[Reader-list] Fw: Fwd: Indian Muslims

[inder salim]

Dear Rajendra ji

i am fully aware what happens when we quote.    but in culture, and in
any language, we popularly lift verses or phrases and
quote.....shakespeare and all, to enhance our expressions irrespective
of the context in which that line was said in the book by a character.
That does not amount to character assisination of the author.  I have
no special commitment not to find loopholes in the text by a
particular author....

having said that, i still played safe, with emphases on the person (
Late Mr. Kanshi Ram ji ) who often quoted this along with other such
things. i did't say that this thinking is central to the great poet.
In fact i am not a student of Hindi literature, so i can go deep into
the subject of  TulsiDass, but the fact remains that we often lift
things from what is popular.

Dalit issue is not a recent one, and oppression of women, merciless
beating of theives  too is not also new, but what is painful that that
past is still breathing in the present. So this was not to malign the
author, but to intensify the debate which has a relevance in the
present social/cultural political system. Now we can not say BSP is
simply out of place to quote such things.  although we know that dont
quote nowadays, but we are free to quote while talking politics, since
 we keeps on referring this or that, which obviously distorts, but
that is how we hope we might find a way out this quagmire.

warmly
is

On Wed, Oct 22, 2008 at 2:22 PM, rajendra bhat
<raja_starkglass at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Inder salim ji,
>
>  this you may find good read. By the wat your quote of Tulasidas was
> incorrect when attributed to author. Hope you have read the author and
> understood the contents.
> ----- Forwarded Message ----
> From: Rajen Uppinangadi <rajen882uppinangadi at gmail.com>
> To: raja_starkglass at yahoo.com
> Sent: Wednesday, 22 October, 2008 1:09:15 PM
> Subject: Fwd: Indian Muslims
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Indian Muslims Blog <editor at indianmuslims.in>
> Date: Oct 22, 2008 7:12 AM
> Subject: Indian Muslims
> To: rajen882uppinangadi at gmail..com
>
> Indian Muslims
>
> Ghalib: Ode to Benaras
>
> Posted: 21 Oct 2008 04:06 PM CDT
>
> The cancer of communalism and bigotry in South Asia continues to haunt us.
> These days, the Muslims are once again a subject of intense, though not
> always fair, scrutiny in India: their loyalties are being questioned and
> many are potential terrorists if not already abettors of violence. The post
> 9/11 world has contributed to the demonising of the Muslim identity and
> history to surreal heights.
>
> The recent bomb blasts in Delhi have placed the communal discourse on the
> front pages. The invaders and violent Muslims have done it again. A friend
> called me from Delhi and narrated the profiling that takes place at
> marketplaces and how the gulf between different communities is widening.
>
> There was a time, not in the ancient past, when in Delhi the greatest of
> Urdu poets Mirza Ghalib (1796-1869) lived in an age when Hindus and Muslims
> shared common saints, dargahs and even popular gods and goddesses. Written
> accounts of this age – the mid to late 19th century – relate how intimate
> co-exitence of "Mussalmans" and "Hindoos" had led to a relative amalgamation
> of customs among the common people. And poets like Ghalib could see the
> commonalities of spiritual streams:
>
> In the Kaaba I will play the shankh (conch shell)
>
> In the temple I have draped the ahraam (Muslim robe)
>
> The verse above delineates the Sufi concept of fana (or dissolution of the
> self in divine reality) and the unity articulated by the ancient Indian
> texts such as the Vedanta. Sufis were to elaborate this as the
> wahdat-al-wajood (Unity of Being) philosophy.
>
> Ghalib's vision of a secular man and society were therefore largely shaped
> by the crystallisation of a centuries' long evolution of co-existence, of a
> culture that was inclusive and beyond the rigidities imposed by clergies.
> When still in his teens, Ghalib moved to Delhi from Agra. A proud descendant
> of Turkish ancestors, Ghalib was a phenomenal mind and a poet gifted with
> boundless imagination. Through his life he suffered financial insecurities
> that made him look for patronage first at the Mughal Court and later from
> the British Government. However, his poetic imagination blossomed and his
> mastery over the craft and soul of Urdu ghazal is universally acknowledged.
