مفتى الجمهورية: نضطلع بدورٍ محوري في نشر الوسطية ومواجهة الفكر المتطرف

Dr. Nazir Ayyad – Mufti of the Republic, Head of the General Secretariat for Fatwa Roles and Bodies in the World, thanked and appreciated the honorable attendance at the first symposium held by the Egyptian Fatwa House, under the patronage of the Prime Minister, Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, entitled “Fatwa and Human Building.”

In his speech during the launch of the symposium, the Mufti stressed that this symposium comes within the framework of the efforts of the Egyptian Fatwa House to support the presidential initiative “A New Beginning for Building the Egyptian Man” launched by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (may God protect him), and it also aims to emphasize the importance of the pivotal role of the fatwa. Al-Rashida in the process of building the Egyptian person into an integrated structure that contributes to achieving the cultural renaissance that we are experiencing and that the Egyptian state seeks, by highlighting the moderate fatwa as a tool for building and developing societies on scientific and spiritual foundations.

He added that what called us to this matter was to activate the Egyptian state’s strategy in the process of building humanity. Considering that the Egyptian Fatwa House is one of the most important components of the state and its religious and societal institutions, in addition to the Egyptian Fatwa House playing a pivotal and major role in spreading centrism and moderation and confronting extremist thought at home and abroad, and the consequent demolition of human and societal principles and values.

The Mufti said that by building a human being, we mean the necessity of restructuring and preparing him well. So that he can perform his religious, national, and worldly duties with merit and ability, and Islam has paid great attention to this meaning, and then it has reinforced in man the doctrine of pure monotheism and the necessity of observing God Almighty in all circumstances. The Almighty said: “Know that there is no god but God, and ask forgiveness for your sin, and for the believing men and believing women, and God knows best. Your place of residence and abode. [محمد: 19]He also granted him complete freedom to be religious and choose faith. God Almighty said: “And say the truth from your Lord. Whoever wills, let him believe, and whoever wills, let him disbelieve.” [الكهف:29].

He continued: Likewise, the Lord Almighty preserved his dignity, alive and dead, enemy and friend, Muslim and non-Muslim, in peace and war, as the Almighty said: “And We have honored the children of Adam, and carried them on land and sea, and provided them with good things, and favored them over many of those whom We created with a great preference.” [الإسراء:70]He also considered it one of the most important pillars in building civilization and reconstructing the earth. God Almighty said: “It is He who produced you from the earth and settled you therein.” [هود: 61]And he took into account his humanity when entrusted with commands and prohibitions, so he assigned him as much as he could, and did not burden him with what he could not bear. God Almighty said: “God does not burden a soul beyond its capacity.” [البقرة: 286].

He also reinforced good morals and made them the goal of the messengers and prophets. It was narrated on the authority of the Messenger – may God bless him and grant him peace – that he said: “I was sent only to perfect good morals.” [السنن الكبرى، البيهقي، رقم 20782]He forbade hatred, discrimination, and hateful racism, and forbade insulting him, degrading him, or bullying him. It was narrated on the authority of Abu Umamah that he said: Abu Dharr insulted Bilal with his mother, and said: O son of a black woman, and Bilal came to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and told him, and he became angry. Then Abu Dharr came without realizing it, so the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, turned away from him, and said: I did not turn away from me except something that reached you, O Messenger of God. He said: “Are you the one who insults Bilal for his mother?” The Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “And the One who revealed the Book to Muhammad – Or whatever God wills, he swears, “No one has any superiority over me except through deeds. You are nothing but a small amount of a saa’.” [شعب الإيمان، البيهقي: رقم 4772]. That is, all of you are equal and close together like the closeness of what is in a saa’, and it stimulates competition for goodness. God Almighty said: “And in that let the competitors compete.” [المطففين، 26]And he said: “And do good that you may succeed.” [الحج،77].

He also gave him the mind that distinguished him from the rest of the creatures, and made him a major tool in discovering the sciences and knowledge that would build civilizations, and humbled the earth for him so that he could live on it in peace and security. The Almighty said: “It is He who made the earth subservient to you, so walk on its slopes and eat.” From His provision, and to Him is the resurrection. [الملك، 15]And everything in the heavens and the earth was subjected to him in a way that would help him think, contemplate, and deduce. God Almighty said: “And He has subjected to you all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, all of it from Him. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who reflect.” [الجاثية، 13]He based his community relations on cooperation, righteousness, fairness, and virtue. God Almighty said: “And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” [المائدة، 2]And the obligation is lifted from him if he makes a mistake, forgetfulness, or something that forced him to do. It was narrated from him, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, that he said: “God has pardoned my nation’s mistakes and forgetfulness and what they were forced to do.” [سنن أبي داود، رقم 2044]And urging him to contemplate and think about creation and the affairs of the earth until he achieves the succession for which he created him, God Almighty said: “Say, ‘Look at what is in the heavens and the earth, and what signs and warnings are of no use to a people who do not believe.’” [يونس، 101]And he strengthened his belonging to religion and homeland. It was narrated from him, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, when he was expelled from Mecca: “By God, I will leave you, and I know that you are the most beloved country to God, and the most honorable to God, and if your family had not expelled me from you, I would not have left.” [سنن الترمذي، رقم 3926]And he forbade him from imitating the forefathers and adopting the thinking and belief that they adhered to. God Almighty said: And when it is said to them, “Follow what God has revealed,” they say, “Rather, we follow what we found our fathers upon.” [لقمان، 21].

