I had to let go of Bukhaari in order to hold onto the rope of Allah...
Born into a traditionalist "Muslim" family my early experiences of religion were anything but inspirational or enlightening. In most part, being a Muslim was reserved for Fridays and Ramadan.
In fact one of my most prominent memories of those early years was that of being left frustrated, angry and in tears as a result of being forced to miss Wrestlemania in order sit with my arabic reading teacher and recite something which I did not understand whilst not being able to watch something that I did and had been eagerly counting down the days to.
Without a doubt it was cultural tendencies that dictated and dominated my Muslim identity during those early stages of my life throughout which there was very little emphasis on understanding the Book of Allah (God) but instead a heavy emphasis on strictly following the opinions of an elite group of people (parents and forefathers) who were elevated to levels beyond that which they deserve.
This custom of strictly following the self proclaimed elite was even more so evident during the initial phase of my eventual pursuit of religious knowledge. My journey began upon the path of the traditionalist "Muslims" (i.e the people of the sunnah), during which I spent a considerable amount of time and money attempting to understand the message of the Qur'aan.
However, as a consequence of the glorification of, to the extent of idolisation, and the strict adherence to scholars of the past and present I realised that the path of the traditionalists was one that was not going to satisfy my thirst for a true and authentic understanding of the Book of Allah.
The path of the traditionalists is one which is heavily reliant upon secondary sources - statements other than the Book of Allah - which in all honesty contain much conjecture, contradiction and fabrications but which for one reason or another hold considerable importance (to them) to the extent where such unreliable secondary sources are prioritised above the Book of Allah!
The path of the traditionalists is troubled with sectarianism from which there is a long history of extremism, hostilities and violence between those who are divided but who all claim to be upon the "sunnah" of the Prophet Muhammad.
Such divisions leave the sincere seeker of truth in a state of confusion, doubt and discontent.
And so, I took a turn and left the path of the traditionalists in order to embark upon a new journey - a journey upon which the paths would consistently lead me to the Book of Allah, a journey upon which I would be encouraged to use my God given intellect rather than to sacrifice it to the elite scholars or forefathers, and a journey upon which decisions are not formed through heresay, conjecture or contradictons.
I had to let go of Bukhaari & co. in order to hold onto the rope of Allah so now I am offering a helping hand to those who wish to hold on too.