I had to return home today from work – having fallen ill. Nothing serious – just the old flu that’s going around (God knows best). Having spent most of the day in bed – I started thinking…
An illness – big or small is difficult. We are all going through times of difficulties. On a global level we recently watched the horrors of the war on Gaza; the ongoing war in Iraq, with the death toll rising by the day and then Afghanistan. And then there’s the recent shootings in Pakistan; the attack on Mumbai; deteriorating humanitarian situation in Darfur; and the military crisis in Bangladesh.
On the home-front (if there is such a thing in the global village) we have our own problems with the ‘credit crunch’ and the financial ‘meltdown’ – job losses, anxiety over what will happen next.
It is at these times we may ask: why do these things happen? How do we look at these things? What do we do? These are important questions that need answers and deep reflections on our individual and collective states as humanity, and indeed as a global ummah.
There is a well known verse in the Qur’an: “So lose not heart, nor fall in despair, for you are bound to rise, if you are true in faith”. (3-139).
So from a faith perspective, Islam is very clear that difficulties are a test. They are a way of distinguishing those who are true in faith and those who merely use their tongue but cannot pass the test.
‘Glorious is the One in whose Hand is the Kingdom (of the whole universe), and He is Able to do all things; the One who has created death and life so that He may try you, as to which of you is best in conduct. He is the August, the Forgiving’.(Qur’an 67:1-2).
When ‘bad’ things happen, we have a tendency to get emotional. There is no harm in that per se. God gave us emotions for a reason. It’s okay to feel angry, sad, disappointed. We just have to realise that it may not be a good time to react while our emotions are in overdrive. When we react out of our emotions we will usually end up attempting to do things in our own strength, which is exactly the opposite of how things work.
Instead, we are urged to reconnect with our Lord. This does not mean we take a reflex and fall into a kind of ‘victim mentality’. Victim mentality will lead to disastrous consequences. Victims who see ‘no way out’ will fall for the trap of accepting simplistic solutions as often offered on the ’speakers circuit’ of the Muslim scene. Some even offer military-type solutions from the internet and websites. It is these ‘militants’ in the name of Islam who have been a source of many of our difficulties. We forget history, it tells us that Prophet Muhammad did not respond to the oppression of the Quraysh with violence.
It is precisely why in these times, we should ponder deeper, seek more knowledge and seek advice of those who know (true righteous scholars of text and the scholars of our context).
But these difficulties we face can only be dealt with by a true unwavering faith and deep spirituality. We are informed in the Qur’an that whenever difficulties befall us we should say: ‘To God we belong, and to Him we shall return’ (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un). An incident in the life of the Hanafi scholar, Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi is very revealing:
‘Nuh bin Saman was an evil governor near Samarqand who lived in the 3rd century (AH – after hijra). He decided to rebel against Samarqand’s leaders and its entire populous putting many in great harm. He dispatched a messenger to the leader of Samarqand to intimidate him. The leader called the scholars and noble men to listen and seek their consultation.
‘Amongst them was the great scholar and Imam Abu Mansur al-Maturidi. After listening to Nuh bin Saman’s messenger, al-Maturidi told him to deliver the following message to Nuh bin Saman: “Increaseus in oppression until we increase our supplications in the night!”’
One of my favourite hadith reminds us: ‘Indeed, amazing is a believer’s affair! It is always best for him – and this is for no one except a believer. If he is granted ease of living, he shows gratitude (to Allah), and this is best for him. And if he is afflicted with a hardship, he perseveres, and this is best for him.’ (Bukhari).
This act of patience in hardship should not be a passive act. It is an act of firm faith (imaan). It is an act borne out of spirituality (ruhaniyyah). It is only the beginning of our action. It is an act of the mind and intellect, supported by a pure heart. It should be used as a way of restraining ourselves from acting hastily or out of anger.
But act we must.
act we must… yeah but I don’t see any suggestions. What happened at badar and uhud was violence against qureish too?! so, it would appear that the early muslims were ’simple’ and ‘emotional’ and suffered from what you call the ‘victim mentality’.
Boy! the resistance in palestine, the freedom fighters against the russians in afghanistan and those against the serbs in bosnia were the ’source of many of our difficulties’.
