Fear for the Muslim WorldSalmaan ibn Fahd al-'Awdah
Article ID: 1113 925 Reads
We find that some Muslims, especially those who are enthusiastic about their religion, exhibit excessive fear for the future of Islam and the Muslims. Their fear is extreme and debilitating, not a reasonable fear that inspires productive work, cooperation, and research, but a distorted fear that fosters listlessness and despair.
Such people typically feel that reform is hopeless and that nothing remains for them but to wait for the end of it all.This fear has caused many people to retreat into an ideological stance that we can describe as a “doctorine of waiting”. These people pin all their hopes on the emergence of the Mahdî who will come into the world or on the descent of Jesus (peace be upon him) from the heavens.
Now, we as Muslims truly believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) will indeed return to Earth, descending from the heavens. We also believe that the Mahdî will appear among the Muslims. However, Allah has not prescribed for us to await these people or anyone else for that matter. By contrast, Allah calls upon us to act – to perform righteous deeds, to call others to the truth, to enjoin what is right, to forbid what is wrong, to conduct ourselves in a proper manner, to worship Him, and to build up our community.
This is what Allah wants us to do. We are not supposed to sit around and wait, incapacitated by fear and despair.Allah has not informed us as to the day and the year in which the Mahdî or Jesus (peace be upon him) will arrive. What He has detailed to us in a clear and indisputable manner are the duties that we have mentioned above. The Qur’ân and Sunnah are both quite clear about these matters.Inordinate fear and worry make a person incapable of productive action.
However, there is another unwholesome symptom of fear that can surface in some people; it is an exaggerated sense of personal responsibility for Islam. While some people succumb to their fear and become as invalids, others are propelled by their fear into a distorted feeling of personal liability until they feel that they are personally accountable for the religion in its entirety and that its protection and preservation is their individual duty.
This feeling makes a person feel that he must act as the guardian of the faith and its followers. He feels it is his duty to carry out a personal mandate over Islamic work and Islamic workers. This is an unhealthy state of mind, causing the person to act in an unnatural manner. Such a person typically brings harm to others, because he overburdens them and deals with them in an unbalanced way.This behavior comes as a consequence of confused priorities. The person so affected loses the ability to put things into proper perspective, so he tends to become obsessive about certain issues.
There is a type of excessive fear called a phobia. It is an irrational fear that is detached from reality. A phobia is different from anxiety, since a phobia is an unbalanced fear of something that exists in the world, whereas an anxiety disorder is an irrational fear of the future.The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from “anxiety and affliction”. He prayed to Allah to protect him from “anxiety”, from being afflicted with an unjustifiable fear of the future.
Such anxiety makes a person afraid when he wants to get married. It makes him anxious when he is about to graduate from school, worrying about whether or not he is going to find work. It makes him afraid to travel.As for a phobia, it is connected to the present day. It is the “affliction” that the Prophet (peace be upon him) also used to seek refuge from in his supplications to Allah.A person can become afflicted and beset by irrational fear, his chest constricted by his distorted view of the world around him.
In this way, many Westerners fear Islam. This fear can frequently be found manifested in the Western media and in what is taught in Western educational institutions. It is referred to as “Islamophobia”.Islam is indeed the true religion. As a faith, it is strong, robust, and able to stand up for itself. However, the reality of the Muslim world gives the West no occasion to fear it so crazily. The fear the West has for Islam is indeed a phobia, a sick and misplaced fear.
The cultivation of this fear may be the result of deliberate efforts from some sectors seeking to create an “enemy” for the West to further their own agendas, in the same way that Communism used to be the enemy.We can often describe the Muslim fear of the West as a phobia as well. Islam, as we have said, is a strong, enduring, and robust religion.
