Our brothers and sisters amongst the Muslims of old used to carry a precious belonging with them, protecting and safeguarding it to the best of their ability, ever fearful that someone might try to harm it. Their homes were filled with it. They would be seen carrying it into the places of worship, bringing it to work, and displaying it in the streets. When they interacted with each other they would be fully conscious of it. If this belonging of theirs was hurt in any way, then they would truly feel pain and sorrow. Such a precious belonging bestowed upon a blessed nation, a possession by the name of honor.
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger said, ‘All things of a Muslim are inviolable for his brother in faith; his blood, his wealth and his honor.’ (saheeh of muslim)
Abu Barzah said, ‘Verily Allah has made you self sufficient or honored you with Islam and Muhammad.’ (saheeh of bukhaari)
The companions sought honor ‘with Islam’ and Allah adorned them with honor ‘through Islam.’ Seeking honor through lineage, tribal affiliation, color of skin, language of origin, wealth, copying the ways of the disbelievers were all shunned and looked down upon as aspects of the days gone by when ignorance was prevailing. Honor came with having Taqwa of Allah by adhering to The Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Messenger. Honor would not be sought by anything other than Islam. Truly that was a time with all its strength and glory when the sun was scorching with firmness at its zenith; a time when the Muslims were known for their honor.
Today, we are living in a time of humiliation with the honor of the Muslims ever being violated. Amongst this Ummah there are those who are violating their own honor, others are having their honor violated by fellow Muslims, and yet others through the hands of Non-Muslims. The Ummah as a whole is bearing the brunt of this widespread humiliation with the more knowledgeable ones fleeing from the Fitan in search of places of refuge. There is much talk about the reasons for this humiliation, with some pointing fingers at Muslim organizations and sects, others blaming Muslim governments and others implicating Non-Muslim nations as the cause for all our problems. Fiery sermons full of emotions are being delivered to the vulnerable masses and the hearts of the people are being affected. Minds are being manipulated through the presentation of isolated texts from the Quran and Ahaadeeh to the exclusion of others which when combined together and used as one point of reference collectively do nothing but bring guidance, clarity and a solution to our problems. With the numerous methods of reform ever failing, the Fitan are increasing leaving us with a growing environment of humiliation and religious decay. This is our today.
However Allah has bestowed knowledge to this Ummah and has not left us in darkness. Peace, honor, goodness and justice comes with following the Book of Allah and the Sunna of Muhammad. The reasons for our problems and their solutions can also be found in the Quran and Sunna. Numerous reform seeking organizations and movements are attributing our humiliation to fighting between the different sects of this Ummah, emergence of corrupt Muslim governments and oppressive Non Muslim nations. Although the Fitnah and Fasaad are increasing due to these reasons, this is not the cause of our humiliation. Let us return to the evidences found in the Book of Allah and Sunna of Muhammad and shed light on the ‘cause’ of our lost honor, teasing it out from the numerous observed ‘effects’ we see today.
Fighting amongst Muslim Sects: Not the cause of our humiliation, merely an Effect
Say, He is able to send upon you torment from above you or beneath your feet or cover you with confusion in sectarianism, and make you taste the violence of one another. (Quran 6:65)
Thauban narrated that Allah’s Messenger said that Allah said, ‘O Muhammad! When I ordain something then verily it is not reversed. I will not destroy your people by a common disaster, and I will not send an enemy from outside to wipe them out, even if all the surrounding nations are gathered against them. But Muslims will fight each other and take one another prisoner.’ (saheeh of muslim)
The Ummah has split, sects have emerged, and fighting between them is rampant, with some even killing others. This is a disaster, a humiliation and a great evil. But this is not the cause of our humiliation. This is merely an effect and a form of humiliation. In the above verse Ar Rahmaan, Whose Mercy encompasses His entire creation, mentions some of His punishments that He inflicts on whomsoever He wills. These torments may come from above such as tornadoes and hurricanes or they may come from below such as earthquakes. They may also come from within the Ummah by splitting, dividing and fighting amongst different sects. So the fighting amongst the sects is nothing but a punishment from Allah just like tornadoes and earthquakes are torments from Him. Something very grave has occurred within the Ummah of Muhammad in order for Allah to send torment and humiliation as justice and revenge from Him. We do not seek after the effect; we seek after the cause which has led to this effect. In the above verse Allah informs us that He makes us taste the violence of one another only after the people themselves have differed and divided. So the cause is the people themselves. They are the ones who disputed, differed, divided and split. And as a result Allah sent confusion amongst them and allowed them to fight each other. Had the people held fast to the Sunna and referred their disputes to The Book of Allah and the Sunna of Muhammad, how could they possibly split? The people themselves chose to abandon the Sunna, split from the Jamaa’ah, leave the Sabeel Al Mu’minoon, and release their grips from the rope of Allah. Yet the Ummah expects unity and peace. Ajeeb!
