Self-Proclaimed Reformer Dr. Nasir Ahmad Sultani

بِاسْمِكَ اللّهُمَّ

In Your Name, Allahumma

On November 10, 2019, I was arrested by the Punjab Police in Rawalpindi, Pakistan and subsequently charged with 295-A and 298-C of the Pakistan Penal Code. I was held at Adiala Jail until released on bail on April 13, 2020. I shall explain the details of this ordeal in a later blog entry, in sha Allah. During my five month incarceration, I had the opportunity to meet and engage extensively with a Dr. Nasir Ahmad Sultani, a self-proclaimed Mujaddid (divinely-appointed Reformer) of the fifteenth century after Hijra. Dr. Sultani is a homeopathic practitioner who rejects modern medicine (allopathy). He is in his mid-50s and hails from District Jhang in central Punjab province. Born to an Ahmadi Muslim family, he enrolled in and graduated from Jamia Ahmadiyya, the main Ahmadi seminary for producing religious scholars and missionaries based in Rabwah, Pakistan. For many years, he served as a salaried missionary of the main Ahmadiyya organisation during the tenure of the fourth Ahmadi caliph, Mirza Tahir Ahmad. For reasons that are not entirely clear to me, he resigned from his office of missionary and then subsequently left the main Ahmadiyya organisation in 1999, while continuing to believe in Ahmadiyya, namely, the claims of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of the movement. According to Dr. Sultani's story, he received divine inspiration from Allah in 2011 when Allah commissioned him with the divine office of Mujaddid. Dr. Sultani informed me that when Allah first inspired him to the effect that he was to be the Mujaddid of the time, he politely declined! Only after repeated inspirations did he finally accept the heavy responsibility. He started his own congregation entitled Jama'at Ahmadiyya Haqiqi, meaning the "True Ahmadiyya Congregation", implying that the rival organisations and groups which self-describe themselves as Ahmadiyya are untrue, particularly the mainstream organisation based in Rabwah that is currently led by its fifth caliph in London, Mirza Masroor Ahmad. Dr. Sultani focused his efforts of proselytism and reform toward the Ahmadiyya community, both the main Rabwah branch and the schismatic faction known as Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaate Islam, Lahore, or "Lahoris" for short. However, Dr. Sultani calls upon other Muslims, indeed all humanity, to accept him as the divinely-appointed Reformer of the fifteenth century after Hijra. Before his arrest, his activity to that end was largely based in online social media, especially Facebook. He engaged in polemics and debates with other Ahmadiyya groups and rival claimants to divine office within the Ahmadiyya community, such as Abdul Ghaffar Janba (based in Germany) and Munir Ahmad Azim (based in Mauritius). He apparently entered into a Mubahala (prayer contest) with the former, while the latter invited him to participate in a prayer contest too, though Dr. Sultani was unwilling to do so. Dr. Sultani stirred controversy not only within the Ahmadiyya community, but among the broader Muslim community in Pakistan too. Specifically, his attempt to mirror the claim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of being a prophet in the zilli and buruzi sense naturally created a dangerous atmosphere in Pakistan for him to remain there without risking harm to his person, family and property. Consequently, Dr. Sultani sought asylum in Sri Lanka through the agency of the UN sometime in 2014. He managed to settle himself, his two wives, and his sons and daughters in that country, along with some of his most devoted followers. One such follower was Adnan Mir who belonged to the Lahori branch of the Ahmadiyya before accepting Dr. Sultani as Mujaddid. Adnan Mir was so sincere and devoted to Dr. Sultani that he left Pakistan to migrate with his Mujaddid to Sri Lanka along with his family. But when Dr. Sultani informed Adnan Mir that Allah had commanded through divine inspiration that Adnan Mir's sister be given in marriage to him, Adnan Mir strongly objected. Not only did Adnan Mir withdraw his spiritual affiliation to Dr. Sultani, he also registered a police case against him in Sri Lanka relating to Dr. Sultani's publicizing the divine inspiration that Adnan Mir's sister had no choice but to marry him in posters that were publicly displayed. Dr. Sultani considers Adnan Mir and many other individuals who withdrew their recognition of him as a Mujaddid to be "apostates", referring to them with the Arabic word murtad. Incidentally, none of Dr. Sultani's sons consider him a Mujaddid and abandoned him once they matured into adulthood.

