Bismillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Alhumdulillah. Peace and blessings on Muhammad (sallalahu alaihi wa sallam), his Noble Companions and Family. Ayyuha An Naas, Muslims whose responsibility and task is defined/outlined by Allah… Audio on http://www.islamiccenterdc.com/khutbassermons.htm (08-27-1999) DHULM- THE POLICY OF KUFR We are living in a time that is characterised by the presence of our own type- the Muslim crowd around- that is not willing by-and-large to think. Allah tells us that He provided us with a book for a particular purpose i.e. to think about what He is saying to us. The reason we are assigned responsibility is because we have the characteristic of discerning things. This characteristic was not presented to other forms of life, it was presented to us and because of this we carry a trust. We are entrusted with Allah's will. The feature that distinguishes us from Allah's creation around is that we have the ability to think. Allah provided us with a Book to think about. We should not be of those who set aside/mock what Allah has to say to us. This is at one level. At the level of real things/reality, nominal Muslims refuse to think even when they read what Allah is saying. … Oh our Sustainer: You have not created this in vain; Exalted are You so spare us the agony of the fire. (Surah Aal Imran verse 199) The first fact that you/I have to come to terms with is that there are many who live and die a traditional/customary Muslim lifestyle who refuse to activate the most important element in them i.e. their mind to think of what Allah has to say to them. We shall present a simple example of this. We the Muslim crowd/people hear many times the use of the word kafir and dhalim. These words are almost repetitive in our congregation/reading/communication with each other; but because Muslims have not worked out what distinguishes one word from the other or what defines one concept as opposed to the other we find Muslims using these words interchangeably as if there is no distinction between them. Why? Because they fail to think of what Allah is telling them. Because this is a very important ingredient in understanding Al Wahy/Al Kitab/As Sunnah/Ar Risalah. As much as a few people speak about it here-and-there, there is a barrage of traditional/contemporary misinformation that turns us off at the level of our thoughts. Surah Al Kahf is recommended reading on Fridays. An the ayah in Surah Al Kahf simply translates as And say (Oh Prophet of Allah and everyone who is in the position of being in the Prophet's footsteps): truth/truism/the facts is from your Sustainer. Whoever decides to commit himself/carry these responsibilities from Allah is free to do so and whoever decides to take issue/abandon/reject these responsibilities from Allah may do so… (Surah Al Kahf verse 29) And then Allah says … We have prepared for dhalims… (Surah Al Kahf verse 29) The sentence before that fa man sha'a fa al yu'min wa man sha'a fa al yakfur. (Then), Allah didn't say inna a'tadna li al kafirin. But where is the distinguishing Muslim mind that factors in the difference in the course of this ayah between those who are given the freedom… This ayah in the Qur'an guarantees freedom of kufr not that we like/want it (kufr), but those who disagree with Allah are guaranteed by Allah the freedom to do. This latitude that can only be appreciated by those who understand the responsibility of committing themselves to Allah. But where is the thinking mind that is probing the nuance of difference between the freedom of practising kufr in its theoretical aspect and the practical opposition that Muslims are supposed to express to kufr when it becomes policies/dhulm? Dhulm is the policy of kufr and people are not permitted to pursue these policies of kufr. They are permitted to tolerate theories of kufr but committed Muslims are never to tolerate the practical application of this kufr. To further demonstrate this point which is significantly central to understanding an active mode of commitment to Allah- that is lost on the traditional/customary/conventional/nominal Muslim is this point that we are trying to develop by understanding the words of Allah and what His Prophet have to say- in another ayah in the good book Allah says, (and bring your mind to this ayah. Think about it). Those who reject Allah in theory said to the Apostles who were sent to them… (Surah Ibrahim verse 13) Whether it was Musa/Ibrahim/Muhammad/Isa (alaihim as salaatu wa assalaam), the kafirs of their society turned to them and said … we will throw you out of our land/expel you from our country or you have the choice of returning to our worldview. (Surah Ibrahim verse 13) It's still a matter of talking. The kafirs are saying to the Prophets "you have a choice: if you want to hold firmly to this message from God that you claim is scripture you may do so but you will no longer