who do you follow?

[YOUSUFofSD]

Wolfn said

I follow Islam.

yea same .

[jinnzaman]

The first time I followed a group of 'Ulema seriously were Deobandi 'Ulema and I was hardcore Hanafi and didn't really recognize the concept of ikhtilaaf until I met some mureeds of Shaykh Nuh and Habib 'Umar and then I got attracted to classical Ashari Sufism and was a Maliki for a while but I returned to the Hanafi madhab because I found it difficult to access Maliki 'Ulema on a regular basis. Whenever I have a question about anything I first go to a Deobandi 'Alim and then other traditionalist sources like Sunnipath. I rarely study aqeedah or fiqh from a Salafi perspective because I find that its not very consistent or as advanced as the classical sources. I also shy away from Ikhwani-esque 'Ulema and modernist-influenced fiqh because I feel its inherently (although accidentally) Eurocentric.

However, with that said, I study every perspective including Salafism, Islamism, Shi'ism, and the Western perspective.

In terms of Ilm ul Kalam, I think its useful in certain fields and not useful in others. Its useful in organizing the fields of knowledge and in most philosophy classes (especially those pertaining to logic and metaphysics), but its underdeveloped against scientific atheism. There are a lot of contemporary 'Ulema who have made ilm ul kalam relevant, such as Maulana Ashraf Thanvi's critique of modernism. Anyone who says 'ilm ul kalam' is irrelevant today should read this work and the commentaries on it and realize how proficient it still is today.

In terms of history, right now I'm studying Ibn Khaldun independently and hope to sit down with a local 'Alim and get some perspective on that.

My general view is that Islam doesn't need to be reformed and many of the arguments for reforming it are based on mistaken assumptions or weak inferences. To me Islam is perfect and the decline of the Ummah is due to the flaws of the Muslim community and the methodology for revival is to focus on its spiritual revival while also studying the material causes for its decline in order to maximize the potential for a full fledged revival.

[SalafiScientist]

was a semi-liberal pseudo-Sufi.
Now, a striving imitator of Prophet and his Salaf. Allhamdulillah.

[Salika]

Good_ol_JR said

I guess I fail to see what benefit methodology could do for laymen such as ourselves. By making Taqlid of Ashari/Maturdi you're taking in some pretty complex, heavy handed, somewhat controversial details many of which can't be summarized. I could understand if a scholar well-versed in Islamic scholarship and theology delved into that stuff, but I fail to see what usefulness such a HEAVY, controversial subject would be to laymen living in these times when 99% of the world populations couldn't care less about theology.

The era of theological debate which was prevalent amongst the Greek Byzantines/Mutazalite societies no longer exists. During those times many scholars basically used a lesser, minor biddah to combat the major biddah perpetuated by the Philosophers and the Mutazalites. The means the Muslim theologians used were controversial, but somewhat understandable given the immense power and violent methods the Muzalites employed at the time. So even though they may have played with fire; we can be sure that they were well-intentioned because it was done in order to combat the greater evil spread by the heretics. So InshAllah they will be forgiven for the unorthodox methods they had to use to combat the greater fitnah.

But in today's times there is no need for Muslims, especially laymen to burden ourselves with such a complex, controversial topic especially when we have so many bigger things to worry about and very few powerful people in this world place any emphasis on theology. So let's just stick to the Qur'an and Sunnah and use these to unite and strengthen this weak, disunited Ummah.

Sh. Yasir Qadhi deals with this topic in his lecture Perfect Justice Debunking the male bias myth lecture

Yasir Qadhi - Perfect Justice: Debunking the Male Bias Myth | Halal Tube

Regarding modern-day Sufis, I'll admit I'm a bit bias by all the vids I see of prominent Shaykhs such as Habib Ali Jifri dancing in the Hadra; but maybe I ought to check out the more conservative Tariqas

Ok I have no interest in debating with you but I do think that it's rather audacious of you to tell people "let's just do xyz" because of *you're* failure to see the benefit of something.

[dezhen]

Studied basic fiqh in the Hanafi, Shafi`i and Maliki schools though am more generally Hanafi, don't really have an interest in `aqida at all though have looked at the Tahawiyya and Fiqh al-Akbar with teachers, and am interested in zuhd and tazkiyat al-nafs although do not have any connection to a tariqa although like the works of al-Ghazali, Suhrawardi, Jilani and other early authorities. Concentrating on developing my connection to the Qur'an (qira'a and hifz), my Arabic language ability and focus on the major sunnas dealing with character and interaction with others.

That about sums me up... lots of exceptions to the rule and althoughs....

Most of the Shuyukh I am interested in and researching through/for school worked actively in the field of Islamic jurisprudence, codifying law for various nation states and dealing with problems of implementation over the last century, so are neither "traditional", nor "salafi", nor "sufi", nor "modernist". If that makes sense.

dawood

[ShotgunMessiah]

Whoever happens to be in front of me at a given time.

[the_wrong_guy]

I have taken classes with a rather interesting mix of Shuyukh:

Sufi Hanafi, Salafi Hanafi, Deobandi Hanafi, Nadwi Hanafi, Jamat e Islami Hanafi, Modernist Hanafi, Tablighi Hanafi, Ikhwani Salafi, Deobandi Salafi, Modernist Salafi, Salafi Hanbali, Traditional Hanbali, and like Dezhen's teachers: non-Sufi non-Salafi non-Traditional non-Modernist University Professor-Faqihs.

[fahmed]

sixpakistan said

sunni muslim
hanafi fiqh
maturidi aqeedah
wannabe practitioner of tasawwuf

On the same boat.

[sixpakistan]

fahmed said

On the same boat.

I keep confusing you for fiahmad.

On a completely unrelated note, I hate Khairan's signature, because I hate Billy Joel.

[wheelworks]

sixpakistan said

I keep confusing you for fiahmad.

Haha now that you just pointed it out, me too

[fahmed]

the_wrong_guy said

I have taken classes with a rather interesting mix of Shuyukh:

Sufi Hanafi, Salafi Hanafi, Deobandi Hanafi, Nadwi Hanafi, Jamat e Islami Hanafi, Modernist Hanafi, Tablighi Hanafi, Ikhwani Salafi, Deobandi Salafi, Modernist Salafi, Salafi Hanbali, Traditional Hanbali, and like Dezhen's teachers: non-Sufi non-Salafi non-Traditional non-Modernist University Professor-Faqihs.

Awesome...the only missing link seems to be Barelwi

[Wolfn]

I'm considering becoming Salafi after college.

Thoughts?

[Rida]

We follow our own hawaa.

Wassalaam

[Revert]

Wolfn said

I'm considering becoming Salafi after college.

Thoughts?

Why?

I tend to take lessons from those who are well versed in the Quran and Sunnah and those whom appear to have a sincere heart. Allah swt is the creater of all, we are just humble slaves here to interpret his message and do his work.

My main aim is to purify my heart and do good and learn.

[Wolfn]

Revert said

Why?

I tend to take lessons from those who are well versed in the Quran and Sunnah and those whom appear to have a sincere heart. Allah swt is the creater of all, we are just humble slaves here to interpret his message and do his work.

My main aim is to purify my heart and do good and learn.

Well, to my understanding, the Salafi try to follow the ways of the Prophet (SAW) and His compainions to the best of their ability.

In my opinion, that sounds like very good intentions.