Sayeed Siddiqui
Allah tests Muslims with both external and internal tribulations. During the time of the Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him), due to the blessing of his presence and the caliber of the Sahaba, there were no internal threats except for the hypocrites. Shortly after his passing, during the rule of Uthman, internal dissension plagued the Ummah, and this has continued until the present day. The Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) warned us of these fitnas, which can be political, ideological, or both. In our times, there are four major ideological threats which misguide Muslims.
The first is Shi’ism: the belief that the Sahaba committed great wrongdoing in denying Sayyiduna Ali’s right to succeed the Prophet (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). It destroys our ability to be confident in our religion, because the oral tradition goes through the Sahaba. The only way we can know the Sunnah is through this oral tradition, but the Shi’a have replaced this with claims of continuous revelation to the imams, effectively removing and adding to the Shari’ah. Because they believe in political authority solely belonging to the imams, as opposed to Sunnis who believe that political authority is justified even in less-than-ideal rulers, the Shi’a have continuously caused political instability throughout history. From the times of the Fatimids, who would support the Crusaders, and the Hashashin, who would assassinate Muslim leaders; to the Safavids, who beleaguered the Ottomans, they have assisted the enemies of Islam against Sunnis. Today, Iran strives to carve out its own geopolitical sphere of influence, and in the academy, Ismailis back the narratives of Western orientalists.
Many Muslims believe that traditional Islam and its representatives have held Muslim society back from advancement, through dogmatism and inflexibility in the face of technological and social revolution. They believe that society has advanced much, and Islam must be reformed to participate in that advancement. The primary tools they use to try to fit Islam into this narrative is rejection of Sunnah, and a mentality of “the ends justify the means”, to promote change in the foundations of religion. Many use the concept of maqasid, the higher objectives of Islamic law, to argue that Islamic laws no longer meet the objectives and thus must be changed. The solution is to show these Muslims the value and accomplishments of our tradition, and how modern society has abjectly failed in many respects.
Some reject much more. Postmodernism is the rejection of all grand narratives and ideologies in favor of skepticism and eclecticism. Since religions and even non-religious ideologies offer concrete narratives, postmodernism opposes them all. This leads to the loss of meaning in modern society: when humans do not know where they came from or where they are going, nor have any hope for discovering the truth, they are totally lost. Though at first, postmodernists took pride in being “above the fray” and having come to realizations that no one in history previously did, in our times it has led to apathy and listlessness. Without religion, people are searching for meaning, and many are finding it in extreme political ideologies or niche entertainment and subcultures. Since they are not based on the fitra and do not provide ethical guidance or wisdom, they lead to conflict, burnout, and isolation. Here, there is an opportunity for Islam to reach many.
Lastly, hedonism is the belief that human pleasure is the only good. Many people orient their lives around pleasure-seeking alone. Although this is primarily a spiritual disease rather than intellectual, various intellectual developments have spurred the growth of this attitude. Ontological materialism, the belief that only physical matter exists, denies the value of anything which cannot be directly experienced. Further, the stranglehold of capitalism over modern society engenders consumerism, the prioritization of pursuing tangible goods and experiences as the goal of individuals. Ever-relevant, the Quran calls: “Have you seen the one who takes his desires as his god?” We must show the world how these are modern-day idols, and, as the Prophets Ibrahim and Muhammad (Allah’s peace and blessings be upon them) did in their time, must now be smashed.
