“Orphanizing” Islam: Don’t Do It Muslims!
The Outcome Will Not Be Good!
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?)
(To Revise)
Orphanizing Islam
Muslims: don’t orphanize Islam!
Meaning, don’t treat Islam like an orphan. That means don’t turn your back on Islam, and don’t abandon it, when Islam needs you and comes to you asking for your help.
I can’t say: when Islam is in trouble. For, Islam never is – in trouble I mean.
Allah’s Deen marches from glory to glory right before our eyes, whether anyone is able to see it or not.
That is the nature of Islam – of Truth. It is unstoppable!
Sometimes, you need more than the naked eye to see it. You need the smarts of a Believer. The Hadith calls it Firaasatul Mu’min.
Don’t Run and Hide
So, Muslims, don’t run and hide when Islam calls you – which is all the time.
Don’t look to others to do your job. Don’t wait for everyone else to respond to the call of Islam, while you put your eyes down and pretend not to hear.
That is turning your back on Islam. That is part of orphanizing Islam.
And don’t think that way you will be safe from all that is going on around the world in terms of Muslim-baiting and Muslim-hunting.
Read the Qur’an and you will know. The Qur’an is very precise and most succinct in its language. If you thought you will be “safe” by abandoning Islam to its own fate, think again.
No Fortified Fortress Can Protect You
The Qur’an says not even the most fortified fortresses will be able to afford you protection from what Allah wants to inflict upon you – whether it is death or something else.
Wa Low Kuntum Fi Buroojin Mushayyadah!
The thing to know is this: Islam is Allah’s private domain. He says so in the Qur’an. And he guards it jealously, if you will, as they say, that is.
That means, you monkey with it, you pay for it. You are held accountable. And it does not matter who you are: Muslim or non-Muslim.
Don’t Tinker with God’s Tolerance
So, what is happening around the world today in terms of bad-mouthing and maligning and insulting and abusing Islam is nothing but tinkering with God Almighty’s tolerance.
And the games Muslims play with Allah’s Deen is not going to get them bonus points with Allah either.
But this is the general pattern of Muslim behavior throughout history: play games with Allah’s Deen; provoke Allah’s wrath; when Allah yanks their chain, start moping and crying; and then when Allah eases things a bit, go back to their old ways.
Muslims and Non-Muslims Both Forget Their Duty
But what Muslims forget is that all along, no matter when or where, they have a special responsibility: to take Islam – and the Qur’an that embodies Islam in a divine nutshell – to every home and heart that needs it, and which one does not.
The duty of non-Muslims, on the other hand, is to wonder, to inquire, to learn, to evaluate and then to either accept or reject: Allah and his Deen of Islam.
That is Islam: the guarantor of the ultimate in human liberty and dignity! For not just friends but also foes!
That is the job and the responsibility of non-Muslims: to check out things for themselves. And that is a very fair and reasonable burden that God has placed on their shoulders.
After all, their salvation in this world, as well as the next world, depends on it.
Convey the Message of Islam to the World
But the Muslims, their job is to strive mightily, and day and night, and using every lawful and moral means available, provided it is the best and the nicest of means and methods, to convey the message of Islam to non-Muslims.
In every place and in every time.
And to explain to non-Muslims – and to whomever else may be in need of help and explanations and coaching and teaching from among their own fellow-Muslims who may be getting a bit rusty on their Islam – the teachings of Islam.
That is what the Muslims are supposed to do. It is the very purpose of their being on earth – as Muslims.
Muslims and Their Mercenary Mullas and Sheikhs
But the trouble is most Muslims don’t understand this. And their mercenary mullas don’t make it easy for them to understand this either, for, their agendas are a bit at variance compared to what a Muslim’s agenda in general ought to be.
As a result, Muslims do what they are told to do – much of which of course is required of them – such as “praying,” fasting and, well, … in many cases Hajj. One or more Hajj!
The cardinal concept of Zakat – a practice around which Islam’s social and moral fabric is built – tends to languish throughout Muslim habitat, except when itinerant preachers and adventurers come to collect Zakat and other charities to fuel their own plans and purposes.
Whatever Did Muslims Do with Zakaat?
Nobody – well, let us say, not too many people tell the Muslims that in the Qur’an Zakaah is almost invariably in the second place after Salaah or “Prayer.”
All you have to do is to open the Qur’an and read it. How many times out of how many times does the Qur’an couple Zakat with Salaat:
Aqeemus Salaata wa Aatuz Zakaata.
May be a couple of dozen times. I am just throwing that number at you so you will go and check and verify it. And not once did I come across an instance in which the Qur’an said something like: All right everybody, “Do Salaat and then do Siyaam!”
27:0 – That Is the Count, Muslims!
If I am not mistaken, and may Allah forgive and guide me if I am, there is not one single formulation like that in the entire Qur’an. Something like: Salloo wa Soomoo!
Twenty-seven times by my count – the Salaah-Zakaah combination in the Qur’an. And Salaah-Siyaam association, not even once!
But what do Muslims do, and what do most mercenary mullas preach? Salaat and Siyaam! Namaaz and Rozah!
That is more or less their Mantra, if I may use that expression. You may change it to Wird if you want.
Or just call it the big Muslim tandem.
And you can then call it part of what some boys in America used to call Islamization of Knowledge!
