Ikram Hawramani's Blog, page 2

The stance of mainstream Sunni Islam on Sufism: Can you be Sunni and Sufi at the same time?

Salaam alaykum

I’m a Sunni sister, and I’ve recently come across Sufism and Islamic mysticism. I’m very much interested in learning about Sufism but there are debates on this whole ‘Sunni-Sufi’ thing, I’m confused and I’m trying to ask everyone of their opinion and know if what I’m doing is right or wrong. Could you please share your thoughts on this?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

It seems to me the key issue is the sources of knowledge we accept. In mainstream Sunni Islam we accept the Quran and hadith, while in many forms of Sufism a third source of knowledge is added that establishes the doctrine of the allegiance to particular shaykhs and the various spiritual stations that one is said to be able to acquire. These things are not found in the Quran and hadith.

If you are interested in Sufism, there is the mainstream Sunni option of following what we may call paleo-Sufism, the Sufism of its original founders, such as the “father of Sufism” the Persian mystic Junayd of Baghdad. But even such people may bring into Islam ideas that do not have any obvious foundation in the Quran and hadith. So the problem with many forms of Sufism is that it claims to provide knowledge that is separate from the Quran and hadith. For a person dedicated to following pure and original Islam, the introduction of such external systems of knowledge is something to be suspicious of unless given overwhelming proofs.

Personally I don’t have any issue with most kinds of Sufism and there are admirable orthodox scholars who were also Sufis.

I am very interested in spirituality and I believe the right way to deal with Sufism is Imam al-Ghazali’s way, which is to use Sufism instead of accepting Sufism as a third system besides the Quran and hadith. Instead of “becoming Sufi”, you can read Sufi works and adopt whatever beneficial teachings they provide.

I believe Imam al-Ghazali, Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn al-Qayyim show us what it is like to benefit from Sufism while remaining within mainstream Sunni Islam. It’s similar to benefiting from philosophy and logic. Imam al-Ghazali’s great achievement was that rather than becoming a typical philosopher (like Ibn Sina / Avicenna), he used philosophy and brought it into mainstream Islam while maintaining the Quran and hadith as supreme. He did the same with Sufism, bringing it into mainstream Islam without becoming a typical Sufi seeker or shaykh.

So there are two ways to use or practice Sufism. Either one accepts it as a third system besides the Quran and hadith, “becomes Sufi”, and gives allegiance to particular Sufi orders, systems or teachers, or one treats Sufism like any other field of knowledge, benefiting from it while maintaining allegiance to the Quran and hadith. The second route is the only possible one for me personally because as a very logic-minded and skeptical person, I cannot accept Sufi systems due to their lack of obvious and unchallenged foundation in the Quran, hadith or common sense. The various Sufi saints may have great things to teach me, but it is wholly against my nature to submit to them as a disciple. I can only view them as superior colleagues who have useful things to teach me, similar to the way I view any Islamic scholar, or any secular philosopher, thinker or scientist.

I have no issue with people reading Sufi works, or even non-Muslim works of spirituality and mysticism. As long as a person does not submit to systems, authorities and individuals outside the Quran and the Prophet’s guidance PBUH, then they can safely benefit from things like Sufism without leaving the mainstream and becoming something else. As long as you constantly read the Quran and try sincerely to submit to no authority other than it and the Prophet PBUH, then even if you are unconsciously influenced by Sufism or secular thought, you will always be brought back to the right track inshaAllah. I have been reading the complete works of the great Christian thinker C. S. Lewis and despite the fact that I admire him and see much beauty in his kind of Christianity, my reading has only helped me to see Islam’s beauty and superiority more clearly. If Islam is truly God’s final and perfect message, and if we always sincerely go back to it, then no amount of reading and learning will make us abandon it, because as knowledge and understanding increases, our appreciation for God’s teachings will also increase, if Islam is really true (which I believe).

You may be interested in my books The Sayings of Ibn al-Jawzi (free version) and the The Sayings of Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (free version), which show us the thinking of two spiritual practitioners who benefited from Sufism without becoming Sufi. Imam al-Ghazali is also very much worth reading. He’s often categorized as a Sufi, but it’s clear from his works that he used Sufism rather than accepting it as a third system. He used Sufism just as he used philosophy and Greek logic.

