My Dear Brothers and
Sisters - AsSalaamu 'alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barkatu.
We know, as Muslims, there
is a real purpose for us being alive. We know as Muslims, there is
the Message of Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala which was delivered by His
Prophet, Sayyidul ‘Aalameena Muhammadur Rasoolallah salalaahu 'alahi
wa salaam. We know that the object of a Muslim’s life is mentioned
in many verses of the Holy Qur’an in order to guide us Muslims in
every walk of our life.
Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala
says: Qul inna salaatee, wa nusukee, wa mahyaaya, wa mamaati,
lilaahi Rabbil ‘aalameen. Laa shareeka-lah wa bi-dhaalika umirtu wa
anaa awwal-lul Muslimeen. The translation of which is: Say my
prayer, my sacrifices, my life and death is for Allah, Creator of
the Worlds.
In another verse of the
Holy Qur’an, Allah says: Inna lillaahi wa inna ilahi raaji’un,
that, We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return which means we
have to return to Him, we are not permanently residing in this
world, we have to leave this world for the world of the hereafter.
So the life is for Him - Allah, not for you or me. Since the entire
world belongs to Him, therefore my humble self also belongs to Him.
The object is that we must remind ourselves all the time that we
belong to Him. It means that I love Him, I have the fear of Him and
I have to live the life of a Muslim who has devoted himself for His
cause.
Yet, in another verse of
the Holy Qur’an, Allah says: Yaa ayyuhal-ladheena ‘amanu,
taqullah haqqa tuquatihi wa laa tamu-tunna illaa wa antum Muslimun
(3:102), that is, Oh you who believe, fear Allah the way He should
be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam.
So the object of
our existence is evident, we have to live as Muslims, manifest all
the time that you are Muslim, you belong to the Muslim ummah, you
are members of the Muslim community.
It also means that everyone in
the ummah are brothers, one family. The brotherhood is there: Innamal
muminoona ikhwa as Allah Subhanu wa T’ala said. This means that
there is no national discrimination. Nobody has superiority over
his Muslim brother. All Muslims, without discrimination, are
brothers to each other if they are to call themselves Muslims.
In another verse of the
Holy Qur’an, Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala says: Wa man ahsanu qawlam
mimmaan da’aa-ilallah, wa’amila saalihan waqaala innanee minal
Muslimeen (41:33)
This means that Allah has insisted that a
Muslim should remind himself that he is a Muslim. In this age, we
need to understand what problem the Muslim ummah is now facing?
There are many problems and the main one is that we have divided
ourselves into nationalities. The attitude is that “I am proud that
I belong to such and such country.” “I am proud that I belong to
such and such tribes.” “I am proud that I belong to such dynasty.”
But I would like to know who is proud to call himself a Muslim.
This is The Demand from the Holy Qur’an. This is the message of my
khutbah.
Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala
says in the Qur’an: Wa ja’alnahu shu ‘uban waqabaa-ila lita’rafu.
We belong to a country only for the purpose of introduction.
Irrespective of whether we are from Arabia, Asia or Africa, it is
only for the purpose of introduction. This is not your identity.
The identity of a Muslim is Islam.
This reminds me of the great
poet, philosopher of Islam, Allama Iqbal. Somebody asked him,
“which country do you belong to?” he said, “Islam is my country and
I belong to the nation of Islam which was founded by Sayyidul
‘Aalameena Muhammadur Rasoolullah salalaahu 'alahi wa salaam”.
Presently, after such a long time, I am still trying to find out
from Muslims throughout the world; who is really proud to call
themselves Muslims?
This is the main problem
in Islam today. Whenever you ask someone which country he or she
belongs to, immediately he says that he is from such and such
country. This is well and good for an introduction. This is where
nationality in Islam should begin and end.
It is necessary for us to
say: Wa qaala innanee minal Muslimeen i.e. I am a Muslim.
Whether you are from Asia, Africa, America or Arabia has no
importance at all. This is only for introductory purposes.
It is
reported in a Hadith of al-Bukhari, narrated by one of the
companions of Beloved Prophet Sayyidul ‘Alameen Muhammadur
Rasoolullahi salalaahu 'alahi wa salaam that every person, after
their death, has to face three questions in their grave. Two
angels, Munkir and Nakeer will not ask the person being questioned
which country he or she belonged to. “Ya ‘tiyaani malaka” as
reported by Beloved Prophet (SAW) in Sahih al-Bukhari, i.e. two
angels will come wa yas‘alani man rabbuka, wa maa deenuka, wa maa
kunta taquulu fiy haqqi haadhal rajuli, awkamaa qaala salalaahu
'alahi wa salaam. This is the actual text of the hadith.