Allah bless Dr. Farouqui, the man was at least a scholar – and a good one at that. One of the great minds latter-day Muslims were able to produce – second half of the 20th Century.
So, Muslims take the Qur’an and change it – Salaah-Zakaah conveniently becomes Salaah-Siyaam – and then when Allah punishes them for it, they start bleating: What did we do?
Annaa Haadhaa?!
The count in the Qur’an is 27:0. I hope I did not err in that.
Shaitan Will Not Let It Happen – If He Can Help It
Does Shaitan have a hand in all this? Why would he not? Do you think Shaitan will let Zakaat rule the world, if at all he can help it?
You do all the Siyaam you want and you will become a nice “pious” Muslim. Shaitan may not have much use for you. His underlings can handle those things.
But institute Zakaah in a community and a society? Now, that is serious stuff. For, it will change the entire world in the blinking of an eye.
Now, why would Shaitan let something like that happen in this world? Wouldn’t that liberate the entire world from the tyranny of usury and interest-laden financing?
That is what Zakaat would do, if and when its wheels are set in motion in this world in a proper and organized manner.
Not at all a pleasant prospect for Shaitan and his ilk, is it?
Bottom Line:
Shaitan Does Not Want Muslims to Preach Islam to the World
On a larger level, the bottom line for Shaitan is this: You do what you want in your own “private” and “personal” life as it were. That may be acceptable. But make sure you stop right there. And go no further.
But if you are thinking of going beyond that, and are planning to preach Islam to the world, now that is serious stuff. And immediate steps are called for.
And Muslims must be stopped from going any further. I suspect that is how Shaitan would reason in his mind.
Shaitan of course has direct access to human hearts and minds. He runs in human veins like blood. So, he gets to the Muslims and whispers that same sweet message in their ears:
Namaz and Roza, yes.
All kinds of extra Hajj, yes.
But Zakaat, not a chance.
And as for preaching Islam? Let us not even talk about that!
That is why when it comes to preaching Islam to the world and inviting their non-Muslim brothers and sisters to come to Allah, that is a job that most Muslims would rather see someone else do.
Even though Allah has put Muslims directly in charge of that frontier – that project if you will.
Being Muslim These Days Is Sticky Business
And lately things have gotten even stickier for Muslims than they have always been. Now, it seems being Muslim – around the world – carries a price.
That means to be a Muslim nowadays means either death, or prison, or exile or just plain old bad-mouthing and vilification at every turn, and all kinds of insults and slights, from the media or any old cheap politician generally in the pay of some wealthy sponsor.
So, what is a good Muslim to do?
Things Have Changed – And They Keep Changing
Time was you could go to mosque and pray; wait for Ramadan and fast; dash off to Hajj, one, two or more times; and even attend Muslim conferences and listen to all kinds of bizarre messages in the name of Islam coming from all kinds of bizarre sources titling themselves “Imams” and “Sheikhs” and what not, titles as dubious as the messages that they often seemed to deliver.
But things being what they are, who is supposed to do all that, and in addition, as it were, also be a “preacher” of Islam to all and sundry? What would that sort of thing do to your personal safety, economic wellbeing, social standing, professional prospects, and domestic tranquility?
Looking to Hide from Allah
So, all too many “good Muslims” look for the nearest table and dive under it. They think when the sky is falling, that is a safe place for them to be. And secretly, one suspects, there is, quite likely, also this hope that no one will notice them or notice their absence from the scene, not even Allah.
No, I did not make that up. It is the Qur’an.
Here:
A-Laa Innahum Yathnoona Sudoorahum Li-Yastakhfoo Minhu!
Allahu Akbar, what an Aayat – like every other Aayah of the Qur’an!
How on earth, or in God Almighty’s heaven, may Allah forgive me for saying that, does one translate an Aayah like this? But let us try and paraphrase it anyway, as best as we can.
But I give up.
Just read up any translation you can. Take your pick. But the general sense is this:
They are trying to hide from Allah.
They are hoping Allah will not notice them.
Check out the meaning of this Aayat: Li-Yastakhfoo Minhu!
How can anybody ever think that is beyond me. But that is what Allah says they were trying to do: to hide from him and hope he will not notice.
All Too Many Muslims Seem to Be Acting That Way
Now, we may not all quite fall in that same category of rank goners, but that seems to be the general drift and import of our actions also.
We act in ways that suggest we are hoping Allah will not notice us. We seem to think we will somehow be able to fly under Allah’s radar.
As a result, we sit and wait. We let others act, while we watch from what we think is a safe distance – from the sidelines as it were.
The result is orphanization of Islam – abandoning Islam, to its own devices, as it were.
Who Is To Mind the Islam Store?
No one cares what happens to Islam. It is not my job, we seem to think.
It is someone else’s job, our inner Shaitan suggests to us. Let others do it, says Shaitan. They can afford it. You cannot.
They are in a better position to take risks than I am, Shaitan forms the argument in our mind. So, let me lie low, you conclude, at least for the time being.
And then time flies. Days turn into weeks, and weeks fuse into months and years. And we never get off the sidelines.
And Islam is out there, receiving all kinds of abuse, from all kinds of sources, and seemingly helpless – like an orphan, who generally does not have anyone to stand up for it or to speak up for it or to grant it protection.
Or to defend it.
Or to tell the world the truth about it.
END
