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<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah<\/p>\n
This is a message specifically to my brothers and sisters in Islam:<\/p>\n
Sometimes we run short of patience.\u00a0 It\u2019s normal.\u00a0 We are, after all, only\u00a0 human.\u00a0 But we are also Muslim, so we are held to a higher standard.\u00a0 We are supposed to the upright Ummah, the nation, not of borders and ethnic lines, but of belief and behavior.\u00a0 We believe in One God.\u00a0 We behave like role models for mankind.<\/p>\n
Why, then, do I so often hear my Muslim brothers and sisters judging one another with harshness and attacking non-Muslims with hatred?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t we supposed to maintain our dignity even in the face of verbal abuse?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t we supposed to only argue in the best manner?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t we supposed to try to attract people to Islam, rather than chase them away?\u00a0 If that\u2019s the case, then I\u2019m afraid we\u2019re making an awful hash of it.<\/p>\n
Online, millions of Muslims do wonderful things.\u00a0 There are educational websites, inspiring Youtube videos, and informative chat rooms.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there are also ignorant rants and self-righteous screeds and all manner of bad behavior.\u00a0 I\u2019m not even talking about Muslims who visit porn sites or have suggestive photos on their Facebook walls.\u00a0 I\u2019m talking about Muslims who think they are defending Islam by thoughtlessly tossing around the word \u201ckaafir\u201d and pompously declaring who and who will not be in the Hellfire.\u00a0 Yes, those Muslims.\u00a0 The ones who make me cringe when I stumble across their postings.\u00a0 I thought I left all that fire-and-brimstone-hellfire-and-damnation talk behind when I entered Islam.\u00a0 But I still see it out there, and it still makes me wonder how many fragile, newly-practicing Muslims are getting the message that they\u2019ll never be good enough, and how many non-Muslims are getting the message that we hate you all and want you to die.<\/p>\n
I contrast this approach with the example set by our beloved Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah\u2019s peace and blessings be upon him.\u00a0 He was a man of moderation.\u00a0 He was no milquetoast; he could wield a sword when necessary and could give a stern lesson if required.\u00a0 But he always leavened his words with love and mercy.\u00a0 He never returned an insult to his person, though he never failed to defend Islam when someone attacked the religion.\u00a0 He had the entrails of animals tossed on his back while he was praying.\u00a0 He had thorny branches strewn in his path.\u00a0 He had rough men yank his cloak and grab his clothing.\u00a0 He even was attacked by a fussilade of stones after trying to bring the message of Allah\u2019s Oneness to a neighboring tribe.\u00a0 Do you know this story?\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s time for a refresher\u2026.<\/p>\n
Prophet Muhammad, may Allah\u2019s peace and blessings be upon him, visited the nearby town of Ta\u2019if with his ward Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him, in order to preach to them the message of Islam.\u00a0 He was received politely by the tribe\u2019s leaders, but after hearing his message they became fearful that his notion of only One God would damage the pilgrimage trade and cause their fellow pagans in Makkah to be angry with them.\u00a0 They allowed the children and hoodlums of the town to chase them away, throwing stones at them and hurting them so badly that the shoes of the Messenger filled with blood.\u00a0 They were able to escape the abuse, but it was a sad and painful episode.\u00a0 He had been humiliated and abused.\u00a0 What did he do in response?\u00a0 Did he come in the night and slit the throats of the tribal elders?\u00a0 Did he stand up on a hill and verbally abuse them?\u00a0 Did he try to rally his tribe to attack in order to avenge the insult?\u00a0 He could have done more than this, yet he refrained:<\/p>\n