Best wishes.

The Quranic and hadith evidence for prohibiting touching non-mahrams

Assalamualaikum I came across a hadith on Facebook which says that touching any non- mahram woman is harām. I wanted to ask if that Hadith is authentic, and if it is so, then to what extent does this rule apply in our life. I mean I have female relatives who are quite elder to me( 9 years and more) . Is it allowed to shake hands with them or hug them if in my heart I consider them to be like my mothers and sisters?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

Touching people of the opposite sex whom you can potentially marry (i.e. non-mahrams) is not permitted in Islam unless there is a good reason, as in a doctor touching a person of the opposite sex during a procedure. There is also an exception for shaking hands with a person of the opposite sex in order not to humiliate them by refusing the handshake. When it comes to shaking the hands of the relatives you mentioned or hugging them, it is best to avoid it, but it is not a great issue if you accept these gestures in order to avoid upsetting them, until you find an opportunity to tell them that you wish to avoid these things in the future for religious reasons. As for elders who are at an age where they would no longer consider marriage (perhaps 60 or more), then these rules can be relaxed. But if they are 30 or 40 years old, then the rules would continue to apply even if you are much younger than them.

The most explicit hadith we have on the issue of touching the opposite sex is the following:

لأن يطعن في رأس أحدكم بمخيط من حديد خير له من أن يمس امرأة لا تحل له

It is better for one of you to pierce his head with an iron needle than to touch a woman for whom she is not halal.

Al-Tabarani

This hadith comes to us through Shaddad b. Saeed who is considered trustworthy but unreliable by many scholars, therefore this hadith is not guaranteed to be authentic and is therefore not relevant to this discussion.

The next hadith is one where the Prophet PBUH explicitly states that he does not shake women’s hands:

Muhammad bin Munkadir said that he heard Umaimah bint Ruqaiqah say:
“I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) with some other women, to offer our pledge to him. He said to us: ‘(I accept your pledge) with regard to what you are able to do. But I do not shake hands with women.’”

Sunan Ibn Majah Vol. 4, Book 24, Hadith 2874 and others.

Below is the chain diagram for this hadith:

This hadith receives an authenticity score of 38.69% according to our probabilistic hadith verification method. This score is rather high, since sahih hadiths start at 30%, meaning that this hadith is very high-quality.

The next hadith on touching non-mahrams is the following:

Aisha the wife of the Prophet, said, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to examine the believing women who migrated to him in accordance with this Verse: 'O Prophet! When believing women come to you to take the oath of allegiance to you… Verily! Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.' (60.12) `Aisha said, "And if any of the believing women accepted the condition (assigned in the above-mentioned Verse), Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) would say to her. "I have accepted your pledge of allegiance." "He would only say that, for, by Allah, his hand never touched, any lady during that pledge of allegiance. He did not receive their pledge except by saying, "I have accepted your pledge of allegiance for that."

Sahih al-Bukhari Book 65, Hadith 4891; Sahih Muslim 1866 a; other collections

Below is a chain diagram of the hadith:

This hadith receives an authenticity score of 27.57%, making it close to the authentic mark of 30%.

The above appears to be all of the explicit evidence we have on the touching of non-mahrams.

Evidence from lowering the gaze

The Quran commands us to “lower our gaze”. The context of the two verses that command this make it clear that it refers to gazing at the opposite sex idly and/or lustfully.

Tell the believing men to restrain their looks, and to guard their privates. That is purer for them. God is cognizant of what they do.

And tell the believing women to restrain their looks, and to guard their privates, and not display their beauty except what is apparent thereof, and to draw their coverings over their breasts, and not expose their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, what their right hands possess, their male attendants who have no sexual desires, or children who are not yet aware of the nakedness of women. And they should not strike their feet to draw attention to their hidden beauty. And repent to God, all of you believers, so that you may succeed. (The Quran, verses 24:30-31)

There are also hadiths that mention the same concept, as in the following:

Jarir said I asked the Apostle of Allaah(ﷺ) about an accidental glance (at a woman). He (ﷺ) said “Turn your gaze away.”

Sunan Abi Dawud 2148

Below is the chain diagram for this hadith:

This hadith receives an authenticity score of 12.14%, which is not very high. But it is easier to accept such hadiths as authentic due to their uncontroversial contents.

