Beware of New Words

This is a short treatise on the subject of words that need to be made extinct and ostracised from the dictionaries, encyclopaedias and libraries of Islam. This study was carried out to highlight the many contradictions that these words pose for Muslims and our complete divine way of life (Deen). We have to make sure we go through a process of crystallisation (Al-Tabaaur) where we can automatically investigate and understand the concept behind the alien word being used or introduced into the vocabulary of Islam. Only then can we appreciate its reality and only then can a qualified scholar (Mujtahid) pass an Islamic injunction on its usage. For almost a century the whole earth has witnessed the misery of living under manmade laws (capitalism and communism). These evil (Tagooth) systems have been implanted on us poisoning and infesting everything in its way from the houses of Allah (swt), the rain falling from the skies to the minds of the Muslims. The Pharaohs and Nimrods of today arrogantly boast about their laws and how superior they are to the divine laws of Allah .

Unto Pharaoh and his Chiefs: but they followed the command of Pharaoh and the command of Pharaoh was no right (guide) [ 11:97]

Allah has not left us in the darkness to follow whatever we want. We have been given the command of Allah (Al-Amrullah) via the Quran:

That is the commandment of Allah which has been revealed to you and whoever keeps his duty to Allah he will remove his evil deeds and will enlarge his reward
[ 65:5]

The boundaries of Islam and Kufr (disbelief) are demarcated clearly for all to see there are some who remain steadfast in trying to appease both armies by playing with words and using loose talk. They try to give a watered down version of Islam so it can appeal and fit with the current status quo. In reality they are only fooling themselves and gathering ammunition that will only be fired against them on the day of judgement (Yawm-ul-Akhir). The only way to treat this behaviour is to deal with it uncompromisingly and clinically by striking its roots with the sword so it never has the audacity to stand up again. Language used must have the attributes of purity (Al Safaa) and clarity (Al-Naqaa) other wise it will create confusion, doubt and chaos.

Introduction

Communication is a process that is easily taken for granted and yet it is the backbone of delineating a paradigm. Without it what would we do! When we wake up all the way until we go to sleep we are part of this cyclical process of communicating. The medium used to communicate a concept is formally done by using a particular language. The language and the words that are being used to present a scenario must be understood and the consequences realised. Words by themselves are merely lexicons with a multitude of possible definitions without application, but once they are syntactically constructed into sentences and statements, for communication, these words not only have specifically defined meanings but they have an application as well. These are the very words that we use whilst speaking, listening to and acting upon, yet it is the very application of these words that determine its meaning and how we understand each other.

The datum from which Muslims determine whether such words can be utilised in conversations or any written material is naturally the Quran or the authentic Sunnah. There is no substitute for these two tenets; they are the only source of life and complete guidance for the whole of mankind as was confirmed by the beloved messenger Muhammad who said: I leave behind me two things if you cling on to them you will never be misguided that is the book of Allah (Quran) and my teachings (Sunnah) [Muwatta Malik] Having established and highlighted this basic undisputable principle one can quite readily measure everything around him by referring to these tenets or asking the people (Ahlul Zikr) those who have the capability of accessing the cognisance held in these tenets.

Swearing

Muslims for generations are well aware that swearing (Al-Shatem) or using dirty sign language (Al-Sabb) is not deemed acceptable by the Islamic law (Shariah) and is prohibited (Al-Mahzoor). Islamically prohibited (Al-Mahzoor) is defined as:

‘The address of the legislator related to the actions of individuals, whereby they are requested not to do something decisively'
.
Al-Shatem and Al-Sabb form a part of the elementary Islamic knowledge we are all supposed to have which falls under the category of what is obliged on every Muslim to know about Islam (Al-Ma'loom min Al-Deen bil Zaroorah). The sincere nongovernmental scholar and the student of Islam are equal in this knowledge and no Muslim has any excuse of being ignorant about this compulsory knowledge. Vulgar language and its illicitness has been attested to by the prophet of Allah by the authority of Abu Hurairah who reported that Muhammad said: 'A Muslim does not swear a Muslim does not ridicule and a Muslim does not shout in the market' [Sahih Muslim]

New Words

However there are some innovations (Bida') that have been introduced by various bodies into the vocabulary of Islam that cannot be so readily identified by the layperson and are being used as slogans to promote Islamic values and views. The seriousness of these words is that it can be tantamount to disbelief (Kufr) if you fully understand the meaning and origination of these words. These words are increasingly becoming prefixes or postfixes of Islamic names and words e.g. Muslim Church, Islamic Democracy, Mohammadan Laws, Jesus Christ, Islamic Secularism, Halaal pork,Muslim boyfriend, Islamic Priest, Gay Muslim, Abrahamic Faiths, New Year Eid, Islamic Chaplaincy Islamic Mortgages etc. The reader should be able to see the apparent contradictions in a few of the words used.