>
> Persian is no longer an accessible language for most readers in India and
> Pakistan. Ghalib was proud of his Persian verse. This is why the discovery
> of a lesser known Persian mathnavi (a long rhymed poem), Chiragh-e-Dair (the
> temple lamp), has left me amazed at the range of his vision and the
> integrity of his intellect. Ghalib's modern Indian biographer, Pavan Varma,
> has produced a competent English translation of this Persian mathnavi in
> Ghalib: the Man and the Times . Translations never do justice to the
> originals, but the grandeur of Ghalib's thought process has not been lost in
> this translation.
>
> May Heaven keep the grandeur of Benaras
>
> Arbour of this meadow of joy;
>
> For oft returning souls - their journey's end.
>
> In this weary Temple land of the world,
>
> Safe from the whirlwind of Time,
>
> Benaras is forever Spring.
>
> This poem was written when Ghalib broke his journey to Calcutta at Benaras.
> Benaras, or Varanasi, is a revered site in Hinduism, believed to be where
> time originated. Varanasi is also sacred in the Buddhist scriptures, as well
> as in the great Hindu epic of Mahabharata . Dotted with ancient temples and
> ghats , the embankments along the river Ganges have attracted millions of
> pilgrims for centuries. Ghalib's journey to Calcutta was made with the
> intent to petition the British authorities for the resumption of his royal
> pension, which had ended with the Mughal rule in India. Ghalib resided in
> Benaras for a month or so and imbibedthe temporal and spiritual beauties of
> this ancient city.
>
> The masnavi in a symbolic way cites Kashi as Kaabaa-e-Hindustan, something
> that clerics in India and Pakistan would not tolerate in the 21st century.
>
> The Kaaba of Hind;
>
> This conch blowers dell;
>
> Its icons and idols are made of the Light,
>
> That once flashed on Mount Sinai.
>
> These radiant idolations naids,
>
> Set the pious Brahmins afire, when their faces glow
>
> Like moving lamps…on the Ganges banks.
>
> It is incredible that a Muslim poet who prided himself on his Turkic
> ancestry and invoked the "warrior" past in his day-to-day conversation
> (through his letters) could compare the divine light at Mount Sinai to the
> lamps at Benaras. This is a poem of extraordinary beauty, of cultural grace
> that romanticises Ganga (Ganges River), Kashi (another name for Benaras) and
> their magnificence through a unique set of images:
>
> Morning and Moonrise,
>
> My lady Kashi,
>
> Picks up the Ganga mirror
>
> To see her gracious beauty,
>
> Glimmer and shine.
>
> Later in the mathnavi, the poet questions a "pristine seer" who knows the
> "secrets" of whirling time: "Sir, you will perceive/ That goodness and
> faith, fidelity and love/Have all departed from the sorry land…/Brother
> fights brother./Unity and federation are undermined./ Despite these ominous
> signs/ Why has doomsday not come?"
>
> The seer rather poignantly points towards Kashi and smiling gently tells the
> restive poet that the "Architect," is fond of Kashi's edifice that is the
> source of all colour in life; and He would not like it to "perish and fall."
> And the pride of Benaras soars to an eminence, "untouched by the wings of
> thought." This was not the first or the last poem to be inspired by the
> ambiance of Benaras but for a Muslim poet to compose it was phenomenal. I
> wonder if today such lyricism and cultural inclusiveness is even remotely
> achievable by any poet of the subcontinent.
>
> Admittedly Ghalib's unconventional views were not fully shared by many
> Muslims. However, if there was lack of tolerance, it would have been
> impossible for Ghalib to loudly proclaim his views and retain the immense
> following in Delhi and outside.
>
> Pavan Varma, the translator and biographer, further tells us: "In a time of
> fundamental discordance with his views, it may not have been possible for a
> Hindu, Munshi Hargopal Tufta to become Ghalib's foremost Shagird [pupil] and
> closest friend. Not would it have been possible for Ghalib to declare
> another Hindu - Shivji Ram Brahman – to be like a son to him; or for the
> Mughal emperor of his age, Bahadur Shah Zafar, to appoint a Hindu convert to
> Christianity – Dr. Chaman Lal as his personal physician."
