This is a recount of a back and forth conversation i had this afternoon with a Brother/Friend of mine who is American by birth and has studied extensively overseas in several Arab countries. He wrote this to me in response to a post i made on Facebook which i will write below.

anas canon wrote on his wall in FaceBook...

"After listening to Blues music last night till 3am in Nashville Tennessee i am reminded of my claim that Blues is the only unadulterated form of black music left in this county."



"Anonymous Brother" (i am not including the brothers name here because he is a friend and also because it would be very bad
edict)

Bismillah

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

I pray that Allah pour His favor on you and yours. Have as question and please do not take offense as none in intended, is playing or listening to Blues lawful in the Shari'a of Muhammad (peace be upon him)?

Was-salam,

"Anonymous Brother"



anas canon Response...

Are in your Serious???

Negro you are so out of touch i am not even sure you know or remember what blues music is. You hide in a cave out of fear of dealing with the people. That may keep you "safe" but far from effective. When i want or need your opinion i will go over your head and ask my Shayk. Until the day i reach for your dogmatic and socially awkward critic of my life please keep your comments/loaded questions to your self.

Bro, do you seriously think by asking people questions that way you are gonna spark some kind of Tawba. Please, for the sake of our Deen (as it stands here in the states) and for OUR people. Get a grip and take stock of where you are operating from.

Fortunately i am intensely self assured and well aware that we are all works in progress striving to the best of our ability. You included. However, if i was teetering on whether or not i was gonna be able to continue to walk around in this society (USA) wearing the moniker of "Muslim" in the face of those who demand that i meet some standard then it would be people like you and comments like the one above that would have me choose to disassociate with "Muslims" and practice Islam/Tasawuf in private and at my own pace.

Respectfully and heartfelt,

Al Hajj anas MG canon

ps. i am posting this conversation in a public space but removing your name so that others can know precisely how i feel and perhaps be brave enough to conjure up a similar response to inquires such as yours. I will never reveal that is was written to or directed at you.



"Anonymous Brother" response....

Bismillah
As-salamu alaykum,

May Allah grant us all to remain in His religion and follow His beloved Prophet (peace be upon him).

First of all, my name is not negro and yes I am entirely serious.

Second of all, despite my own short comings, it is not about me or you. Nor is it my or your religion. And I prefer people to ask the Shuyukh and my head doesn't matter that it would be gone over. So I suggest that you do go over my head and ask the Shuyukh. However, perhaps you already have and if so, I would like to hear what they said which is why I asked you the question I did rather than giving the limit position that has reached me.

Thirdly, I am not asking someone who i believe is teetering, nor would I asked someone who I feel it would push over the edge. You are a public figure and your conduct has an impact, so if people who have made the same pledge to Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) that you have made ask you if some of your conduct conforms to the dictates of that pledge, it would seem appropriate.

You made a statement in a public forum and I simply asked you about it in private. Accountability is part of our religion and at least all the Shuyukh and the Imams we know encourage brothers to candidly discuss these types of things. I am not sure if the one you are referring to as your Shaykh is Habib Umar (Allah preserve him), but if so, I would assume that candid discussion would be received in a manner more becoming of one of his students as he tells students to not only accept counsel but to be happy about it.

Honestly,

Abdul Kareem Yahyaa

PS I really do not care if you include my name in the public post.



Anas Canon Response...

Salam,

I will attempt to address your points one at a time for the sake of clarity and continuity.

