December 16, 2010
I Too Have A Dream!
Section: WRITINGS | 246 reads
(15)
I Have More Dreams: Fear of God
And then I have all these other dreams that pertain to my fellow-Muslims in Trinidad and Tobago.
I have a dream that every Muslim man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago – and all over the world – including you, me and our families, will be more God-fearing and more loving of one another tomorrow than they are today.
For, fear of God Almighty is the core of faith and worship.
It is that to which all knowledge must lead.
And it is that which is the fountainhead of all goodness.
So, how can I not dream that dream for myself, my family and friends and for every Trinidad and Tobago Muslim male, female and child?
And for everyone else in this world?
But then here is the catch. Here is the connection that many of us sometimes so readily miss or downplay.
Not the least we Muslims.
Not the least some of the more conscious ones among us Muslims.
Not the least some of the more God fearing and knowledgeable ones among us Muslims.
We forget that fear of God in Islam, to be truly meaningful, must translate itself into love for God’s creation in its myriad forms.
And into an insatiable desire on the part of all of us for their service.
That is what the Qur’an teaches.
And that is what the model of our beloved Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, shows.
No one feared God more than he did; and no one was more eager to love and serve God’s creation than he was.
What a beautiful example his was: Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam!
As a result, part of my dream is the dream that every Muslim man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago will, tomorrow, be more kind to and more solicitous of their neighbors, regardless of race, gender or religion, than they are today.
For, ours is a multiracial and multireligious society.
As a result, our neighbors come in all colors and in all faiths.
Contrary to what some people may think or say, Islam does not teach hate or contempt based on people’s creed or color, it teaches kindness and respect toward all.
It urges people to find common denominators in their beliefs and behaviors and use them to cooperate with one another for the achievement of larger, nobler ends.
“Cooperate in matters of piety and cooperate in matters of virtue and goodness,” says the Qur’an.
And then the Qur’an pointedly adds: “But do not cooperate in matters of sin against God and in committing acts of aggression against others.”
As a result, I dream and hope and pray that every Muslim man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago will, tomorrow, show more kindness and compassion to those younger than themselves, than they do today.
Just as I dream and hope and pray that every Muslim man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago will, tomorrow, show greater respect to those older than themselves, than they do today.
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It Is also My Dream: Respect for Fellow Muslims
It is also my dream, my most fervent wish and my most sincere and ardent prayer that every Muslim man, woman and child in Trinidad and Tobago – and all over the world – including you, me and our families, will be more tolerant, understanding, accommodating, forgiving and respectful of their fellow-Muslims tomorrow than they are today.
And I dream this dream with eyes without sleep and with a heart that is heavy with grief.
A heart that is home to a thousand cuts and gashes and pains and hurts.
For, Allah, the Almighty, Allah the most merciful and compassionate, placed the key to success and happiness of Muslims in their own hands.
He told them – if I may paraphrase the meaning of a Hadith – you will be the most successful people if you knew how to work together.
He also told them that their mutual strife would be the cause of their undoing, downfall and destruction.
And history has proved him right – over and over and over again.
Muslims, throughout history, have done many a wonderful thing.
And may Allah bless them for it.
Yet, there is one thing that they have not been quite good at. And that is mutual cooperation, tolerance and accommodation.
May Allah forgive them for it.
I do not have the time to elaborate on this issue. But suffice it to say that this was indeed the cause – easily the primary cause – of the decay, degeneration, downfall and disintegration of Muslim societies, kingdoms and empires in almost all places at almost all times in history.
And most of the time, it is a question of mutual respect, rights and interests.
Sayyidina Hasan, son of Ali, Radiyallahu Anhuma, unilaterally surrendered his right and his claim to be the Khalifah of the Muslims and signed a peace treaty with Mu’aviyah, Radiyallahu Anhu.
The result was a new era of peace for Muslims after years of infighting and bloodshed.
He, thus, fulfilled the prophesy of his grandfather and our beloved Rasul, Sayyidina Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, saying: “This son of mine is likely to be a peacemaker between two major warring factions of my community (Ummah).”
That is why I have this dream, and I pray this prayer with all my heart, that Allah will unite the hearts of the Muslims and teach them how to be kind, respectful, forgiving, generous and accommodating to one another.
And if necessary, and if possible, even surrender some of their own personal rights for the sake of broader unity and cooperation among Muslims.
I dream, hope, wish and pray that Almighty Allah will make Muslims firm in the fundamentals of their faith and he will, at the same time, teach them the art and science of negotiation, understanding, tolerance and compromise on lesser issues.
Right here in Trinidad and Tobago and all over the world.
In particular I dream that those in the Muslim community – in Trinidad and Tobago and elsewhere – whom Allah has blessed with greater knowledge and understanding of Islam will strive mightily and tirelessly to unite the community around the fundamentals of Islam rather than divide it based on minor differences of opinion.
And that they will do more so tomorrow, and with every passing day, than they do today.
It is my most ardent wish, dream and prayer that Muslims of Trinidad and Tobago – and Muslims everywhere – will find effective ways of sitting down with one another and coming to shared decisions on matters of common interest.
And that Muslims of Trinidad and Tobago – and Muslims everywhere – will begin a new culture of cooperation and brotherhood in all matters of importance to them as Muslims.
And to the societies in whose midst they live.
For, debate, discussion and consultation in matters of common concern are a central teaching of the Qur’an.
This, in the language of the Qur’an, is known as Shura.
Shura was an important teaching and practice of the Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
Just as it was a common practice among the ranking Sahabah – the noble companions of the Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam – during the first half century of Islam.
Shura, sadly, has gone out of the life of the Muslims – at all or most stages and facets of their lives.
Muslims today seem to live their lives by fiat – various forms and levels of dictatorship and tyranny – whether in their personal or social lives.
Without returning to a Shura-based life, neither Muslim individuals nor societies are likely to find the peace and the success to which Islam entitles them.
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