|
submit
articles |
|
The
Oneness of Allah and The Oneness of His Community Bismillah
ir Rahman ir Raheem, Bismillâh, Alhamdulillâh Qul
Hu-wallaahu 'Ahad, 'Allaahus-Samad Most
discussions about unity in Islam begin with Surah Ikhlas.
Here Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
summarizes the premise of Islam: that
God is One, and that He is only One—there are no partners, no family, no
son, no wife. Many
people have written and spoken on the Oneness of Allah (tawhid).
But today I would like to focus on the application of the reality
of Allah's (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
oneness in our day-to-day lives. What
must we strive for that will make clear the Truth of Unity?
How and why does Islam demand that we strive for unity within our
community, that we find common ground among all people through the worship
and service of Allah (Subh.aanahu wa tacalaa)
and His creatures? How
conscious are we of Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)?
And what are the results of forgetting Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)?
In the society we live in—both in the Islamic community, with all
its disparities, and in the larger community of non-Muslims, with its many
social ills—the reality of not remembering Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
is the reality of not having the right tool to meet the challenges we
face. Islam
Can Meet Today's Challenges At
the very beginning of Islam, the Prophet's (s.alla-llaahu
calayhi
wa sallam)
effort to form a community was based on baycat:
that is, on people taking his hand and making the shahada
(profession of faith). That
act superseded all tribal attachments and blood bonds.
It transformed a culture of warring tribes into a family of
believers—believers not only in a new religion, but in a way of life
that demanded cooperation and common understanding.
With
this new community identity, the Muslims began to conduct business fairly.
They ended the practice of killing newborn girls, and declared that
women were full human beings—not chattel, but sisters deserving rights
and respect. They gave up
alcohol, prostitution, gambling, and other vices.
Arabs, Africans, Persians, Malaysians
and people of other cultures and nationalities began to see each
other as one community. But
we also know that from the early days of Islam, the community of Muslims
was not fully unified. (Indeed,
a unified Muslim community has never come about except among certain
smaller groups of Muslims who have kept it alive.)
Our task today, in a globalized world, is to pick up the truth of
Islam and extend it through the mechanisms we have now: through the
technology; the knowledge; and the lessons learned from the horrors of
sectarianism, nationalism, and genocide that have been wrought not just in
one small part of the world by warring clans, but globally among races,
religions, and ethnic groups. We have to understand what Islam has to offer, and embrace
the mission to take the next step in transforming the world. We
stand at the threshold, addressing the topic of unity.
We have to affirm that it not only can happen, but must happen, as
a mandate. Consider
the issues of our society. In
the United States,
In
a society that is still tormented by racial strife—where 40 years ago, I
walked the streets of Montgomery, Selma, and Atlanta; where the reality of
commitment and non-violence became engraved in my mind (and at times on my
skull)—I still see the same
challenges. Today
mosques, synagogues, and black churches are firebombed.
Or, they are the targets of fanatics.
Or, they have fallen prey to leaders who exploit oppressed
peoples—who, in the name of religion or God, spread fear-dominated
prejudice and bigotry like viruses among us. We
know Islam can address these failings.
Islam can improve, Islam can enhance.
Islam can address each of our circumstances, cure peoples' inner
illnesses, and heal the ills of the community.
We know that the solutions to violence and crime begin in the home;
that Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
guides us to provide security and guidance to our children starting at the
breasts of their mothers; and that Islam makes clear the role of the
loving and responsible father, of brothers and sisters and the extended
family. We also know that
"family" in Islam includes the whole community.
Islam has its own, built-in social and economic "safety
net." Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
tells us in the Holy Qur'an: The
Prophet (s.alla-llaahu calayhi
wa sallam)
said: We
know that Islam has no use for idols, be they the stone and metal figures
of ancient Mecca, or the modern-day idols of money and possessions.
We know that Islam views men and women with mutual respect.
And we know that Islam commands us to say "no" not just
to alcohol, but to drugs and all other intoxicants. We
have solutions; we have a mandate; but do we have a solid foundation in
belief? Do we know the inner
workings of the solutions Islam offers?
Do we understand the connection between our duty to address social
ills, and the statement "He is Allah, the One and Only”?
If we do, we understand our role in Allah's (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
creation. If we do not, we
are alone and we will fail, as others have failed.
All success comes from Allah.
The
tool to address the challenges around us is the belief solely in Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa).
If we bring that deep belief and faith to issues, we must have
success. All
Power to Do Good Comes from Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa) Behind
all of our social-political activism and work for humanity, there must be
a petition, a beseeching, a humble plea for assistance, directed to Allah
and Allah alone (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa).
