Sikhism and the Natural Way of Life

The Punjab in the Indian Subcontinent has been the entry point to India for invaders, discovers, merchants, and travellers for mellinia. Thus it became a receptacle of very diverse ideas, philosophies, and ways of life over histroy. Muslim missionaries travelled there and beyond to teach people about the natural way of life, through personal example and righteous living. People from all communities were influenced by these teachers who they elevated to status higher than perhaps was appropriate, as is the case with such matters in the Indian subcontinent, where there has always been a tendency to exaggerate in respect and devotion to teachers raising them to semi-divine status. 

Today, we find the masses of all faith communities, going on pilgrimage to the graves of such teachers who are raised to the status of "saints". Many circummbulate these graves in devotion or prostrate to them or supplicate them for their needs. This has been the culture of the Indian Subcontinent, regardless of the faith community, as first described by Al Biruni in his antropological work on Indian society.

In the last millenia, the confluence of different faiths in the Punjab developed and intermingled, as the tendency of Hinduism which as been the main cultural force there is to amalgamate different faith and phiolosphies in a single all absorbing culture. This resulted in a common sense of spirtuality with ascetics from both Hindu and Muslim traditions practicing self denial and personal spirtual development, Just like the rivers of Punjab intermingle and flow into the Arabian Sea contibuting their essence in the discharge, likewise the different philospohies of this ferile land intermingled and developed into a common sense of spirituality with Sufi/Bhagti (personal spiritual development based on devotional remembrance of God which makes the devotee esctatic and reach haal -- causes them to "go in the zone").

Sikhism developed over several centuries based on the teaching of its primary (first) teacher, Guru Nanak, in the 1400s. As a deeply spirutal person, he went on a self discovery journey spiritually as well as physcially to understand and explain the sprituality he  personally got insights about. He did not claim to be a prophet of God, nor was his insights Revelation like they were for the Messengers of God in history. Nevertheless, he was a spiritual man, devotred to worshiping the One God from whom he got insights just like good upright men do. Thus he learned a personal way of living with many positive aspects and started teaching it to others. 

Some of the ideas that were important for him was the devotional personal connection with the One God, who represented the Truth. Through spritual practices akin to the Sufi/Bhagti tradition, and clean living, his inspirations and insights increased. With good intentions and mission for public service, they built upon each other. As a traveler and devoted man, he learned from many socieites and laid a lot of emphasis on learning, which became the basis of this new religion -- Sikh i.e. a disciple who is engrossed in learning.

Guru Nanak taught his disciples and chose the one he taught was best qualified to continue that teaching to others, thus his best disciple became the second Guru, and the line of gurus contined likewise till the 1700s. The gurus recorded these teachings and their personal phiolosophies in poems and books, which ultimately was completed and compiled by the 10th and last guru, Guru Gobind Singh. Rahter than choosing a suceesor to take over the task of teaching the community after him, this book of personal reflections of whole line of 10 gurus became the means of guidance for the Sikh community. 

Although, it is just a book of personal reflections of inspired people, the Granth Sahab is not the words of God, per se, nor are the words of prophets as none of the gurus were more than the wise inspired people. None claimed to be more than that. It contains the way Guru Nanak and the 9 gurus after him were inspired and lived a life which was meaningful for them, so that others who wish to do so might study it and try the same at a personal and community level based on the principles they had outlined in their personal reflections. 

Today, the Grarnth Sahab is given the status of a living person, Guru Granth Sahab, as the book is called in a living teacher like the other 10 gurus were once living. When devotees enter their places of worship, they prostrate to the book, and show devotion and reverance to it, whereas it might have orignially be intended just as a respository to principles to be studies, reflected, and applied to live a "good life" that the gurus intended their community to live. 

As compared to Islam -- the natural way of life -- Sikhism has interesting similarities and differences connsidering the gurus have quoted from two Sufis in their reflections -- Kabir and Farid. Guru Nanak also travelled to the Muslim world upto Baghdad and might have learned from other Muslim teachers. Among the ideas that are aligned with natural living, Sikhism is monothiestic, thus its disciples worship one God for inspiration, but strickly speaking the pure concepts of tawheed Al Uboodiyah (Monotheism of Worship) might be questionable with the degree of devotion and almost worship of the gurus (including the scriptural living guru - Guru Granth Sahab). This again is a characteristic of the people of the Indian subcontinent as we have discussed earlier. 

