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[Article below can be skipped by non-Muslim readers.]
Parwezi Fitnah on the Retreat: Attempt to Attack Islamic Rules on Prayer Fails
First Parwezis Said: Hadith Does Not Teach Prayer
Now Parwezis Say: It Does Teach Prayer, But it Should All be in ONE Hadith.
[Why?]

by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D
To recoup:

As we have shown, the attack on Hadith was initiated by Jewish scholars. They brought up all those stories that Hadith was started in 3rd century, that Hadith contradict each other, and therefore are not acceptable.

Through Christian missionaries like Zwemer, these Jewish ideas reached weak Muslims awed by the power of the West. These people, being "Muslims," could not attack Islam openly, so they tried to attack by raising the slogan of "Quran Only." G A. Parwez claimed that Qur'an alone is protected by Allah and Hadith is not.

As I showed in my article on ZIKR, the Qur'an and the entire Islamic way of life established by Muhammad (pbuh) and transmitted through Sahaba is safeguarded by Allah. An example of this is Zikr-e-Muhammad (pbuh) in the ADHAN. The Qur'an DOES NOT order Muslims to give the Adhan. Nor does it say what should be said in the Adhan. It simply REFERS to the adhan. Obviously, the Prophet's (pbuh) work OUTSIDE the Qur'an, such as ADHAN, is protected by Allah.

IN FACT, BOTH THE QUR'AN AND THE HADITH were transmitted by the Sahaba, and the entire effort is protected by Allah. Attack on transmission of Hadith, is an indirect attack on the transmission of the Qur'an.
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Then the Parwezis claimed that Hadith does not teach prayer. One of these sectarians, Abdul Fauq, who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, wrote:

"There is not a SINGLE hadith where the Prophet of Allah (sws) INSTRUCTED the believers for the method of 'Namaaz'. The fabricators struggled very hard to spread the false notion that the Prophet (pbuh) TAUGHT how to pray. We learn Namaaz only from our parents, teachers and Mullahs---NOT from the Hadith."

That's how brazen these people can be. Abdul's last sentence is true in the case of ignorant people. Yes, lot of people learn prayers from others. When a person embraces Islam in America, our Jamaat teaches the person first to just do what others are doing in prayer but THEN THEY MUST LEARN THE PRAYER from books AUTHENTICATED BY HADITH. Blind following is not encouraged in Islam.

To disillusion Abdul Fauq, I posted this hadith which teaches important aspects of prayer, especially that the one who follows the imam in prayer must delay his ruku and sujood till the imam has done it. This is the Hadith:

"From Abu Musa al-Ash'ari (r.a.): The messenger of Allah, pbuh, gave us a khutba in which he taught (how to act) on sunnah and how to pray. The Prophet (pbuh) said: "When you are going to pray, straighten your lines. Then one of you should lead the prayers.

When he (the imam) says the takbeer, you should say takbeer, and when he ends with ghair al mughdube alaihim wal-ad-daa-leen, you should say 'ameen,' {May Allah accept your du'a.}

When the imam says takbeer and goes down into Ruk'u, you should say takbeer and go into Ruk'u. The imam makes Ruk'u before you and raises his head from Ruk'u before you. Hence the delay you have in going into Ruk'u will be made up for by the delay in your raising your head from Ruk'u.

When the imam, coming out of Ruk'u says samey Allah-hu-liman hamida, you should say rabbana lakul hamd because Allah's Prophet teaches you that Allah hears those who do His hamd.

When the imam says takbeer and goes into sajda (prostration), you too should say takbeer and do sajda. The imam does sajda before you and raises his head from sajda before you. Thus your delay in going into sajda is made up.

And when the imam sits down (in the second raka), each one of you should say: ut-tahyyatu, at-tayyabato, as-salawato lillahe, asalamu alaika aiyohun-nabiyo wa rahmatullahe wa barkatuh; asalamo a'laina wa al'a ibad Allah-his-saliheen;ash-hadu-ul-lai-illaha ill-Allah wa ash-hadu unna muhammad-un ‘ubduhu wa rusuluhu."[Kitab-us-salat, Sahih Muslim, Sunan of Abu Dawud, Nasai and Ibn Maja.]

