“Is There Something Wrong With Being Muslim in This Country?”
Documented by Jibril Abdul-Hafeez (جبريل عبدالحفيظ)
E-mail: NewAfrica2@aol.com or new_africa_now@yahoo.com
Friday, October 31, 2008 / Yaum-ul-Jumu’ah, Dhul-Qi’dah 2, 1429
As Salaam ‘Alaykum: We thank Allah, we seek His help, we ask for His forgiveness, we believe and put our complete trust in Him, Mighty and Sublime is He. We witness that there is no G’d but Allah, He alone is without partners, and we witness that Muhammed is His Servant and Messenger, the prayers and peace be on him, on his descendants, his companions, and peace be on Allah’s Messengers (all of them), and what follows after this devout invocation.
Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in the Qur’an, 22:78,
وَجَـهِدُوا فِى اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَـدِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَـكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكمْ فِى الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِّلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّـكُمُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِى هَـذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيداً عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُواْ شُهَدَآءَ عَلَىالنَّاسِفَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلَوةَ وَءَاتُواْ الزَّكَـوةَ وَاعْتَصِمُواْ بِاللَّهِ
جَـهِدُوا a command from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) exerting us to obey His order as He should be obeyed by making the utmost effort (peacefully)! هُوَ اجْتَبَـكُمْ He has chosen you and has not made the religion difficult حَرَجٍ , it is the way of your father Ibrahim ( ﭐﻠﺳﱠﻼﻢ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ), He has named you Muslims before and in this (Qur’an), in order that the Messenger (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ) would be a witness for you and you be a witness for people; and establish Salaat and distribute the Poor rate and hold fast to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى)!
Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) created us to show the world that there is nothing wrong with being Muslim in peaceful obedience to His will. Every soul is Muslim in nature; as we analyze the root literal source for Muslim: ﺳﻠﻢ , what can we learn? ﺳﻠﱠﻢ : he saved; ﺳﻠﱠﻤﻮﺍ : greet, salute! ﺃﺳﻠﻢ : submit; ﺳﻼﻢ : peace, safety, security, immunity, freedom from fault or defects, obedience, heaven, good health, prosperity and a complete way of life; ﺃﻹﺳﻼﻢ : the name of the creed preached by Prophet Muhammed (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ). It is the preaching’s of all prophets in all times. It is a religion of peace, self surrender, submission, resignation to peaceful obedience to the will, service, and the commands of G’d; ﻤﺳﻠﻢ : one who peacefully surrenders his obedience to Allah’s will. This was the nature of the late Corporal Kareem R.S. Khan when he enlisted in the Army in 2005 and offered his life as the ultimate sacrifice dying ( ﺷﻬﻴﺪ ) of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device in Bagubah, Iraq, August 6, 2007. Is there something wrong with being Muslim in this country?
In the Qur’an, 16:120, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,
إِنَّ إِبْرَهِيمَ كَانَ أُمَّة
For now, think about Prophet Ibraheem (ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﭐﻠﺴﱠﻼﻢ) is introduced as a metaphor for community and community is defined as: [1] a group of people who live in the same area, [2] a group of people with a common background or with shared interests within society, [3] a group of nations with a common history or common economic or political interests. With this mind look at what Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said in the Qur’an, 2:124
وَإِذِ ابْتَلَى إِبْرَهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَـتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ قَالَ إِنِّى جَـعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا
Prophet Ibraheem (ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﭐﻠﺴﱠﻼﻢ) was tested (ابْتَلَى) with Prophetic words (ﻜﻠﻤﺎﺖ) from His Lord which he fulfilled (ﺃﺗﻢﱠ) and His Lord said to him “I will make you Imaam (إِمَامًا) for the people.” Look up the word “Imaam ( ﺇﻤﺎﻢ )”: prayer leader; leader, president, model; example; any object that is followed whether a human being or a book. Connect the concepts: community (a group of people with shared interests in society); the shared interest for this community is Allah’s word in the Qur’an; think about community as a metaphor for the concept of Imaam (a book that is followed) that every member of this community recites daily as prayer in Al-Islaam; again, think about the Qur’an as a metaphor for the Imaam with the shared interest that we have for community life. The Qur’an gives us a shared interest that we must apply in the best manner, we are made into community by a shared body of knowledge that gives birth to a shared way of thinking and acting in obedience to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) and His Messenger (ﺼﻠﻰ ﷲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻮ ﺴﻠﻢ).
In the Qur’an, 3:64, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى) has said,
قُلْ يأَهْلَ الْكِتَـبِ تَعَالَوْاْ إِلَى كَلِمَةٍ سَوَآءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلاَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ اللَّهَ وَلاَ نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقُولُواْ اشْهَدُواْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ
Is there any wrong with living peacefully as an obedience servant of Allah in this country? What are the alternatives?
أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُم
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