The
translation of which is: Who is your Creator, and what is your
Religion and what do you have to say about this man, i.e. Beloved
Prophet salalaahu 'alahi wa salaam.
You see clearly that there
is no question of where you come from or which tribe or dynasty you
belong to. Here, in this country, we are a minority, no doubt, and
this is also a sunna of Beloved Prophet salalaahu 'alahi wa salaam.
In the beginning in the early days of Islam, he was in minority, in
Makkatul-Mukaramma, the holy land of Islam. Islam and Muslims were
in minority.
But our Beloved Prophet salalaahu 'alahi wa salaam and
his followers Ibn Irfan (RA), Bilall (RA) and other companions of
Beloved Prophet salalaahu 'alahi wa salaam although they were in
minority for thirteen years, they were very strong in declaring
themselves to be Muslim.
They did not deny the fact that they were
Muslims, because they believed in Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala. They
rejected the idol worshippers, they bowed in front of Allah Subhanhu
wa T'ala and totally denounced totally idol worship and announced
“La-ilaah-Illallah Muhammadur Rasoolulaah”, non to be worshipped
except Allah, Muhammadur Rassoolullah SAW is the Messenger of Allah.
They maintained their identity of Islam although they were in the
minority, they protected their faith and protected the Seed of Islam
which was placed in their hearts by Beloved Prophet salalaahu 'alahi
wa salaam.
The seed grew day by day. The companions were side by
side, following Beloved Prophet SAW and at the same time they
proudly announced their Islam.
Wherever you are, Whether you are in minority, if you protect the Religion of Allah, Allah
will protect you, this is a promise of Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala,
Yaa Ayyuhalladheena ‘amanu kunu ansaarallah that is become the
supporter of Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala.
Allah really does not need
our support, we need His Support because He is The Sovereign Lord.
He is “Maalikul Mulk Laa shareeka lak”, we need his help all the
time. Allah is not in need of our help.
Allah says in the Holy
Qur’an: Intan-surullah, that is “support Allah Subhanhu wa
T'ala”, it means that if you support Allah’s Din, al-Islam, the
religion which has been chosen for you and you are chosen to be in
the Ummah of Beloved Prophet salalaahu 'alahi wa salaam and he has
been chosen for you; to guide you as the Last Messenger of Allah.
So if you support Islam - the religion, Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala will
support you. If you protect His Religion, Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala
will protect you.
Wallahu khairun haafizun wa huwa arhamur
Raahimeen. Those who have been protecting their religion; they
are still alive.
In Central Russia, the
people have been dominated by the communists for 70 years. Muslims
have been killed mercilessly throughout this 70 years in Central
Russia, but, SubhanAllah, they were protected; although the
publication of Qur’an was banned. To call the adhan was totally
banned, the publication of the religious books was totally
banned.
When I was in Russia on a parliamentary delegation, I
could see what kinds of trouble and pressure Muslims were facing.
70 years have passed and they thought they had totally destroyed
Islam and its future generation in that part of the world. But, al-hamdulillah,
after 70 years, although openly they could not manifest their
religion outwardly, yet secretly they were preserving and protecting
their faith. Now, after 70 years they have emerged as a nation of
Islam, the Muazzin is calling the adhan everywhere, Allahu Akbar,
Allahu Akbaar!
On the other hand, those
who did not protect themselves, Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala have
destroyed them. For example, in Spain, Eastern Europe, you will not
find any Muslim there because they have divided themselves. They
were too proud being Arabs, Berbers, and African tribe, anglo-Spanish
Muslim, father Spanish and mother Arab. Nobody was proud in those
parts of the world to call themselves Muslim, so they were destroyed
totally – no Islam remained there.
So, Insha Allah, brothers and
sisters in Islam, those who are in minority, if you protect Islam in
your heart, Allah Almighty will protect you and this is the promise
of Allah Subhanhu wa T'ala, Intan-surullah yan-surkum wa
yu-thabbit aqdaamakum, if you protect the Religion of Allah,
Allah will protect you, Allah Subhanahu wa T'ala will establish your
foot in that country.
daripada sebuah khutbah jumaat, di masjid Toronto, Canada pada february 1992
InshaAllah