In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
In this present day of technological advances and great freedom, there is still a group of people who remain slaves. There is still a group of people who are hunted and persecuted for standing firm in what they know to be right. Who are these people? These people are you and I…the Muslim Ummah. The worst part about this slavery as opposed to the slavery of early American history is the fact that we have no physical ‘master’ to apply the whip to our flesh. We have no one to drag us away from those we love and make us a stranger in a strange land. The only true oppressor we have is the Dunya. But I’m hesitant to use this word ‘oppressor’. To oppress something is to hold it back in a sense. The American Heritage Dictionary defines Oppression as (1) to burden one harshly, unjustly or tyrannically. (2) To weigh heavily on the mind and spirit.
So, looking at these meanings, it’s safe to rule out these words Oppressor or Oppression to describe this ‘slavery’ the Ummah is being held under. And it’s sad. Only because, if we could use these words to describe our condition, there would be some sense made of it all. But how do you make sense of a slavery that man willingly gives himself to. I’m not speaking of the complete submission that we should be giving to Allah subhana wa’ta’ala…I speak of a submission to what hurts us and those around us and that we enjoy, or think we do. As much as it pains me to say and as much as it may pain you to think of mankind this way, there is only one term I can think of to describe us; to describe mankind. That term is masochistic. Now Masochism is a term we like to use to describe behaviors associated with the rejects of society. When we think of masochism, we think of these strange people with their sick sex and pain fetishes. We think of dark night clubs with people dressed in strange costumes and doing the unimaginable. We think of this and we cringe at what mankind has become.
Masochism is defined as (2) The deriving of pleasure from being mistreated in some way. But I pose this question to you who frowns in disgust upon hearing this word and thinking of those associated with it. Are we, the Muslim ummah, any better than those that we speak of when mentioning this term? Think about it. What are the things that the dunya offers us that we love so much? That we have to fight so hard to avoid? Drinking, smoking, gambling, numerous sex partners, lewdness, coveting, lying to get what we want, speaking in a derogatory sense, speaking of our wives/husbands private moments with us with our friends and comparing stories, watching and reading pornography and last but not least… neglecting our studies in Qur’an and Sunnah to watch mindless television programs that fill our heads with ideas and gross morality we would never come up with on our own. We get fed garbage and rather than spitting it out due to it’s putrid state, we ask for seconds and thirds. Is this not a sense of destroying ourselves slowly and getting pleasure while doing so? Some will say “Ahki, this is no comparison”, but it is! You see, knowledge of Qur’an and Sunnah is the one major key to helping build up iman. If we neglect these things, we begin to slip in iman. We begin to miss our salat. We begin to attend the masjid less and less. And eventually, we will be in full submission to the Shaitan’s playground… the dunya. We are not only killing ourselves physically in doing all this, but we are assuring making a permanent place for ourselves in the hell fire and moving ourselves away furthur and furthur from Jannah. And we have the audacity to look down on those who appear lost to us. But tell me what is worse. These people out there in the dunya that sin and transgress out of ignorance? Or those of us that know truth and bargain it for what we call a “good time”. This is something to think of when you see yourself in the mirror day to day.
Many will disagree with me in this. Many, if they heard this in a group setting would sit there looking around at one another, thinking to themselves, “What kind of a Muslim would do such things? What kind of a Muslim could possibly be a slave to this world and it’s so called pleasures?” To those that look around in search of such a person, 9 times out of 10, they need to look no further than themselves. Many have asked me about why doing things like making wudhu before salat is important. When I explain to them that this is a purification of yourself before going in front of Al-Majid (the most Glorious), they say “I don’t think God cares if you have dirt under your nails or how you smell. He loves us no matter what.” Many ignorant Muslims hear this and walk away thinking “maybe this person is right”. Only the Muslim who is slave to dunya and weak in iman would think this way. I personally have seen many Muslims attend salat without having made wudhu beforehand…their odor has said volumes. I’ve seen them show up wearing any old thing to go before their creator. The most sickening part of this is that if these people were to go to a job interview, they would dress to the height of fashion and smell better than they ever have in their lives! So, a man who dishes out cash takes precedence over your creator. You and I have both been guilty of this at one time or another. But as the Prophet (saw) said “The best of you are not those that never sin… the best of you are those that sin and repent.” You see, the dunya is a destroyer. The Prophet (saw) said that the dunya is a prison to the believer. But to the average man looking to fulfill his carnal appetite, the danger is not so apparent. The Shaitan is a master of deceit and the best of liars. Being such, he can take the worst and make it appealing to all the bodies’ senses. If this danger was blatant, there would be no fight; no inner jihad against our carnal natures. If it were so easy to see its putridness, we would avoid it the way we would avoid entering a burning building. If there was a burning building, not only would we not enter, but we would breathe a sigh of relief that we’re not in there and give thanks to out creator for keeping us from harm’s way. So, if Shaitan wasn’t good at what he does, then he wouldn’t have a chance in leading mankind astray. As odd as it may sound, credit has to be given where credit is due.