The concept of this world and the next world -- miri and piri (worldliness and spirtuality) is similar to Islam in that they are composite and not divorced from each other, whereas ideas of reincarnation and union with God are from Hindu and extreme Sufi tendencies which are not considered correct in orthoodox Islam, in which a person has four lives -- the life in the womb, that in this world, that in the grave and the everlasting life in the hereafter, not to return to this world again. As for union with God, that is not possible in Islamic ideology in which the Creator and His creation are distinct and canoot intermix at all.

Sikhism has some good ideas and principles. The emphasis on learning, self development, doing good to society, and living a clean, honest, chaste, upright life are all very positive attributes which the gurus taught their communities, but we need to realize that we can only rise to be an imperfect copy of our greatest teacher if we take them as absolute authority. Although, Sikhism is the 5th largest world religion, its followers are mostly from the Punjab wherevver they happen to live. It is very tied to a particular geograghy, culture, historical epoc, and teaching of a few men from that epoch. The lack of universality in its outreach might be because of its limited access to the principles of wisdom, as the words of 10 wise man, however inspirational they might be, cannot compare with the universal truth explained most eloquently by God Himself. Although, Sikhs might taste moments of estascy in music and dancing with the inspirational teachings of the gurus, it pales in comparision to the doing everything -- whether worldly or otherwise -- in complete worship ("in the zone") by following prophetic best practices that are authentically preserved in the natural way of life of Islam.

During the development of Sikhism, the Muslim Mughal rulers of India, saw these issues as herectic beliefs and forced the Sikhs to convert to Islam, which was not the best way to deal with the differences, in my personal opion. With hinsight, wre see that it increased differences and turned a people further away who have so much in common. So that now after the guru period of Sikhism, their religious dogma has fossilized and resistance to such force exerted by the Mughal rulers are part of their faith. 

It would be good to recreate goodwill so that we may consider the true value of our faith without any historical antagonism, as a means to optimize our efforts to live naturally, rather than force a version of truth we believe in on a people, as the Mughal rulers tried to do in their religious zeal. Athough, Sikhism is theoriticaly monothistic and based on the teaching of inspired and wise people with good intentions and good work, it is a suboptimum way to live a truly natural life that is possible with a holistic understanding of Islam and the modern world.

If intellectuals, scholars, and teachers from the Sikh community can try to reconsider Islam from its essential sources rather than the injustices of Muslim rulers who might have dealt with them in an inapprorpriate manner, perhaps they might rediscover some of the original thought pattern of Guru Namak in the inspiratation they get by studying Islam afresh.

How Does the Quran Transform Us

The process of memorizing the Quran is a journey that should be relished as it builds the Muslim personality. Memorizing properly for this end in mind, should be done in a proper way so that we benefit from the process. 

There are some prerequisites to begin. The foremost is to do it out of awe (tawqa) of Allah and in doing so to give up sins. It is not possible to memorize while continuing to sin. To memorize the Quran, we must love it and have a special relationship and companionship with it, by reciting a minimum set amount daily and engaging with it as much as possible. 

To benefit from it, it is highly recommended to recite it as Angel Gabrial (AS) taught it to Prophet Muhammad (SWAS) and that methodology has been passed down through certifications to our present day. Also, we need to understand what we memorize, by understanding the language it is in, i.e. Quranic Arabic which is a subset of Classical Arabic, which even many modern Arabs also do not understand well today. 

We cannot memorize the Quran if we do not schedule it as a daily appoinment at the same portion of the day. Thus, we need to set a dedicated time for it and seriously honour that appointment by fixing it in our schedule. As with time, the place needs to be fixed. It should be a place free from distractions where we memorize daily. As with time and place, the mushaf (copy of the Quran) needs to be fixed as well. It should be a standard copy and the same copy should ideally be used throughout the memorization. 

Before memorizing a new section of the Quran, we need to write it down by hand, with the paper to be shredded after memorization is accomplished. Finally, memorizing for Allah's pleasure requires making continuous supplication to Him to facilitate the process for it cannot happen unless it is sincerely for Him. 

