This article is inspired by the saying of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (may Allah send Blessings and Peace upon him):
“Help your brother, (in this case, it refers to MUIS) whether he is an oppressor or he is an oppressed one.” People asked: “O Messenger of Allah! It is all right to help him if he is oppressed, but how should we help him if he is an oppressor?” The Prophet ﷺ said: “By preventing him from oppressing others.” [Sahih al-Bukhari (2444)]
The following table summarised the article below. Please note that the table is best viewed in landscape mode if you are using your mobile phone.
| ASPECT | APPROACH OF THOSE WHO FOLLOW AS-SALAFUS-SALIH | MUIS “APPROACH” / “BRAND” OF ISLAM |
| Source of Guidance | Strictly follow Al-Qur’an and As-Sunnah, based on the understanding of the Prophet ﷺ, his Companions, and the two generations of Muslims who followed them. | Selectively accepts teachings of Al-Qur’an and As-Sunnah, modifying certain principles to fit Singapore’s multi-religious and secular context. |
| Purpose of Religion | Islam is perfect and complete, providing timeless solutions for every problem without any modification in its teachings. | Seeks to adapt and modify Islamic teachings to maintain social cohesion and suit Singapore’s governance model and diversity. |
| View of Diversity in Fiqh and Manhaj | Recognise legitimate differences of opinion within the Shari‘ah, as practised by classical scholars. | Claims to recognise diversity, but rejects and bans Salaf-oriented views they consider crossing boundaries. |
| Treatment of Salaf-oriented Scholars | Respect scholars who uphold Al-Qur’an and As-Sunnah, such as Rasul Dahri, as long as they remain within Shari‘ah. | Rejected Rasul Dahri’s ARS application, banned his books, and warned Muslims against his teachings despite their alignment with the Sunnah. |
| Boundaries of Shari‘ah | Clear and divinely set; Salaf-based teachings never cross these boundaries. | Redefines boundaries based on political and societal considerations, not purely Shari‘ah. |
| Unity of the Muslim Community | True unity comes from strict adherence to teachings of Al-Qur’an and the As-Sunnah. | Claims to safeguard unity, but their policies create hostility by suppressing those who follow the Salaf and restricting legitimate Islamic practices. |
| Integrity of Islam | Preserve Islam unaltered as revealed by Allah and practised by the Prophet ﷺ. | Enforces guidelines that compromise purity of Islam to accommodate secular governance and non-Muslim sensitivities. |
| Response to Challenges in a Multi-religious Society | Address issues through authentic Islamic solutions, maintaining faithfulness to the Sunnah while being just to others. | Uses the multi-religious context as an excuse to dilute Islamic teachings, prioritising state policies over divine commands. |
| Consequences of Following | Leads to goodness, Allah’s Pleasure, blessings in this life, and eternal rewards in the Hereafter. | Results in fear, threats, and oppression from MUIS and the Singapore government towards those who practise Salaf-based teachings. |
| Approach to Criticism | Encourage sincere advice (nasihah) and correction based on Al-Qur’an and As-Sunnah. | Uses manipulative blame-shifting, framing those who follow the Salaf as divisive while portraying themselves as protectors of unity. |
| Overall Characterisation | Faithful to original Islam, perfect and flawless, timeless for all contexts. | Politically influenced Islam, selectively modified to fit national interests and secular values. |
The following is my rebuttal to the response issued by MUIS concerning the feedback I had previously submitted. View their response at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GaO-oe-FE7uISWzMPNq_h–w40LdgIMd/view?usp=drivesdk
(1) “Our ARS Code of Ethics acknowledges religious tradition drawn from the Salaf as one of the legitimate orientations of learning within Islam.”
MUIS accepts the understanding of Islam based on the Salaf but disallows its practice in Singapore, as they only emphasise “learning” rather than “learning and practising” its understanding within Islam. MUIS’s political bias in its ARS Code of Ethics is evident when they rejected the ARS application of the late Salaf-oriented scholar, Rasul Dahri, simply because they could not tolerate his views on certain Islamic teachings; slandering him of having “his own mistaken view of what is real Islam”. They even went as far as banning several of his books and boycotting him by warning the Muslims against his teachings, despite the fact that they are in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. This is a form of oppression against their own fellow citizen of Singapore, a country whose governing principles require its citizens to pledge themselves as “one united people, regardless of race, language, or religion”. Are they deliberately revealing their hypocrisy through this system of governance in order to instil fear in Muslims who follow the true teachings of Islam and seek to constrain them?
(2) “At the same time, our context in Singapore requires that such discussions are not only sound in scholarship but also mindful of our social fabric.”
This means that, due to the circumstances of Singapore’s governance and its multi-religious society, MUIS uses these factors as an excuse to justify modifying the perfect and complete teachings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
(3) “…our concern has never been with differences of fiqh or manhaj per se. Rather, it is when certain teachings cross boundaries – whether by dismissing other legitimate traditions, creating hostility within the community, or undermining social cohesion – that they become problematic.”
As-Salafus-Salih, the first and best three generations of the followers of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and those who follow them uptill now, are one and the same as Ahlus-Sunnah Wal-Jamaa‘ah. They comprise those who follow the example of the Prophet ﷺ and his Companions, and adhere to their principles, beliefs, and practices. How can certain teachings of those who follow the Salaf be viewed as problematic and crossing the boundaries if they are in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, perfect and flawless? They address all circumstances and provide solutions to every problem; when practised, they establish an ideal way of life. The problem, therefore, arises when MUIS themselves seek to modify Islam to suit the various lifestyles of non-Muslims in Singapore.
By modifying the pure teachings of Islam and enforcing their own opinions through guidelines imposed upon the Muslim community, MUIS disregards and dismisses the legitimate traditions of the Salaf, which results in restricting the diversity of scholarly views within the Ummah. Such an approach fosters hostility towards the adherents of the Salaf, deliberately overlooking their sentiments, and thus undermining the very social cohesion which MUIS claims to uphold. This reflects their extremist or exclusivist views that are one-sided concerning differences of opinion in Islam.
Does this not make their claim that they “recognise differences of opinion,” while at the same time treating “certain teachings” (teachings of Salaf) as having crossed the boundaries, contradictory?” The practices of the Salaf have always remained within the boundaries of the Shari‘ah. By rejecting certain teachings of the Salaf and modifying the pure teachings of Islam to cater to Singapore’s multi-religious and secular society, MUIS is in fact the one that has crossed the boundaries. 🤗
(4) “Respecting differences does not mean all expressions are without consequence. Our duty is to safeguard both the integrity of Islam and the unity of the Muslim community in our unique multi-religious context.”
This demonstrates their “playing the victim” manipulative behaviour, employing a blame-shifting tactic by fabricating circumstances, blaming others and passing judgement to control the situation for their own hidden agendas. MUIS clearly has crossed the line by deliberately jeopardising the integrity of Islam and the unity of its community by prohibiting the propagation of Salaf-based teachings and boycotting its adherents such as the late scholar, Rasul Dahri, even though his teachings are not in the least able to cause any conflict in our unique multi-religious society. Based on their actions, is not their claim: “MUIS has always recognised that within our religious tradition, there is room for diversity of scholarly views,” hypocritical.
Know that the consequence of following and propagating the Manhaj of the Salaf in Singapore is nothing but goodness, i.e., the Pleasure of Allah, His divine favours and assistance in this life, and His eternal rewards in the Hereafter; not the suffering caused by the unjust threats of MUIS and the government of Singapore.
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Read more about the hypocrisy of MUIS and government of Singapore at the following link:
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