Islam As The Webmaster See's It

This Webmasters rough definition of Islam

This webmaster believes that a genuine Islam is not a religion, an interpretation of Sunnah or Hadith etc, or even a follower of any certain person. Instead Islam (means submission) is both the manner and extent of effort exerted in the sincere and faithful practice of ANY revealed religion: the putting as first priority and the center around which ones life revolves -- to love God and His creations before ALL other priorities. ANYTIME, ANY person begins to love ANYTHING else more than this, without effort to cease, especially when he loves his religion more than God and His creations -- then this becomes classic SHIRK; especially in Islam.

The Islam of any individual is only knowable to Allaah, and as the time of the Prophet so clearly shows not even any guess can be made until AFTER the death of the individual and even then such a guess is only a little better than suspect.

An Islamic Ummah (or community) on the other hand is no guess at all, as the Qur'an promises only success to those who actually PRACTICE real Islam (submission to G-d). A real Islamic Ummah, this webmaster believes, can ONLY occur in the same order as did the Prophet's Islamic Ummah, just as Sayed Qutb has so beautifully pointed out. And, not for any other reasons than pure common sense. A genuine Islamic Ummah can only evolve from successful completion of each of the following steps and only in the correct order (for obvious reasons).

1. - Only individuals who strongly long for earthly justice and kindness must gather into a core group from which those who are only talk are not invited. These individuals must be perceived by the average normal person OUTSIDE THE CORE GROUP as both doers and servers; and further perceived as absolutely trustworthy, honest, loyal, most kindly, least threatening, with impeccable manners and respectfulness and most importantly totally upfront and open -- not afraid for ANY to know either their name OR address, with no secret dealings or anonymous allegations; and again, AS PERCEIVED BY THE OUTSIDERS.
2. - This core group then begins to form a larger community existing within the normal community becoming increasingly active in speaking out ONLY, in the kindest of manners possible, against existing oppression. For quite some time, even after a hijrah, only the most minimal of individual (when there is no other choice but death) defensive fighting and ABSOLUTELY NO group effort (DEFENSIVE or offensive) is permitted at this stage. The ethical and piety standards within the initial core community must remain at the highest levels of strictness.
3. This community's preaching is restricted to only those words which are already well established ACTIONS as seen by their ALREADY well existing reputation among OUTSIDERS. This foundational community must be built upon REPUTATION not theology or inner intent.
4. - ALL or ANY leaders must be BLINDLY followed, that is FOLLOWED, not OBEYED. Their is NO OBEDIANCE in Islam, only willingness. Any leader must be constantly consulting with his followers. NO-ONE becomes a leader based upon status, charisma, strength, wealth, knowledge (no matter how extensive), ethnicity, age and etc.; but only by being well EXPERIENCED by his followers for: piety, humility, fairness and trustworthyness and USEFUL SKILLS. No Muslim can be a leader whose only skills are good speaking or extensive knowledge, he MUST posses well practiced and useful skills to the extent of his years of age.
5. - ANY community, of ANY faith, whose reputation becomes widely established as standing up for the justice of the oppressed coming BEFORE personal welfare, wealth or status WILL incur harrassment. Until ANY community has ACTUALLY incurred
oppression and or harrassment from the mainstream communitiy (for ONLY this reason) within which it resides it HAS NOT YET REACHED STAGE 5.

These are, roughly, the ONLY five pillars that can create an Islamic EMBRYONIC Ummah. The word embryonic is used because this is STILL NOT YET a living Islamic Ummah, but like an embryo -- only a living potential. These steps can only occur in roughly this order -- for obvious common sense reasons. Islam must ALWAYS be logical.

To transform an embryonic community into a living community
REQUIRES a Hijrah or total separation.

There MUST BE a physical, geographical to some extent and visual separation sufficent so that the Muslim can be easily recongnized, "from 200 yards with bad eyesight" from the normal community he came from. There is NO other way for a community to become a light intense enough to attract others to come out from their darkness and attempt the DIFFICULT crossover to a whole new path. Ten thousand candles scattered about here and there are NOT a bright light for guidance/example until those candles are brought into a tight single group. Islam NEVER attempts to cure darkness and ignorance (Jahaliya NOT kufr) by darkness but only by light: "from darkness into light." AND -- that light must include the

ROCK SOLID
REPUTATION

among OUTSIDERS, that their struggle to join the community will be met with a sacrificial level of support from the already existing community -- as in the ANSAR (The Helpers, in the time of the Prophet). In other words, where possible each new member must become FULLY, at least temporarily, adopted into a Muslim household, until the intial transformation is complete.

