December 16, 2010
I Too Have A Dream!
Section: WRITINGS | 245 reads
(6)
A Dual Mandate
At the same time, as human beings, we carry a dual mandate from God – one as his wholly owned slaves and the other as his handpicked representatives to carry out his will and his mandate on his plantation we call earth.
What a wonderful role it is that our creator, so generously and so mercifully, bestowed upon us!
It shows how full of grace and mercy our master is.
Thus, on the one hand, we are the slaves of the most wonderful master, which makes us all the most special people in the world.
On the other hand, we are the personal representatives on earth of the maker and master of the universe, which makes us more special than anyone else.
Thus, God Almighty put us here, on his plantation, as his slaves and, at the same time, as his representatives.
He called us his vicegerents on earth.
He gave us the honorific title of Khalifah (plural Khulafa’) which means representative.
He said he made us for that purpose: to be his representatives on earth.
What a story!
What a background!
What a reason to be!
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God’s Representative on Earth
Human beings are, thus, God’s representatives on earth.
God, thus, gave us a special mandate.
A dual mandate.
He mandated us to run and take care of his plantation according to his rules and regulations, laws and ordinances, wishes and commands for the benefit of all his creation.
And he made the entire creation – including angels – bow down before us.
That is how exalted and special he made us, even though we are his slaves.
In this capacity he gave us the charge of the universe.
He made us the stewards, custodians, keepers and maintainers of earth.
That is how God Almighty, the most merciful, the most compassionate, treats his slaves.
That is where the difference lies.
Not in whether or not we, as human beings, are slaves, but whose slaves we are.
Anyone can see how utterly weak and dependent and slave-like we are as humans in practically every aspect of our life.
The question, therefore, is not whether or not we are dependent, but the degree and extent to which we are dependent.
The question also is on whom and with regard to what we may be dependent.
The question is not whether or not we are in bondage, but the nature and range and source of that bondage.
For, it is self-evident that as humans we are dependent to different degrees on different things – from the elements to our relationships to our jobs.
We live and operate in different degrees of servitude and bondage.
Thus, in our capacity as humans, we combine the position of a fully owned slave with the noble and lofty station of God’s own representative on earth.
Whether you know this or not, and whether you accept this or not, this is who you are, if you are a human being – God’s slave on the one hand and his representative on earth on the other hand.
And this is what reality is.
It is called Al-Haqq.
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A Special Role for Muslims
Muslims are simply those folks who have decided to accept this fact of life.
They see and accept themselves, on the one hand, as the slaves of Allah. On the other hand, they see and accept themselves as the Khalifah or representative of Allah on earth.
And the Muslims, then, make a commitment – verbal and psychological – to carry out this dual mandate in their life to the best of their ability.
That is what separates the Muslims from the others.
Muslims are simply the ones who believe in this mandate and proclaim themselves to be committed to that mandate.
That is what is called Shahadah – proclaiming and bearing witness that you have no master but Allah and that Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is the messenger of Allah.
It is Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, who told us who we are, and it is he who showed us how to act in this world.
It is he who taught and showed us by practical example how to carry out the mandate of being Allah’s slave and representative at the same time.
As a result, Muslims are the ones who have been instructed and taught by God to see themselves as custodians, stewards, managers, administrators and slaves on God’s plantation – the earth.
They are the ones who have said yes to the call of their master. They are the ones who have made the commitment.
They are the ones who made the verbal proclamation.
That proclamation – Shahadah – and that commitment – Iman – are summed up in two propositions no more than seven words in total.
The first one is no more than four words – or syllables.
The second one is no more than three words – or syllables.
The first is: La Ilaha Illa Allah!
No god but God.
The second is: Muhammad Rasul Allah!
Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is the messenger of Allah.
Together they read:
La Ilaha Illa Allah, Muhammad Rasul Allah!
There is no god but Allah, Muhammad, is the messenger of Allah.
Together these two propositions or declarations or proclamations of no more than seven words between them provide the be-all and end-all of human life on earth.
They tell the human story in full.
Everything else is details and nuances. Everything else is the unfolding of the meaning of these two propositions in space and time – in real life.
In the past; in the present; as well as in the future.
They also sum up what Islam is all about.
In theory as well as in practice.
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