Bismillahi-r-rahman-ir-raheem
Alhamdulillah! Nahmaduhu wanusolli als Rasoolihil kareem. Amma Ba'd. Assalamu Alaikum Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, The pages of the history of the Ummah are unfortunately stained with blood. Like all other civilizations, Islamic civilization has been faced with opposition that often required military force to suppress it. Over the past two, centuries, however, our Ummah has been plagued with internal conflict. Muslims are more likely and often times more eager to pick up arms to fight one another than they are to fight against non-Muslims. At the heart of Islam is a message of tolerance, peace, reconciliation, and mutual enjoining of good. During the lifetime of Rasool(s.a.w), he and his followers resisted oppression peacefully for as long as they could. They tried peacefully spreading the message of al-Islam. They invited people to give up idol worship and to turn towards the worship of the one GOD, Allah. They were met with hostile opposition and were forced to defend themselves. When the fighting was over, they sought reconciliation, signed a treaty, and eventually were able to capture all of Arabia through the hearts of its people. They peacefully invited people to al-Islam, and the people peacefully accepted. Al-Islam is founded on peace. The root of the word itself means peace. Under the early Islamic state, other religions enjoyed just living conditions and fair rights for their people. Islam tolerates other religions and their people. It is therefore surprising that a religion deeply rooted in peace and tolerance today has followers who are embarrassingly intolerant. It is even funny that their intolerance is mostly directed towards each other rather than outside religions. On the small scale, Muslims have difficulty agreeing on simple issues and are unable to form alliances that benefit the growth and well-being of our communities. On the global level, Muslims are literally at war with each other. Each side claims righteousness while brutally attacking the other side usually for political rather than religious reasons. Though Civil war among Muslims started since the demise of Hadhrat Uthman(r.a), the Ummah stayed relatively unified. And enemies were not befriended and the problems of the Ummah were usually solved within the Ummah. On the community level, Muslims continued to flourish despite the political problems. They built universities, mosques, libraries, medical institutions, and scientific research laboratories. The legacy left by Islamic Spain (al-Andalus), Timbuktu, the Fatimid dynasty, and other establishments testifies to the resilience of the Muslim people of that time. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a change began to take place. For the first time, Muslim forces began allying with non-Muslim forces to attack other Muslims on a large scale. The Ottoman Empire fell. Muslims were divided by nationalities bringing delight to its non-Muslim enemies.And they start to fight.The fighting continued even until modern times with Iraq vs. Iran, the civil war in Afghanistan, and others. Our loyalty should first be to Islam. Nevertheless, Muslims seemed compelled to choose sides in these internal conflicts. The fact is, however, that all of us are the losers in the end. When the guns are laid down, when the blood is dried, when the tanks are abandoned, when the cries are no longer heard, each and every Muslim will suffer. Should we be wasting our time voicing our support for various groups, or should we instead send our assistance to the children who are starving in Iraq, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan. Our Islamic obligations are not towards any group or nation. Our primary obligations are towards the welfare of our people. The Muslim Ummah has essentially become a brotherhood of enemies! On the micro level, we have opportunities to establish businesses, educational institutions, information centers, etc., but we are blinded by our prejudices and choose to remain disunited. Many of our problems can be solved by forming alliances on these micro levels where the people can truly make a difference. Education of our youth should be one of our top priorities if we are to eventually raise the Ummah from its own ashes. Islamic education programs should be supported all across the globe by the Muslims who can afford to give. It is no wonder that Jerusalem is occupied by a Zionist regime when Muslims cannot even agree on simple issues in our own communities.Even the religious people and scholars rarely come together because of their trivial differences. When will we return to the peace and tolerance that al-Islam enjoins? When will we cast aside our petty differences and bring our resources to the table to make changes in our daily lives? When will we stop looking to outside sources to solve our own problems? When will we all feel united as a single Ummah and spread the message of peace to the world? When will we start to think about brothers and sisters who are in neighbouring towns being tortured and humiliated? Wassalam When? Unite-Muslims
