Learning to see light, differently: A review

The book sets its purview straightaway with the admission that it is a continuation of that for which past and present reformers have struggled; that it is not by any measure an innovation in the field of da’awah; and, further down the prologue, that it is expressly targeted at Muslims who have already professed that Allah (swt) is their Lord, that Islam is their deen and that Muhammad (pbuh) is their prophet.

The Last Creed, a discourse in da’awah, is also a response to the sad discovery that many Muslims do not know the meaning of aqeedah (creed) or the difference between Iman (faith or belief) and aqeedah; and the demand of Muslim youth who are tired of the aberration and sincerely desire change.

The book is made up of three parts that are divided into chapters which are further sub-divided into units ranging from two to 10, under which the author sought to point out the straight path: the authentic creed upon which stood the last Messenger of Allah (pbuh), his noble companions and the two succeeding generations after them.

The first part consists of 15 units spread across three chapters. It sets off with verses from the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith on the unconditional submission that Islam alone is the accepted religion and way of life; that anything to the contrary is doomed, a loss. Here, the pillars on which Islam rests are discussed – the Shahadatain – declaration that none deserves worship except Allah alone and that Muhammad is His Messenger; the establishment of As-Salat; giving the Zakat; Fasting and; performing Hajj to the House (Ka’aba). This is followed by an exposition on each of these, their do’s and don’ts (based on the right knowledge, which inexorably leads the Muslim to obedience exclusively to Allah).

Chapter Two, Part One, of the book essentially deals with Iman – along with aqeedah, obviously the fulcrum of the publication – areas which the author said many Muslims lack proper understanding. He brings up the Arkanul Iman (the Articles or Pillars of Faith or Belief) as proclaimed by the prophet (pbuh) when Angel Jibril (AS) asked him about Iman (Faith) and also what he (prophet) said when he addressed the delegation of Abdul Qais (Al-Bukhari 53, 87, 523 and Muslim Iman/23).

Striving in the cause of Allah, Jihad, takes up chapter two of this part. The author in his discussion on this very important, yet misconceived aspect of the life of the Muslim and indeed the world in general, posed a poser thus: “What then is the attitude of the Muslims of this era towards this all-important duty of theirs?” And, in proffering an answer, he reproduced a treatise by Sheikh Abdullahi bin Muhammad bin Hamid of the Masjid Haram in Makkatul Mukarramah, entitled “The Call to Jihad (Striving for Allah’s Cause).” The piece “endeavoured to wake us from our pitiful and endless slumber and in keeping with the Jihad in our lives, using the statement of Allah in the Holy Qur’an as authority and our past calamities as a challenge and reminder.”

The treatise reminds Muslims that, “the book (Al-Qur’an) and the Sunnah have clearly given explanation for each and every act concerning Jihad,” and the “absolute obligatoriness for Islamic nations and leaders to be obedient to Allah and to adjust matters of difference among themselves, to propagate good and instruct people Islamic laws.”

It recalls the unsettling yet instructive incidents which Al-Maghool and Al-Tatar inflicted on the Muslims, as the tribulations, disgrace and defeat that lay in wait for the people who abandon the clarion call of ensuring and maintaining adequate state of preparedness as clearly enunciated by Allah (swt) on Jihad.

‘Present day challenges’, the ‘Realities of our time’, Boko Haram, ramifications of democracy, road map to peace and women participation take centre stage in part three of The Last Creed comprising of 11 chapters, broken into 25 units, the conclusion and epilogue. The discourse on Boko Haram is quite interesting as it places under the microscope both ‘western’ and ‘education’ and what a marriage between the two begets. Also here, under ‘A summary of the road map to peace’, the author offers a word of advice to government, the police and other security forces, Christians and the Muslim ummah. To the Muslims, he said: “This is to you all; inclusive of the good, the bad and the ugly. It is about time we eschewed self-hatred and imbibe the spirit of mutual love the absence of which our claim to Belief is baseless. A man will be with the people he loves on the Day of Resurrection.”

The discourse here, no doubt the result of commendable research, presents a challenge to the Muslims to harken to the command of Allah that they must seek for knowledge and abide by the Qur’an and Sunnah in the totality of their lives. Having gone through the book, therefore, one is inclined to disagree with the author for his sidelining the non-Muslims. This is because what the book features would shake the very core of the stereotyped and even newfangled misinterpretations of Islam by the unbelievers; it would aid in removing the fog and clarifying aspects of Islam even to the hard core antagonists.

One would therefore urge the author to make deliberate effort to also reach out to them in subsequent editions of the book. Similarly, one would have expected that in discussing ‘The realities of our time’ and related matters, the issue of marriage and family life, a cankerworm exposing the Ummah’s ‘Archiles’ heel’ and undermining the religion, deserve greater treatment than what obtains in the present package. This, too, really should be looked into when considering the second edition. The book is quite an elucidating and educative package. It will make a handy companion for both the students of Islamic religious studies, right from the intermediate to higher diploma levels, and the general reader seeking for a different form of presentation in the works on creed and belief.