CONTROVERSIES INVOLVING SHAYKH ISMAIL

RELIGIOUS CONDITION

CHAPTER 2 EARLY LIFE

4.3 CONTROVERSIES INVOLVING SHAYKH ISMAIL

community, the majority of Muslims regarded him as a controversial figure in the Cape for reasons which the writer will explain shortly.

Whether Shaykh Isma ll did the proper thing by marrying off this girl without her father's approval, bearing in mind the social milieu at the time is debatable. A

muttl

(legal officer/expounder of sacred law) must take into account all potential consequences before issuing a ruling on this matter. He must make sure that it will create the least conflict or difficulty and be the least problematic to the people, because the sharlah is intended to remove iaraj (difficulty) from people's lives provided itis

permissible."

The Muslims in the Cape predominantly followed the Shaft! school. Shaykh lsma ll took the ruling of the ianatl'! school which was new at the Cape.

According toShaykh Abdul Kariem Toffar, when he was achild he was told by his late father: "daar sal mense kom met lang baatjies wat die Qur'an sal

oerdraai".

Meaning "people will come wearing long coats and will distort the Qur'an".

Perhaps the Muslims in the Cape saw him (Shaykh lsmall) with his long coat as someone who came to distort the religion. As ^{far as}ShaykhIsmall was concerned he was simply asserting a learned opinion in a given situation. However the people were not prepared to accept it. From that angle it was a miscalculation on his side. Though Shaykh Ismal1 was correct in his juristic junction and had honourable intention, he should not have expected the people to accept his rulings as they were not educated in judicial

matters,"

photo: . . ra Iffi

Left: Interview withShaykh Abdul Kariem Toffar,principal of The Institute ofIslamicSharrahStudies.

Itis claimed that among those who participated in this debate called the "bechara girl issue" were Islamic scholars Taha Gamieldien,Abdurahim [Abd al-Rahlm) , Ahmad Behardien and Shakir Gamieldien. ThoughShaykh Isrnall was not present at this debate,the outcome of this debate confirmed his stand and vindicated him.

Shaykh Shakir Gamieldien, who arrived from Egypt a few months prior to this debate, fully endorsedShaykh

Isma ll's

action in this matter. There were other

sharl

ah issues in which Shaykh Ismall followed schools of thought other than the _Sh~rl Though Shaykh Ismall's ruling on religious issues were always in accordance with thesharlah,such practice did not find favour withthe 'ulama'at that time perhaps they thought itwould confuse the Muslims in the

Cape."

The type of marriageShaykh Isrnall performed 1938 is frequently practised today, which proves he was a man of vision but was only appreciated by the general public after his demise." He lived ahead of his time. The performance offllhr :,Ilah afterjumu'ah was also debatable as far asShaykh IsmaTI was concerned.

4.3.2 PERFORMANCE OF _~UHR $ALJHAFTER JUMU'AH

According to Imsm Shali'I, there are two principles which_validate the jumu ah

!p.lah,the first being that the jutnuah !p./ah should be performed in only one

masjid

in the same area, and secondly, that at least forty Muslims should be present in the

masjid?

One of the first problems the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC) encountered when it was established in 1945, was the performance of

zuhr

!p./ah (midday prayer) after iumuah? Some of the "lmams" at the Cape feared that if the jumuah did not

conform to the dictates of

Isliim,

it could be invalidated."

The MJC discovered that the

snun

principle of the performance of only one jumuah in a particular area, had been violated by many Islamic scholars in the Cape. Because jumu'an !p.lah was performed at many mosques, the possibility existed that some of these mosques would have had less than forty worshippers present, consequently invalidating

thejumu'ah sa! ah

according to

Imsm

^ShatT1.34

Shaykh lsmaltwho was a founder member of the MJC contributed to this debate.

It appears that he respected and accepted the view on jumu'ah espoused by Shaykh Ai)mad Behardien" who was regarded as the most influential and

knowledgeable person in the early years of the MJC.³⁶

Shaykh NazlmMohammad (Muhammad), (d. 1421 AHl2000 CE) who was president of the MJC for 18 years, recalls how Shaykh Ai)mad Behardien had a habit of walking around with his satchel filled with Islamic literature and when it came to issuing a

tatuu;

he would consult his sources and honourShaykh Isma'llby stating

that, "Shaykh Ism

a

^Ilstem ook saam met my in die fatwa" (Shaykh Ismal! also agrees with me on this fatwff),37 ShaykhAhmad Behardien is known to have been astaunch follower of the Shafi'T school of law, and under no circumstance would he follow another school of law."

