There is a concern that many aspects of what is today being branded as Islamic Finance may have been influenced by latter-day Orientalist approaches to Islamic studies.

How would you study Islamic Finance at a university such as Dundee University in the UK and convince me that professors who are non-Muslims will not, consciously or otherwise, introduce certain ideas into the field—ideas that many Muslims may hardly notice?

(There is also the case of an “Islamic expert” who graduated from the Islamic University of Madeenah, went on to a Western university for his PhD, and later became, in the view of many, a menace to the Ummah.)

No wonder some people say that the head of Islamic Finance in Africa—àbí na Asia—is a non-Muslim from Nigeria!

This reminds me of a large Arabic dictionary I bought several years ago, only to discover later that it had been compiled by people in a Catholic monastery.

The Montgomery translation of the Noble Qur’an is another example worth mentioning.

And this is not entirely new. Some professors of Islamic Studies—Arabic Studies, and Islamic Law too, if you like—here in the South-West have, in recent times, made statements that have raised serious concerns among students of the Sunnah. One of them said that ʿEesā عليه السلام would not return. Another said that the jalaabeeb of Muslim women that trail along the ground are an exaggeration.

These are matters that were fought over many years ago.

Let us be careful.

You may find this “disgusting” too, just as my EMIEFILIFILI post apparently pisses you off.

Someone even said that I am worse than the Jabbatis because of a couple of posts that have hit hard, yes, very hard, at the evil of Ribaa.

Allāh, the Mighty, says concerning those who consume Ribaa:

“And if you do it not, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger.”

So you think say na small matter?

Whenever Ribaa wants to sneak its way into the Ummah, it must be confronted and fought to a standstill.

Yes, the posts are hard. They became hard because it became necessary for us to make them hard. I am speaking for myself here, and I take sole responsibility for my actions.

When we started on a more persuasive note, the “experts” on Facebook did not spare us. They pen-lashed us, calling us all sorts of names. Being dubbed ignorant was the least of their diatribes against us.

So, once again, you are welcome to say whatever you like about this.

But the warning against Ribaa remains.

It is not a small matter.

Aboo Aamir Ishaq AbdurRaheem, the Director Ibn al-Jazaree Islamic Centre Ibadan. 

A related article:

Khaybar Does Not Prove Your Claim, Alalubosa