Name of Questioner: Muhannad - United States
Title: Earning Allah's Help
Date: 27/Apr/2003
Question:
As-salaamu ‘alaikum dear scholars.
It is amazing to see that the current events that we read about in the newspaper everyday are fulfilling the premonitions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is particularly true regarding the weakened status of the Arabs and the Muslims due to our distance from the commands of Allah, as the Prophet (pbuh) foretold.
A non-Muslim person whom I met online said to me, “Looks like Allah is sure taking care of Iraq and the Muslims there huh?” He is implying that if Allah is a true God, then why do we see all this disgrace in the Arab/Muslim world? I tried to explain to him that most Muslims nowadays are not really practicing Islam in all aspects of life or fully as it should be. I also told him that victory will never be attained unless certain conditions are fulfilled. Victory won't be granted to the Muslims until we stop viewing idle pursuits and frivolities as the purpose of our lives.
Can you please give me your opinion in details regarding the causes of the status of the Muslim world currently? What will happen next? Does this indicate the approach of the End Times? May Allah reward you for your help.
Topic: Virtues
Name of Counselor: Daud Matthews
Answer:
Salaam Muhannad.
Thank you for your question.
A word of caution to begin with: Only Allah knows the future. To speculate on the future is to take time away from concentrating on the present. Concentrating on the present would convince us that we, as Muslims, do not know our religion and neither do we practice it as we should.
Everywhere we look in the Muslim world we see the Muslims are split into many groups. Where is the Ummah (one Islamic nation)? Where is the brotherhood in Islam? Every Muslim is the brother or sister of all other Muslims, and thus what a Muslim wants for himself he also wants for his brothers and sisters. The Muslims form one body, such that when one part of that body falls sick, the pain and discomfort is felt by the whole body. We say it, but the reality is another matter.
Today, Muslims are fragmented and weak. Muslims are busy chasing material pursuits. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) told us that there will come a time when Muslims would be preoccupied with wahan. He was asked about the meaning of wahan, to which he replied that the Muslims will love the world and hate death, thus they will be easily defeated by their enemies. He was asked about their numbers, whether they would be many or few, to which he replied many, like the foam of the sea.
All around us, we see the Muslim world being secularized, exploited, and morally corrupted both from within and by exernal factors. We find ourselves gaining material benefits at the expense of the Allah’s commandments. Allah has told us that if we do not serve Him, He will replace us with other nations. Is this warning not coming to fruition before our very eyes today?
In response to the non-Muslim's comment directed at you online, it must be stated that the Muslims, as a single unit, are only "chosen" by Allah if they follow His Path. Simply because our IDs bear Muslim names does not merit Allah's divine succor, rather we must strive to earn it.
Furthermore, trials and tribulations do not necessarily imply a lack of Allah's love and help. In fact, Allah often tests the faith of His most beloved servants through hardship. Christian and Jewish history and lore is full of similar examples of such
faith-based trials.
What will happen next depends on what we do individually and collectively as Muslims - the solution is in our own hands. Do we turn to Allah, seek His forgiveness, and try to live Islam or not? Do we attempt to reconcile our deeds so that they might begin to merit Allah’s help and mercy?
Our responsibility is to Allah, but when will we assume that responsibility? Our need of the hour is to repent and to bring our lives into conformity with His perfect framework. If we do so, He alone will protect us, and He alone with aid us against any obstacle. If Allah is with us, what more could we possibly need?
Key to bringing our lives back into conformity with the dictates of Allah is reviving the effort of amr bil-ma’roof wa nahee ‘an al-munkaar, calling to the good and forbidding the evil. Muslims need to be reminded of Allah, His mandates, and the purpose of our existence. Allah says in Surah 51, verse 55:
*{And continue to remind, for surely the reminder profits the believers.}*
Allah specifically says that the reminder will benefit the believers, not just the non-believers. Often times, when we talk to one another about the basic Truths of the Qur’an and Islam, Muslims become defensive. We must use tact (hikma) in our approach, but we should never desist in our efforts though people we care for may try to dissuade us.
If we do not remind the Muslims of the reality of the situation, others will do it for us. As an article in The Guardian from April 4th painfully reminds us, “It could only happen with an American invasion. Poised behind the troops, waiting for a signal that Iraq is safe enough for them to operate in, are the evangelical Christians – carrying food in one hand and the Bible in the other.”
All such missionary groups, generously funded by American churchgoers, are likely to do a impressive job in offering water, food, medical help and comfort to a traumatized population. We, as Muslims, should be concerned that such material aid may spill over into the spiritual realm, as is likely the aim of the majority of the Christian groups.
However, our complaint should not be with the Christian relief agencies themselves, but rather with the denial of entry to Muslim relief agencies by the invading US forces. The recent barring of a highly-qualified group of Egyptian doctors at the Iraqi border highlights the barefaced nature of the invading army's hypocrisy. Afghanistan witnessed similar exploitative impediments.
We can only pray that our Iman (faith in Allah) and the Iman of the Iraqis will be strong enough to protect us all from the side-effects of the Christian (aid) missions. Such a tragedy underlines the importance of continuing the effort of da’wa around the world.
Looking at the events unfolding around us, we sense that surely the Last Hour is neigh. In fact, many scholars have said that all of the minor signs of the Hour have taken place and next will come the major signs. Nevertheless, we must ask ourselves: What have we prepared in terms of our Iman and good deeds?
To sit back passively and wait for the end-times scenario to play itself out is being defeatist. We must take action and realize that, from a da’wa perspective, Muslims can achieve a lot even amongst their conquerors just by showing Islam as a viable way of life.
This is precisely what happened with the Mongol invasion, such that within three generations, the Mongols were assimilated fully into Islam. Why aren’t we doing this today? We hear about citizenship and "nationalized" Muslims, why aren’t we, as Muslims, looking to assimilate our hosts into our way of life?
We as Muslims need to remind ourselves, our families, and our communities of the commandments of Allah, as based upon the Qur’an and Sunna. In this way, our relationship with Allah, the Controller and Sustainer of everything, will be strengthened and the Ummah once again revived.
If Muslims can once again prove that they have Iman, Allah will deliver His divine succor and relieve us of all oppression, no matter how hopeless the case seems. History has proved it.
Allah has told us in a hadith qudsi (a Tradition narrated by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that cites the words of Allah but is different than the Qur'an):
"Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of Mine, I shall be at war with him. My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have imposed upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it." (reported by Bukhari)
It is up to us to take the first step towards Allah, namely in the form of repentance coupled with rectification of ourselves and those around us. The Hour of Judgment is near, that much is clear; its advent can neither be delayed nor hastened. The more-practical question is how much prepared ourselves to face it triumphantly.
And Allah knows best. Thank you for your question, and please stay in touch.
