http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2009/nov/27/islam-science-ghazali….. Here are two competing views presented in the above article: i)...al-Ghazali extended this reasoning to other familiar situations: "Water does not quench thirst, bread does not satisfy hunger and medicine does not cure illness" – it is always God who mediates what we think is cause and effect .ii) Averroes (Ibn Rushd) argued that God creates things with innate qualities so that water, bread and medicine do have effects via their intrinsic nature… Based on what we have studied so far: God creates things with innate nature but He can suspend it at will. There was also this statement in the article: Shia Islam has retained a strongly rationalist, or Mutazilite, and philosophical character.Infallibility of imams does not strike me as rational thought. Please mention your thoughts on the above article?
Here are a few thoughts:
1. We don’t change our opinion unless we’re sure that the opinion held previously by the predecessors has been proven wrong beyond any doubt. If not, we don’t.
2. There can be nothing contrary to the reality in the Qur'an.
3. The author should provide proof that is qati' for his claims; where he cannot, he should stay with the senior scholars on the parts of this issue that is problematic.
4. In any case, the theory of evolution is not the only thing the author has wavered on.
The author, Usama Hasan, comes from a family of scholarship. His father is one of the leading scholars in the UK and a graduate from the first batch of students to study in Madeenah, 50 years ago. His grandfather was also a scholar from Pakistan who actually taught at the university in Madeenah.
However, nobody is safe from falling into misguidance no matter what scholarly background they come from, unless Allah protects them. And Usama Hasan is a clear example of this. He started deviating several years ago until it lead him to fall into clear cut kufr and disbelief.
The latest statement of his that caused uproar in the Muslim community of London was his belief that Adam had parents who were descendants of apes (a modified version of the evolution theory). You can see the event that took place where he mentioned this and the subsequent follow up at the following links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgR-xfJbQcQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP2ReBIAR_A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJm-FCCjdbg
This lead to his expulsion from the Masjid of his father in London. See:
http://www.islamicawakening.com/viewarticle.php?articleID=1500
I've also attached a document that was distributed in London containing charges of kufr against Usama Hasan.
Charges of Kufr against Usama Hasan making his Imamate of any mosque untenable
1) Belief in evolution of man from apes
In his article in the guardian online[1] he writes in defense of evolution and further ridicules the Muslim belief on the origin of man by saying, “One problem is that many Muslims retain the simple picture that God created Adam from clay, much as a potter makes a statue, and then breathed into the lifeless statue and lo! It became a living human. This is a children's madrasa-level understanding”. When explicitly questioned: “You believe that Adam's parents may have been apes”, he replied, “Sayyidina Adam a.s. Yes, this is a matter of science etc. I will write a fuller paper on Islam and Darwinism later iA”.[2]
Islamic Ruling on Darwinism and Evolution:
Ibn Uthaymin was asked about a teacher at school who believes in and promotes Darwinism, to which he replies: “For this man to admit that he is a descendant from apes, then that we readily accept. But for him to claim this for others, then this is simply unacceptable. The belief that the origin of man was the apes then this is disbelief in Allah because it involves rejecting the Quran and what the Muslims have agreed upon, nay, what the humanity has agreed upon, because it is now clear that this view is utterly false devoid of any truth. As far as this person’s teaching position in the school is concerned then it is not permissible for him to remain a school teacher. It is incumbent upon the headmaster to refer his case to his superiors so that he could be kept away from education. It is also obligatory to monitor him outside the school to make sure that he does not mislead others. But if he returns to the truth, then this is what is sought of him. That would be merciful of Allah to him and others. Otherwise, he must be dealt with in order to prevent his harm through any means, even if it be execution.” The Questioner asked: “Is it permissible for him to be executed in this situation?” Ibn Uthaymin, “If he cannot be stopped except by this method, and he further becomes an active caller to this atheism and disbelief then it is obligatory to execute him because he is an apostate. And apostate must be executed.”[3] The kufr and apostasy of the one who holds such beliefs is a matter of consensus amongst all the scholars of Islam.
