Dialogue with Sheikh Mohammed Metwalli adult modحوار مع الشيخ محمد متولي الشعراوي باللغة الإنجليزية ....
أحبتي الكرام
نقلت لكم هذا الحوار باللغة الإنجليزية
لعله يكون مفيدا لهواة الكتابة والقراءة بالإنجليزية :
By
Preamble:
His Eminence Sheikh Muhammad Motwalli Ash-Sha’rawi, may Allah have mercy on him, was a prominent preacher of Islam in Egypt. He was born in Al-Mansourah in 1911. After he had graduated from the Primary Institute For Islamic Studies at Al-Zaqaziq, he went to the High Institute and got a certificate of the Secondary Religious Education from Al-Azhar in 1936. Later on, he got a degree in Arabic from Al-zhar university in 1941. Afterwards, he earned the International Degree in 1944, after which he was appointed a teacher of Arabic in the secondary schools of Al-Azhar in Zaqaziq, Tantah and Alexandria. Then, he went to Saudi Arabia and taught at the religious institutes there. Then he held the position of a professor at King Abdul Aziz University of Mecca for several years. He returned to Egypt, where he became head of the Da’wa (Preaching) Administration and, then, Principal of the Office of the Great Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque. After that, he was delegated to Algeria as the Head of the Egyptian Delegation. Then, he was appointed Deputy-Director of Al-Azhar, and, then Minister of Al-Awqaf (Endowments) and Al-Azhar Affairs in the years 1976-1978. He has three sons and two daughters, the eldest of whom is Sheikh Sami Motwalli Ash-Sha’rawi, administrator of Al-Azhar establishment at Al-Jeezah, and who provided us with this short biography of his father.
It was a holy blessed interview between his Eminence Sheikh Muhammad Motwalli Ash-Sha’rawi, the prime preacher of Egypt, and Professor Rateb Nabulsi. The interview took place at Shekh Mutwali’s house in Cairo at 10.30 a.m., on 29th, October, 1999. After a short but warm welcome, the following interview took place:
· Question
ú Answer
· Religion was originally transmitted to us through authentic narration of Divine Revelation. And we have a mind to understand this religion, so this religion must be both sensible and correctly transmitted, because the Holy Quran is the word of Allah, the Universe is His creation and universal incidents are His actions. The human mind is a special gift that Allah gave to man. Now the question is: if a certain authentic religious revealed text falls in contradiction with the human mind, and, hence, interpretation becomes impossible, what shall we do?
ú We follow what revealed religion says, simply because our mind does not go beyond things or understand the real facts properly; and this is a proof that our mind is unable by itself to realize everything. Our mind has a great role in belief, because we use it to comprehend revealed texts. It reflects on this universe and sees through it the Creator. It notices that the greatest and most trivial things are the same because they were all created by the Master most accurately and miraculously. So I should use my mind to reflect on this universe, in which everything works wonderfully and does not go wrong unless man interferes and is not aware of the instructions of the Creator. Everything that is far from man’s interference performs its function properly. Corruption occurs when man interferes without guidance from his Creator.
Man was brought to a well prepared universe, and everything was put completely at his disposal. Nobody has ever claimed to be the creator of this universe. Then a Messenger comes from the Creator telling me about some issues of the universe which occupied my mind for a long time. In such case man must feel grateful and thankful towards this honorable Messenger, who solves for man the puzzle of this universe, its origin, and end, which occupied the minds of mankind through years and centuries. For example, if I were in a car crossing a desert and suddenly this car broke down, all my food and drink finished and I were sure to die, and if I fell asleep for a while then got up to see a table with a variety of delicious food and drink, don not you think that before I eat anything I should ask who has prepared it?
Although people tend to claim possessing things that never belong to them, nobody so far has claimed to be the creator of this universe, not even atheists who deny the existence of Allah. Really, the Prophet brought us the Truth; and we should thank Him for that. He clarified to us the reality of the universe, life, man - that reality which has occupied people’s minds for a long time.
Thus, my mind is the main source to know Allah; and after I know Allah with my mind, I work according to the instructions that were transmitted to me through Divine Revelation. The first concern of a believer becomes to make sure of the validity authenticity of such instructions and whether they came from Allah or not. This obligation stems from man’s servitude to his Creator.