In the same context, the Mufti pointed out that if we investigate the pillars of building a human being in Islam, this place will not be enough for us. It is sufficient that the word “human being” appears in the Holy Qur’an singly in sixty-four places, and as a group one hundred and seventy-two times. This confirms Islam’s care for human beings in all religious and worldly aspects. He explained that the process of building the human being we seek requires two things:
The first: The necessity of rebuilding the cognitive and cultural awareness of modern man, and this requires us to cooperate and collaborate towards making great efforts in preparing educational and rehabilitation programs that reshape the cognitive and cultural awareness of man, with the need for these efforts to continue to achieve the rehabilitation and education strategy in a serious and decisive manner, until… A person can achieve a balance between religious and worldly requirements.

Second: The necessity of fortifying religious and national thought and identity, and this – also – requires us to combine institutional efforts – religious and societal – towards developing serious programs and strategies that guarantee us the protection of modern man from slipping and being drawn towards extremist thought of both religious and non-religious types, each of which seeks to strip away religious identity. And patriotism of man.

He explained that based on these common challenges, he announced in this blessed symposium the readiness of the Egyptian Fatwa House for serious institutional involvement in all these programs that would preserve the Egyptian person and restore his pivotal role in the cultural and urban contribution in the world.
Our call for the importance of restoring the cognitive and cultural structure and the necessity of protecting man from extremist thought is motivated by two things: First: that modern non-religious thought has been keen on making man question religion, which has encouraged him to be stripped of values ​​and principles, and has made him into a merely materialistic monster who does not care about values ​​and does not take into account… Ethics and does not live according to fixed human principles.

Second: Extremist religious thought was keen to place the human being in cognitive and cultural isolation separate from reality. It also reinforced extremist principles such as the “ignorance of contemporary societies”, which made him a human being hostile to progress and civilization, ignorant of the reasons for empowerment and succession on earth, rejecting all ways. Progress and prosperity.

He drew attention to the most important tendencies of extremist thought that are hostile to human development, which are diverting religious youth from worldly and human sciences, disparaging them and diminishing their value and value in reality, and calling on young people to abandon learning them and indulge only in seeking legitimate knowledge from their own point of view. Which produced for us a generation stuck in the depths of the past, clinging to only formal religious manifestations, rejecting all manifestations of progress and urbanization.

He added: We, in turn, affirm that every call that has belittled the importance of the human and worldly sciences and belittled their value is a call that did not understand Islam correctly, and did not adhere to what the righteous predecessors decided regarding the necessity of cognitive and cultural integration between the sciences for the sake of progress and development.

We have all witnessed with our own eyes the negative effects that have resulted from the presence of these groups, from destabilizing societies, shaking confidence in religious institutions, reviving strife and conflicts that tear apart nations, negatively impacting the national economy, distorting the image of the true religion, threatening societal peace and security, and violating the rights of others. Muslims in one homeland, and incitement against the state and its religious and societal institutions, and so on.

In the same context, the Mufti stressed that religious institutions (Al-Azhar Al-Sharif – the Egyptian Fatwa House – the Ministry of Endowments) have made and are still making great efforts in building the modern human being, and their strategies in building the human being have crystallized through multiple axes, the most important of which are: spreading moderation and moderation, and correcting concepts. Misconceptions, responding to deviant ideas, exposing their falsity, rebutting their falsehoods, denying the conflict between religion and the world, guiding people towards virtuous values ​​and morals, and holding family and community awareness programmes, which contributed mainly to building the Egyptian human being and enhancing societal stability and security.

Explaining that this symposium comes as a continuation of these efforts and an extension of the religious and national role of Egyptian religious institutions, in which we discuss the role of rational moderate fatwas in building humanity, its impact in promoting the values ​​of tolerance and societal coexistence, and how we can confront abnormal fatwas that harm individuals and societies, and we also seek Through this symposium, we will develop serious plans and mechanisms that will contribute to building the Egyptian person on integrated foundations from a spiritual and mental standpoint, in order to achieve sustainable development for society.

The Mufti went on to say: We care about the role of the fatwa in this path because, as His Eminence the Grand Imam, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, says: “The position of issuing a fatwa in the hearts of Muslims – always – has levels of appreciation, and feelings of veneration and reverence… so much so that the word that comes from the mouth of the Mufti cuts off all… Controversy, disagreement, or hesitation regarding the issues that have been asked for, and people continue to receive the fatwas of approved muftis as they receive the true religion that has no comment on it. This is what makes fatwas and fatwas an arduous responsibility and a heavy responsibility that everyone who fears God, fears Him, and fears His reckoning and punishment, feels sorry for.

Therefore, if the fatwa issued by the Mufti is rational and moderate, it builds a person with a sound cognitive structure, and makes him a good person who is useful to his religion and his country, and if it is an abnormal fatwa and issued by people who have nothing to do with the fatwa, then it destroys the person, distorts his knowledge and culture, and makes him a negative person, psychologically and ideologically shaken. ; Therefore, we are meeting today to discuss activating the role of fatwas in the process of building humanity.

At the conclusion of his speech, the Mufti affirmed that we all have the right to be proud and value the efforts of the Egyptian state in building humanity, through developing the necessary infrastructure, developing contemporary educational curricula, supporting them with artificial intelligence programmes, striving towards eliminating slums, and working hard in constructing the building and urbanization that He was praised far and wide, as well as the medical efforts concerned with the health and lives of all Egyptians, and much more, expressing Dar Al-Masria’s ambition in this symposium for all the visions and practical ideas that everyone presents about how to activate the role of contemporary fatwas in building human beings and developing societies, stressing his full support. For all the visions and initiatives that will emerge from this generous symposium.