How many of you have given Da'wah to your classmates at school? The other week, a girl from my English class asked me what I thought of "those crazy Muslim terrorists". To be honest, I was really surprised her question. Nearly 10 years after 9/11, the idea of Islam as terrorist religion and Muslims as a crazy fanatic people still enthralls the minds of many people around us. As I told her that, violence is condemned and prohibited in Islam unless absolutely necessary for self defense purposes, I realized she was distraught and shaking. Though standing still in one place, she seemed out of breath, spooked and lost. I explained to her that Islam was a peaceful religion and that we as Muslims, are instructed by Allah to treat all living things with utmost respect and care. Allah is the Eternally Merciful, Repeatedly Forgiving, Most Loving and Gentle. Muslim must emulate these noble qualities. In fact, a person cannot be a Muslim until others are safe from harm from his words and actions. Alas, my words were of no consolation to her, she remained terrified and scared of me. I wasn't going to hurt her. I wasn't even offended by her question. Still she shook in fear of me, uncontrollably.
Are non-Muslims really intimidated by us? Does our presence make them uneasy? Are they Islamophobic? What about the non-Muslims in Murfreesboro, Tennessee? They are bewildered, disgusted and angered by very sight of Muslims. I was flabbergasted by their hostility. How can someone be so averse? Murfreesboro don't want a single Mosque on their community. Many Muslims there don't even wear hijab but there is no end to the hate messages and orgy stares they receive. And whats up with the journalists in Pakistan? They want every Muslim scholar arrested and quashed. Every word they print is loaded with bigotry and hatred towards Muslims. They have given the very name of "Islam" an apprehensive and fiendish persona. Why? Because Muslims are associated with chaos. The bombing, beheading and honour killings are intertwined with the Islamic character. So of course everyone is a little petrified. No one wants to die and see the Muslims tear apart the world so Islam is feared unabatedly and this fear fuels detestation and enmity against Muslim. So non-Muslims assume that If they want peace and if they want to be safe, they must get rid of everything Islamic!
For the most part, Muslims are too shy to speak out against these extreme stereotypes. We sit reluctantly at the back of our classrooms, hoping no one will notice our beard or niqab. Even with friends, we try to pass off as secular and as modernistic as possible so no one notices our Islam. Then how do we fix this? How do we tell the people Islam really is peaceful? How can we make ourselves and the people around us comfortable with our Muslim identities? Promote and practice the oceans of magnanimous kindness advocated in Islam. You see, the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was a very benevolent man. He would grieve in his concern for people. His (s.a.w) mission was to benefit everyone and reach out to them with charity, compassion and good counsel. He (s.a.w) was loved and trusted by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. So resemble the Prophet (s.a.w) in your words and actions and inshaAllah this will give Islam a good name.
For all the 'in-the-closet' Muslims, and I say this as a reminder to myself first, lavish the non-Muslims around you with smiles and gifts, be friends with them, help them and share Islam with them. We cannot be saved from Hellfire and admitted into Paradise until we embody the spirit of well-wishing which Islam enjoins upon us. Da'wah is not a matter of personal choice, that when and if we feel like telling others about Islam, we'll do it eventually. Rather, in today's time age, Da'wah is an obligation on every Muslim, who known even one verse of the Qur'an. The non-Muslims around us are genuinely terrified of the kind Islam. Alleviate their stress and dispel their extreme prejudices about Muslims. Read more Qur'an, start skimming through Riyadh al Saliheen so you can practice Islam consciously and take the initiative to tell others about it.
Don't forget what happens to people with they are feared and hated. What did the US do with the Russians? What did Canada do with First Nation's People and the Japanese? What did the Nazis do with the Jews? What do you think will happen to us if we are passive and silent?
Are non-Muslims really intimidated by us? Does our presence make them uneasy? Are they Islamophobic? What about the non-Muslims in Murfreesboro, Tennessee? They are bewildered, disgusted and angered by very sight of Muslims. I was flabbergasted by their hostility. How can someone be so averse? Murfreesboro don't want a single Mosque on their community. Many Muslims there don't even wear hijab but there is no end to the hate messages and orgy stares they receive. And whats up with the journalists in Pakistan? They want every Muslim scholar arrested and quashed. Every word they print is loaded with bigotry and hatred towards Muslims. They have given the very name of "Islam" an apprehensive and fiendish persona. Why? Because Muslims are associated with chaos. The bombing, beheading and honour killings are intertwined with the Islamic character. So of course everyone is a little petrified. No one wants to die and see the Muslims tear apart the world so Islam is feared unabatedly and this fear fuels detestation and enmity against Muslim. So non-Muslims assume that If they want peace and if they want to be safe, they must get rid of everything Islamic!