>
> Such times can only be imagined like the long-lost tales from a
> Never-never-land. This is an age of terror, profiling and fracturing of what
> was created by a millennium of cultural accords and understanding.
>
> And there is no Ghalib to inspire and reclaim the music of human
> coexistence.
>
> Raza Rumi is a regular writer and blogs at RazaRumi.com. This article was
> first published at The Friday Times.
>
> Photo: Banaras Ghats
>
> Shaheen Bagh Kidnapping Case: Observations And Questions
>
> Posted: 20 Oct 2008 11:30 PM CDT
>
> Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net
>
> Strange thing about the Shaheen Bagh kidnapping incident is the behavior of
> the policemen who attempted to kidnap Aamir but even stranger is the
> behavior of Indian media covering this news. In this particular case UP
> police is guilty for many unlawful acts and media by not giving the
> attention it deserves did injustice to the citizens of India.
>
> The heroes of this incident are the residents of Jamia Nagar who were stern
> but did not take law in their hands; they handed over the car and the
> captured cop to the local police, thus preventing a bad situation from
> turning ugly. But this incident provides an excellent opportunity for the
> police and journalists to redeem themselves by doing the right thing, this
> time around.
>
> It all started on the night of Oct 16th around 8pm. A black Hyundai car with
> tinted windows pulled up in Shaheen Bagh area of Jamia Nagar. According to
> eyewitnesses, they attempted to drag a Muslim youth Mohd Aamir in their
> car.. Aamir resisted and shouted for help, local residents with memories of
> arrests and encounter still fresh in their mind soon gathered around and
> asked questions to the alleged kidnappers. They claimed that they are UP
> police but refused to show any identification. None of them were in uniform
> and people later told journalists that they could smell alcohol on them.
>
> A crowd gathered and they called the area leaders to tell them about the
> situation. Leaders instead of provoking the people called the local police.
> Meanwhile under the cover of darkness and confusion, some of the
> "kidnappers" slipped away. One who was holding Aamir was in the middle of
> the crowd and was thus unable to flee. Instead of manhandling him, residents
> handed him and the car over to the Delhi Police. The concerned residents
> followed the police to the Jamia Nagar police station and did not leave
> until a complaint was filed.
>
> Delhi police contacted UP police and told the crowd that they did confirm
> that these were indeed UP cops following on some information. Electronic
> media that was present there at night completely blacked out the news but on
> Saturday some newspapers published the news of the incidents but all those
> stories became simply news of how residents resisted UP police. Journalists
> who can easily get exclusive information from unnamed sources on terrorism
> cases, it seems were simply not interested in this story.
>
> Those journalists who did attempt to cover it first asked if Aamir had a
> criminal history. In private conversations, one journalist who did say that
> it was 'unlawful act' showed no surprise saying that it was simply police
> work and that's how they operate.
>
> Remarkable thing was that none of the reports in English media asked what
> the UP cops were doing in an unmarked car with no license plate trying to
> grab a person from the street. Even if Aamir is a person with criminal
> history, shouldn't police be trying to uphold the rule of law?
>
> After the incident UP police started spinning their yarn and came out with
> the story that Aamir snatched someone's chain in Noida and UP police chased
> him from there to Shaheen Bagh. Even if it is true but question still stands
> why they were on duty but without uniform and once they have crossed into
> Delhi why they did not inform police whose jurisdiction they were in.
>
> If you ask Jamia residents, and this is important, a majority believed that
> they were there to kidnap Aamir to finish him off in another fake encounter.
> It is not too difficult to imagine why residents thought like that. They are
> still fresh with the memory of the encounter that happened in their midst
> and saw two youths and one police officer dead. They can be excused for
> being in a state of heightened alert. But what is remarkable is that even
> with that fresh memory and here a suspicious gang of people claiming to be
> police and trying to kidnap a Muslim youth but still they did not do
> anything to break the law.
>
> They did break windshields of the car but other than that they never did
> cross the line of decency or law. They were well within the democratic right
> to hold the suspicious person claiming to be UP police but no identification
> to prove it.. Responsibly they called their leaders and local police and
> handed over the car and the cop to them.
