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There is a simple mathematical
formula that many people like to use to encourage others to call people
to Islam because it shows the value that an individual’s efforts can
have. It goes like this: You reach out to one person. Now there are two.
Then you both go out and do the same, and the two become four. This can
go on until the message reaches all members of society.
The idea of convincing others
to offer what they have—no matter how small—is definitely a positive
idea. It goes in harmony with the justice of Islam, which demands from a
person only what he or she is capable of.
`Abdullah ibn `Amr ibn Al-`Aas
related that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Report
on my behalf even a single verse” (Al-Bukhari and others). This
statement indicates that a person should relate a verse of the Qur’an,
no matter how short it is. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
did not make the duty of conveying the message applicable only to
capable scholars. In another hadith, the Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) made special prayers for those who heard his words, memorized
them, and then conveyed them to others. This specifically refers to the
Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “May
Allah bless a person who hears my words, memorizes them, and then
conveys them just as he heard them, for many of those who hear something
second-hand may be more able to comprehend it than the one who first
heard it.” Therefore, we should agree that we need to call people
to positive action, to cooperation, and to making a contribution, even
if some of them can only contribute on a small scale, because the
greatest flood is made of the smallest drops.
There are people who try to
run away from their duties on the pretense that the small efforts that
they are capable of are insignificant while what is needed is something
massive that can change the balance of power—and this is something
that they are quite incapable of bringing about.
In this way, we get lost
between those things that we can do but are ineffective— at least in
their opinion—and those things that are effective but we are incapable
of. This is merely an excuse and a deception to help us escape from our
responsibilities. A more balanced view of one’s humble efforts is to
see them in conjunction with the efforts of millions of others.
Together, these efforts could possibly tip the scales.
I would like to mention an
interesting experience that I had a few months ago when I visited an
ailing sheikh. He was completely paralyzed by his illness. He was not
able to move or speak. He was only able to see and hear. I found him
waiting for me anxiously with a page full of disjointed words that
looked like something out of a crossword puzzle. It read:
PROPOSAL
UNITY OF HUMAN LANGUAGES IS UNITY OF HUMANITY HUMAN LANGUAGES SPEECH
FROM EVERY LANGUAGE IS MORE DEPENDING ON WHAT IS EASIER LETTERS READ
WRITTEN CONTAINS EVERY DIALECT HUMAN LANGUAGE HEARD BY WAY OF THE
INTERNET AND SATELLITES EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD CAN STUDY BENEFIT AND
THE SECOND LANGUAGE AFTER A WHILE CAN BE THE OFFICIAL LANAGUAGE…
Disregard the meaning of his
message for now and consider instead what he had to do to express this
idea of his, an idea that is in itself a bit difficult—the idea of
developing a single world language. He had a board that had all the
letters of the alphabet written on it. Whenever the people around him
realized that he wanted to say something, they would bring this board to
him. They would point to every letter one by one until he indicated with
his eyes that they had reached the right one. They would write the
letter down and start the process all over again. It took 305 successful
attempts to produce the message given above, and we cannot even guess at
the number of unsuccessful attempts. It took over two months of what
must have been a mentally strenuous process for the sheikh’s entire
message to be recorded. Who among us does not have a pen or a sheet of
paper or an idea or a suggestion or something else to offer? Do any of
these things require from us even the least effort?
The existence of will and
determination—and consequently action and movement —is integral to
the human condition. This applies equally to both worldly and spiritual
endeavors. Whenever a person loses complete interest in both, then
existence becomes meaningless. A person who has absolutely no desire to
engage in any kind of activity whatsoever (or perhaps has such a desire
but is completely incapable of carrying it out) lives an existence
without meaning. Most cases of suicide stem from such a condition.
Islam
does not recognize a state where a person is incapable of all action. As
long as the heart is alive, it can do a lot. It is the source of
goodness and virtue. It is the organ that the spiritual health of the
whole body is contingent upon. It is the fountain of struggle and jihad.
And it is the last weapon to resisting evil and wrongdoing. “Whoever
is not able (to stop wrongdoing) with his hands, then with his heart.”
It is where intentions are formulated, and sincere prayers and
supplications are made.
*
This article is the first in a 3-part series entitled Until They Change What Is In Themselves,
here cited with some modifications from:
http://www.islamtoday.net/english/showme_weekly_2002.cfm?cat_id=30&sub_cat_id=447
**
Sheikh
Salman
Al-`Udah is a prominent Saudi scholar. His official Web site is:
www.IslamToday.net
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