Faith in difficult times

When we look at today's headlines in the newspapers and magazines,
or perhaps hear a brief news report on the radio or television, or
read the latest news updates on the internet, it is quite easy for
a person who does not have the Qur'anic perspective and thus fails
to consider that there is good in everything that Allah creates to
be overwhelmed with a feeling of the darkest foreboding.
Unemployment is on the increase in many of the world's largest
economies; financial markets are unable to shake off their doldrums
for very long; the twin scourges of homelessness and hunger are on
the rise. It seems to many that the days of limitless economic
growth and the boundless wealth associated with it are coming
perilously close to a shattering end. People are now feeling great
anxiety about not only their own but their children's futures;
recently, in London, England rampaging mobs of looters took to the
streets to express themselves through wanton theft and lawlessness.
All around us, it seems that the machinery of civilization is coming
to a halt. We see signs of increasing immorality, of a hardening of
attitudes in the hearts of men throughout the world, of the
abandonment of the most helpless amongst us by not only their
respective governments, but seemingly by their fellow men as well.
At difficult times like this, it is of the most vital importance for
the believers to never forget that all these manifestations are not
cause for us to resign ourselves to feelings of nihilism. We must
always remember that it is our Lord, Almighty Allah, Who is in
supreme control of all affairs, and all things happen through His
All-powerful Will. Indeed, the life of this world is but a place of
testing for the true life to come, the Hereafter.
One of the reasons so many people feel despair and hopelessness in
their lives is that they have fallen prey to one of satan's
greatest traps; they have put their faith, not in Allah, but in the
transitory treasures of this world. They have replaced faith in our
Lord with faith in the New York Stock Exchange. They long not to
read the Word of Almighty Allah, the Qur'an, but instead their
quarterly dividend statement. They wish to hear only the honeyed
words of their financial advisor, and pay no heed to the call to
prayer. They turn for help to economists, financial pundits and
investment bankers, oblivious to the only One Who can grant them
assistance, Allah, the Creator and Owner of all things. As a result,
their lives are an unending quest for ever-greater riches in the
life of this world, all the while forgetting the eternal life to
come. When events no longer proceed in the manner in which they
foolishly assumed would continue for the rest of their lives, their
hearts are seized with disillusionment, despondence, fear, and
anger.
All too many people today have fallen into this snare set for them
by satan; they have succumbed to his infernal whisperings. They
live their lives in an egocentric manner, obsessed with the
accumulation of riches and the acquisition of "the finer things in
life." They care not for their fellow men; they turn away when they
see a homeless man or woman begging in the streets. They avert their
gaze and walk by as though these needy people did not exist, and do
not even give them a kind word if perhaps they haven't the money to
spare them. In the worst cases, they privately (or even publicly)
castigate these indigent people and wish them ill. These people
have truly fallen into the lowest levels of moral degeneracy.
However, it is incumbent upon us as believers to profess our great
devotion and deep faith in Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, He upon
Whom all things depend, and for us to give our constant praise and
thanks to our Lord for all the innumerable blessings which He has
chosen to bestow upon us through His endless munificence. In times
of difficulty, it is of course natural for us to turn to Allah for
help in removing our afflictions; but we must also never forget to
turn to Allah in heartfelt thanks in times of plenitude and show
Him our deeply felt gratitude for the boundless blessings He has
granted us. In these volatile times, we must also humbly implore
Almighty Allah to give us the strength we need so that we may remain
steadfast and continue on His path, and to seek refuge in Allah
from the ".......whisperer who withdraws, who whispers into the
hearts of men among jinn and men." (Surat an-Nas, 4-6).
Let us briefly reflect on what faith means to us as Muslims. The
vast majority of Islamic scholars teach that faith is far more than
simply a mental agreement with certain facts or mechanical adherence
to a particular set of rules, but rather it is a believer's
dedication to the Will of Allah and the recognition of His
Sovereignty; this has profound implications for the believers'
behavior in their families, in society at large, and in the State as
well. Certainly, Islam is more than just a mere external membership
in a particular creed, or a simple theoretical agreement with
certain sets of principles. For the believers, faith is something
that is felt with every fiber of our being; it is what guides our
actions, our speech, our behavior towards others and how we
interact, not only with other believers, but also how we interact
with everyone else in the world. As believers in our Lord, and as
His servants and the followers of His eternal commandments, it is
our faith that guides us at every moment of our lives until the very
last breath we draw in the life of this world. Therefore, we must
always strive to deepen and strengthen our faith, as doing so not
only stands us in good stead in the Hereafter through earning the
good pleasure of Allah, but also serves us well in this world for the
very same reason. It is faith that not only sustains us in times of
hardship, but it is faith that allows us to appreciate the times of
plenty all the more, as we give thanks to our Lord for His provision
which He, in His infinite benevolence, has bestowed upon us so that
we may use it in His way. Likewise, in times of hardship, it is our
faith which informs us that our current difficulties are but the
means by which Almighty Allah tests us in the life of this world,
and we should use such opportunities as a means of broadening our
religious convictions and fortifying ourselves spiritually. In this
way, we are able to draw ourselves closer to Him.
