About this blog

In recent times a plethora of misconceptions, misrepresentation and myths have been forged about Islam
and Muslims. Many western influentials from politicians, policymakers to judges have taken it upon
themselves to undermine the Islamic beliefs, values and rules so to make it palatable to their
egotistic minds and the secular liberal thoughts.

This blog is dedicated:-

1. To argue the point for Islam in its belief and systems and to refute the misconceptions.
2. To expose the weakness and contradictions of all forms of secularism.

19 Aug 2010

Slave of Man or a Slave of Allah?



يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

"O ye who believe! fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you so that you may attain taqwa." (Al Baqarah: 183)

Ramadhan is the month where the believer is reminded of why he was created. It is the time when the bond between the Creator and created is at its strongest, where we are reminded of the power, knowledge and love Allah سبحانه وتعالى has for us. Through our hunger in this life we are reminded of our need for Allah سبحانه وتعالى and we are reminded of the hunger and thirst on the Day of Judgment. Our needs stretch even further to all worries and problems in this life and by Allah's سبحانه وتعالى mercy we have been given guidance so we do not wander the earth in conflict and confusion.

Today the western societies have no such guidance and instead we see their societies declining, where their moral compass is being taken over by people who are only concerned with their desires. Islam came to enable man to satisfy his needs whilst protecting the individual and the wider community. Therefore the Muslim can worship Allah سبحانه وتعالى at all times not only on the prayer mat. This guidance presents us with the best way to live whilst at home, work, within politics and any other problem which we may face.

In the west we see society is driven to please only themselves ignoring the consequences of their actions, since the capitalist belief calls for the individual to be free, to seek happiness in any way they sees fit. The reality of this is a society which glamorises adultery, crime and exploitation of women, in the quest of seeking pleasure. The outcome for the wider society means a rise in issues such as knife crime, paedophilia and broken homes in the search for money, status and enjoyment.

Allah سبحانه وتعالى reminds us of this:

أَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَٰهَهُ هَوَاهُ

"Have you seen the one who takes as his god his own desire?" (Al Furqan:43)

The reality of western society is one which is becoming increasingly animalistic, where survival of the fittest reigns supreme. The search for satisfaction only grows in a person left with no boundaries, and the need to consume continues to grow leading some youths to kill in order to steal a phone to sell for a few pounds. This inevitably leaves the weaker elements of society vulnerable to others who will use their power against any who stand in their way.

The destruction does not end with the local society but is exported abroad through globalisation. Not only are the values of freedom and democracy being pushed on the rest of the world but the greed which accompanies capitalism has resulted in an environmental and economic disaster. Subsequently the west continues to become richer whilst the majority continue to struggle.

Allah سبحانه وتعالى says:

اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمُ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ ۗ أُولَٰئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ ۖ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

"Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness, He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the Evil Ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein (for ever)." (Al Baqarah:257)

We have made many things our aim in life, a career, owning ones own house, the perfect family, ease and tranquillity but these things may take us to jahannam if they are placed before Allah سبحانه وتعالى. We must first see our life as belonging to Allah سبحانه وتعالى, and follow the objective in life He سبحانه وتعالى defined for us which is to worship Allah سبحانه وتعالى alone.

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنْسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

"We have not created mankind and jinn except but to worship Me." (Adh Dhariyat:56)

To worship Allah سبحانه وتعالى means to place Allah سبحانه وتعالى before our own desires, therefore in ease and hardship we think only of whether Allah سبحانه وتعالى is pleased with us. This creates an individual and society which is not consumed by its own greed, since the needs are satisfied and regulated by the Qur'an and sunnah.

Whereas this is the ideal life for the believer, the test is in the struggle we face to disregard the daily temptations and fears.

أَذْهَبْتُمْ طَيِّبَاتِكُمْ فِي حَيَاتِكُمُ الدُّنْيَا وَاسْتَمْتَعْتُمْ بِهَا

"You squandered the good things that you had in the life of this world, and you sought contentment in them." (Al Ahqaf: 20)

إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا

"Surely We have put what is on the earth as a glittering show so that We may test them, as to which of them have the best actions" (Al Kahf: 7)

Our daily struggle with the haqq (good) and batil (evil) includes our desires since they can take us to either janhah or jahannam. We have been warned in the verses about the nature of this world and that it can lead the best of people to the wrong path. So we must strive to think about our actions whether they are truly for Allah سبحانه وتعالى sake, or ours.

