Condition Of The Ummah - Mufti Azeemuddin Ahmed

Opening

فَقَدْ قَالَ اللهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي الْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ بَعْدَ أَعُوذُ بِاللهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

My respected friends, elders and brothers, mothers and sisters, students — السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

A Time of Joy and Trial Together

As we have the happiness and the blessings of Eid al-Adha and Hajj and the beautiful plain, the beautiful scenery of millions of Muslims gathered on the plains of Arafah making dua to Allah in this past week, at the same time we have the consistent, constant news of natural disasters as well as humanitarian crises that have been prompted and created not only by natural forces but beyond that from human forces as well — and these are affecting the entire Ummah, Muslims as well as others.

So we have one hurricane that hit our country and another one making its way, and at the same time we have of course a never-ending crisis in the Middle East and in parts of Africa and parts of Southeast Asia, and then a new developing crisis in the region known as around Burma — and it is a constant flood of events that are surrounding the Muslim Ummah from all directions. And this is interesting that this comes at the time of Hajj.

A few years back I remember — on the way back from Hajj, or rather we were still in Mecca after Hajj — when the eastern part of our country, New Jersey and that area, got battered by a hurricane right as the Hajj was coming to a completion. And this year as Hajj was coming to a completion the southern coast of our country got hit, and now another portion of it is in the way of the storm.

May Allah make it easy and protect those people who are in those areas. Many brothers and sisters of our acquaintance are there and they are telling us how dire the situation is. May Allah make it easy. As we are sitting here with peace and comfort attending Jumu'ah Salah and listening, there are thousands who are having a very, very difficult time.

I spoke to one of the students who is a student over here and lives from that area. I asked him what is the situation, so he told me that people who left yesterday on the way to a destination that was just 2 hours away — after a full 12, 14, 18 hours they still haven't even arrived at the destination. So he said, "Right now we are just buckling down and staying inside the house because it is too late to try to evacuate." So we are of course asked to keep those people in our prayers.

The Lesson Behind the Calamities

But brothers and sisters, what are the lessons that we have to learn from all of this? None of these things are happening without Allah's permission and without Allah's knowledge. So if we learn a lesson from that then at least we have gained something out of that, and if we haven't learned a lesson from that then unfortunately we lose in the dunya and we lose in the long run as well.

The Prophet ﷺ has spoken about both of these things — the natural disaster aspect of it as well as the human-afflicted difficulties that come upon the Ummah. Allah also speaks about both. For example, Allah says: there is chaos, chaos that is rampant and apparent on earth as well as on the seas. Allah says it very clearly — there is turbulence on earth, there is turbulence and chaos on the oceans and the seas. And all of that Allah says is because of the sins of the people, because of the actions of mankind — so that they may get a taste, a small taste, of a retribution of their actions. And the purpose of that? So that they may turn back to Allah while they still have a chance and opportunity to do so.

Allah says in Surah al-Sajdah: we will make them taste the smaller punishment in this world and not the major one so that they may turn to Allah.

The Ummah Is One Body

We are not by any means claiming and pointing fingers at any portion of the world to say that those people are being punished by Allah. Instead, what we say is that the entire Ummah is one Ummah — like one body. If the finger gets caught in a door, we don't say the finger is being punished for something that the heart has done or the tongue has done. The entire body is one. If the finger gets caught in a doorway, it's as bad as the eye being hit, or the hand being hit, or the head being hit. It's all one body — the whole body feels it.

So wherever the Ummah gets hit in whatever way, shape or form, we're all taking heed for it and we're all supposed to be feeling the pain for it. And we have to start introspecting and seeing: what have I done possibly to become a means of this problem affecting the Ummah? How is my relationship with Allah? How are my sins? Because it all adds up, my brothers and sisters. It all adds up.

