The Nature of Idols - Continued - Part 6
You go on to say that the Temple Mount
“has been under the care of the Waqf, or Islamic endowment.
The Waqf is a trust for Muslims now and in the future, and one
would be hard pressed to find an honest scholar that would accept
the idea of giving up anything from an endowment to assist in
the disobedience to Allah.”
Well, I guess if one is to use your measuring rod, I must neither
be a scholar nor honest, because I do not see anything wrong with
permitting the Jewish people to regain control of the Temple Mount
in exchange for giving back other lands to the Palestinians and
restoring their sovereignty as a people. In fact, I might even go
one step further.
You say that the Temple Mount is a trust which is being kept for
Muslims -- both now and in the future. You go on to say that
“in fact, in Islamic law, it is forbidden to give lands or monies
to help any other religion based on that principle” – the principle
here, according to you, being one of rewarding a people for their
alleged disobedience.
However, if the Jews were to return stolen land and sovereignty to
the Palestinians they would not be guilty of disobedience but,
instead, they would be acting in accordance with the requirements
of Divine justice. Moreover, Judaism – despite its name – is, in its essence
not really a Deen that is other than Islam, whatever the differences
of exoteric particulars may be – so nothing would be given to people
who were not of the Book and who were not part of the Prophetic
tradition.
In addition, I believe a case can be made for the fact that you cannot
hold in trust that which did not belong to you originally. For example,
if I illicitly take property from an orphan, and, then, declare a trust
consisting of the money and property I have usurped from the orphans,
this would be impermissible according to principles of jurisprudence
which are rooted in the Qur'an.
Originally, Muslims did not own the Temple Mount. Initially it belonged
to the Jewish people, and, then, was taken from them and, subsequently,
transferred to a succession of rulers who claimed the land as their own.
If the Palestinians – along with much, if not all, of the Muslim world –
believe that the requirement of justice demands that lands and sovereignty
be restored to the Palestinians, then, surely, it follows that land which
was illicitly taken from the Jewish people, and, then transferred from
ruler to ruler down through the ages, should also be restored to the
original owners of that land. One cannot be committed to the first
application of justice without also being committed to the second
application of justice.
You next claim:
“Muslims cannot look at it through relativism as you have
– i.e. the Temple is important to Jews and the Dome of the Rock is
not too important to Muslims – because every Muslim must believe
in the Word of Allah in the Koran, and in this case that Judaism has
been abrogated by Allah Himself. For myself and many, many Muslims,
your proposal is untenable.”
I do not believe I am looking at the Temple Mount issue in a relativistic
manner, nor have I said that the Temple Mount is unimportant to
Muslims. And, contrary to what you assert, I propose what I do because
I do believe in the Qur'an and that Muhammad (peace be upon him)
is the nabi and rasul of Allah.
The essence of Judaism has not been abrogated. Rather, the teachings
of the Jewish Prophets and the Torah have been added to, completed,
and brought to perfection through the Qur'an and the Prophetic mission
of Muhammad (peace be upon him). We are talking about a transformed
continuation of what had been, not a wholesale rejection of the teachings,
values, beliefs, and practices of the Jewish faith.
The Torah was not abrogated but is, in fact, contained in the Qur'an.
The teachings of Moses and Aaron (peace be upon them) have not
been abrogated but they have been given life through the Qur'an.
Original teachings, principles, beliefs, and values have been confirmed,
added to, as well as modulated in this way and that way. However, nothing
of essence has been abrogated. Nowhere has Allah said in the Qur'an that
I abrogate the Torah or the teachings of Moses (peace be upon him).
Nowhere does Allah say that Jews must become Muslim, but, instead,
that they are among the believers who if they practice the Deen of
truth and do good deeds will be among those, God willing, who will
have nothing to fear and will not grieve.
Allah does say, as you have pointed out and as I have previously discussed,
that only Islam will be accepted as a Deen from humankind. However,
you seem to be caught up in a sort of inverse nominalist trap in which if
different things are labeled differently, then, somehow both of the labels
can't give expression to a common underlying and essential set of truths.
You go on to ask and answer:
“Moreover, why even bother? The majority of Jews – and certainly those
of the orthodox – believe that the Messiah will come and take care of the
Temple business. Muslims too believe that the same Messiah will come and
straighten out all the problems. This has really been the unspoken agreement
that we have – wait for the Messiah. It is the voices of radicalism, from Jews
and Christians, which are really enflaming the issue.”
And, of course, Muslims have nothing to do with any of the problems
of the world. It is always someone else who is the troublemaker.
The issue is really quite simple. If Muslims will give back what does
not belong to them, then, perhaps, the Jewish people will be
encouraged to give back what does not really belong to them.
Yes, God willing, when the Messiah comes, a lot of problems may
be sorted out. However, until that time arrives, we all have moral
responsibilities and duties of care to observe.
One can, of course, adopt a point of view which says: let the Messiah sort
things out, but in the meantime let us all make one another's life hell
and be as mean, hateful, destructive, and malignant as we can be. Or,
perhaps, one can try to live, now, in accordance with what Islam actually
demands of us all and, with God's help, take a few of the burdens from the
shoulders of the Messiah before he arrives.
Next, you state:
“We obviously live in a world where we need signs and symbols to
help us – the Koran is the clearest proof of this. The Dome of the Rock
has its sign and secrets to help you to draw closer to Allah, if only you
know how to read them.”
It has been said that in prostration is the mi'raj of a believer. The
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prostrated on the
Temple Mount, and, then, came the ascension in which he left the
world behind -- these are some of the secrets of the Temple Mount for
those who have eyes with which to see and ears with which to hear.
The lines of poetry from Shabistari with which I ended the earlier
podcast go directly to the point of some of the essential secrets of the
Temple Mount, so I will give those lines again:
Dream not of lights,
Of marvels, of miracles
For your miracles are contained
In worshiping the Truth;
All else is pride, conceit,
And illusion of existence.
You go on to say:
“Just as it is important to have a good and proper shaykh and
good friends on the path to Allah, sacred places, whether
empty deserts as the Plain of Arafat or decorated buildings as the
Dome of the Rock, are also important for any spiritual journey
– they are all mubarak. Visiting sacred places and saintly people
can open your heart more than can sometimes a book or a dhikr.
All these things – places, people, journeys, books, litanies, dhikrs,
buildings – all these things open the gates of the heart to Allah if
only you possess the knowledge to unlock it.”
What good are “all these things – places, people, journeys, books, litanies,
dhikrs, buildings – all these things “which supposedly “open the
gates of the heart to Allah”, if they cannot assist us to treat other human
beings humanely and enable us to interact with them justly? The Qur'an
says:
“O ye who believe! Be steadfast witnesses for Allah in equity and let
not hatred of any people seduce you so that you do not deal justly
(with them). Deal justly, that is nearer to your duty. Observe
Your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is informed of what you do.”
[Qur'an 5: 8]
Finally, at one point in your e-mail, you claim:
“So, I would argue that pawning the Dome of the Rock off
for peace and land will not be a cure for your diagnosis of
idolatry.”
The foregoing actually misconstrues my point. I did not say that
exchanging the Dome of the Rock or Temple Mount was the cure for
idolatry. I said that idolatry, on both sides, is what prevents people
from doing what is right in relation to the Temple Mount and
the Palestinian people … and, thus, to an extent, I end where I
began in the original podcast and to which you responded via
your e-mail to me.
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