>
> Delhi police registered the complaint of Aamir regarding attempted
> kidnapping on him. Jamia Nagar police station was full of residents of the
> area but there was no shouting or speeches to emotionally charge the people
> to take some drastic action. They respectfully listened to the police and
> put their case in front of them.
>
> Those who spoke to TwoCircles.net's Mumtaz Alam Falahi narrated the incident
> in calm manner without getting emotional or agitated. The crowd also found a
> number of PAN cards, credit cards and different forms of IDs in the car.
>
> Among the IDs, there were three that belong to an IT company Steria.. Two of
> them are identical with same name, number, and photo but the third one
> though has same name as the other two, has different number and more
> importantly, a different photo. Steria confirmed to TwoCircles.net that no
> one with that name works in that company. What was the need for UP cops to
> move around with fake IDs, do they carry some extra fake IDs with them as
> part of their job or was it some sort of mission they were on that required
> those fake IDs?
>
> So, again even if one believes UP police that they were indeed chasing Aamir
> from Noida or if we put our faith in the stories published by some
> newspapers that Aamir was a criminal still that doesn't explain what UP
> police was doing in unmarked car without license plate, outside their
> jurisdiction and with fake IDs.
>
> UP police need to inform who were the people inside that car that night and
> who are the people whose IDs were found in the car. There were three PAN
> cards in the car belonging to Jitendra Chopra s/o Om Prakash, Yogesh Pal
> Singh s/o Vishnu Pal Singh and Paiti Singh d/o Narendara Singh. A bank card
> in the name of Priti Singh (probably the PAN card has incorrect name) and
> debit card of Yogesh Pal Singh. Another debit card in the name of Prashad
> Jitendra and three fake IDs in the name of Harinder Singh issued by IT
> company Steria.
>
> Other than IDs, a search of the car revealed that car belonged to one Vinit
> Sharma resident of H. No. 512 Rajendra Park, Gurgaon. According to the
> document found in it the car was delivered on May 5th, 2008. So it is fairly
> new car and not registered in any government agency's name. What were these
> policemen doing in a private car and according to UP police on an official
> business? Who will explain UP policemen in a Haryana car trying to kidnap a
> person in Delhi?
>
> Investigation should also be done on who is the owner of Nokia mobile phone
> (number 9891372932) and whose name SIM card of Tata Indicom (number
> A0000006394485 D-59C) is registered? This will reveal identity of the people
> in the car. Only a thorough interrogation of each individual will reveal the
> true nature of their mission that Thursday night.
>
> Residents found a license plate in the trunk of the car which shows the
> number DL1T W 1590. License plate looks brand new and unused; no marking to
> indicate it was ever screwed on any car.
>
> Journalists, who want to do real investigative work and not depend on police
> handout and un-named sources for leaks have enough material to start their
> investigation. Delhi police who has lost credibility in the Batla House
> encounter case have now a perfect opportunity to regain the confidence of
> the public by doing an honest investigation. This should be an easy task for
> them since it affects none of them and all fault in this case lies with UP
> police. Residents of Jamia Nagar have show exemplary citizenship by not
> taking law in their hand, respecting the police and the law and doing
> everything by the book. Now, it is the time of journalists and the police to
> respect the ethics of their profession and regain the confidence and respect
> of the people.
>
> Taqlidi Versus Ijtihadi Approaches
>
> Posted: 20 Oct 2008 11:04 PM CDT
>
> This is a translation of a portion done by Yoginder Sikand from a chapter
> titled Taqlid Aur Ijtihad in Maulana Wahiduddin Khan's book Din-o-Shariat:
> Din-e Islam Ka Ek Fikri Muta'ala [Goodword Books, New Delhi, 2003,
> pp.204-214].
>
> Human minds can be categorised into two types: taqlidi (stagnant and
> imitative of past precedent) and ijtihadi (dynamic and creative). The former
> denotes closed mindedness; the latter is its opposite, open mindedness. The
> taqlidi mind attains a certain level and then stagnates, while the ijtihadi
> mind keeps travelling ahead, stopping only at death.