Once the right conditions are established, we need to become familiar with the whole Quran, by reciting it frequently before beginning the memorization process. It should begin with the shortest chapters at the end of the Quran (part 30) for quick wins, and boost to confidence, as well as the fact that these chapeters are easy to recite in daily prayers by memory. Thus, we can proceed from part 30, to part 29, to part 28. Then, we can focus on memorizing the chapters that we are most familiar with like Al Khaf that we have been reciting every Friday, or Al Rahman, Ya Seen, etc. This will be easy to do and will set us up to memorize the whole Quran from the begining going forward (i.e. from Al Baqara onwards). 

The way to memorize is to take a section a day to memorize. Say we start with memorizing 3 verses. We do this by reciting the first verse 40 times without mistakes. Then we recite the second verse 40 times without mistakes. Once we have recited both individually 40 times, we recite the first with the second in combination 40 times without mistakes. Next, we memorize the third (last) verse 40 times without mistakes. Finally we recite the three verses of the section in combination 40 times without mistakes. 

Once we have memorized the daily section, we need to review what we have memorized before with this new section (3 verses). The reviewed section can be a quarter part of the Quran. After this is consolidated, we need to examine the section to memorize for the next day, prepare it and write it down to work on the following day. In the preparation, we need to read the translation and tafseer of that section we want to memorize. 

Memorization should be done 6 days a week, with one day dedicated for only revision in which all memorization should be reviewed. By using our free time for the wird of the Quran and reciting what we memorize in prayers in the day and specially at night, the memorization gets consolidated and part of our being and that is how the Quran transforms us. 

The Means Do Not Justify The End

If there is one thing I have learnt from life, it is that the means do not justify the ends. Since childhood, I observed my father who was vigilant to not break any rules as an expatriate worker in the UAE for 50+ consecutive years. I learnt that the laws of a society are made after considerable deliberation. Yes the are man made laws but a lot of work and consultantion goes to draft them. They are not perfect, but they are the best for that time for that place. By working within them we align with the natural processes of that society and live in peace and harmony with everyone. If we want to improve the society we work within the system to influence and change it for the better. Islamic laws are natural laws. There is tremendous flexibility in their scope and the way they can be implemented and exist within the system. As they are based on nature, practicing them sincerely within any system will influence the laws of any country and improve them naturally over time. 

The important thing is that we change ourselves, and that in itself will change our enironment and societies positively. When Islam spread worldwide it worked within the exsiting pre-Islamic cultures to refine them to become the best versions of it. During a casual conversation in a recreation center with a Canadian who spent his working life in Japan I learned that when he goes on vacations in India he prefers to stay at hotels owned by Muslims as Islam places a lot of emphasis on hygiene. The essential Indian culture is the same for Muslims and non Muslims, but Islam filtered the mainstrem Indian society in many ways over the centuries.

I remember how my father criticized newcomers to UAE in their carelessness in breaking the country's regulations. Yet many do not cringe at breaking laws when we immigrate to the West while emulating the Western systems blindly. Realize, that every rule we break has an impact on how we live. In general, it makes us deviate with natural living in that society. The fact that immigration status is denied to us in a country means that it is in OUR benefit not to stay there illegally, not for the fear of legal punishment but because it will have a host of negative repercussions that are not good for us in many ways. They will complicate our life and circumstances. So if we are denied a privilege by law, it means that it is beneficial for us not to have it. We may like a thing which is bad for us and dislike a thing which is good for us. The laws have been made with much deliberation for everyone's benefit including our own. The means do not justify the end.

Unfortunately, we see the same "by hook or by crook" mentality in new migrants to the West that we observed in illegal residents in the UAE in our youth. The West is a place where it is easy to deviate from natural living if we deliberately go against conventional and natural principles. So if there is a natural principle that engaging in riba whether in the form of home mortgages, car loans, or student loans is not natural, then we say OK, there is good in that for our holistic development and it will help us develop ourselves and our families in the long run and we do not engage in it. It is better not to be "touched by madness" that the Quran describes the dealing with riba causes, such that its effects do not allow us to live naturally, by constantly improving ourselves and others. Rather it causes us to become cogs in the Western system, enhancing its extreme nature rahter than improving it through influence and personal example to a natural equilibrium.

