THE
MODERNIST DEVIATION S AND CORRECT SALAWAT
UPON THE NOBLE
MESSENGER :
- Abu Zuhri Shin (Dailin Nur
Institute)
Audzu bi�Llahi minasy-syaitanir
rajim. BismiLlahir Rahmanir Rahim.
I ask Allah protection from the
accursed syaitan
and I begin in the Name of Allah the
all Merciful and most Merciful.
There is no strength and power
except by Allah, the High , the Vast.
Huwal lazi arsala Rasulahu bil-huda
wa dinul-haqq.
Li-yuzhirahu alad dini kullih.
Wa kafa bi�Llahi syahida. Muhammadun
RasuluLlah wal-lazina ma-�ahu
asy-syida-u alal-kuffara ruhamau
bainahum.
Subhanaka la ilma-lana illa ma
alam-tana innaka Antal Alimul-Hakim.
Allahumma salli ala sayyidina
Muhammadin abdika wa rasulika nabiyyil-ummiyyi
wa ala alihi wa ashabihi wa sallim
tasliman
adada khalqika wa ridha-a nafsika
wa zinata arasyika wa midada kalimatika.
In my short life journey as Muslim
more than 20 years ago, I had read many books, magazines and all kind of
publications related to da�wah and teaching of Islam. However, there is one
aspect of the author or the book contents that intriqued me deeply. How could a
muslim writer/author possibly mispresent and undervalue the honor, love, esteem
and respect for the Noble Rasul by replacing the divinely order of invoking the
blessing of Allah (salawat) and peace for Rasul with just a greeting of peace (
alaihi salam ).
This essay will make a survey of the
books written or translated by the so called muslim scholars ( a recent
phenomenon ) which fall short in two ways in regard to the mention of the name
of the Prophet and Messenger Muhammad, blessing of Allah and peace be upon him
.First , they do not mention at all the standard salawat ( sallaLlahu alaihi wa salam in Arabic)
after quoting/mentioning the Prophet name in their books. Second, especially
the modernists wrongly saluted after the Prophet name with just-� peace be upon
him� which in Arabic � �alaihi salam� . This greeting of peace were a
sunna and commanded by Allah in His Book as a honour and prayer upon all the
other Prophets and Messengers ( .. wa salamun alal-mursalin wal-hamduliLlahi
Rabbil-alamin ). If we read clearly on all the classical Islamic texts,
there are a great different between salawat upon the Prophet Muhammad and salam
to the other Prophets . The command of Allah to bless (salawat) and make
salutation of peace (salam) upon the Prophet is stated in the ayat of Quran : Inna
Allaha wa malaikatahu yu-salli alan-Nabiyyi. Ya ayyuhal lazina amanu sallu
alaihi wa sallim tasliman ( Verily Allah and His Angels bless the Prophet. O
you who have iman, bless him and give salam/peace salutation upon him) Q :
We are not concerned with the kuffar writers who penned
various unseemingly names, titles or wrong identifications on the
Arabic/Islamic words in their books but these errors by modernist muslims in
the age of multimedia information technology are bordering on innovations
(bida�a) and dishonor/disrespect as an open wrong action itself. There is
another ayat which Allah warned us : �Oh believers , do not call the name of
the Prophet as you call out the names among yourselves� ( Q ).
We will present several case studies
on the current publications/books by muslim writers on this subject / errors
perpetrated even by the official Islamic
da�wah organization in their pamphlets and publications.
Case 1 : The Basis of Muslim Belief by Gary Miller ( Abdul
Ahad Omar )
-40
pages, first print by Persatuan Darul Fitrah Malaysia in 1990
and second print by Saba
Islamic Media / Islamic Book Trust in May 2000.
This booklet start without the traditional adab of
mentioning/praising the Name of Allah and blessing/salawat on Prophet Muhammad
sallaLlahu alaihi wa salam. It stated the author was a former mathematician and
christian theologian. No other informations are available about the author,
well who is this guy telling us about Islam and the Quran or any Truth ?