`Aishah (May Allah be pleased with her) reported: I asked the Prophet (PBUH) \u201cHave you ever experienced a day harder than the day of the battle of Uhud?\u201d He replied, \u201cIndeed, I experienced them (dangers) at the hands of your people (i.e., the disbelievers from amongst the Quraish tribe). The hardest treatment I met from them was on the Day of `Aqabah when I went to Ibn `Abd Yalil bin `Abd Kulal (who was one of the chiefs of Ta\u2019if) with the purpose of inviting him to Islam, but he made no response (to my call). So I departed with deep distress. I did not recover until I arrived at Qarn ath-Tha`alib. There, I raised my head and saw a cloud which had cast its shadow on me. I saw in it Jibril (Gabriel) (PBUH) who called me and said: `Indeed, Allah, the Exalted, heard what your people said to you and the response they made to you. And He has sent you the angel in charge of the mountains to order him to do to them what you wish.\u2019 Then the angel of the mountains called me, greeted me and said: `O Muhammad, Allah listened to what your people had said to you. I am the angel of the mountains, and my Rubb has sent me to you so that you may give me your orders. (I will carry out your orders). If you wish I will bring together the two mountains that stand opposite to each other at the extremities of Makkah to crush them in between.\u201d\u2019 But Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, \u201cI rather hope that Allah will raise from among their descendants people as will worship Allah the One, and will not ascribe partners to Him (in worship).\u201d\u00a0 [Al-Bukhari and Muslim].<\/p>\n
\u201cI rather hope that Allah will raise from among their descendents people as will worship Allah the One, and will not ascribe partners to him.\u201d <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nMashaAllah.\u00a0 What a beautiful sentiment.\u00a0 What beautiful words and what beautiful restraint.\u00a0 Is this not the perfect example to which we should aspire?<\/p>\n
But, you say, my mom hates Islam and won\u2019t let me pray.\u00a0 My brother makes fun of my hijaab. My boss threatened to fire me if I don\u2019t shave my beard.\u00a0 The guy at the gas station looks at me funny.\u00a0 The lady at the dry cleaner wouldn\u2019t wait on me.\u00a0 The school won\u2019t make accomodation for my kids.\u00a0 That person on Facebook made an insulting group against Islam.\u00a0 Those politicians call us terrorists.\u00a0 What am I supposed to do, just sit and take it?\u00a0 Just allow myself to be abused?<\/p>\n
Honestly, sometimes you won\u2019t have the ability to defend yourself, and at that time you simply have to be patient and understand that Allah will reward you for your restraint.\u00a0 At other times, you will be able to respond.\u00a0 I\u2019m not saying that you can\u2019t defend yourself, but that you have to do it in the most diginified manner.\u00a0 Tell your mother you love her and that Islam commands you treat her with respect, even if she is harsh with you.\u00a0 Tell your brother you respect him and Islam doesn\u2019t permit you to abuse him in return for abuse.\u00a0 Report your boss to the labor board.\u00a0 Buy gas somewhere else.\u00a0 Go to a different dry cleaner.\u00a0 Write a letter to the school board and calmly state your case.\u00a0 Report the bad group.\u00a0 Support people who have a reasonable stance towards Islam.\u00a0 You can do this.\u00a0 And you can do it without ever using the \u201ck\u201d word (or the \u201cf\u201d word for that matter) without raising your voice or losing your temper.\u00a0 Will everyone see the light and experience and epiphany and come over to your way of seeing things? No.\u00a0 There will still be the hateful relatives and the Rush Limbaughs and the Rick Santorums and all the rest.\u00a0 But the others, the ones who had been blocked from the light by the shadows of those who are in misguidance, the ones you may not even notice, will see.\u00a0 They will see your intelligence and your dignity and your calm and your light, and they will think to themselves, \u201cI need to get me some of that\u201d.\u00a0 And you may just set in motion the process that will lead someone to Islam.\u00a0 Do you think screaming \u201cF You!\u201d at the top of your voice would have accomplished that?\u00a0 No, me neither.<\/p>\n
I remind myself before I remind anyone else.\u00a0 Stand up for your rights, by all means, but be dignified, not indignant.\u00a0 Islam is the middle road, the moderate path, and we have to behave with moderation, even in extreme circumstances, in order to show the true face of Islam to the world.\u00a0 Anything I said right is from Allah, and anything wrong is from the Shaitan and my own nafs.\u00a0 Fi Aman Allah.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 As Salaamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullah This is a message specifically to my brothers and sisters in Islam: Sometimes we run short of patience.\u00a0 It\u2019s normal.\u00a0 We are, after all, only\u00a0 human.\u00a0 But we are also Muslim, so we are held to a higher standard.\u00a0 We are supposed to the upright Ummah, the nation, not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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