We have to face the fact that we, as people, do not possess the knowledge the shaitan possesses. He is indeed smarter and more powerful than we, and without the guidance of Allah Subhânahû wa' Ta'ala, we would be left helpless to his will. Again, many will have their faces all distorted at what is being said about the Shaytân and his wisdom in comparison to us believers.
But ask yourself…how many times have you put off salat until your favorite show is over? How many times have you continued to eat when you feel your stomach full? How many times have you told a homeless person “Sorry, I have no money” when he asks of you your help, knowing full well you have a few dollars burning a hole in your pocket? How many times have you stayed in the company of those you know to be untrustworthy? The list could go on and on, but the point I’m trying to make to those that may take offense to my saying the Shaitan is smarter than you or I is this: Each one of those instances I mentioned, while minor to some, are things the Shaitan causes some of us to do. We the Ummah; the ones who are supposed to know better. How does this make us look to the others? We know better, yet we allow ourselves to be fooled over and over. We allow ourselves to be lured. Why do we allow this? Why do we play a game of Russian Roulette when it comes to our salvation?
Have you ever noticed that people pay more attention to what they take into their bodies and absolutely no attention to the words they spew forth from it? Did you ever notice that when it comes to one’s salvation, most can have anything sold to them? For example: Most times when people seek answers that their Holy books do not give them, most of the time, they’re doing nothing more than seeking verification for the heinous acts they do in everyday life that they know to be wrong. A perfect example of this is Muslims smoking, which I’ve seen much of. Their excuse? Well nothing in the Qur’an and Sunnah says anything about smoking. Smoking is not mentioned specifically, but we’ll touch on that in a little bit. Anyway, the person is looking for answers, so a Buddhist might say something that appeals to them and what they want to do, so they say to themselves “I like the sound of that” and adopt it as their own. Sometimes even going as far as to drop one belief and replace that belief with this new found “knowledge” That is until this newfound knowledge goes against something else they may like to do…then they go on to the next set of values and the next until they find justification for what it is they now wish to do.
So, you see when dealing with our souls and our salvation.. it’s a big game to most. A bargain hunt if you will. Searching for the best pleasures for as little cost to our souls as possible. But…if someone brought before us, a contract that would either help us gain or lose money. Now we would stop. Now we would sit down and think rationally. When it comes to the soul its “Yeah, I like this! And let me some of that too!” all without a thought. When it comes to us possibly gaining or losing worldly goods, that’s when we sit down, pull out our glasses and read over the fine print like a banker or an auditor. Giving the utmost attention to every little detail and asking question after question. The Ummah is in a sad state. We are just as guilty as those we point fingers at, yet we’re too stupid and blind to see this. We are always looking for an excuse; a scapegoat. Getting back to the smoking as I promised earlier, I notice many Muslims smoking these days. I ask them “Why are you smoking? This is haraam” Dumbfounded that a “convert” would ask such a thing of a so-called born Muslim they give the excuse of “the Qur’an and Sunnah say nothing of smoking.” My god, does it need to be spelled out for them? Must you tell them every little detail? When on Earth does the common sense kick in?! For those fools that like to make such excuses, I have the following for you, the reader, to give to them. Perhaps you know that all nations of the world - Muslim and Kafir alike- have now started to fight smoking, because they know that it’s very harmful. Islam forbids everything that is harmful, because the Prophet (saw) said: "There should be no harming or reciprocating harm." Undoubtedly there are foods and drinks which are beneficial and good, and others which are harmful and bad. Allah described our Prophet(saw) in the following terms:
"he allows them as lawful At Tayyibaat (i.e. all good and lawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods), and prohibits them as unlawful Al Khabaa'ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons and foods)
[al-A'raaf 7:157]
Is smoking one of the good and lawful things (al-tayyibaat) or one of the evil and unlawful things (al-khabaa'ith)?
Secondly: it was narrated that the Prophet (saw) said: "Allah forbids you to trade gossip, to ask too many questions and to waste money." And Allah forbade wasteful extravagance when He said (interpretation of the meaning):
"and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance) [al-A'raaf 7:31]
And He described the slaves of the Most Merciful as follows (interpretation of the meaning):
"And those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor niggardly, but hold a medium (way) between those (extremes)" [al-Furqaan 25:67]
The whole world now knows that the money spent on smoking is to be considered as money wasted, from which no benefit is gained; indeed, it is money spent on something harmful. One cannot claim ignorance as the box that contain the cigarettes say how harmful they are clear as day. If the money which is spent on smoking worldwide were to be collected, it could have saved entire populations who have died of starvation. Is there anyone more foolish that one who holds a dollar bill and sets fire to it? What is the
difference between him and the one who smokes? Indeed, the smoker is more foolish, because the folly of the one who burns a dollar bill ends there, whilst the one who smokes
burns his money and also harms his body.
