BLOG 75 - ISTISQA - Ritual vs Action

[Dr. Shabbir]

TALIBAN, “BAD OMEN” AND NAMAAZ ISTISQA
July 27th, 2008 by Dr. Shabbir

Recently, Afghanistan had two dry seasons while Pakistan was having rather too much rains. The Taliban tried to force Hamid Karzai, de facto the mayor of Kabul, to officially declare the performance of Namaaz Istisqa (Rain Prayers) in every town of the country. Since no one listens to the mayor outside Kabul, Karzai could make no official declaration. The Taliban clerics were swift in issuing edicts of apostasy against him, and themselves held the Rain Prayer congregations wherever and whenever they could. Results remained conspicuous by absence in Afghanistan, but as monsoon came, Pakistan was flooded, without any Rain Prayers.

When the Taliban spokesman was asked to comment, he gave three reasons:

One - There was not enough prayer being performed per square mile in Afghanistan.

Two - Hamid Karzai’s presence was a bad omen for Afghanistan barring all blessings to descend upon the country. Hence, he must be eliminated. [But there is no such thing as a bad omen or a good omen.]

7:131 All good that came along, they ascribed it to their own worthiness, and any affliction that struck them, they blamed it on the bad omen of Moses and his companions. Remember that all omens (actions and their logical consequences) follow the Divine laws. In that sense, then, omens are with God alone. But most people do not know that there is no such thing as the superstitious bad omen or a good omen. [Friday the 13th as a day of misfortune, the bad omen of a 13th floor in a building, “touch wood” for good luck, lucky numbers and lucky stones, “waking up on the wrong side of the bed”, bad dreams etc all go out of the window]

Three - Pakistan had plenty of rains because:

a. The “blessed Mujahid of the times”, Mullah Baitullah Mahsood with his headquarters in Waziristan, was conducting successful ‘martyrdom operations’ of enormous proportions in the country and so, he must be considered the joint Emir-al-Mu’mineen along with the fugitive criminal Mullah Umar.

b. “Maulana” Fazlullah was an icing on the cake conducting ‘martyrdom operations’ and trying to establish the barbaric, manmade “Shari’ah Law” in the Swat area of Pakistan.

How’s that? Make your own judgment. My humble opinion: Taliban are strict followers of N2I (The Number Two Islam) which they wish to enforce all around.

Mao Tse Tung treated the recurrent drought in parts of China by urging every Chinese to plant a tree and he succeeded. Note the difference between action and vain rituals.