Concerning the unreal ostensible contradiction between the facts of religion and those of universal science, it may be tackled as follows. In fact religion, has never interfered with the universal science because we do not differ about it; but inevitably we will agree about it. Electricity can never be Russian or American; neither can chemistry be German or English. And we do not feel ashamed of take from each other in the scientific fields; but we conceal our desires and ideologies from each other. Our Lord interferes in the field that we are likely to differ about, namely desires and ideologies. He, the Most Wise, put a system in order to prevent these desires from spoiling our life. Therefore, when a religious scholar interferes with experimental science, we say to him, “This is none of your business.” The Holy Prophet (PBUH) told His Companions, "You know best (how to tackle) issues of your secular affairs.”
Science is based on experiment and laboratory which never flatter, and on matter which does not flatter, either. This is none of the business of religion. Religion invites you to reflect on the creation of the heavens and earth; and such reflection provides you with facts. “And how many signs in the heavens and the earth do they pass by? yet they turn ( their faces) away from them.” [VI, 105]
Such facts make you believe in Allah.
Religion, therefore, interferes only in issues about which human desires might differ; but in matters on which desires agree you are free. Hence, it should be said to a religious scholar, “Do not interfere in what desires agree about”, and to a scientist, “Do not interfere in what desires differ about.”
Religion relieves my mind of the conflict between desires and makes me share with others matters that we have already agreed upon; thus, we can make more progress and never differ.
“If the Truth had been in accord with their desires, truly the heavens and the earth would have been in confusion and corruption.” [XXIII ; 71]
As soon as I find Allah, the Truth, that I am searching for using my mind, I surrender myself to Him. This is because the moment I believe in Him as a God and that He is the One, Who decrees His Divine Law for my sake, I surrender myself to Him. With m mind I look for a good physician to cure my illness, but once I have found him, I leave the whole thing up to him and never interfere in what he prescribe to me of medicine. That is why those who know Allah have given the mind its due job. They say, “The mind is a means that guides you to the Sultan; but it does not enter with you unto him.”
The problem is that we ask a lot of questions about the purpose of religious rituals, which is not good, because it is the habit of materialists.
· Sir, is there in Islam something that is called Sharia (Islamic Law) and another thing called Haqiqa (Reality) i.e. a visible thing and an invisible thing? Or are they two sides of the same coin?
ú of course it is one thing, but Sharia searches for the Law while Haqiqa makes you adhere to that Law. There is a difference between knowing the rule and practicing it. Haqiqa means to take the rule and to practice it, not only to be proud of knowing it. To get the required medicine is Sharia and to have is Haqiqa.
People of Haqiqa are those who take the Law and apply it, because the Law is not a kind of knowledge you have to only know but also to practice. Our Lord wants to guide us to it not only for mere knowledge. Therefore, it is not necessary for the one who is guided to Allah to know the wisdom underlying His Law. The rule says: “Benefit from anything is not a part of knowing it, but rather a part of the knowledge of the one who gives that thing.”
· Sir, is a true Sufi a scholar who behaves according to what he knows?
ú Yes, of course. A true Sufi becomes closer to Allah by means of Sharia (Law); but when a scholar of Sharia does not behave in accordance with what he knows, certainly he will fall behind as if he is saying: “Consider my knowledge and neglect my behavior; and take the fruit and throw the branches to the fire”
However, with regards to this issue, there is another thing, namely, “Whoever works according to his knowledge, Allah lets him know what he knows not”
The person who practices his knowledge is entrusted on what he knows. That is why he deserves blessings from Allah as a reward for applying Sharia sincerely and not using it as goods to trade in it among people. Allah honors him because he goes on the Right Path. This honor is to enable him to differentiate between right and wrong. “If you fear Allah, He will grant you a Furqan (acriterion by which you differentiate right from wrong).” [ IIX ; 29]
So, the Forqan is a light by which righteous people differentiate between right and wrong. It is the fruit of piety, which is obedience to Allah and fearing Him; piety is the fruit of the knowledge of Haqiqa and has to do with knowledge of Sharia.
· Sir, can we say that Moses knew the Legislative Command, while Al-Khidr knew the Universal Command?
ú Al-Khidr knew the Legislative Command; and by it Allah endowed him with knowledge. He worshipped Allah according to Sharia similar to that which Moses (PBUH) preached. Then Allah gave him from his own special knowledge. Had Moses known the secret of the Universal Command, he would have done what Al-Khidr (PBUH) did(1).
· Sir, you know that some of the religious texts of the Quran and Sunna (the Prophetic tradition) have definitive meanings and others do not; and those which do not indicate definitive meanings are subjects of dispute among scholars and breed variety of schools and doctrines. What do you think the wisdom behind such a phenomenon is?
erator in English ....
السبت نوفمبر 09, 2024 3:41 pm من طرف الناظورى