Towards understanding Islam
by Nasir Shamsi

Islam is simple

Islam is a way of life. It is neither a state nor statecraft. Islam is
simple-- very simple. People came to Madina to accept Islam. They stayed in the city of the Prophet for half a day or a full day, perhaps for a night at
best. During this short stay, they learnt to say the Kalimah (there is no god except, Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet). The Prophet told them: he was Allah's Prophet like there were Prophets before him. He had come with a Book, called Quran, just as some Prophets before him had come with Scriptures. He asked them to do good, avoid the bad, pray to God and God alone, fast, give charity, be good to your parents, wives and children; there will be reward for good deeds and punishment for the bad deeds, on the Day of Judgement.

During this short stay, the travelers prayed with the Prophet once or twice
and left Madina, many of them never to return. Yet these were the first emissaries of Islam who carried new faith to the distant lands. Unless Islam was simple, how could it be possible for these one time time visitors to go and impart the message of Islam to thousands others ?

A Code of Conduct

Islam lays down a code of conduct. Its purpose is to guide humans on the right path, the path that leads to God. The Prophet was once asked why he had been sent as Prophet, replied, " to perfect your conduct " (le-otummi-ma makarim al akhlaq). God is Merciful and He loves His creation. To guide us all, He sent His Prophets, His Chosen People, with a defined code of conduct. Some of them had written Scriptures. Each Prophet was thus given a set of rules, a code of conduct, according to the circumstances of the time and the place. As the human consciousness developed over time, God sent new Scriptures to redefine their way of life. That explains an abiding relationship and a continuous and uninterrupted chain of Divine guidanace in the names and form of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, the last Prophet. They all represented ONE AND ONLY ONE GOD...only with a Scripture to conform to the changing world. The Last of them came to reconfirm the previous Scriptures and to

redirect and guide the people who had drifted. Anybody therefore who believes
in One God and ALL Prophets is a Muslim, regardless what he calls himself.

Tauheed (Unity of God)

The key to complete surrender (Islam) to God is the belief in His ONENESS ( Tauheed) and the belief in all Prophets, including the Last and the Final Prophet and the Last book, Quran. As a Muslim, we enjoy a special relationship with people of the Book, the Jews and the Christians and a human tie with all other human beings, characterized by human love and compassion. We cannot hate even an animal because it too shares with us this space on earth. Just as God is One, we all are One under Him, the One and Only One God. To me, Islam is as simple as that. Anybody who is willing to follow these simple rules is Muslim. Syed Saeed Akhtar, a renowned Scholar of East Africa was once invited to address the UCLA students in California, in the 70's. He defined Islam in most simple terms. During the Q&A session, a student asked him, " Mr. Syed, it sounds pretty simple. I am a Christian. If I say there is only One God and agree that Muhammad too is His Prophet, besides Jesus, will that mean I am a Muslim ?" The learned scholar replied, " Yes, Sir, by all means ".

Tradition: Yes Traditionalism: No

The problem with the religious zealots--- who tarnish the image of religion
through its misinterpretations-- is that they confuse traditionalism with tradition. Tradition, simply speaking is the way of living of a people, their folkways and mores; sociologically speaking, it is the ' culture ' of a certain people living on the planet earth in a certain era. The tradition is therefore a living phenomenon, a flowing river-- ever moving and changing its course when it goes up and down the valleys, the plains and the mountains.
Traditionalism, on the other hand, is an abiding obsession with the past,
characterized by a pathetic indifference to the living realities, a kind of
back-ward phenomenon. It is what the minister Chuck Windall called the ' dead faith ' of the living, like person's fixation with the past. Tradition is
healthy and leads to prosperity. Traditionalism is sick and breeds
adversity. Tradition embraces change; traditionalism abhors change. One is
forward moving, with eyes on front, the other is static, with eyes on the
back.. One embraces change and moves with the time; the other resists change and defies the changing times. Tradition is like a flowing river with fresh waters, a sign of living faith, while the traditionalism resembles a stagnant pond, ' the dead faith of the living '. Now we know what is the problem?

While you reflect on this, you can better appreciate, while living in this
free country, the wisdom of the Fathers of the American Constitution, who
guaranteed the basic human rights in the Bill of Rights under the United
States Constitution, which is guided by the most well known guarantee---
ensuring every citizen the right to preservation of Life, Liberty and Pursuit
of Happiness. They were guided, I am sure, by the wisdom inherent in the
premordial nature of man, the " fitra ", which is by itself Islam.