Abrogated Words

To give an example I will refer to an incident that took place at the time of Muhammad it involved the word Raa'inah. The word Raa'nah was a good word to be used in the context of a conversation and it meant looking after us, guide us, lead us, please attend to us. The mischievous Jews started to use this particular word in a customarily fashion that was explicitly derogatory and insulting which automatically changed its meaning to one of ridiculing yourself in front of us, humiliating yourself, making yourselves look like fools or our bad one.

Some of those Jews change words from their context and say: We hear and we disobey'; and 'Hear what is not heard; and listen to us (Raa'inah)! Distorting with their tongues and slandering religion. If only they had said: We hear and we obey; and Do hear and Do look at us (Unzurna): it would have been better for them and more upright. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, except a few who will believe [ 4: 46].

In another chapter of the Quran Allah not only commands us not to use words of this nature but replace them with something better that is not distorted.

O you who believe do not say Raa'inah, but say Unzurna and listen; and for the disbelievers there is a painful punishment [ 2: 104].

Another beautiful narration of the messenger of Allah instructs the believers “not to say to those under their charge my Abdee (male slave) or my Amtee (female slave) but say my lad , my lass' [Sahih Muslim] and this is to attest that we are all slaves of Allah and not the slaves of creation. It has also been reported that the word Al I'naab (a grape), Al Hablah (bunch of grapes hanging down) and Al Karm (the strutting used to hold the grapes) could all be used interchangeably to describe the status of grapes. However the word Karm was understood to mean that this child is not legitimate i.e. illegitimate child, so the saying of Muhammad said 'do not say Karm anymore say AI'naab and Hablah'.

The above scenarios point to one ruling and that is if a word (old, hybrid or new) is not in accordance with the tenets of Islam then a thorough study needs to be carried out whereby its own reality and history is understood (epistemology & philology). Then a qualified judgement is made based upon the Islamic tenets on whether it is permissible (Al-Mubah) to use the word under investigation. Or it could be the case that the word breaches the principles of Islam and is prohibited (Al-Mahzoor) to be used in an Islamic context. This whole process of research and conclusion is referred to as Ijthihaad.

Democracy
The word under question is the noun 'Democracy'. The ancient Greek word Demokratia is derived from combining two common words together:

1. Demos which means 'the people' or 'populace'
2. Kratos which means 'to rule' or 'power' or “strength' however in modern day Greek Kratos is referred to as the 'state'. Demokratia literally means 'the people rule' or 'people power' or in a modern sense 'government of the people' and even 'power to the state'.

When the two words are combined together to make democracy, which is a relatively new term dating back to 1576 when it was first used, it renders a singular message 'power of the people' based upon this fundamental meaning there is no country in the world that gives absolute power to the people (polity) that is why democracy is termed as an abstract form of polity. Due to the theoretical absoluteness of polity (whereby every law and decision are put to a vote) and practicalities encountered there have evolved a number of modifications and types of democracies e.g. direct democracy, representative democracy, parliamentary democracy, presidential democracy, statists democracy, participatory democracy, consensus democracy etc. Ironically all the 'modern' states (from illegitimate Israel to India) seem to declare to the idea of democracy whereas in actuality they conflict heavily.

All these denominations have one common factor and that is human beings are vested the right of making laws, deciding for themselves (individually or collectively) what is acceptable and what is abhorred. Abraham Lincoln a former leader of the U.S.A summed up democracy as the 'government of the people by the people for the people'. In other words the people hold the right of sovereignty and more specifically the ability to legislate (i.e. make laws).

Today this evil concept (democracy and its mutations) is being advocated as a champion and a guaranteed remedy for a prosperous world order, society and life. Furthermore all international organisations, conventions, charters and western governments claim to be following these ideals and see it as a universal cloak that all nation states have to wear. However, anyone who opposes it (democracy) stands against the advancement of a civilised world and is deemed to be an enemy for future success. Unfortunately many Muslims have also fallen into this trap of jumping onto the bandwagon by calling for democracy with or without understanding its severe consequences. Interestingly democracy and dictatorship are two sides of the same coin, democracy being the civilised face of a dictatorship.

The Greek idolaters believed that the god ruling earth was democracy (collective will of humans) and the god that ruled in the heavens was called Zeus (the Roman equivalent was named Jupiter or Jove). The Christians went one step further and tried to prove it (secularism & democracy) from their distorted scriptures by saying Render unto Caesar what is Caesars and render unto God what is Gods (theo-democracy).

