Islamic Orientation Series 6 THE LIFE OF THIS WORLD (SLAVES OF THE SYSTEM) By Eseoghene Ohwojeheri INTRODUCTION We use to hear that a man was sent to spy on the Muslims. As the story goes, he spied for years as a man and spied for years as a woman. After two decades he was to submit his report to the enemies and he came to the conference with a small copy of the Qur’an and simply said take this away from the Muslims and you have finish them. After then 3 ways were developed to make the Qur’an irrelevant to Muslims: Sports, Former Education that kills time, and Television. Let me confide in you that I do not believe this actually happened. But I narrate it because those who told us this story when we newly accepted Islam are now telling us another story. Only this time, it is about piling up degrees and pursuing jobs. They asked us then to be careful of this vicious circle, they ask us now to run around fast...with the same tongue, lips, and teeth. Things have really changed! The struggle to get parents who pay 5,000 in three months for their children to learn mathematics to pay 500 in six months for their children to learn how to read the Qur’an in our madrasa continues because there is an order in society that puts knowledge of Islam nowhere. Afteral, a Phd holder is more honourable before Muslims of today than an Hafiz of the Qur’an and even our special guests at Islamic programmes are the wealthy and the “educated” even when we know they do not pray. Why? Because we have integrated into a system where honour is given to wealth and degrees while forgetting the hereafter. A system which negates the Prophet’s statement “this world is cursed. Except for the remembrance of Allah, and that which resemblance it; the scholars or the student of a scholar” In what areas do Muslims of today forget the hereafter and enslave themselves to the system? Over rating the Dunya/Giving it a Wrong Proportion Many Muslims do not know where Allah and His Rosul placed this Dunya that is why they keep pursuing it with all the strength they can gather: Allah says about the life of this world: “...the life of this world is but COMFORT OF ILLUSION” – (Qur’an 3:108). This explains why this world is called DUNYA whose root word means something that is low. One of the variations for this word is Danaha meaning lowly and bad mannered. So when a man is bad mannered and lowly he is called Danif. How do we reconcile this with the fact that we always break Allah’s commandments on the excuse that one or the other of our Dunya affairs is “a necessity”? And from the fitna of this time is that what is considered necessity has expanded uncontrollably The Prophet (SAW) also said If the value of this world was equal to that of the wing of a mosquito, by Allah, He would not have allowed any Kaafir even a drink of water from it. you will notice he never said two wings but just one wing of a mosquito. As we know, one wing is useless even to the Mosquito, yet this world is not worth that much to Allah! The Prophet(SAW) also said that which if you say today you will be called an extremist and accused of not understanding the religion: What relationship with the world have I? My similitude is like a traveller on a mount, halting in the shade of a tree (for a short while only to leave it again, and proceed along the sojourn). Where does all of all these place the ideology that we must attend more school than the kuffar even if it hurts our Iman, earn more salary than them even if it takes away time for devotion, and wrestle political office with them even if it means keeping Sharia aside? Where does this place the ideology that the brother i want to marry must be “comfortable”? How “comfortable” was the Prophet when Aisha (RA) narrated that for months fire will not be light in the house? How “comfortable” was Ali that Fatimah will work so hard her hands will hurt and she begged her father for help? How comfortable was the companion who will always run home after Sallah because he and his wife had one cloth which if he won’t go home on time she will not find anything to pray on? I once heard a lecturer in an Islamic programme say a Muslim must have 5 rooms in his apartment: one for visitor, one for himself, one for his wife, one for the male children, and one for the female children! As they say, wonders shall never end! Not Trusting Allah on Worldly Matters: Another error common among Muslims is to think this world goes as we plan it and as we calculate. Buraira, the slave of Aisha (RA) answered the knock on the door so Aisha (RA) asked who that is. She answered that it was a beggar who wanted food but there is no food because what is remaining are some grain with which Aisha (RA) should break her fast, and by this time it was Asr. Did Aisha (RA) say oh, i have to be wise and face reality? No! She understood how little