Rite. Write. Right.

Majlis Fatwa announced that yoga may be ruled as haram for Muslims as the practice may deviate the ‘Aqidah.

Haaa… tu, ulama’ dah cakap, dengar je la. Ni kenapa nak argue-argue lagi?

Honestly, it irks me that normal people like me here questions ulama’ and religious scholars everytime they come up with a new ruling concerning Islam. All hell will break loose. Some question why these scholars pay attention to such trivial matter, others accuse them of not doing their homework (no extensive research) and the worst is the people who deem the ulama’ as shallow and narrow-minded. Nauzubillah. I pray that Allah protect myself, my family and my friends from such thoughts.

Number One.

Who are we to question these ulama’? Look at us. Sedangkan solat lima waktu pun belum tentu lengkap or ada yang baik sikit tu, solat tapi solat lambat and nak khusyuk dalam solat pun kena struggle. Yelah, dalam solat la teringat kerja tak siap lagi, masalah chenta, masalah itu ini. Haa..! Masa Ramadhan aritu, adakah kita lengkap solat terawih setiap malam? And adakah kita ni rajin bangun solat tahajjud, rajin baca Qur’an, rajin baca kitab-kitab agama untuk mendalami ilmu agama? Jadi, siapalah kita ni nak persoalkan ulama’? Nabi (s.a.w) pernah mengatakan yang setelah baginda wafat, ulama’ la yang menjadi pewaris baginda. So, if we question them, it is the same as questioning our beloved Prophet (s.a.w) himself. The people in Majlis Fatwa bukannya calang-calang orang. They are experts in Islamic fields such as Usuluddin, Fiqh, Syariah, etc. Meanwhile, people like you and me are those who study those fields as minors in the four years of undergraduate studies. Or worse, who knows Islam based on the subject Pendidikan Islam in school. Bayangkan, taraf pengetahuan kita dengan mereka mengenai Islam bagaikan langit dengan bumi! Plus, it is not that simple to make a Fatwa. Extensive research has to be conducted before any ruling can be made. It’s not like they google ‘Yoga’ then decide that it is haram. I can guarantee you that these people know more about Yoga than many of those who practice it.

Number Two.

This is NOT a simple or mundane matter. It is the matter of ‘Aqidah, believe in Allah - the most fundamental tenet for any and every Muslim. This is to say that kalau sikit saje ‘Aqidah terpesong, then berdosa, maka amalan-amalan lain tidak diterima. ‘Aqidah ni, mudah sangat nak tergelincir. A simple example would be, katakan la everytime one person wears the same shoes, he is blessed with good luck and terdetik dalam hatinya secara tak sengaja, “This shoes must be my lucky charm! It brings me luck all the time!”, maka dia telah dianggap syirik. Takut tak? Jadi, Majlis Fatwa khuatir yang umat-umat Islam yang mengamalkan Yoga akan secara tidak sengaja membuat dosa syirik which is one of the dosa-dosa besar. The concept of Iman is mengatakan dengan mulut, melakukan dengan perbuatan dan membenarkan dengan hati. Therefore, Muslims must not have even a small glimpse of shadow of doubt towards Allah. ’See? Not as ’simple’ and ‘mundane’ as you may think.

Number Three.

Fatwa is related to matters that are not mentioned in the Qur’an. Yes, the Qur’an is comprehensive but not every single thing is mentioned in it. Some things are clearly unlawful or haram according to the Qur’an. But since we live in an ever-changing world, there are new issues to be discussed everyday. That is why there is Sunnah of the Prophet and also rulings issued by ulama’ and religious scholars to be referred to. Like praying, for example. It is not mentioned in the Qur’an how we should pray, meaning that there is no explanation on how many sujud, ruku’ and what should be read when praying. So how do we know how to perform prayers? The Prophet (s.a.w) showed us how. And also, drugs. There is no ruling in the Qur’an stating that drugs are haram and heroine, syabu, etc, were not available during the time of the Prophet (s.a.w). But ulama’ have decided that taking drugs is haram because it causes a person to be high (lose consciousness) and is detrimental for health which is the same as committing suicide. Note that the effects of drugs are similar to the effects of alcoholic beverages. They derived the rulings based on this (I learned this when I studied Usul Al-Fiqh in IIUM). Which is the same as Yoga lah. I read that this (yet to be announced) ruling is based on the ruling made by the ulama’ of Mesir earlier. Therefore, this is based on consensus of opinions of other ulama’ too.

Number Four.

If you do not agree with any fatwa made by the ulama’ and you refuse to follow it, it is up to you. That is between you and Allah. That means, pandai la cari jawapan kat Padang Mahsyar nanti. But please do not condemn the ulama’ for carrying out their duties, their ‘amanah. They are only doing what they have to do. Like teachers. If they don’t teach our children what we expect them to teach, we will go berserk. Thus, Allah will question these scholars that day on Padang Mahsyar if they do nothing about issues that create doubts about Islam and Muslims. And we all know that His Wrath is much more Powerful than ours.

Number Five.

There is no such thing as ‘this is the way I practice Islam so let it be!’ or ‘your Islam is different than mine’. The correct way is only through following the Qur’an and Sunnah. Therefore, the practices of Islam CANNOT be selected. Macam pakai tudung la. ‘Ala arini panas, malas nak pakai tudung..!’. No way! I remember when I attended a course here in UKM and I was presenting my potential research proposal. I was nervous so I said one of the aims of my research for PhD is to look at how Muslims worldwide practice Islam. The professor raised one eyebrow and looked at me saying: “Mana ada perbezaan dalam ajaran Islam. Manusia yang create those differences. The correct way is through Qur’an and Sunnah only.’ Even though I said it as a result of gelabahness, what the professor said was, is and will always be right. And I should not have said it because if a non-Muslim heard my statement, he would have thought that Islamic practices are diverse.

If we continue to question our ulama’, it is no wonder that Muslims and Islam are made fun off every single day. Sedangkan orang-orang Islam sendiri tidak menghormati agama mereka, how do we expect others to show their respect to us, to Islam?