Additionally, it is also important for us as believers to remind
ourselves in times of difficulty the lessons we may learn from the
glorious examples of the Prophets of Allah, all of whom faced
enormous difficulties on His way. We need only think of the example
of our Prophet (saas), who faced slanders, lies, threats of
physical harm against him, and expulsion from his home. Yet through
all these tribulations, our beloved Prophet (saas) remained wholly
steadfast in his faith in our Lord, and his profound faith was
rewarded by Almighty Allah, not only in this world but in the
Hereafter as well. We may reflect upon the Prophet Moses (pbuh) who
faced difficulties in Allah's path chiefly through the machinations
of that most arrogant of men, Pharoah, a disbeliever whose
arrogance led him so far as to consider himself a living god, and to
compel his subjects to worship him (surely Allah is beyond that). We
should ponder upon Prophet Abraham (pbuh), who faced the threat of
death not only from his own people but from his own father, when he
reproached them for their persistent worship of false gods. Let us
contemplate Prophet Noah (pbuh) who was mocked by his people
although he persistently appealed to them to repent of their
mistaken ways and to worship Almighty Allah alone. And let us not
forget the example of the Prophet Lot (pbuh) a righteous man and
devoted servant of Allah who stood against the perverse and defiant
wickedness of the people of his city. All these Prophets were
despised by their respective peoples when the Prophets made every
effort to turn their respective peoples away from the Wrath of
Allah, and to set them on the path to the True Religion. Indeed, no
matter the difficulties we may face in our everyday lives, they
surely pale in comparison to the enormities encountered by the
Prophets in their heartfelt attempts to turn their fellow men on to
the path of our Lord.
As we observe the lives of those who disbelieve, we can see how far
they have fallen away. Quite recently, on the website of the
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela , there appeared an article
describing how young women in the United States are resorting to a
form of prostitution in order to pay for their higher education.
The details of this sstory suffice to illustrate the depths to
which someone will sink when one has no sense of morality and
concerns s him or herself chiefly with financial matters.
Even an excerpt from the story shows that all too many students are
all too willing to sell their bodies for the sake of simply paying
their debts. It goes without saying, of course, that this immoral
and squalid behavior is in flagrant contradiction to the laws of
Allah, who commands as follows in the Qur'an; "And go not nigh to
fornication; surely it is an indecency and an evil way." (Surat
al-Isra', 32)
The lives of the disbelievers are further made insufferable through
drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and violence; however there is no need
to dwell further upon these ills prevalent in societies far removed
from the principles of the True Religion . When we examine in
detail the root underlying cause for these nightmarish social ills,
we find one common denominator; the materialist philosophy.
In brief, materialism, the philosophy of the dajjal, has been with us
for a very long time. It has been noted in surviving historic texts
dating back to the Axial Age (cca. 800-200 BC). It emerged to the
fore during the time of the European Enlightenment (the 18 th
Century), and achieved its highest theoretical exposition under the
founder of Communism, Karl Marx. This godless philosophy states
that the only thing that truly exists is matter; simply put, matter
is the only substance with any reality (surely Allah, the Creator
of not only matter but all things, is beyond that). Materialism
went on to spawn Darwinism (the theory of evolution), Communism,
Fascism, National Socialism and has led to an unending series of
wars of conquest, economic and physical exploitation, the
wholesale slaughter of innocent men, women and children who
committed no offense against their heartless executioners and
every manner of human misery. Materialism, and Darwinism in
particular, hold that man is nothing more than a common animal,
engaged in a never-ending struggle to survive even at the expense of
his own kind, and this core philosophy has provided the underlying
rationale for every nightmare the world has beheld since it was
unleashed upon the minds of men by the eternal enemy, Iblis (satan)
the loathsome jinn expelled from Paradise due to his willful
disobedience and arrogance.
