Envy is a movement killer. It think it is probably the most fundamental danger facing Qur'anic revival moments and organizations since the last 50 years and counting.
Envy is the feeling of unhappiness at the blessing and talents of others. It is a painful and often resentful awareness of the spotlight enjoyed by others. It is a faith-rotting sin, it eats our faith from the inside, like a gnawing worm. In the grip of envy, you cry over those who are celebrating their success and laugh over those who are being thrown under the bus. It is a disease of a shrivelled, diseased heart.
We can live in one of two tents; we can live in the tent of discontent and envy or in the tent of contentment and solidarity. If we are not content with what we have, we are covetous of what others have. Envy is a subtle chameleon with many famous.
Over the past two days, I witnessed seemingly good Muslims relentlessly attacking the character and work of Ustadh Nouman. Some of them were local Imaams and Ustadhas who used to masquerade as his students, plagiarizing his work to deliver their own Khutbahs and speeches for years. Over night, they took to righteous indignation against his alleged crime.
If you all remember, 30 years ago, there was NO renowned Qur'anic revival movement or organization in North America. Sure there were a handful of religious personalities who propagated the Sovereignty of Allah through various Towheed and Aqeeqah courses but there was no English speaker, with unfathomable grace and clarity to explain the Qur'an to the masses. There was no "movement" of Qur'an centered theology, worship and preaching.
When Ustadh Nouman started giving Qur'anic talks in 2006, his Tafseer because addictive worldwide. He was the first to deliver Qur'an-entranced, Qur'an shaped vision of life to the millennials. Many of us have grown to learn and love the Qur'an because of him. Sure alhamdulillah, there are hundreds of Islamic institutes and thousands of Muslims orators today, doing a great job teaching various sciences of Islam - fiqh, Arabic grammar, Seerah, Hadith, History etc. However, Ustadh Nouman is the only teacher dedicated to planting Quranic rooted, Qur'an exalting lectures in the English language in the World. He has taught and benefited the Muslim world for the last 20 years like no one else. In turn, we cannot tarnish his reputation and his work based on suspicious. He is an asset to us. We need him, he doesn't need us.
From the events that unfolded this week, it is clear his success bred envy, and along with it rivalry, competition, covetousness, territorialism, and resentment. When there was a famine of Qur'an teachers in North America, the rise of Ustadh Nouman was a welcome sight; Bayyinah Institute was an oasis in our parched land. Allah gave him prosperity, and made the understanding of the Qur'an blossom in the desert of our hearts. Instead of being filled with gratitude to Allah for his Tafseer, so many people and preachers became resentful of the Qur'an-besotted crowds he procured, and the affectionate likes and prayers he earned across the social media.
In general, secular Muslims love to watch Islamic figures fall flat on their faces. It gives them a chance to demonize the Deen and justify their ungodly lives. Their arguments are mostly circular and a fool's errand. But Muslims who grind the rumour mill, hardest and fastest against speakers outside their schools-of-thought, are the most offensive.
It is one thing to disagree with Ustadh Norman's Qur'anic point-of-view and theological conclusions. We are all free to choose any religious interpretation and lifestyle we want. We can actualize our faith in any shape or form, we are not compelled to hold on to the opinion of any one speaker. But to begrudge his gifts and talents, to resent his success, blessings and opportunities, is envy. To question his sincerity and motives with glee in our eyes , to silently gloat when his work is discredited, to feel delight when he is attacked, is envy.
Muslims hating on other Muslims is reductionist and counterproductive. We can have our disagreements in Aqeedah or a split Eid every year but we are all essentially one body. When one group of Muslim becomes envious, arrogant or intolerant of another group of Muslims, we all suffer on the whole. Worst of all, the image of the Deen suffers.
This week when certain people maliciously gossiped and wrongfully judged Ustadh Nouman, they were essentially projecting their own immoral and religious depravities on to him. Then they proceeded to bask in their own glory about how 'they knew he was corrupt all along, which is why they never liked listening to him.' They salivated over the outrageous and ambiguous allegations made against him as they warned each other against holding any spiritual leader on a high pedestal.
Muslims hating on other Muslims is reductionist and counterproductive. We can have our disagreements in Aqeedah or a split Eid every year but we are all essentially one body. When one group of Muslim becomes envious, arrogant or intolerant of another group of Muslims, we all suffer on the whole. Worst of all, the image of the Deen suffers.
This week when certain people maliciously gossiped and wrongfully judged Ustadh Nouman, they were essentially projecting their own immoral and religious depravities on to him. Then they proceeded to bask in their own glory about how 'they knew he was corrupt all along, which is why they never liked listening to him.' They salivated over the outrageous and ambiguous allegations made against him as they warned each other against holding any spiritual leader on a high pedestal.
They manipulated small, innocent details of Ustadh Norman's personal life into a scandalous story, then invited people to come and revel over it on Facebook. But their scandal did not sell. There was no dirt to be dredged out. There was no darkness to shine the light of justice. Nothing to apologize for. The haters had no evidence, just a lot of envy. They wanted to break him and by that extent, a very effective Qur'anic movement.
We live in a finger-pointing world. It has become very easy to punish someone online - pour out every single speck of their existence, then magnify their small missteps into capital crimes. For this reason it is vital that we protect our Qur'an teachers from being falsely vilified so that the work of Deen is not ruined. The Deen cannot be taught and practiced in a corrosive environment.