A practical but realistic demonstration of manmade laws is illustrated chronologically in the table below. The timeline shows the absurdity and farcical nature of the homosexuality laws in England. The goal posts have gradually shifted from one end of the spectrum (criminal) all the way to the other end (norm).

YEAR     LEGAL STATUS REWARD/PUNISHMENT
1290     Illegal Buried alive
1300     Illegal Burned alive
1533     Illegal Hanging until dead
1885     Illegal Maximum 2 years in prison
1967     Legalised Only for 2 men over 21 in private
1994     Legal Age of consent reduced from 21 to 18
1998     Illegal Failed to promote gay education in schools
2001     Legal Age of consent reduced from 18 to 16
2003     Legal Government proposes legal gay marriages

The formula for the Muslims is easy and simple to follow:

Verily the absolute right of legislating is for none but Allah [ 6:57]
The judgement or order of Allah cannot be annulled or set aside. His judgement is ultimate and His order is final. Allah decides what is good and bad, and what is true or false and nobody else.

Allah(swt)'s Laws v Manmade Laws

We can take lessons from a real life example from the time of Muhammad (saw) where the pagans of Mecca tried to entertain a so-called 'Democratic' solution with the last and final prophet Muhammad . As we know some of the pagans had denounced the call of Islamic monotheism (Tawheed) and they were looking for ways in which they could stop this divine call. After weighing up various possibilities from giving money to assassinating Muhammad they decided to lay down an offer that was acceptable to both parties. Ibn Ishaaq reported that Ibn Abbas reports that the bourgeoiuse of Quraish went to Muhammad and put forward a solution whereby the people would worship your lord for one year and the following year the people would worship their idols [Tafsir Qurtubi]. Once having completed the second year the people would then gather to decide which of the two systems they preferred over them and they would rule according to what the people were in favour of. Muhammad listened to what the pagans had to offer and he did not say anything, we are informed in the Quran by Allah

Nor does he speak (aught) of (his own) desire [ 53:3]

The above incident gave cause for a famous chapter of the Quran to be revealed, Surah Al-Kafiroon, Muhammad recited the chapter to the mystic heathens, it responded to the pagans request explicitly:

Say: Oh disbelievers!
I Do not worship what you worship.
Nor do you worship what I worship.
I shall never worship what you worship.
Nor will you ever worship what I worship.
To you belongs your way of life and to me my way of life. [ 109: 1-6]

The above verses were straight to the point, Islam did not except manmade laws as the arbitrator for any dispute, no matter how small or big the problem is.


Majority versus Minority

The promoters of democracy and their sympathisers like to bank on the formula that the majority vote overrules all the other views. So if 100 people sat down to decide if paedophilia was regarded as an acceptable act or not and 80 of them voted yes the other 20 votes would be discarded and paedophilia would be legalised. Allah gives a fitting answer to the majoritists.

Yet most of mankind do not believe [ 40:59]

In Islam no one could even entertain such questions because the very notion of trying to work out what is good and what is bad is to go against the commandments of Allah(swt).Allah(swt) in the Qur'an dispraises and condemns the majority who do not follow His commands. He warns us of being trapped or impressed by the opinion of the majority.
The good and the evil (which have been decided by Allah) are not alike even if the evil looks like the good and is followed by the majority. So fear Allah, Oh you that understand; so that you may prosper. [ 5:100]
In another chapter of the Quran Allah says:
If you obeyed most of those on earth they would mislead you far from Allah's way. They follow not but an opinion, and they do but guess. [ 6:116]

Packaging the Falsehood as Truth

Mustapha Al-Shakah said 'it is not an exaggeration to say Islam is the father of all democracy' [Islam Bil Mazhab (Islam Without Schools) p38].

Muhammad Iqbal the famous poet from the Indian sub-continent stated 'spiritual democracy is the ultimate aim of Islam' [Reconstruction p180].

The apostate Colonel Gadaffi (Libyan leader) tried to use slang and broken Arabic to prove that democracy originated from the Arabic script.
Demo - stay
Ala - over
Cracy - chairs
He tried to say people sit over the chairs and have a vote on what to do or not to do. It was a futile attempt to convince Muslims that Allah(swt) is not the one who defines for us what is right and what is wrong.