this dunya is and how Allah can provide effortlessly so she said give it to him Allah will provide. When it came to time for magrib there was still no food so she broke with water and was praying. Burairah sat there saying sarcastically “Allah will provide...Allah will provide”. Then there is a knock on the door, a man came and gave them a gift, a goat. So Aisha (RA) asked her servant, isn’t that goat better than the grain you gave? And then she said something we should note NONE OF YOU CAN BE A TRUE BELIEVER EXCEPT YOUR TRUST IN ALLAH IS ABOVE WHAT YOU HAVE IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND! Where does this place our hoarding wealth? Look at your homes o Muslims and see how many things you never ever use! Why not give it out? Where does this place our spending on personal things and giving kobo kobo to Islam? I use to say the same brothers and sisters who tell us we do not have money to run Islamic organisations will come with a laptop of over 100 thousand, yet they do not have money, they are just students. Where does it place our putting up with a corrupt society and refusing to migrate because we have a job in the land of evil? Do we think Allah cannot provide? Putting Nothing Forward: We read really hard when it is time for exams. We buy baby things when our wives are pregnant. We wash and iron our clothes if there is an occasion for tomorrow. However, the exams may not hold, the wife may have miscarriage, and the occasion may be cancelled. But these maybes are not strong enough to make us not prepare. How come some of us who prepare for these things with maybes refuse to prepare for the thing without maybe i.e. DEATH. How many of us plan our retirement for when we are 50 with the intention of having full time for Dawah? No, we just do as people are doing. School, Service, Job, Marriage, Old age and die. Allahs says: “O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah. And let every soul look to that which it put forward for tomorrow...” – Qur’an 59:18 The Fear of Poverty: Also part of the way we see this world is our fear of poverty and Allah has warned us that Shaytan will use this against us: “Shaytan threatens you with poverty AND ORDERS YOU TO COMMIT FAHSHA (evil deeds) whereas Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself and BOUNTIES...” Qur’an 3:267 In explaining this verse Ibn Masud narrated the Prophet said: “Shaytan has an effect on the son of Adam, and the angel also has an effect. As for the effect of Shaytan, it is by his threatening with evil repercussions and rejecting the truth...” Little wonder our people do not want to hear working in the bank is haram. They will tell you the kuffar will be richer if we leave the Banks for them. The fear of repercussion also makes todays Muslims the most obedient to evil laws made by disbelievers and comply with the evil social order. This fear of repercussion is the reason the Muslim man must take his wife to a male gynaecologist and when you admonish him you will hear him say what if there are complications? We have to be sure the baby is doing well, like he put the baby there in the first place Wrong Concerns: My friend who came to visit from a more decent society asked me what is wrong with the people in Benin. His quarrel? Everyone was asking questions like “you don finish your masters?”, “shay na phd things now?”, “where you dey work?”, “how is work?, hope them dey pay well”. And other things that will not matter when he enters his grave. This is because these things are top on our agenda today. And Allah knows that’s why He states in Surah Lail: “Certainly, your efforts and deeds are diverse” then He promises EASE for those with the right effort i.e. taqwa and husna (reward). Now you know why life is miserable for those who are obsessed with it. Disbelieve in Destiny & Predestination: Indeed Ibn Musood opined that too much sin may led to disbelieve and that is correct. The Muslims have now reached a point where our believe in destiny is shaking. Believe in destiny have 4 pillars: Ilm: Allah has knowledge of all that will happen Kitab: Allah documented all that will happen Mashiha: Allah wills all that will happen Qalaq: Allah created all that will happen If we believe Allah knows all that will happen and has written down when we will die we will expect it at any moment and hence be more focused on the hereafter. We will know that this money i am pursuing will reach me when it will and will never reach me if it won’t so why delay my prayers for it? why be a slave under capitalism for it? why pursue it and forget my children who can pray for me even when i am dead if only i make effort and they end up righteous? So many things will just fall into place!
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 08:32:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015