Friday, August 11, 2006

The Muslim Ummah: Looking on the Bright Side

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Nations are about to scheme against you in the same way as greedy eaters vie with one another on the dining-table.' One of the companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) asked: 'O Messenger of Allah! Will that relate to being few in numbers?' The Prophet said: 'No, but your huge number will be of little effectiveness, and (Allah) will cast Al-Wahan in your hearts.' They said: O Messenger of Allah, what does Al-Wahan mean? He said, 'Your hearts are strongly attached to life luxuries and you feel strong aversion to death." (Reported by Ahmad and Abu-Dawud)

The previous hadith is considered one of the miracles with which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was aided. The hadith refers to what will happen by the end of this world. In other words, it shows the extent of the moral decay that will affect the Muslim Ummah, and will encourage its enemies to haunt it, especially after neglecting Allah’s Commands and ignoring His Prophet’s teachings.

The miracles that Allah Almighty has granted His Prophets (peace and blessings be upon them all) to help in delivering their messages are not only rules and regulations from which the Muslim Ummah can seek guidance regarding what is lawful and what is prohibited. Rather, they serve as a means of encouraging the Muslim to bear the sufferings and tribulations of life with patience and perseverance, keeping in mind that Allah will never forsake him.

The words of the hadith show that the state of weakness facing the Muslim Ummah nowadays is transitory.

Unfortunately, the Muslim Ummah’s hands are tied, finding themselves handicapped to put an end to the brutal massacres and mass killing of Muslims in many places of the world, in addition to gross violation of Muslim human rights.

The main reason behind all this can easily be ascribed to forsaking the Islamic umbrella, which encompasses economy, mass media and education, as well as politics.

Every member of Muslim Ummah has a share in this responsibility; it is a collective one. We are together in the same boat and we have to start rowing before it is too late.

Stressing the fact that, despite the sorry state of affairs of Muslim Ummah now, there is a glimmer of hope lying in the future, we would like to cite for you the following fatwa issued by the eminent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi:

Some scholars claim that the Doom is approaching and that the darkness looms large and there are troubles on the horizon. Actually, such premonitions bring benefits to none and make things get worse. This leads to the belief that there is no hope for a change or reform and that the coming days carry nothing but bad events. This is, in fact, a very wrong way of thinking and it is plainly a pessimistic approach to life. Muslims are to stick their mind to many glad tidings of the coming victory of Islam, and they should have faith in Allah that the coming days will be more bright and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Thus, it is necessary for Muslims to derive from the following glad tidings glimpse of light to fill their hearts with and let despair vanish and fade away. Here are some of the glad tidings mentioned in the Qur’an:

1. Almighty Allah says: (He it is who hath sent His messenger with the guidance and the Religion of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religion, however much the idolaters may be averse. ) (At-Tawbah 9: 33)

2. Almighty Allah also says: (Fain would they put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah will perfect His light however much the disbelievers are averse. ) (As-Saff 61: 8)

In these verses, Almighty Allah makes it clear that at the end sweeping victory and triumph will be for Islam and Allah’s light will cover all corners of the globe.

The Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is also a record of many hadiths that give glad tidings of the coming victory of Islam. Here, we would like to cite some of these hadiths:

1. In his Sahih, Imam Muslim recorded that Thawban quoted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: “Almighty Allah has gathered the earth for me so that I could see all its corners. My nation will rule over all that which Almighty Allah has gathered for me.”

2. Ibn Hibban quoted the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as saying: “This matter (i.e., Islam) will spread to cover all area where there is night and day. Allah will never leave a house in a rural area or in urban community without its people being Muslims. Honor is for those who embrace it (i.e., Islam) while disbelievers are doomed to disgrace and humiliation.”

This hadith, along with many others, give us glad tidings that the patch of the Muslim state will expand to cover the whole earth and that the strength of this state will grow and become obvious to all. This also denotes good news for the long-cherished hope of revival of Muslims unity and rebirth of Islamic Caliphate.

Also, there are many other glad tidings in the reality of being a Muslim, for any wise man knows that no falsehood is to remain forever. Life has its ups and downs and days have their own vicissitudes. After hardship comes ease and every cloud has a silver lining. The bitter reality of the Muslim nation will come to an end, and tomorrow will be definitely better than today.

The emergence of the Islamic awakening has breathed in the Muslim nation a sense of confidence and hope in the future. Viewing this awakening as a threat, the enemies of Islam have tried their utmost to suppress it. However, it is Allah’s will that the Muslim awakening will endure all tribulations without being affected. Such movement is worthy of leading the Muslim nation to utter victory once there are leaders who are rightly guided by Almighty Allah and filled with wisdom.

We plea to Allah Almighty to guide the Muslim Ummah back to the right track. This is the only way we can find a place in the modern world where non-Islamic systems impose distorted ideologies in the name of civilization.

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