| THE STREET MIMBAR JUM'AH KHUTBAH (22 May 2009) webpage: www.geocities.com/khutbahs http://groups.yahoo.com/group/the_street_mimbar/ PLEASE e-mail Suggestions & Criticisms to khutbahs@yahoo.com It is in such a manner that We make plain our signs so that the course of the Criminals may become clear. | Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ma'shar Al Mu'mineen, Committed Muslims… Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/khutbassermons.htm (01-05-2009) THE CENTRAL UMMAH Allah says It is in such a manner that We have rendered you a central Ummah so that you may become witnesses over other peoples and so that the Messenger may become a witness over you. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 143) The word Ummatan Wasata defines our location in the massive populations of the world. We are supposed to be central, but a point of fact, (if we just look at ourselves), we find that we're in the peripheries or margins; we are no longer central. If we were who we are supposed to be we would be central to other nations and societies of the world. The normal translation or transfer of this meaning by people who read the Qur'an minus the combination of mind and experience say that "this is an Ummah of the happy means" or "this is a moderate Ummah" or "this is a middle Ummah." All of these misses the intent and purpose of the ayah- a central Ummah. OK- let us part with those identify with Allah and His Prophet in theory and rituals but have abandoned Allah and His Prophet in practise and procedure; if we were located in a central position in this world where other nations, states and authorities are influenced by our frontline position, we would carry with us the experience of previous states, and societies. If we were in this location, (where we belong), obviously, Muslims now do not constitute a political Ummah, we are not an economic Ummah- we haven't been a central Ummah for a long time, but that doesn't mean that we can't understand who we are supposed to be! Allah and His Prophet are still speaking to us- when you are central by definition you are interacting with the others around you; you're not central and isolated- you're central and interactive. You can only become witnesses vis-a-vis other societies when you interact with other societies. Muslims as a social entity have been paralyzed. There's no longer this interaction. The reason why we begin this khutbah with these ayaat and remarks is that if we were interacting with the real world, we would realise that the real world today, (less so than in the past), is observing what is called Labour Day. We don't subject ourselves to the theories and speculation of ideologues and philosophers who were and are concerned with labourers- that is a peculiarity of their distance from Allah; but we have something extra that they don't have and that is that when we look at these issues that have locked human society- people are concerned for the poor, deprived, labourers and those who sweat to gain a living; there are real human beings who are concerned- it turns out that we are supposed to be concerned but we are not. We live a vacuum and other people, societies and states move in to fill this vacuum. This social dynamic that Allah's Prophet is outlining for us no longer exists among us; he is saying to you and me to build social cooperation and social responsibility which doesn't exist among us. Rest assured; this doesn't exist among us! It should but it's not there. Allah's Prophet says clearly whoever has extra provisions/extra food should give that extra to one who doesn't have any and whoever has an extra ride/lift/energy/power (all of these are included in dhahr; of course you can't translate this literally! (Meaning) whoever has an extra back, no one has an extra back! We all have one back.) What is meant is whoever has something extra in the form of energy/transportation should give that extra to whoever does not have it. Obviously, some quarters/organisations/governments don't want this type of hadith to become the discussion of the hour. Why? Because they say "this feeds those who are on the left of the political spectrum; this can be given a socialist interpretation or this may lead to communism." We say to them "nonsense!" When we don't have our own character or social structure or when we are not socially whom we are supposed to be, then yes, there's a danger of some people whoever has a hidden agenda picking up this hadith or an equivalent ayah and then utilizing it for their objectives and purposes, but we are not empty headed and empty hearted; we know who we are and when we quote Allah and His Prophet we don't need to lend any credibility to those who have their own programs and philosophies. To honour those who work, the Prophet of Allah says it is better for one of you to take a rope and to obtain some wood and then sell it than to ask other people who may or may not give. We are conditioned to understand these ayaat and ahadith as individuals, but that's not what is intended. We want to out grow this conditioning and understand these ayaat and ahadith as they apply to millions of people. We want an Ummah that is self sufficient. We don't want an Ummah that relies on the give-aways, charities and crumbs of those who have military aggressive policies and bases in our countries. So, when we elevate the meanings of these ayaat and ahadith, we find that we are not self reliant and self sufficient. Can those who are making decisions on their elevated seats of power and authority hear Allah's Prophet? It's better for you to take a rope and become