You have one big scale that Allah has and the deeds of the human beings are piled up onto that, and there's a certain threshold. Once that threshold reaches, the help of Allah comes. Once another threshold reaches, the punishment of Allah comes. And this pan — this scale — that is collecting the deeds is not for a certain community or a certain country. Nay, it's for the entire Ummah. The entire Ummah collectively — all their actions are being forwarded onto this scale. And so when that scale reaches a tipping point, things happen.

So I have a share in that, and you have a share, and all of us have a share in that. We cannot absolve ourselves of our responsibility when it comes to these things. Our actions definitely play out in much greater ways than we can imagine. We see that happening within our own lives — that a person does something and immediately, or in the next week or in the next day, he or she starts seeing effects of that. That is in our personal life, and most definitely in a grand scheme of things as well — collectively, our actions play a very large role.

Natural Disasters as Divine Reminders

When it comes to natural disasters, we have many verses — like I shared with you these two verses — that talk about the fact that this chaos and corruption that happens, this turbulence, doesn't happen without Allah's permission. If you look at the hadith with regards to the signs of the Day of Judgment, which are numerous, you will see a lot of them focus on natural disasters: the occurrence of earthquakes, the occurrence of mudslides, the occurrence of various types of storms, massive wildfires — all of these things are mentioned in the books of hadith. Before the end of times, nature will start snarling and attacking back. And a lot of that is caused by human actions as well — human pollution, humans meddling with their environment in a manner that they are not supposed to — and definitely that causes a lot of problems as well.

But beyond that, it comes as a reminder for the human being: do not think of yourself as too powerful, too strong, and beyond the grasp of Allah's strength and power. Instead, we need to realize our status and our humbleness in front of Allah. We are small, teeny little human beings. No matter how smart we are, no matter what great technology we may have acquired — in front of the forces of what they call "the forces of nature," which is nothing but the smallest of creations of Allah: the ocean, the winds, and what not — when these things come at us, no matter how much technology, no matter how much intelligence, no matter how much wealth a person has, none of this is of any avail.

So when رَبُّ الْبَحَرِ and رَبُّ الْبَرِّ and رَبُّ الْهَوَاءِ and رَبُّ الطُّوفَانِ — when the Lord of all of this nature comes after a person, what are the chances of survival? When these creations are so intimidating and so scary, imagine the Lord behind all of this. Allah says:

Indeed, your Lord is lying in wait — waiting and watching your every move.

So these are reminders, my brothers and sisters, of what nature is doing around us. This is a simple creation of Allah. Allah says:

Allah says everything has been brought under control and subjugated for you. Once in a while these things turn around and instead of being a benefit, Allah says, bring some harm to the people as well.

The stories of 'Ad and Thamud and Nuh in the Quran are plenty for us to take advice and heed from — how each of those peoples would say:

"Can there be anyone more powerful than us? Can there be anyone stronger than us?" They were full of arrogance. But Allah speaks about how they were so strong, yet when Allah's nature — the wind — was let loose on them:

They were as tall as palm trees, they were as strongly rooted as palm trees. But when Allah let that wind go, Allah says it seemed — Allah is describing the humans — they looked as though, when a storm goes by a forest or a plantation or a garden and you see the trees all lying on the floor, this is how these massive human beings lay flat on the ground.

So these are not new phenomena — these are old phenomena. And Allah says: learn a lesson. Someone who suffers in this, if he remains patient and repents to Allah, then he has actually come out strong.

Suffering at the Hands of One Another

The second type of issue and disaster that we see taking place today — as we speak right now, whether currently in Burma or other places of the world — is of course at the hands of one another, at the hands of human beings. And Allah says that in the Quran as well in multiple places:

Say, O Muhammad ﷺ: هُوَ الْقَادِرُ — Allah is all-powerful and capable — أَن يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابًا — to send upon you a punishment that can make you into groups and factions — وَيُذِيقَ بَعْضَكُم بَأْسَ بَعْضٍ — and make you taste the punishment at the hands of one another.

