in buckets. Well the Prophet came out to use his bucket and couldn't find it, so he asked this servant lady where it was, she said she had taken it thinking it was water, she had drunk it without realising it was urine.

He said the Prophet was a human, but no ordinary human. His heart was washed by two angels when he was little. He went up to the seventh heaven and to go there God must have transformed his body to endure this heavenly flight that no human can take unless they are dead.

So the servant didn't realise it was urine because it was pure, it wasn't like our urine. SubhanAllah.

The newspapers just exaggerated it, as the always do.

I'm happy with his answer. He was upset that the journalist had asked him that question though, because he believes there are so many more important issues to discuss!

Just teaches me not to believe everything I read in the newspapers and to try to get the info from the horses mouth. Alhamduliah that they did that on TV and cleared up the issue.

It's weird though that in your post it says it was a common practice and the other stuff. Someone must have changed or added these words to make it sensational news.

It only happened once- accidently- and that's it.

Hope that helped! :D xx

Om Luji said...

Dear Unique Muslimah,

Thanks a lot for adding your comment. I have heard about this TV show, but didn't know what the Mufti has said exactly. This clears a lot about the issue. It is totally different from what was written in newspapers. They said that the Mufti claimed that followers of the Prophet drank his urine, knowing it was his urine, with the intention of seeking blessing. But being an accident which only happened once, without any intentions, is something very opposite. Although it is an incident which was unworthy of being mentioned in the Mufti's book.
This is a very valuable contribution. Thanks for it.

Anonymous said...

"Now he writes a book that says that drinking Prophet Muhammad's urine was a source for blessing"
BTW the mufty announced that this copy of the book will be withdrawn from market .

"the only miracle that I know of Muhammad delivering to his people was the Qur'an. If anybody knows of something else, please enlighten me"

Isra'a and Me'rag.

Fadfadation said...

Newspapers exaggerate a lot. And this seems like another example.

"to make us think that the Prophet could foretell the future"

I might differ here... The Quran said (meaning of): "wama yantiko 3an al hawa"...as in it is all revealed to him by God. Although as you said sometimes it is just advice...nothing to do with revelation.

I remember a few incidents that had to do with future events being reviled:

1- Telling the Kafir who followed the prophet and Abu bakr as they were leaving Makkah to Madinah (meaning of): "if you leave us alone, you'll get the bracelets of Kisra (Persian emperor)"...which happened later on.

2- When they were surrounded in Madinah by a7zab (the 10,000 warriors), as he was braking a rock that was in the way of the drench they were digging, a big spark came out of it and he said (meaning of): " Allaho Akabr, Persia came into Islam (foti7at Fares)".

3- Saying one day (meaning of): "God bless the ones who bring Islam to Istanbul and Rome". Istanbul came into Islam already.

Besides thees, there is the israa2 and Mi3raj of course.

I am sure there are other "sa7e7" events if we do a bit more research.

Thinking of it. Not only Prophet Mohammad had that ability to tell about the unknown (at least to him). Also Jesus could tell what people were hiding in their homes and where.

The are Prophets…they have miracles…with God's blessing of course :)

Anyways, back to such things like the urine thing.... the question should be, even if it is true...what benefit is it nowadays?!!!!!!!!

Om Luji said...

Fadfadation:
I agree that newspapers tend to exaggerate, but in this case the Mufti admitted saying this and he promised to remove this section from the new prints of his book. I can't forgive him for including it in first place. Not every silly question has to be answered. He could have easily said "Haza 3elm la yanfa3 wgahl la yador".
Now concerning, "wama yantiko 3an al hawa", it doesn't mean or even imply that every single word the prophet says is a revelation. It refers to his message. Meaning that the teachings he delivers are not the product of his own imagination, but he delivers a message from God.
The other examples you mentioned are also not considered future-tellings. This is a kind of what we call "beshara" or expectation to bring about optimism. If things really do take place, it doesn't mean they were known before hand.
As for Israa and Mi3raj, this was a single spiritual experience that was meant to educate people, not to amaze them with a miracle. If God's intention was to make it a miracle, he could simply make the prophet fly in front of them.
The basis of Islam is that it is a religion of logic and doesn't rely on the supernatural.

Fadfadation said...

"Israa and Mi3raj, this was a single spiritual experience that was meant to educate people, not to amaze them with a miracle"

I differ, It is both educational and a miracle event. Going and coming in one night and all the events that were part of it ARE a miracle in its own (that's besides the educational and spirital part).

No one can exclude the miracle part from this one ya Om luji.

KAMEL KHAIRALLA كامل خيرالله said...

Dear Om

I'm shocked , actually I feel that i want to throw up from the visual of the idea , I'm sorry for having to deal with a reality that still pulls its threads from vaulgur pits and pieces of history.

This is a drug absent minded culture comments, and will lead to nothing but more ugly traffic in Cairo, more paradoxes between hookers and headcovered Monakabat.

while inside the brains it is only a cobweb of ignorance.

My appreciation to you exposing it , and my worries of hoplessness when its gets to this level.

Om Luji said...

Hue-man:

I feel exceptionally happy when I receive comments on my old posts. I'd like to thank you so much for that, and for your gentle compliment.
I agree with everything you said. Still I can't give up hope, because I won't be able to survive without it.
There are many people who feel as sorry as we do. They are just silent. I wish they would realize that it is time for them to say something in all this.

KAMEL KHAIRALLA كامل خيرالله said...

Dear Om Luji

Thank you very much for your comment on my blog and for the good words , it was for the fact that the majority of Egyptians were NOT as positive and hopeful as yourself that I immigrated from El Mahroosah ,11 years ago

it is for the fact that the existence of Egyptians like you, that i released my first book to Sharkiat to be published in the Book fair in January. and that i still write in Arabic. ( even though my visit was not exactly happy sight of all the "improvements")

the blog of the drafts of my new book about the immigration experience will be honored by the input of smart "diamond in the ruins and the rubbles"

I'm glad i found your blog while searching for Chicago , and please throw me a line or two when you have a chance , your input will be crucial to the book.


Immigrant Hue-man