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| POSITIVISM: The Right
Mentality Ibrahim Abu Khalid
When we possess knowledge, we know that the
trials in life can be passed, since Allah does not place a greater burden
on us than we can bear. With knowledge, we know that these trails, once
passed, will bear fruits in the form of pleasing our Creator, rising in
ranks towards Him, cleansing us of our sins, and strengthening our Iman
further... Allah's Apostle (s.a.w) said: "Strange
are the ways of a believer for there is good in every affair of his and
this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for
if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there is a
good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shown resignation (and
endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it." [Saheeh
Muslim] There is a disease that is consuming the
enthusiasm of our youth, the determination of our elders, the spirit of
our mothers. It's a disease that has really taken its foothold this
century, and grown rapidly. It's the disease of pessimism. The consequence of our pessimism is that we
have committed ourselves to whinging more then acting. A great deal of our
talks, articles, Khutbahs and lessons seem to be concerned with how bad
the West is treating us. How they do not really understand who we are. How
we are being discriminated upon. This feeling of alienation by the West is
disturbing considering that as readers and followers of the Qur'an, this
treatment comes as no surprise and is a characteristic of the true
followers of Allah's religion. The Nature of Being a Muslim Islam raised a despotic people from the
clenches of injustice and spiritual destitution to that of the greatest
power the world had ever seen. But this honour and victory came at a
price, for everything which has worth in Allah's Eyes has a price. The
companions paid that price with their money and their blood. They faced
persecution from their own family, and bore hunger bravely. The following incidences provide a useful
insight into the positive attitudes the Prophet (s.a.w) displayed and his
companions adopted. 1- A close companion of the Prophet (s.a.w)
Abu Talha, had a son who was very sick. Abu Talha would each day arrive
home and enquire from his wife as to the health of their son. One day
their son died, and Abu Talha at that time was not at home. When his wife
saw that he was dead, she washed and shrouded him and placed him somewhere
in the house. When Abu Talha came, he asked about his son's condition, and
his wife said that he was in peace. Abu Talha slept with his wife that night.
His wife informed him about the death of their son in the morning. When
Abu Talha informed the Prophet of what happened to them, Allah's Messenger
said, "May Allah bless you both concerning your night (that is, may
Allah bless you both with good offspring). And indeed, Allah blessed Abu
Talha and his wife with nine sons, all of whom became reciters of the
Qur'an [Saheeh Bukhary]. This story illuminates the patience the
Companions had. The wife bore the death of her beloved son patiently, and
furthermore kept the knowledge of his death hidden from the father for a
more appropriate time. This virtuous act was blessed by Allah, with
offspring who would serve as a blessing for their parents in the
Hereafter. 2- A female companion had a husband whom
she dearly loved. He died however and she was very depressed over his
death. So she sought advice from the Prophet (s.a.w), who taught her to
recite a Du'a beseeching Allah to replace her loss with something better
than it. She obeyed the Prophet (s.a.w), and Allah answered her call, by
providing her with a husband better than any women could have - the
Prophet (s.a.w) himself. 3- Perhaps one of the greatest shows of
optimism came after the Prophet (s.a.w) had been stoned in Ta'if. Bleeding
profusely and emotionally hurt, he was visited by the Angel of the
Mountains which encompassed the valley of Ta'if. He was offered the choice
to have those people who denied his message to be crushed. He (s.a.w)
however refused to assign these people to destruction, citing that their
offspring may become believers. And indeed, this foresight eventuated. The Guaranteed Victory As believers, we are guaranteed victory no
matter what our condition is, and that's what makes us special. If we
become ill, our sins fall away from us like leaves fall from a tree. If
our child dies, he or she will wait for us in the Hereafter and intercede
for us until we enter paradise. If we fight in a war, we will either win,
or die as martyrs, which is a greater victory in itself. So the question begs to be asked, why then
are Muslims so pessimistic? Clearly this stems from a lack of knowledge
and trust in Allah. For when we possess knowledge, we know that the trials
in life can be passed, since Allah does not place a greater burden on us
than we can bear. With knowledge, we know that these trails, once passed,
will bear fruits in the form of pleasing our Creator, rising in ranks
towards Him, cleansing us of our sins, and strengthening our Iman further.
The trust in Allah will make us certain that nothing is lost with Allah,
no fear we experience, nor pain, sadness, anguish or distress. Indeed, Allah Says "So verily along
with every hardship, is relief". This means there has to be hardship,
in whatever form it takes, in the form of death, loss or poverty, divorce,
difficult relatives, or persecution. Time to Act If this Ummah persists in complaining
rather than acting, we'll get nowhere. We already know that the Kufaar
hate us, and have known this for centuries, and have known that they never
will like us. If these people persecuted their own prophets, why wouldn't
they persecute us today? Allah has already warned us about their feelings
towards us: "And verily the Jews and Christians will never be pleased
with you until you follow their religion." And this emotion should be carried forth in
all aspects of our lives, for if the companions had resigned themselves to
the trials of life, they would never have succeeded. Rather, we should feel delight for the faith we have embraced, continue our struggle to spread and establish Allah's Word on this earth no matter the consequences, and whenever grief hits anyone of us, remember the Hadith: "Strange are the ways of a believer, for there is good in every affair of his, and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shown resignation (and endures it patiently), then there is a good for him in it." [This article was published in the 26th
issue of Nida'ul Islam magazine April -
May 1999 |
