A Mercy Case

bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem

Dear Messenger of Allah,

al-salam ‘alaykum wa rahma Allah. May Allah send blessings and peace upon you and your family.

Perhaps you already know everything I am about to say. Perhaps Allah has informed you of my situation, and you are already making du’a on my behalf. But I want to talk to you directly, and so I am writing you this letter. I hope that it reaches you, with Allah’s permission.

I believe in you, even though I have never met you. For over 17 years, I have called myself a “Muslim” because I believe that you and your followers called yourselves Muslims. In Ramadan, I fast because I believe that you told us that God wanted us to do it. Every day I pray facing the Ka’ba in Makkah because I believe you told us that doing so would connect us to the Truth. My parents think it is all a bit strange, and mostly a waste of time and energy, but they ultimately respect my decision. Please pray to Allah to grant them faith. It seems impossible to me – that they would believe in you the way that I do – but I know that Allah can do all things, and guides whomsoever Allah wills. Alhamdulillah, I have been blessed with a Muslim wife, Sumaiya, and we have a son Zayn. My intention is for us to raise him up as a great follower of you, insha’Allah. Please make du’a that we are granted tawfiq as Muslim parents.

I know that you are aware that there is a lot that the Muslims who are living now disagree about, and they often kill each other because of those disagreements. I hate this, Messenger of Allah, I really do. I don’t want to kill any human being without right. How could I want that, when you taught us so emphatically that a life can only be taken “rightfully (illa bi’l-haqq)”?! Yet today, I fear for my life in the company of many Muslims – indeed, I am sure that there are many who would judge me worthy of death for simply writing this letter to you! Even when I visit you in Madinah, they stare at us as if we are hovering between faith and disbelief. They are just waiting to pounce on us for calling out to you. At the head of them is the group that calls themselves “the Islamic State.” I believe that you want us to fight them. It is not just my understanding, it is the understanding of two of the most respected living scholars of your message, both of whom are from your descendants: Shaykh Muhammad al-Yaqoubi of Syria, and Ayatollah al-Sistani of Iraq.

Ya Rasul Allah, this is my belief. I do not want to fight other Muslims, but in my heart of hearts, I believe ISIS must be fought in accordance with the Qur’anic command: “fight the one which aggresses until it returns to Allah’s command.” When I look at the example of the one whom you and Khadija helped raise, Ali b. Abi Talib, I see that he fought the Khawarij even though they were Muslim. It is his example that helps me see your teachings in the midst of confusion. I know of not one example where ‘Ali did something to displease you, and so it is inconceivable to me that he would displease you by laying waste to the rebels of Nahrawan.

I try to focus on you, may Allah grant you and your family blessings and peace. You are the one who changed my life, ya Habeeb Allah! You are the one who made a critical intervention in human history that led to me fasting and praying 1400 years later in a country called the United States, ya Mustafa! But I also cannot see you without also seeing your family, may blessings and peace be upon you and your family. If there is any statement that is attributed to you that I believe with absolute certainty you said, it is hadith al-thaqalayn.

“O people! Indeed, I have left among you, that which if you hold fast to it, you shall not go astray: the book of Allah and my family, the people of my house.”

This hadith is agreed upon by both the Sunni and the Shi’i hadith scholars. As such, it is not a surprise to me that both Sunni and Shi’i ‘ulama who are descended from you through ‘Ali and Fatima agree that ISIS should be fought. It is not a coincidence to me that an ‘alim from my country must rely upon a statement attributed to ‘Ali to enlighten us regarding the “Crisis of ISIS.” And we know from ISIS’ behavior already that they would love to destroy the maqam of ‘Ali in Najaf and that of your grandson in Karbala, and spill the blood of whoever makes ziyara there. And yet, many who claim to represent your teachings hesitate or remain silent about the fight against ISIS. This makes no sense to me, and seems like a grave injustice masquerading as a false claim of mercy.

This weighs on me, my master, and that is why I am writing to you. I understand intellectually many of the differences in usul al-fiqh, ‘ulum al-hadith, and tafsir that undergird the differing perspectives of those who interpret your teachings. And I understand a lot of the historical, cultural, and political reasons Muslims have split apart into competing traditions. But none of that seems like a justification at this point. Do those who do not advocate fighting think ISIS is just going to lay down their arms? I am simply trying to follow you so that the Lord who sent you will love me and forgive me my sins. I am nothing but a Muslim who is interested in what will benefit me in this world and the next, wherever it is found. But in doing so, I believe in a position that others turn away from. And so I appeal directly to you, out of the fear that I would be spilling blood unjustly. Usually, I find solace in matters that virtually your entire Ummah agrees upon, such as Husayn being one of the masters of Heaven. But in this case, there is real dissension in the Ummah. From what I understand, there are those who believe we must fight (such as al-Yaqoubi and al-Sistani), those who believe in pacifism until the time of al-Mahdi (such as the Ba ‘Alawi sayyids), those who are not pacifists but do not publicly advocate for this particular fight (many Sunni ‘ulama), and those who are actually attracted to the evil of ISIS. I am firmly with the first group, believing that if you were here, you would mobilize your entire Ummah to crush ISIS.

Please pray for my forgiveness, O Messenger of Allah, and ask your Lord to guide me to being a true follower of you, inwardly and outwardly, publicly and privately, in knowledge, deed, and state. If I have erred in my understanding of what it means to obey you, then correct me through the means that Allah has put at your disposal. It is upon Allah that I rely in all of my affairs, but Allah has turned the direction of my heart in your direction, teaching me that obedience to you is the same as obedience to Allah. And how can I obey you if I do not know you? How can I know you if I cannot communicate with you? How badly I want you to come and sit with me and console me in this time of fitna! But our Lord has decreed that I would live in a time when you were not here in the flesh to settle the differences between the Muslims – a time when everyone would invoke your name on behalf of their opinion, including me – and I cannot but embrace our Lord’s decree. You are our leader – the one who was sent to bring us out of darknesses into Light! – and so I sit at home with my family, praying for victory over ISIS, believing that you have commanded it, upon orders from the Most Merciful of those who show mercy.

one of your billions of followers,

R. David Coolidge

2nd Rabi’ al-Thani, 1437

New York City