STRENGTH OF A MU’MIN

 

"O Almighty Allah! shower Thy eternal peace and blessings upon Your Beloved Nabee Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam, upon all the Ambiya Alayhim Salatu Wasallam, upon the Malaa'eeka and upon Thy blessed righteous servants among the dwellers of the heavens and the earth." 

"O Ya Rabbal Ala'meen! grant us Thy Blessings to be among the sincere one's in their love and devotion for Thee, among the righteous one's, and the safeguarded one's in Thy Peace. O Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala You Alone are the Creator, Sustainer and Cherisher of all the worlds and You Alone are Gafooroor Raheem." Ameen!

It is said that if the Imaan of a Muhmin were placed on one end of a scale and the rest of the world were placed on the other, the side with the Imaan will outweigh all else. The devotion and strength of a Muhmin is illustrated in the following story: 

When Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala created the earth, the earth was unstable until Almighty Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala stabilized it by creating mountains upon it. The Mala'eeka upon hearing this were amazed and asked whether there was anything stronger than the mountains whereupon Almighty Allah replied: 

"Yes, iron is stronger than the mountains."

The Mala'eeka then asked whether there was anything stronger than iron. Almighty Allah replied:

"Yes, fire is stronger than iron."

The Mala'eeka asked whether there was anything stronger than fire. Almighty Allah replied:

"Yes, water is stronger than fire."

The Mala'eeka asked whether there was anything stronger than water. Replied Almighty Allah:

"Yes, the wind is stronger than water."

They again asked whether there was anything stronger than the wind. Almighty Allah replied:

"Yes, the son of Bani Adam - if he gave charity for My Pleasure with his right hand and it was unknown to the left hand. This act is greater and stronger than all the elements combined" -  replied Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala.

It is, therefore, the power of Imaan in the heart of a believer that is capable of overwhelming all the elements of creation. Such an overwhelming power of Imaan finds its expression on the realm of existence through a benevolent act of giving in secret, of parting company with a treasured material possession not for the sake of name and fame, recognition or reputation in this world, but rather to seek the pleasure of none other than Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala. A Muhmin who possesses such a power is invincible indeed.

In its past days of glory and splendour, the Muslim Ummah had in its midst Muslims whose Imaan inspired them to give abundantly, in money, time, sweat, blood and soul. They gave covertly and secretly without fanfare or boasting, building in the process a strong and magnificent polity and civilization in which Muslims led a noble and dignified existence in their homeland. During those days, it was the generous and abundant giving, the caring and sharing of many a sincere and devoted Muslim in pursuit of the Pleasure of Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala and His bountiful rewards of the Aghirah that unified the Ummah and made them strong.

One cannot help but observe that, in contrast, we as a community suffer from our quality of adherence to Islamic tenets. Because we are a minority in this country, because we do not pay the attention that we should to our religious life as well as to our religious duties in general and because we are not content. There seems to be a lack of serenity in our lifestyles.

We are minorities in almost all the countries of the world  and as such there is not much that we can do. It is quite true that we are indeed minorities almost everywhere throughout the western world. This may be so, but is it a  sufficient excuse not to make our presence felt? Indeed, we are a minority. Yes, a minority in one sense, in one way only. If we don't hold fast to the tenets of Islam, if we don't become brothers to one another, we will most assuredly  remain a minority.

If we believe that we are cut off from the Muslim world, from the Muslim nation, we are a minority. But this is a negative concept and it is essential that we approach this positively. When our Beloved Nabee Muhammad Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam started preaching at Makkah he was alone. Very few people followed him or believed in his message. Were they then not a minority? They were the only Muslims on face of the earth. All the people, all the world around them were non-Muslim.

 

But what our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam and his illustrious companions - the Sahaba Ridwanullahi Ta'ala Alayhim Ajma'een accomplished by their effort, by sheer hard work and dedication to their belief according to Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala's decree is now the reason that the name of Rahmathul Liel Ala'meen is praised in every corner of the world. We are now in the shadow of Islam and Alhumdu'lillah we are Muslims because of that minority.

That minority changed the face of the entire world, all of history, the whole fabric of human design. These changes came about because of a minority, the minority led by the Nabee Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Sallallahoo Alayhim Wasallam - the Beloved of Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala and the Seal of the prophets. The blessing that we now take for granted "Al-Islam" was sealed for all time to come when at the Battle of Badr, the minority ill-equipped army comprising of 313 believers defeated the well armed Kuffar majority army of a thousand.

The reason for that victory was because they were true Muslims. They personified the brotherhood of Al-Islam, each defending his brother before he defended himself. If that be the case, they were most certainly  not a minority at all, they were the majority, even if they were fewer in numbers. Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala ordained for them a major victory. There are countless cases in history where a few dedicated people were able to overcome the tyranny of a majority, provided that they were committed to their cause and that they pursued that course positively and relentlessly.

Islam is the superior belief over every other belief and Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala promises us in the Most Holy and Glorious Qur'an that He will make Islam superior to any other religion, any other ideology and any other system. If we implement and comply with the tenets of Islam and the instructions left to us by our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam then yes, we can be the majority here and in every country of the world, not in numbers, but in the quality of life.

Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala says: "If you are a true Muhmin you are worth ten persons. If there are twenty and they defend the Din of Almighty Allah they will defeat two hundred." If you are equal to ten persons then by what standard do you consider yourself a minority? It may be true that we are numerical minorities all over the world, but we will most assuredly become just that if we don't implement the Holy Sharia'h into our daily lives and if we fail to practice Islam with true commitment.

We will most certainly become minorities if our thoughts can't prevail over other thoughts. We must try to change and the material for making that change lies in our hands. Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala declares in verse 11 of Surah Ar-Ra'ad that He will not change our condition unless and until we change that which is in ourselves. We have to forget that we are minorities, and we have to start thinking in a positive manner, that we are the majority, by implementing the tenets of Islam and committing ourselves totally and completely to the Sunnah of our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam.

By our example we will Insha'Allah be the majority; we will have our way; we will have our say here and in every country of the world. By ignoring our heritage we will be destroying ourselves. Our enemies are not able to destroy us from outside unless we destroy ourselves first from within, and unfortunately that is what is happening to us today. Unless we come together like the three hundred and thirteen devoted Muslims in the Battle of Badr who defended their brothers before they defended themselves, we will end up killing each other before we begin to fight our enemies and end up a minority.

When we live as brothers which is cardinal to our belief, then and then only, will we fulfill the true meaning and the concept of 'majority'. If we study the life of our Beloved Nabee Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam and the illustrious Sahaba Ridwanullahi Ta'ala Alayhim Ajma'een and how they lived, how they loved and  obeyed Islam, how they suffered and sacrificed for the Pleasure of Almighty Allah Subhanahoo Wata'ala, then we will be the majority and we can once again change the history of mankind as did our Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam and his companions.

Yes, history bears witness to this committed and dedicated minority who changed the world. We have to change our situation, we have to change our thinking and we have to change our attitudes and to be totally committed to Islam. Only in this way can we bring about that change that is required from each and everyone of us.

"O Almighty Rahmathul Liel Ala'meen! turn unto us and accept our Taubah. O Allah! make us all Your Gift to Thy Beloved Nabee Sallallahoo Alayhi Wasallam, and to our father Nabee Ebrahim Alayhi Salatu Wasallam. O Allah! make us not enemies to one another. Bless us with Your Muhabbat so that we can benefit from each other, and let Thy Mercy encompass us all." Ameen!

Abdul Hamid Lachporia