According to the Hadith transmission principles or ilm al-rijal, this writer is
unknown, what he says or write cannot be verified and far from being trusted
except by the unsuspected readers. He may say many right things about Islam and
point out the truths in the Quranic verses, but that is another matter. What
about the unseemingly remarks and errors
he had committed in the book ?
The first error occur in page 2,
paragraph 4 : ��those people who kept company with the Prophet, peace be
upon him (pbuh) , had access to no more information than we have today�.
Even this sentence can be disputed beside the error on the �peace be upon him�.
Surely, many of the Prophet Companions radhi�Allahu anhum ( may Allah be
pleased with them) had greater access or acquired more Divine /Prophetic
knowledge than most of us ! We rely on textual/book knowledge while the
Companions are learning and taking it directly from the source. The error of
�pbuh� were repeated 5 times in the book. The author also failed pray for
peace/salam to the other Prophets such as Moses, Jesus and Adam mentioned in
the book, may Allah grant peace to them ( alaihi salam ).
The second comment on this book � there
are several painted pictures of human figures in the book, first in page 3. The
judgement by numerous hadith forbid the muslims to paint living creatures. It
cause more harms than it apparent benefits, spiritually and physically. There
other 9 pictures in other pages of the book, so we can think it over after
seeing the pictures! Third comment- the author did not tell us which English
translation of Quran he is using, probably the edition by Yusuf Ali. Beware if
he is using unreliable translations by westerners or certain sectarian groups
i.e anti-hadith modernists.
Case 2 :
Questions This Modern Age Puts To Islam by M.Fethullah Gulen. 250 pages,
printed in Turkey
1993.
This book also suffer the same
weakness by not introducing us who is the author, what are his credentials and
we know briefly that he is a follower of the alim Badeeuzaman Said Nursi of
Turkey. There is no Bismillah and salawat to the Prophet in the
preface/introduction.
The first error/mistake occur in
page 4, after the name of Prophet Muhammad, the author put the greeting �
peace be upon him�. It appear again in page 8, 18, 22, 25 ,35 ,37 ,38�well,
since this error were repeated consistently in many pages, we cannot assumed
the author did not know the full and correct way to bless the Prophet :
sallaLlahu alaihi wa salam or S.A.W in shortened form.
The author was well educated in
Arabic/Islamic source books when he quoted many hadiths from Bukhari,
Muslim,Tarmizi, Ibnu Majah and renowned ulama such as Ibnu Hajar, Ibn Saad, Ibn
Hanbal and Tabari. Something may go wrong somewhere. Did the author do not love and respect the
Prophet as tirelessly pursued by the imam/ulama when they put the salawat (
sallaLlahu alaihi wa salam) in every pages of their books whenever the Prophet
name in mentioned ? Although it is
permitted to mentioned just once the salawat but it still must conform
to the numerous honorific names accorded to the Prophet. We list a few as below
:
RasuluLlah � The
Messenger of Allah
Nabiyyu�Llah - The
Prophet of Allah
Khatamul Rasul � The Seal/Last Prophet
Nabiyyi Ummi- The Unlettered Prophet
Nabiyyi Karim � the Noble Prophet
Khairil Anam/khalqihi � the Best of Creation
Nabi al-Mustafa � the Chosen Prophet
Nabi ar-Rahmah � the Merciful Prophet
For the details reference to the
other names of the Prophet, please refer to famous book as-Shifa li-taaruf
huquqil Mustafa by Qadi Iyad, available in English translation. It also contain
judgments against people who deliberately belittle, slander and diminish the
worth/honor of the Prophet . Already in the Quran, Allah the Exalted , taught
the believers not to call His Prophet by his name : Oh Muhammad but to say: Oh
Messenger or Oh Prophet . Normally, the great imams do not record or write in
their books/transmission of hadith the name Muhammad unless very necessary and
with great care, to add the salawat after the name.