Nasir Shamsi

Ali bin Abi-Talib (a)
-- Model of Islam

by Nasir Shamsi

The name of Ali bin Abi Talib (a) is synonymous with Islam. No episode of early Islam can be mentioned without his presence or participation in one way or another. He was brought up by the Prophet himself and was fully immersed in all moral and spiritual aspects of his teachings. It is quite apparent that Allah had a plan in providing a gift to His last Apostle on earth, in the magnificent form of Ali. The unique qualities of head and heart and physique enabled Ali to lend support in implementing the Prophet's Divine Mission. It is note worthy that the first Revelation did not come and the Prophet did not receive the Divine order to proclaim himself as Allah's Messenger until Ali had matured and was physically able to support the great Mission. Ali followed the Prophet like a shadow and protected him from the mischief of the Meccans. The brave son of Abu Talib inspired fear among the Meccans and they dared not raise an eye before the Prophet when Ali was around. On the night of ' hijra ', he happily slept in the Prophet's bed, to let him quietly slip out of Mecca in order to escape the enemy attack.
Ali was the standard-bearer of Islam and history bears eloquent testimony to his valorous contribution to the success in almost all encounters that took place between the Muslims and their opponents. Allah's Messenger himself gave Ali the rare title of 'Asadullah ' (the Lion of God). According to the French Orientalist, Oelsner, "Ali was the beau ideal of chivalry and the personification of gallantry, bravery, and generosity. Pure, gentle, and learned without fear and reproach, he set the world the noblest example of chivalrous grandeur of character. His spirit was a pure reflection of Muhammad's; it pervaded the Islamic world and formed the animating genius of succeeding ages."

Nobody understood, better than Ali, the purpose and intent of the Prophet's message, the spirit and content of each Revelation. He was often a witness to the 'wahee'. He had the distinct honor of posting the Proclamation of the Sura al- Tawbah' ( Repentence ) on the wall of the Ka'aba, which forbade the pagans from entering the sacred precincts of the Ka'aba. This was a major event that at once declared the Supremacy of the Laws of Allah. Abu Bakr was sent to Mecca with the freshly revealed Sura. He was already on his way, however, when the Prophet received special instructions through the Angel Gabriel to replace him with Ali.
In compliance with the Divine Order, the Prophet immediately dispatched Ali to retrieve the Proclamation from Abu Bakr and post it and announce himself in Mecca. The Divine Document contained references to the idol-worship and admonition to repent. It was clearly Allah's design that only a man of impeccable character and faith, who had never worshipped idols, and who was immaculately-pure and free from sins could deliver the Divine Commandment to the idol-worshippers. The pious and beautiful hand of Ali which delivered the important Divine Decree to sanctify the Bait Allah, was rightfully called by the noble Messenger the yad Allah, i.e., Allah's hand. This event alone was enough for an unbiased Muslim to perceive who could act in place of the Prophet and who was to lead the nascent Ummah after he was recalled to his eternal abode by his Lord.
The minds of the early Muslims, however, had not yet overcome the habits of the days of jahiliya. Their hearts bore envy and grudge, even vengeance, against Ali since his sword had cut down many of their next of kin. Emotion clouded their vision and they looked the other way. Ali was not even consulted in the matter of the caliphate on the Prophet's death. The ummah deprived itself of the immeasurable benefit that Ali's leadership would have provided. This hasty action changed the character as well as the direction of the Muslim ummah. The caliphate was soon to degenerate into monarchy under the Umayyads.
The Muslims had been charged with the function to redeem humanity from oppression and injustice. If the Message had been allowed to continue under the able and worthy guidance of Ali, who on numerous occasions was clearly pointed out as the standard bearer and leader of the ummah, Allah's Deen would have flourished. The rightful selection of Ali would have ensured an uninterrupted continuation of the Prophetic Mission, leading to establishment of Allah's Rule on earth. After 25 years of seclusion, when the Medinites asked Ali to take the reigns of government, the spirit inculcated by the Prophet among the people had largely dissipated. The short five years of Ali's rule were marred by the unfortunate battles with the Muslim rebels. Muawiya, the patriarch of the future Umayyad dynasty, had been appointed governor of Syria in the Year 18 A.H. by the Second Caliph. Muawiya had almost two decades to fortify his position as a ruler in Roman style. His position was further strengthened by appointments of several Umayyads as governors by the Third Caliph. Muawiya arrogantly declined to accept the Caliphate of Ali and asserted his parallel government. This conflict led to the fierce battle of Siffin, which further divided the Muslims. The remaining years were also filled by armed struggles with the rebels, which culminated in Ali's assassination in 40 A.H.
It is a tragedy that the Muslims did not make use of the great genius of Ali, whose knowledge of Deen and science and other branches of knowledge was so vast that it defied time and space. What he had said then is true today and illumines the minds of many seekers of knowledge. For lack of space, we most humbly attempt to share with the readers a few glimpses into the most extraordinary personality of Ali bin Abi Talib. Ali's position with regard to the Message was like the axle of a mill because only he, beside the Prophet, fully understood the purpose and intent of the Divine Mission.

