́Islam, the middle way ́, lecture by Sheikh Ahmed Bermejo (AUDIO and TEXT)

Islam, the middle way.

Lecture by Shaykh Ahmed Bermejo, Imam of the Great Mosque of Granada, at the XVIII Conference of Islamic Culture of Almonaster.
Sunday, October 15, 2017.
The first thing I have to say is that for me it is a real honour and a real pleasure to be here among you today, sharing this time, which I hope will be of benefit to all, that it will not be too heavy and that above all it will serve to shed some light and clarify what Islam is.
Therefore I want to express my gratitude to this city, to the people of the City Council, to all those who every year roll up their sleeves and make this wonderful event continue, being a success as it was in its first edition, many years ago.
And the truth is that the key to this event, to these days being successful is precisely the desire and desire of the people for this to happen; If the people in charge of organizing this event did not do it with the motivation, desire and intensity that they do, we would see how each edition would decrease and decrease, but the truth is that it is not like that, on the contrary, each edition is surpassed and that is thanks to the effort, therefore, from the bottom of my heart I want to take this opportunity that is given to me to thank this effort, This dedication, the result of which is what we see here right now and that we see when we leave this room with the streets crowded with people.
I am also grateful that the Islamic Community in Spain is given the opportunity to participate in these days, which are very important for us, because they give us the opportunity to show, to clarify, to explain, or at least to try to do so, what Islam really is.
And this is something that is to be appreciated, because unfortunately Islam today is not living its best times, it is in the eye of the hurricane, there is a lot of talk about Islam, there are continuous television programs that have “experts on Islam”, radio debates that invite “experts on Islam”; but for me the most curious thing about all this is that in no case are those experts or great experts in the field Muslims… Therefore, the fact that the Almonaster City Council does trust us Muslims to talk about Islam is something that is worth mentioning and thanking for.
The title of this lecture, or rather of these words, since to call it a conference seems to me to be too formal, is: “Islam, the middle way”, or we can also say: Islam, the way of balance, or the way of the middle.
In other words, Islam, the path that lies between extremes.
And here we put our finger on the sore spot with the extremes, and then we will put it even more, with that “myth” that we unfortunately hear so often today about Islamic extremism.
I have used the word myth, because you are going to allow me to say that it is a myth, and throughout this talk I am going to try to demonstrate how much it is really a myth, no matter how much they bombard us from the media and on social networks to make us believe that it is a reality, but the truth is that it is a myth that is very far from the true message of Islam.
The title of these words is taken from a verse in the Qur’an, a passage in which Allah says: “In this way, We have made you a community that is right in the middle…” an “ummatan wasata“. The great Qur’anic commentator, Imam al-Qurtubi of Cordoba, says, along with many others, that the word wasata, “in the middle,” means just and balanced, which takes the middle path between two extremes without falling short or overreaching.
So if we paraphrase this verse from the Qur’an, we can say the following: “We have made the Muslims follow a just and balanced path, a middle path, a path, a way of life away from any of the extremes.”
And this is really Islam, the path of balance, the path of equity, the middle path.
Let’s give another example that further certifies what we are saying and it is taken from the words and deeds of the Prophet of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, who was sent as a mercy to all the worlds.
The words are when he said what it means: “… To achieve your goal, always adopt an intermediate, moderate and constant path.” And the fact is a very beautiful and significant event, in which three men from the Muslims go to see him to give them some advice on what they can do to improve their lives.
They go to his house with that intention, but they find that he is not at home, who is his wife ‘Aisha who informs them that he is not present and, after asking them about their intention, tells them that the Prophet is a human being like them.
These three men begin to talk to each other in the presence of ‘Aisha and in their desire and desire to be better, one says: From now on I will fast every day, so that I will draw closer to God.
Another says, “Well, I will spend the whole night praying to God, for I have heard it said that it is one of the best things.”