We are very pleased to ask the
reader to read and study the most beautiful and exhaustive book on The
Blessings of The Prophet by Shaykh al-Jazuli called Dalailul Khairat. Many
translated versions in English and Malay are available. Any muslim after finish
reading and understand the rich and deep meanings of all kind of blessings,
peace, salutation, honor and intercession prayers ( salawat, baraka, karama,
taslima, tawasul etc.) on the Prophet in Dalailul Khairat, will emerge changed and transformed. In
contain more a hundred names of the Prophet and a string of salawat by various
Imams, Sufis, Awliya and from the Companions radhi�Allahu anhum. Not only that
but the prayers include all other Prophets/Messengers with their unique
stations with Allah Taala and also include the Angel/Malaikats as well.
Case 3 :
The Religion of Abraham and The State of Israel-
A View From The Quran by Imran Hossein.106 pages.
First print 1997. Masjid Darul Quran New York,USA and 3th edition by Ummavision Sdn Bhd, Malaysia.
The author Imran
Hossein was well educated and as student of a sufi shaykh and Islamic scholar
in Pakistan
.He is active as preacher in the West and a productive writer going by the
preface of the book. His Islamic learning and background was thoroughly
documented and can be verified/contacted.
Unfortunately ,
this book left out the beginning in the Name Of Allah and the Blessing upon the
Prophet. It seems his teachers and his da�wah works are more important than
affirming the praise , reliance , help and guidance from Allah and affirming
the connection to the Prophet, his family and Companions.
Second comment :
for the beginner, they may not know what the letter ( s ) stand for after the
mention of the name/word Prophet Muhammad in various pages in this book. The
author also put the abbreviation of ( st ) after the name of Allah, what this
means ? It never explained anywhere in this book. So we have to guess ! If I
not wrong, ( s ) means � sallaLahu alaihi salam� then it is acceptable but
still show lacks of adab toward the Prophet by not fully explaining it .
Whoever is stingy with his praise/salawat in this world will suffer great loss
in the akhirah. If ( s ) means � alaihi salam/peace be upon him� this is
unforgivable judging from the author training from a sufi teacher and great
ulama from Pakistan.
Now what the ( st ) stand for after
the mention of the name Allah ? I leave it to the reader to guess. How can a
muslim scholar make anyone guessing his abbreaviated letters in his da�wah
books ? Now if turn to the classical kitabs, the Prophet sallaLlahu alaihi wa
salam had taught us how to praise Allah in several muktabar or mutawatir
versions as below :
Allah Taala -
Allah The Exalted
Allah Subhana wa
Taala ( S.W.T) - Allah, the
Glorious,Exalted
Allah Tabaraka wa Taala
- Allah the
Blessed and Exalted
Allah Azza wa Jalla ( A.W.J ) - Allah Exalted and Powerful
These 4 ways of praising Allah after His Unique Name are
most common. We do not know exactly what the author intend the abbreviation of
( st ) stand for. The letter sad and
ta also have no meanings in Arabic.
As we flip through more pages of Imran
Hossein book, another peculiarity arise. After the mention of other Prophets
name such as Abraham, Ishmael, Moses and Jesus ,the ( s ) appear again. Do the
( s ) means � alaihi salam / peace be upon him� ? If this explanation is correct , then it
contradict our earlier guess that ( s ) stands for sallaLlahu alaihi wa salam.
By equating the salawat and salam to Prophet Muhammad and other Prophets, the
author show disrespect or a matter of modernist deviation or uncritical
intellect ? In the tafsir of surah Fatihah, many ulama say the Jew goes wrong
not because they are ignorant about the Divine message but they choose to go
against it for worldly interests worshipping power, wealth and leadership. The
Christians goes wrong by misunderstanding the nature of the Divine Teaching and
Miracles brought by Isa alaihi salam. They invented a new form of worship i.e.
trinity and priesthood. So if the muslims goes wrong today, they will take the
first or second form of deviations. Knowingly not to use the full salawat and
salam or they just say �peace be upon him� blindy without any knowledge. May be
they are imitating the shia, the orientalists or to be �intelligently
economical�. Just put (PBUH ), (SAW )
or (S) will do. In surah Baqarah, Allah says that this kind of people � have
disease in their hearts� , � they utter through their mouths what is not their
hearts� and � they said : we believe and want to do good but actually they do
evil deeds thinking they can mislead Allah�.
