“And We have certainly made the Quran easy to remember. So is there anyone who will be mindful?” (Qur’an 54:40)
﷽
Our colleague relates the encounter.
Imagine if you will that you have a son or a daughter that informs you that they wish to get married. You sit down with your son or daughter and ask them the following: “What do you wish for a life partner?” “What are some of the traits or qualities you would like to have in a life partner?” Their response is: “I don’t have any standards, I will just take anything!”
That response is the surest way of knowing that they are not ready for marriage at all!
This Muslim Ummah needs to have some standards. We are talking about elementary standards. We are talking about ‘the bare minimum‘.
If one is going to be acclaimed to be the commander of the faithful, the Imam of the Muslims, the Imam is such that if you do not recognize him you die the death of an unbeliever, then at the very least you had best be able to recite the Qur’an. That is not asking for much. It is, however, asking the Ummah to require some very basic standards.
So, no, we are not talking about theology, we are not talking about jurisprudence, we are not talking about philosophy. We are asking a very basic simple question: “Can you Qur’an tho?”
I do not know about other Muslims, but I would like my commander of the faithful and my Imam to be able to recite the Qur’an at ….the….very…..least.
In fact, this may be a very interesting academic article. When did the Imams of the Nizari Isma’ili community begin to distance themselves from the Qur’an? In other words, when did these phenomena of having an insouciant relationship with the Qur’an begin? Which of the Nizari Isma’ili imams set this off?
So recently, when encountering one of many arguments that took place in the wild world of X (Twitter). I saw some mutual fat shaming going on between Imam Hamza wald Maqbul and Professor Khalil Andani.
So, being mildly agitated by this bickering, I put out a challenge to both men.
It was quite a simple and straight-forward point-blank challenge to Professor Andani and Imam Hamza wald Maqbul. I challenged Professor Andani to produce for us the Aga Khan reciting the Qur’an in public. I also challenged Imam Hamza wald Maqbul to produce an example of him reciting the Qur’an in public.
To be quite honest, I do not doubt that Imam Hamza wald Maqbul can properly recite the Qur’an. Professor Andani, over all, is a guy who can comprehend more than basic English. Thus, his response was puzzling.
Produce for us the Aga Khan reciting the Qur’an in public. Professor Andani did the best he could, so he meekly offered: “Karim Aga Khan led the Ismailis in Eid Namaz twice in the 1940s as a child. Obviously he can recite the Quran, which he did during namaz.”
It was after this comment that I now publicly retract every glowing attribute I gave to Professor Andani during his debate with Jake Brantecella. Do I think Professor Andani won that debate? Absolutely. However, after I am quite dismayed at the response given by Professor Andani.
First there is the matter of plain English. “Produce for us the Aga Khan reciting the Qur’an in public.” That is people in the Julian calendar year of 2024.
Second, to make claims that (Professor Andani) himself did not witness is not “obvious” at all. Claims that he led the Eid prayer twice in the 1940s is not proof that he can properly recite the Qur’an. We want proof that Karim, the son of Joan Yarde-Buller, can properly recite the Qur’an.
Then Professor Andani gave another meek reply: “Quran is part of Namaz.” Indeed, it is. Indeed, it is. One could do the dhur prayer or asr prayer. In many schools of jurisprudence, the Qur’an is not recited out loud. Meaning that one would not be able to ascertain that one could properly recite the Qur’an. I will give the benefit of the doubt and say that it is possible that he may not be aware of this.
However, as the Eid Prayers have parts where the Qur’an is recited out loud, one could assume that a person knows how to properly recite the Qur’an. However, the idea that Karim, the son of Joan Yarde-Buller, did so twice as a child, of which Professor Andani did not witness (as he was not even born then) as being obvious has to be one of the most obtuse statements ever.
Ultimately, it is an admission of being unable to answer the challenge. The man, Karim, the son of Joan Yarde-Buller, became the Imam around/at the age of 20. He is currently 83 years of age. For 60 years on this Earth there is no evidence for us to ascertain whether this man can properly recite the Qur’an. You can turn the internet upside down and inside out, and you will find no evidence of him being able to recite the Qur’an at all.
Professor Andani doesn’t strike me as someone who wouldn’t bring his ‘A’ game. However, he hasn’t been the most forthcoming with Christians when he shows them his chart. You know the one:
The one that leaves out the Virgin birth of Christ Jesus (quite important to every Christian under the sun).
The one that leaves out the second coming of Jesus:
So all you Christians interacting with Professor Andani, open up your eyes and don’t be blind to it!
Thus, the meek response that Professor Khalil Andani is now proof positive for the whole world that it was the best he can do in the way of evidence. Meaning that there was some event that he himself did not witness or partake in which it is said that Karim, the son of Joan Yarde-Buller, twice as a child, led the Eid prayers. No evidence at all that he can properly read the Qur’an.
It is disheartening. If I thought for one moment that Karim, the son of Joan Yarde-Buller, was the commander of the faithful, the Imam of the Muslims how I would love to have his recitation of the Qur’an. How it could console me in dark times! Just to hear the cadence of his voice and the unison of heart and tongue as his holiness brought forth a most sublime and majestic recitation.
Unfortunately, for the Nizari, Isma’ili will never get this experience. Hey! There are always his sons! Perhaps they may take up seriously the learning to read the Qur’an! Or would that be a problem?
Is that the issue? How can someone who is not Allah’s divine representative on Earth possibly teach the divine representative the Qur’an?
*** UPDATE ***
There is an update to this article. Professor Andani thought he would give it one more shot.
First let me start with a major correction to Professor Andani.
Professor Andani states: “Your post is just a slander against me and the Ismaili Imamat.”
First, I do not see how stating the truth about something of which Professor Andani has failed time and again to prove the opposite of is slander.
Second, a major correction. It is more correct and circumspect to say Nizari Ismaili Imamat! It is hubris to think the Nizrari branch represents the entirety of Ismailism. It does not represent the Musta’li Ismai’li branch. A branch which includes the Dawoodi-Taybi as well as the Sulaymani-Tabi.as well as the Sulaymani-Tabi.
In fact, considering the Musta’li Ismai’li consider the Nizari claims null and void, they could very well be delighted to see such challenges. They may even be reading this article with a certain sense of satisfaction. They may be hoping that their Ismai’li brothers, who are following a man who has not been proven to recite the Qur’an with proper recitation, may decide to leave the Nizari and follow them instead!
Ladies and gentlemen. Dear truth seekers. A picture of a boy standing with his hands behind his ears is not proof that he can properly recite the Qur’an.
Imagine if you will there are people who doubted claims that, when I was an eight-year-old little girl I stood in front of the congregation of my church and recited the entire chapter of the book of Acts (King James Version) with perfect memory and no errors.
Then some people doubted this claim. So my mother, driven by emotional attachment to her daughter, rushes to produce a picture of me as an eight-year-old little girl in Church. “Here is your evidence!”
Surely one can see the futility of such.
If you enjoyed the above article you maybe interested in the following:
In this article we did our level best to help the Imami Shi’a solve a dilemma (the Ismaili included) we have not found any contemporary approaches among the Imami Shi’a to approach this dilemma.
https://primaquran.com/2024/01/30/imami-shia-700-years-no-imam-and-no-prophet/
https://primaquran.com/2022/10/17/ismaili-shia-and-circular-reasoning/
May Allah guide the Ummah.
May Allah forgive the Ummah.
Prima Quran 