UNTIL THIS POINT THERE IS NOTHING MORE THAN THE MINIMAL OF QUR'AN AND ONLY THE FIVE PILLARS -- NO HADITH OR ANY OTHER FORMS OF "advanced theology," and especially NO fighting Jihad of ANY kind. These are embellsihments to make an ALREADY WELL ESTABLISHED Islamic Ummah into beautiful, because to be Islam IT MUST ALWAYS BE in a constant state of greater and greater perfecting of one's Deen.
NO AMOUNT OF PERFECTION OF THESE EMBELLISHMENTS OR OF "SCHOLARSHIP" CAN SUSTITUTE IN THE PLACE OF ANY OF THESE above listed prerequisite STEPS. Nascent Islam occured in exactly the order as described above; including the NO FIGHTING JIHAD part (13+ years).

HOWEVER,
it is NOT true that AFTER this point that Jihad in Islam is only defensive. Muslim apologists and modernists are simply NOT being honest when they rant on as if Islam was the model for Ghandi. After this point Jihad, the fighting style, becomes mandatory for both defensive and offensive (to free and assist the oppressed -- ONLY) purposes. The key is that until this point is reached as a community, no Ummaah will be assuredly capable to perform the fighting Jihad in the "MANNER OF ALLAAH". The term Holy War was originanated by the "Christian" Crusaders NOT Muslims. But this is a very useful term to describe the major difference between the concepts of Holy War in Christianity vs. Islam. The crusades were a Holy War because of WHY war was started.
In Islam, Holy War means the MANNER in which a war is fought, NOT WHY: "fight in the Way of Allaah." In Islam ALL OR ANY war can only be fought in a manner that OTHERS would perceive as exemplary, so exemplary that even many of the enemy would define the manner of the fighting as Holy, the way anyone might expect a G-d who prefers to be called the Most Gracious and Most Merciful; the manner in which He would be expected to fight a war. Just EXACTLY as the Qur'an is constantly reminding us, the Truth is Clear from error. Any child can define the manner of fighting of the average war. This why fighting is PROHIBITED in Islam to indviduals, UNLESS acting in the name of G-d and Ummaah; and is prohibited for any reasons UNTIL there exists a rock solid Ummah with a rock solid reputation as those who can be DEPENDED upon to act in the Holiest of Manners. The non-muslim authored histories of various times are profuse with incidents of small numbers of Muslims defeating large numbers of enemies because their REPUTATION for war and treatment of prisoners was such that these historians frequently offered as the excuse for Muslim victories was because: "the subjects wanted to be defeated." Many non-muslim historians offer these types of explanations for how so few Muslims were able to just walk right through while "conquering" Spain to create Andalusia.

ISLAMIC UMMAAH IS ONLY ISLAMIC WHEN IT'S REPUTATION, NOT THEOLOGY, GIVES LIVING MEANING TO THE LIGHT OF G-D AS:

THAT DIETY WHOSE ONLY PATH TO PEACE IS THROUGH THE PERFECTION OF GRACIOUS AND MERICFUL BEHAVIOR IN ALL THINGS; BUT ESPECIALLY WAR.

Theological questions and procedural details can NEVER build Islam, but only enhance a strong Islam that ALREADY has arrived into a solid enduring existance.

There exists on this whole earth today, only One example of a living community and light of guidance to humankind after the ORIGINAL Sunnaah of the Prophet, that I know of. They are the Amish and Hutterite communities. Their Women cover and are separate and subordinant; they separate the genders and are openly opposed to modern "Amercian" values. Yet everyone loves and defends them -- why? Because they LIVE these exact steps above; all FIVE of them.

Until, Muslims begin to
live Islam
way more than they
TALK Islam
and EARN a similar REPUTATION as both the Amish
and our ORIGINAL Ummah; Islam will continue it's ONGOING descent into the dungeons of hate, violence and tryanny.

The above is a rough draft which will be gradually reworked until completed. The original will remain available online. Errors of opinion brought to this webmasters attention, and agreed with, will be openly acknowledged online.

shakur-abdel-Haleem