Case 4 : What The Bible Said About
Muhammad by Ahmad Deedat.
This booklet suffer the same sickness of not
saying the salawat correctly upon the Prophet Muhammad after his name was
mentioned. Instead it was the salam formula � peace be upon him ( pbuh )
clearly printed at the cover of the book. It occur not once but throughout the
book. No excuse for any muslim mubaligh or preacher to make this mistake. Ahmad
Deedat was famous for his debates with Christian theologians on the truth of
the Bible , Quran and the Final Prophet .As one sufi commented on the abrasive
and arrongance of modenist muslims claiming Muhammad as �our� Prophet but
actually far from it. He is the Prophet and Messenger of Allah. We can only ask
Allah to accept us as the true follower or ummah of the Last Messenger, that we
are fit to be honored as his follower. We do not followed fully the path of the
Rasul, but it is enough we can follow upon the dusts of the path taken by
Rasulullah and his Noble Companions.
We are informed
that after several da�wah trip to Malaysia, he was not allowed such freedom again.
Case 5 : Kitab as-Salat ( The Book of Prayer)
by Nathif Jama Adam
Published by and under supervision by
Presidency of Islamic Research IFTA and Propagation, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 1991-
180 pages.
There is no introduction about the author ,
however in the preface , he praised Allah subhanahu wa taala (SWT) and asked
Allah blessing and peace upon the Prophet. Then in page 2 of the book the
author start to commit the unjustified error of saying PBUH ( peace be upon him
) after mentioning the Prophet name. The abbreviated meanings of SWT and PBUH
were outlined in page 6. The author mentioned 3 names of muslim scholar and
friend who helped and advised him in compiling this book i.e. Sheikh Hamoud ,
Abdalla Karshe and Muhammad
Amen Cave
of the Cooperative Office for Call and Guidance ( da�wah ).
It was known to us that the Wahabi
influence were dominant in the Saudi state, they are strict against
innovation/bida�a and could not tolerate Sufism or mazhabs. But the proofs from
publication of this book by an arab writer and supervised by official Saudi
da�wah organization showed that they knowingly omitted to bless the Prophet.
They choose to pray peace / salam upon the Prophet as represented by the term
PBUH that appear many times throughout the book. This cannot be a mistake or
error but sheer arrogance and disrespect shown toward the Prophet sallaLlahu
alaihi wa salam in this book after scrunity by a collective team of so-called
scholars and its publication was funded by the da�wah authority. It was not committed
by a single author but backed up by a group of people and official da�wah
organization ! It should be banned or corrected by the Saudi government which
make great seizures of Islamic books brought in by muslims from other countries during the Hajj
or Umrah seasons. Do not be overawed by the claim of Islamic Shariah and the
grand title Khadimul Haramain ( Servant of the Two Holy Mosques � Makkah and
Madinah ) adopted by the present saudi rulers who permitted the unabated
bombing and killing of innocent muslims in Iraq by kuffar forces stationed in
the Islamic kingdom of Saudi Arabia. If anyone want to know the real Saudi
history, please refer to numerous Hilmi Isik Publication from Turkey and
fatwas by great ulama of Sunnah wal-Jamaah. Based on the above findings, it
seems the deviant natures of Saudi ideology mixed nicely with other modernist
of mutazili, khawariji, shia and anti-mazhab movements. We should also note
that there many genuine,true and sincere arab muslims who are against and
struggling quietly against the current Saudi pseudo muslim regime.