For some improvement and self development is aided through marriage or active participation in a particular community. Whereas others might thrive, producing great legacy by not marrying even though it it the Sunnah. Perhaps if Imam An Nawwawi married he might not have produced such great gems through dilution of his vision and efforts. Every case is different. For some Muslims, marriage in the West is obligatory, for some it is mubah, and for some it might be better not to marry. Similary, for some Muslims in the West, staying within a particular community might be obligatory, while for some interacting with a whole range of communities might be more beneficial to realize their unique vision. In any case, the important thing is to do the right thing which is uniquely right for the individual. without going against any conventional or natural principle. If we are violating any such principles, it is always possible to go back and correct our mistakes and build again to do things right, even though the matter might not be to our liking. If it means going back to our home countries because we are unable to upkeep conventional or natural principles, so be it, as the means do not justify the end. If it means to change our financial ways, it is always possible to reset to live more naturally in a society which has many benefits.

The Role of Wealth in Immigrant Muslim Communities in the West

They come mainly from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia speaking a gamut of diverse languages. All races, ethnicities, and economic classes are flooding Western urban centers. While some are unskilled laborers from rural villages, many are highly skilled professionals -- doctors, engineers, IT experts, accountants, financial wizards, and entrepreneurs. Some are refugees escaping war, religious persecution or oppression but a significant proportion of Muslims are migrating to the West for purely economic reasons, either as international students in Western universities or through professional migration schemes designed to attract the cream de la cream of the world.

The nature of capitalism in the West is that even religious non profit organizations are ecomically driven to solicit funding through donations. Unlike in Muslim countries where there are religious endowments (wafs) to fund religious activities, the religious institutions in the West are funded mostly through donations modeled on rules which originally goverened traditional Christian organizations. One local Islamic scholar described this public funding model as "beautiful" in terms of how many projects can be done through mutual cooperation.

Personally, I find some aspects of this model, which is rampant in immigrant communities, disgusting and sometimes against the Islamic ethos. When religious advice and services are influenced by donations, then they are not equitably dispensed in the community. As most immigrants are blindly focused on economic goals, they discount the importance of earning according to Islamic ethics, and encourage making wealth and properties based on riba and such exploitative economic practices that Islam explicitly prohibits. When such people gain influence through donations, neither is there blessing in the Islamic projects funded by impure wealth nor are the Islamic organizations able to cater to the needs of all the congregation equitably.

The waqf system needs to be established in the West whereby Islamic organizations become free from the addiction of perpetual fundraising. When Islamic organizations own properties and land which generate rent and harvest annually to fund Islamic projects there will be less need for perpetual fund raising.

How can Muslims in the West be leaders in astromony, history, research, etymology, social work, or a plethora of very interesting and fulfilling professions when everyone is expected to be a doctor, engineer, IT tech, or financial guru to make as much money as possible for influence and social status through donations? How can the best examples of humanity be so singularly money driven?

In medieval Christiandom, it was possible to purchase a certificate for Paradise from the Church for the right amount of donation. Likewise, we find Muslim elite financing their spiritual needs through donations, so it is possible for the rich to have a religious scholar recite the Quran beautifully for a terminally ill patient daily even if the patient does not try to perform salaat as long as they donate.

The concept of "pure" wealth and "impure" wealth was very clear even before the advent of Islam. When the Kaaba was reconstructed there was not enough funding to complete the whole structure with "pure" wealth so they did it without constructing the hateem (a semi circular adjacent area today). Yet Immigrant Islamic organizations have no qualms about the sources of their funds, just as Sir Sayyid Ahmed Khan had no remorse to go to the dancing girls to collect funds for Aligarh Muslim University to revive Islam in India as did the public fundraising campaign in Morocco to build a giant mosque in Rabat recently which collected donations from even prostitutes.

There is nothing wrong with being wealthy in Islam just as there is nothing wrong with a lack of wealth. Wealth can be inherited or it can be a by product of productive and socially productive activities. The richest man in human history, Mansa Musa of Mali was a Muslim. Abu Bakr Siddique (RA), Uthman Ibn Affan (RA), and Abdulrahman Ibn Awf (RA) generated tremendous wealth, but wealth was never in their hearts. It was in their hands to do good with. For them wealth was a blessing. It came to them through ethically and lawfully as a by product of their good works and they used it for more good works and thus it kept multiplying in quantity and blessing. They did not hoard it, like it is hoarded today, but kept circulating it. Thus unlike Chistianity, Islam does not advocate shunning wealth to lead a righteous life. Nevertheless, we need to realize that in some circumstances wealth can be a curse, and in such individual circumstances it might be wiser not to pursue it and there is nothing wrong with that either.