The following are quotes from Ali on Islam, Justice, and Governance:
ISLAM: "Have you fully realized what Islam is?", asks Ali. He then answers his own question:
"It is indeed a religion founded on truth. It is a fountain-head of learning from which many streams of wisdom and knowledge flow. It is a lamp from which many lamps will be lit. It is a lofty beacon of light that illumines the Path of Allah. It is a set of principles and beliefs that will fully satisfy every seeker of truth and reality. May all know all that Allah has made Islam the most sublime path for the attainment of His Supreme Pleasure and the highest standard of His worship and obedience. He has blessed it with noble precepts, exalted principles, doubtless arguments, unchallengeable supremacy, and undeniable wisdom. It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerely, to do justice to its articles of faith and belief, to obey implicitly its tenets and orders, and to give it the proper place in your lives."
JUSTICE: He advised Malik Ushtar regarding the selection of judges:

"Select the wisest person in the land for the administration of justice among the people. He should be a person for whom this task is easy so that litigating parties are not able to prevail against his decisions."
GOOD GOVERNANCE:

"You must have love, respect, and kindness for your subjects. … Muslims and non-Muslims should be treated alike. Muslims are your brothers and non Muslims are your fellow human beings. ... Anger and vindictiveness should have no place in your administration. Do not let favoritism and nepotism come near you. They will make you violate your duties toward God and toward man and drive you toward oppression and tyranny. It is your sacred duty to look after the poor, the disabled, the orphaned, and the widowed. Do not allow anybody to humiliate, ill-treat, or oppress them. Make yourself easily accessible to them whenever they are in need of help.
"Select honest and kind persons for the job of governance. Do not select those who served under the former tyrants and were responsible for unjust acts and atrocities in the name of the State. Pay your officers well so that they can resist corruption and misappropriation. Take your subjects into your confidence; make them feel you are their well-wisher and friend. Protect the interests of your merchants and traders, but never allow them to practice hoarding, profiteering and black marketing. Encourage handicrafts; they reduce poverty and they raise the standard of living. Protect the interests of your farmers, because they are a valuable asset to the country."
We have quoted selectively only a few excerpts from a much larger and a most comprehensive treatise on administration, which Ali bin Abi Talib sent during his Caliphate to Malik Ushter, the Governor of Egypt. It should form an essential basis for good governance and efficient and honest administration in any country.
We conclude with a quotation from Masoodi, the venerable Muslim historian:
"If the glorious name of being the First Muslim, a comrade of the Prophet in exile, his faithful companion in the struggle for the faith, his intimate associate in life and member of his family reflect a true knowledge of the spirit of his teachings and of the Book and demonstrate self-abnegation and the practice of justice, and if honesty, purity, love of truth, and knowledge of law and science constitute a claim to preeminence, then all must regard Ali as the foremost Muslim. We shall search in vain to find, either among his predecessors (save the Holy Prophet) or among his successors, the level of those virtues with which God endowed him."
Note: Nasir Shamsi has written more than 100 articles on Islam. You can read some of his articles on the al-huda Foundation website at www.al-huda.com.

