September
11, 2001: Our sincerest prayers go out to all who have suffered, and those
whose families or friends have suffered. We pray that may Allah grant
patience to all who have lost friends and family in this tragedy. We pray
that may Allah guide all of us during these difficult times. And, we pray
that all communities in America and world citizens of all faiths find
peace and healing from within them selves and their prayers. Among
the mix of emotions and questions, there is a sense of immense human
tragedy… thousands of lives have perished in senseless violence, a sense
of anger and frustration… Condemning those who carried out this violence
is the easy part. Any rational human will consider this act reprehensible.
But the bigger question still remains, why is all of this happening? The
word of our Creator in the Quran is forcefully clear: Al-Ma'idah
5:32 ….. whosoever kills a human being other than (in punishment) for manslaughter or
causing corruption in the earth, it shall be as if he had killed all humanity, and
whoso saved the life of one, it shall be as if he had saved the life of
all humanity. The
events in America on 11th September 2001 cause every thinking person to
stop their daily lives and ponder deeply upon the larger questions of
life. There are two possible responses to what has occurred.
The first comes from compassion, the second from fear. If we come
from fear we may panic and do things - as individuals and as nations -
that could only cause further damage. If we come from compassion we will
find refuge and strength, even as we provide it to others.
We may seek to pinpoint blame,
or to pinpoint cause. Unless
we take this time to earnestly reflect on this experience, it will be
difficult to resolve the emotions within us. This may lead us to live in
fear of retribution or seek retribution. If we let our selves be guided
only by our emotions we will miss the most basic human lessons and be
blind to the most basic human truths. The message we hear from all sources
of truth is clear: We are all one. That
is a message the human race has largely ignored.
Forgetting this truth is the cause of hatred and war, and the way
to remember this is simple: through compassion and collective good for
humanity. If we could
love even those who have attacked us, and seek to understand why they have
done so, what then would be our response?
Yet if we meet negativity with negativity, rage with rage, attack
with attack, what then will be the outcome?
These are the questions that are placed before the human race
today. They are questions
that we have failed to answer for thousands of years. Failure to answer them now could eliminate the need to answer
them at all. To stop terror the world needs to unite behind a cohesive humanity, citizen-to-citizen, nation-to-nation, faith-to-faith, and seek a truly universal peace among all humankind. What
can you do TODAY . . . this very moment?
What you wish to experience, provide the same for another. If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for
another. If you wish to know that you are safe, cause another to know that
they are safe. If you wish to better understand seemingly incomprehensible
things, help another to better understand. If you wish to heal your own
sadness or anger, seek to heal the sadness or anger of another. "... If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single Nation, but His Plan is to test you in what He has given you. So strive as in a race for good deeds. The return of you all is to Allah; it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute.' (Quran, al-Ma'idah; 5:48) |