'Ummah': The Rope of Allah

   

'And hold firmly to the rope of Allah and do not be divided. Remember Allah’s favour upon you when you were enemies, then He united your hearts, so you - by His grace - became brothers. And you were at the brink of a fiery pit and He saved you from it. This is how Allah makes His revelations clear to you, so that you may be (rightly) guided.' (Al-e-Imran, 3: 104)

Take hold of the rope of Allah together as one united body. Not one by one, No! But take hold of it collectively. In fact, this refers to the verse of the Quran that I have just recited before you and which I have developed previously in many of my sermons, speeches and books.

 

Now I want to draw special attention to what is said in the Quran, whereby Allah does not mention “Catch or Hold” the rope, but rather says “Grip firmly to/ Hold fast to” the rope collectively. This is the answer to many people who say, ‘We are good Muslims, we have firmly grasped the Quran, we are doing everything that Allah has told us to do and we are not doing anything that Allah has forbidden us to do and we are following every teaching, so why is the need for a community, why do we need to attach ourselves with a Jamaat (as one Community of Believers)?’

 

In one word, the Quran gives the answer. Allah says that it is not enough for you to lay down your hand to touch and hold the Quran individually. You need to hold this book collectively, as a Jamaat, so that the Oneness of Allah is manifested in this world as well. Just like Allah is One, thus all the people who believe in Him should also become One (united). I am dealing with this subject in reference to Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh), (for all of you) to put the Quran into practice directly, where it will be possible only when a person gains knowledge of the Quran directly. In order to do everything that the Quran and the Holy Prophet (pbuh) have commanded us to do and to refrain from what they have forbidden us to do, it is necessary to have a deep knowledge of the Quran. We need to have this deep knowledge to put those teachings into practice in the way that Allah wants.

Objections against Animal Sacrifice

  

We, human beings, share this world with so many other breathing beings. Animals and birds are communities like us, reminds the Holy Qur’an. It is our duty to live responsibly, in fairness and justice, recognizing the interests of collective life and common good on earth, for the natural environment and living beings are among the favours and signs of God on earth. Indeed, Islam teaches Muslims to treat all living beings with kindness and compassion, and not to cause harm, nor inflict pain on animals and birds unnecessarily. Even for slaughtering them as rites of sacrifice, a believer has to abide by rules and regulations, means and methods of Islam that reduce the pain and suffering of the animal concerned. 

While the Holy Qur’an and the teachings of the Holy Prophet of Islam (sa) as well as his practical guidance on the prescriptions relating to animal slaughter are rooted in wider concern for the fair treatment of these breathing beings, the reality of everyday life show that these foundational rules are frequently violated as not fully implemented, resulting in cruel treatment to animals and birds during the transportation and handling of the animals at various stages and levels of the cattle-transportation and meat market practices. Many people who believe in fair treatment of animals, criticise and object to the ‘Muslim’ practice of animal slaughter as they see it- without understanding the Islamic teachings and guidance on the pertinent issue. 

Reproduced below are two related questions- objections on Islamic ways of slaughtering animals and on meat eating in general- put forward to Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam International Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius and the prescient observations made therein by Hazrat Saheb (aba) on the wisdom of Islamic procedures of slaughtering animals as well as the need for respecting the life-balance in this ecosystem by catering to needs while avoiding excesses on all sides of the debate.