"Duca
(supplication/imploring of Allah) is the quintessence of worship,"
the Prophet (s.alla-llaahu
calayhi
wa sallam)
observed. Wa
qaala Rabbukum-ud-cuuniii
'astajib lakum. Allah
(Subh.aanahu wa tacalaa)
is the real Cause, for without His permission, nothing can be
accomplished. Allaahu
khaaliqu kulli shay'in, wa Huwal Waahidul Qahhaar. Maa
casaabaka
min hasanatin famin Allaah.... We
can seek assistance from others whom Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
has given the power to help, but we must remember that ultimately, it is
Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
Who has all the power. When
we recount the needs of society, we must keep deep within our hearts and
minds the awareness that all efforts and success comes from the One—and
that no action can succeed if we only pay lip service to Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa).
Rather, we must have deep faith as mu'minuun (believers). Overcoming
Racial, Ethnic, and National Divisions By
bringing our belief solely in Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
to issues, we are on the track to success.
But we must act not as individuals only, but as a community.
Allah (Subh.aanahu wa tacalaa)
tells us in the Holy Qur’an: Wac-tasimuu
bi-hablillaahi jamii-canw-wa laa tafarraquu.
Wadh-kuruu nic-matallaahi
calaykum
'idh kuntum 'ac-daaa-'an-fa-'allafa
bayna quluubikum fa-'asbahtum-bi-nic-matihiii
'ikhwaanaa.... Wal-takum-minkum
'Ummatuny-yad-cuuna
'ilal-khayri wa ya'-muruuna bil-macruufi
wa yanhawna canil-munkar.... "Let
there be one nation of you" is a very clear command, but it is a
command that Muslims seem to have difficulty fulfilling.
I know a man who embraced Islam and then attended khutba at a
mosque that preached intolerance. He
said: "If that had been the first mosque I visited, I would never
have embraced Islam!" In
the Holy Qur'an, Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
says: The
Prophet Muhammad (s.alla-llaahu
calayhi
wa sallam)
said, And
Mohammed Iqbal, the famous Pakistani poet, said: Is
it possible, really possible, that Islam does not tolerate national and
racial divisions—but Muslims do? This
is more than a contradiction in terms; it is an oxymoron.
There is a saying in the East: "I traveled the Islamic world
and found few Muslims" (or, "...I met many 'Muslims,' but found
little Islam"). How can
we promote the beauty of Islam—the beauty of compassion, mercy,
forgiveness, tolerance, patience, love, generosity—while we permit such
narrow-mindedness, such factionalism, such superficial selfishness? We
are Muslims—no, Mu’minuun—only when the reality that is Islam
remains centered in our hearts. There
are and have always been individuals who care only for worldly gain, who
use Islam to fulfill their selfish ends.
Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
tells us in the Holy Qur'an that the hypocrites (munafiquun) have
been among us since the beginning of Islam, and that they are so-called
Muslims, not open disbelievers. Islam
is not a means to power, fame, or fortune in this world.
Islam is a transforming, life-changing, expanding experience that
challenges us in this life, and rewards us in the hereafter. Islam
obliges us to stand together in one line, shoulder to shoulder, foot to
foot. It says that together,
we must prostrate our foreheads to the Divine, so that we can all learn
that we are humble servants of Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa).
We all believe in Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa),
the Prophet (s.alla-llaahu
calayhi
wa sallam),
the angels, the Day of Judgment, and the Qur'an. On this basis, our Islam comes first, and everything
else—our national, ethnic, linguistic, social, or gender
identity—comes second. We
need to put an end to the identification of mosques (masajid) with
particular ethnic, racial, or national groups:
the Indo-Pakistani masjid, the Malaysian masjid, the Saudi masjid,
etc. We need to see white
people in African American mosques, and African Americans in white
mosques. To really unify our community, we have to live up to the cultural diversity that Islam teaches. We have to focus on the basis of Islam, accepting one another, accepting our diversity and understanding that we can agree to differ on certain things and allow Allah (Subh.aanahu wa tacalaa) to bring clarity to our hearts and minds through our trust and faith in Him. We must engage in dialogue with the broader American community, and not allow dogma and doctrine of questionable origin to replace what Allah (Subh.aanahu wa tacalaa)) has revealed to us clearly in al-Qur'an. Dialogue
with the Broader American Community And
what will be the focus of our dialogue?
Certainly, we can start with the crisis of values in America—a
crisis that is going mainstream. Even
politicians in Washington, DC (including the President of the United
States, in his State of the Union address) are proposing solutions that
sound quite Islamic. There
are calls to redistribute wealth by giving tax breaks to the poor, not
just to the rich; to improve education; to curb violence by increasing
values, awareness of individual rights, and appreciation for diversity.