The Story of Transformation of a Community
by Nasir Shamsi

Mehfle Shahe Khorasan the First Shia Center of the American Shias of Indo-Pakistan origin is 30 years old, this month of August 2005. As one of its first congregants, I am asked to pen down my thoughts about what is now endearingly called Mehfil. I do not know where I had read it. But I agree with the succinct message in this quote: “ The history is to a people what brain is to the individual “. The living communities do record their history. They keep an account of where they came from, what preceded them, what brought them together (and kept them) together -- their religious heritage, culture, aspirations, folkways and mores—their early struggles and any thing and everything that transformed them from a group into a community. For us in these critical times, the study of our early struggles and the role of a small center to help transform scattered groups into community has become all the more significant.
Since I am trying to recap memory of events scattered over three decades, please forgive me for any omissions or mistaken dates. I’ll try to avoid mentioning names of persons, as much as possible, because they are too many and won’t fit in the confines of this small paper.
The year was 1973. I had landed in New York in March of the same year. There was no place to observe Muharram. Men and women and small children of the only about 20 families from the Tri-state area assembled in the UN high School Hall on the East Riverside across from the 25th street in Manhattan, to commemorate the first Muharram, for most of us. The place was rented. The taped speeches were heard, a sister did Soz, followed by Matam and Noha Khawani. That was us - a small group of Shias hailing from India and Pakistan. Some funds were collected to purchase a place. A year passed.
In 1974, we met again for Muharram at the same place. A few new people attended and some more funds were collected this year. A sketch of the proposed building in New York was posted on the wall and a skeleton association was formed.
Later this year, Sultan Karamali and Yusaf Haroon bought a church in Englewood, New Jersey and named it “ Mehfle Shahe Khorasan “ to be managed by a trust of the same name. Shaikh Muhammad Sarwar, a young, erudite and pious scholar was called in from Karachi, as the resident Alam. He lived next door from the center and had an excellent library. The Mehfil opened for Majalis for some time. It came down one day due to fire caused by a short circuit in the basement. Soon however a brand new building replaced the old church structure. In 1975, this small but comfortable facility became the first Imam Bargah in the Tristate area.
I have fond memories of what now has generally come to be known as Mehfil. In 1977, we purchased our house in Montclair, not far from the Mehfil. We seldom missed any program. The families from New York also attended these programs. Because there was a physical place we could call our own, the loose group that we were before soon evolved into a community. A sense of friendship, brotherhood and camaraderie permeated the body politic of this newly born community. There was expression of enthusiasm and caring for one another among its members. This phenomenon was hardly accidental; it was the flowering of the right to assemble, which generates energy and joy, ecstasy and mutual love. People respected one another, committed to struggling together rather than against each other. This gave birth to extraordinary energy among the members of the community. The worries and anxiety were replaced by optimism and sanguineness.
It was a happy community. A couple of other associations had been formed by now. The good thing about association is that it unites into one channel the efforts of diverging minds, and drives them vigorously in the pursuit of the common goal. There is nothing that cannot be achieved through the combined power of individuals united into an association or organization.
The associating power helped develop an enthusiastic and vibrant community in the NY/NJ Metropolitan area. The congregants of Mehfil, touched and charged by the newly discovered identity and a sense of self-awakening, were able to launch in the following few years a membership organization-- the Muslim Foundation of New Jersey (1984). This was a natural development of the process of community-making, guided by the prudence and wisdom of a few selfless leaders and a compliant but vigilant congregation.
There were other compelling reasons for forming a membership based organization, giving representation to the families scattered over more than 100 miles radius around the First Shia Center in the Metropolitan area. Mehfil was acquired and managed by a closely held Trust. As the community took shape, there was a growing demand from people to participate in the management. The New Yorkers early on were also not very happy, because of long commuting and for making New Jersey the home for the first Shia Center. They had all along been trying to find a place some where in New York.
The founding of Muslim Foundation in a Bloomfield basement in 1984 was an act of great wisdom. I was present in that meeting attended by prominent leaders from different parts of New York and New Jersey. A truly representative body of some 20 people laid the foundation and agreed upon the goals of the Muslim Foundation. From now on known as MFI, it became the working body to manage and maximize the use of Mehfil as a Shia Center, reducing the role of the Khorasan Trust, the parent body to the minimum. Muslim Foundation accelerated the community building work.
