Should we ask a mullah, if we can ask a mullah? The “ask a mullah” phenomenon is getting silly, people are asking what face cream should we use, can legs be waxed, can we eat tofu, is it permissible to be interviewed for a job by someone of the opposite sex etc.

The truly sad thing, is that all this has cheapened Islamic scholarship… While money spinning mullahs do well, authentic scholars who’ve been doing the research, answering the important questions, and providing positive direction have been sidelined, oftentimes treated despicably by fellow Muslims and especially the mullahs who falsely claim to represent Islam.

Ignorant as they are, such mullahs know a threat when they see it… Isn’t it time the Ummah as a whole, woke up to this subversion of it’s scholarly tradition?

We should respect genuine scholars, irrespective what madhab or manhaj to which they’re affiliated. But seriously, classing ignorant mullahs as Islamic “scholars”, just because they have a regular slot on an ostensibly “Islamic” TV channel, is completely undermining the true spirit of Islam. If Muslims do not collectively come to realise this, authentic Islam is finished.

While it’s true people should seek out a doctor of religion, for answering genuine queries of a spiritual nature that are bothering them, when we have ignorant mullahs answering these, putting doubt into believers minds about every aspect of their lives, guilt tripping them, ultimately making Islam appear a prison rather than a miraculous prism through which to discern the guidance of Allah SWT, we have a problem…

Allah SWT never made Islam to be a burden upon us [Holy Qur’an 2:185, 22:78], but an enlightening lamp through which to navigate the trials of life.

Paul Salahuddin Armstrong
Director, Khilafah Online
Co-Director, The Association of British Muslims

www.khilafahonline.com
www.aobm.org