Who represents Islam? A common question you hear today. And you hear multiple answers. But the truth of the matter is that no one truly represents (not can they represent) Islam. Every Muslim individual represents himself or herself, and thats about the extent of it. Every Muslim organization represents themselves and no one else. Even if you belong to an organization, you dont represent the organization unless they appoint you as a representative. Otherwise, youre just a member or an adherent. Islam is greater than all its adherents be it individuals or groups. No one is authorized to speak on behalf of all Muslims or Islam itself. The only exception was the Prophets (peace be upon them) since they were authorized to speak on behalf of Allah. No one else after them had that right. Not even the Companions of the Prophet. Scholars of Islam do not represent Islam. Rather they represent their own knowledge. Theyre only responsible for their own knowledge, not someone elses knowledge. We need to distinguish between following and representing. A scholar can follow a school, say the Hanafi school. But he doesnt represent the Hanafi school. The only exception could be if all the big Hanafi scholars were to gather and appoint someone as Sheikh al-Ahnaaf for example (and thats more theoretical than practical). This is why if a scholar made a mistake, other scholars cant be possibly responsible for this one scholars mistake. This is a fundamental point to understand. So please dont be fooled or bullied by some people who ask the tricky question of who represents Islam (funny they dont ask that of any other religion). Then they might try to inject the name of some group here and there. I only represent myself hence Im only responsible for my own actions and no one elses. Therefore, I dont owe anyone any apology for any action done by someone else in the name of Islam, period! Whoever is doing such an action can apologize for themselves!
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 07:52:21 +0000
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