This tenet may or may not seem obvious. To the irreligious, it probably sounds elementary. To the religious, it may sound blasphemous. What I am trying to say is that although Islam is divinely inspired by a perfect deity, its revelation (although miraculous), preservation (although guaranteed), and interpretation (which has guidelines) are all parts of the realities of this universe, which of course was created by Allah to begin with. In fact, Allah utilized our known realities in His revelations to us - sometimes comforting us with the known, sometimes astounding us with the unknown. Yet the reason this tenet is brought forth is that the trend amongst many is to deny the realities surrounding some of these issues and insisting on a dream that their particular understanding is what is infallible and divine.

This is not too controversial unless one contends that a particular group or individual may be in error or may have misunderstandings. Yet how can that be? We know that there are parts of the Quran which are difficult to understand, not simply due to the language factor but due to the fact that the knowledge was simply too advanced. For example, a translator might render the word ” ‘alaq” (96) to mean “blood clot” until someone discovers that actually the clinging leech-like object which the original word connotes is indeed an acurate description of the fertilized egg. Therefore, how can one insist that their translations defy space, time, science, human development? It is foolish. Rather a sensible translator remembers that while the words of the Quran in their original language are divine, the translations and understandings are not.

This is not to say there is not a way of determining the “right” translation versus an erroneous one. We must constantly strive towards the Truth, yet in the end it is as the angels told Allah: “Glory be to You, we have no knowledge except what you have taught us. Truly, You are the All-Knowing, All-Wise.” (2:32) The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam told us that “When a mufti passes judgment, if he makes his effort (ijtihaad) and rules correctly, he will have two rewards; if he makes his effort (ijtihaad) and rules wrongly, he will have one reward,” (Bukhaari) indicating that it is the sincerity and effort which is primary and the outcome which is secondary.

Contrast this with much of what is common nowadays, for people who claim they have found the Truth, down to its minituae and reject all others who have perfectly reasonable basis from the sources of the religion to hold their opinions. It behooves us to remember that Allah Himself reminds us that on the Last Day He will inform us of what we were differing about. “Say: ‘O Allah! Creator of the heavens and the earth! Knower of all that is hidden and open! It is You Who will judge between Your servants in those matters about which they have differed.” (39:46)

Now to application of this principle - why is it that groups of Muslims, all of whom strive towards religion, all of whom take the Quran as well as the Sunnah of our Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam as authoritative, and who follow the example of the righteous generations in their applications of the religion - why do they remove their brethren from the fold of those who are guided? They of course feel justified in their behavior and will quote the sources back again to demonstrate their right. Yet the people of the Saved Sect etc. have been spoken about in general with some of their descriptions given to indicate who they are, but more importantly, how we can save ourselves. How then do these people feel safe in specifying with 100% surety what was left general even as the other party claims the same loyalties they do?

We know of the famous incident of the Sahaabiyaat who differed in their understanding of the Prophet’s order to pray when they arrived at their destination. Some took his order literally while others regarded the obligation to pray at its fixed time to indicate the Prophet’s order was only if they arrived within the acceptable time. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam informed both parties that they had behaved in an acceptable manner and their prayers were accepted. This is not to say there is not a correct answer, but again that as long as a person is true to their desire to do what is right, they are safe.

We are no different from those Sahaabiyaat in the sense that we are trying to follow Allah’s Commands and the orders of our Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam. And like them, we cannot just ask the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam what exactly we are to do at this very moment. We, like them, will only be able to verify who was correct afterwards. And as long as we are sincere and take the reasonable steps to indicate that our outer actions are compliant with our claims, who can remove us from the company of those we love? Indeed, we are brethren who are divided in understanding but united in our strivings.

Allah Himself told us what to do in the event of our differing in Surat An-Nisaa`: “O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, and those of you who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination.” (4:59)Furthermore, the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam told us what to do in his last sermon - he mentioned he was leaving behind him 2 things, the Quran and his Sunnah, and that if we were to follow them, we would never go astray. And yet there is still confusion. A wise person will be able to see that it is not due to a flaw in Islam, but a part of the reality of human nature and understanding that we are forced to deal with. A test from our Lord. And we have seen how our pious predecessors dealt with such differences. The trouble is, most of us nowadays have grown so bold that we do not deem our brethren as the differing party of the Sahaabah. We deem them as the innovators and disbelievers.

A humble heart, afraid of being judged by the Master of the Day of Judgement would tremble to make such pronouncements with such surety. As the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam warned us, “When a person calls his brother a disbeliever, one of them will certainly deserve the title. If the one who was called Kaafir is so, as the one who made Takfeer upon him asserted, the disbelief (of that person) is confirmed, but if it is untrue, then it will revert to him.” (Muslim). ‘Umar radhi’allaahu ‘anhu, known to make the Shaitaan run away from fear, who would have received the prophethood if another besides Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam were given it, who was one of the Rightly-Guided Khalifs, when hearing of the hypocrites begged the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam to inform him if he was one of them. Yet we are so sure of ourselves and our guidance.

And now the controversy - in understanding that we Muslims are part of the human race and that we are not of a different species from those around us, we inevitably fall into many of the human trends around us. If we look at the development of other peoples we see some patterns and we, as humans, can fall into them as well. This is not an insulting thing to say, as many Muslims get offended if you even talk of such possibilities, but a reality of our creation, alluded to in both the Quran and the authentic ahadith.

If for example we examine the current rift between the so-called “Salafis” and the so-called “Sufis” we see a similar pattern in what one could observe in Christianity. If one is shallow they will jump and say “Muslims are not Christians!”. If one is capable of understanding analogy they will see that although they are most certainly not the same religion, that is entirely besides the point. The point of similarity is in the trends of human thought.

The dichotomy of Salafi and Sufi parallels the Protestant and Catholic one. Catholicism is the older, more established part of Christianity, with an emphasis on rituals and rites, with a strict hierarchy, with much more formalized paths to piety, with a focus on saints and the past, with a body of tradition and ornamentation and a propensity to be looser in its interpretation of the text. Protestantism was the “protest” against the excesses of the church, with an emphasis on individuality, direct readings and understandings of the sacred texts, an emphasis on belief, on literal interpretations.

Sufism, though the usage of the word here is not specific to Sufis, but represents the more established branch of theology, has also developed over the ages. It has stricter traditions and requires followers to follow more formalized paths towards achieving closeness with the Creator. Salafism, although of course Salafis do not think of their movement as having an origin, came about at a point in time where the heavy reliance on saints and ornately derived rituals were the order of the day and a call towards a back-to-basics approach was deemed the remedy. Salafis tend to be the pared down, literalistic, and individualistic side of Islam.

I am sure I will be attacked by both parties in my discussions of these topics as no one likes to be accused of what is deemed a negative trait. Yet I do not believe these movements are divine, but human, and a part of reality. I was a Sufi once, became a Salafi, and am now open to both parties. I simply see them as two different movements which are trying to achieve the same thing - closeness to the Creator in this life, eternal success in the Afterlife. So I ask my brothers and sisters to forgive me if I have offended any of the sensibilities which I know you all hold dear.

Yet I also ask that we humble ourselves a bit before Allah. We may try our best to find the Truth, but Allah Knows Best if we have indeed arrived at it. We will all see the fruits of our efforts on the Day when nothing is hidden. And in the mean time, we should have some caution towards our fellow brethren in pronouncing that this day have we the final and utter Truth and that their efforts count for naught. If Muslims can finally be realistic in their conception of themselves, as human beings in the space-time continuum, who are using their fallible minds and senses to try to discover the ultimate Truths, then we can finally understand that groups and movements, as long as not contradictory to Islam, are merely different and acceptable ways to the same goal.

I ask anyone who believes in Allah and the Last Day, who tries to live by the Quran, who takes the Sunnah of our Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam as a binding obligation rather than a historical curiosity, who strives towards the people they love, the Sahaabiyaat radhi’allaahu ‘anhum in both belief and practice, and who make their intentions solely for the Almighty to join me in trying to find the Truth whilst being humble enough to realize that the two parties in this dichotomy are actually closer than they realize. They have all the above in common and more. There is enough bloodshed of the Muslims and it is time we perfected our faiths and loved one another.