Allah ensures us that He shall protect it. He says: “Indeed, it is We who have sent down the reminder and surely it is We who shall be its protectors.” [Sûrah al-Hijr: 9]
Allah has not bequeathed the responsibility of preserving the faith upon any of His creatures. Allah speaks about the death of His Prophet (peace be upon him) and addresses the Prophet’s Companions, saying: “Muhammad is naught but a Messenger. Many were the Messengers who passed away before him. So if he were to die or be slain, would you turn on your heels? Whoever turns on his heels will not harm Allah in the least And Allah shall reward those who are grateful.” [Sûrah آl `Imrân: 144]
The religion of Islam is protected by Allah. The Muslim community shall exist until the arrival of the Hour. The Law of Islam shall endure with Allah’s permission. Allah says: “He is the one who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it manifest over all religions, though the polytheists may detest it.” [Sûrah al-Tawbah: 33]
Allah also says: “Sufficient is Allah as a witness.” [Sûrah al-Fath: 28]Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has informed us about the last days of the Muslim community and the goodness and the blessings that they will possess, and how Allah will establish them on Earth with His help at the hands of their valiant people, their leaders, and their scholars.Yes, the West does cause us harm, but Allah assures us: “They do you no harm save a trifling annoyance.” [Sûrah آl `Imrân: 111]
If we have fear of the West, we should keep that fear within reasonable limits. Our fear should not be so feeble as to make us lose vigilance and become easy prey to those who wish to do us harm. At the same time, we should not become victims of our fear, unable to distinguish what harms us from what benefits us. We should not sink into a sense of helplessness and despair.As I have mentioned, anxiety can be a deadly form of fear.
Our anxieties have a tendency to perpetuate themselves, giving us no rest from worry. We can preoccupy our minds with them every moment of the day without ever arriving at any solutions to our problems. In this way, we tax ourselves to no avail.Some of the tribe of Banû Umayyah were asked: “Where were you on the day your kinsman `Uthmân was murdered?”They replied: “Our anger at his murder kept us too busy to mourn.”This is something we should reflect upon.
We should say to ourselves and our brethren in faith: “Our concern for what is happening to Islam and the Muslims is keeping us too busy to mourn.” If we succumb to lamentation and tears, this will not help us in the least. What will help us is for us to engage in positive and productive work, if only to a small extent. To light the smallest of lights is far better than cursing the darkness a thousand times
Such people typically feel that reform is hopeless and that nothing remains for them but to wait for the end of it all.This fear has caused many people to retreat into an ideological stance that we can describe as a “doctorine of waiting”. These people pin all their hopes on the emergence of the Mahdî who will come into the world or on the descent of Jesus (peace be upon him) from the heavens.
Now, we as Muslims truly believe that Jesus (peace be upon him) will indeed return to Earth, descending from the heavens. We also believe that the Mahdî will appear among the Muslims. However, Allah has not prescribed for us to await these people or anyone else for that matter. By contrast, Allah calls upon us to act – to perform righteous deeds, to call others to the truth, to enjoin what is right, to forbid what is wrong, to conduct ourselves in a proper manner, to worship Him, and to build up our community.
This is what Allah wants us to do. We are not supposed to sit around and wait, incapacitated by fear and despair.Allah has not informed us as to the day and the year in which the Mahdî or Jesus (peace be upon him) will arrive. What He has detailed to us in a clear and indisputable manner are the duties that we have mentioned above. The Qur’ân and Sunnah are both quite clear about these matters.Inordinate fear and worry make a person incapable of productive action.
However, there is another unwholesome symptom of fear that can surface in some people; it is an exaggerated sense of personal responsibility for Islam. While some people succumb to their fear and become as invalids, others are propelled by their fear into a distorted feeling of personal liability until they feel that they are personally accountable for the religion in its entirety and that its protection and preservation is their individual duty.
This feeling makes a person feel that he must act as the guardian of the faith and its followers. He feels it is his duty to carry out a personal mandate over Islamic work and Islamic workers. This is an unhealthy state of mind, causing the person to act in an unnatural manner. Such a person typically brings harm to others, because he overburdens them and deals with them in an unbalanced way.This behavior comes as a consequence of confused priorities. The person so affected loses the ability to put things into proper perspective, so he tends to become obsessive about certain issues.