And the third said, “Well, what I will do is to separate from my wife and never have sexual relations again.”
When Prophet Muhammad returns home, his wife tells him what has happened and the Prophet gets very angry and sends for these three men and when they are in his presence he says: “Look at me.
I have more fear of God than any of you, but I fast and break the fast, pray and then rest, and marry women.
He who does not like my sunna is not with me.”
This event and many others like it show that the model, the example that every Muslim should follow in his life, the one that every Muslim should take as a model to imitate, was the most balanced and moderate man and, in almost all the situations he went through throughout his life, He would take the middle way and teach others to do the same.
Why did I mention these two examples?
I have done so in order to show that the two main sources of Islam, the two sources from which Islam is nourished, the two sources from which the belief and conduct of Islam are derived, which are the Qur’an and the Sunnah – the way of acting – of the Prophet Muhammad, are the clearest definition, forceful and definitive that show how extremism has no place in Islam.
This has been and always will be the teaching of Islam, this has been and always will be the meaning and purity of Islam, and anyone who has studied history at all will realize that everywhere Islam has been implanted, in different parts of the world, its spirit and soul has been the middle way. the path of equity, the path of balance. And this has also been expressed by one of the great men of knowledge of Islam, a man who ironically (and this is one of the great ironies of the history of Islam) is someone who has then been adopted as an authority by a people who can be described without ambiguity as extremists, this man is the one called Ibn Al Qayim and he said the following: “In all that God has commanded us, there are two ways in which the devil comes to incite us: either to fall short and abandon him, or to overdo it. Islam resides right in the middle of those who abandon action and those who are extreme or overreach. It is like a valley between two mountains, the guide between two tendencies to go astray, a commendable path between two paths that are reprehensible.”
I have considered it necessary to start with this for two reasons: Firstly, to disassociate Islam from any kind of extremist behaviour practised by certain people who call themselves Muslims, but who have not understood the spirit of Islam and the teachings of the Qur’an and the Prophet Muhammad.
And secondly, and not because it is in second place, it is less important, as I have mentioned, to state bluntly that any behaviour that genuinely falls within the parameters of bona fide Islamic practice can never be described as extremist.
Why?
Because as we are seeing, the true teachings of Islam are totally far from it.
And all this must be said, because it hurts us Muslims themselves very, very much, that the word extremist and extremism are used almost synonymous with Islam.
And our duty and obligation is to say and repeat as many times as necessary that Islam is totally removed from any kind of extremism.
What happens then?
What is the situation we find ourselves in today?
There is a very great, regrettable and painful ignorance of what Islam really is, and this has reached such a point, it is so widespread among the society in which we live, that the normal and daily actions of any Muslim, the actions of Muslims who do nothing but comply with the basic dogmas of their Faith, are regarded by ordinary people as acts of extremism or acts that may lead to falling into the currents of extremism.
Muslims around the world dedicate some time of their days to prayer, which is done five times a day.
For the vast majority of agnostic members of our overwhelmingly secular society, this seems like an enormous amount of time to devote to everyday religious worship.
But for a Muslim it is absolutely normal.
And not long ago we completed the month of Ramadan.
For most people, going without food or drink for about nineteen hot hours each day and for an entire month is inconceivable.
And yet, millions of Muslims of all ages do so quite naturally and benefit greatly from it.
The thing is, for many people today, this seems extreme.
Therefore, we are living in a world in which all this we are talking about is present, a world in which anyone who does not follow the dictates of secular society, of political correctness, especially if they are called Ahmed or Fatima, is accused of extremist behavior. And we can see many examples of this, of how a person who begins to pray, or who recites the Qur’an or who speaks Arabic, or a woman who puts on the veil and did not do so before, begins to be frowned upon and is said to have extremist tendencies.
Why does this happen?
Because we must fight and defeat extremism at all costs, I completely agree with this statement and every Muslim who has understood the message of Islam is in complete agreement with it as well, since he knows that Islam is totally far from extremes and any kind of extremism.