Emergence of corrupt Muslim leaders: Not the cause of our humiliation, merely an Effect
Abdullah bin Umar narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘If people should begin to cheat in weighing out goods, you should realize that this has never happened without a drought and famine befalling the people and their rulers oppressing them…(sunan of ibn maajah; declared hasan by albaani)
The Khilaafat has gone, numerous Muslim rulers have emerged, and the differing and dividing continues between them. They have allowed mischief to spread within the lands and caused oppression, upsetting the Mezaan and betraying the Amaanah. As a result we have waves of Fitnah upon Fitnah together with Fasaad. However this is not the cause of our humiliation. This is merely an effect and a form of humiliation. In the above hadeeth our Prophet makes an extremely important point which is greatly overlooked. He links the act of cheating in weighing out goods with the emergence of drought, famine and oppressive rulers. Just like drought and famine are punishments from Allah so is the establishment of oppressive rule. So something has happened within the Ummah of Muhammad in order for Allah’s punishment to descend in the form of corrupt rulers. Again, we do not seek after the effect; we seek the cause which has led to this effect. Never would Allah allow the righteous masses to be ruled by corrupt rulers unless the masses themselves became corrupt such as by cheating in sales and trade which is rampant today. Such an evil act would only occur if the people lose their Taqwa of Allah and chase the life of this world, preferring the fleeting Aajillah to the eternal Aakhirah.
Hudhayfah narrated that the messenger of Allah said, ‘By He in Whose Hand my soul is, you will enjoin Ma’roof and forbid Munkar, or else Allah will send a punishment upon you from him, (musnaad of ahmad)
Hudhayfah said, ‘Surely you will enjoin Ma’roof, forbid Munkar, and encourage each other to do good, or Allah will surround you with torment, or make the wicked amongst you become your leaders.’ (musnaad of ahmad)
Furthermore when the people begin to abandon enjoining the good and forbidding the evil, then Allah will punish them by placing corrupt rulers over them. The people should not expect the enjoining of good and forbiddance of evil by their ruler when they themselves are not engaged in this activity. Again we have cause-effect. The cause is not the corrupt rulers, they are merely an effect. The cause comes from the individuals amongst the Ummah themselves. So today numerous Muslim parents, employers and Imaams are neglecting the enjoining of good and forbiddance of evil, while they have ‘the capacity’ to enforce it within their ‘domain,’ such as the house, the place of work or houses of worship respectively. Yet the Ummah expects righteous leaders and peace. Ajeeb!