There is a type of excessive fear called a phobia. It is an irrational fear that is detached from reality. A phobia is different from anxiety, since a phobia is an unbalanced fear of something that exists in the world, whereas an anxiety disorder is an irrational fear of the future.The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to seek refuge with Allah from “anxiety and affliction”. He prayed to Allah to protect him from “anxiety”, from being afflicted with an unjustifiable fear of the future.
Such anxiety makes a person afraid when he wants to get married. It makes him anxious when he is about to graduate from school, worrying about whether or not he is going to find work. It makes him afraid to travel.As for a phobia, it is connected to the present day. It is the “affliction” that the Prophet (peace be upon him) also used to seek refuge from in his supplications to Allah.A person can become afflicted and beset by irrational fear, his chest constricted by his distorted view of the world around him.
In this way, many Westerners fear Islam. This fear can frequently be found manifested in the Western media and in what is taught in Western educational institutions. It is referred to as “Islamophobia”.Islam is indeed the true religion. As a faith, it is strong, robust, and able to stand up for itself. However, the reality of the Muslim world gives the West no occasion to fear it so crazily. The fear the West has for Islam is indeed a phobia, a sick and misplaced fear.
The cultivation of this fear may be the result of deliberate efforts from some sectors seeking to create an “enemy” for the West to further their own agendas, in the same way that Communism used to be the enemy.We can often describe the Muslim fear of the West as a phobia as well. Islam, as we have said, is a strong, enduring, and robust religion.
Allah ensures us that He shall protect it. He says: “Indeed, it is We who have sent down the reminder and surely it is We who shall be its protectors.” [Sûrah al-Hijr: 9]
Allah has not bequeathed the responsibility of preserving the faith upon any of His creatures. Allah speaks about the death of His Prophet (peace be upon him) and addresses the Prophet’s Companions, saying: “Muhammad is naught but a Messenger. Many were the Messengers who passed away before him. So if he were to die or be slain, would you turn on your heels? Whoever turns on his heels will not harm Allah in the least And Allah shall reward those who are grateful.” [Sûrah آl `Imrân: 144]
The religion of Islam is protected by Allah. The Muslim community shall exist until the arrival of the Hour. The Law of Islam shall endure with Allah’s permission. Allah says: “He is the one who sent His Messenger with guidance and the religion of truth to make it manifest over all religions, though the polytheists may detest it.” [Sûrah al-Tawbah: 33]
Allah also says: “Sufficient is Allah as a witness.” [Sûrah al-Fath: 28]Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) has informed us about the last days of the Muslim community and the goodness and the blessings that they will possess, and how Allah will establish them on Earth with His help at the hands of their valiant people, their leaders, and their scholars.Yes, the West does cause us harm, but Allah assures us: “They do you no harm save a trifling annoyance.” [Sûrah آl `Imrân: 111]
If we have fear of the West, we should keep that fear within reasonable limits. Our fear should not be so feeble as to make us lose vigilance and become easy prey to those who wish to do us harm. At the same time, we should not become victims of our fear, unable to distinguish what harms us from what benefits us. We should not sink into a sense of helplessness and despair.As I have mentioned, anxiety can be a deadly form of fear.
Our anxieties have a tendency to perpetuate themselves, giving us no rest from worry. We can preoccupy our minds with them every moment of the day without ever arriving at any solutions to our problems. In this way, we tax ourselves to no avail.Some of the tribe of Banû Umayyah were asked: “Where were you on the day your kinsman `Uthmân was murdered?”They replied: “Our anger at his murder kept us too busy to mourn.”This is something we should reflect upon.
We should say to ourselves and our brethren in faith: “Our concern for what is happening to Islam and the Muslims is keeping us too busy to mourn.” If we succumb to lamentation and tears, this will not help us in the least. What will help us is for us to engage in positive and productive work, if only to a small extent. To light the smallest of lights is far better than cursing the darkness a thousand times
Courtesy www.islamtoday.net/english
___________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment