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Dealing with Crises
Shaykh Abdur-Rahmaan As-Sudays [(Safar
9, 1424 (April 11, 2003)]
All praise is
due to Allaah, Lord of all the worlds. May peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon the Messenger of Allaah, his household and companions.
Brethren in
Islaam! In these days of crises, catastrophes and commotions, Muslims need
to think deeply on how best way to deal with these crises so that there
will not be confusions and misinformation.
During crises,
that identities and values are compromised. Therefore, the ship of this
Ummah is in the dire need of experienced sailors who can sail it to
salvation and peace so that the Muslims’ ideological and security rights
can be protected and their unity can be preserved. It is then that the
Islaamic Monotheism can be materialised and unity of the Muslims achieved.
For these two are the only guarantees against waves of crises that
threaten our Ummah and make it forget all other crises it has
experienced throughout its contemporary history.
Dear Brethren!
Since this world is an abode of trials and a passageway to the Hereafter,
it is the will of Allaah that people should be living between ease and
hardship and between peace and crises. There is for Allaah in that a great
wisdom.
It is part of
His mercy that He endowed you with the Sharee‘ah by which you judge among
yourselves at all times and in all situations. This law illuminates for
you the right way during calamities and afflictions. This Divine Law
favours no lineage or wealth. It astounds the humanity and it is
doubtlessly the ailment for diseased hearts and the remedy for all humans.
Whoever perseveres in the course of following the injunctions of this law
shall prosper and succeed and whoever is displeased with it and fails to
persevere gets nothing but loss.
We should not
believe that afflictions are devoid of any good. Rather, afflictions
contain a lot of lessons and meanings that are not hidden from the wise
men.
Afflictions
drive man to submission to Allaah and to show his total helplessness
before Him. They also remind him that whatever happens in this world is by
the design of Allaah and His pre-decree and that refuge should only be
sought with Him. Allaah even condemns those who do not run to Him in
difficulties. Allaah says,
“And indeed We
seized them with punishment, but they humbled not themselves to their
Lord, nor did they invoke (Allaah) with submission to Him.”
(Al-Mu’minoon
23:76)
Allaah also
tests His servant with afflictions in order to make him among the
selected. In this case, the afflicted Muslim is not the first and will not
be the last. This Ummah of ours has been tested throughout its
history with many afflictions from which it came out stronger and
victorious. Allaah says,
“(Remember)
when they came upon you from above you and from below you, and when (your)
eyes grew wild and you were greatly frightened, and you were harbouring
doubts about Allaah. There, the believers were tried and mightily shaken.”
(Al-Ahzaab
33:10-11)
In general, no
tribulation is devoid of lessons for the believers. Tribulations awaken
the heedless, teach the ignorant, encourage unity and remove dissentions.
Fellow Muslims!
The decision of Allaah must be executed and we have no option other than
to rely on Him and seek refuge with Him.
These days,
Muslims’ tribulations in the land of Iraq are immense. They have rendered
peace lovers all over the world helpless. Iraq was and is still subjected
to killings, burning of properties, looting and destruction of buildings
among other atrocities.
Yes, we must
rise up to remove this nightmare. This useless and unjustified war must be
condemned in the light of wisdom and justice under the shade of Islaamic
law and international statutes.
Therefore, in
the name of Muslim nations and communities, we are calling world
communities and decision makers to put an immediate stop to these unjust
war and carnage; and all acts of violence, anarchy and disruption that
seek to plunge this region into a deep abyss whose end is known only to
Allaah.
Mankind has
suffered woes of wars and different kinds of clashes. Wars and
catastrophes have brought more problems and little benefits for mankind.
It is therefore, necessary to stop these wars in order to protect the
lives of innocent civilians, to avert unwarranted destruction of lives and
properties, to safeguard the security of nations, to save the cultural and
intellectual landmarks of Islaamic cities and to prevent the vicious
Zionists from taking the advantage of the world’s preoccupation with these
crises to perpetrate their heinous crime in the land of Palestine.
O men of peace
and good will! O advocates of freedom and human rights! Move quickly to
end these tragedies and catastrophes before the world bodies and
organizations become discredited. Know that there is always a way out of
any difficult as long as there are sincere efforts. For Allaah says,
“Allaah will
grant after hardship, ease.”
(At-Talaaq
65:7)
The Messenger
of Allaah said, “Victory comes with perseverance, relief comes after
hardship and with every difficulty there is ease.”
Brethren in
faith! You are now facing tribulations and hardships. Draw lessons from
these events especially on Islaamic Monotheism and importance of unity.
Allaah says,
“Truly!
This, your Ummah is one, and I am your Lord, therefore worship Me
(Alone).”
(Al-Anbiyaa
21:92)
Brethren in
Islaam! Amidst these bloody events, some weak-minded Muslims who are
devoid of any sense of nobility are spreading destructively false rumours
and concocted allegations against innocent people in order to weaken the
morale of Muslims and curb their just ambitions. To you dear brethren I
recite the word of Allaah,
“O you who
believe! If a Faasiq (liar - evil person) comes to you with any news,
verify it, lest you should harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you
become regretful for what you have done.”
(Al-Hujuraat
49:6)
Allaah also
says,
“And those
who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, they bear (on themselves)
the crime of slander and plain sin.”