In 2017, after evaluating his asylum application, the UN determined Dr. Sultani did not qualify and subsequently he was deported by the Sri Lankan government along with his immediate family back to Pakistan. Once in Pakistan, he again made plans to flee the country, this time to Nepal. He reached the international airport in Islamabad and was moments away from succeeding in leaving the country with his luggage already loaded onto the plane when he was intercepted by Pakistan's FIA (Federal Investigation Agency). Dr. Sultani was subsequently charged with a host of criminal offences, including the most serious blasphemy charges (295-C and 295-B) and perhaps even more worrisome, several terrorism offences. He had been nominated to an FIR that included three other co-accused (Abdul Waheed alias "Allama Ayaz Nizami", Professor Anwar Ahmad, and Rana Numan Rafaqat - all of whom I had the opportunity to spend extensive time with during my five month incarceration at Rawalpindi Central Jail). As of March 2020, Dr. Sultani along with these three other co-accused have been languishing in severely restrictive conditions at Adiala Jail for over three years while their trial is ongoing in the Anti-Terrorism Court.

Ironically, those whom Dr. Sultani considers as adversarial to him such as the main Ahmadiyya organisation, have actually condemned his arrest, terming it religious persecution. For example, the Rabwah Times, a digital news publication run by members of the main Ahmadiyya organisation in Rabwah, published this article terming those who considered his claims to be blasphemous "far right Muslims".

Similarly, another major adversary and rival of Dr. Sultani, namely Munir Ahmad Azim of Mauritius, founder and leader of another splinter group of Ahmadiyya known as Jama'at-ul-Sahih al-Islam, condemned his arrest and called for his immediate release in a Friday sermon delivered on 11 May 2018.

I, Mohammed Abdul Khader, who likewise hails from an Ahmadiyya background, with many members of my family being ardent members of the main organisation, particularly my father, also condemn Dr. Sultani's arrest and this absurd case against him, despite the fact that I passionately disagree with Dr. Sultani's claims and beliefs and have opposed him academically both to his face, and am now writing this expose on him here on my personal blog. In sha Allah, I shall detail my views on the necessity of religious liberty in the near future.

Returning to my thoughts on Dr. Sultani, specifically his claim to being a divinely-appointed Reformer, here I shall reproduce something I wrote while in jail:

Dr. Nasir Ahmad Sultani, my fellow neighbor and prisoner here in Adiala Jail, is a homeopathic "doctor" who proclaims himself the divinely-appointed Mujaddid of the 15th century After Hijra. Apparently he was commissioned with this divine office in 2011, that corresponds to 1432 After Hijra. But the blessed Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam) explained that Allah shall raise and commission a Mujaddid at the head of every century, meaning its beginning.

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَبْعَثُ لِهَذِهِ الأُمَّةِ عَلَى رَأْسِ كُلِّ مِائَةِ سَنَةٍ مَنْ يُجَدِّدُ لَهَا دِينَهَا

Verily, Allah shall raise up for this Umma at the head of every century one who will renovate for it its Religion

(Sunan Abi Dawud)

According to this prophecy the true Mujaddid of the 15th century AH is someone who began the activity of Tajdid sometime in the 1980s. At any rate, Dr. Sultani does not qualify as a candidate for Mujaddid of the 15th century AH because he did not manifest this divine office at the head of the century as required by the prophecy. I have also come to realize that Dr. Sultani's "Tajdid" of Islam is limited to arguing about the veracity of his self-professed claim. Apart from that, he has virtually nothing to contribute to the revival of Islam itself (which kind of defeats the purpose of being a Mujaddid). Presently, Dr. Sultani is secure behind bars. He was arrested over three years ago on charges of terrorism and blasphemy. I don't care to speculate on the veracity of the federal indictment against him. But I will say that given the serious nature of these charges, and that if he is found guilty of even some of them by the Anti-Terrorism Court in Islamabad, he is looking at several decades behind bars. But if Dr. Sultani really is the divinely-appointed Reformer of this century, we can surely expect Allah to arrange for his speedy release, for otherwise how can he carry out the necessary functions of the Mujaddid? The good doctor himself acknowledges this, and has accordingly informed his fellow prisoners quite frequently for the past three years that they should expect his release "very, very soon" on the basis of repeated divine inspiration he allegedly experiences. I personally will be quite amazed if Dr. Sultani released within the next couple of months and would find it hard to deny such a thing to be nothing short of a miracle, a heavenly Sign in his favor. But I reiterate, that is quite improbable given the apparent circumstances of his case. The good doctor asserts he regularly converses with Allah and receives news of the unseen in abundance. But these prophecies tend to be quite vague and ambiguous. For example, God allegedly told him the day he will be released is the 28th, but God allegedly neglected to mention the month and year. I've personally requested Dr. Sultani to cite any clear, unambiguous prophecy of his that was verifiably fulfilled, but to date he has been unable to cite even a single such prophecy.