How true that
Rasul sallaLlahu alaihi wa salam had said that the ummah will be split into 73
sects in the last days, each claiming they are correct and other are wrong. I
will quote a beautiful doa which remind us to love and honour the Prophet and
to die as true muslim and longing to meet Allah Taala . It was from the Miftah
al-Wird of Shaykh Muhammad ibn al-Habib, one of our great teachers from Morocco as
follow :
Allahumma bi-jaahi Nabiyyikal Mustafa
Wa Rasulikal Murtadha , thahhir qulubina min
kulli wasfin
Yu-baiduna an musyahadatika wa mahabbatika
Wa amitna ala Sunnati wal- Jamaati
Wal syauqi li-qaika- Ya Dzal Jalali wal Ikram
3x
( Oh Allah , we ask You by the rank of Your Chosen Prophet
and Your Favored Messenger , purify our
hearts from
everything that hinders us from Your
Witnessing and
Your Love. Make us die on the Path of Sunna
(of the Prophet)
and Jamaah( of the blessed and right guided
Ummah)
And with yearning toward meeting
You
O Powerful, O Generous 3x ..fulfill our
prayer )
We ask Allah taala to give us knowledge,courage and discrimination to
correct and counters the ignorance and arrogance forces that flooded the muslim
world with devious teachings and subtle ideology that pulling us away from the
pure Din of Islam and the illuminated Sunna of the Prophet. Shaykh Abdal Qadir
al-Murabit had pointed out correctly in Root Islamic Education that most
modernist muslims goes wrong when they wanted to reform Islam not according to
pure salafi sources but by imitating the wrong ways of the jew and Christian.
The first group goes astray knowingly against the command of Allah and His
Messenger. The second group goes wrong in their worship without real knowledge
and cherish innovation / bida�a. We have presented 5 case studies on a sample
of books by modernist muslims from different continents to show that this
phenomenon is not limited to certain groups or countries.
Ahmad Deedat is a Indian muslim self taught preacher from South Africa,
Imran Hossein is from Bermuda , studied in Pakistan and now residing and
serving as an imam in New York USA, Dr. Fetulla Gulen is a Turkish professor,
Nathif Jama Adam is from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and lastly Abdul Ahad Omar ( Gary
Miller) is a professor and an ex-christian theologian from Canada. There might
be much more such negative, disrespect, ignorance, sectarian ideology or
arrogance mistake/error or subtle diminishing acts committed toward the Noble
Messenger sallaLlahu alaihi wa salam that continued to surface and circulated
in the mass media, publications and so called da�wah materials in the open
market. Do not worry , let us end and draw guidance and strength from the
inspiring prayer from the Dalailul Khayrat :
Allahumma aj-alni mimman lazima millata
Nabiyyika sayyidina Muhammadin
sallaLlahu alaihi wa sallam , wa azzama
hurmatahu ,
wa a-azza kalimatahu wa hafiza ahdahu wa
dzimmatahu
wa nasara hizbahu wa da�watahu
wa kath-thara taabi-ihi wa firqatahu wa waafa
zumratahu
wa lam yu-khalif sabilahu wa sunnatahu.
( Oh Allah , make us among those who uphold
the Way of Your Prophet our master Muhammad, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace
and to exalt his honour and to esteem his
words and to fulfil his order
and protection and to help his party and da�wah
and to increase his
followersand community and to gather among
his people
and to undertake his path and sunna ) Subhana rabbika , Rabbi izzati amma yasifun wa salamun alal-mursalin wal-hamdu liLlahi
Rabbil alamin.
REFERENCES :
1.
as-Shifa(
The Messenger) by Qadi Iyad
2.
Root
Islamic Education by Shaykh Abdal Qadir as-Sufi
3.
Dalailul
Khairat � Shaykh Jazuli as-Shadhili
4.
Basic
Research � Shaykh Ajiba
5.
Riyadhus
Salihin � Imam Nawawi
6.
The
Reformers of Islam � Hilmi Husayn Isik
7.
Letter
To An Arab Muslim � Shaykh Abdal Qadir as-Sufi
8.
Miftah
alFalah-Key To Salvation � Ibn Athaillah
9.
Knowledge
of God � Shaykh Alawi
------------- abuzuhri shin
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