So these are various types of wake-up calls that come from Allah. Allah says some come from the top — you can take that in the form of oppressive rulers, or you can take that in the form of hail and rain and things that come from the sky. And then Allah says some come from the bottom, تَحْتِ أَرْجُلِكُمْ — you can take that in the form of a citizenry class that rebels against the ruling class, or you can say that in the form of earthquakes and what not that happen below our feet. And the third type of punishment Allah says He is capable of sending is to make you into groups and then make one group fight with the other group, and thereby taste the punishment at the hands of one another.

Allah says: انظُرْ كَيْفَ نُصَرِّفُ الْآيَاتِ — look at how many different ways I explain things to you — لَعَلَّهُمْ يَفْقَهُونَ — so that you can understand, you can comprehend, you can think.

What Must We Do?

So we must not sit back and not worry about anything. Instead, we must take effect from all these types of calamities. Our hearts must get soft. We must feel pain. We must cry. We must turn to Allah in dua, in supplication — sincere, earnest supplication. And at the same time, along with that, we have to be proactive and do what we must and what we can in order to bring some change in these situations.

Whether it's the natural disasters that are affecting our country — and taking an active part in assisting, helping financially or in any other way, shape or form assisting those who are displaced or suffering. There are collections taking place by various organizations. Pious Projects is helping, amongst many other organizations, in Texas and they are sending a container full of supplies. So there are announcements being made for that as well as other organizations doing great work.

And then when it comes to the Burma crisis, when it comes to these other crises where our Muslims are horribly suffering and dying — and atrocities that are difficult to mention here, and I can't even look at those pictures when people share those images — we need to understand that we cannot simply feel bad about it and cannot simply say "I'm going to make dua." That's a starting point. But we have to proactively get involved in some way, shape or form: raise awareness about it, political involvement, protests that may be taking place in the city of Chicago in front of the Burmese embassy, writing letters and phone calls to our elected officials, bringing awareness, being involved in our community.

The Danger of Apathy and Seclusion

And I think that is one of the lessons to be learned from these crises: when Muslims seclude themselves and when Muslims alienate themselves from a community and say, "We're here to earn money, we're here to do our job, we're here to build our little McMansions, and at the same time we'll show up for a prayer once in a while to the masjid and that's about it," but our primary goal is how we can materialistically benefit and reap from the country — and we alienate ourselves and not remain involved in the political process and not remain involved in the civics of the country — then horrible repercussions can take place, have taken place, and are taking place as we speak in different parts of the world.

Our scholars have always asked us to do both things: hold on to dua and amal. There's no doubt about it that our own sins are a result of what's happening, but we cannot say "let me just do tawbah and istighfar and dua and that's about it." My brothers and sisters, beyond that a person needs to take positive steps and take initiatives to be involved in our country — not only for this crisis but for our own safety as well. Because, Allah forbid, what happens in those other places can easily come around to us very soon.

Allah forbid — these Muslims who are in Burma didn't just show up yesterday. They've been there for 700 plus years. But now all of a sudden they're being told that you don't belong in this country, you need to go somewhere else. That fire of xenophobia and Islamophobia — when that comes through, people don't look at anything. They don't look at history. They don't look at what you did, what your forefather did. They don't look at Thomas Jefferson's Quran. They're not worried about that. They're looking at practical things and they say: what have you done for our country? What has your involvement been here?

I was traveling one place, went to an apartment building to visit someone. The apartment building was packed with Muslims. So I went to go visit someone and I was waiting outside, waiting for the elevator, and I was shocked to see the type of anger and vulgarity that was taking place there between the non-Muslims who were speaking regarding the Muslims. The majority of Muslims are immigrants — they don't speak English, they didn't understand probably what was going on. But the indigenous citizens of that country were full of hate and anger about the Muslims. They were talking about how they trash the place, how they bring people who are not supposed to be there, packing up the apartments — how they ruin this and that aspect. And the list was going on and they were getting so angry.