Now let's move on to some of Dr. Sultani's views and teachings and judge for yourself if they accord with the letter and spirit of Islam. While Dr. Sultani was here in jail, one of his daughters contracted a marriage with a non-Muslim man from Australia. I am not privy to whether or not the good doctor initially opposed such a union [*edit: he did not], but at present he certainly blesses this marriage and insists it is valid. On the other hand, the general concensus (Ijma) of all Muslims, including different schools of thought and experts of the Shari'a, is that a Muslim lady's marriage to a non-Muslim man is invalid and totally unacceptable. According to the Shari'a, the children of such a union have the same status as children born out of wedlock. In short, Islam does not recognize a "marriage" between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man just as it doesn't recognize "same-sex marriage" between two men or two women, or polyandry in which a woman has more than one husband simultaneously. I assume the good doctor agrees same-sex and polyandrous marriages are invalid in our Shari'a (despite not being explicitly stated as such in the Holy Qur'an), therefore it is inconsistent for him to assert marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man as valid. Nevertheless, it is understandable why Dr. Sultani justifies his daughter's marriage to a non-Muslim foreigner. In our society, such a thing as family honor exists in which all members of a family have to bear the shame of the scandalous behavior of one of their close relatives, especially if that relative is a girl. Perhaps because Dr. Sultani cannot bear such a dishonor he prefers to justify what his daughter did. After all, what kind of Mujaddid is he who is sent to morally reform the entire Umma but whose own children violate the most basic imperatives of the Shari'a? And speaking of Dr. Sultani's children, it should be noted that most if not all of them do not consider him the Mujaddid of the 15th century AH or even an ordinary recipient of divine inspiration for that matter. As a matter of fact, some of Dr. Sultani's closest followers eventually abandoned him, for example, a certain Adnan Mir. This individual was so sincere and committed to Dr. Sultani that he dropped everything and emigrated to Sri Lanka to be with the self-professed Mujaddid of the 15th century. One expects a man of such sincerity to be steadfast all his life to that cause for which he sacrificed so much. So I truly wander what was it that forced Adnan Mir to so dramatically break ranks with the good doctor. And after Adnan Mir's "apostasy" who is Dr. Sultani's most sincere and committed follower? As far as I can tell there isn't a single such person, which is odd for someone who claims Allah is helping him, rather he is the most beloved person to Allah on the face of the Earth. Jesus of Nazareth had twelve close disciples. Only one, Judas Iscariot, betrayed him and turned apostate (but even Judas knew he was wrong and eventually committed suicide out of guilt for his betrayal). But as for Dr. Sultani, why does almost every one of his followers eventually become a Judas? I myself can testify that apart from Dr. Sultani's two wives, no one ever visits him in jail or even bothers to write to him, though he claims to have literally dozens of sincere followers. Another peculiar teaching of Dr. Sultani is that every state should allow brothels, casinos and liqor shops to operate without hindrance. The Holy Quran, which the good doctor zealously claims to uphold, explicitly forbids prostitution, gambling and hard drink. I once asked Dr. Sultani if any previous Mujaddid had preceded him in sharing this view, but as expected he could not answer. At any rate, one would think the function of a religious reformer and saint is to morally reform the Umma and preach strongly against such vices and corruption. On the contrary, Dr. Sultani says that not even the government should prevent social evils like prostitution. I wander if Dr. Sultani would be consistent and declare that the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam) was wrong (God forbid) to outlaw prostitution, gambling and wine in the state he ruled over in 7th century Arabia. The truth is Dr. Sultani hastily invents principles without properly and comprehensively considering their implications, and consequently ends up entangled having to iron out the wrinkles in his self-contradictory propositions. Once, Dr. Sultani told me he considers it good for Muslims to extend good wishes to non-Muslims on their religious festivals, for example, by wishing them "Christmas mubarak", "Easter mubarak", "Divali mubarak", "Holi mubarak", etc. I pointed out that the meaning of 'mubarak' is to wish for blessing and increase; how can a Muslim wish for a festival that is idolatrous, dedicated to the worship of false 'gods' to be blessed? When Dr. Sultani realized this dilemma he quickly changed his story right there and then, claiming that when we wish a Christian "Christmas mubarak" or a Hindu "Divali mubarak" we intend thereby that God should bless them to abandon the celebration of such idolatrous festivals! What astounds me more than the speed of this U-turn is that the good doctor, who at least seems to be an intelligent man, doesn't realize how absurd he must sound to an ordinary person when he contradicts himself so nakedly, often within the very same sentence.

