Fountains of Wisdom

Subhanallah. To say that I was honoured to be able to meet not one but several religious luminaries, scholars and leaders of Syria (and Sham) would not be doing justice to the experience, given my (low) standing and worth. Alhamdulillah.

Sheikh Dr Hussam-Eddin Farfour received us on arrival and insisted that we have tea at the airport café before we proceeded to Le Meridien. Sheikh Farfour, who is the Rector of Al-Fath Al-Islami Institute, was our Visiting Scholar for the Asatizah Seminar in 2007. He had the opportunity to meet the Most Revd Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams when the latter was in Singapore for the Diocese of Singapore and Muis Lecture. Sheikh Farfour is an active participant and co-organiser for interfaith dialogues and study visits in Damascus. The institute that was founded by his father, Sheikh Mohamed Saleh Al Farfour had co-organised interfaith meetings with Hartford Seminary and other institutions in the West. Sheikh Hussam Farfour had delivered lectures and seminars in Princeton, Boston and other Ivy-league universities. During tea at the café, Sheikh Farfour welcomed us to Syria – and to consider it as our home, too.

Both Sheikh Farfour and the Mufti of Damascus Sheikh Dr Abdul Fatah Basm were consistently warm and generous. They never failed to insist that we do a “pit-stop” at their houses for a meal on our way to the airport. They are also very generous with their wisdom, time and humour. When asked about relations between Muslims and others, they explained the significance of “wa laqad karamna bani adam” (in Surah Al-Isra’: 70) – that Allah gives dignity and honour to each and every human being and all of us are in one human family. Kindness, compassion, mercy and all good deeds are not only for Muslims but also to all human beings. This resonates with our understanding of “wa ma arsalna ka illa rahmatan lil alamin”.

They helped us to confirm our meetings with the Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh Dr Baduruddin Hassoun, and the Minister of Awqaf, who is a religious scholar himself, Sheikh Dr Muhammad Abdul Sattar As-Syed. The Grand Mufti shared his recent invitation by the European Parliament to deliver a speech to them, after they gave him the highest vote among the rest of astute religious scholars. The Grand Mufti asserted Islam is founded on the basis of benevolence and does not restrict the rights of other faiths to exist. He further elaborated that the most honoured person would be someone who is God-conscious, pious, beneficial to mankind and ready to serve all humanity.

Later during the meeting when the Grand Mufti took a phone call in the adjacent room, Sheikh Farfour informed us that the Grand Mufti would be leaving to Aleppo immediately after our meeting to attend to his elder brother’s funeral. When the Grand Mufti returned to our meeting, we expressed our condolences to him, extended our do’a to his late brother and our appreciation for receiving us, despite the circumstance. There was a deep sense of calmness and acceptance of the Divine will from his look and expression. Words cannot really describe the profundity of his presence, wisdom and emotion.

The Minister of Awqaf, Sheikh Dr Muhammad Abdul Sattar As-Syed, himself a religious scholar, is from the lineage of the Prophet (saw). I was told that his religious scholar peers nominated him for the Minister’s job to the President of Syria. And this also applies to other high offices, including the appointment of the Mufti. It can be inferred that there is a highly connected and cohesive group of ulama’ or religious scholars to lead the Syrian society. It however does not imply that they always agree with each other. They differ views and intellectual opinions but that did not, and will not affect their relationship and respect for each other.

Sheikh Salahuddin Kuftaro remarked that if there are those who said that we should die for Islam, it is time for us to say that we should live for Islam. His message to seek knowledge, exude best akhlaq (character) and contribute to humanity and its attendant ethos form the basis of the Foundation that was founded by his late father, Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro. The Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro Islamic Foundation was established 70 years ago as a small mosque at the foot of the Kaasyoun Mountain. Today it is an educational complex (and the Abou-Noor mosque within it) that house three colleges, schools, student hostels, and an orphanage.

Sheikh Salahudin also shared the normal practice of allowing other religious leaders to deliver a talk before the Friday khutbah at the Abou-Noor Mosque (similar to our Pre-Khutbah talk in Singapore). The Friday congregation is used to listening to Bishops from the Orthodox Church before the azan to commence the Friday prayer proper. When this was mentioned, I cannot help but imagine the furor this may cause in our mosque in Singapore.

I was impressed with the consistent messaging of interfaith dialogue and co-existence from the religious scholars and other non-government officials and wondered at the plausible reasons for such views to have taken root in Syria. Sheik Kuftaro said that the historical land of Sham that stretched from Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and Palestine has a long history and was the cradle of civilization for Muslims, Christians and Jews. The people therefore had been used to the idea of co-existence and mutual respect. He recalled that when the pioneer of the foundation, Sheik Ahmad Kuftaro passed away, there was sadness even from prominent Christian leaders in Syria who declared through the local newspaper that the Mufti for the Muslims and Christians had passed away.

Sheikh Ahmad Kuftaro, during his visit to Pakistan, was asked by the (then) President of Pakistan to offer his observations of the development of the country. He replied with immense wisdom through the following words – If the building of madrasah are not complemented by the building of factories, and the minarets are not accompanied by warehouses to store food, then development will not be realized.

These scholars including Sheikh Dr Wahbah Zuhaily and Sheikh Dr Taufiq Al-Buti are a class of their own – mutamassikun bil asal wal munfatihun. Indeed they are fountains of knowledge and wisdom: deep in tradition, inclusive and embrace new knowledge and modern sciences.

And from these fountains, streams flow to water far away lands and enrich life.