Lately, Muslimah2Muslimah has been thinking a lot about the whole separation of Islam and how it divides the Ummah. What we mean by separate is all of these different sects... Sunni, Sufi, Shia,...
Then, within these groups you have sub-groups; Tablighi Jamaat, Jamaat-e-Islami, Qadris, Ismailis, Akhbaris, Naqshbandis, Shaykhis, Wahhabis and Salafis, to name a few.
Then, there are the many schools of Fiqh (or law): Hanafii, Shafi, Maliki and Hanbali.
Now, what does all of this leave our Prophet Muhammad (SAW)'s beloved Muslim Ummah with? Pure and utter confusion, arguments, division, chaos and everyone thinking that they are right about this or that. We debate each other about things in which we have no solid proof about like which hadith is fake or not, what the Qur'an REALLY means in this ayat or that, how old Aisha (RAH) was when she married the Prophet (SAW), that brother is not a real Muslim because he allws his wife to go to school and/or work, this sister is not a real Muslimah because she wears colors and *gasp* no niqab or gloves???.... and so on and so forth...
It is really sad and shameful how we act towards one another. Muslimah2Muslimah went to certain masjid in Atlanta last Ramadan (the most blessed month) with the intention of making Tawarih prayer with our fellow Muslim sisters and we found ourselves getting the cold shoulder from sisters literally moving away from us while in the ranks and not wanting to pray with us shoulder-to-shoulder.Why? Perhaps to pray with the other sister who looks more like them. Islam is such a beautiful religion but yet some of us make it appear so ugly with the all of the negativity and seclusion form other Muslims because they have different upbringings or read a different hadith book.
As for the different sects and Sunni this, Shia that... which sect was Prophet Muhammad a part of, because we could have sworn that he was JUST A MUSLIM?????? Insha'Allah let us know your thoughts on this very important subject.
MaSalaama,
Najwa&Nadira
Muslimah2Muslimah