Now let us consider some of Dr. Sultani's alleged divine inspirations and judge for yourself if these are serious messages from the Lord God or the wishful desires of a mind suffering from psychological disorders, or else outright fabrications: The self-professed Mujaddid of the 15th century AH says Allah Most High instructed him to play chess frequently, to subscribe to the Express Tribune (a newspaper), and to color his beard black. At various time, Allah allegedly told Dr. Sultani to keep a long beard, then a short beard, then to shave his beard completely, then again to grow a beard, then to wear European style clothing; to keep long hair, then short hair, and so on and so forth. One genuinely wanders why Allah is so obsessed with Dr. Sultani's outer appearance but doesn't reveal to him any useful information. Instead, Dr. Sultani must constantly change his appearance like a chameleon changes color. Now compare these comical "inspirations" with the profound, beautiful revelations to the true Prophets (peace be upon them) which we read in Scriptures like the Quran. Incidentally, Dr. Sultani boasts that Allah Most High informed him that he is superior to four ancient Prophets (God forbid), another example of a hollow claim that isn't backed up with anything of substance. So while Dr. Sultani asserts that God told him to subscribe to Express Tribune, he was forced to admit that the same God did not reveal to him beforehand about the outbreak of the coronavirus, a lethal pandemic that has locked down half the world. Again, witness the good doctor's contradictory reasoning; he says that while God did not tell him beforehand about the outbreak of this pandemic, nevertheless, the object of the pandemic is to warn the world that it ought to accept him as the Mujaddid of the 15th century AH. How is it that the Creator of the Universe told His alleged Mujaddid to play chess but allegedly forgot to tell him that soon the greatest pandemic since the Spanish Flu is about to break out and it is meant to warn the world that it should accept you. At any rate, it is quite evident that the good doctor may imagine God speaks to him, but the truth is God doesn't speak to him. Allah says in the Holy Quran, words to the effect, "Who is more unjust than he who lies upon Allah and says it was sent down to me while Allah sent down nothing to him."

وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرَىٰ عَلَى اللَّـهِ كَذِبًا أَوْ قَالَ أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ وَلَمْ يُوحَ إِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ وَمَن قَالَ سَأُنزِلُ مِثْلَ مَا أَنزَلَ اللَّـهُ

And who is more unjust than one who fabricates upon Allah a lie or says 'it was inspired to me' while nothing was inspired to him, and one who says 'I shall send down the like of that which Allah sent down'

(Sura 6:93)

So I invite Dr. Sultani sir to think long and hard about this game he is playing for attention. If he doesn't repent from lying upon Allah he will burn in Hell, wailing and gnashing his teeth for ages upon ages. This isn't a joke or a game. Fear Allah and save yourself from falling into the Pit. I myself have observed that Dr. Sultani cannot bear hardship. Even in prison he requires relative luxury and ease. Once when the jailers placed hand cuffs on both his wrists instead of just one he raised a great hue and cry. If he can't handle a bit of inconvenience in this world how will he fare in the blazing inferno of Jahannum?