Naturally, if we are commanded to avoid gazing at the opposite sex idly or lustfully, then the same would apply to touching.

Evidence from the hijab

Another highly relevant area of evidence is that which applies to the rules on parts of the body that have to be covered. Naturally, if we are forbidden from looking at a certain part of a person’s body, we would also be forbidden from touching it. For the evidence on the rulings on which parts of the body should be covered see:

The purpose of hijab in IslamWhy the hijab is still obligatory (and why it is not only a vestige of 7th century Arabia)



Conclusion

From the evidence presented above, it is clear that touching the opposite sex idly or lustfully is not permitted in Islam. The Prophet PBUH avoided shaking women’s hands despite this being a harmless form of greeting, which shows us that the highest Islamic ideal is to always work to minimize contact with the opposite sex. However, the evidence does not prohibit necessary touching, as in a doctor touching a person of the opposite sex during a medical procedure.

The exception on shaking hands

Scholars such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi permit shaking the hands of the opposite sex when meeting non-Muslims in order to prevent humiliating them by refusing the handshake, since in such cases avoiding humiliating the person takes priority over the no-touching rule. Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi mentions that while the Prophet PBUH never shook the hands of women, Umar [ra] did that, and Abu Bakr [ra] shook an old woman’s hands.

References:

IslamOnline fatwa that mentions al-Qaradawi’s opinion (Arabic PDF)

A study of the evidence from the Quran and hadith on not touching non-mahrams

Assalamualaikum I came across a hadith on Facebook which says that touching any non- mahram woman is harām. I wanted to ask if that Hadith is authentic, and if it is so, then to what extent does this rule apply in our life. I mean I have female relatives who are quite elder to me( 9 years and more) . Is it allowed to shake hands with them or hug them if in my heart I consider them to be like my mothers and sisters?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

The most explicit hadith we have on the issue of touching the opposite sex is the following:

لأن يطعن في رأس أحدكم بمخيط من حديد خير له من أن يمس امرأة لا تحل له

It is better for one of you to pierce his head with an iron needle than to touch a woman for whom she is not halal.

Al-Tabarani

This hadith comes to us through Shaddad b. Saeed who is considered trustworthy but unreliable by many scholars, therefore this hadith is not guaranteed to be authentic and is therefore not relevant to this discussion.

The next hadith is one where the Prophet PBUH explicitly states that he does not shake women’s hands:

Muhammad bin Munkadir said that he heard Umaimah bint Ruqaiqah say:
“I came to the Prophet (ﷺ) with some other women, to offer our pledge to him. He said to us: ‘(I accept your pledge) with regard to what you are able to do. But I do not shake hands with women.’”

Sunan Ibn Majah Vol. 4, Book 24, Hadith 2874 and others.

The next hadith on touching non-mahrams is the following:

Aisha the wife of the Prophet, said, "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) used to examine the believing women who migrated to him in accordance with this Verse: 'O Prophet! When believing women come to you to take the oath of allegiance to you… Verily! Allah is Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.' (60.12) `Aisha said, "And if any of the believing women accepted the condition (assigned in the above-mentioned Verse), Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) would say to her. "I have accepted your pledge of allegiance." "He would only say that, for, by Allah, his hand never touched, any lady during that pledge of allegiance. He did not receive their pledge except by saying, "I have accepted your pledge of allegiance for that."

Sahih al-Bukhari Book 65, Hadith 4891; Sahih Muslim 1866 a; other collections

Below is a chain diagram of the hadith:

This hadith receives an authenticity score of 27.57%, making it close to the authentic mark of 30% according to our probabilistic hadith verification method.

The above appears to be all of the explicit evidence we have on the touching of non-mahrams.

Evidence from the hijab

However, another highly relevant area of evidence is that which applies to parts of the body that have to be covered. Naturally, if we are forbidden from looking at a certain part of a person’s body, we would also be forbidden from touching it. For the evidence on the rulings on which parts of the body should be covered see:

The purpose of hijab in IslamWhy the hijab is still obligatory (and why it is not only a vestige of 7th century Arabia)



Evidence from rules on privacy

The exception on shaking hands

Scholars such as Yusuf al-Qaradawi permit shaking the hands of the opposite sex when meeting non-Muslims in order to prevent humiliating them by refusing the handshake, since in such cases avoiding humiliating the person takes priority over the no-touching rule. Shaykh Yusuf al-Qaradawi mentions that while the Prophet PBUH never shook the hands of women, Umar [ra] did that, and Abu Bakr [ra] shook an old woman’s hands.

