Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Encyclopedia
Jamaat al-Muslimeen literally translated as "Group of Muslims", "The Muslim Group", "The Muslim Assembly", "The Muslim Society", or "The Muslim Community", is a Muslim group found in the South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. Headquartered in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, it was founded by Masood Ahmad in the 1960s. The present leader of this group is Muhammad Ishtiaq
Muhammad Ishtiaq
Muhammed Ishtiaq is the current leader of the Muslim group Jamaat-ul-muslimeen, found in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. After the death of the Imam Syed Masood Ahmad, he was chosen to lead the group...
. This group is different from the "Jamaat al Muslimeen
Jamaat al Muslimeen
The Jamaat al Muslimeen is a Muslim organisation within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago with a membership of predominantly Afro-Trinidadians....
" of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Jamaat ul-Muslimeen - Disambiguation
Several movements have been found by the name of Jamaat al-Muslimeen, but this article focuses on a Muslim group which is found in the South AsiaSouth Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and headquartered in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. This group does not associate themselves with any other Muslim group, like Takfir wal-Hijra
Takfir wal-Hijra
Jama'at al-Muslimin , popularly known as Takfir wal-Hijra , was a radical Islamist group led by Shukri Mustafa, which emerged in Egypt in the 1960s as an offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood, inspired by Sayyid Qutb.The group was...
or other terrorist groups like "Jamaat al Muslimeen
Jamaat al Muslimeen
The Jamaat al Muslimeen is a Muslim organisation within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago with a membership of predominantly Afro-Trinidadians....
" of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, England based Abu Isa's Group, etc.http://www.aljamaat.org/disclaimer.htm
Origin
Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen is a movement in IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
founded (Ehya) by Syed Masood Ahmad in the 1960s.http://www.aljamaat.org/islam/articles/a21.htm The present leader of this Jamaah is Muhammad Ishtiaq
Muhammad Ishtiaq
Muhammed Ishtiaq is the current leader of the Muslim group Jamaat-ul-muslimeen, found in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. After the death of the Imam Syed Masood Ahmad, he was chosen to lead the group...
http://www.aljamaat.org/jamaat-ul-muslimeen/muhammadishtiaq.htm.
Distinctive Beliefs
Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen preaches a purified Islamic monotheism that strictly prohibits polytheism. They believe that widespread Muslim practices such as venerating the graves of Islamic prophets and saints are shirk. Photographs of any living being that possesses a soul are forbidden. Celebration of MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's birthday is also considered as innovation. This Jamaat in general are opposed to every self-defined doctrines that has been widespread in the Islamic world, which they regard as deviations from the true path of Muhammad. They also prefer the term 'Muslim' as an attempt to portray themselves as true Muslims and not a sect. They insist that their beliefs are pure Islamic as practiced during the time of Muhammad, and they idealize an allegedly uncorrupted bygone religious community which they try to emulate in almost every aspect. So, they place great emphasis on ritual not only in prayer but in every activity in life—so as to say they follow every example of Muhammad and his companions and make religion part of every activity in life. http://www.aljamaat.org/jamaat-ul-muslimeen/features.htm
Adapting The Name "Muslim" Vs. Self-Defined Names
They believe that every believer of Islam must call himself or herself MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
only and any other names like Sunni, Shi'a, Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
, Shafi`i, Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
, Hanbali
Hanbali
The Hanbali school is one the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. The jurisprudence school traces back to Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal but was institutionalized by his students. Hanbali jurisprudence is considered very strict and conservative, especially regarding questions of dogma...
or Wahhabi, Ahle Hadith
Ahle Hadith
Ahl al-Hadith or , is a term that has been used to refer to many Islamic movements that emphasize the use of hadith in Islam...
or Salafi
Salafi
A Salafi come from Sunni Islam is a follower of an Islamic movement, Salafiyyah, that is supposed to take the Salaf who lived during the patristic period of early Islam as model examples...
etc., are not proven in Islam and are not acceptable. They quote a Quranic verse, "...He (Allah, The Almighty) named you Muslims before (this Quran) and then now-to-onwards..." Surah
Sura
A sura is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the suras are of unequal length; the shortest sura has only three ayat while the longest contains 286 ayat...
Hajj-verse-78
On the names of Muslim groups
They also say that the various self-defined names of Muslim groups, such as the Jamaat-e-IslamiJamaat-e-Islami
This article is about Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan. For other organizations of similar name see Jamaat-e-Islami The Jamaat-e-Islami , is a Pro-Muslim political party in Pakistan...
, Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat
Tablighi Jamaat is a religious movement which was founded in 1926 by Muhammad Ilyas al-Kandhlawi in India. The movement primarily aims at Tablighi spiritual reformation by working at the grass roots level, reaching out to Muslims across all social and economic spectra to bring them closer to...
, Tanzeem-e-Islami
Tanzeem-e-Islami
The Tanzeem-e-Islami is an Islamist religious organisation based in Lahore, Pakistan. Founded in 1975 by religious scholar Dr. Israr Ahmed, it advocates the establishment of an Islamic Caliphate in Pakistan and worldwide. The Tanzeem was created after Israr Ahmed split from the Jamaat-e-Islami in...
Jamiat al-Ikhwan al-Muslimun etc., are not acceptable. They believe that since creating different names of different groups is the major cause of disunity among Muslims, Muslims must avoid using those names. According to them, the only acceptable name is Jamaat-ul-Musilmeen which is also mentioned in the tradition of Muhammad: "...stick to the main body of Muslims ('Jama'at al Muslimeen' in Arabic) and their Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
(leader)...". They quote this hadith and conclude that the phrase 'Jama'at al Muslimeen' is proven from the sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
of Muhammad, and therefore, other names and phrases are not acceptable. Since they have used this phrase, they conclude that they are the ones mentioned in the hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
, and it is mandatory for every human to be a part of their group, as the hadith commands Muslims to stick to this group.
