Working towards a more stable global community
| Khatib : | Sadullah Khan |
| Khutbah No: | 197 |
| Khutbah Date: | 05/12/06 |
As an educated worker for Islam and a human rights advocate, I hope for a more forward-looking more stable global community. However, we see many books written in this post 9/11 world with authors writing some of the most scurrilous propaganda against Islam. The prominent leaders within religious sphere of this country like the televangelists, the neo-cons in the media, Hollywood motion pictures- all carry the same negative themes against Islam. There is a war against Islam that has been going on and the only thing that 9/11 did was to legitimize this war. When the former Vice-President to Bush Sr., Dan Quail, gave the commencement address at Anapolis in 1994, he warned "We were surprised we had to confront Nazism, then Communism, and now we have to be prepared to confront fundamentalist Islam," obviously showing that the attack on Islam has been going on for a while.Tthe challenges we face will not go away any time soon, but they will probably deepen before they get better. But for those of us who are sincerely committed to Islam, who sincerely have the fire of Islam burning in their hearts, these challenges represent nothing more than the opportunities for the barakah (blessings) of Allah(swt), who tells us "In the heavens and earth and all in between, verily, there are signs for those who reflect." The darkest part of the night is just before the dawn of a new day. The Prophet(saw) said in a Hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi: ""..Be mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you. Get to know Allah in prosperity and He will know you in adversity. Know that what has passed you by was not going to befall you; and that what has befallen you was not going to pass you by. And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship." All we must do is have faith as one cannot fake having iman, either you have it or you don't. If you have been faking it the first serious challenge that comes your way will expose you. This is way Allah(swt) in His infinite mercy has given us examples in the Qur’an and the seerah that we can look to as beacons of light hope and inspiration. In Surat Al-Abbasa, the entire first part is instructive and inspiring, telling the story of when a blind man kept interrupting the Prophet(saw) while he was engaged in getting leaders of Quraish to understand the message of Islam in a passionate attempt to help the Muslims who were being victimized by them simply because they professed their belief in Allah(swt). While the Prophet, the tender-hearted man he was, was giving the munafiqeen the benefit of the doubt that they had rejected Islam due to him not conveying it well enough to them, the blind man kept interrupting to ask "Oh messenger of Allah teach me what Allah has taught you. The Prophet(saw) turned to him, frowned and turned away. Although the blind man could not see his frustration, Allah(saw) could see and He intervened by revealing the first part of Surat Al-Abbasa in which he admonishes the Prophet for turning away the blind man who was searching for the turh to grow in his purity, whilst he gave the Quraish his full attention, although he is not to blame if they refuse to believe in Allah(swt). Not only did the Prophet desist what he was doing, he immediately shared the reproof he got from Allah(swt), and whenever he would meet that blind man he would address him in honor. This blind man, Ibn Al-Mukhtoom, was an orphan and not connected to any significant tribes, yet, Allah(swt) preferred him to all of the leaders of Quraish. There is another story from the time when the Prophet was getting ready to migrate from Mecca to Madinah. He had a habit of visiting the household of Abu Bakr(ra) around the same time every day, yet on that day one time he visited the house at a different time and the Prophet informed them that Allah(swt) had given him permission to migrate. Abu Bakr replied, "Together, oh Messenger of Allah" as he knew this would be a very dangerous journey and he did not want his beloved friend to make that journey by himself. The Prophet replied, "Together," and Abu Bakr began to cry. Aisha(ra) recounted that she realized that was the first day she saw her father cry out of happiness and joy. Reflect upon all those who had a role in the hijrah of the Prophet, like Asma bint Abu Bakr, the “woman of two belts”, who carried food to them; Abdul Rahman ibn Abu Bakr, the young man who led him on their journey; Ali ibn Abu Talib, who slept in the Prophet’s bed when the enemies of Islam conspired to take his life. Ali(ra) risked his life and that required a quality of faith that we sorely need today. Today, we are manifestations of a prophecy the Prophet(saw), who once told the Sahabah, “It is suspected that nations will call other nations to attack you.” They asked him, “Is this because of our small numbers?” He replied “No, your numbers will be great but you will be valueless like the foam on that floats on the ocean. Your enemies will not fear you and you will be filled with wahn, the love for this life and hatred of death." I would like to bring your focus to other humanitarian issues I work with. Lately, we have seen that this country and the media are targeting Sudan. We do not want to see what is going on in Iraq happen in Sudan with another occupation. There is not ethnic cleansing nor genocide occurring in Sudan, there is a humanitarian crisis and the Muslims must respond to bring about peace and stability in the region. When I sit in on different trials for Muslims who have been detained, it is obvious we are living in society where propaganda poisons sense of fairness among people. Our Muslim brothers are being tried and convicted with no evidence to support any of the allegations brought against them. IN one example, a 25 years old brother, Omar ibn Abu Ali, had been tortured and had visible signs of it. There was no evidence to support allegations of conspiracy, yet he was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years, considered a good sentence by many. What convicted him was the atmosphere of this country. Part of the fault is ours as we have not been meeting the challenge of the propaganda and we have not been fighting back within the limits of Allah(swt) and with the capabilties we have especially in this part of the world and this is why these things will continue to happen until we stand up and fight back as we should The Prophet has told us, "Tie your camel and have trust in Allah(swt)" …do everything that you have the power to do and leave the rest to the qadr(will) of Allah(swt).