An-nuur Na. 170

AN-NUUR Na.170 Jamadul Akhir 1419, Oktoba 9 - 15, 1998

Historia: Form IV Maoni tofauti kuhusiana na uchaguzi wa Khalifa wa kwanza

Zipo tofauti za kimawazo kuhusiana na uchaguzi wa Khalifa wa kwanza, Abu Bakar (r.a.) mara baada ya kutawafu Mtume (s.a.w.).

Wapo wasemao uchaguzi ule ulifanyika katika mazingira ya kuchanganyikiwa, kwani mkutano haukuwa rasmi. Maelezo ya kundi hili yameegemea kauli zisemazo kuwa Abubakar (r.a.) na Umar (r.a.) walistushwa na taarifa kuwa Ansar walikuwa wamekutana kwenye ukumbi wa mikutano wa Saqifa Bani Saidal, kumchagua kiongozi anayetokana na wao ambaye angeshika uongozi wa dola ya Kiislamu baada ya Mtume (s.a.w.). Kwa mujibu wa kauli hizo, Abu Bakr (r.a.) na Umar (r.a.) walilazimika kwenda kwenye mkutano huo wakiwa na dhamira ya kuzuia usiendelee, hasa ikizingatiwa kuwa Mtume alikuwa bado hajazikwa na hilo ni suala zito lilohitajia muafaka wa Waislamu wote.

Kundi jingine lina mawazo kuwa, Pamoja na kuwa mkutano wa Ansar haukuwa rasmi, lakini kuchaguliwa Abubakar (r.a.) kunawafiki, kwa kuzingatia dokezo za Mtume, ishara zitokanazo na Qur’an na aliyokuja kuyafanya Abubakar (r.a.) wakati wa uongozi wake, ambayo yalidhihirisha usahihi wa chaguo la mkutano wa Saqifa Bani Saidal.

Wapo wanaosema kuwa kutokuwepo kwa watu wa nyumba ya Mtume (Ahlul-Bayt) katika mkutano ule, kunabatilisha zoezi zima la uchaguzi wa Khalifa wa kwanza. Maelezo ya kundi hili yanatiwa tashdid na usia, unaodaiwa kuachwa na Mtume (s.a.w.) kwa "Ahlul-Bayt" muda mfupi kabla ya kutawafu kwake; unaosema kwamba haki ya uongozi wa ummah huu baada yake ni ya "Ahlul-Bayt". Kwa hivyo Ali (r.a.) ndiye aliyestahiki nafasi hiyo, na warithi baada yake ni wanawe Hassan na Hussein kwa kuwa ni wajukuu wa Mtume (s.a.w.). Kundi hili linadai kuwa Ukhalifa wa Abubakar (r.a.) Umar (r.a.) na Uthman (r.a.) ni "batili" kwa kuwa wao si katika watu wa nyumba ya Mtume (s.a.w.). Aidha hatua ya kuwafanya Makhalifa ni kudhulumu haki ya Ali (r.a.) akiwa kama ndugu wa Mtume.

Na kuna wasemao kwamba, kwa kuwa Uislamu ni dini ya Mwenyezi Mungu si ya ukoo, kabila au Taifa fulani, na kwa kuwa hakuna aya katika Qur’an inayomwamrisha Mtume (s.a.w.) kurithisha dhima ya uongozi baada yake kwa watu wa nyumbani kwake (Ahlul-Bayt), basi jukumu la uongozi wa ummah limeachwa mikononi mwa waumini wenyewe. Kiongozi atachaguliwa kwa kuzingatia sifa mbali mbali zikiwemo uoni, ucha Mungu, siha n.k. Sifa zote hizo zimpelekee kuongoza kwa haki na uadilifu.

Tukio la KARTASI

Tukio la ‘KARTAS’ lililonakiliwa katika vitabu vya Muslim na Bukhari kuwa siku tatu kabla ya kutawafu Mtume (s.a.w.) alitamka;"Nipeni peni na wino ili niwaandikie maelekezo yatakayowafanya watu wasipotee"(Nipeni peni na wino niwaandikieni usia ambao utawafanya watu wasipotee), halina ukweli. Kutokana na kauli hii inadaiwa kuwa Umar alihutubia watu na kusema kuwa "Mtume yuko katika maumivu makali, Qur’an kama muongozo unatosha kwa watu.4 Baadhi ya watu wakasema Mtume amepoteza fahamu.5 Ipo kauli pia isemayo maneno haya yamesemwa na Umar (Khalifa wa pili)!6 Moja ya hadithi hizo imo katika kitabu cha Bukhari juzuu ya I hadithi namba 114 katika ukurasa wa 86 tafsiri ya Kiarabu, kingereza isemayo hivi: Amesimulia Ubaidulla bin Abdullah, kuwa Ibn Abbas amesema:

Hali ya Mtume (s.a.w.) ilipokuwa mbaya alisema: "Nileteeni karatasi ya kuandikia, na nitawaandikia tamko litalowapelekea kutopotea". Lakini Umar akasema; "Mtume anaumwa sana na tuna kitabu cha Mwenyezi Mungu ambacho kinatosheleza. Lakini maswahaba wa Mtume wakatofautiana juu ya jambo hili. Kutokana na zogo hili Mtume akawaambia; "Ondokeni (na niacheni peke yangu) sio sahihi mbishane mbele yangu. Ibn Abbas ametoka nje na kusema: Imekuwa bahati mbaya na msiba mkubwa kuwa Mtume wa Mwenyezi Mungu amezuiwa kuandika tamko kwa sababu ya kutokubaliana kwao na makelele yao.

