Reviving the Islamic Spirit - Session 14 and 18

Topics: Spirituality and Radical Reform and Islam and the Spiritual Journey
Speaker: Professor Tariq Ramadan

Tariq Ramadan proposes that we embark on a transformation reform that consists of (1) knowing the principles and (2) knowing ourselves. To reform does not mean to reform Islam, but rather to understand Islam.

How do we do this? We must come back to the fundamentals because the world is constantly changing. When the Prophet (pbuh) traveled from Makkah to Medina, he proposed to the people that they must shift their minds. The people of Makkah are different than those from Medina. Thus, we must reform based on our environment.

Not only do we need to come back to the fundamentals, but also the spirit and confidence of the origin that is the Qur'an. We must not follow Him in a superficial way, but rather to get love, and be loved by Him, for this is the reason why we love. Only with the Qur'an can we change the world.

How do we change the world? We must understand the world. We must go through a liberation process. When we speak about reform, we are not referring to an adaptation reform. This sort of reform implies that we conforming. We do not want to conform, but rather we want to transform, and master the knowledge of the world. The transformation reform must be used if we want to change the world.

Many people say, "I only care about being spiritual, I don't care about religion." There are many people these days who follow modern-day Sufism. More flying, less religion. That is not to say that spirituality is irrelevant. When you proclaim tawhid, you free yourself from your ego, thus ensuring that spirituality is an essential part of the journey towards liberation.

Allah swt tells us that (1) He beautifies our love for sexuality, appearances, money and power, and (2) He made us love faith and beautified it in our hearts. (1) is superficial love because it seems like we love sex, looks, money and power, but really we desire it because they have been beautified. On the other hand, (2) is genuine love because beauty goes beyond love. In general, Tariq Ramadan calls (1) loving desires and (2) loving faith. He tells us to implement this in our daily lives.

Our first perception of freedom is doing what we want. But, are we really sure of what we want, or are people pushing us to love what we love? We must ask ourselves this question. This type of freedom is apparent freedom, and what we want is true freedom, where people follow the correct path. Allah swt says that these are the guided ones.

The goal of the spiritual journey is to become closer to Allah swt. In other words, we must come back to our hearts, like we do when we perform Hajj. Spirituality is also about zikr, the remembrance of Allah swt.

So how does someone liberate themselves in their daily lives? Within this spiritual journey, we need to do three things.

1. We need the intention. We must ask ourselves why we are doing what we're doing.
2. We must know the means we are using to attain the objective. What is the objective? Taqwa. Constant awareness and attempting to be close to Allah swt.
3. Put your faith in action. Engage yourself so that you can be close to the educator.
   

The key to spirituality is discipline. We become disciplined through prayer. However, we must not only pray with our body, but also pray with our mind. We also discipline ourselves in Ramadan. The first twenty days of the month we train our body. The last ten days we train our heart. Don't backbite, remain silent.

Spirituality is one of our biggest crises. People are not confident, or they are scared, and their ethics and principles are in question. How do we resolve this issue? There needs to be a shift in authority, from the negative authority that cannot come in front of the community because they are quick to judge based on their emotions, to a positive authority, that consists of a community of readers, rather than a community of emotions.

The key is contribution, not integration. We must reform with ethics, and speak of universal values: love and sharing, rather than arguing over halal and haraam.

So do not despair or lose hope. Start with yourself, and ask Allah swt for help. Surely He will guide those who seek His guidance to the truth.

Ameen.

Note: If you attended these two lectures and find that some things written here are a little whack, or if you just have no clue what any of the above means, let me know. I tried my best to summarize Tariq Ramadan's two lectures and somehow make the ideas flow with clarity.

Allah knows best.