Re :Re: Bismillah [IslamCity] Dr. Zakir Naik - Defame And Destroy.

[muhammad akbar shariff]

AssalaamualaikumDr. Zakir Naik is quoting the references during his talks. What 
else do people want? People are bent upon defaming and criticizing the learned 
ones. That could be because of what Dr. Zakir Naik might have said, which 
could go against their ideology.Sufism believes that God is every where in the 
creation. It leads to pantheism. Thats against the teachings of the Qur'an and 
the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him). Allah is above 
the heavens, above His mighty Throne. And His knowledge is present everywhere. 
He sees everything, He hears to everything, and He knows everything. Those who 
want to follow their grandfathers and great grand fathers, they may very well 
do that. But that may not be necessarily from the teachings of the Qur'an and 
the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (may peace be upon him). In my view, Dr. 
Zakir Naik is doing an excellent job.UmarDIET   On Fri, 20 Mar 
2009 15:03:08 +0000 (GMT) islamcity@yahoogroups.com wroteI have seen many 
different VCDs that show Zakir Naik speeches, and what he has said are mostly 
about tawheed. I don't think Zakir presents himself as a follower of Wahhabism 
or an enemy of any branch of Islamic teaching. He is clearly not an enemy 
Sufism. All he talk about is that followers of non-Islamic tawheed prinsiples 
and practices need to reflect on the way they search, define, and position the 
God.Tawheed is all about the logical thinking, so it is of course based on 
analytical ability. In many ways, knowledge very much helps someone to 
establish this ability. Dr Zakir Naik, alhamdulillah, proved himself of having 
a great strength, talent, and --above all-- skills to challenge what we believe 
as "flawed theologies" and, in turn, influence non-Muslims to accept the 
concept ofthe Oneness of Allah Subhanahu wa-Ta'aala. Look how many Hindus and 
Christians have embraced Islam after listening to Zakir's speeches.So, it hard 
to imagine that someone doesn't support him. He is just doing what we are all 
supposed to do : the propogation of Islam, the work of da'wah. Why someone has 
to narrow his/her mind by saying that Sufism is a threat of Wahhabism? I don't 
agree that someon in Islam is a threat to someone else.Peace be upon us all, 
brothers and sisters.Wassalam alaykum,Asyari Usman   From: 
"as...@yahoo.com"To: eGroup For Muslims Around The World Sent: Saturday, 14 
February, 2009 10:22:16Subject: Re: Bismillah [IslamCity] Dr. Zakir Naik - 
Defame And Destroy.Zakir Naik always speak with references from Quran and 
Authentic Hadeeth and he never claim to belong any so called sects, you 
should also present references againt his speaches regardless of making the war 
of sufism and wahabism Send your renowned scholars to have a debate with 
Dr. Zakir Naik instead of sending these hatred messagesFrom: 
"sai...@yahoo. com" To: eGroup For Muslims Around The World Sent: Tuesday, 
February 10, 2009 3:33:10 AMSubject: Bismillah [IslamCity] Dr. Zakir Naik - 
Defame And Destroy.Dr. Zakir Naik - Defame And Destroy.Jamshed IqbalOne comes 
across several interesting comments from the people who have been defending Mr. 
Zakir Naik on Indian Muslims Blog. Most of my brothers and sisters are 
impressed by his “immense knowledge” without knowing that his kind of 
knowledge (database or retention) has nothing to do with religion at all. In 
other words the knowledge he and his fans boast of is irreligious in its very 
essence, for any true religion is an ever-flowing fountain of “wisdom” not 
“knowledge”.However, Mr. Naik is not an only man basking under this false 
impression but, it is pity that most of our so-called Muslim scholars are 
making the profits of same deceptive notion. And it is about this “subtle 
subversion” that Muslim world or Muslim identity has suffered a great deal. 