Zingatio

Kutokana na hadithi hii ni dhahiri kuwa Ibn Abbas ameshuhudia tukio hili na akatoka nje na kusema kauli hii. "Ukweli sio huu kwa sababu Ibn Abbas alikuwa anatamka kauli hii alipokuwa anasimulia hadithi hii, lakini yeye binafsi hakushuhudia tukio hili. Kwa maelezo zaidi juu ya hili rejea Fat-h al-Barr juzuu ya I, ukurasa wa 220).

Pamoja na kuwepo kwa maandishi juu ya tukio hili na wanahistoria kuwa na mifano na tafsiri tofauti, hakuna ushahidi wa kutosha kama tukio hili limetokea kweli au ni maandishi tu yenyewe yaliyopachikwa ili kukidhi haja ya waliyobuni tamko hili. Tukio hili halina ukweli wa kihistoria kwa sababu zifuatazo:

Ni muhali kudhania kuwa Mtume anaweza kuzuiwa na swahaba au na yeyote asiye Allah (s.w.) kutekeleza jambo la Utume wake; inashangaza zaidi kuwataja maswahaba kuwa wanaweza kumpinga Mtume katika Utume wakati huu akiwa katika kitanda cha mauti. Linaloshangaza zaidi ni lengo la tukio hili: Kwa mujibu wa maelezo yaliyopo ni kuwa Mtume (s.a.w.) hakuandika tamko alilokusudia ingawa aliishi siku nne7 baada ya tukio hili akiwa katika hali isiyo mbaya sana hata Abubakar akarudi kitongojini kwake, kulipokuwa na umbali wa maili mbili hivi kutoka mjini Madina.8 Kama hali ilikuwa hii kwa nini basi usia huu usiandikwe? Mbaya zaidi ni tukio hili linavyonasibishwa na maudhui ya aya tatu za mwanzo za Suratul Hujrat zinazosomeka hivi:

1.Enyi mlioamini; Msitangulize (kusema lenu) mbele ya (neno la) Mwenyezi Mungu na Mtume wake na mcheni Mwenyezi Mungu hakika ni mwenye kujua.

2.Enyi mlioamini; msipaze sauti zenu kuliko sauti ya Mtume wala msiseme naye kwa sauti ya nguvu kama mnavyosemezana nyinyi kwa nyinyi, visije vitendo vyenu vikakosa thawabu, na hali hamtambui.

3.Kwa hakika wale wanaoangusha sauti zao mbele ya Mtume wa Mwenyezi Mungu, hao ndiyo Mwenyezi Mungu amezisafisha nyonyo zao kwa kumuogopa Mungu.

Basi yatakuwa kwao maghufira na thawabu kubwa (kabisa).

Sura hii ni ya 106 kwa utaratibu wa kushushwa na tukio hili ni la siku nne kabla ya kutawafu kwa Mtume (s.a.w.). Wafasiri wa Qur’an wa mrengo unaohusisha tukio hili la Qartasi na aya 1 - 3 za sura ya 49 wanaonyesha kutotokea kwa jambo hili kwani Suratil Hujrat ilishushwa zamani kabla ya tukio la Kartasi.

Islamic Knowledge for "A" Level Qur’an Form V Revelation: Divine revolutionary Guidance to mould the course of History

Revelation literally means prompting, inspiring or infusing a thought or feeling into a person. At different level of Creation, Revelation or Wahyi operates in different forms ranging from inciting a blind to inspiring a thought. All things from material bodies to rational beings are amenable to Wahyi:

There is living being on the earth nor a bird that flies with its wings but they are Umma like unto you (Possessed of the Divine Guidance) (6:38).

Everything infact receives from the creator all the Guidence which it needs.

Nature of Revelation.

To understand the real nature of revelation (Wahyi), it is essential to distinguish it clearly from mystical experience (Maruhani) with which it is often confused.

Some scholars have tended to regard the revelation of a Nabii as the culmination of the mystical experience. This is a misconception. The difference between the two types of experience is fundamental. It is a difference of kind and not merely of degree.

Mystical experience, whatever it is, is within the reach of every man, provided he is willing to subject himself to a regorous discipline.

The mystical experience (Maruhani) may be induced through self-mortification, contemplation, detachment and meditation. It is a purely subjective experience in which the affective factor is predominant. Bound being the self of the mystic, it has no bearing on, or testimony in, the outer world. The mystic finds it supremely gratifying and absolutely convincing. There in he tastes a bliss which overwhelms and dissolves his finite personality. He feels himself merged in the infinite ocean of reality.

The mystic claims that his experience is charge with value of a high order, but it remains private and incommunicable. The mystic may have had a vision of something of which he is satisfied to be the truth, but he cannot make his fellow-beings share his vision. He cannot impart his knowledge thus gained to others.

