Advises for the times of trial
24-07-2008
All
praise is due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings be upon
the Messenger, his household and companions.
Fellow Muslims! Allah’s favours on Muslims are countless. Among these favours is
that He made us the best community ever raised up for the mankind.
Yes! Islam is the complete religion and law. Its words are decisive and its
judgments are just. Whoever holds fast to it prospers in this world and the next
and whoever deviates from it will have misery and hardship as his lot in this
life and the next. It is an upright religion whose teachings are noble and
characters are lofty. It is full of wisdom, incontestable proofs and the only
guidance for mankind.
“Whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will never
be accepted from him and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers.” (Aal
‘Imraan: 85).
It is the only true religion on the surface of the earth; the abrogator of
earlier laws and systems. Whoever rejects it is an infidel and the enemy of
Allah, His Messenger (SAW) and the believers and his final abode will be
Hellfire. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, ‘By Him in whose hand is my soul,
if any of this people be he a Jew or a Christian hears of me and yet does not
believe in what I was sent with, he will be among the dwellers of Hellfire.’
However the enemies of Islam toil to cripple Islam and Muslims, they will never
succeed. Allah says what translates as,
“They intend
to put out the light of Allah (the religion of Islam) with their mouths. But
Allah will complete His light even though the disbelievers hate (it)” (As-Saff:
8).
To corroborate this verse, the Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, ‘A group among my
nation shall continue standing firm on the religion of Allah. None of those who
forsake or disgrace them shall be able to harm them until they become victorious
over all people.’ (Muslim).
We Muslims have never been in such need of self-examination as we are in these
days of crises and hardship. We are in dire need of unity so as to wash away the
filth of ignominy that is presently our lot. We must go back to the pristine
sources of our great religion and follow their injunctions. The Messenger of
Allah warned the Muslims of the causes of degeneration and weakness when he
(SAW) said, ‘When you become preoccupied with transaction in credit and are so
engaged in cattle rearing and in crops that you abandon jihad; Allah will
enforce an ignominy upon you and will not remove it until you go back to your
religion.’ (Aboo Daawood).
We must understand the causes of our problems and calamities in the light of the
Qur’aan, the Sunnah and the guidance of our righteous predecessors. And while
dealing with those problems, we must be truthful, sincere and free from
whimsical desires and shirk. We must have confidence in Allah and put our trust
in Him. He says what translates as,
“When there comes to them some
matter touching (public) safety or fear they make it known (among the people),
if only they had referred it to the Messenger or to those charged with authority
among them, the proper investigators would have understood it from them
(directly). Had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allah upon you, you would
have followed Satan, save a few of you.” (An-Nisaa’: 83).
What is incumbent upon us Muslims when calamities and trials befall us is to
unite in order to protect our faith and to cooperate with each other in piety
and righteousness in order to defeat the enemy. Allah addresses us with the
verse which what translates as:
“And do not dispute (with one another) lest you lose
courage and your strength departs, and be patient. Surely, Allah is with those
who are patient.” (Al-Anfaal: 46).
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said, ‘Allah is pleased with you when you do three
things: He is pleased that you worship Him without ascribing any partner to Him,
that you hold fast unto the rope of Allah and that you are not divided. He is
displeased that you engage in gossip, much (unnecessary) questions and wasting
of money.'
The relationship brought about by our religion is the straightest relationship.
It has its meanings and obligations enshrined in the Qur’aan and Sunnah. It is a
relationship that destroys disbelief and aggression. Allah says what translates
as,
“The believing men and women are supporters of one
another, they enjoin all that is good (on the people) and forbid all that is
evil. They perform Solat, give the Zakaah and they obey Allah and His Messenger.
These are ones upon whom Allah will have mercy. Surely, Allah is Almighty
All-Wise.” (At-Tawbah: 71).
The Messenger of Allah (SAW) also said: ‘All Muslims are equal … and they are
united against their enemies.’ (Aboo Daawood).
He also emphasised the importance of Islamic brotherhood when he (SAW) said,
‘Whoever prays our prayer, faces our Qiblah and eats our slaughtered animal is a
Muslim who is under the protection of Allah and His Messenger.’ He also said,
‘The believers are like a structure whose different parts strengthen one
another.’ (Bukhaari).
Each individual Muslim possesses a great sacredness and high position in Islam.
We must give him this privilege and not deny him of it whenever he falls in
trouble. Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Messenger
of Allah (SAW) stood on the pulpit one day, raised his voice and said, ‘O you
who are Muslims by tongue and faith has not penetrated your hearts! Do not harm
Muslims nor pursue their imperfections for whoever pursues the imperfections of
his Muslim brother, Allah will pursue his imperfection and whosoever Allah
pursues his imperfection, He will disgrace him.’ He also stressed the sacredness
of Muslim life when he said, ‘Indeed, the termination of this world is of lesser
importance to Allah than the killing of a Muslim man.’ (At-Tirmithi).
Muslims today are facing different kinds of persecution from all parts of the
world; they are being killed, tortured and expelled from their lands. In fact
they are in pitiful and deplorable situations. Foremost among those who commit
these crimes against them are world Zionists who are a treacherous nation and
these crimes are committed in front of the whole world and nothing concrete is
done to stop them. Where then is the claimed justice and fairness with all these
slogans of civilisation, freedom and peace? We only see justice and fairness
from those countries who claim to be champions of justice when the wronged
happen to be the Jews.
One fact remains indisputable in view of our present condition: we will never
conquer our enemies unless we first of all conquer our souls and whimsical
desires. We can never defeat our enemies unless we first of all implement the
law of Allah in every aspect of our lives. The Messenger of Allah (SAW) stressed
this point when he said, ‘Nations will be on the verge of calling one another to
attack you as people call on one another to a plate of food.’ The companions
said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Is it because we will be few then?’ He replied,
‘No. You will rather be many and will be in multitude like the scum floating on
flood waters. Your fear will be removed from the hearts of your enemies and
theirs will be put in your hearts.’ The companions said, ‘What is the cause of
this?’ He answered, ‘Love for this worldly life and the hatred of death.’ (Ahmad
and others.)
By: Sh. Salaah al-Budair
Submitted by a Mujahid
Theunjustmedia.com