Thirdly: how many disasters have been caused by smoking, because of cigarette butts which are thrown away and cause fires? Other disasters have been caused in other ways, as when a house was burned down with its occupants inside, when a man lit his cigarette when there was a gas leak.
Fourthly: how many people are offended by the smell of smokers, especially when you are unfortunate enough to have one of them standing next to you in the mosque? I unfortunately have had the displeasure of dealing with that and trust me it’s not fun. And also, any grotesque smell is easier to bear than the smell of the smoker's mouth when he/she has just woken up. It is amazing how many women and men can put up with the smell of their spouses' mouths! The Prophet (saw) forbade those who had eaten garlic or onions from coming to the mosque so that they would not offend their fellow-worshippers with their smell. The smell of onions and garlic is easier to bear than the smell of the smoker and his mouth.
So, you see, the Qur’an and Sunnah don’t say anything specifically about smoking, but the believing Muslim should know better and needs to stop making excuses to justify our weaknesses. Not addictions, not obsessions, but WEAKNESS! Addiction and obsession are nice ways to tell people they’re weak. We are all weak when it comes to certain things in this life…otherwise we wouldn’t be human. But it’s our duty to our Creator to see to it that these things are flushed from the body. What things are these? These are the “Two Desires” as Imam Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali likes to call them. These desires are gluttony and sexual desire. And when you think about it…all things haram boil down to the need to satisfy one of these two desires. Our desire for sexual satisfaction or our need for more of anything is what causes us to slip off the straight path on a continuous basis.
This is why in the beginning of our salat in Surah Al-Fatihah we say “Ihdinas siratal mustaqeem” or “show us the straight way”. We need to ask for this constantly due to our gluttonous natures and where those natures can lead us. The so-called pleasure of this world does no more than soil the soul. Sure one may look good on the outside to another person, but the soul is filthy and filled with a need for more. It’s not enough to just say these people are dangerous. It’s not enough to say “Oh, just leave them alone, they’ll destroy themselves eventually.” People who focus on only themselves the way these do, care little about how their actions affect the next person, thus making them a menace to society.
The Muslim has to begin to take steps towards first making Islam his life. As many scholars have said, Islam is not a religion, but a way to live. It’s been said that the Christian sees the Muslim as an oddity and somewhat outlandish because of the way the women dress and the way the men wear their beards and the such. This is not at all outlandish. This is called living your faith day after day and not just in the church. I personally have seen many be holier than holy in the church and be total rogues outside of it. This is where we and the Christain differ. For most, Christian and otherwise, God comes into play only when they need something materialistic or some kind of comforting in a bad situation. After the material is gotten and the grief is comforted…the person says “God? God who?” These types have always been and have been mentioned in Qur’an numerous times. The sad thing is you’d think after all this time that mankind would have figured out that this is not the way to go. But mankind is guilty of picking and choosing what he wishes to remember, and for him to remember God in his daily life would mean he would have to knock off his precious foolishness he commits on a daily basis. This is just proof positive that the Shaitan has his finger in everything having to do with the dunya. Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to do the wrong thing and how hard it is to do the right? Or how we can tell someone we hate them with ease, but the words “I love you” are the hardest in the world for some to say when they care for someone and wish for them to know.
The wrong in the dunya is purposefully made easy for us to accept and to “enjoy”. This is our test as believers in the one true God. Unfortunately, we spend more time studying our textbooks in school to prepare us for upcoming exams. On a daily basis we neglect the study of how to save ourselves from eternal torment; the study of how to discipline ourselves in a world of temptation and false promises of quickly gotten gratification. We all should be ashamed of the state we’ve let ourselves get in; this state of a victim mentality; of blaming the next man for what we do and don’t have. This must stop soon or we are all as good as done for.
The Prophet (saw) once said “The wise one is the one who can admit mistakes and makes himself blameworthy”. When we mention the Prophet (saw), we mention him with the utmost respect…as we should. Now, which of you is going to be the first to not only mention him (saw) with respect, but go out into the dunya and bring his name and his mission the respect he and it deserves by living the way he (saw) taught you in the Sunnah? Many will give a show of hands, but that’s as far as it will go for you. To those who mean it and have the intention of trying…may Allah guide and bless you along the straight and narrow path that leads to Jannah. May He turn from you all that is bad and turn towards you all that is good. To those who don’t plan on doing what you say you’re going to do and are just trying to look good in front of your fellow Muslim brethren…I wish you the same insha’Allah.
Asalamu AlaikumWarakbatulah Warbarakatu
May Allah Guide Us All. Ameen.
published in www.crescentlife.com
Contact Info: Liam Brian Yost e-mail: lyost1@twcny.rr.com