be resident of this land." (Surah Ibrahim verse 13) What we see today as a problem of refugees/population dislocation/millions of human beings who are forced out from different areas of the world is nothing new, especially when the bulk of this problem is an Islamic problem. The majority of those who are displaced from their land in this world in our age are those who fit into the grand description of being Muslims. … Allah revealed to these Prophets "We will indeed destroy those who are practising injustice/Adh Dhalimeen. (Surah Ibrahim verse 13) The beginning of the ayah says wa qala alladhina kafaru. If we were thinking, we would have asked why didn't Allah say la nuhlikanna al kafireen? But the problem with the contemporary Muslim mind is that it is satisfied with reading the words of the Qur'an without thinking about the meanings of the words of the Qur'an! In a hadith it is stated that governance will remain in the presence of kufr but it cannot not remain in the presence of dhulm. When we read the glorious words of Allah in the Qur'an, how many of us attempt to distinguish between the concept of kufr and the concept of dhulm? Inevitably if we begin to think about this matter we will reach a conclusion that kufr becomes dhulm. Kufr doesn't operate in a vacuum. It wants to express itself and the expression of kufr becomes the tyranny/oppression/injustice/dhulm that we are privy to on a daily basis. That is why Allah says in the ayah in Surah Al Baqarah … those who reject Allah inevitably become dhalims. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 254) This is what maybe understood as the transformational ayah. … left up to their natural thoughts/normal pursuits/own ways and means kafirs inevitably become dhalims. (Surah Al Baqarah verse 254) But here you are. You have your own circle of Muslims- friends/relatives/acquaintances who are these surface Muslims- go to them. You can open your heart/mind to them; they can open their heart/mind to you. Ask them "could you explain to me or what is your understanding of the concept of kufr that Allah has given freedom of expression to and the concept of dhulm that Allah has barred and declared war against?" Never did Allah say fa man sha'a fa al yu'min wa man sha'a fa al yadhlim! Have you ever heard of such a thing? No! Because it is not tolerated! But what do you do with Muslims who don't have the mental juice to understand what Allah is saying to them? If Allah is configuring for us in the everlasting book and if He is telling/giving us these broad categories of people isn't it up to us when He mentions a kafir to understand who a kafir is around in this life? A kafir is not an endangered species! A kafir is not a relic somewhere in the Museum! A Kafir is not a figure that is limited to the time of the Prophet alone! A kafir is real blood/flesh/mind/policies/theories that are all around us. How come when kufr is preponderant in our world and when Allah uses this word/concept hundreds of times in the Qur'an the Muslim mind is still unable to define/point to this kafir all around us? Why? The same thing is true about dhulm/dhalim. When Allah speaks to us about them why don't we understand? When we read who they are in the book of Allah, why can't we understand in the world of Allah? Allah is not supposed to spoon-feed us. He gave us the faculty of thinking/mind by which we can think about what He is saying to us and He has given us a laboratory- the whole world is a laboratory- into which we take these meanings of the Qur'an and begin to place the spotlights/floodlights on these critical and important concepts. The same can be said about the taghuts and Mu'mins in this world. Why is it that Allah, in an ayah, rebukes the nomads of The nomads of By the way a thinking mind does not accept the word belief. It's one of those secular words that destroys the original Qur'anic meanings. … say to them (Oh Prophet): rather/instead of saying "we are Mu'min" say "we are Muslim"… (Surah Al Hujurat verse 14) There was no blurring of the lines between these two concepts; but now in this public mind of today's Muslim the concepts are blurred. You can one day be a Muslim and conveniently be a Mu'min the other day and run in-and-out of these concepts without there being a distinction! What happened? Why has our mind become so secular as to throw the whole Risala of the Qur'an and the Prophet out of course? Or else we wouldn't find the lazy minds that we encounter among the Muslims. Do you know, there were three individuals who at the time of military mobilization in the nascent community of Islam in Al Madinah refused to go to the warfront? There were three that Allah had to deal with and the Prophet instructed the whole Muslim community not to speak to these three. They were, (in other words), excommunicated. Their families would not speak to them. They had a discourse that unfortunately the