A
sister once told me that she and her family had made hijrah to Egypt
but that she couldn’t have
come without her microwave oven. Hmmm. That struck me as perhaps not being in
quite the same spirit as the
Muhajirun who emigrated from Makkah in 622 CE. But then again, maybe
that’s just because when I lived in Los Angeles, I was the only person there
who didn’t own a microwave.
The
Muhajirun left behind not only their property but often their families, too. At
that time there were very few households in which everyone was Muslim. Most
families were split, with one spouse or one child Muslim and the rest of them
pagan. Those who emigrated never knew if they would see their family members
again. No photographs to remember them by, no weekly telephone calls or e-mails
to those left behind. But the Muhajirun were willing to make the sacrifice.
Today
there are still many who revert to Islam and find themselves cut off by their
families. If they are still living at home at the time of their reversion, they
may actually be kicked out. If they’re not still living at home, their
families may just cut their relations with them. (To be fair, there are also
families who don’t ostracize their Muslim member, even if they do think he or
she has “gone off the deep end.”) Yet people continue to revert, unable to
deny the truth any longer. So, though they may not actually move to a new land,
they are in some respects like the Muhajirun, that is, in need of help.
But
where are the Ansar today?
Do
we have shelters for new Muslims (or for those suffering from domestic
violence)? Do we have social services for them? Networks to help them find jobs?
Or even just services to help them learn their religion? Or what about services
for immigrant Muslims who need to settle in a new land, learn a new language?
Only in limited cases, I’m afraid.
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Rather
than looking at the 90 percent on which we agree, we focus on the 10
percent on which we disagree.
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We
often hear about the great sacrifices that the Muhajirun made, but they
couldn’t have left Makkah without the Ansar, the Muslims of Madinah who helped
them.
The
Ansar did more than open their homes and help the Muhajirun financially. They
knew full well that by pledging to protect Muhammad and his followers, they were
challenging the whole of
Arabia
. We know that they realized
that, because one of them stood up and warned the others just before they
pledged.
Are
there many of us today who are willing to help our fellow Muslims if there is
any sort of risk involved? I’m afraid that where we are living comfortably,
too many of us don’t want to “get our hands dirty” or get involved.
Another
great thing about the Ansar. Before they became Muslim, they were divided into
two tribes, Aws and Khazrah. And I mean divided, frequently at war with each
other. Yet when they accepted Islam, they were able to overcome those
differences and unite under Muhammad’s leadership. No more “my dad can beat
your dad.” These people were serious in their devotion to Islam.
Today
we see too many of us divided over minor issues—even ones as petty as the
style of each other’s clothes or the length of veil or beard. Or we take an
issue on which there is not unanimous consensus and let that be the basis by
which we judge others. Rather than looking at the 90 percent on which we agree,
we focus on the 10 percent on which we disagree. Thus we make no progress,
always squabbling over petty details while our enemies continue to mow us down
(literally or figuratively), drain our coffers, humiliate and debilitate us.
Where
are the Ansar?
When
my husband and I visited Madinah some years ago, I commented to our host that I
was disappointed that the Prophet’s house and original mosque had not been
preserved as a museum. I would have liked to see the simple way he lived. (I can
see it now—an Arab Williamstown with the reconstructed or preserved buildings,
the main part of each room roped off, all the artifacts left “just the way the
owner left it,” employees in period costumes, $20 admission.) Our host replied
that, first of all, the mud brick they used back then didn’t last long, so
there was no way to preserve it. And that that was not in the spirit of Islam,
Islam was for progress.
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Some
of us are suffering as the Muslims of Makkah did—sometimes worse—but
the question remains, where can we go that’s better?
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Well,
yes, we should be progressing materially, while not letting that become our
be-all end-all. In fact, the Prophet’s main concerns in Madinah were not for
the economic revival or the pursuit of wealth, but simply that the Muslims might
be safe and secure—able to walk the streets without being hassled or
molested—and free to worship.
As
the beginning
of another Hijri year arrives, we need to take stock of where we
stand as individuals and as an Ummah. In the West we are facing more
restrictions on our freedom of religion, especially our right to dress in
accordance with our religion. As a repercussion of 9/11, in some places we are
still assaulted, harassed, or unjustly treated by civilians and police alike. In
other parts of the world most of us suffer, some worse than others, under
dictatorships by “Muslims” who torture, maim, and kill those who strive to
enact Shari`ah again.
There
are enough of us world wide who are suffering as the Muslims of Makkah
did—sometimes worse—but the question remains, where can we go that’s
better? And where are the Ansar to help us?
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