Summary of a Reflection Delivered by Shaykh Mohammed Amin Kholwadia on November 18, 2016
Allah has provided us everything we need to succeed in this world and to navigate to the ākhirah. If we don’t believe this we should not call ourselves Muslims. He is our Rabb, caretaker and guide. We must appreciate this now more so than ever – He has not left us to navigate life, our problems and our journey to salvation by ourselves.
In the current political climate, many may be thinking what we should do now. We as Muslims must stick to the rules of behavior and engagement which we have been taught and know to be correct, for this time and for all times and situations. When we consider natural disasters, we make plans to cope with the brunt of the disaster and also plans to recover from the aftermath – this is a universal norm. In a man-made crisis of domination and oppression of one faction over another, the universal response is to stand up and defend oneself, not to dig a hole and crawl into it. We, as Muslims, have the Quran, the Sunnah, the example of our pious predecessors and teachings of the ʿulamāʾ to recognize what we do differently from the rest of humanity. But even if we are hesitant to take this extra package of guidance, we must recognize that even non-Muslims will defend themselves when cornered, and not desert their identities. The case seems to be that we don’t recognize the situation for what it is and we are in a bubble of complacency and self-delusion that everything is fine, even in the face of leading officials openly declaring that Muslims are not a desirable segment of society. If this doesn’t burst our bubble of complacency, then nothing will.
Although we pray for the crisis to be averted, and have faith that Allah will divert it if it is his will, we are obligated to sit, strategize and plan on how we are going to manage that which appears likely to be imminent. We must understand, not only at an individual and family level, but also at a community level, how Allah has provided guidance and examples for us to deal with the situation.
The Qurʾān tells us that those who succeed and are blessed are the ones who recognize (specifically when a difficulty is upon them) that they belong to Allah ﷻ alone and none other, and that to Him alone is their return journey. While we acknowledge our affiliation to the political system where we live, and to the legal obligations we have within it, we affirm that our ultimate owner and patron is Allah ﷻ, and that any situation in which we find ourselves is secondary to our return to Him ﷻ. Allah’s help will come to those who behave in accordance with the guidance which has come to us above and beyond the mundane standards of how non-Muslims would react to a situation.
Our action plan, developed under the over-arching principle that we belong only to Allah and owe allegiance to Him ﷻ and his Prophet ﷺ, will tell us what we should do, can do and cannot do. In other words, whether we are in an environment which is welcoming or otherwise, Muslims will remain Muslims and remain obligated to do what we are obligated to do. Whether we are liked or not, we must pray our farḍ prayers, we must fast, we must make Hajj if we are able, we must eat halal food, we must abstain from that which is ḥarām, we must practice kindness and courtesy. These are what define us as Muslims. Difficulties should make us firmer in out affirmation that Allah ﷻ is our Lord, that Mohammed ﷺ is our prophet and that Islam is our dīn – this is what Muslims have done in every locale and in every time.
If someone says that they are in this situation because of Islam, they need to consider whether they were ever a Muslim to begin with. They are blaming a whole civilization, culture and creed solely on the basis of the words of people whom they would even want to associate with. On the contrary, if ever there was a time when we needed to become more Muslim, to love Allah ﷻ, His Prophet ﷺ and His dīn more, it is now. This is what we have done since the first revelation came to the Prophet ﷺ in the cave of Hira. We are not exempt from trials and tribulations just because we are in the USA. They will come to us just as they came to our predecessors.
Our responses needs to begin by stopping feeling sorry for ourselves – inertia and panic is not going to help anyone. Then we need to rediscover the conviction that Allah ﷻ is our Lord. Stories of believers in the Qurʾān are not happy-go-lucky stories. They are all based on tests and trials which they endured and the happy ending is only as a response to the steadfastness they showed in the face of these difficulties.
There are those who say that Allah ﷻ has left us, the Qurʾān has left us, the Prophet ﷺ has left us, Muslim behaviors and culture has left and failed us and therefore we must leave them. These are fantasies rooted in ignoring Allah’s ownership of us and of His ultimate control of our situation.
If we can’t see the truth of this, then we need to look at the 50% plus of the country who do not agree with the new leadership. They are not abandoning their values, ideology and tenets. Rather, they are doubling down and expressing them louder than before. We might not share values with them all, but when we see their defiance, we need to understand that when you believe in something and somebody disagrees with you, we should not back down and run away and hide. This country was founded upon the principle of standing up for what you believe in. Furthermore, Islam is founded upon standing up and declaring what you believe in – the Shahādah, which is the most basic tenet of this dīn, is no less than testifying to the whole world that Allah ﷻ is one and the Muhammad ﷺ is His Rasūl. So, if ever there was a time when we need to declare that we are Muslim and that we will not back down from our beliefs, it is now.
The solution to our situation is there and has always been there. Allah ﷻ is the same One as the One who helped the Prophet ﷺ, the ṣaḥābah and all previous generations of Muslims come out of their trials and tribulations. He has not changed – so why would we thinking of changing our dīn, our approach, our affiliation or declaration of what we believe in? That is the most un-Islamic and un-American response we could take – although we need to be mindful of the legal parameters within which we can and should do this.
The purpose of this bayān is not tell anyone or the community what our defensive and counter responses should be. Rather it is to advise that conceding defeat, giving in to fear and being hesitant to tell anyone that we are Muslim are not options. In fact, this would be the most disastrous response, because it would mean that Allah ﷻ Himself does not like us. It means He ﷻ will deprive us of the dīn, and that we will not be able to answer the questions which will be put to us in the grave. This is not a standard for success – neither in this world, nor in the ākhirah.
To the contrary, our response must be based in reconnecting with and reviving our dīn by saying “Lā ilāha illa Allah, Mohammad Rasūl Allah”, recommitting by saying we will do better than we have so far. Maybe the problem to begin with was that we were never really committed to showing others that we are Muslims.
In conclusion, we cannot continue to live in our bubble and live the lavish lifestyle afforded to us in this country and be fooled into thinking the crisis will go away by itself and leave us untouched. This has been told to us by the Qurʾān, by the Prophet ﷺ and countless generations of ʿulamāʾ. The solution they have prescribed for us is to come back to the Qurʾān and the Sunnah.
May Allah guide and protect us all.