Al'hamdulillah! Of
course, we know the Qur'an and Hadith have addressed these topics for more
than 1400 years. We hold the keys to the inner dimensions of these values.
But it is up to us to come forward and present them by our actions,
our lives, our work, our efforts, and our dialogue.
We
have to make efforts within our own community to find real unity based on
our Islam, not disunity based on culture, race, and historical
differences. Perhaps what
will motivate us to find that unity today (where we have not been able to
find it in the past) is to engage with each other on the common problems
that we face, as Muslims in the United States; problems and issues,
however, which are not limited to the Muslim community.
For when we look around us, we see that non-Muslims are seeking
solutions to the same problems:
to bigotry, prejudice, poverty, an inadequate educational system,
crime, the excesses of materialism. There
is a story that two rams were fighting "while a wolf looked on from
behind a thicket. 'Fight on, fight on,' said the wolf to himself.
'Fight until you are too exhausted to move, then I'll come and eat
you both up'" (al-Jerrahi 677). It
is not the way of Islam to fight fellow believers—for all people of
faith share similar concerns (just as all rams must fear wolves).
All who believe are one community; and as more people come to
believe in Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa),
they come to realize that they, too, are one.
The attitude, the way of life, and the example of Muslims call all
people to realize and benefit from the unity that is at the basis of
Allah's (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
creation. We
need to earn the respect of the American people, to offer what we have in
ways that are not threatening, to be part of the solution to the problems
that face this country. Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
enjoins us to speak in ways that are heard.
He tells us to make the better argument, to represent the beauty of
Allah's (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
message in how we communicate it: Wa
laa tusac-cir
khaddaka linnaasi wa laa tamshi fil-'ardi marahaa; 'innallaaha laa yuhibbu
kulla mukhtaalin fakhuur. Waqsid
fii mash-yika waghdud min sawtik; 'inna 'ankaral-'aswaati la-sawtul-hamiir. Wa
qul-li-cibaadii
yaquu-lullatii hiya 'ahsan.... 'Ud-cu
'ilaa Sabiili Rabika bil-hikmati wal-maw-cIdhatil-hasanati
wa jaadilhum-billatii hiya 'ahsan: inna Rabbaka Huwa 'Ac-lamu
biman-dalla can-Sabiilihii wa Huwa 'ac-lamu
bil-Muhtadiin. In
our society, Islam is feared. It
is the target of both the uninformed and those who would purposely subvert
the rights of all citizens by scapegoating Muslims.
We must not give them the excuse or the tools to do this.
We must be seen as people who are servants of God, good citizens,
brothers and sisters in faith. We
must renounce all extremism—right or left, religious or secular—and
join hands with the good people of this country in building a secure and
safe future. This
is the meaning of Islam. Normally,
we are told it means "submission."
But it also means "established, peaceful, safe, secure."
To be a Muslim is to create an inner and outer attitude:
inwardly, an attitude of submission and security in Allah (Subh.aanahu wa tacalaa),
and outwardly, an attitude that supports the environment of
safety and security that is so lacking in our society today. It
is our unfailing trust in Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa),
the One and Only, combined with our effort as a community, that will
address the needs of our country and our world.
All
of this takes time. There needs to be time for adjustment, for building
cooperation, for creatively implementing values-based solutions.
We must plan for generations of change, and pray for the Almighty
to shine His light upon us and through His grace transform us and our
society. This means each of us must
work diligently during our lifetime. It also means we must educate our youth to carry on the work
of transforming our society. Preparing
the Next Generation for the Future Our
children need to take pride in their faith, in their community, in their
families, and in their role. They
must see Islam as being their greatest weapon against crime, injustice,
oppression, poverty, arrogance, social and economic inequity, and the
fragmentation of society by race or nationality. For
our young people to have a truly Islamic identity, it has to go beyond
just covering their heads, or having good manners, or being raised
culturally as Muslims, or being educated in mosques.
In their souls, they need to be good.
We will never be able to shield them from all the issues and vices
of our society, so we must train them to deal with these issues as Muslims
(those who submit), as mu'minuun (those who believe), as mutaquun
(those who are conscious of Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)).
We
can guide our children to understand the complexities and contradictions
of life within the context of faith in One God.
We can strive to create a generation of Muslims for whom Islam and
its values come first, as a way of life: whose first priority is
submission, trust, safety, security for everyone, belief in the community. Many
of us came to Islam by leaving the religions we were brought up in and
seeking new paths to Truth or God. I
believe this was partially a reaction to the absence of
justice, of social responsibility, of universal compassion, and of
sensitivity to Allah’s presence in our lives.