self sufficient than to beg in International Conferences and to run behind political phantoms as you have been doing throughout these decades and centuries and in the meantime you have been putting the Muslim public to sleep because you individualise and personalise the ayaat and ahadith and you don't permit the Muslim public mind to understand the horizons and expanse- interactive and inclusive as they are of human society and human existence. It falls on a person like yours faithfully to have you understand the context of these ayaat and ahadith. When Allah revealed these ayaat and when His Prophet spoke these ahadith, we had an Arabia that looked down on those who worked, just like today- we have Arabian elites. We don't have a geographical Arabia now, we have a cultural Arabia that is cloaked in Islam and that tries to follow the materialistic masters in the world and in the process it dehumanises Muslims and it dehumanises in particular those who are working. When we say Arabia at that time had this snobby attitude i.e. looking down on workers and labourers, there's a couple of examples that we can bring into your attention. The 1st example is the relationship at the time before the Qur'an and the Prophet. Makkah was a commercial society and cultural centre, (by and large). There was nothing in Makkah that was agricultural or industrial at that time, and if it was it was insignificant. This type of society used to look down in a condescending way on the society of Yathrib which was to become Al Medinah. Why? Because there was a good proportion of agricultural activity attached to Yathrib. We don't want to use the buzz words that are used in certain political literature; we want to understand what we are talking about (and) not to be thrown off with these words, vocabulary and terminology. Its nice know this fact. We should also know that when these words of heaven and the Prophet of heaven were expressing themselves, Arabia was a rural area of the world; it wasn't urban; besides Makkah and Yathrib, there was nothing there that was urban; the rest were nomads in the desert and this also created that condescending view- those that lived in Makkah or Al Medinah looked down on those who are roaming the desert. There was also this discriminatory description between those who considered themselves cultural and those who were working the maritime routes, in other words those, who were seeking their living by going out to sea. As an example, Bani Tameem looked down at those who belonged to Bani Azd because they had cousins living in today's geographical Oman who used to go to sea- that made them automatically 2nd and 3rd class citizens. Anyone who had a skill, profession or a job was of the lower classes in society- the same thing that we have today. (Take a) look at Arabia today! After 1,400 years of what is supposed to be an educating and uplifting Islam, (take a) look at them! They still have the same thing- if there's someone who has a profession or who works with his hand… The Prophet of Allah shook a man's hand and he realised that it was a hand that works because of the scars, skin and flesh of a worker and he said- if only today's hijackers of Islam in Arabia listened the Prophet of Allah- this is a hand that Allah and His Prophet love. You can't tell that to them! They think (that) if you express a hadith like that you're subversive, a radical, and an extremist. We're not expressing the hadith, we're just quoting it; we didn't manufacture a hadith- listen to what Allah's Prophet is saying for Allah's sake! Brothers and sisters- yin other words no more Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Turkey- these were the pillars of US foreign policies in the area. The US now is showing signs that it is willing to dump the Saudis, Pakistanis and Turks as governments and recognise Iran as the central power of that region of the world. The Saudi Arabians who were in town en masse this past (few) week made their rounds over here in Washington and they showed that they were nervous. Why are they nervous? They explained themselves and said to their American Mushrik masters what in effect can be boiled down to two points- they said to them "if you recognise Iran as the regional power and eclipse us, we will no longer be in power in the future to support you. It's going to be a catastrophe on us; and on the other hand, if the Israelis have their way and you the United States are going to bomb Iran the fall-out from bombing what is called "nuclear installations and bases in Iran" is going to be the population of the Persian/Arabian Gulf. Both ways- we lose." We wish that we, the working/toiling Muslims could think at this level of things (so that) these statements (will) not be dropped on us like bomb shells and (we will) be surprised at what's going on when they take away from their books, Masajid and everything they have the information that is necessary for us to understand these statements when they make them. This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jum'ah on 1 May 2009 on the sidewalk of Embassy Road in Washington D.C. The Imam previously led the daily and Jum'ah prayers inside the Masjid. His speeches were revolutionary and thought provoking, and eventually irritated and threatened the Middle-East Ambassadors who control the Masjid. Finally, the Imam, his family, and other Muslims faithful to the course of Islam were forced out, into the streets. This khutbah originates from the sidewalk across the street from the Islamic Center, currently under seige. |
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