1. I know your name is not Negro. And i asked if you were serious or not because you are WELL aware that i am professional musician/engineer/performer and have been for over a decade. I also would assume that you are aware that all of Black American Music finds its roots in the Blues. Some would argue that all popular music in America traces its roots back to the Blues. So to inquire specifically about the Blues as it relates to "the Shar'a of Muhammad (peace be upon him)" is in many ways to inquire about the permissibility of western music in general. The questioning of whether or not your inquire was serious was rooted in the fact that i could not understand why someone with your level of intelligence would reach out to me with such a cheaply constructed and pompous approach. You did not grow up in desert somewhere and you are quite familiar with the customs here in America so you are well aware that the venue in which i was soaking up the historical and culture legacy of OUR people (noting here that your genealogical and cultural lineage is practically identical; White American mother and Black American father, Born in the 70's and raised in the Bay Area) was a bar where they were serving a plethora of different alcoholic beverages, men and women were "mixing" freely and not all of the lyrical content was "G rated". However you choose to engage with me in a discourse about the permissibly of music??? I will assume that you were just trying to have a "good opinion" and that in your mind you staged a all night Blues jam session taking place in some Islamic cultural center in Nashville. If i am forced against my own better judgement to assume your intentions were not to provoke me then i would have to believe you asked because somewhere in your mind you are concerned about my fate in the after life and by you performing some sort of intervention i may be saved from eternal damnation and fire. However old friend that is a hard pill for me to swallow considering how well you know me and my history. What i really believe is that this is just another one of your attacks on people who don't follow the same doctrine as you as strictly as you do in a attempt to validate your particular position that you have constructed based on deep studies of traditional Islam. See if you don't continue to challenge those who think outside of the box you will be left with no one to manipulate and control inside your box. Well brother, i don't fit in your box. And if that makes me outside of Islam in your eyes then it is there i comfortably sit. So yes, i ask again, are you serious??? Do you seriously think that by masking your intentions in flowery rhetoric and well wishes that i will not see through your loaded question?

2. I am well aware that the religion of Islam is way bigger than either of our personalities so it is condescending to suggest otherwise. Addressing your question as to whether or not i have inquired into the specifics rules of permissibility when it comes to listening to or paying the Blues in "ln the Shar'a of Muhammad (peace be upon him)" the short answer is no. I have not asked anyone regarding that specific genre. In fact, believe it or not, i don't consult with a master of Sharia before my every move. That is not the way i have choose to live my life. I don't have any judgement towards a person who chooses to ask permission before they make their individual life choices and i believe in the words of Imam Ali (may The Creator Ennoble Him) when he said "The one who consults will never fail" but one of the things that lead me to choose Islam as a form of spiritual practice was the emphasis it put on personal accountability and each souls individual relationship with the Divine. It is a scientific fact that my thumb print has never existed and will never exist again. If that is a external manifestation of each humans individuality we can only imagine the intricate and highly personal nature of each creatures relationship with the Divine. Therefore if one spends their life blindly following Dogmatic religious laws and traditions based in cultural mythology one may never taste the bitter sweet journey towards the Divine that only they can experience. One might be robbed of all the scars and gems that are gained while traversing the path towards Divine presence. I realize that in your world this part of the conversation would ultimately end up in the arena of Divine predestination vs. free will and i will admit my limits in advance when it comes to debating these topics in forum solely based in classic Islamic theology.

3. In regards to teetering and nearness to the edge it should suffice to say that your claim is quite lofty considering your inability to know what person contains in their breast. I personally know 2 people who have been negatively affected by your intrusive approach and subsequently distanced themselves from Islam because of their interaction with you. I myself have been struggling with some of the more obscure and debated tenets within Islam for quite some time now but have never made my position on them public. I have always considered my personal spiritual journey something that should be under gone with a open heart and open mind. i committed to myself that would never abandoned the process of questioning and critically analyzing my perceptions and and beliefs. It is that approach to life that lead me to Islam and now that same approach has lead me to believe that while the bulk of my spiritual constitution is consistent with Islam there are some views i hold that would take me "outside of the faith". I have always felt that it is better to keep this kind of thing to myself as ones spiritual views are quite personal but your charges regarding my code of conduct and suggestion that i have behaved inappropriately in public have lead me make the choice to share these things publicly so i might quell any anxiety you or other people may feel when i don't conform to what you believe is "Islamicly correct". I will also take this opportunity to share that i have decided to to cease the use of the name "be like Muhammad" as my pen/stage name. Going forward i will use the name i have used in the secular music business, "Fair Grime". There is not much i can do about me being a public figure as it is the nature of the entertainment industry but if there is anything else i can do to make you feel safer in your fragile house of glass please make a list and i will do the best i can to meet your requests.