general Muslim mind is also not aware of. One of these three- Ka'ab ibn Malik- who refused to go and fight with the Muslims when every able body Muslim was required to go to the warfront (because) there was a danger against the Islamic society at that time… It wasn't like the Muslims had millions or tens of millions of people and there are three individuals that have slipped through the cracks. Everyone was known and everyone was needed. So when these three were absent everyone knew they were absent. The point we're going to make indicates how empty headed Muslims are because this is not common information/knowledge among the Muslims. Kaab ibn Malik received correspondence from the King of … this Book/Scripture/Quran/Wahy is for people who think. (Surah Al Ra'd verse 3) He didn't say for Scholars/a select group of people/Faqihs/Prophets/Imams who think! He said … for people/masses who think. (Surah Al Ra'd verse 3) Because this is the way it operates/functions/gives results. That is why every time this takleef came to the Prophets, the Prophet just didn't go to the Scholars/a particular segment of society. They went to society as a whole; whatever's in that society- the rich/poor, those who have a lot of freedom those who have limitations on their freedom, boys/girls/men/women, educated/uneducated. This is the way we are supposed to address/present this message of Islam to people around but because Muslims are in a stupor/deep sleep the message of the Qur'an becomes dysfunctional because they trap themselves and they stumble by obstacles they create for themselves. We don't need that. We need Allah. The world needs Allah. Don't throw obstacles in our own way. Let us begin by having those who we want to communicate Islam to- whether they are nominal/non Muslims- begin to think about what Allah has to say. What distinguishes us, Muslims, from the rest of all of these People of Scripture is (that) we require people to think. We don't tell them "in order for you to become a good Muslim you have to believe and close your mind." We tell them you have to open your mind to carry this responsibility of being committed to Allah. That is the only way it can be done. Oh our Sustainer: You have not created this in vain; Exalted are You so spare us the agony of the fire. (Surah Aal Imran verse 199) When you think about the concepts that are offered to us by Allah and the Prophet you begin to realise why Allah said at end of these ayaat (and) in the context of concentrating our thoughts at the horizon of creation … and the dhalims will not find any source of support. (Surah Aal Imran verse 199) Brothers and sisters… Make no mistakes about this- we are nurtured by Allah's words to us. When we listen to Allah and understand what He has to say we grow stronger. There's no other way of maintaining our position bar this connection with Allah. Without it we are exposed/vulnerable/defeated. With all the truth/al haqq/validity/what is right being on our side we show/express the weakest physical demonstration of defending our own rights. We have heard people come and say "You've been outside the Masjid for sixteen/seventeen years. What do you think you are doing all this time on the street?" By presenting this question most of them imply that there is something that we are going to gain in this world by taking a principled position that comes from our understanding of being with Allah. Honestly speaking- it is more taxing to the soul, more disturbing to the mind and more challenging to our physical presence to be inside a Masjid that is polluted from its administration all the way down to some of the images on the street level; but once again the question is Allah wants to build elements of civilisation. A civilisation cannot be constructed on people who are looking for their self-interest. Civilisations are not built on people who are looking for a quick gain. Civilisations are built on selfless ingredient/elements. Allah wants to distinguish/draw-a-line between elements that are committed to Him and others who are committed to anything else. (Surah Aal Imran verse 179) This is the process that the Muslims are going through. There are elements/building blocs of Islamic civilisation all around the world and these challenges/pressures that come their way is only a process of sifting out those who are good from those who are bad. We live with it here and we live with it hundreds and thousands of miles away; but what is more important is we live with it in the presence of Allah and whatever goes on/around- at the end nothing will be able to diminish the conquering will of Allah that we with His supervision have integrated into in the past ten/twenty or more years. We should never lose sight of this. This khutbah was presented by Imam Mohamed Asi on the occasion of Jum'ah on 3 December 1999 on the sidewalk of |
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