References:

IslamOnline fatwa that mentions al-Qaradawi’s opinion (Arabic PDF)

Is life insurance permissible in Islam?

Is getting life insurance permissible?

If the insurance is provided by a for-profit company then it is prohibited, because they are making money through a procedure that amounts of gambling/betting. But if the insurance is provided by a non-profit where people’s money is pooled to support members who die, then that is permitted provided that the company’s methods have been reviewed and approved by scholars.

Were Atatürk’s changes in Turkey un-Islamic?

Salam brother What do you think about the changes brought by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in Turkey? Was what he did unislamic?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

He did many things against Islam, such as forcing women not to wear hijab, and persecuting Islamic scholars. He also did some good things for Turkey. So each one of his actions has to be judged on its own, but on the whole he was no supporter of Islam.

On getting close to Allah

Assalamualaikum How can we get closer to Allah? I was am a firm believer in Allah and I follow almost all Islamic duties except praying all five times (due to laziness) . I know it's very important to pray but whenever I resolve to pray regularly I do so just for a few days and then I again stop praying regularly. This happens every time

On masturbating due to the unavailability of one’s spouse

i am a married man with children, but are some circumstances that push me into this act. some times my wife does not surrender herself or make herself available when i really need her for sex. secondly, i engage in this act during the breastfeeding period because my wife can never allow to come near her during this period.

It appears that your question is about masturbation. I do not believe that masturbation is strictly prohibited in Islam (as discussed here: Masturbation is not clearly forbidden or allowed in Islam), therefore what you are doing is not a big issue in my opinion, even though I believe that a great man would always avoid masturbation regardless of the temptations and unsatisfied needs.

If you feel guilty about masturbating, you can do an act of worship to make up for it, such as reading the Quran for an hour, or giving away a certain amount of money, after each time you do it.

If you masturbate, it is best to avoid using pornography for that purpose, as that is a far more questionable thing to engage in. For more on pornography please see: The Philosophy of Pornography and Masturbation

On Muhammad Shahrur

Do you have opinion on Muhammmad Shahrur and his work, who just recently passed.

Unfortunately I have yet to study Shahrur’s works, therefore I cannot give any detailed opinion on him. Some of his views, such as that on the Quran having to be interpreted according to changing social realities, sound sensible. But I do not know how far he goes in this view. And as far as I am aware he did not offer a reliable framework for making sense of the relationship between the Quran and hadith, and for judging hadiths using better methods. I believe that my method of hadith criticism solves most of the problems that have troubled modernist Islamic intellectuals about traditional Islamic scholarship. For more on this method please see: Probablistic Hadith Verification: Combining the Science of Hadith with Legal Theory

How to stay hopeful when Muslims are so weak and subjugated

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله I have been reading through this website a lot recently and they helped me better understand my religion and integrate it into my scientific of thinking . I might not agree with you on everything but you have my thanks and respect Now as for my question : how do you keep faith in these current times where it seems we can’t go a year without some new genocide of Muslims popping up somewhere : be it in China with Ughyur , mynnmar and of course Israel . I try telling myself that there will be some way out for them but it just looks hopeless to me. How does one remain faithful when fellow Muslims are freely subjected to so many horrors and Islam as a whole just seems doomed to be eradicated in many places?

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh,

I’m glad that you have found this website useful. Regarding your question, please see my essay What happened to Islamic civilization? Why did Muslims fall behind in science and technology? where I deal with your question in detail.

Best wishes.

Are children and teens permitted to dye their hair?

Assalamualaikum, please can a small child and a teen dye his or her hair.

Alaikumassalam wa rahmatullah,

There is no difference in the ruling on dyeing hair between children and adults, therefore it is permitted according to the conditions that apply to adults. For more on dyeing hair please see: The Islamic ruling on dyeing hair (for men and women)