Ustadha Zaynab Mansour Ansari on The Balance Of Imam Zaid Shakir...

[Bilal Mahmud المكافح المخلص]

Zaynab Mansour Ansari

Thank you, #ImamZaidShakir, for your balanced response to this extremely sensitive issue. Unfortunately, nuance, which is the domain of properly-trained ulema, is lost on those who wield aqidah issues as a cudgel with which to immediately criticize, blame, and attack. My family has had the pleasure of actually knowing Imam Zaid for DECADES and he has never been inconsistent in his understanding and application of Shari'ah. Imam Zaid very clearly stated two realities: 1. We live in a pluralistic society and do not have the ability to enforce our norms on others. Our norms, lest anyone try to distort my words, are based on the eternal guidance of the Shari'ah as preserved in the Qur'an and Sunna. However, as Muslims living in a society that recognizes pluralism as an intrinsic feature of political and social organization, we also recognize that we cannot prevent people from organizing around causes with which we disagree. 2. Related to this latter point is the second reality Imam Zaid pointed to and which his detractors shamefully ignored. While we recognize that our fellow Americans are afforded the constitutional right to organize around causes with which we disagree (and our disagreement is rooted in the Shari'ah), we are not permitted to advocate for causes that are inimical to Sacred Law. I'm not sure how Imam Zaid's statements became controversial when he very clearly articulated the distinction between the realities of living in a pluralistic society and our theological commitments as observant Muslims. #ImamZaid, for what it's worth please accept my humblest apology for not coming to your defense a long time ago. You are my teacher and my elder in Islam. I am aghast at the lack of adab, the anger, the slander, and the lies directed at our beloved Imam Zaid. As our noble Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said in his Farewell Sermon, “Verily, your lives, your property, and your reputations have been made sacred to you, just as the sanctity of this day of yours, in this month of yours. Will not the witness inform the absent?” (Agreed upon) May Allah Ta'ala protect us from ever being a party to such calumnies against a man who has done nothing but sacrifice his time, energy, talent, and health for the Muslim Ummah.