The mystic may have a feeling of contact with what he considers to be the Real, but his experience, of whatever order, remains personal and subjective. The experience of revelation is different. It is the experience of dawning of Reality as it is on the individual mind. The Nabii feels himself not merely in contact with the Divine but in communication with it. And no doubts assail him. He is quite sure that he is receiving knowledge which he must impart to all men. Wahyi or revelation is meant to be communicated.

The purpose of Revelation (Wahyi ) is not to gratify the urges or aspirations of a single individual, the Nabii, or to guide only him, but to place guidance, through him, at the disposal of all who wish to profit by it. The message conveyed through Wahyi is to be broadcast all over the world as its content is of objective value. This radical difference puts Wahyi exclusively in a class by itself and sets it far apart from all types of mystical experience.

Mystical experience may enrich the mind of the mystic; revelation, on the other hand, acts as a powerful leaven in the life of the people. It is a living and dynamic force which turns the stream of history into a new channel.

There is another significant difference between Wahyi and mystical experience. The mystic feels his personality melting and dissolving as a grain of salt in water. The finite self is supposed to have merged in the Infinite.

The liberation from the narrow confines of personality gives the mystic a sense of exhilaration and exaltation. He soars high above the world of fact into a region where there is neither "must" nor "ought". If he returns to the world of fact, he is afflicted with nostalgia and groans under the burden of life. Revelation, on the contrary, bot enriches and invigorates the human self. Thriving on the nourishment provided by Wahyi, it deals effectively with the problems of actual life and strives to establish the "Kingdom of Heaven" on earth. The Nabii’s revelation infuses a new life into the people, so that with renewed faith and revitalised energy they march forward to battle with the forces of destruction and disintegration.

In short, while the mystic aims at self-effacement, the Nabi armed with his revelation, summons the people to march towards the goal of self-realisation, and self-development and self-assertion. Iqbal, in his masterly discussion of the subject, has clearly brought out the distinction between the experienced of a Nabi and that of a mystic. The relevant passage deserves to be quoted in full:

"Muhammad of Arabia ascended the highest Heaven and returned. I swear by God that if I had reached that point, I should never have returned." These are the words of a great Muslim saint, Abdul Quddus of Gongoh. In the whole range of sufi literature, it will be, probably, difficult to find words which, in a single sentence, disclose such an acute perception of the psychological difference between the prophetic and the mystic types of consciousness.

The mystic does not wish to return from the repose of ‘unitary experience’; and when he does return, as he must, his return does not mean much for mankind at large. The prophet’s return is creative. He returns to insert himself into the sweep of time with a view to control the forces of history, and thereby to create a fresh world of ideals. For the mystic, the repose of ‘unitary experience’ is something final; for the prophet it is awakening, within him, of world-shaking psychological forces, calculated to completely transform the human world.

The desire to see his religious experience transformed into a living world-force, is supreme in the prophet. Thus his return amounts to a kind of pragmatic test of the value of his religious experience. In its creative act the prophet’s will judges both itself and the world of concrete fact in which it endeavours to objectity itself. In penetrating the impervious material before him, the prophet discovers himself for himself, and unveils himself to the eye of history.

Another way of judging the value of the prophet’s religious experience, therefore, would be to examine the type of manhood that he has created, and the cultural world that has sprung out of the spirit of his message.

The Nabii’s mission of leading all mankind, in accordance with the dictates of Revelation and thus bringing about a universal revolution to mould the course of history, is no light task. It is with reference to this heavy burden of responsibility that the Qur’an observes:

Have We not cuased your bosom to broaden and eased you of the burden which weighed down your back? (94:1-3).

The Nabi proclaims the message he has received and it is through the sheer force of truth that it sinks in the mind of those whose finer susceptibilities have not been deadened. The Nabi, by the example of his own life and conduct, fires them with the ambition to live a purer, nobler and higher life. These men gather round the Nabii and earnesly strive to shape their lives in the light of the revelation. Inspired by the radiant and fervent faith (conviction) which the Nabii has kindled in them, they endeavour to make the world a home for the higher values. They set about building up a society which gives man full opportunity for self-expression and self-development, a society worth of free men who are conscious of their dignity as human beings. They thus become participants in carrying out the Divine plan for the universe.

Mystic experience - whatever it may be - is nothing beyond the development of some of the inner faculties of man, e.g., will power, which every human being can develop irrespective of his creed, belief or even actions. This is why mystics are found in every religion, cult or group.

The claim of a mystic that he is in tune with the Infinite or has seen Reality as it is, is only the projection of his own imagination. This is why the description of Reality given by various mystics differs from one another.

At any rate, mysticism has nothing to do with din and the Qur’an does not lend support to it. Even the word "tasawwuf" (mysticism) does not find a place in the earlier literature of Islam - Qur’an or Hadith. "It is," as stated by Iqbal, "an alien plant ;in the soil of Islam." In Islam there is nothing mystic or mysterious. It is a simple and plain code of life which aims at establishing a social order in which permanent values manifest themselves in concrete shape.