>
> The difference between the taqlidi and the ijtihadi mindsets can be
> illustrated with the help of an example. Shakespeare was a famous English
> writer, and so was George Bernard Shaw, who was born some two hundred and
> fifty years after the former's death. Shaw's contribution to English
> literature was less than that of Shakespeare, and he himself admitted this
> when he said, 'I am smaller in stature than Shakespeare, but I stand upon
> his shoulders'. This is an example of an ijtihadi way of thinking, and a
> society characterised by such persons constantly progresses in terms of
> thought and intellect. Each new generation in such a society builds on the
> contributions of its predecessors, adds to it and then transmits its legacy
> to the generations that come after it.
>
> But contemporary Muslim societies present a completely different picture. In
> modern times, their intellectual development has almost come to a halt. This
> is because they have developed a taqlidi, as opposed to ijtihadi, way of
> thinking, and consider ijtihad to be almost a sin. Many Muslims mistakenly
> believe that in terms of religious perspectives, the ulema of the past have
> accomplished all that there was to, and that today our task is simply to
> study the books that they wrote and strictly follow them.
>
> This approach is a major hurdle in the path of our intellectual progress. In
> this regard, Muslims can adopt one of two positions: to recognise, like Shaw
> did with regard to Shakespeare, that their stature might be less than that
> of the ulema of the past, but that, despite this, they are standing on the
> latter's shoulders; or to believe that because their stature is less than
> that of the ulema of the past, they must remain forever at the latter's
> feet.
>
> The first of these two approaches represents an ijtihadi way of thinking,
> one conducive to constant intellectual development. In a society
> characterised by such an approach, each new generation fully respecst those
> that went before it and, building, on the contributions of its predecessors,
> makes even more progress. In contrast, the second approach represents a
> taqlidi way of thinking, which keeps Muslim thought stagnant, preventing it
> from moving in the direction of constantly progressing stages of knowledge
> and understanding that Islam stands for. It also causes Muslims to fall
> behind other communities in the intellectual field, killing their
> intellectual faculties.
>
> Let me elaborate on this point with the help of some Hadith reports.
>
> Respect for Humanity
>
> Several narrators of Hadith have recorded that once, in Madinah, when a
> procession carrying a dead body for burial passed by the Prophet, he stood
> up on seeing it out of respect. His companions who were with him did the
> same. When it was pointed out to him that the deceased was a Jew, the
> Prophet simply remarked that the man was a human being.
>
> This incident is included in his collection of Hadith by Imam Bukhari, who
> made an immense contribution to Hadith studies by collecting over 7000
> reports that he considered authentic from several hundred thousand reports
> that had been attributed to the Prophet. He mentioned this hadith in the
> chapter on burial in his Sahih Bukhari. Now, if we were to adopt a taqlidi
> approach and consider this hadith simply as something related to burial, and
> not something more than just that, we will not be able to learn anything new
> from this hadith. We would simply parrot what the earlier commentators on
> Hadith have said about it, without being able to derive anything new from
> it. And while we respect the intellectual contributions of the earlier
> exegetes of Hadith, we cannot accept all that they have written as gospel
> truth. Many ulema of the past have commented on this hadith report, offering
> various theories for the Prophet's action, with some claiming that this
> practice [of standing up when the corpse of a non-Muslim passed by] was
> later abrogated, or that the Prophet did so because he did not want the
> corpse of a Jew to be at a level higher than that of his head, and so on.
> Now, all these explanations are based on personal speculation and lack
> adequate proof. This hadith narrative very clearly indicates that the
> Prophet stood up out of respect for the dead man [and not because of any of
> the reasons that these Hadith commentators had suggested]. In other words,
> this hadith is not simply about burial, as those with a taqlidi mindset
> would imagine. Rather, it is a fine example of respect for humankind,
> irrespective of religion, as those with an ijtihadi mindset might be able to
> discover. It could be offered as a counter to those who claim that while
> Islam preaches respect for fellow Muslims, it does not do so with regard to
> people of other faiths. This hadith, if approached in an ijtihadi way, can
> be presented as evidence of the Islamic principle that all human beings are
> worthy of respect, no matter what their religion or community.
