A Masjid is a Community Center for Muslims

June 12,2015
written by:Sheila Quinn

Hadeeth: “Narrated Samura bin Jundab: Whenever the Prophet finished the (morning) prayer, he would face us and ask, ‘Who amongst you had a dream last night?’ So if anyone had seen a dream he would narrate it. The Prophet would say: ‘Ma sha’a-l-lah’ (An Arabic maxim meaning literally ‘What Allah wished,’ and it indicates a good omen.)…” (From the collection of hadeeth: “Sahih Al-Bukhari”; Volume#2; Book “Funerals”#23; chapter #91; hadeeth #468)

There are other hadeeth.

 One is a hadeeth which is narrated by Ayesha (mother of believers/ a wife of Prophet Muhammad). In that hadeeth she talks about an incident in which she watched a sports event in the masjid. She was sitting behind Prophet Muhammad.

Another hadeeth is narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar (a companion of Prophet Muhammad and a son of another companion of Prophet Muhammad). In this hadeeth Abdullah ibn Umar mentioned that one time Prophet Muhammad pointed to one of the doors of the masjid. And he (Prophet Muhammad) said if only we would leave that door for the women. He said that he wish that door would be just for the women and that door (pointing to the other door) would be for the men. Prophet Muhammad wanted there to be separate entrances-one for the women and one for the men. Apparently there were two doors to the masjid in which both men and women used.

Qur’an:

      “Allah alone can show the right path but there are ways that turn aside; if Allah had so willed, He could have guided all of you.”  (Sura: “An-Nahl” (The Bee) #16; ayah #9)

 “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures), in the Taurat and the Gospel:-for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil: he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure);: he releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the Light which is sent down with him, - it is they who will prosper.”
(Sura: A’raaf (The Heights); ayah #157)

“…This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion…” (Sura: “Maida” (The Table Spread) #5; ayah #3)

Hadeeth

“Verily, I have left amongst you the Book of Allah and the Sunnah (Traditions) of His Messenger which if you hold fast, you shall never go astray.” (Sahih Muslim) 
(Source: “Ar- Raheeq Al – Makhtum” (The Sealed Nectar; chapter: “The Farewell Pilgrimage”)

The masjid is a community center for Muslims-not just a place of prayer. The masjid is a place of many different community activities for Muslims. It is a place of: prayer, classes, sports, social activities, community meetings, etc. It is a place that all Muslims, both men and women can go.

The Islamic Faith consists of: The Qur’an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad. Anything that came after the death of Prophet Muhammad is misguidance. An English translation of what Allah says in The Qur’an is: “…This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion…”  (Sura: “Maida” (The Table Spread) #5; ayah #3)

One of the things that is misguidance is Fatwa, itself. Fatwa has displaced The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad. Many Muslims are following fatwa instead of The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad. It is time to return to The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad; it is time to start building-and using- masjids as community centers for all Muslims.

                                                                                                                          

Taqleed is Contrary to The Qur'an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)

written by Sheila Quinn

Qur'an: Sura (chapter) Rum (The Romans);ayat 31-32

"Turn ye in repentance to Him, and fear Him: establish regular prayers, and be not ye among those who join gods with Allah- those who split up their religion and become sects-each party rejoicing in that which is with itself."

Qur'an: (5:3)

" This day I have perfected your religion for you completed My Favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion".

Hadeeth of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):"'Verily, I have left you the Book of Allah and the Sunneh (Traditions) of His Messenger which if you hold fast you shall never go astray' "


This is the evidence from both The Qur'an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him)that Taqleed is,indeed, contrary to The Qur'an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

How do I proceed from here...? Perhaps, I should speak about how I came to this position. I sense within myself that this is a trust from The Creator for me to share this with others.

From what I understand the concept of Taqleed came within the last hundred years from a scholar who died just seven years ago. There is absolutely nothing in The Qur'an or The Sunneh which supports Taqleed. Whenever I discuss Taqleed to those on "Facebook" they mention this scholar and what he had written. They, themselves, do not give evidence from The Qur'an and The Sunneh. Yet, I have... time after time have given evidence from The Qur'an and The Sunneh that says that "Taqleed" is not part of Islam. (The evidence that I gave is that which is at the very beginning of this post.)

When and how did I come to this position? It was during the first ten days of the month of "Dhul Hijjah" that I came to understand that Taqleed is shirk. It was just a few days before the last Eid Al-Adha. (Before this I just thought that Taqleed was a major source of division amongst Muslims. I did think that it is a major source of division between Muslims. Because, Taqleed, is in fact sectarianism. It encourages and insists on sectarianism. It is common for Muslims in one sect to verbally attack those of another sect. For example: the hostility between Muslims who are Sufi and Muslims who are Salafi. Individuals from both groups are verbally attacking the other group for being misguided. Each group is insisting that it is The Right Group and that all the rest will be in The Hell-Fire. This is exactly what Allah, Himself, is describing in Sura Rum of The Qur'an:"...those who split up their religion and become sects-each party rejoicing in that which is with itself.") As I said it wasn't until a few days before last Eid Al- Adha that I was aware of Taqleed being shirk.