Certainly, we were responding to our society’s failure to foster
attitide of service, brotherhood and sisterhood. Today,
as Muslims, we have all that and more; and we must pass this on, so that
our young people understand the greatness of the bounties of Islam.
We must also understand their desire to discover life for
themselves, to make decisions and feel empowered to effect change.
They cannot just be expected to be extensions of us. Technology and science are handing them a very different set
of issues than we have ever dealt with.
They are the ones who will have to figure out how to implement
Islamic principles in a world that medically, biologically, and
technically might make them virtually immortal. Allah
(Subh.aanahu wa tacalaa)
tells us: We
are also told: What
are the issues of faith, unity, duty, and emotional and spiritual
transitions that are raised by greatly extending human life?
How will that affect theology, and specifically Islam? These are
perhaps the largest questions facing Muslims today, and our children will
bear the burden of responding. Conclusion: New Angles on Well-Known Issues There
are many issues to be addressed in our society.
We know what they are, and we know the solutions that Islam offers.
But we need to review them, and we need to review them with
absolute faith that Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
is the One we call to for help. We
cannot call to ourselves. We
are not doing. Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
is doing, and we are just fulfilling our duties as the viceregents (khalifas)
of Allah. We are acting only
by His will. We can only act
by His will, and He can make us not act.
We can succeed by His will, or not succeed.
So, we must focus on the Ahad, the One, the unity.
If
we focus on our belief and trust in Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
as the mechanism through which we solve problems such as poverty, women's
safety, racial inequality, alcoholism, and related social ills, then we
will look at all these problems with a different point of view.
We will have a sense of urgency to solve these problems, but at the
same time, we will have an abiding faith that Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)
is giving us His support. Both
we and our new generation have reason
to be proud of being Muslim. We
have something great to contribute to the social, political, and spiritual
dialogue of our times. But
there will be no transformation unless there are real Muslims:
people who struggle, who love Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa),
who suffer for and enjoy their life for Allah, who remember the way of
history and are grateful for the way the future can be. People who are Muslims from the inside out, not from the
outside in. People who think
as Muslims in theory, and who act as Muslims in practice, privately and
publicly—and when they fail, say "Astaghfirullah." People who strive to present Islam as it truly is:
clear, tolerant, patient, loving, and socially-committed.
Not
everyone can be of the awliyya (the saintly friends of Allah (Subh.aanahu
wa tacalaa)).
But we can all strive to be sincere believers.
The
road to becoming a Muslim is long, and passes through difficult country:
the terrain of conditioning, arrogance, and selfishness.
Each of us starts out carrying more baggage than we can
handle—cultural baggage, personal baggage, bad habits.
But the road is also bathed in the light of compassion, mercy, and
love. I have attempted this
journey for thirty years, and while I cannot say that I have succeeded, I
can say that no other journey could offer the same rewards. There
was an ant with only three legs, who decided to go on Hajj.
On the road from Damascus to Mecca, he came to the Hejaz desert. He had travelled for some distance into the desert when he
came across another ant, returning from Mecca.
The second ant looked at the three-legged ant and asked,
"Where are you going?" The
three-legged ant replied, "I am on the way to Mecca."
The
other ant said, "You'll never make it!
It's a terribly difficult journey, even for an ant with six legs.
You'll die along the way!"
The
three-legged ant looked at him. He
thought for a moment. Then he
smiled and said, "What does it matter if I die?
At least I'll die on the road to Mecca." Jazakallah
khair.
Thank you very much. Truth
belongs to Allah; it is He who shows the way. References: al-Jerrahi,
Sheikh Muzzafer Ozak. Trnaslated
by Muhtar Holland. Amity, NY:
Amity House, 1988. National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education.
“The Condition of Education, 1999,” Indicator 8, p. 42 Online.
Available at http://www.nces.ed.gov/pubs99/condition99/indicator-8.html
Accessed February, 2000. National
Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).
Statistics posted online. Available
at http://www.jointogether.org/gv/ Accessed February, 2000. National
Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 47, No. 12.
"Teen Births." National
Vital Statistics Reports 1997. Online.
Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/fastats.htm.
Accessed 2 February 2000. Rape,
Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN).
Home page. Available
at http://www.feminism.com/rainn.htm.
Accessed 16 July 2000 U.S.
Census Bureau. “Health
Insurance Coverage: 1998.” Online.
Available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/hltin98/hi98t2.html. Accessed 16 July 2000 U.S.
Census Bureau. "Poverty
in the United States: 1997." Online.
Available at http://www.jcpr.org/faq/faq_measures_frames.html. Accessed January, 2000.
|