When we take a moment to see the lives of those without faith, it is
materialism that forms the basis of their erroneous thinking, and
has distorted their hearts and souls and turned them from the love
of Almighty Allah. Not only are these wretched people doomed to an
eternity of punishment in the fires of Hell (unless they turn in
sincere repentance towards our Lord and implore Him for His
forgiveness), but are equally doomed to an abominable existence in
this life as well. It is easily observable that the lives of
disbelievers are filled with loneliness, emptiness, hopelessness,
despair, and feelings of abasement and self-loathing. They seek
escape through narcotics, strong drink, violence, and by the
pursuit of the most debased forms of depraved sensuality and
mindless hedonism. These rotten fruits of the materialist philosophy
are the harvest of horrors we see every day in the mass media;
stories of murder, rape, and brigandage; parents, children and
siblings ruthlessly turning against one another and throwing aside
the bonds of familial love in unthinkable acts of betrayal;
civilized lands such as Norway and England in shock and mourning
because of individuals who think nothing of perpetrating the
mass-murder of innocents, or in looting and maliciously destroying
the property of their fellow men. When a person regards another
person as a mere animal to be used for achieving one's ends, these
kinds of dreadful events are the natural and inevitable
consequence.
O brother and sisters in Islam! We must not let us ourselves become
disheartened or discouraged by the deplorable conditions we see
around us in this world; we must always remember that the true life
is the life to come in the Hereafter. However, we must not neglect
our duties to our Lord in the life of this world, either.
As believers, we know that we will stand before our Almighty Lord
on the Day of Judgment, and will be given a full accounting of what
we did, and did not do, as His humble and faithful servants.
Therefore, who amongst us wishes to stand before Almighty Allah
knowing in the depths of his heart that he did not do enough?
In this blessed season of Ramadan, we fast as we were commanded to
by our Lord. We are thus reminded of what it is to not have enough
to eat or drink, of what it is to be amongst the poorest and most
vulnerable. And though we break our fast at the setting of the sun,
we must remember that for far too many in this world, destitution
never ends except with their deaths.
We must always remember that it is also our duty to help our fellow
men. Part of this responsibility is to not only help our fellow
Muslims stay on the true path of Allah, but to reach out to others,
especially in these trying times when so many have gone astray. We
cannot allow ourselves to look upon others, particularly
disbelievers, with hatred and contempt; when we feel hatred and
contempt, we invariably dehumanize our fellow man and thereby fall
into the materialist trap laid for us by satan, who forever seeks to
turn peoples against one another.
We must also bear in mind that regardless of our theological
differences, it is the People of the Book with whom we share a
common history and lineage; though they are in error, they are
nonetheless our natural allies in the struggle against the
pernicious philosophy of the dajjal, and we must not allow
ourselves to be ensnared by the retreating whisperer who seeks to
inflame the dark passions of man and cloud his reason in order to
cause enmity and hatred; it is through causing such malefic
emotions to emerge in the hearts of men that the eternal enemy
advances his evil agenda. Let us, as Muslims, live by the command
of Allah when He says in the Qur'an, "Say; O People of the Book!
Come to common terms as between us and you; that we worship none but
Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we establish
not from amongst ourselves lords and patrons other than Allah."
(Surah Al 'Imram, 64). Let us look at the Christians and the Jews
as our cousins, not our adversaries; we have but one adversary,
satan, and on that particular matter of theology, there is
absolutely no point of dispute whatsoever.
In regard to the disbelievers, we must reach out to them with
compassion and love. Not all the disbelievers will necessarily heed
the call of Allah, but there are those amongst them who are
desperately and genuinely searching for a way out of their
unspeakable condition. It is incumbent upon us, as devoted servants
of Allah, to extend to them not a clenched fist and threatening
shouts, but rather, a hand opened to them in a gesture of love and
kind words. While we as Muslims must, at all times, enjoin the good
and forbid that which is evil, we must also endeavor to serve as
examples of the love that Allah commands us to show, and which was
so magnificently illustrated by our Prophet (saas) and his
companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who never once ceased
inviting the disbelievers to the path of Allah; they did so not for
the sake of their own prestige or to satisfy their own egos, but
because their hearts were overflowing with the all-consuming love
which their faith in our Lord gave them. And while we may invite, we
must never compel; as it says clearly in the Qur'an, "Let there be
no compulsion in religion. Truth has been made clear from error.
Whoever rejects false worship and believes in Allah has grasped the
most trustworthy handhold that never breaks." (Surat al-Baqara,
256)
The difficulties we face and overcome (by His leave) in order to
earn the good pleasure of Allah and our deep faith and endless
devotion to Him and His commandments will allow us (insha'Allah) to
be amongst those of whom it is revealed in the Qur'an; "Some faces,
that Day, will be radiant (in brightness and beauty), looking
towards their Lord..." (Surat al-Qiyamat, 22-23). Therefore, in
these turbulent times, let us not yield to melancholy, but rather
let us discover the happiness in our love and abiding trust in
Almighty Allah, and His love for us, and let these times serve to
deepen our faith in our Lord, The Ever Merciful and Endlessly
Compassionate.