When Abdul Fauq saw this, he was flabbergasted. Now he claims that this Hadith is teaching ONLY ONE RAKAT prayer. He makes sarcastic remarks that I am teaching a prayer in which there is only one raka'. He writes:

"Thank you for the Hadith, Mullah Kaukab. From now on, I will start all my prayers with an imam who completes the prayer in one-sajdah-one-raka'at Namaaz."

Such is the intellectual level of the followers of Parwez. They flourish in America only because their audience has not even a nodding acquaintance with Hadith. [The blind leading the blind.]

For most readers of New Trend, knowledge of prayers in the Qur'an and the Hadith is commonplace. They should realize that Pakistani immigrants are incredibly ignorant of Islam and yet terribly arrogant in their attitudes. These upper class immigrants will never admit that they don't know. Remember the words of Socrates:
"He who knows not and knows not that he knows not, shun him. He is a fool."

For the sake of some in the Perwezi audience who might be sincere, let me explain how Hadith is organized in matters of prayers and other matters:

EVERY ASPECT OF PRAYER is AUTHENTICATED in a SEPARATE HADITH. Prayers are so central to Islam that authentication of EVERY ASPECT was essential. That's why aspects of prayer are found in disparate Hadith.

Also, it's a good teaching method that AK ASPECT OF PRAYER are not lumped in ONE HADITH. The Prophet (pbuh) was the greatest teacher the world has ever known and he used AUDIENCE ORIENTED METHODOLOGIES of teaching. For instance:

1. To those who would find it difficult to learn extensive texts all at once, he provided the essentials. For instance, Hadith teach that Al-Fatiha is essential to prayer. Other hadith teach which suras of the Qur'an he recited in which prayers.
2. To the more advanced learners, he taught not only the details of obligatory prayers but also the extra NAWAFIL prayers

To help the Parwezi Abdul Fauq, another Parwezi posted a whole list of supposedly "contradictory Hadith" about prayer. It was obvious that the emailer [refused to give his name] was doing a "cut and paste" job from some list which the Parwezis maintain. I pointed out to the emailer that he had shown his ignorance of Hadith by writing the title of the book he was quoting from (out of context) as "mauta." I told him nicely that it is titled MUWATTA and that the emailer should own up from where he had stolen the "cut and paste." He would not admit that he had stolen it. In the meantime, another Perwaizi had posted the IDENTICAL same list with the same reference to ‘mauta.' Both are thieves but pretend that they know about Hadith.

SO A FEW INTRODUCTORY WORDS ABOUT DIFFERENCES IN HADITH:

One hadith says that the Prophet (pbuh) raised his hands to his shoulders in Takbeer. Another says he raised his hands to his ears.

These are not contradictions. These are human differences which the Prophet (pbuh) wanted to be transmitted, so as not to make the form of prayer too rigid.

There are some actual differences in some aspects of prayer, such as the loud AAMEEN and the inaudible. Some narrations refer to not FOLDING the hands, while most show folding of hands and where they are to be folded. These again do not destroy the basic pattern of prayer [as in the Hadith quoted above.]

PARWEZIS MAKE MUCH of the differences between Islamic schools of thought. These differences, for me, are natural. The Qur'an too can be understood and explained in a variety of ways. The MAIN POINT IS THAT ISLAM REMAINS ONE IN ALL ITS FUNDAMENTALS regardless of differences in details,

[Ignorant people can turn differences into matters of life and death. They can create hatred and disunity. Those are issues of social development. Notice how in Pakistan, the Deobandi and Brelvi and Ahle Hadith have been working and praying together in the million man marches. Previously they could not work together. Leadership made the difference.]

Differences in interpretation are natural. If the Qur'an is interpreted in two different ways, it does not mean that the Qur'an is wrong. The Prophet's (pbuh) Hadith can be interpreted in two different ways. That does not mean that the Hadith are wrong.

The Parwezi adventure must stop, otherwise I'll have to pay more attention to the writings of Parwez which are examples of dishonesty and false "scholarship."
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2003-05-09 Fri 20:25ct