Nah! The source wasn’t the foreign invasion/oppression, the weakness of the ummah to fight for itself, nah, it were the few good men that laid down their lives in gods name so that his word could be supreme and that the ummah would find peace. THEY were the source of difficulty?
It’s important for you to be clear when you talk about militancy and becareful of not falling into the western enemy trap by using the same language as them to refer to all forms of violence or militancy as ‘bad’.
I appreciated your article and truly it has helped me to calm down, take a step back to evaluate my own self and re check my own personality as it is sometimes our own selves we need to change in order to change others around us. Alhamdulillah I have overcome my grief and it is only holding onto the faith and turning to Allah in times of trouble can we find solace and sakinah.
our deen is one if balance and its followers abide by the comprehensive way it has laid down. I think the author of this blog entry should clarify his position in regard to that. maybe he didnt mean it that way, but I totally and utterly disagree with the notion that we adopt the situation in Makkah during the seerah of Muhammad saw and neglect the obligations revealed later. This deen is complete and we cannot pick and choose which obligations we carry out. Yes patience and perseverance in the face trials in a great charcteristic to have. But likewise Allah has commanded us to do dawah, hisbah, jihad etc. So one to carries out these great acts if worship do not ’cause more problems’. Rather when these actions are carried out correctly, Allah swt’s name and deen is raise higher on earth. Chaotic military action in unjustifiable places and method obviously cannot be condoned, however to reject striving physically in the path of Allah correctly is either a grave mistake or sheer ignorance.
Br.Husain,
you have discussed an important issue but are suggesting an incorrect response. After mentioning global events and then mentioning issues on the ‘homefront’, you are proposing the same type of patience in both situations. that of bearing the hardship and excersing restraint etc. We all know that patience is of different types depending on the circumstances. Patience when one loses a leg is not the same as petience when tempted by a woman.
An ayah to reflect upon regarding the correct conceptualisation of Patience/Sabr:
“How many of the prophets fought (in Allah’s way), and with them (fought) Large bands of godly men? but they never lost heart if they met with disaster in Allah’s way, nor did they weaken (in will) nor give in. And Allah Loves those who are firm and steadfast.” [Surah ale-imran, verse 146]
Therefore, sabr is:
1. To not lose heart due to what the oppressors do
2. To not weaken in our will to continue our struggle
3. To not give into the oppression and the attacks
This is patience and steadfastness and these are the people whom Allah loves. These are the truly spiritual ones from this Ummah, upon firm faith.
I agree with Jango; Too many muslim leaders are labelling ALL ‘physical’ struggle under the Wests defenition.
We must understand ’sabr’ (’patience’, as commonly translated) in the islamic definition.
The three types of patience that Ibn Al Qayyim al Jawjiya talks about are these:
1. Patience needed in doing good/righteous deeds
2. Patience needed in abstaining from haram
3. Patience needed when a calimity/museeba befalls us
With regards to muslims of Gazza:
They DO NEED patience! ALL THREE types, at the same time.
They need the patience to carry on and endure the fight against opression (type 1)
They need the patience to avoid doing haram whilst fighting, e.g not going beyond the limits of sharia by killing innocents (type 2)
And they need the patience to endure this calamity that has befallen them by accepting the decree of Allah and not being angry at Allah for the situation. (type 3)
(Sura Baqara V. 249)
“…they said, “There is no power for us today against Goliath and his soliders.” But those who were certain that they would meet Allah said, “How many a small group has overcome a large gropu by the permission of Allah.” And Allah is with the patient”.
Look how Allah describes those who fought the great army of Goliath: as “the paitient”. That act of fighting was an act of patience.
I believe captain, ibnu uthmaan, patience, jango and jilani have raised some very useful clarifications, maa shaa allaah. Patience is a broad term which includes being patient against the enemy through jihaad, not giving up nor questioning Allaah’s decree.
We know that patience also encompasses staying calm, silent and turning to allaah, depending on the context. It would not be wise to restrict the application of patience to just one same aspect when referring to a multitude of different and unique problems.
Problems that range from the individual level to that on an international level for the ummah surely cannot demand the same patient response. I believe one of the above mentioned justice… We should consider this some more before it is deemed as impatience if one wants justice.
BTW! Israeli soldiers admit to war crimes in gaza! See… http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7952603.stm