As for me, when I first met Dr. Sultani here in Adiala Jail, and he told me he was the Mujaddid and regularly converses with Allah, I had no reason to deny it then and so out of 'husn adh-dhann' (benefit of the doubt) I decided to engage him in discussions and hopefully benefit from him spiritually and acquire some knowledge. But as I probed the good doctor's beliefs and teachings, I began to notice this man invents principles and frames arguments on extremely flimsy premises. He does not understand or appreciate basic logic. Nor does he know what a logical fallacy is, such as a circular argument. When I ask him a simple and straightforward question, he tends to ramble on, telling long, drawn-out, and quite frankly, boring stories. He mentions things that are irrelevant and immaterial, when all that is required is to answer "to the point". Out of regard for the fact he is almost twice my age, and not wanting to come across as rude, I politely listen to his time-consuming speeches. But in the real world those who challenge the good doctor intellectually, who are more educated than myself, won't be so generous. They will eat him for breakfast. Though he may not realize it, I'm doing the doctor a bit of a favor by asking him some tough questions though he is obviously annoyed by them. He definitely needs to refine his arguments if he wants to seriously engage others on an intellectual and academic level.

One of the more disturbing beliefs of Dr. Sultani is that, in general, the saints of this Umma are superior to the Prophets with the exception of the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam). I've already mentioned that Dr. Sultani claims Allah told him he is superior to four ancient Prophets. I am an orthodox Muslim who belongs to Ahl us-Sunnati wal-Jama'a. It is our fundamental belief that the rank of prophesy is the highest spiritual rank, that Prophets are, without exception, superior to non-prophets, and that even the smallest of the Prophets is superior to the greatest saintly non-prophet. Dr. Sultani, despite claiming affiliation to Sunni Islam, agrees in principle with the heresy of the Imamiya Shi'a sect. The latter hold their twelve Imams to be superior to all the Prophets from Adam to Jesus (peace be upon them). During a lengthy discussion on this topic, I managed to extract several confessions from the doctor: (1) denial of a Prophet is kufr (unbelief) but denial of a saint is not, (2) a Prophet's revelation is not in need of confirmation but a saint's inspiration requires repeated confirmation, (3) all Prophets possess legislative authority while saints are bound to obey the Shari'a of a Prophet. To this let me add that dozens of Prophets have the distinction and honor of being mentioned by name in the Quran, though not a single saint of this Umma is mentioned by name in the Quran with the sole exception of Zaid bin Haritha (radi Allahu anhu). According to the Quran (Sura 4:69) the highest spiritual rank is prophesy followed by the rank of the Siddiq, then the martyr, then the righteous. Dr. Sultani himself acknowledges this order, but argues that the saints of this Umma who achieve the maqam (rank) of prophesy without actually being prophets technically, are superior, in general, to the ancient Prophets. To illustrate the absurdity of this argument, let me give the example of a prize that is named after its greatest winner, but is subsequently won by others while it retains the name of the winner who is necessarily the greatest in achievement deserving that prize. If someone later achieves even higher than him, it would be logical to not only award him the prize but rename the prize after him.

Several years ago, Dr. Sultani applied for asylum in Sri Lanka through the UN. After three years and having evaluated the merits of his application, the UN determined he was ineligible and subsequently the authorities in Sri Lanka had him deported. Naturally, the UN has to be selective about who they find worthy of asylum - only serious cases. But Dr. Sultani is furious with the UN and blames them for his present predicament. Because the UN supposedly represents the globe, Dr. Sultani believes the pandemic is a result of the UN's "unfair decision" to refuse him eligibility for asylum in Sri Lanka. Psychologically Dr. Sultani suffers from delusions of grandeur and self-importance. He exhibits the classic symptoms of narcissism. I believe the reason for this is that Dr. Sultani was a neglected child. He is the youngest of many siblings. His father died when he was still a little boy and so he lacked a strong male influence or father figure in his life. Because Dr. Sultani is extremely short and in appearance is unimpressive to say the least, it is quite possible he was bullied, made fun of, and underestimated throughout his life. To compensate for the emotional trauma, and having developed an inferiority complex it is likely he has made such grandiose claims about himself being a Mujaddid etc. in order to earn desperately needed attention. 

