#ParisAttacks – A Letter To My Brothers & Sisters

My dear brothers and sisters, we live in trying times and are witnessing days of hardship as frequent as we see our families – May Allāh protect us! Āmīn. What follows are a few words of caution for you to consider.

In Islam life is sacred and murder will always be condemned, irrespective of time and place. We stand in solidarity with the families, friends and loved ones of every innocent soul that has been killed in Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Burma, CAR, Sri Lanka, France, Britain and every place on the planet. Our Lord says in the Qur’ān:

‘Whoever kills an innocent person – it is as though he has killed all of humanity’[1]

A comment by someone in reference to the disaster in Paris or any other disaster should not be interpreted as the speaker or writer being oblivious or insensitive of the atrocities that are committed in other lands. THIS does not necessitate THAT, and doubting the intentions of others is not praiseworthy in the Sharīʿah.

Also read: #ParisAttack – Don’t Let The War Profiteers Win

I know there is a lot of emotion floating around and Muslims are constantly being battered and targeted without justice; this does not help these emotions settle; I relate to that. All I am saying is that we need to be a little more mature and wise and never forget that there is always a bigger picture that transcends the realm of the ‘self’. Everything we say and do has a cost and a consequence.

Never allow these crippling emotions to cause any form of hallucination when listening to the statements of certain Muslim commentators or when reading their writings. ‘Hallucination’ is not a typo here my dear brothers and sisters. How many times have we seen a commentator vilified for what he has or has not said?

Sometimes we become flustered over nothing as we doubt the sincerity of a commentator, or we ignore the pertinence of a current message for our fixation over entirely separate and irrelevant issues. We should not be involved in creating a situation whereby a writer/speaker has to apologise for our very own misunderstanding. We should not nit-pick and cause ourselves and others to behave in a counter-productive way that causes us to miss the entire point of the statement or writing.

Yes constructive criticism is a must and yes; there are some commentators out there who do not carry any messages deserving of any praise! But at least understand well what you hear and read first, and then carefully choose your next move. May Allāh assist us with this, Āmīn.

Another necessary point to consider is that wrong will always be wrong. We should be happy only with that which pleases Allāh and sad with whatever displeases Him, the Almighty. The argument that ‘they oppress us and deserve what they get’ is flawed and has no roots within our faith.

We must never judge right and wrong based on the actions of others. Let me be clear, you cannot rejoice in someone’s innocent family being harmed because that very person harmed your innocent family. Yes, what that person did is oppressive and he must face the consequences before the law! However, his innocent family did not deserve what happened to them. This is a basic fact of life and common sense and also a fundamental teaching of the Sharīʿah.

Never allow other people to walk in your head with their dirty feet; never allow others to dictate your Islamic values. Instead, ask yourself: what would the messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) do in this circumstance? Whilst you are asking, do not forget to visit the reputable scholars of your vicinity and enlighten yourself with regards to your question.

Remember my dear brother and sister that we are allowed to feel emotions; but ultimately we are governed by dalīl (evidence) and not desire.

We have to be an Ummah of the present reality. In fact we always have been the ummah of here and now. Somehow we have become insular communities, indifferent to the greater picture, and this has led us to become isolated. This, along with other things, has allowed extreme groups to portray a wrong picture and create incorrect paradigms and, as a consequence, allowed some in the media to go on a campaign creating the well-known ghost called Islamophobia. We are the ambassadors of Islām, but sadly, the true Islām has been kept a secret by us due to our refusal to engage the sensitivities of our age in the past. We just never felt the burning need to engage others and make them experience Islām. As Muslims, we are commanded to give Daʿwah.

“Invite to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islām) with wisdom and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.”[2]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) taught us the virtue of sharing true knowledge, as he said:

“Whoever guides (another) to a good deed will get a reward similar to the one who performs it.”[3]

Also,

“By Allah, if Allāh were to guide one man through you it would be better for you than the best type of camels.”[4]

Much has improved now, alḥamdulillāh, and we ask Allāh to shower upon us progress, Āmīn.

Every one of us reading this must ask ourselves about the world we would love our children to live in. We must ask ourselves about the answers we will present on the Day of Judgement regarding our representation of Islām, because we were made flag-bearers of this true and rich religion.

We must also consider that it is no longer about the ideal versus that which is not ideal. The reality on the ground is that sometimes that which is not ideal is actually the best course of action given the circumstances.

We need to become relevant and we need to act wisely. We just do not live in that utopian globe that is planted deep in our minds. Indeed, as the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“Wisdom is the lost property of a believer! He/She is the most rightful owner of it wherever it is found.”

Let us become wiser and engage our communities wisely my dear brothers and sisters.

Duʿā’ is the minimum we can do. Please note the term ‘minimum’. We must make duʿā’ and we must ensure that we are using other ‘means’ available to us to ensure progress. We are all part of the solution and need to come together and do more. We need to stop reading each other with double meanings. We need to stop doubting each other’s sincerity and we need to stop losing focus of the real issues that require our time and attention. Let us not become another tool for the devil – May Allāh Almighty protect us all.

May Allāh unite the ummah of Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and correct our affairs. May Allāh Almighty inspire us to aspire and make us the seeds of change and the means of a better tomorrow.

May Allāh shower upon us security, safety and protection and guide the Muslims in their belief and guide those not upon Islām towards correct belief, Āmīn.

This message is from your brother from the heart. It is not a message which generalises and aims at being offensive. Indeed my brothers and sisters are amazing human beings. This message is a reminder to myself first. It is also a reminder to others who know, and a lesson for those who do not.

In Allāh Almighty do we place all trust, and Allāh Almighty knows best.

Your brother,
Sajid Umar

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Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Al-Qur’ān, 5:32

[2] Al-Qur’ān, 16:125

[3] Sahih Muslim

[4] Bukhari, Muslim