Zakir Naik: More Hype than hope for Muslims

There is no dearth for fundamentalists who intend to divide the masses for achieving individual goals. They always put their effort to destruct the secular mind of believers by making erroneous interpretation on the holy doctrines of their religion. Even today, despite the dominance of secularism, we can able to see so many religious fanatics with such features. Zakir Naik, the controversial Islamic preacher who was alleged by the Bangladeshi government in terms of inspiration to the two of five attackers of Dhaka incident is an explicit example for the growing fundamentalists in the world.

Zakir Naik was born in 1965 at Mumbai and it is interesting to see a man born from secular Indian ethos having supremacist and exclusivist ideology. He expounds his thoughts through the Dubai based channel 'Peace TV' and he is a well wisher of Saudi Arabia because of his hidden propagation of Wahabbism.

His brand of Quranic literalism, anti-pluralism, and puritan Wahhabism has made him one of the most notorious religious preachers today. He has refused to condemn Osama bin Laden because he "has never met him" (but he will call American Presidents terrorists even though he has met none of them either). While he encourages the spread of his brand of Islam in all countries, he supports banning the propagation of other faiths in Islamic nations.

He is famed for his knowledge of the Quran and even other religious texts, often quoting holy verses from memory. Zakir Naik is an innocent figure for many gullible Muslims pursuing support without knowing the thoughts in him. Many people are totally inspired in his Da’awa activities.

In real, the issue of Zakir Naik is a creation of enemies of Islam. It will be better for the gullible Muslims to keep silence and scrutinize the holy scripts of Islam for enhanced understanding on the Islamic creed. He is the one who had deviated thousands of Muslims from the real path of Islam which was followed by greater and greatest scholars of all centuries. Even though he had made many people embraced the Islam, he proclaimed millions of Muslims including great scholars as Mushriks!!!

In past also, there were eminent scholars who served Islam well but they also had deviated thousands from the right path. The scholars of that time gave well awareness about the so called fundamentalists. They even said about Ibnu Thaimiyya (still now, some of the academic intellectuals are concentrating on his books for studying the Islam) that he is lall and mulill which means he is among someone who are deviated from the right path of Islam.

Zakir Naik himself has said in many of his speeches to not follow him, but to follow the Quran and the authentic sayings (Swaheeh) of Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He calls himself as a student of comparative religion. He said he is just a human being who can bind mistakes. This ideology is the backbone for refusing the four classes (Madhabs) of Islam. Can anyone living this era be able to interpret Quran and Hadees (prophetic text) with available doctrines of Islam? The answer will be a big zero. Imam Bukhari who had by hearted million hadees with sanad( the chronlological order of the text from the prophet Muhammed) and history of narrators quoted only about 4000 hadees in his most prominent text Swaheeh Al Bukhari. Such a scholar was well aware that he is not eligible to interpret Quran and Hadees directly without depending on other canons of Islam. Furthermore, he followed the texts of Imam Shafi-ee, May Allah well pleased with him, for making rituals and venerations. It is an elucidated fact that that every quotes in four classes of Islam has a base from Quran and Hadees which can be known only after acquiring a deep knowledge in it.

Zakir has no classes. He says that we should accept a thing if it supports the holy Quran or Hadees. There are so many qualifications which need to be assembled in a person for calling him as a Mujthahid (Person who has the right to interpret Quran) even he wants to understand the history of the narrators of a single hadees. Veteran Ulamas (scholars) reminded that it is impossible today to find such scholars because of the lack of texts and knowledge. Even Ibn Hajar who has a memory of hundred thousand Hadees follows the Shafi-ee class. Islam encourages multiple options in a single issue. It is narrated in Swahih Bukhari Volume 5, Book 59, Number 445:

Narrated Ibn Umar: On the day of Al-Ahzab (i.e. Clans) the Prophet said, "None of you Muslims) should offer the 'Asr prayer but at Banu Quraiza's place." The 'Asr prayer became due for some of them on the way. Some of those said, "We will not offer it till we reach the place of Banu Quraiza," while some others said, "No, we will pray at this spot. For the Prophet did not mean that for us". Later on it was mentioned to the Prophet and he did not berate any of the two groups.

According to the followers of Zakir, the late Sufi singer Amjad Sabri was a Mushrik (person performing idolatry or polytheism). The prophetic concept on polytheism is entirely different compared to the self assumed Tawhid of certain extremists like Zakir who show up with different names but mostly they belong to the same La Madhabiyyah sect. It can be well expounded by the following hadees.

Narrated 'Uqba bin 'Amir: One day the Prophet went out and offered the funeral prayers of the martyrs of Uhud and then went up the pulpit and said, "I will pave the way for you as your predecessor and will be a witness on you. By Allah! I see my Fount (Kauthar) just now and I have been given the keys of all the treasures of the earth (or the keys of the earth) “BY ALLAH! I AM NOT AFRAID THAT YOU WILL WORSHIP OTHERS ALONG WITH ALLAH AFTER MY DEATH, BUT I AM AFRAID THAT YOU WILL FIGHT WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR THE WORLDLY THINGS”.

Apart from these ideologies celebrating the birth of beloved Prophet, peace be upon him is a grave sin in his religious dictionaries. In the Holy Qur’an Allah Almighty gives a clear order to celebrate and rejoice the

raising and coming of the Holy Prophet (saw). In Surah Yunus, (10:58) Allah states “Say: Because of the (fadl) Blessings of Allah and His (rahma) Mercy (the birth of prophet is the most prominent mercy for the Muslim Ummath) you should celebrate (with happiness and pleasure). That is better than what (wealth) they amass.”

Some people in this era erroneously believe that If somebody visits the graves of Pious people (including Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him) and take them as a means to Allah or seek blessing through their relics, then this act is either Shirk (Polytheism) or Biddah. Some even claim that this act wasn't done by the companions of Prophet or in past centuries. Moreover building structures over graves prescribed in Shariah including the green dome constructed over the grave of Prophet Muhammad is a part of bidah as propagated by the Chief innovator of Salafi sect called Nasir ud-din Albani. By interpreting the 21st verse of Surah Kahf in holy Quran, Imam Razi says that “Some people said that the door of the cave should be closed so that nobody can enter it and the history (of People of the cave) is kept hidden. Some people said that It is better to build a mosque at the door, this saying proves that these people were “AARIFEEN (DEEP KNOWERS) OF ALLAH WHO BELIEVED IN WORSHIPING (ONE GOD ALONE) AND PERFORMING PRAYER”[Tafsir al Kabeer, Volume No. 5, Page No. 475]. Destroying the heritage of Islam is the key destination of the Islam haters which is currently propagated by the so called fundamentalists like Zakir Naik.

We can exemplify that the issue of Zakir Naik is a gravest trap for the Real Muslims. Before raising hands for him, it is important for the people to study the holy doctrines of Islam whether it support the ideologies of Zakir or not. It will be better for the gullible Muslims to keep silence so that it will not boost the rational policies of the ruling government of the nation, India.