Soon after the adoption of its bylaws the MFI, driven by enthusiasm and initiative of two boys in their early teens, launched the First Shia Sunday School in the basement of Mehfil. I was to be, to my great fortune, among its early parent-teachers along with Dr. Manzoor Rizvi, late Dr. Haider Shamsi, Srs. Nasim Gokal and Mumtaz Ladak. I cherish with great love the memories of those happy Sundays. I had the pleasure of teaching our young sons and daughters; they were brilliant kids-- our superstars of the 80’s. They have mashallah done well in their lives; most of them married, they are devoted to serving both religion and community.
This joint venture of the Mehfil and MFI acted as catalyst; it stepped up the community building work. The MFI sponsored the first religious Scholar. Maulana Tilmiz Hasnain Rizvi arrived in 1984. He was appointed Director of MFI’s newly created subsidiary, The Islamic Central Directorate with mandate to provide guidance in religious matters to the Shias of the Tri-State area. The then President of MFI, late Dr. Haider Shamsi purchased a house in Englewood, close to the Mehfil , only to house the ISD office and library.
In 1984, the late Syed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi (Bilal Mission, Africa) came to the US at the invitation of MFI. He gave instructions at a two weeks Summer Camp for the Shia youth at Alpine, New Jersey. His book, “ The Elementary Instructions about Islam”
And another book, “ The Guide Book of Quran “ became the first two publications of MFI. These publications were printed to fulfill the needs of the Mehfil school students. This however put MFI on the publication course; it continued publishing more books. It has 25 Publications to its credit- not a small feat by any standards. By now MFI had also launched a Quarterly Magazine, Payame Aman, the first Shia journal in the US. It was distributed free to 3000 Shias nationwide. The first copies of each issue were made available at the entrance of the Mehfil.
The influx of new migrants in the 70’s and 80’s greatly increased the numbers as well as the resources of the nascent community, which had already built three more Centers in New Jersey, Baitul Asr and Astana-i Zahra in Central Jersey and Baytul Qayem (est. 1985) in the South. New York also had now a big Center (the old Islamic Center at Queens Blvd) in Queens, New York, which was later replaced by the current Al-Khoi Center in Jamaica, New York. The congregants of Mehfil , some of them particularly, supported the other Centers through participation. Although these centers work independently of one another, yet there is a remarkable connectedness between them and their managements. Even though MFI moved to its own building in Franklin Township to pursue its great goal of building the First Shia Masjid, the relationship as well as interest of its founder members with the Mehfil remains undiminished.
Mehfil is a small facility. It’s the Garden State’s unsung hero ! Nobody has gauged its performance. The most remarkable thing about Mehfil is that although it started as a small center, but it has almost unknowingly, played a great role in transforming the early Shia groups into community and some of its congregants reached out nationally and participated, even inspired major Shia projects at other places. To name a few of these projects and programs: they were among the founders of JANA; they played a leading role along with their friends in New York, to help establish as well as manage the First Shia Center in New York—the Islamic Center on Queens Blvd, Queens for several years, until it moved to the building in Jamaica under new management and was renamed Al-Khoi Center.
They closely worked with Dr. Khalil Tabatabai for his project in Karachi, Imam Hussain University. They also helped start the first Howza Ilmiya and a Shia youth school with live-in facility at Medina, New York in 1987. The two congregants of Mehfil sent their
Sons to help start the first session of the new Shia institute at Medina. Maulana Tilmiz Hasnain Rizvi and Maulana Amir Mukhtar Faezi worked as Pricipals of this school.
The community building movement that started with establishment of Mehfil in 1984 had to go full circle and find its fruition. It was year 2002. As the Providence would have it, a Mehfil congregant met a Shia brother from New York in the Breakfast Room at the Hyatt Regency, Washington DC (they were both there to attend ISNA annual convention), he told him that his sons (also present at the time) were complaining that we (Shias) had not done much other than the centers, while they (ISNA) had done so well. He responded:
“ Don’t worry. Why don’t you call other community leaders when you go back home and let’s meet and form our own organization on a similar model ?”. The brother from New York took the suggestion to his heart. Two weeks later, they met with ½ dozen other community leaders in Maryland. There was a consensus to form a national Shia organization to address, among other things, the socio-economic and political issues facing the Shia community. UMAA (Universal Muslim Association of America) was formed and the American Shias have their national organization, in fulfillment of a mission that began in 1974. It is the final flowering of an effort that commenced with the first small center. This is the journey of a community from Mehfil to UMAA, the quintessence of the Shia heritage in America. The beginning of a New Era !

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