The problem is that we do not know what extremism is, since the concept and meaning of extremism is never clearly defined and, as we have seen, it is very easy to apply this label to ordinary Muslims who are only living normally.
As far as the usual practices of Islam are concerned, how are non-Muslims going to know what is extremist or not?
Many Muslim men have long, bushy beards, and most Muslim women cover their hair.
And as I have already said, this is sometimes referred to as extremism.
The point I want to make with all this is that, by presenting as the public enemy of this age a totally undefined extremism linked to Islam, there is a very real danger of labeling all Muslims as extremists.
And this is something that both Muslims and non-Muslims should not allow.
However, not everything is a bed of roses and we must talk about another reality that is very present in our days, and that is that there are people who, called Ahmed and Fatima, and putting themselves on the label of Muslims, do commit extremist acts.
These people are considered extremists by everyone, by Muslims, by non-Muslims, by those who believe in something and by those who believe in nothing, there is no doubt about it.
What happens to these people?
What about Isis, Al Qaeda, and the deviants who follow and are influenced by them?
That they have not understood anything, that they do not understand what Islam is, or, even worse, and this is a very serious error, that they take from the Qur’an and the hadith – the sayings and conduct of the Prophet Muhammad – what suits them, and what they do not let them, they take what suits their propaganda of terror and extremism, they completely disassociate it from its true meaning and say: “This is Islam and whoever does not follow this is an infidel who must be killed.”
They are people who transform Islam, who omit its true essence of balance and middle way and of being something organic, alive, based on respect and mercy, they turn it into something rigid, intransigent, in which there is no room for love and coexistence.
Everything they learn from Islam is divorced from circumstances and stripped of its historical context and the global and social realities of our time.
Their literal interpretations, lacking knowledge and wisdom, are merely transplanted into their environments and their lives and they do so without soul and without any kind of kindness or mercy.
They are like a malformed heart surgeon who separates the heart from a body, but has no idea how to keep it alive and then attach it to the person who needs it.
In the end, all it does is kill them all. They call themselves followers of Islam, they call themselves Muslims, the saviors, those who understand the way of Islam, those who are going to restore Islam to all its glory and splendor… Allow me to doubt it and deny it, but this is not, nor can it ever be, the way of Islam.
These people take from the Qur’an what suits them, take it completely out of its context and say “this is what needs to be done”. But these people, who use the Qur’an as their flag, forget, at best, at worst they deliberately omit it, a verse from it that is key to understand in our times, and that is when Allah describes His Prophet saying: “And We have sent you only as mercy to all the worlds.”
This verse of the Qur’an is tremendous, it is wonderful, why? For the one who is our model, the one whom every Muslim must follow and imitate to the best of his abilities and abilities, was sent as a mercy to all the worlds. What does this mean? That every Muslim, every follower of Muhammad, has an obligation, not a recommendation, an obligation, to strive to be a mercy to all the worlds as well. Does anyone know what the Prophet of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad, of whom this ilk claims to be followers, and I deny it and will deny it as many times as necessary, did when he arrived in Mecca, a city from which he had been expelled, a city whose inhabitants for more than twenty years had insulted, mistreated, vilified, attacked, even tried to murder? Did he kill them? Did he punish them? Did he imprison them? No, he forgave them all, declared a general amnesty, said: “Do not be afraid, there is no vengeance against you, today you are all forgiven.” This is Islam, this is the intermediate and balanced path of Islam, and this is the model that we must imitate, not the one that they continually try to sell us. Another example is the case of ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, the second of the caliphs of Islam, who is unjustly accused of being