Therefore in this article, I would talk about a whole range of “scholars” 
of this nature and use the name of Mr. Naik as an “all-purpose unit” to 
bring my point home.A wise man may have some knowledge but “it does not 
necessitate that every knowledgeable man is wise”. For knowledge comes with 
analysis but wisdom with synthesis. Analysis demands scattering the whole into 
parts and pieces, on the contrary, synthesis demands uniting and reassembling 
the parts, once again, into a whole.Men of knowledge without wisdom are far 
more harmful for human family than mad men. For knowledge without wisdom lacks 
comprehensiveness of vision, feelings, beauty and empathy. Therefore it is not 
beneficial at all, and in religious terms, it is irreligious! How?A man of 
knowledge studies the composition of the atom from a disinterested desire for 
knowledge, and incidentally places it in the hands of powerful lunatics as the 
means of destroying the human race.In such ways the pursuit of knowledge may 
become harmful unless it is combined with wisdom; and wisdom in the sense of 
comprehensive vision is not necessarily present in specialists in the pursuit 
of any kind of knowledge.The point is “so-called men of knowledge lack 
comprehensive vision that is necessary to make them wise”. Ask, for example, 
a man of science to define human being! If he is sociologist he will tell you 
that, “man is a social animal for he cannot live without society”. Ask the 
same question to a physicist and he would brief you about “material 
composition of a human being” and reduce it to material hump. Raise this 
question before a chemist and get ready to listen that “man is nothing but 
product or composition of different chemicals”. A chemist would also open 
your eyes by telling that “man is a chemical animal and his emotions and 
character is mainly controlled by chemical balance or imbalance”. Go to a 
biologist to listen, “human being is an organism composed of different 
organs”. See a human being have been dissected into piece and lost! Even if 
all of these definitions cannot include what makes a human being a 
humanbeing!Definitions, I mean to say, are the foundations of analytical 
thinking and they always fail to spot the core—the essence. For example, in 
above definition of human person, what makes human person a human person is 
nowhere, as no definition could be holistic! Moreover, in definition, metaphor 
or simile, as logic demands, is not allowed to make analytical thinking free 
from feelings but religious wisdom or morality is absurd or impossible without 
feelings! There is no room for aesthetics (beauty) in analysis and morality or 
wisdom gushes from these two springs as well!I think Islam is very clear about 
this point as:“Allah is beautiful and loves beauty”. Allah (The Supreme 
Reality) is truth and truth cannot be revealed unto those whose whole effort is 
demystification and dissection!Has analysis anything to do with “love”? 
Isn’t beauty a mystery so beyond the logic (Allah Him/Herself) ? Have 
analytical sciences, from so-called Enlightenment Age onwards, not been trying 
to demystify the mysterious phenomenon of existence or being? Was it not an 
organized effort to obliterate God from human consciousness? Has sciences 
(knowledge not wisdom) not been consciously trying to omit suggestiveness from 
natural phenomena to make it dull and ugly!There have a tendency among Quranic 
scholars—the tendency to count! For example word (or Ism-e-Zat) Allah has 
been used so many times in Quran. Mr. Zakir Naik, and others of course, can 
safely claim 10 GB memory containing these types of calculations. But, so far 
as I know, no one has told that how many similes and metaphors are used in 
Quran. How many attributes of Allah (the beneficent the merciful) reflect 
rationality and others feelings or emotions?Mr. Zakir Naik could not deny that 
Prophet Mohammad’s (May peace by upon him) holy life is an evergreen epic of 
compassion and empathy—the gift “to feel” with others! Remember once my 
Lord was running for milking the sheep to feed a crying cat when West was not 
familiar with “animal rights”! Was it analysis or feeling—feeling with 
and for the whole creation?Islam is known to be the highest point of Abrahamic 
tradition and Prophet Abraham dived into the fire! A rationalist or an analyst 
(or a man of knowledge) would never think that fire could behave otherwise!In 
short the whole range of knowledge mounted up by sciences is of analytical 
nature, and therefore today, world is rich with knowledge but poor in wisdom. 