Dr. Sultani says he is a Mujaddid because Allah told him so. Now the Quran commands us to verify the news reported by a fasiq (wicked sinner). How do we verify Dr. Sultani, who openly commits sins like bribing prison authorities, shaving his beard, backbiting, etc., is true in his claim that Allah appointed him the Mujaddid of the 15th century AH? This is the question I posed to him, which visibly irked him. He first said that the proof of his truthfulness is the transpiration of predictions of the unseen Allah Most High acquaints him with. I naturally asked for an example. What he presented was, if I may be so bold to say so, absolutely hilarious and stupid. The good doctor says Allah informed him he will be exonerated. But Allah did not tell him exactly when or even give a timetable, nor does he know if he shall be exonerated by the Anti-Terrorism Court or an apex court, or the Supreme Court. Now I asked him for a proof which I could verify at present, not for something that one will have to wait and see. This so-called "proof" is useless even more given the good doctor's confession that he can't even guarantee I will be around to know about it when it happens! This is the kind of useless, vague and laughable proof Dr. Sultani expects me and others to take as the basis for his truthfulness. Next, Dr. Sultani says the mere fact that he says Allah has appointed him Mujaddid is proof itself. That he cannot see the self-evident logical fallacy and absurdity of this argument proves the man is shamelessly dishonest or otherwise severely mentally handicapped. His third "proof" is that we are living in a time in which the Umma is in need of a reformer therefore he must be that divinely-appointed reformer. Of course, at present there are dozens, if not hundreds and even thousands of individuals who claim Allah has sent them to rectify the affairs of the Umma. Tahir ul-Qadiri is perhaps the most well-known Mujaddid-claimant at present. Whether he really is a Mujaddid is another story, but at least he fulfills the condition of the prophecy that the Mujaddid is sent at the head of the century (which Dr. Sultani certainly doesn't fulfill). In fact, Dr. Sultani was forced to admit the foundation of his claim to being Mujaddid is not the Hadith in Sunan Abi Dawud but alleged divine inspiration he enjoys. Now quite simply, in my view, the basic criterion to judge whether someone is a Mujaddid is whether they are actually doing the work of Tajdid, just as a Prophet is necessarily one who prophesies, a king is someone who rules a kingdom, etc. Merely claiming to be a Mujaddid is surely not sufficient. What has Dr. Sultani practically done, what service has he offered for the revival of this Religion which would justify calling him a Mujaddid? As I've already pointed out, 99% of Dr. Sultani's activity is dedicated to simply struggling to prove he is a Mujaddid. When it comes to any actual work of Tajdid sadly the poor doctor comes up empty-handed. The parable of Dr. Sultani is that of a schizophrenic who roams the streets pronouncing himself king, though he doesn't even possess ownership of a house let alone an entire kingdom. Dr. Sultani would be as harmless and amusing as the schizophrenic in my parable were it not for the fact he claims Allah reveals things to him, that people are sinful and liable to divine chastisement if they dismiss him, and that he is superior to four Prophets (God forbid). Thus it becomes necessary to expose and strip naked this lying fraud so the world can see him for what he really is, a misguided attention seeker who is firmly in the clutches of some devil.

Dr. Sultani falsely claims to be the divine reformer of the century, a saint who is in regular communion with Allah and superior to four Israelite Prophets (God forbid). But the purpose of a divinely-appointed Reformer is to revive the Sunna, not belittle its importance. I have observed that an average Muslim is more stringently following the Sunna, in terms of worship, habits, appearance, dealings and lifestyle, than the shameless Dr. Sultani who openly lies upon Allah without the least bit of fear. A few days ago I beheld Dr. Sultani in a dream. There was the unmistakable expression of fear and anxiety on his face. These days his face appears particularly ugly, darkened and pitiful. It is definitely not the face of a truthful Believer let alone a saint of this great Umma. Since we are a community who proclaim ourselves Ahl us-Sunna - people of the Sunna - it is necessary we fulfill the meaning of that descriptive name and try our level best to emulate the Prophet's Sunna as much as possible. Today there are numerous sects each propagating a different interpretation of the Quran. But the sect which is safe and represents the message of Islam faithfully is that sect which takes its understanding of the Quran from the Prophet's Sunna and the collective understanding of his disciples and companions (may Allah be pleased with them). They are the Jama'a, that is the original church of Islam that was blessed and aided by Allah Azza wa Jall. The deviated sects, groups and individuals all share in common the turning away from the Sunna in one matter or another. But we emphasize the Sunna in all affairs big and small, from praying two raka'at before Fajr to drinking while seated.