Shari'a and the Modern World

Circle - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - April 2012 - 1hour 14mins 48secs


In this circle the Sheikh tackles the fraught topic of Shari'a and what form and role it has taken and might take in the contemporary context. A number of notable contrasts are pointed out in comparing religious law, which is the only credible legal system that can claim to be associated with Universals, with post-Enlightenment codes. Shari'a is thus described as a both a celebration of peoples' innate rights that can't be transgressed, but also as means of ennobling one's self through the promulgation of virtues and dignity. Thereby the religious law protects others as well as ourselves from ourselves, respecting the rights of God and His servants, ideally and in reality facilitating an atmosphere of serenity and repose. This contrasts sharply with modern civilisation's championing of the virtues of individualism whilst also being the most tightly regulated and legislated age in history; the cracks in the system are being all too evident to see. 


The second part of the circle includes an informative sketching out of different forms of law; statutory, case-based and juristic law, the latter representing the classical Islamic model. The Sheikh outlines how Islamic society traditionally had minimal interference from the state, with the qadi and mufti regulating law at a local, personal level. This system started to change in the 19th century following Ottoman changes to the statutory system, as well as Colonial interventions in other Muslim lands. The question that the circle then examines is in the modern 'Arab Spring' era, can contemporary attempts at establishing a religious law be credibly considered as such, when they are rooted in the post-colonial nation-state with all that this involves, in contrast to the system of shari'a that had operated for many centuries previously?

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Ashura and Karbala - Spiritual Renewal

Friday sermon (jum'ah khutba) - Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - 2nd December 2011 - 27mins 7secs

'Think not of those who are slain in the way of Allah as dead. Nay they are living! With their Lord they have provision. Jubilant are they because of that which Allah hath bestowed upon them of His bounty, rejoicing for the sake of those who have not joined them but are left behind: that there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. They rejoice because of favour from Allah and kindness, and that Allah wasteth not the wage of the believers'. Surah Al-Imran Verses 169-171

A few days before Ashura the Sheikh began his khutba by noting that Shahada is not to be simply translated as martyrdom, but rather an act of ultimate sincerity and testimony. In the pre-Islamic period a death was a cataclysmic event, but tawhid brought with it the knowledge that as you die, you pass through the veil towards God Himself. This is why the martyr is shaheed, witnesser, as he lays down his life knowing where his destiny lies. 

The Sheikh then went on to explore the themes of the Holy Month of Muharram, a month where acts are subjected further to the Divine Scrutiny, especially in the first 10 days and none more so than on the 10th: Ashura. The history books - sometimes verifiably, sometimes less so - tell of an Ancient day resonating through the ages with tremendous affairs: the day of the Exodus of Musa, the day Allah relented toward Adam, the end of the Flood of Nuh, the day Sulayman was crowned, the day Allah relented toward Dawud, the day Isa was born, may Allah's peace be on them all. The thread that runs through all these events is one of spiritual renewal, a movement from sin toward obedience, shadows to light. 

The day was also of course the day upon which the most tragic event in the history of Islam after the death of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, occurred. The events of the dread day of Karbala are well known and the Sheikh recounted them, but he moves on to ask 'what should be the monotheistic response to this apparently terminal and unimaginable disaster?' Of course grief and sorrow spring forth. But hanging onto the thread of spiritual renewal we note that the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Erdogan gave an Ashura speech last year in which he noted that "Karbala is a sign of Unity, everybody agrees on the principle of it, nobody supports the killing, nobody takes the side of the killers". The Sheikh went onto note how Karbala - not just Ashura - is commemorated by the Sunni population in Istanbul, for example at the Sunbil Sinan Pasha Camii in Koca Mustafa Pasha district, where thousands take part in mersiye (lament) poems and read a khatm of the Qur'an for the shuhada of that day. What emerges from these gatherings is a feeling of optimism and joy, spurred on by the words of Allah "they are alive in the presence of their Lord, receiving sustenance". To the extent of what we believe about shahada, something in us is glad. We grieve because those we love are no longer here and their relatives suffer, but in our heart of hearts we rejoice, for they have moved through this Vale of Tears and are in the presence of their Lord, in the highest of gatherings.  

The picture in this blog is the Sancak (standard) of the legendary Ottoman Admiral Hayrettin Barbaros Pasha (Barbarossa), who ruled the waves during the reign of Sultan Suleyman. The flag is replete with intriguing symbolism, more here.
    
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Kemal Pashazade, Sheikh al-Islam

Talk by Sheikh Abdal Hakim Murad - Cambridge - date unknown - 1 hr 53 mins 30 secs

In this talk, the sheikh discusses the religious institutions of the Ottoman Empire and how they embodied Sunni Islam as articulated by the great scholar Imam al-Ghazzali (may God have Mercy on him). He reminds us that the Ottoman dynasty spanned more than half the history of Islam, lasting from the 13th century CE until within living memory. Although their medieval origins as warriors and herdsmen of Anatolia seem very distant today, the long history of the empire as a sacred civilisation has a lot to teach us; in particular, how they managed plurality - of different religions and different Muslim groups - within an Islamic framework.

The sheikh talks specifically about Ahmed b. Kemal, known as Kemal Pashazade (may God have Mercy on him), who was appointed Sheikh al-Islam by Sultan Suleyman I Kanuni (the Lawgiver). This scholar gave up his early career as a cavalryman to become one of the most prolific and important scholars in Ottoman and Islamic history. Sheikh Abdal Hakim reads from and explains one of Kemal Pashazade's works, al-Risala al-Munira, which was written to help local imams (religious leaders) and qadis (judges) resolve the conflicts caused by the existence of many different sects and groups in the empire.

Questions and a discussion follow after about 1 hr 5 mins.

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