For the most part, Muslims are too shy to speak out against these extreme stereotypes. We sit reluctantly at the back of our classrooms, hoping no one will notice our beard or niqab. Even with friends, we try to pass off as secular and as modernistic as possible so no one notices our Islam. Then how do we fix this? How do we tell the people Islam really is peaceful? How can we make ourselves and the people around us comfortable with our Muslim identities? Promote and practice the oceans of magnanimous kindness advocated in Islam. You see, the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) was a very benevolent man. He would grieve in his concern for people. His (s.a.w) mission was to benefit everyone and reach out to them with charity, compassion and good counsel. He (s.a.w) was loved and trusted by Muslims and non-Muslims alike. So resemble the Prophet (s.a.w) in your words and actions and inshaAllah this will give Islam a good name.
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "Do not belittle any good deed, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face." [Muslim]
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "Everyone of the children of Adam has been created with three hundred and sixty joints; so he who declares the Glory of Allah, praises Allah, declares Allah to be One, glorifies Allah, and seeks forgiveness from Allah, and removes stone, or thorn, or bone from people's path, and enjoins good and forbids evil, to the number of those three hundred and sixty, will walk that day having rescued himself from Hell." [Muslim]
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "Every day the sun rises charity is due on every joint of a person you administer justice between two men is a charity; and assisting a man to mount his beast, or helping him load his luggage on it is a charity; and a good word is a charity; and every step that you take towards the mosque for prayer is charity, and removing harmful things from the road is a charity." [Bukhari and Muslim].
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said,"Faith has over seventy branches, the uppermost of which is the declaration, 'none has the right to be worshiped but Allah' and the least of which is the removal of harmful object form the road, and modesty is a branch of faith." [Bukhari and Muslim]
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "I saw a man going about in Paradise (and enjoying himself) as a reward for cutting from the middle of the road, a tree which was causing inconvenience to the Muslims." [Muslim]
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "While a man was walking, he saw a thorny branch on the road, so he removed it and Allah appreciated his action and forgave him." [Bukhari]
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "O Muslim women, never belittle any gift you give your neighbour even if it is a hoof of a sheep." [Bukhari and Muslim]
- Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "While a man was walking on his way he became extremely thirsty. He found a well, he went down into it to drink water. Upon leaving it, he saw a dog which was panting out of thirst. His tongue was lolling out and he was eating moist earth from extreme thirst. The man thought to himself, this dog is extremely thirsty as I was. So he descended into the well, filled up his leather sock with water, and holding it in his teeth, climbed up and quenched the thirst of the dog. Allah appreciated his action and forgave his sins." The companions (r.a) asked, "Shall we be rewarded for showing kindness to animals also?" Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "A reward is given in connection with [kindness to] every living creature." [Bukhari] This man was forgiven by Allah in appreciation of his act of kindness and admitted to Paradise.
For all the 'in-the-closet' Muslims, and I say this as a reminder to myself first, lavish the non-Muslims around you with smiles and gifts, be friends with them, help them and share Islam with them. We cannot be saved from Hellfire and admitted into Paradise until we embody the spirit of well-wishing which Islam enjoins upon us. Da'wah is not a matter of personal choice, that when and if we feel like telling others about Islam, we'll do it eventually. Rather, in today's time age, Da'wah is an obligation on every Muslim, who known even one verse of the Qur'an. The non-Muslims around us are genuinely terrified of the kind Islam. Alleviate their stress and dispel their extreme prejudices about Muslims. Read more Qur'an, start skimming through Riyadh al Saliheen so you can practice Islam consciously and take the initiative to tell others about it.
Don't forget what happens to people with they are feared and hated. What did the US do with the Russians? What did Canada do with First Nation's People and the Japanese? What did the Nazis do with the Jews? What do you think will happen to us if we are passive and silent?
Asalamualaikum Sis Asfiya,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful reflection as usual. I pray that Allah swt gives us the wisdom and courage to share the reality of Islam with those who are ignorant of it.
Just a small typo please correct it.
"Upon leaving it, he saw a god which was panting out of thirst. "
Wa alaikum assalam warahmatullah. Aameen on your du'aa and jazakAllahu khairan for the correction. I keep telling myself, I should read over my posts before clicking the submit button. InshaAllah will do that more vigilantly now.
ReplyDeleteWaiyyakum :) well insaan is from nisyaan so we are bound to forget :P inshAllah now you will always remember it!
ReplyDeleteCharity and Kindness which is binding upon every Muslim.
ReplyDeleteAbu Musa al Ashari (r.a) reported the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "Giving in charity is an obligation upon every Muslim." It was said (to him s.a.w), "What about one who does not find (the means) to do so?" Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "Let him do with his hands, thus doing benefit to himself and give in charity." It was said to him what if he does not have the means to do so? Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "Then let him assist the needy, the aggrieved." It was said what about if he cannot even do this? Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "Then he should enjoin good." He was asked what if he cannot do that. Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "He should abstain from evil, for verily, that is a charity from him." [Muslim]