>
> On the other hand, if this hadith is approached in a taqlidi fashion and is
> interpreted in the same way as those traditionalist commentators we have
> referred to have done, this Islamic principle will be completely occluded.
>
> Consideration for Context
>
> According to a report also contained in the Sahih Bukhari, the Prophet told
> his wife Hazrat Ayesha that when the Qureish rebuilt the Kaaba they did not
> do so on its original foundation as set by the Prophet Abraham, but, rather,
> had changed it. Hearing this, Hazrat Ayesha asked the Prophet why he could
> not restructure the Kaaba on its original foundation. To this the Prophet
> replied that the Qureish had only recently renounced infidelity for Islam,
> and it was possible that if he were to do so, it might cause them to
> agitate. He added that had there been no danger of this happening he would
> certainly have done what Hazrat Ayesha had suggested.
>
> Imam Bukhari has included this hadith in his chapter on Haj. Now, if we were
> to consider the hadith simply in this way, reflecting a taqlidi approach,
> all that we would gain from it would be some information about the glories
> of Mecca. If, on the other hand, we adopt an ijtihadi approach to view this
> hadith we can gain a new understanding of what can be called the wisdom of
> practical living. To leave the Kaaba on the foundations laid by the Qureish,
> instead of reconstructing it on the foundation laid by the Prophet Abraham,
> might appear to have been incorrect. But, despite this, the Prophet chose
> not to reconstruct it in the latter way because in the given circumstances
> this would have posed additional problems.
>
> From this practice of the Prophet we can derive the principle that in life
> when sometimes faced with certain challenges, for the moment we should look
> not at what is right and what is wrong, but, instead, at what is possible
> and what is not.
>
> Abiding by this principle is a key to succeeding in this world. In today's
> world, many of the failures of Muslims have been because they have not
> abided by this principle. They did not look at problems or challenges from
> the point of view of what is possible and what is not, but, rather,
> considered them only from the perspective of what is right and what is not.
> Accordingly, they rushed into action hoping to attain what they thought was
> ideal, although, in the given circumstances, achieving this was not actually
> possible. Many of the sacrifices that Muslims in modern times have made but
> that have not borne any fruits have been a result of abandoning this
> principle that this hadith refers to. In turn, the major cause of this
> attitude is the taqlidi mind-set.
>
> Gradualism in Establishing Islamic Commandments
>
> According to another hadith report in the Sahih Bukhari, Hazrat Ayesha once
> mentioned that many of the earliest chapters of the Quran to be revealed
> dealt with the subject of heaven and hell and that only after people's faith
> in Islam had become strong were verses dealing with issues that are
> permissible (halal) and forbidden (haram) sent down. She added that had the
> commandments forbidding the consumption of alcohol and adultery been
> revealed in the beginning, instead of later, people would have refused to
> obey them.
>
> Imam Bukhari has included this hadith in his chapter on the compilation of
> the Quran. Now if we were to view this hadith simply from the point of view
> of it being related to the compilation of the Quran, in accordance with a
> taqlidi perspective, we would not be able to derive any other knowledge from
> it. On the other hand, by engaging in ijtihad and reflecting on the wider
> implications of this hadith, going beyond its relation to the question of
> the compilation of the Quran, we can discover that this hadith suggests a
> very important Islamic principle—that with regard to the enforcement or
> establishment of the rules of the shariah a certain wisdom is required. It
> must be a gradual process, as it was in early Islamic times. Accordingly, at
> first peoples' faith was made firm so that they would be receptive to
> obeying Divine commands, and only after that were various laws introduced.
>
> If the approach of present-day Islamic leaders is examined from this way of
> understanding this particular hadith, it appears that they have failed to
> appreciate the underlying broader implications of this hadith as regards the
> process of establishing Islamic laws in society. In many Muslim countries
> today, numerous movements and groups are clamouring for the enforcement of
> the shariah, but despite their many sacrifices this has not happened, in the
> true sense of the term, anywhere. This is because the faith of the Muslims
> has weakened, and their intellectual and emotional commitment has declined,
> and this means that many of them are no longer willing to accept shariah
> laws. Despite their fervent attempts to enforce shariah laws, these Muslim
> leaders lacked the necessary ijtihadi approach and insight. They rushed into
> the political realm armed with their taqlidi baggage, and thus failed to
> achieve their objectives. They sought to impose shariah laws on society
> without first seeking to prepare society to willingly accept them, in
> contrast to what this hadith suggests is the right way.