I felt so uncomfortable standing there just listening to this, while all the other Muslims — they don't even know what's happening, they don't even hear, they don't even realize what these people are talking about. They're just going on their way. I was waiting in line and listening to that, and it gave me a glimpse of what's going on when we're not involved in our country, in our community — and we are here simply leading our lives thinking that "I've got my earplugs in, I've got my blinders on, and I'm going to do my own thing. I'll earn and take care of my family and my kids and no one's going to be worried about my life."

My brothers and sisters, this could really come back to bite us. This level of apathy and not being involved in the political process is one of the primary reasons why Muslims are being subjected to all sorts of oppression — because of their weakness.

And then there's another group of people that give great emphasis to these ibadat but think that this is sufficient and there's no reason to get involved in any level of activism. Both of these are wrong. Instead, we have to actually equally give full attention to both aspects — and show the entire community that this is how you handle both things beautifully: how you work on your relationship with Allah and at the same time take the realm of means, use whatever we have, and instead of just cursing...

A Powerful Hadith: The Hearts of Kings Are in Allah's Hand

I'll end with a hadith of the Prophet ﷺ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ reports that Allah says:

Allah says: "I am Allah, there is none worthy of worship but Me. I am مَالِكُ الْمُلُوكِ — the King of all kings. The hearts of all the kings are in My hand. And when My servants obey Me, then I make the hearts of their kings turn towards them with love and mercy. And when the servants disobey Me, then I turn the hearts of the rulers against them with harshness and punishment. So then the kings and these rulers begin to punish these people with the worst types of punishments. So do not keep yourself simply busy by cursing and praying against the kings. Rather, busy yourself in the remembrance of Allah and humbling yourself before Him, so that I may be sufficient for you against these oppressive rulers."

So this one beautiful hadith tells us that beyond just getting upset and angry and cursing — that is not the method for a Muslim. A Muslim takes proactive measures and turns to Allah, takes the blame wherever there needs to be blame taken, realizes that "I may be at fault — let me see how I can correct myself." And then at the same time also takes full use of the means available at our disposal in order to bring some positive change in the world.

Call to Action

I ask Allah that He allows myself and all of us here to utilize both ways — the way of dua, tadharru', and dhikr, as well as the means. Say ameen.

And we ask Allah in this blessed day of Jumu'ah that He allows you and I — all of us — to at least perform two raka'at of Salah after Jumu'ah or before Asr Salah. Let's take a time out to perform just two raka'at — Salatul Hajah — and ask Allah: "Ya Allah, wherever the Ummah is suffering, in whatever way — this is my small attempt to at least do something about it."

Beyond that, two raka'at of Salah every day after Fajr Salah — we have started Qunut al-Nazilah here, so please join us for that. And whatever level of involvement you can do — the Burma Task Force is working; you can join there, go to their website and see how you can get involved for the Burmese situation. And then for the flood victims, there are many different organizations: Pious Projects and others are doing great work. Let us see, with whatever level of involvement we can, insha'Allah.

The Story of the Dove and the Fire of Ibrahim

As they said — the legend goes — that when Ibrahim (alayhis salam) was being punished by Namrud and a huge fire was lit up to the sky, a dove came with a small beak full of water going towards that fire. The legend goes that the birds asked him: "Where are you going?" He said: "I'm going to put this water from my beak upon the fire of Ibrahim." So they told him: "What use is this going to do? What benefit will this tiny little drop of water in your beak be against this massive fire?" He said: "Well, at least on the Day of Judgment, when I am called out and Allah asks me — when My khalil, My friend, was being burnt, what did you do? — at least I can say: Ya Allah, I did what was in my power. I had one drop of water that I could put from my beak, and I did that."

SubhanAllah. So the lesson is: whatever we can — it might not be a whole lot — but as long as we take some action from this Jumu'ah to begin to take some initiative, so that at least we don't simply have tears and sadness about it, but beyond that we actually have something to show to Allah — that while others were suffering, this is what I was able to present to You.

I ask Allah that He truly inspires me and all of us insha'Allah to proactively get involved when these situations arise. And we hope and pray to Allah that the condition of the Ummah improves.

I say this and ask Allah for forgiveness.