Musab Ibn Umair (RA) was from a wealthy Makkan family, yet when he was burried after Uhad his shroud was not enough to cover his whole body. For many Muslims, especially of our present materialistic era, wealth can be a test and curse. Did not the Prophet (SWAS) explicitly single out the pursuit of wealth as THE fitna specific for his Ummah?

Islamic organizations in the West need to realize the repercussions of their actions with respect to funding their projects. Rather than perpetual fundraising, it might be more fruitful to establish awqaf for long term funding and take care of the spiritual need of their congregation irrespective of their economic condition. 

In the long term, such steps might lead to a more balanced flourishing of Islam in the West, free from the influences of oppressive Muslim regimes, while being immune from the blind pursuit of wealth and social status of our times which is one of the main spiritual illness that humanity suffers globally.

Disadvantages of Modern Muslim Groups

Maulana Syed Abu Ala Maududi has a small booklet in Urdu, advocating the importance of being formally part of an Islamic group. Among the cited advantages are protection, organization, accountability, feedback, development program, shared resources and ideology. I do not doubt these benefits, but there are definite disadvantages to joining any Islamic group these days which one should clearly consider before committing oneself.

Most Islamic groups differ in their methodologies even if they all claim to be following the Quran and Prophetic teaching. Their ideology and methodology are derived from the interpretation of their founder’s understanding on how the Quran and Sunnah should be implemented in our modern world. Due to human deficiency, their ideology is specific to a particular geographic and historic context. It is dependent on their intellectual maturity and understanding, which will always be less than that of the Prophet (SWAS) and His Companions (RA). Thus, we find one group emphasizing calling people to Islam, another spreading knowledge, another struggling to revive the khilafa, another emphasizing adopting Prophetic teachings, another following the pious predessors, and others calling for struggle. While the common man is entangled in fiqhi (jurisprudence) issues without understanding of the essence of the faith.

Each group is like a blind man examining an elephant. One feels its trunk and considering the elephant as a pipe. Another feels its tail considering the elephant as a rope. Another feel its feet considering an elephant as columns. Another feels its ears considering an elephant as a cloth. Another feels its teeth considering an elephant as a spear. Yet another feels its sides considerng an elephant as a hairy wall. In the elephant analogy, the blind men might represent intellectual founders of all modern groups and the "elephant" is Islam (with all due respect to all groups).

Whatever the ideology, it pales in comparison of the holistic vision of Muhammad (SWAS) who was able to see the whole elephant for what it is. Our duty is to follow the Prophet (SWAS) as faithfully as possible by espousing his vision. By joining a modern group, we automatically put limits on that vision. We give up the essential personal duty for deep contemplation to the leaders of the group we choose to follow. Joining a group makes us give up holistic study from the sources of Islam and limits it to the group’s literature. We tend to study specific curriculum designed by its education department, repeatedly emphasizing Quranic verses and hadiths cited in their literature to justify their methodology.

What turns off most non-Muslims from Islam and many Mulims from joining a group is observing the state of the members of such groups. Most people tend to follow their leaders blindly and not willing to hear anything negative about their methodology. It seems that their kalima (formal statement of faith) has become the mission statement of their groups. There is a lot of leader “worship” in such groups. The amount of backbiting one hears of other groups is just amazing. It seems that Muslims who have joined other organizations are fair game for backbiting as membership rules do not apply to them. We need to understand that although others are not members of their organizations, they are still Muslims and enjoy the benefits of brotherhood just as well. A lot of effort is wasted in these organizations in just trying to put down the other Muslims.

One should understand that most groups are working for similar goals even if they adopt different methodologies. Some cite a specific Prophetic saying, making it incumbent on a Muslim to join a group. This saying is specific to a bygone era when there was khilafa (Representative of the Prophet of God on Earth). In that case, a Muslim should not live without giving an oath of allegiance to a group leader. Our "group" is those we daily pray with in congregation no matter what their national origin, race, colour, ethnicaity, or modern Islamic group ideology. God forbid, if we study a coursse with a Muslim organization or even just "like" a Muslim's post because of its content, it does not apply that we give our allegiance to their "group". Is it not possible to learn from each other?