According toShaykh Al}mad Behardien (see Annexure 16), it was necessary to perform the zuhr !!1Jah afterjumu'ah. On the 17 September 1953 Shaykh Al}mad Behardien issued afatwaon behalf of the MJC concerning this matter:

"The decision of the Supreme Council on the {llhr after jumu'ah question is as follows: That whereas the sources of the sharlah are fourfold, namely the Qur' an, l}adIth, ijma(juristic consensus)and qiyas (analogy), and because

Imsm

Shafi'T has stated according to the Umm, that there must be only one jumuah since that is indicated by the practice of the Holy Prophet and the khulafaRashidJn, we as followers of

Imsm

Sh afi'I,in view of the fact that we are making more jumu'ahs than are necessary, and because of the difficulty of ascertaining which congregations' takbiroh al-li)ram has been uttered tlrs; we have no alternative but to perform zihr after !f1lah al-jutnuah, until such time that Allah, the Most High, shall have guided all of us to show our unity by making jumuah in one place^",39

Itis however, notable that Shaykh

Isrna

Il did at times perform {llhr !!1Jah after jumuah. However, he predicted that eventually the majority of Muslims of the

Cape would not perform zuhr afterjumu'ah in years tocome."

From the above information, it is clear that Shaykh IsrnaIl was not very keen in performing {llhr after jumu'ah as it was never performed in the Arab world, and

specifically in Egypt. He was probably aware that this problem was far greater and complex than the problem of the "bechara girl issue" to handle, and he knew he could not do otherwise, but to follow the view of the majority of the

'ulam

sto perform ?Uhr after jumuah. However, this issue did not stop Shaykh IsmaIl of preaching what he believed was right.

Shaykh lsmall also differed concerning the issue ofLay/ah al-nistmin Shabsn.

Slzf!.ykh Ahmad Behardien challenged him regarding this matter.

4.3.3 LAYLAH AL-NI$F MIN SHA'B}JV (THE NIGHT OF HALF OFSHA 'BAN)

Ithas been customary for Cape Muslims assembling at mosques during the night of ni$fmin Sha'b an, also known as the night of blessing. During this night Muslims recite

surah

Yssln thrice, thus invoking Allah's blessing and mercy.

According to the Islamic scholar, Ibn Tay'miyyah, there are many traditions from the prophet (saws) which refers to this night as a significant night. However, the minority of Islamic scholars deny the importance of this night, and assert that the traditions which refer to this night are

weak."

The majority of

'ulam a'

believe thatAllah reveals to the angels on "The Night of Power", (during the last ten days in the month ofRamacjan), everything that will occur during the following year. Consequently all tasks are given to the respective angels for the year. Other scholars claim that on the night ofni$fmin Sha'b an, angels write down what is revealed to them and they complete their writing on the night ofLaylah a/-Qad r (Night of Power).42

Shaykh lsma

llasserted that

15 Sha'b an

had no specific significance and was like any other night, unlike

Laylah al-Qa

~r, the 27th night of

Rama

~an during which the

Qur 'an

was revealed. He further maintained that

Allah

would not change His

taqdir

(decree) of man after the

Laylah al-nisl min Sha'ban,

and held man can invoke

Allah 's

forgiveness at any time."

Shaykh

Ismallessentially used

Laylah al-ni stmin Sha'ban

occasion for educating his congregation concerning this matter. His view was that the primary sources of the

sharlah

did not support the celebration of the

Lay/ah al-nis! min Sha'ban.

Thus, this was not celebrated in Egypt as itwas celebrated in Cape Town."

Once again he based his argument on the

shartah

(primary sources) but he did not wish to entirely do away with this practice. He was conscious of the negative reaction that would occurifhe had to terminate this practice entirely."

Shaykh

Ahmad Behardien challenged Shaykh Ismall regarding his ruling on this matter as he was of the opinion that it was contrary to the tradition of the Muslims of the Cape." Ithas been the practice of the Muslims in the Cape occupying themselves in prayer during the night ofLaylah

al-nist min Sha'ban

and fasting during the day. The Prophet (saws) said:

"When itis the night of Laylah al-nist tnin Shabsn , then prayer during the

night, and fast during the day, for the special blessings and mercy of Allah

descends to the heaven of the world, from sunset till the appearance ofdawn,

and Allah will say: Is there any seeking forgiveness

so

that I may forgive him,

isthere any seeking sustenance

so

that Imay provide him, isthere any who is

afflicted with misfortune

so

that Imay eliminate

it''"

These controversial issues did not deter Shaykh

lsrna

ll from teaching various Islamic subjects to the youth as well as to the adults and subsequently he became one of the most competent imams ofNur

al-Isum

Masjid.