National Gloom
Life, it would appear to the outsider, is a perpetual shade of grey, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Practising their very special Wahhabist form of Islam, personal celebratory events are frowned upon. Grim stuff, that. Personal anniversaries, recognition of special events in one's life are to be shrugged off as insignificant in the greater order of notable events within society and by extension, within families.
The Holy Koran informs Muslims that whatever exists in the universe is the blessed creation of God, so that everything that is, represents a sign of God's presence. There is nothing whatever that can be observed, appreciated, practised, worked with, that does not require thanks to Allah for having created it and the opportunity it offers to human beings, as part of creation.
"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the succession of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the water that God sends down from the sky and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds and the clouds that run appointed courses between the sky and the earth; here indeed are signs for a people that are wise."
Presumably, all those who fail to recognize and offer due appreciation for all that surrounds us fail the wise test. That includes individuals and families who hold dear wedding anniversaries and birthdays. For to celebrate such dearly-held personal events is to impudently mock Allah's vital importance, for no celebrations can be held of such a nature; only those which draw attention to Allah's preeminence in all matters.
One may, in Saudi Arabia, it has been decreed, offer gratitude unending to Allah, and congratulate oneself for recognizing the need to to do, but one may not, at risk of mortally offending Islam, congratulate oneself for occurrences the nature of which are His due, not ours.
Saudi Arabia's foremost cleric has pronounced that the marking of anniversaries, birthdays, or special days such as Mother's Day, is offensive to Islam. Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Shaikh spoke with the authority vested in him, to explain that such celebrations are unIslamic.
There is no debate. This is spiritual law, transcending all others. To do otherwise is to become as followers of other, erring faiths. Which would include Christians and Jews. "A Muslim should thank almighty Allah if his children are healthy and if his married life is stable as the years pass by."
Yeah, verily. And amen.
The Holy Koran informs Muslims that whatever exists in the universe is the blessed creation of God, so that everything that is, represents a sign of God's presence. There is nothing whatever that can be observed, appreciated, practised, worked with, that does not require thanks to Allah for having created it and the opportunity it offers to human beings, as part of creation.
"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the succession of the night and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit of mankind; in the water that God sends down from the sky and the life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds and the clouds that run appointed courses between the sky and the earth; here indeed are signs for a people that are wise."
Presumably, all those who fail to recognize and offer due appreciation for all that surrounds us fail the wise test. That includes individuals and families who hold dear wedding anniversaries and birthdays. For to celebrate such dearly-held personal events is to impudently mock Allah's vital importance, for no celebrations can be held of such a nature; only those which draw attention to Allah's preeminence in all matters.
One may, in Saudi Arabia, it has been decreed, offer gratitude unending to Allah, and congratulate oneself for recognizing the need to to do, but one may not, at risk of mortally offending Islam, congratulate oneself for occurrences the nature of which are His due, not ours.
Saudi Arabia's foremost cleric has pronounced that the marking of anniversaries, birthdays, or special days such as Mother's Day, is offensive to Islam. Grand Mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Shaikh spoke with the authority vested in him, to explain that such celebrations are unIslamic.
There is no debate. This is spiritual law, transcending all others. To do otherwise is to become as followers of other, erring faiths. Which would include Christians and Jews. "A Muslim should thank almighty Allah if his children are healthy and if his married life is stable as the years pass by."
Yeah, verily. And amen.
Labels: Religion
posted by Pieface | 1:45 PM
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