To the people who took to Facebook and slandered Ustadh Nouman, you are not amateur detectives, please stop playing 'Law and Order' in the comments section. Islamic teachers are not inherently evil, stop looking for clues that will destroy their lives' work. If you disagree or disapprove of their scholarship, find yourself another mentor. Don't make up accusations and rip their reputation to shreds. If we are serious about wanting to improve the world, treat everyone, even the people you don't know or don't like, with respect.
To the people who claim to be victims of an Islamic teacher, please go to the police. Don't become a schoolyard bully by asking your family and friends to gang up against the preacher online. You deserve restoration and justice which only Allah and the police can provide. Publicizing the scandal will not heal your personal tragedy.
To the scholarly colleagues of Ustadh Nouman and aspiring scholar(s) who benefit from his work, why didn't you say, مَّا لَيْسَ لَكُم بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَتَحْسَبُونَهُ هَيِّنًا وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ It is not right for us to speak of this, Glory be to You (o Allah), this is a great lie (scandal). A scandal is greatly offensive to Allah وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ After the incident of Ifk, Allah warned us against making a scandal public, if we are truly believers يَعِظُكُمُ اللَّهُ أَن تَعُودُوا لِمِثْلِهِ أَبَدًا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ. (Qur'an, 24:15-16) Lest tomorrow, God forbid, someone photoshops pictures of you and turns you into a predator, then we can call a spade a spade and a scandal a scandal.
To the average bystanders, please do not join the mob. Public outrage and defamation is more exhilarating than compassion but it does not bring any good. It makes you a liar and a hypocrite for instigating unfounded libel. Pause before you fire and stand in the shoes of the Muslim lecturer you are writing off.
There are several examples in the Islamic history of the righteous being accused of wrongs they did not commit: Shaykh Nasir udDeen Albani, Imaam Bukhari,
Yusuf (a.s): As a servant, he was accused of attempted indecent with the wife of his master.
Aisha (r.a): She was accused of having relations with a man who brought her back to Madina when she was lost in the desert wilderness.
If you are familiar with these stories, you know that Allah tested them and then worked out their situations for the good. Allah does not ask us to take other people' track records in our own hands. Our job is to fix and improve our own Deen. We don't have any personal responsibility over the shortcomings of others.
I pray that we love the glorious Quran and its teachers, and not be consumed with envy or enslaved to our suspicions and jealousies. Instead may generosity and good will enlarge our hearts to be happy when other Muslims learn/teach/practice the Deen in any capacity.
We live in a finger-pointing world. It has become very easy to punish someone online - pour out every single speck of their existence, then magnify their small missteps into capital crimes. For this reason it is vital that we protect our Qur'an teachers from being falsely vilified so that the work of Deen is not ruined. The Deen cannot be taught and practiced in a corrosive environment.
To the people who took to Facebook and slandered Ustadh Nouman, you are not amateur detectives, please stop playing 'Law and Order' in the comments section. Islamic teachers are not inherently evil, stop looking for clues that will destroy their lives' work. If you disagree or disapprove of their scholarship, find yourself another mentor. Don't make up accusations and rip their reputation to shreds. If we are serious about wanting to improve the world, treat everyone, even the people you don't know or don't like, with respect.
To the people who claim to be victims of an Islamic teacher, please go to the police. Don't become a schoolyard bully by asking your family and friends to gang up against the preacher online. You deserve restoration and justice which only Allah and the police can provide. Publicizing the scandal will not heal your personal tragedy.
To the scholarly colleagues of Ustadh Nouman and aspiring scholar(s) who benefit from his work, why didn't you say, مَّا لَيْسَ لَكُم بِهِ عِلْمٌ وَتَحْسَبُونَهُ هَيِّنًا وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ It is not right for us to speak of this, Glory be to You (o Allah), this is a great lie (scandal). A scandal is greatly offensive to Allah وَهُوَ عِندَ اللَّهِ عَظِيمٌ After the incident of Ifk, Allah warned us against making a scandal public, if we are truly believers يَعِظُكُمُ اللَّهُ أَن تَعُودُوا لِمِثْلِهِ أَبَدًا إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ. (Qur'an, 24:15-16) Lest tomorrow, God forbid, someone photoshops pictures of you and turns you into a predator, then we can call a spade a spade and a scandal a scandal.
To the average bystanders, please do not join the mob. Public outrage and defamation is more exhilarating than compassion but it does not bring any good. It makes you a liar and a hypocrite for instigating unfounded libel. Pause before you fire and stand in the shoes of the Muslim lecturer you are writing off.
There are several examples in the Islamic history of the righteous being accused of wrongs they did not commit: Shaykh Nasir udDeen Albani, Imaam Bukhari,
Yusuf (a.s): As a servant, he was accused of attempted indecent with the wife of his master.
Aisha (r.a): She was accused of having relations with a man who brought her back to Madina when she was lost in the desert wilderness.
If you are familiar with these stories, you know that Allah tested them and then worked out their situations for the good. Allah does not ask us to take other people' track records in our own hands. Our job is to fix and improve our own Deen. We don't have any personal responsibility over the shortcomings of others.
I pray that we love the glorious Quran and its teachers, and not be consumed with envy or enslaved to our suspicions and jealousies. Instead may generosity and good will enlarge our hearts to be happy when other Muslims learn/teach/practice the Deen in any capacity.