The only Deen (Belief, Sayings and Actions) Allah accepts (from the believers) is what is based upon Islam [ 3:19]

Reforming the Islamic Definitions

Many pernicious government preachers of modern times have made statements from their cloisters that democracy and Islam are compatible. These enemies of Islam have tried hard to misguide people using Islamic terminologies i.e. Al-Shura (consultation) to dupe them into believing Islam and democracy come from the same family tree. Hasan Al-Sirkawi said 'The first thing that correct democracy is based on and that fulfils Allah saying' and he quotes the verse and who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation [ 42:38] [Democracy In Islam p224]

Sayed Sabiq quotes Abraham Lincoln who said 'the rule by the people for the people is a symbol of democracy which the whole world cries for' and Sayid Sabiq goes on to add 'and in Islam Al-Shura (consultation) is the brain and seed of democracy and its root. The Muslims were the first people ever to say the people are the source of legislation.whatever Abraham Lincoln said is exactly what Islam says' [Al-Nasr Al- Quwa Fil Islam (The Pillar of Power in Islam) p199].

When one studies the two concepts superficially it is quite apparent that Al-Shura is a restricted mutual consultation process whereas democracy purports to the idea that the people are sovereign and their will is transferred into law via a legislature. Both concepts are poles apart. The only similarity that the two have in common is that they both rely on voting and selection procedures. The Islamic legitimacy of Al-Shura is based on the following two verses:

And those who answer the call of their Lord and establish prayer, and who conduct their affairs by mutual consultation, and who spend of what we have bestowed upon them [ 42:38]

so pass over (their faults), and ask for (Allah's) forgiveness and consult them in affairs (of the moment) then, when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah [ 3:159]

However the applicability of Al-Shura is restricted to areas of permissibility only. Islamically permissible (Al-Mubah) is defined as:
'The address of the legislator related to the actions of individuals, whereby they are given the option to do something or not to do something'.

This is an area in which Al-Shura can be sought and the opinion of the majority in matters of permissibility can be turned into law. For example, in an Islamic state (Al- Khilafah) the community has the right to propose or object to a place where an airport or library should be built. A more rudimentary example would be a group of people deciding on what type of hot drink to have, coffee or tea. In essence both of these drinks fall into the Islamic category of being permissible to drink but the choice is up to you.


Strangers

We are indeed living in an era where any practicing Muslim who adheres to the Quran, Sunnah based upon the understanding of the pious predecessors (Salaf-ul- Salih) of the first three generations (Sahabah, Tabieen, Tabi Tabieen) is referred to as an anomaly. This is not something unknown to us, in fact this was prophesised. Jabir reported that our noble prophet Muhammad said Islam began as something strange, and it will return to being something (as it began). So Toobah (is a tree in paradise) for the strangers (Ghurabaa) the companions asked and who are they (strangers) Oh messenger of Allah? Muhammad said 'they are those who rectify and make corrections when the people have become corrupted [Tabarani Majma'-ul-Zawaa'id].'

One of the characteristics of the strangers is that they are commanding and implementing what is good and right (obligatory) and forbidding and eradicating what is bad and wrong (prohibited) (Al-Amr bil Ma'roof wa Nahi Al-Munkar). A noble manifestation of this duty is to reject manmade laws (democracy) and strive for the implementation of the laws of Allah (Al-Tawheed Al-Haakimiyyah Al-Tashriyyah) so that they dominate the entire universe (Izhaar-ul-Deen).

Muhammad said Allah showed me the East of the East and the West of the West of the world I saw that the authority of my Ummah had reached both (whole world)  [Musnad Ahmad]


Conclusion

If a word goes against the Islamic teachings then it is categorically prohibited (Al-Mahzoor) to be propagated as something Islamic or connected to Islam in any format. Islam is not here for the sake of compromise, it is the truth (Haq) and the truth can never be cloned, erased, diluted down or polluted with other erroneous (Baatil) thoughts.

Nay, we hurl the truth against falsehood and it knocks out its brain, and behold falsehood does perish [ 21:18]

Allah legislates and no one has the right to change his commandments [ 13:41]

Comments

The Word 'Teenager' is not found in the Islamic vocabulary. 'Teenager' in western society means a young male or female( aged 13 through 19) who does not have control over his / her erratic irresponsible behaviour. This concept or idea is completely alien to Islam because as Muslims we believe that a person who has reached puberty will be accounted for his or her actions. Therefore Muslims should not busy themselves in discussing 'teenage problems'. Similarly the word 'bitu' is completely alien to the Islamic values. This word is referred to one's male or female companion(umarried) with whom one spends most of his/her time which includes physical contact. Hence it is forbidden to use this word. What if someone decided to refer to Allah as being 'cool'? We as Muslims cannot accept nor subscribe to this false name or attribute.