Muslims and Their Charge from God Almighty
Dr. Pasha
(Bringing Islam to the World One Concept at a Time!
Taking the Qur'an to Every Home and Heart that Needs It --
And which One Does Not?)
So Much Work, Such Little Time!
What we all need to realize is how much work we all have to do. And how little time to do it all in.
And when I say "We," I mean all of us humans -- Muslims as well as non-Muslims. Even though the primary responsibility clearly is that of those who consider themselves Muslims.
And when I say "Work," I am not just talking about getting an education; acquiring university credentials; finding a job; building a business; owning a home; and such.
All that of course -- and also much else. Much, much else.
For, we have a long way to Paradise: what so many billions of us seek -- Muslims, Christians, others. Even though the distance to the grave is but the blink of an eye.
Or the difference of just one single breath.
We have much work to do, all of us -- and a long distance to go -- before we can say:
"Yes, we are all packed up, and ready to hit the road!"
Some of the Work Required of Us
For, there is a whole world out there to be educated; to be enlightened; to be taught the skills that it needs to live a better, richer and more fruitful and productive life on earth.
For, Islam is education.
And Islam is about living a better life on earth -- a life of love, service and devotion to God above and to God's creation below.
And Islam is living a life of enlightenment that is illumined by God's Light and Radiance. As the Qur'an says:
Yukhrijuhum Minaz-Zulumaati Ilan Noor!
Reading: That Is Islam
"Read!" is what your First Commandment is all about -- in the Qur'an.
Most Muslims may not know this, but it is true.
Most non-Muslims are not likely to have a clue about this, but it is true.
"Iqra'" or "Read!" was the very first Revelation that God sent down to Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu alaihi wa Sallam.
"Reading" is what your "Holy Book" is all about -- the Qur'an.
That is what the Arabic expression Qur'an means. It means Reading.
Or Something to Read.
Education Is What Islam Is All About
Your Rasul, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, was sent by God to educate the world. He was charged with the mission of educating the world.
Yu'allimuhumul Kitaaba Wal Hikmah!
How much more clear, or precise, or sharp, or direct or to the point could anyone's words be on the subject of Education than the words of the man, Rasulullah, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, that God Almighty sent into the world as a teacher -- clearly tagged and designated to be so?
Rasulullah, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, said:
Talabul Ilmi Fareedah!
It means:
"Go, get an education!"
It means:
"Leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of education!"
It means:
"You must be single-minded and sharply focused in your pursuit of learning!"
It means:
"Seeking knowledge is an absolute Must for you if you are a Muslim."
Education a Must for Both Men and Women --
If They Are Muslims
And he is supposed to have added:
"Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman --
provided of course you are a Muslim."
Here are the words attributed to Rasulullah, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
'Alaa Kulli Muslimin wa Muslimah!
Paraphrase:
"Active pursuit of education is required of every man and woman."
And this "Man or Woman" talk going back all the way 1400 years? All the way to the Seventh Century?
Can you believe that?
Real-World Miracles
This is the kind of stuff real miracles are made of. They are what you would call Real-World Miracles.
These are Miracles that you can see with your own eyes. Miracles that you can hold in your hands -- and touch and feel and truly believe.
Don't you see that the whole Hadith Sharif is a prediction of how the world was going to be?
It was a prophesy, if you will, by Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam -- in the Seventh Century! Mind You! -- about the direction the world was going to take in the 20th Century.
And in the 21st Century.
How the entire world will turn to education as time passed. How the world will have no alternative but to do so.
And how, in that world, both men and women will strive for education. As they will have to.
Islam Is Inviting People to God
And then there is a whole world to be invited to God Almighty -- and to his Grace and Blessings.
The Qur'an says:
Saari-'oo Ilaa Maghfiratin Min Rabbikum!
"Rush to your God's Grace and Mercy and Forgiveness!"
Wa Jannatin 'Arduhas Samaawaatu Wal-Ardu.
Paraphrase:
"Rush to get into Paradise that is as big and as vast
as the earth and all the heavens put together!"
People Created to Serve Other People
For, Allah created us Muslims to work "For People," as the Qur'an says:
Kuntum Khayira Ummatin Ukhrijat Linnaasi!
There are millions upon millions of hungry mouths to be fed in this world -- both Muslim and non-Muslim.
Who will feed them if not the Muslims?
There are billions of homes and hearts to whom the Qur'an has to be taken.
Who will do that if not us the Muslims?
And the entire world is starved for the Qur'an, whether the world knows it or not. And whether the world is conscious of it or not.
Who will give the world its spiritual sustenance of the Qur'an if not the Muslims?
Questions of Justice, Equality and Fairness --
And Cleaning Up God's Earth
And there are questions of Justice, Equality and Fairness to be addressed everywhere in this world.
For, there is much strife and abuse and oppression everywhere in this world that must be ended.
There is the whole earth to be cleaned up.
All this is the job of all of us human beings, whether we are Muslim or not.
But, more than all the others, it is the responsibility of the Muslims.
That is why God raised up the Muslim Ummah, the Muslim Nation -- the Global Community of the Muslim Faithful: to serve other people -- "All People."
An-Naas, as the Qur'an refers to "All People."
For the first time in the history of humanity: 1400 years ago. Way before the world ever woke up to it.
And way before the Framers of the American Constitution were inspired by God to find and use the expression: "We the People!"
Muslims Have Their Job Cut Out for Them
So, the Muslims have their job cut out for them.
But if after all this, all or much of what Muslims care about is just Minding Their Own Business, as they say, and enjoying their "Islamic Cookouts," and marching to Paradise, what can anyone do about it?
Who is supposed to tell the Muslims, and who can make the Muslims see and understand, that Minding Their Own Business for them means Minding the Business of the Entire World?
That it means Minding the Business of Every Single Human Being on Earth?
For, that is the charge that God Almighty placed on their shoulders when they signed up to be Muslims.
They, by signing up to be Muslims, accepted the mandate from God of being God's Khalifah or Representative on earth, which comes down to Minding the Business of Everything and Everyone in This World.
That is right. That is what God charged Muslims with: to mind everybody's business -- and to make it their own.
As a poet once put it -- what I crudely paraphrase here:
"No matter who gets stabbed where;
It is we who roll and writhe on the ground in pain.
For, our bosom is home to the pain of the entire world."
END