(Al-Ahzaab
33:58)
The more false
rumours are spread, the greater their sins. Any Muslim who finds himself
in this situation must follow the instruction of Allaah that says,
“And why did
you not, when you heard it, say? "It is not right for us to speak of this.
Glory is to You (O Allaah)! This is a great lie.”
(An-Noor 24:16)
Fellow Muslims!
Always remember the saying of Allaah,
“Not a word
does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record
it).”
(Qaaf 50:18)
Therefore,
beware of transmitting false rumours that have become a destructive weapon
against the unity of the Muslims and for causing enmity between the rulers
and the ruled, between the scholars and the common people and between the
youths and their elders. Unfounded rumours only breed suspicion in the
society.
The Muslim society must endeavour to
protect itself against unfounded rumours. The Messenger of Allaah said,
“It is enough for a man to be called a liar if he tells all that he
hears.” (Muslim) The Muslim must therefore refrain from listening to
rumours and spreading them. For listening to them and transmitting them
lead to dangerous situations that can threaten the foundation of the
society and remove the little harmony and cooperation that are left.
Dear Muslims!
Proper understanding of the crises entails viewing them from the Islaamic
perspective. Islaam forbids injustice and oppression and makes it
mandatory on the Muslims to help one another and cooperate according to
the situations. The Muslim must always remember his brethren in
supplications. For Allaah says,
“Is not He
Who responds to the distressed one when he calls on Him; Who removes the
evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations
(better than your gods)? Is there any god with Allaah?”
(An-Naml 27:62)
Muslims must
take to the causes of steadfastness in the light of the correct belief and
sound way. They must abide by the Islaamic injunctions that enjoin
calmness, peacefulness, lack of haste, deliberateness and listening to the
counselling of the sincere scholars of the Ummah. Islaam also
enjoins lack of looking for crises because the Messenger of Allaah has
said that whoever looked for crises would fall into them.
The Muslim must
also not twist the texts of the Qur’aan and the Sunnah in order to apply
them to contemporary events without adequate knowledge. Spurious and weak
hadeeths should be avoided. Sentiments should give way to reason.
Intellectual anarchy should be shunned. Acts of so-called jihaad that has
no clear purpose and has not met the required conditions should be
avoided. The social cohesion of the Muslims should be preserved. Our
internal fronts should be guarded and our constituted authority should be
obeyed. We should have good opinion of them and should not believe the
allegations that the troublemakers make against them. Allaah says,
“When there
comes to them some matter touching (public) safety or fear, they make it
known (among the people); if only they had referred it to the Messenger or
to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would
have understood it from them (directly).”
(An-Nisaa 4:83)
Brethren in faith! Your religion is
the everlasting religion however much the worlds around you turn away from
the truth. The Messenger of Allaah said, “This matter (Islaam) shall reach
every part of this world. Allaah will leave no dwelling of nomads or
sedentary people without making this religion enter it. He will do so
through giving glory to some people and humiliating some people.” (Ahmad)
Almighty Allaah
has promised His favoured Messenger that He would not destroy his Ummah
with a comprehensive drought nor would He impose on them enemies from
outside who will defile their homes even if these enemies are to form an
alliance from all countries.
The Muslims
need to study the causes of victory and defeat through a new perspective,
correct reasoning and commendable methodology. We should not despair. We
should rather be optimistic that victory and power will eventually belong
to Islaam and the Muslims. Allaah says,
“But honour,
power and glory belong to Allaah, His Messenger (Muhammad (peace be upon
him)) and to the believers, but the hypocrites know not.”
(Al-Munaafiqoon
63:8)
Allaah also
says,
“So the
roots of the people who did wrong were cut off. And all the praises and
thanks are to Allaah, the Lord of all the worlds.”
(Al-An‘aam
6:45)
Brethren in
Islaam! The youth of this Ummah in particular and the Muslims in
general should make use of two protective shields in these days of crises.
These shields are: turning to Allaah in repentance and making sincere
supplication to Him. Supplication is the arrow that never misses its
target and the only weapon that never fails. Sincere supplications must be
made in support of the leaders and the scholars. The instructions of the
scholars must be obeyed because they are the upholders of this religion
and its guides. Whoever turns away from their opinion is likely to be
disgraced.
The scholars of
Islaam know the greatness of the trust they shoulder, especially in times
of crises like this. The unbiased Muslim will note that the scholars are
very keen to direct the Ummah and explain the truth to Mankind.
They exert all efforts to teach the Prophetic justice that consists of
wisdom, reason and judiciousness. These scholars teach the principles of
Sharee‘ah that aim at averting harm and bringing about good.
Fellow Muslims!
We should also endeavour to do away with all our so-called differences.
The media should play its primary role of educating the populace. It
should refrain from exaggeration and causing commotions through its
individual analyses and broadcast and publishing of aimless fatwas
that cause miseries in the ranks of the Muslims.
The Muslim
Ummah in its glorious history has examples of decisive and wise
stances. Remember the stand of Aboo Bakr during the Battle of Apostasy,
the stance of Imaam Ahmad during his difficult days and the stance of
Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah.
By saying this,
we are not undermining the sense honour and the feelings of the Youth. We
rather praise them for that and we regard that as a harbinger of good. We
are only urging them to make a proper use of these qualities, look at the
consequences of any action they take and strike a balance between
sentiment and reason. For lack of doing this leads to nothing but evil.
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