Islam perfectly blends ones own needs and the responsibility to others. Ramadhan is the embodiment of this idea where not only does the Muslim concentrate on their relationship with Allah سبحانه وتعالى emerging more content and more determined to be a better Muslim. Whilst at the same time rushing to help and be with others through giving sadaqah, zakat, giving of food and bonding with the community through tarawih prayers.

The vision of an Islamic life is a beautiful one but the unfortunate reality is that whilst we strive hard to worship Allah سبحانه وتعالى and improve ourselves through Ramadhan, the remembrance of Allah سبحانه وتعالى doesn't go past our throats. In our dhikr we will praise Allah سبحانه وتعالى and call him the great one but our words fall on a society which has no place for our deen.

This should worry and agitate us like it did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and the sahabah (ra). The need was so important they risked wealth, jobs, family and even their lives in order to carry the dawah for Islam to give the deen of Allah سبحانه وتعالى to the rest of society. The dawah agitated the disbelievers such that they called for the Muslims to stop but the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said;

"Oh my Uncle, By Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand on condition that I abandon this matter (Islam), until Allah has made victorious or I perish, I will not abandon it." [Ibn Hisham]

It is clear from this statement that the deen of Allah سبحانه وتعالى was more important than any luxury the Quraysh were trying to bribe the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم with. There is a strong message from these actions as we cannot afford to forget our responsibility towards our deen for fear of our desires.

Whereas we may strive to have Islam in our personal lives, the system around us will still continue to be Kufr. Therefore we must work to bring back the Islamic system to truly obey Allah سبحانه وتعالى in all matters in life.

أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ ۚ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ ۗ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

"Then is it only a part of the Book that you believe in, and do you reject the rest? But what is the reward for those among you who behave like this but disgrace in this life? and on the Day of Judgment they shall be consigned to the most grievous penalty For Allah is not unmindful of what ye do." (Al-Baqarah; 85)

Muslims globally need to build their community to seek the higher values of Islam, and not allow our fear of friends, family or even government to stray from Allah سبحانه وتعالى deen. Instead we must remain as one unified Ummah, which would be an example to the rest of the world.

Whilst at the same time working towards building a Khilafah State upon this philosophy of Islam which will be a beacon for the world; a state that will stand up to the excesses of capitalism and show mankind a system of life where individualism, materialism and consumerism are shunned and the higher values of Islam are conveyed to the world.

[Taken from Islamic Systems Website]
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

What they said...

“Islam represented the greatest military power on earth…It was the foremost economic power in the world…It had achieved the highest level so far in human history, in the arts and sciences of civilization...Islam in contrast created a world civilization, poly-ethnic, multiracial, international, one might even say intercontinental.”





[Bernard Lewis, Professor of Near Eastern Studies, Orientalist and Historian, 2001]





"There was once a civilization that was the greatest in the world. It was able to create a continental super-state that stretched from ocean to ocean, and from northern climes to tropics and deserts…the civilization I'm talking about was the Islamic world from the year 800 to 1600… Although we are often unaware of our indebtedness to this other civilization, its gifts are very much a part of our heritage"





[Carly Fiorina, ex-CEO of Hewlett-Packard, 2001]





"For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. A.D 650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world. Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages."





[Lothrop Stoddard, Ph.D (Harvard), American political theorist and historian, 1932]





"Medieval Islam was technologically advanced and open to innovation. It achieved far higher literacy rates than in contemporary Europe;it assimilated the legacy of classical Greek civilization to such a degree that many classical books are now known to us only through Arabic copies. It invented windmills ,trigonometry, lateen sails and made major advances in metallurgy, mechanical and chemical engineering and irrigation methods. In the middle-ages the flow of technology was overwhelmingly from Islam to Europe rather from Europe to Islam. Only after the 1500's did the net direction of flow begin to reverse."





[Jared Diamond, UCLA sociologist and Author, 1997]



"No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity and endeavour so many and so varied races of mankind. The great Muslim communities of Africa, India and Indonesia, perhaps also the small community in Japan, show that Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of the East and west is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition."





[Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen Gibb, Professor at Harvard University, 1932]





“The Muhammadan Law which is binding on all -- from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.”





[Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1789]





"The Exile here is not like in our homeland. The Turks hold respectable Jews in esteem. Here and in Alexandria, Egypt, Jews are the chief officers and administrators of the customs, and the king’s revenues. No injuries are perpetuated against them in all the empire. Only this year, in consequence of the extraordinary expenditure caused by the war against Shah Tahmsap al-Sufi, were the Jews required to make advances of loans to the princes."





