A Crisis...

Five days have passed and we find Maherban in another crisis… He has just finished a conversation with his mother…

Dear Family,

On my drive home today, I had a conversation with our appointed Ameer... and I was informed that the Ameer never accepted the official position...

This is a serious problem and it places our vacation in jeopardy... We need to resolve this problem ASAP... I am calling a Shura Council of the whole family or their appointed representatives to appoint a new Ameer...

I suggest we all call in on Wednesday 12:30PM (during lunch break so Apajan can join) at the following conference number:
1-555-555-1212 792333#

Agenda:
- Elect a new Ameer
- Have the Ameer decide how many deserts and cookies will be on the menu... The food budget is out of control!

To prepare for this Shura council, I am including a halaqa from Shaikh IJMA and Shaikh De Nile...

Shaikh IJMA: Shaikh De Nile, Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah. Shaikh, I wanted to discuss with you a very sticky problem of selecting an Ameer.
Shaikh De Nile: and Peace be upon you Shaikh IJMA. What is the problem?

Shaikh IJMA: The problem has to do with selecting a new Ameer when there is no clear line of succession.
Shaikh De Nile: There is no problem Brother... don't worry... Allah will point the way...

Shaikh IJMA: Yes Shaikh, but how will we know which is the correct way pointed to by Allah
Shaikh De Nile: Brother, there is ONLY one correct way... Allah does not lead us in confusion...

Shaikh IJMA: Yes Shaikh, but as far as I know... the Ameer is the leader... and in this situation, we have no Ameer... So how will Allah lead us without an Ameer?
Shaikh De Nile: No! No! Brother... there is no problem here... Allah does not only guide us through an Ameer... We have reason to help us...

Shaikh IJMA: SubanAllah Shaikh, the current ijma has forbidden reason as a tool for making decisions. And we cannot go against the ijma.
Shaikh De Nile: Brother IJMA, I have to disagree with you... There can be no ijma on an error... What was forbidden was not reason but the conclusions reached by reason. It is like banning knives, just because someone used it to commit murder...

Shaikh IJMA: Shaikh, I see what you are saying... but I also have to disagree with you... in our current climate the ijma is definitely to ban reason in favor of obedience
Shaikh De Nile: Brother IJMA, you are only correct about the ignorant... our learned brothers reserve the right to make up their own mind using reason.

Shaikh IJMA: Ok brother... I will concede that the learned can use reason... but even if we use reason... how can we determine who to select as the new Ameer
Shaikh De Nile: There is no problem brother... The prophet said, "Do not appoint those who seek power"... So you appoint the person who does not want to be Ameer

Shaikh IJMA: But brother, if a person does not want to be an Ameer, then what makes you think they can do the job...
Shaikh De Nile: Again brother... there is no problem here... The person who does not want to be Ameer already understands his own limitations... therefore this person is likely to seek others' advice in discharging their duties...

Shaikh IJMA: Shaikh, how does this help us... The job of the Ameer is to make decisions on behalf of the people...
Shaikh De Nile: No... Brother...the job of the Ameer is not to make decisions on behalf of the people, but to enforce the rules by which people can co-exist in Justice... The job of making the rules is left to the shura council...

Shaikh IJMA: Shaikh, so how does it help us when the person who is enforcing the rules has to constantly seek advice
Shaikh De Nile: Again brother there is no problem here... you see... one person cannot know everything... so they have to consult others to understand how to make good decisions...

Shaikh IJMA: Shaikh, what if the people the Ameer consults are ignorant, arrogant, malicious, or just bad people
Shaikh De Nile: Brother... this is not a problem... a person who knows his own limitations also knows the limitation of others... besides you have the same problem if you select a person who covets power, is as you say "just a bad person", AND does not seek any advice... where does that leave us... we are no better of...

Shaikh IJMA: Shaikh, but this is why we need a qualified Ameer... So we don't end up with a "bad person"... how will we know, who is a good Ameer if they don't seek the position... If they don't tell us about themselves and what they believe in... How are we to use reason?
Shaikh De Nile: No problem... That is why you have trusted individuals nominate the ameer. The person who nominates will testify to the persons qualities…

Shaikh IJMA: Shaikh, What if a bad person nominates an idiot who they plan to manipulate... They are very convincing and they make the person they are nominating sound great! AND we have no knowledge of the person doing the nominating... What are we to do then?
Shaikh De Nile: No problem... Just ignore the nomination... you see if you don't trust the person who is promoting the candidate... just ignore the advice...

Shaikh IJMA: But Shaikh, what if the person spends a long time to convince us to trust them by telling us what they stand for... like low taxes, small government, a strong military, individual responsibility, and free-market economy... Since we agree with all these positions, we are inclined to believe them... but after we consent to their nominee... the person turns out to be an idiot and makes really bad decisions...
Shaikh De Nile: No problem... with time, you can appoint a new ameer...

Shaikh IJMA: But Shaikh, what if the opposite is true... what if the person or persons spend a long time to convince us to trust them by telling us that they will take care of us, they will protect the poor, promote individual rights, protect the rights of women, provide us with health care, AND... given our last experience we believe them... only to find out the person they nominated can speak really well, but has no practical experience, is surrounded by people who failed with policies like big government, high taxes, welfare, and central bureaucracies that took 20 years to get rid off... and now ends up taking us back to the 60's and 70's... ALL in the name of CHANGE! How is this change when we are going backward... IT’S like all those hadiths that were invented to sanctify worst of the ignorance period and make them part of Islam...
Shaikh De Nile: No problem... we again use reason to guide us...

Shaikh IJMA: But Shaikh, you said to trust the person nominating the Ameer... how can we trust people who talk a great game and try to convince us that the other guy is bad... for instance, the first guys (the ones that like small government) tell us the nominee of the Shia party is not even a citizen... and the Shia party claims, the nominee and their successor are racist and stupid! Where does reason play into this equation... AND Shaikh, just the other day the Shia party got the Shaikh pollwe to praise their well-spoken nominee... Some of us who like Shaikh pollwe, are now really confused... Others think he was always a Shia anyway... and would support only his own kind... besides he thinks that the nominee and their appointed successor is "NOT READY"... what kind of reason do we use here?
Shaikh De Nile: No problem... we ignore what both of them are saying and weigh the balance of the evidence... On the one hand, we have a nominee who is clearly been around the block, maybe a little too long, but knows himself enough to know what he does not know... and on the other hand we have the Shia nominee who is clearly well-spoken, smooth, seems to wear a red cape that looks like he can fly, seems to have the foreknowledge of the prophets, and displays a remarkable ability to convince us he stands for CHANGE (even though it will take us back 30 years)... The evidence suggests that we cannot go wrong with either choice... Just have faith in Allah and everything will be OK!

Suddenly Shaikh IJMA has a heart-attack! Don't worry... the Shaikh was taken to the hospital and was immediately treated with the best care insurance could buy... Good thing the Shaikh had not gotten the county gold card... or he might not have made it in the county hospital...

Don't be late to conference call! We will stick to the agenda!