Womb weapon in hand, Umar sez Brother Nidal Hasan had good intentions but made a bad choice.
If only we could find it in our hearts to extend such gentle, loving reprimands and murmurs of disapproval to our American government for its bad choices.
Islam News @ NYT- Women’s Rights in Mideast:
- Driving Miss Saudi: Young women in Riyadh try to balance Islam and modernity as the stunted desert kingdom makes progress in “Saudi Time.”
- Swedish Artist Says Sketch of Prophet Aimed to Mock All Religions: A man who prosecutors say was the target of a murder plot says his caricature of the Prophet Muhammad was intended to poke fun at all sacred symbols.
-
Would you like your own blog hosted at Talk Islam? Email the admin at "salaam at talk islam dot info" !
Talk Islam uses Wordpress MU and the Prologue theme by Automattic
DISCLAIMER: Please see the About Talk Islam page for fair use issues and our privacy policy.
DONATE: Talk Islam needs your support!
manas 11:01 am on January 1, 2010 Permalink |
link not working!
johnpi 11:07 am on January 1, 2010 Permalink |
Thank you. Link fixed.
Abu Noor Al-Irlandee 11:12 am on January 1, 2010 Permalink |
I’m a firm believer that individuals can have good intentions, but governments and especially global superpowers cannot. (governments have interests, people have morality.)
aziz 6:20 pm on January 2, 2010 Permalink |
well said. a government is an entity, not a rational being. Morals are the sole province of reason.
Abu Noor Al-Irlandee 11:21 am on January 1, 2010 Permalink |
To be clear, I am not commenting on whether Nidal Hasan had good intentions…I have no idea what he was thinking, and assumptions or speculation on what he was thinking are just that.
Abu Noor Al-Irlandee 11:26 am on January 1, 2010 Permalink |
Christopher Hitchens often argues that religions are a uniquely evil force because they can make ‘good people’ do bad things. I think that governments are often evil in that they can harness the individual efforts of people,including many with good intentions as individuals and direct them towards and justify evil, and just as religion can do, the people as individuals can remain convinced that they are ‘good people’ trying to do good.
bingregory 3:34 am on January 2, 2010 Permalink |
Whenever people try to use good intentions to excuse bad behavior, I think of the hadith that begins:
We creatures are weak enough and self-deceiving enough that our intentions may not even be our intentions in the sight of Allah.
Abu Noor Al-Irlandee 5:53 pm on January 2, 2010 Permalink |
In addition to that important point bingregory, it should be clear that there is a difference between the concept of niyyah, often translated as intentions, and what people usually mean in english when they say someone has or had ‘good intentions.’
The question of niyyah refers to whether in act is done sincerely for the sake of God. As in the hadith you mentioned, it means that even if one is doing the best of actions but is doing it with some other purpose besides pleasing God, it will not be rewarded in the hereafter. If one is doing a wrong action, it does not matter if one’s niyyah is ‘good.’ which is actually a ridiculous statement to say that one has a good intention in disobeying God. If there is disagreement about whether an action is loved by God, that is a different issue.
I think Umar is talking more generally here, that one assumes that Nidal Hassan was somehow motivated by his love for his fellow Muslims and his opposition to wars that kill Muslims and it is good that he had those feelings,but his action was still a mistake, but as I said that is basically speculation at this point.