intransigent, harsh and extremist. What does this man, who for more than 20 years is exposed to the light of the Prophet Muhammad and soaks up the true teaching of Islam, do when he conquers the city of Jerusalem? The first thing he does when he enters the city is to sign a treaty with the inhabitants of the city, which has come down to us through reliable sources, which reads as follows: “In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. This is a guarantee of security and respect, which the servant of God, ‘Umar, the commander of the faithful, has given to the people of Jerusalem. They have been given a guarantee of security for themselves by their property, their churches, their crosses, the sick and well-being of the city and for all the rituals that belong to their religion. Their churches will not be inhabited by Muslims and will not be destroyed. Neither they, nor the land on which they stand, nor their cross, nor their property will be harmed. They are not going to be converted to Islam by force. The inhabitants of Jerusalem must pay taxes like the people of other cities and must expel the Byzantines and thieves. Those of the people of Jerusalem who want to go out with the Byzantines will take what they want from their property and leave their churches, we guarantee that they will be able to leave the city and will be safe until they reach their place of refuge. Villagers can stay in the city if they wish. Those who wish to do so will be able to go with the Byzantines and those who wish to do so will be able to return to their families. Nothing is to be taken from them or from their harvest. If they pay their taxes in accordance with their obligations, then the conditions set forth in the present writing are under the covenant of God, and are the responsibility of his prophet, the caliphs, and the faithful.” This is Islam, this is the
Sharia‘ of Islam, that word so feared, so misused and so misunderstood.
That word that when we hear it stonings, punishments, penalties, imprisonment, etc. come to our mind. What is Sharia‘?
Je. When I was preparing these words and I got to this point, I was blank for a moment, not knowing very well how to deal with it or what point of view to give it, until I said to myself: ‘Well, Ahmed, what better way to describe what Sharia is’ than to do it through the objectives, the reasons why Sharia is established'”.
And this is very beautiful, it is what in Arabic is called MAQASID ASHARIA’, the reasons for being of Sharia’, the why of Sharia laws, ‘the objectives that Sharia seeks’.
And this, which you may think is a very long list of things and that it is going to be very technical and that you want to go and buy in the wonderful market; I’m sorry to tell you that no, that it’s not like that, that it’s not an endless list of reasons, that it’s not technical at all, and that well, if you have a little patience and want to, I don’t force anyone to be here, but I assure you that it’s very interesting and that it will show us the true essence and message of Islam.
What are the maqasid Asharia’, and please I ask you to let me use the original name in Arabic, that the meaning is that, the reasons, the objectives, the why of the Sharia’.
Five, five things, five issues, five objectives, five reasons.
The whole set of regulations and laws of Islam seeks the protection of five things, all those huge books of several volumes that talk about the laws and judgments in Islam are for five issues and look at what wonderful matters: 1 – The protection of the Deen, the protection of belief, of worship, of religion.
2 – The protection of life.
3 – The protection of the intellect.
4 – The protection of the lineage (others here say of honor).
5 – The protection of wealth.
These five things are everything in Islam, they are inviolable in Islam, they are the raison d’être of Islam and, if we analyze them in detail, we realize that they are the bases of the life of the human being, the bases of every constitution of whatever country it is, they are these, the bases of human rights, are these.
This is really Islam, this is the path of balance, this is the middle way and, as we all see and are seeing, it is totally far from extremism.
A few minutes ago, when we were talking about ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, we said that he was a man who was exposed for 20 years to the light of Islam, to the pure teaching of Islam and that was what transformed him, because certainly before he was a Muslim he was a rude, hard and intransigent person, but Islam changed him. Islam transformed him.