2) Denial of the obligation of Hijab
On 28th August 2007 Usama Hasan appeared on BBC HardTalk with Jonathan Charles and denied the obligation of Hijab and insisted that it should be open for debate.[4] Later, in his own defense, he wrote in a public email, “Whether you like it or not, millions of devout Muslim women who are pious, do their salat, siyam, charity and much else, follow what I call the "rational" view based on holistic maqasid that the Qur'an tells them to dress modestly. E.g. the ayah mentioning the headscarf tells them to cover their bosoms, not their heads.” When asked “You have made it halal for women to uncover their heads”, he replied: “In certain contexts, yes. Many muftis have. The issue of 'urf in dress is badly neglected, which is why we still have young men and women wandering around dressed like clowns and ninjas (like we used to), annoying the ppl we're supposed to dawah and increasing bnp support.”[5]
Islamic Ruling on denying the obligation of Hijab:
Shaykh Salih al-Munajjid writes about those who deny the obligation of Hijab (covering the head): “But if what is meant by hijab is covering the head, then there is no difference of opinion among the scholars concerning the fact that it is obligatory. His rejection of both types (hijab and niqab), and his making fun of them, is apostasy from Islam, because even though covering the face is not obligatory according to some scholars, they are unanimously agreed that it is prescribed in Islam and that it is part of the religion of Allah, so denying it and making fun of it is kufr which puts one beyond the pale of Islam.”[6]
3) Belief in secularism
Usama Hasan spoke at the launch of two separate secular initiatives, 1) the infamous Quilliam Foundation (headed by Ed Husain and Majid Nawaz) and 2) British Muslim for Secular Democracy. While at the first launch he championed what he called ‘Islamic-Secularism’, at the second launch he clearly stated, “Muslims have no problem with political secularism. But we reject a metaphysical secularism that says or pretends that God does not exist”[7] In other words, his Islam has no problems with doing away with the Islamic laws pertaining to marriage, divorce, inheritance, etc, so long as one believes in a God. Hence, his denial of the obligation of Hijab, the punishment for apostasy, and promotion of a new ‘modernised’ marriage contract which neither requires a Wali nor witnesses as stipulated by Islam – the very marriage contract which was referred to, by Sh Haytham al-Haddad, as the ‘Zina contract’.
Islamic Ruling on Secularism and Secularists:
Shaykh Salih al-Fawzan says, “Adherence to philosophies of disbelief, such as communism,secularism, capitalism and other such philosophies of disbelief is apostasy from the religion of Islam. If an adherent to these philosophies also claims to be a Muslim, then this is from major hypocrisy. This is because the hypocrites outwardly attribute themselves to Islam, while inwardly they are disbelievers.”[8]
4) Mocking various well-known aspects of Islamic beliefs and practices
Usama Hasan does not stop with expressing his disbelief in the Quranic version of the origin of man, and the obligation of Hijab, but further goes on to mock these two aspects, which are known to be from Islam by necessity. He mocks those who believe in the Quranic version of Adam (AS) as those having ‘madrasa-level understanding’. He also refers to brothers who choose to grow a beard and sisters who choose to wear a Hijab and Niqab as ‘ninjas and clowns’ (both quotations mentioned above).
Islamic Ruling on mocking any established aspect of religion:
Shaykh Ibn Baz said, “The scholars of Islam in all times and places have agreed on the disbelief of the one who mocks Allah, His Messenger, His Book, or anything from the religion. They also agreed that anyone who makes mockery of any of this, while being a Muslim, he becomes a disbeliever and an apostate by doing so, and it becomes incumbent to execute him, due to the saying of the Prophet SAW: Execute the one who changes his religion.”[9]
Conclusion
While some may disagree with excommunication of Usama Hasan (supported by the Quran and the Sunnah, and the four Sunni schools), it remains an undeniable fact that he stands accused of disbelief on all the aforementioned counts which make his Imamate of the mosque untenable. Prayers offered behind him are considered null and void, and they must be repeated, knowing that the prayers will be the first thing we will be asked about on the Last Day. Usama Hasan’s contemptuous attitude towards Masjid al-Tawheed congregation, by considering them descendants of apes, ninjas and clowns, calls for the congregation to be more vocal and proactive in taking the authority of the mosque back from Usama and those who back him, for a mosque is a house of Allah, and a community centre, and not a family business.
References:
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/sep/11/religion.darwinbicentenary
[2] In an email sent to Abjadiyya mailing list on Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 10:12 AM
[3] Important word of caution for the readers: The fatwa which is found in fatawa nur ‘ala al-darb p. 94 is cited for information purposes only. Execution of punishments on criminals is solely the responsibility of a Muslim ruler who is implementing the Sharia in a Muslim country. Muslims are not allowed to execute anyone without such authority, and as such are discouraged from entertaining any such thoughts about the person concerned.
[4] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6970298.stm
[5] In an email sent to Abjadiyya mailing list on Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 10:12 AM
[6] http://www.islam-qa.com/en/ref/115156
[7] http://forums.islamicawakening.com/f17/message-usama-hasan-12263/
[8] ‘Aqidat al-Tawheed, al-Fasl al-Thamin
[9] Majmu’ Fatawa Ibn Baz 6/253. Please also refer to our very important word of caution in footnote #3
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