The Fact of the Matter

In school we are taught that fact is unassailable. We learn “fact”, make arguments about “fact” and disseminate “fact”.  

Geobbels, the Nazi’s minister of propaganda and culture said in a speech in 1933, “German art of the next decade will be heroic... it will be factual and completely free of sentimentality... or it will be nothing”. 

Indeed there is no greater proponent of fact than Islam. For in Islam, God is al-Haqq, the absolute truth and al-Baatin, the hidden as He encompasses all. 

In the Qur’an we find a verse that says that “truth smashes the brains out of falsehood” (S The Prophets). And we learn in the sayings of our Messenger (saw), that a Muslim can be many things from an alcoholic to a thief, but there is one thing that a Muslim cannot be and that is a liar. 

Maybe it is in the constancy of seeking to be true that we do destroy ourselves, and make ourselves over. 

However whilst Islam is so clear in its advocation of truth and fact, it also recognised that unabashed truth when it is directed towards another, or for a poor reason, can be our route to perdition. 

Another saying of the Messenger reminds us that two things can take you to hell, and those are what is between your teeth and what is between your legs. Whilst the Messenger also informed us of the severity of backbiting, “must you eat the flesh of your brother” and when the companions asked “what about when it is true”, the Messenger informed us that if false it is slander. (And consequently backbiting is when you tell a true thing that is hurtful to another behind their backs). 

Islam is nothing if not nuanced and intelligent. And Islam is social. 

The search for being true is an ultimate goal, “who are we each really?”

But in that search let not another suffer because we cannot see the trees for the forest. 

Goebbels spoke the language of fact to destroy and not to make, to hinder and not to help. 

And whilst “fact” is highly promoted. 

We as Muslims must remember in our social conversations that facts can hurt. That it is better to be silent on those occasions. 

And much more importantly that it is our values, and our humanity, that make us Muslims in the first. 

That we value truth, honesty and sacrifice in order to help another. And we know that the truth that we talk about here, is about ourselves and not another. 

And we know that facts can promote values which are inconsistent with our own, and in those cases our values take precedence. Because it is our values that make us who we want to be. 

And so we see a similar occurrence with the revelation sent to our Messenger (saw). Nearly always revealed after the fact of what happened, to teach us the best interpretation of those facts,  so that we might be instructed in what to value. 

So that we might know that values trump facts at every corner. Because it Is our values that teach us how to appreciate facts, and that facts do not inform our values. 

That facts are tools, and not ends in themselves. 

And it is this revelation that moulded our community into the best of communities to walk the Earth. 

And we also know that facts are often not always what they seem. 

Sometimes they are propaganda, at other times they are mixed in with false values and facts to give the semblance of truth. And we know that those are the worst of lies and falsehoods. 

Islam is nothing if not nuanced, intelligent and discerning. 

So be intelligent and discerning. 

*Knowledge is sought through study and contemplation*

Not lectures, nor talks, nor this above. 

Every Waking Day, Say...

Every waking day, say 

Glory to God, 

who created, how perfect is His creation. 

All thanks be to God,

who allowed me to wake after a slumber, 

who provided for me and gave me again the opportunity to strive for His pleasure. 

There is no god but He,

and to Him I dedicate my every charity. 

And truly

He is the greatest,

The one that gives without measure. 

Dear Friend (a personal letter to my readers)

Dear Friend, 

This is a personal letter to you; the readers of my blog. 

I cannot tell the demographic of my readership beyond the normal demographic of those who are generally attracted to the message of Islam. 

So you are most likely to be young, attracted to novel and revolutionary ideals, and are not over wealthy with no vested interests that tie you to the status quo. 

And Islam is revolutionary, because it teaches the true brotherhood of man. That although we may be different, we have something that ties us stronger together than blood relationships. 

And if you have read my blogs and they have made you think, contemplate and deliberate then you are, for sure, my friend. 

And then Glory be to God, who made us friends in the first place and cemented our friendship with travail. 

For my blogs are not a breeze, and are generally not intended to be an easy ride. 

For the religion of Islam is hardship and struggle, and if there is no struggle then that is not the religion- except the empty shell of the true religion. 

However unlike our cousin brothers in Christianity, we do not see punishment as a necessary evil for the beautification of the soul. But rather that our bodies and minds need to struggle against oppression, both societal and physical, to free our souls to better appreciate the awe in which God should be held.

Struggle is not here a necessary evil. 

Rather struggle is our way, freedom is our goal and the love of all that is good is our driving force. 

Remember the Islamic narrative is that freedom naturally lends to appreciation and belief, whereas oppression in terms of false beliefs and societal conventions lend to disbelief. 

So thanks are due to God, who blessed us with gratitude, who enervated us with sense, and created us in need, so that He could fulfil that need. 

For I was in need, and you were sent to fulfil that need. 

I was in need of expression, and you were sent to be that expression- to be the driving force of that expression, to enervate me to write, to be and to feel. 

I believe in miracles. 

That God is in whose hands the Dominion belongs, has designed that we be separated so that I could pose the question of faith to you without facing being accused of unduly influencing you. 

For the distance of space and time is no barrier to the progression of ideas. 

And the demographic that I write for, will always be accused of being unduly influenced by people like me. 

People that talk to your hearts. 

People that make you feel alive and capable. 

And yet I cannot influence you other than through the words that I write, and the thoughts that I give expression to. 

And you are free to believe or disbelieve as is your wish. For that is the next step in our friendship. 

For if you believe as I do, then the greatest step is the declaration of faith. 

To bear witness to One True God, without partner, helper or son, and to the bear witness to Muhammed (saw) being His Messenger and Servant. 

This is a declaration that you can make privately to your own self, but it must be made loudly. It must be physical. 

And then later it must be made to those that you trust, and lastly to your family and community. 

It is a compact that you make with God, and God is not unmindful of your sacrifices and the hardships that you endure. 

And this testimony will not free you from hardship and travail, rather the opposite that you recognise that struggle is your way, freedom from oppression is your goal and that love is your driving force. 

And by God, I love you for God’s sake. 

May God bless and surround you with friendship, help, support and love, always and forever. Aameen. 

And God is the ever doer of good, the one that places love and camaraderie between us, the one that unites us and keeps us not divided. 

And material wealth is nothing compared to that. May God enrich us with each other’s company and support, and the company and support of our fellow believers. Aameen. 

And that is the far greater wealth. 

PP Shafees.