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( O ye who
believe! Bow down, prostrate yourselves, and adore your
Lord; and do good; that ye may prosper. And strive in His
cause as ye ought to strive, (with sincerity and under
discipline). He has chosen you, and has imposed no
difficulties on you in religion; it is the community of your
father Abraham. It is He Who has named you Muslims, both
before and in this (Revelation); that the Messenger may be a
witness for you, and ye be witnesses for mankind! So
establish regular Prayer, give regular Charity, and hold
fast to Allah! He is your Protector, the best to protect and
the Best to help!)
(Al-Hajj 22:77-78)
The new Hijri year has begun and
within a few days we will be celebrating `Ashoura', the 10th
day of Muharram. For Muslims `Ashoura' is a very important
day. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and
his companions used to fast on this day. It is also
recommended that we fast two days; the 9th and 10th of
Muharram.
This celebration is based
on a very important event. In the time of Prophet Musa
(peace and blessings be upon him). Almighty Allah delivered
him and his followers from the persecution of Pharaoh in
ancient Egypt. It was a great event in which Almighty Allah
bestowed His mercy and kindness to those who followed His
prophet. Almighty Allah also showed His anger and wrath
against those who were arrogant and oppressors. That's why
prophet Muhammad ordered Muslims to fast in this day; i.e.
celebrating Musa's rescue.
The Ummah at this time must
learn some lessons from that event. The Ummah is going
through a great deal of struggle and pain to establish
justice and righteousness in this world, especially in the
Muslim lands. There are many people who are giving their
lives as martyrs for this cause. We have our brothers and
sisters in Palestine, Iraq, Kashmir, Chechnya, Macedonia,
Albania, Somalia and Ethiopia who are suffering under the
possible worst oppression and are struggling for liberation.
There are people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan where
they are suffering from natural or manmade disasters.
The people who claim to be
the followers of Prophet Musa (peace and blessings be upon
him) are acting like modern day Pharaohs. They are engaged
in the worst persecution of Palestinians today. Thousands of
Palestinians, mostly children, have been killed by Israelis.
They have inflicted pain and injury upon thousands and have
made hundreds of thousands homeless. These people have also
lost their jobs and other means of livelihood. To make
matters even worse, the Israeli new campaign is aerial
bombardment.
While this suffering is
going on, the political leaders of the Muslim Ummah today
are failing to do their due duties towards their peoples.
They are busy in their own pursuit of power and pleasure and
have very little concern for justice, righteousness and for
the plight of the Ummah. They meet, talk, make empty threats
but do nothing. There is no one in sight who can act like
Prophet Musa (peace and blessings be upon him) and save this
Ummah from its internal strife and external threats and
dangers. However, `Ashoura' is a day of courage and hope. We
must have courage to follow the truth and work for social,
political and economic justice and we must remain hopeful so
that the truth will prevail and falsehood will be defeated.
We may also remember that
in the year 61 after the Hijrah (681 A.D.). It was the
martyrdom of Al-Husayn, son of `Ali (may Allah be pleased
with both of them). He stood for truth, justice and for
righteous government and was willing to give his life for
this cause. He had a tragic death and was heroic. He taught
us lessons of courage and steadfastness to challenge evil
and wrong wherever it might be.
The last two verses of
Surat Al-Hajj give us a plan of action both on the
individual as well as the collective level:
- ruku`, prostration and
acts of worship; deep devotion
- Good deeds
- Jihad or struggle for
truth and justice
- Witness to mankind
- Holding fast to
Almighty Allah
We need strong commitment
to our faith, to Almighty Allah and His commands, and to
ethics and morality. We need deep loyalty to the Ummah; not
to tribes, ethnic groups or nationalities. We need to be
well-educated and knowledgeable. We need to be dedicated to
social services to help our people and all humanity. We need
better communication with others. We need to act with love,
kindness, and generosity.
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