Habeeb Umar (may the Creator preserve Him) is not just for scholars. He is not just for those who have arrived at the high state of Prophetic emulation. Because we see him as our spritual father does not mean must wear robes and turbans and walk around like saints to protect His honor. Nor do the adoring of such garments guarantee that the one wearing them is safe from transgression or hypocricy. I have traveled with Habeeb Umar and Habeeb Ali in lands foreign and domestic and never ceased to be amazed by the range of different kinds of people who journeyed to visit with them in a attempt to soak up a portion of their Barakah (Blessing/spiritual gifts or protection transmitted from the Divine). Habeeb Umar and the Prophet Muhammad (may the Creator eternally shower His Mercy and Blessings upon His soul) were sent for ALL of humanity. That means that they are for the Righteous and the Wretched. The Sober and the Drunkards. The Noble and the Despicable. The Women and the Men. The Scholar and the Artist. If we are fortunate enough to be the means by which a single person is guided to their example then the means will have justified the end.

In closing, my choice to make this conversation public is for the sake of those who watch us from a distance. I have always felt that it is important to show that Muslims represent a wide array of veiw points. That we can be tolerant with each others positions. That we are self-critical and not just full of self-praise/group think and that it is ok to speak in a way that ones feel comfortable. Anybody who knows me knows that i detest those who punch with a iron fist covered by a velvet glove. Those who hide behind flowery rhetoric in a attempt to maintain the moral high ground while masking their true intentions. I come from a long line of strong black men who speak their mind, shoot straight, and never sugar coat the truth. I understand that there are times when edict is in order but in this case, given my perception of your initial approach, i am addressing you in a manner that is customary of our people.


Lovingly,

Al Hajj anas Muhmmad Ghazali Canon


Abdul-Kareem response.....

--------------------
Re: Salam

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful and Compassionate

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,

May Allah have mercy on you. May Allah have mercy on you. May Allah have mercy on you! I am not saying that sarcastically, but in emulation of Umar, Allah be pleased with him, who said, “May Allah have mercy to the one who gifts me my faults.” This is the best nasiha we received in some time.

We also wanted to say to all listening that it was not our intention to criticize music or discuss its general permissibility. We actually abstain from conclusion as to the ruling of modern music and leave that to the scholars. As for the ruling of specific instruments in the school we are qualified to convey, we answer the questions of those who ask, here is an example:

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://qa.sunnipath.com%2Fissue_view.asp%3Fid%3D12377%26hd%3D3%26cate%3D0%26t%3Drss

Sorry to be so brief on this point, but we are pressed for time and cannot give this question the detail it deserves; perhaps we could discuss it when we see each other?

You might ask, “Then why in the world did you ask about Blues Music?!” To put it in simple, colloquial terms, “DJ Be Like Muhammad, what’s up with saying something that would indicate to your many Muslim fans that you were in a bar until 3 A.M.?”

As for the two who were shown some of our many faults, convey to them that we have learned a grave lesson from them. We hate that we benefit from someone and they be harmed by us. We will earnestly pray for their good in this world and the next. We can also discuss their case when we meet in sha’ Allah. If we see each other for no other reason, that is enough.

Everyone who reads this, raise your hands and pray for me and all concerned. Amin.

Was-salam,

Abdul-Kareem

PS. i did not mean by that to insinuate that we ar saying change your stage name. As you said we are all works in progress. Just be, BeLIkeMuhammad. May Allah make us all more like him (peace be upon him) forever and ever. Amin

AK