For if it were rich in wisdom we would have been living in paradise! The main 
problem with our age is that our age far surpasses all previous ages in 
knowledge (rotted data) but there is a correlative “famine” of wisdom. 
Since wisdom includes not only intellect but also feelings, and this world is 
mostly steered by those whose knowledge is wide but feelings are too narrow! 
Therefore they have made it a hell of hatred!One of my brothers, Mr. Wasif, 
wrote about Zakir Naik’s comments about Sufi saints. According to him Zakir 
Naik says:“Sufism is an alien plant in the soil of Islam”These are actually 
the words of Allama Mohammad Iqbal (1877-1938) who, no doubt, was an 
extraordinarily profound and inspiring poet—but as a philosopher, he used to 
wear several hats of intellect like Herbert Spencer in Western philosophical 
tradition. Actually, as I think, his poetry and thought begins in trivial 
metaphors, pretty metaphors, then culminates into “grace metaphors” and 
finally goes on to profoundest thinking that we have. Mr. Zakir Naik should 
note that in his profundity—Iqbal himself is a Sufi! For example:Ik 
Danish-e-burhani, ik Danish-e-ruhaniHai Danish-e-burhani hairat ki frawani(One 
the one hand there is an argumentative/ logical wisdom, and, on the other hand 
spiritual wisdom! But argumentative/ logical wisdom is nothing but surplus of 
wonder…….)Qadhe khirad froze keh Frang dad maraHama aftab lekin 
asar-e-sahar na darid(The shining wine cup of rationality offered by the West 
is the full Sun but powerless/impotent to bring into being lime light of the 
morning)Iqbal used to call himself a disciple (mureed hindi) of Jalal-ud-Din 
Rumi—the great Persian Sufi poet! Therefore, he was highly impressed by 
Persian influence on Islamic culture, community and thought. For example, in 
his famous chapter, The Muslim Community, in The Reconstruction of Religious 
Thought in Islam, Iqbal writes:“The conquest of Persia gave to the Musalmans 
what the conquest of Greece gave to the Romans. But for Persian, our culture 
would have been absolutely one sided”.It is doubtless that Mr. Zakir Naik is 
advocating and pushing exclusively soulless, fanatical and chauvinistic Saudi 
(Wahhabi) version of Islam that has become a disgusting scar on the face of 
highly inclusive Islamic teachings! It is duty of Wahabism to wage war against 
teachings of great Sufi saints who kept the divinely prophet-consciousne ss 
alive not by preaching the truth but living like truth! Naik’s grudge towards 
Hussain (may Allah be pleased with him) is a clear sign that he is an agent of 
un-Islamic Saudi state employed to save her from Hussain who exposes and 
challenges Yazid of every age!Wahhabism is troubled by Sufism for it is a 
message of inclusiveness and tolerance! Wahhabism wages war against it for it 
is a message of freedom and core of Islam that is, in its essence anti- 
hierarchy and anti-establishment! Wahhabism is afraid of Sufism for it shows a 
beautiful face of Islam but Saudi’s allies (especially United States) are 
funding her to prove it ugly and dangerous for peaceful coexistence!Mr. Zakir 
Naik and all his friends are stakeholders in the highly lucrative and hideous 
business of a great conspiracy “Defame & Destroy”. For it is duty of 
Wahhabism to promote blameful and reproachably bigoted religiosity for 
facilitating its funders to wipe Muslims from the face of the earth by 
declaring them potentially dangerous creatures!May Allah save my innocent 
brothers and sisters in Islam from felling a prey to a vicious alliance! May 
Allah help us to show our non-Muslim brothers and sisters that Wahhabism is not 
the real face of Islam! Islam is one of the most inclusive religions wherein 
“ink of a scholar is holier than blood of a martyr” and “killing one 
human person is killing humanity”! Islam—that is a religion of heart, love, 
empathy and compassion!Amen!Jamshed Iqbal is a student and teacher of English 
literature and philosophysaiyed shahbaziwww.shahbazcenter. org