What were the circumstances under which I came to understand this? It was the first
ten days of "Dhul Hijjah". In Islam,these ten days are very special. Muslims are encouraged to do extra acts of worship, as well as, doing extra good deeds. I, myself, was fasting all of the ten days and I was also reciting The Qur'an. (It is common knowledge amongst Muslims that if we have a problem we can randomly open up The Qur'an and start reading. Through this we can get an answer to our problem. Also, it is common knowledge amongst Muslims that The Qur'an(in its original Arabic)is The Words of The God. Therefore, if we recite (read)The Qur'an from beginning to end time after time we will start learning more and more about Islam. We will start having lessons directly from The God, Himself, through The Qur'an) I have been reciting (reading) The Qur'an from beginning to end time after time for more than three years. Through the reading of The Qur'an I came to understand that there are different levels of Mumineen ( Believers)- not just one. It was through the reading of The Qur'an that I came to understand that Taqleed is Shirk.It was during the first ten days of Dhul Hijja that I read Sura Rum in The Qur'an and came to understand that Allah was talking about Taqleed in Sura Rum of The Qur'an.

It was many months later-in the beginning of March 2010-that I realized that it is a trust from The God for me to share this knowledge.

Taqleed is against The Qur'an. There is an aya in The Qur'an which says;
'This day I have perfected your religion for you completed My favour upon you and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.' (5:3)

The God, Himself, knows what His Guidance is- and He knows best when it is whole/completed. When something is whole, absolutely nothing more is needed. The God knows everything. He knows: the past, the present, and the future. He knows what is needed and what will be needed in the future. Yet, there are some Muslims who think that they know better than The God about what is needed. There are some Muslims who think that they know better than The God about what will be needed. There are some Muslims who think that they know better than The God about His own Guidance. The Muslims who are involved in Taqleed are such Muslims. Those Muslim scholars who advocate Taqleed are such Muslims.

Taqleed is against The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Prophet Muhammad said; 'Verily, I have left you The Book of Allah and The Sunneh
(Traditions) of His Messenger which if you hold fast you shall never go astray'

'...if you hold fast you shall never go astray'.

If you hold fast to what? If you hold fast to The Book of Allah and The Sunneh ( Traditions) of His Messenger '...you shall never go astray'.

How can it be more clear than this? We Muslims have only One Lord, Allah. We have
only one leader Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). To follow anyone else is not only unnecessary- but it is , in fact, outside of Allah's Guidance- it is outside of The Islamic Faith.

"...and be not ye among those who join gods with Allah-those who split up their religion and become sects- each party rejoicing in that which is with itself." (Qur'an; Sura Rum (The Romans); ayat 31-32)

In these two aya is not The God saying that Taqleed is Shirk?

"...those who split up their religion and become sects- each party rejoicing in that which is with itself"

Is this not a clear and precise description of Taqleed?

As I said before, it was many months after I found out that Taqleed is Shirk that I realized that I needed to share this knowledge with others. It was months after I learned about Taqleed being Shirk that I realized that it is a very important trust from Allah for me to share this knowledge with others.

I am very much aware of the fact that some will react in a very negative way to this knowledge. But, this is a very important trust from The God. It is a trust in which I must...MUST.. fulfill.


Allah knows best.

What is Fard?

By Sheila Quinn

An English translation of what Allah says in the Qur'an is :

"...so fear not mankind, but fear me. And barter not my revelations for a little gain. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed such are disbelievers." (Maida: 44)
"Nor were the People of the Scripture divided until after the clear proof came unto them. And they were ordered naught else than to serve Allah, keeping religion pure for Him, as men by nature upright, and to establish worship and to pay the poor-due. That is true religion." (Bayyinah:4-5)

The Qur'an and The Sunneh of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)is Islam. Together they make up the Guidance of Allah. It is upon this basis that the Islamic Nation exists.
We do not make things: haram ( forbidden), halal(lawful), or fard (obligatory). It is Allah- and only Allah-who determines such things. It is upon the basis of both the Qur'an and the Sunneh... that we know what Allah has determined.
In Islam, there are things which are black or white... but there is also other colors of the rainbow which is a part of Islam. There are things which are: encouraged, disliked, and neutral ( neither good nor bad).
There is much ignorance of Islam amongst Muslims... even some knowledgeable practitioners of Islam are ignorant of some things. Without being aware of this, some such practitioners confuse: encouraged with fard, and disliked with haram. It is this confusion which is a major source of: division, misunderstanding, and perhaps some hostility between Muslims. For example: we are encouraged to do Taraweah prayers (special extra night prayers during the month of Ramadan): we are encouraged to memorize the Qur'an and to encourage our children to memorize the Qur'an; and it is disliked for us to delay making Salat (prayer) until the last part of the period for Salat.
Yet there are some practitioners who would speak and behave as if these things are obligatory/haram. Such an attitude is not only wrong and divisive... it could easily discourage others from practicing the faith.