And it is that Islam in its highest form, Islam in its essence, in its soul of which we have spoken, in what today has been given a name, but before it was a reality present in all Muslims, in what is called the science of Tasawwuf, of which Ibn Al-‘arabi, of which much has been talked about these days in this city is one of its greatest exponents, he achieves that change and that transformation in people and took them from the extremes to the middle path, from bad qualities to good qualities; that is why we must never disassociate or separate Tasawwuf from Islam, because then we will be left with a house without a roof, and this is what extremists really do, they forget behavior, character, purification, they forget Tasawwuf, they forget to purify themselves, they are that cardiologist that we mentioned before, they remove the heart and kill the body from which they have removed it and they also kill the body to which they were going to put it. Ibn al-Farid, another of the great masters of Tasawwuf, said, describing what Tasawwuf is, describing what transforms people from despicable beings to high beings: “It purifies the character of those who practice it.And with this, those who lack decision are guided towards it.He whose hand he did not know how to give, becomes magnanimous.And he who never forgave, holds back even when he is angry.”

  Commenting on these verses, Shaykh Ibn ‘Jaiba said: “Bad temper is replaced by good temper and laziness is replaced by energy and vigor. Greed and stinginess are replaced by generosity and generosity. Anger, resentment, thoughtlessness, and violence are transformed into self-denial, sweetness of heart, tranquility, resolution, and composure. Fear, anxiety and discouragement turn into courage, certainty and independence from all that is not Allah. Doubt and confusion are transformed into certainty and tranquility. The excessive management of affairs and choice become acceptance, submission and serenity in the face of the blows of fate. Pride and the desire for high position, rank and leadership are replaced by humility, inner peace and love of darkness. Love for this world, greed and dishonesty, are replaced by detachment, acceptance and conscientiousness. Wealth is with Allah rather than with that which is not Him. Courting the rich and allying with them is replaced by withdrawing and not needing them; and boasting of being connected with them is replaced with being satisfied with the knowledge of Allah. Disdaining and despising the poor is replaced by exalting and elevating them, being close to them and loving them.”
This is Islam, this is the path of balance, this is the middle way, the path that transforms extremists, whatever extreme they are in, into just and balanced people, into – and now I go back to the beginning, to the verse in the Qur’an that we mentioned a community that is right in the middle. In other words, all the defects and diseases present in people, which find their disastrous negative manifestation in extremism, are transformed with Islam into harmless weaknesses or, at best, into positive characteristics that come into action.
They have a dynamic and immediate effect on the lives of all who embody them and those who come into contact with them.
Imam Sulami gave an account of the ways in which this happens and this is beautiful because it perfectly describes the path of Islam.
He said, may Allaah be pleased with him:

• They bring joy into the lives of their peers and meet their needs to the best of their ability. Do extremists do this?
• They overlook the injustices they suffer, but they are firm when it comes to being fair to others.
  Do extremists do this?
• They avoid criticizing their peers and do not take into account the mistakes they make.
  Do extremists do this?
• They restrain themselves from being offended and are extremely cautious not to cause affront. Do extremists do this?
• They are firm about practicing their beliefs, but they are careful about imposing that same firmness on others. Do extremists do this?
• They are generous and magnanimous. Do extremists do this?
• They are affable with their peers. Do extremists do this?
• They allow their colleagues to use their things as if they were their own. Do extremists do this?
• They are hospitable and invite people to share their food. Do extremists do this?
• They make sure that their friends and neighbors, regardless of religion, have what they need. Do extremists do this?
• They are content with little, but they wish that others had a lot. Do extremists do this?
• They always tell the truth. Do extremists do this?
• They keep their word and protect what is entrusted to them. Do extremists do this?
• They love to share the joys of their peers. Do extremists do this?
• They do not boast about themselves or their good deeds. Do extremists do this?
• They seek good company and avoid bad company as if it were the plague. Do extremists do this?

This is Islam put into practice, this is the true image of Islam not the one sold to us by some media, not that image with which we are continually bombarded to make us believe Islam is what it is not.
The true image of Islam is this, and it is thousands of miles away from the atrocities committed in the name of Islam by ISIS extremists, Al-Qaeda and their murderous followers.
This is what we have to offer humanity, to our companions in this world, whatever religion they are, whatever belief they have, whatever race they are.
This is the true outward manifestation of this intermediate and balanced path that is Islam.