Author: Harris Abdullah
From one site translation of this video interview: “Sheikh Al-Tayeb explains to his host that the Messiah came to “save societies from the throes of materialism, unbridled passions and deadly selfishness, and to prepare them for a new paradigm.”
The main question we need to ask is why does a society need to be saved? When Al Masih Isa said something before his death as recorded in the Injil in Luke 23:28, he said something very shocking to those around him that they should not cry for him but rather for themselves and their generations/children. These words were not spoken to unbelievers but to those who were believers of Allah; the only one and true God whose name is Yahweh. The fact is you would find that most materialism, unbridled passions and deadly selfishness are not from those unbelievers but from those who claim to be Muslims, Christians and Jews. There is a saying: you can take a man out of the world but you cannot take the world out of the church/mosque or synagogue. Shameful acts were done by all these religious groups. One well-known blogger mentioned that he even felt ashamed to be called a Muslim after seeing what some extremists had done in the name of religion. I think we should not just look at these extremists but look at our own selves: have we truly live out the life as required by Allah S.W.T as mentioned correctly by the Grand Imam Sheikh Al-Tayeb, “to prepare…for a new paradigm”? I wonder if there is such a complicated word as “paradigm” in Arabic or in the Quran. But we will look at this idea more closely later.
There were more faults to be found where Muslims leaders declared that all other scriptures such as the Hebrew Bible and Greek Bible were corrupted but too blinded to see that their hearts were even more corrupted. And in some parts of the world normal Muslims were at the mercies of religious police; if a Muslim believer started to ask too many questions he/she would be punished, when the only thing in his/her mind was to have a deeper understanding of the Quran in order to deepen his/her faith. And they proudly said that we Muslims emphasize on social transformation and even manage a country! If you truly studied the Quran, little would you see the emphasis on how to run a country, in fact there was none at all; it was more on how to live and manage a community of believers than a country. I believe those who have eyes to see would definitely have asked what the Muslim countries have done with their social transformation. It is more likely an external show of religiousness and people being brainwashed, forced to believe whatever the religious leaders said, each one being controlled by man-made fear and women being locked into their third class role and in some places they are treated as properties. It was a pity to hear as recounted by an air-stewardess who saw some ladies from a region all covered up with black hijab clothing boarding a plane to one of the European countries; then suddenly as though these ladies had found freedom, went into the bathroom to take off their black hijab coverings and came out with jeans, T-shirts and blouses or dresses. Is there truly any ‘new paradigm’ or ‘social transformation’ in the present Muslim societies and this question also applies to the Jews and Christians as well?
What exactly does this passage of Isa Al-Masih truly mean that the Grand Imam Sheikh Al-Tayeb marveled at? As in any studies of the Scripture, if the word is from Allah S.W.T. true believers will revere by looking at the text. If any Muslims have high regard for the word of Allah, then it would not be wrong to say when Al Masih Isa said in the Quran,
Surah 3:50
وَمُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَلِأُحِلَّ لَكُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي حُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَجِئْتُكُم بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ فَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ وَأَطِيعُونِ
‘Fear Allah and obey me’, this would mean you will find the truth when you obey Isa’s teaching, is it not? Now let’s look at the passage:
- Matthew 5:1 And when He saw the multitudes, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.
2 And opening His mouth He began to teach them, saying,
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me.
12 “Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
This is a long passage which we could first ask a few questions pertaining to what our Grand Imam has put forth about his thoughts on this passage: “This program of high moral and spiritual principles was meant to act as a counterweight to the prevailing materialism,” explained Sheikh Al-Tayeb. What led to this conclusion of the passage is about high moral and spiritual principles. I would like to pose a few thought provoking questions in order that we could appreciate this truth if it is the truth before we conclude on this subject.
- 1. Look at the words “blessed are the poor”; who in the right mind would say poor is a blessing? Can any man say this? Aren’t the poor folks in this world more inclined to pursue riches? To all mankind, riches is a blessing, is it not? You can ask any Muslims, Jews and Christians, since when being poor is a blessing? The Christians even invented a Gospel called Prosperity Gospels. The same questions apply to “Blessed are those who mourn….”. Who says mourning is a blessing? Would not laughter, being merry, etc. meant to be blessings? How about “Blessed are the gentle/meek…”? This type of people would become walking carpets? The strong would step on them; the strong would survive? Strength or power is blessing; they are the ones who rule the world.
- 2. To who do these “Blessings” considered to be true blessings? Are these values of blessings come from man’s idea?
- 3. Would man be able to practice this type of moral principles? It is as if Al Masih Isa came and gave us this type of high moral and spiritual principles that man would not be able to practice. What is the point of telling us then?
- 4. Are these high moral and spiritual principles concern about personal or social transformation?
I would leave these questions with you at the moment and hope that you would seek Allah S.W.T and ask Him to guide you for enlightenment on these words from Al-Masih Isa. We hope to explore how all the scriptures complement these words that could be found in the Al-Quran and also in the Hebrew Bible. I believe once we could understand it and practice this in our lives, we would transcend religious and socio-political issues in our lives.
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Note:
- All Al-Quran verses are sourced from English Translation of Al-Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, with thanks.
- All Injil and Torah verses are sourced from New American Standard Bible with Codes (1995), with thanks.