Asalamu'alaikum.
I am a sister wanting you to hear my plea. I am for Allah, I am for the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), I am for my Ummah...but sadly I am disappointed by my Ummah. So please my partners in this Ummah, listen to my plea, listen to my reminder.
After the recent hijackings many of us are full of thoughts, fears, and sorrows. We have witnessed cruelty and seen it branded as Islam. We have witnessed hatred and seen it branded as the words of our Holy Book. We have seen innocent people die, and seen the names of Muslims associated with the deaths. How does this make you feel? Hurt? Angry? Sad? Helpless? Ashamad? Or all of the above?
Well push aside those hurts and thoughts; do not let them bring you down, HOLD TIGHT TO THE ROPE OF ALLAH. I want to remind you and me, that history repeats itself, and these things have happened before, these times and trials have come before in the guise of other battles. Like Badr and Uhad. Like the journey of our beloved Prophet (PBUH) to him, Medina, like the killings and torture of the Sahaba, like the massacre of the Bosnians, like the deaths in Palestine, like the invasion of the Soviets in Afghanistan, like the blood spilled in Kashmir, like the horrors in Chechnya...and on and on. We have survived it, by the Grace of Allah. We can survive this too by the Grace of Allah. But how could we hope for Allah's assistance to victory when we disobey Him everyday? We are an Ummah divided. Let us not be divided. Who gives a damn if you are Arab, or Afghan, or Pakistani, you are MUSLIM! Who gives a damn if you are black or white or brown; you are the slave of Allah! Who cares if you are rich or poor or middle class, you will be buried the same way as the beggar, and you will return to Allah the same way as the orphan or the king. So HOLD TIGHT TO THE ROPE OF ALLAH. And be not divided. Join your strengths, join your wealth, share your resources, and strengthen one another. BE AN UMMAH.
But this Ummah, that has the gift of the Islam, and the duty of upholding Allah's words in their everyday lives, are silent. At this time of great confusion, at this time when Muslims are looked upon as barbarians and animals most of us decide to stay quiet. To not be heard, to 'keep a low profile' because we fear for our safety and for our lives. We fear losing our jobs, we fear having our savings account depleted, we fear not being asked to sit with the 'others' at the lunch tables or the coffee breaks. This may be a legitimate cause for concern but for some reason my own heart does not accept silence as the solution. Don't get me wrong, I know that to protect yourself and your family is an obligation of every Muslim. But to educate others, Muslim and non-Muslim, is a duty and an obligation as well.
Whether we want to admit it or not, a war has been declared against Islam under the banner of Terrorism. It has been disguised as a war against terrorism, Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban, but listen to that small voice inside you that I know we all have, that eats at our insides to realize that there is more to all this than meets the eye. Why are my sisters and brothers dying all around the world? Why are they being raped and killed and maimed and forced to call tents their homes...and yet, we choose to be silent?
I want you to understand the passion that I feel inside for making Islam known to the world, not as a religion of radicals and terrorists but as a religion of beauty and peace...what Islam really stand for...This is why I feel that at a time of such chaos we as Muslims should help educate those who are thirsty for knowledge of Islam. HOLD TIGHT TO THE ROPE OF ALLAH, AND FEAR NO ONE BUT ALLAH. Do not be afraid....you do not have to take off your hijab or shave your beard or change your name and hide behind a mask fear. We should fear no one and nothing but Allah. In the end, a kaffir is a kaffir and a Muslim is a Muslim, what does this statement mean to you? Well if you do not stand up for Islam right now but still carry the title, you are still an enemy to them by their definition, and in the end you, the silent one with the low profile, will still be as hated as the Muslim who did stand up for Islam and for Allah.
It is clear that Allah (SWT) has instructed us to change every evil be it great or small. Imam Ash-Shafi'ee said: "Whoever does not feel angry for the sake of Allah, even when he is made so, is virtually a donkey." So those who see evil being committed and do not attempt to change it despite their ability to do so, will have their hearts sealed by Allah to such a point that they will come to consider evil as good and good as evil. The Prophet (PBUH) said: "By Him in whose Hands my soul is, you must either enjoin good and forbid evil and help the sinful to uphold Truth, or Allah will cause your hearts to detest on another or He will curse you as He has cursed them (the Children of Israel)."
Jihad, is not the Holy War, that it has been labeled. Yes Jihad does occur, but it occurs in the battlefield, it occurs in our own heart, and it occurs by words and deeds and desires. Jihad has been entitled the 'Forgotten Obligation.' Do not hurt the innocent, do not kill or maim the innocent, the weak, the ill, the orphan child, the shrubbery, the plantation, or even the innocent animals, but fight against those that fight you. Defend the oppressed from the oppressor, whether it is by foot, hand, mouth, whatever. I do not deny the power of prayer, but prayer without action is like a well without water. An empty well does not fulfill the need for water.
Amidst all this horror, and calamity that has occurred, we must remember that the Prophet (PBUH) had already predicted what would happen to us. He had said, blessed be he: "When people become stingy toward the dinar and the dirham, deal in fine things, and engage themselves in agricultural activities, forsaking Jihad in the way of Allah, Allah will send down on them a calamity that will not be dispelled away from them until they return to their religion."
Please, let us return to Allah, in our every action, word, deed, and breath, let it be for the One who gave us life. After we need Him, He does not need us.
So in closing, I thank you for listening to me. I hope that you, me and every member of our Ummah, tries harder. Do not be afraid. Only fear Allah. Do not be ashamed of being Muslim, of having brown skin or black skin or white skin, do not be ashamed of your beautiful Islamic names, do not be ashamed of your distinguishing beard or hijab. This is you and me. We cannot run or hide from what we are, and we cannot hide from Allah. After all the sun and moon rise for you, because you worship Allah in the course of your day, remember Qiyyamah will come when there is no more worship of Allah. Do you realize how special that makes you! My God this world is for you, we breathe along with everyone else, because YOU say ALLAH AKBAR! Because you say LA ILAHA ILLALA MUHAMMADAR RASULLILAH! Be not divided, be not afraid. Speak with confidence and love for Allah, and if ever you get weak, turn to Allah the only stable factor we have.
(And most of all never forget that Deeds and hardwork do make a difference. Lets all do some)
Jazakum Allahu kharain.
sisters sys & srs
Last update: 2001-10-13 by
Dennette@WiZ-WORX.com