On Adherence to Islamic Laws
According to them, every Muslim must strictly adhere to Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and Sunnah
Sunnah
The word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
of Muhammad, and shun to any new ideas like believing blindly in Qiyas
Qiyas
In Islamic jurisprudence, qiyās is the process of deductive analogy in which the teachings of the Hadith are compared and contrasted with those of the Qur'an, in order to apply a known injunction to a new circumstance and create a new injunction...
, Fatwa
Fatwa
A fatwā in the Islamic faith is a juristic ruling concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. In Sunni Islam any fatwā is non-binding, whereas in Shia Islam it could be considered by an individual as binding, depending on his or her relation to the scholar. The person who issues a fatwā...
and Ijtihad
Ijtihad
Ijtihad is the making of a decision in Islamic law by personal effort , independently of any school of jurisprudence . as opposed to taqlid, copying or obeying without question....
of early & present Scholars, they consider these new ideas as Bid'ah
Bid'ah
Bid‘ah is any type of innovation in Islam. It linguistically means "innovation, novelty, heretical doctrine, heresy". In contrast to the English term "innovation", in Arabic, the word bid'ah generally carries a negative connotation...
(innovation) in religion and openly Shirk (i.e. making association in Allah's Decreed Divine Law
Divine law
Divine law is any law that in the opinion of believers, comes directly from the will of God . Like natural law it is independent of the will of man, who cannot change it. However it may be revealed or not, so it may change in human perception in time through new revelation...
s). This can be supported with a statement from their website:
Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen does not consider the verdict, Fiqh, jurisprudence or conjecture of anyone as a part of Islam.
Salvation according to this group
They believe that in order to achieve salvation, one must stick to the Qur'an and tradition (Sunnah) of Muhammad, Muslims must live as a one united body [which is referred to in the tradition of MuhammadMuhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
as Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen] while giving baiy'ah (pledge of allegiance) to one leader (Imam
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
) and avoiding adherence to different bodies and leaders in order to have unity among Muslims.
It is understood that this one united body is their own organization, and this Imam is their leader, Muhammad Ishtiaq
Muhammad Ishtiaq
Muhammed Ishtiaq is the current leader of the Muslim group Jamaat-ul-muslimeen, found in the Indo-Pak subcontinent. After the death of the Imam Syed Masood Ahmad, he was chosen to lead the group...
; hence Muslims who are not a member of their organization would not go to paradise.
Views of Sunnites regarding Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Sunnites accuse them of misinterpreting Qur'anic textsQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
and hadith
Hadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
s. They say that Masood Ahmad expressed his personal opinions on Qur'anic texts and hadiths, and did not follow the interpretations of Muhammad and the Sahabah
Sahabah
In Islam, the ' were the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet...
.
The issue of takfir
They also accuse them of takfirTakfir
In Islamic law, takfir or takfeer refers to the practice of one Muslim declaring another Muslim an unbeliever or kafir...
i.e. considering every other Muslim to be a Kafir
Kafir
Kafir is an Arabic term used in a Islamic doctrinal sense, usually translated as "unbeliever" or "disbeliever"...
or unbeliever, and considering themselves to be the only Muslims in the world. An accusation which can be supported by many statements from Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen's website such as: "To leave Jamaat-ul-Muslimeen is to leave Islam".
On the term 'Jamaat al-Muslimeen
Mainstream Muslims reject the assumption that the term is a name, and say that just calling yourself 'Jamaat al-Muslimeen' does not necessarily imply guidance. It is a term that was used to refer to the Khilafah. From the grammatical point of view, it is not a proper noun at all. They argue that just naming yourself with a term found in the hadithHadith
The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....
does not make one right. An example would be the term "Hizbullah". This term is found in the Quran, and it is used in reference to the successful group. The Quran says:
"Allah will be well pleased with them, and they with Him. They are the Party of Allah (in Arabic - Hizbullah). Truly it is the Party of Allah (in Arabic - Hizbullah) that will achieve Success."
They argue that the terms "Hizbullah" and "Jamaat al-Muslimeen" have the same grammatical structure. This does not mean that if you name yourselves "Hizbullah", you will be the ones to achieve success. It is the spirit and not the words that actually matter.
On the pledge of allegiance
The Jamaat al-Muslimeen require every member to pledge his/her allegiance (baiy'ah in Arabic) to their current leader, Muhammad Ishtiaq. This according to the mainstream Muslims is an innovation in religion. They argue that such a pledge was taken only by a caliphCaliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
in all of Islam's history. They further argue and say that Muhammad said:
"If two caliphs were given the pledge of allegiance, then kill the second of them." [Sahih Muslim]
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal, a Sunni Imam, was asked about the above hadith. He said:
"Do you know who is the Imam? It is the one upon whom all the Muslims agree; of whom every one of the Muslims says, 'This is the Imam.'"
They also quote Umar Ibn al-Khattab, the second caliph of Islam. He said:
"Whoever gives the pledge of allegiance to anybody among you without consulting the other Muslims, neither that person, nor the person to whom the pledge of allegiance was given, are to be supported, lest they both should be killed." [Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 8.817 Narrated by Ibn Abbas]
See also
- TawhidTawhidTawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. It is the religion's most fundamental concept and holds God is one and unique ....
- Shirk
- Bidah
- Taqleed
- Masood Ahmad
- List of Muslims