>
> Change in Field of Activity
>
> According to another hadith report contained in the Sahih Bukhari, the
> Prophet is said to have remarked that he had been instructed to proceed to
> another town, Madinah, which people referred to as Yathrib. Imam Bukhari has
> included this hadith in his chapter on the glories of Madinah. Now, those
> with a taqlidi approach will view this hadith as providing information
> simply about the glories of Madinah, and indeed this is what most exegetes
> of Hadith in the past have done. Some have even seen this hadith as
> indicating that to refer to Madinah as Yathrib is disapproved of (makruh).
> However, the Quran itself refers to Madinah as Yathrib, and so this
> explanation of this hadith is incorrect. But, if one goes beyond the blind
> imitation of the past exegetes and ponders on this hadith from an ijtihadi
> perspective, one learns that it speaks about a very important Islamic
> principle—that of changing one's field or arena of action. This hadith
> indicates that when conditions became extremely severe and harsh for Muslims
> in Mecca, Allah commanded the Prophet to shift from there to another town,
> Yathrib, where he and his followers would find a more conducive atmosphere,
> so much so that it would become a centre of Islam and people would start
> referring to it as the 'City of the Prophet' or Madinat al-Rasul or the
> 'City of Islam' or Madinat al-Islam.
>
> Now, this principle of shifting one's arena of activity if conditions so
> demand, which this hadith refers to, is important for success in various
> matters. It indicates that if in a certain place conditions are
> inappropriate one should shift to another place, or that if conflict would
> prove useless, one should seek to achieve one's objectives through peaceful
> dialogue. Unfortunately, today's Muslim leaders, burdened by their taqlidi
> mentality, have not been able to appreciate and act on this wisdom, because
> of which they have themselves faced considerable damage and loss. For
> instance, in several countries today, violent movements are engaged in
> conflict in the name of Islam, which have resulted in Muslims having to
> suffer massive loss of life and property. Because of their taqlidi approach,
> the leaders of these movements have been unable to appreciate the underlying
> message of this hadith of the Prophet. They would have been able understand
> the import of this hadith if they had an ijithadi approach. In that case,
> and in accordance with the principle enunciated by this hadith, they would
> have abandoned the path of conflict and adopted peaceful means instead.
> Then, in accordance with the law of nature, they would have succeeded.
>
> From these above-mentioned examples I have sought to clarify the distinction
> between the taqlidi and ijtihadi approaches. The former stops at the initial
> stage and refuses to move ahead. In contrast, the latter proceeds through
> all the stages, seeking to reach the end. The first step is the end in
> itself for those who abide by taqlid, but for those inspired by and
> committed to ijtihad, it is a means, a path to the higher stages.
>
> Stages of Studying the Hadith
>
> The early scholars of Hadith made an immense contribution by collecting and
> compiling a vast number of hadith reports. This could be described as the
> first stage in the study of Hadith. In what could be called the second
> stage, the next generation of Hadith scholars prepared indices of Hadith in
> order to make the subject easier to understand. In the third stage of the
> development of the study of Hadith, the Companions of the Prophet and the
> two generations that succeeded them edited and compiled the commentaries on
> Hadith, thus preparing the necessary background material for a proper
> understanding of Hadith.
>
> The fourth stage in the study of Hadith entails studying hadith reports in
> their particular temporal context in order to appreciate their broader
> meaning and implications. I have sought to do this with regard to selected
> hadith reports that I have dealt with above. The fifth stage in the study of
> Hadith could be to prepare an extensive encyclopaedia of all genuine hadith
> reports so as to enable people to properly understand them in a style with
> which they are familiar. Of course, these stages in the study of Hadith that
> I have suggested are not categorical or final. Rather, these are offered
> simply for purposes of indicating the differences between a taqlidi and an
> ijtihadi way of understanding, and to point out the benefits of the latter.
>
> Photo:Quran
>
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