[David dei Rossi, Jewish Traveller 17CE, quoted by Norman A. Stillman, The Jews of Arab Lands]





"The notable religious tolerance towards Christians and Jew under Muslim rule had given way to the uncompromising zealotry of Spanish Inquisition. Jews and Muslims thus fled Spain with large numbers of Jews immigrating to the Ottoman Empire which was known for its tolerance to the Jews."





[Graham Fuller, Author and former CIA, 1995]





“If there is much misunderstanding in the West about the nature of Islam, there is also much ignorance about the debt our own culture and civilization owe to the Islamic world. It is a failure, which stems, I think, from the straightjacket of history, which we have inherited. The medieval Islamic world, from central Asia to the shores of the Atlantic, was a world where scholars and men of learning flourished. But because we have tended to see Islam as the enemy of the West, as an alien culture, society, and systems of beliefs, we have tended to ignore or erase its great relevance to our own history”





[Charles Philip Arthur George, HRH The Prince of Wales, 1993]





"...Not being subject to the Sharia, Jews and Christians were free to go to their own religious authorities for adjudication of disputes; but in many cases they went instead to the [Muslim] Qadi"





[Richard W. Bulliet, Professor of History and Author, 2004]





"Here in the land of the Turks we have nothing to complain of. We possess great fortunes; much gold and silver are in our hands. We are not oppressed by heavy taxes and our commerce is free and unhindered. Rich are the fruits of the earth. Everything is cheap and each one of us lives in freedom. Here a Jew is not compelled to wear a yellow star as a badge of shame as is the case in Germany where even wealth and great fortune is a curse for a Jew because he therewith arouses jealousy among the Christians and they devise all kinds of slander against him to rob him of his gold. Arise my brethren, gird up your loins, collect up your forces and come to us."





[In his book 'Constantinople', Philip Mansel quotes a rabbi in Turkey writing to his brethren in Europe where they were facing increasing persecution after 1453]





"Praise be to the beneficent God for his mercy towards me! Kings of the earth, to whom his [the Caliph’s] magnificence and power are known, bring gifts to him, conciliating his favour by costly presents, such as the king of the Germans, the king of the Gebalim, the king of Constantinople, and others. All their gifts pass through my hands, and I am charged with making gifts in return. (Let my lips express praise to the God in heaven who so far extends his loving kindness towards me without any merit of my own, but in the fullness of his mercies.) I always ask the ambassadors of these monarchs about our brethren the Jews, the remnant of the captivity, whether they have heard anything concerning the deliverance of those who have pined in bondage and had found no rest."





[Hasdai Ibn Shaprut (915-990 CE) Jewish physician, chief minister of Islamic Caliphate in Cordova, 'The Jewish Caravan']





"In Baghdad there are about forty thousand Jews, and they dwell in security, prosperity, and honour under the great Caliph [al-Mustanjid, 1160-70 CE], and amongst them are great sages, the Heads of the Academies engaged in the study of the Law…’"





[Benjamin of Tudela, Rabbi in Baghdad in the year 1168 CE, 'The Jew in the Medieval World']





"Those Eastern thinkers of the ninth century laid down, on the basis of their theology, the principle of the Rights of Man, in those very terms, comprehending the rights of individual liberty, and of inviolability of person and property; described the supreme power in Islam, or Califate, as based on a contract, implying conditions of capacity and performance, and subject to cancellation if the conditions under the contract were not fulfilled; elaborated a Law of War of which the humane, chivalrous prescriptions would have put to the blush certain belligerents in the Great War; expounded a doctrine of toleration of non-Moslem creeds so liberal that our West had to wait a thousand years before seeing equivalent principles adopted.





[Leon Ostorog, French Jurist]





"The debt of our science to that of the Arabs does not consist in startling discoveries or revolutionary theories; science owes a great deal more to Arab culture, it owes its existence"





[Robert Briffault, Novelist and Historian, 1928]





"The only effective link between the old and the new science is afforded by the Arabs. The dark ages come as an utter gap in the scientific history of Europe, and for more than a thousand years there was not a scientific man of note except in Arabia"





[Oliver Joseph Lodge, Writer and Professor of Physics, 1893]





“Thus, when Muslims crossed the straits of Gibraltar from North Africa in 711 and invaded the Iberian Peninsula, Jews welcomed them as liberators from Christian Persecution.”





[Zion Zohar, Jewish scholar at Florida International University, 2005]







“Throughout much of the period in question, Arabic served as the global language of scholarship, and learned men of all stripes could travel widely and hold serious and nuanced discussions in this lingua franca. Medieval Western scholars who wanted access to the latest findings also needed to master the Arabic Tongue or work from translations by those who had done so.”





[Jonathan Lyons, Author, Writer and Lecturer, 2009]