Invasion of Muslim lands by Non-Muslim Nations: Not the cause of our humiliation, merely an Effect
Thauban narrated that Allah’s Messenger said that Allah said, ‘O Muhammad! When I ordain something then verily it is not reversed. I will not destroy your people by a common disaster, and I will not send an enemy from outside to wipe them out, even if all the surrounding nations are gathered against them. But Muslims will fight each other and take one another prisoner.’ (saheeh of muslim)
Thaubaan narrated that the Messenger of Allah said, ‘Soon the nations will call one another to attack you, as diners call one another to the platter.’ Someone asked, ‘Will that be because we will be few in number in those days?’ He replied, ‘No, in those days you will be many but you will be like foam, like foam in the sea. Allah will remove fear and respect from the hearts of your enemies and He will fill your hearts with Wahn.’ Someone inquired, ‘O Messenger of Allah, what is Wahn?’ He said, ‘Love of this world and hatred for death.’ (sunan of abu dawood; declared saheeh by albaani)
The hadeeth of Thauban in the saheeh of Muslim is better studied along with the hadeeth of Thauban in the sunan of Abu Dawood. When we study the two hadeeth together the situation becomes clear. Firstly, Allah will never permit the disbelievers to wipe out the Muslims. This will never happen. Islam is not something which can be destroyed by those who disbelieve. However Allah can send the disbelievers sporadically to invade our lands and take our resources as a punishment from Him. These points need to be understood and the above ahaadeeth should suffice us. So the invasion and corruption caused by non Muslim nations is a punishment from Allah and one of the effects of our humiliation but it is not the cause. Never will it be the cause. In the hadeeth of Al Wahn our Prophet mentions how his Ummah will be like foam in the sea. The people will be large in quantity but worthless in quality. As a result Allah will fill the hearts of the people with Wahn and thereafter the non Muslim nations will invade and steal our resources with no fear in their hearts. This hadeeth has come to life in our time with the quality of the Ummah ever fading and widespread invasions within Muslim lands ever mounting. Again we seek after the cause, and again the cause rests on the shoulders of the Muslims within the Ummah who will be like ‘foam in the sea,’ chasing the worldly pleasures and fearing death. Only after the Muslims chase the dunya will those who live for the dunya steal their resources as a befitting punishment from Allah. How many Muslims we see today who are chasing after the dunya at the expense of their religion, ever abandoning their religious commitments and covenants! Yet the Ummah expects Allah to keep the disbelievers out of our lands. Ajeeb!
So let those who oppose his commandment beware lest a Fitnah should befall them or a painful torment should befall them. (Quran 24:63)
In all summation, the root cause for all our problems is beautifully summarized in the above verse. Although fighting amongst the sects, establishment of the corrupt leaders and invasion by disbelievers are grave evils that lead to further Fitnah and Fasaad, they are not the cause of our humiliation. All our problems together with the humiliation which has plagued us and the honor which has been lost is nothing but a direct result of abandoning the religion of Allah as found in the Quran and Sunna. The people chose to abandon the teachings wilfully, individuals along with individuals, masses upon masses, generations after generations. The term was prolonged for them and their hearts became hardened to the point that The Speech of Allah no longer moved them, with Taqwa, Khowf, Rahbah, and Khashya ever diminishing. The guidance of Muhammad no longer appealed to them despite emotional displays of love. The world appeared sweet and a pleasurable place of abode while the eternal life amidst gardens beneath which rivers flow became a fading reality. O Ummah of Muhammad! You are the cause of your own humiliation. What has deluded you from the promise of your Lord? What has distracted you from seeking His pleasure and avoiding His Wrath? Do not point fingers and engage yourselves in trying to solve the numerous effects of your actions. Align yourselves with the Haq, return to your religion and humiliation will be uplifted bringing a return to your glorious lost honor. No doubt, this is a time for staying away from the numerous sects; a time for escaping the trials and tribulations; a time for giving the rulers their rights and asking Allah for ours. But at the same time it is a time for our own personal cleansing and rectification; a time for seeking and acting upon knowledge; a time when spouses should be close and supportive of their religious affairs; a time when the religious education of the children should not be neglected. It is a time for cleansing ourselves and reaching out to fellow Muslims desiring a return to our lost honor through implementation of the Quran and Sunna. Has the time not approached when every one us should desire nothing but Islam?
O Allah! Forgive us. Restore our honor and lift our humiliation by guiding us back to the straight path. O Allah! Fill our hearts with desire for seeking honor through Islam. Join us with those who would never seek honor by anything other than Islam. Blessed be thy Name, Exalted be thy Majesty. O Allah! Forgive us.
By Kamillah Khan