Auron ka hai Payaam aur, mera Payaam aur hai, / Ishq key dardmand ka tarz-e-kalaam aur hai! (Iqbal)
For everything in creation, there is only one beginning and only one end. And that is Allah.
The problem with people – Muslims included – is that most people just don’t get it. They don’t realize that this is Allah’s world and that it is he who runs it – at all times and in every way. They don’t understand that it is from him that everything comes and it is on account of him that everything exists.
Most people don’t understand that as a result of this the best option for them is to make peace with the maker and master of this world and live the best life on earth that they possibly can. Nor do they grasp the fact that the best and the most successful way to live on earth is to conform as closely to the Qur’an and the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, as possible.
And the key to all this is to clearly see and firmly believe that it is God Almighty who is in charge of this world as well as our life at all times and in every conceivable way. That one little fact makes the biggest difference in the way we live our life and in the way we deal with our world.
“ULTIMATELY”?
How easily we get in the habit of saying “Ultimately”! As if in the beginning it was we who did things, but later, at a more convenient or propitious time, we let Allah step in and complete what we started. Just think about it: how naïve and foolish it sounds.
And if you ask me, really, how Kaafir it sounds. No believer would talk like that. But we do. All the time.
Therefore, in the beginning as well as in the end it is Allah’s decision. It does not matter what it is that you are talking about. Because, all time is Allah’s time and all the time it is Allah that is in charge.
That means that everything that happens, happens because Allah makes it happen. And it happens precisely how and when and where Allah makes it happen. It is all Allah’s work all the way: in the beginning, in the end and in the middle.
Therefore, it is Allah, Allah, Allah all the way. And nothing and no one but Allah.
The point is we think we are in charge. The fact is we are not. Allah is. And no one but Allah is in charge: in everything and of everything, from beginning to end. That means Allah has his own plan for everyone and for everything. And it is his plan that prevails: in the beginning; in the middle; and, as we say, “ultimately.”
WHO BUT ALLAH WOULD YOU WANT TO CONTROL YOUR LIFE?
And who would want it otherwise? Who, in their right mind, would want to live by someone else’s plan? I for one certainly don’t. I don’t want my life and destiny controlled, or even guided or deeply influenced, by anyone else.
If, someone other than Allah, let us say a human source were to control and shape my destiny, I would rather it would be me than anyone else. As for Muslims, I have seen the Muslims, and I know what they are capable of or not capable of doing. So I have trained myself to approach and deal with the Muslims only warily.
The irony of ironies is that, of all things, Muslims seem to be challenged in the department of truth – in their ability and skill to speak the truth – Haqq – which all too many of them have lost, especially in a place like America, where Allah has opened for them the floodgates of Dunya.
Allahu Akbar, what an idea: that someone other than Allah should be in charge of my life! The very thought sends a chill down my spine. The thought that my life and destiny would be under the control of a human being just like myself makes me break into a cold sweat.
If you want me to be even more frank, let me put it this way. The thought of people brought up in Pakistani or Egyptian or some other similar culture being in charge of my life and destiny sends shockwaves dancing all around me.
PROOF ABOUT RASULULLAH, SALLALLAHU ALAIHI WA SALLAM
I have devoted a considerable amount of my writings to discussing the miracles that are in the Qur’an. And the miracles that are associated with the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
To me Aayats of the Qur’an considered separately or all of them taken together constitute clinching and unimpeachable proof that this Qur’an can only be from God and that it could not possibly be a human creation.
These miracles also constitute powerful argument and clear evidence that Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is not only God Almighty’s messenger to humanity but that he is also the last of the glorious chain of prophets and messengers that God sent to help humanity in this world.
The Qur’an deals in detail with sceptics’ claims and counter-claims. And it challenges them to a verbal and intellectual duel of the kind unmatched in the annals of human discourse. The Qur’an says if you do not believe that this Qur’an is from God, then match it either in full or in part. That challenge has gone unanswered for the past 1400 years.
Did anyone hear what I said? That challenge has gone unanswered for the past 1400 years. How come no one seems to pay any attention to this fact?
This is how simple this matter is. This challenge by the Qur’an is either true or it is false. If it is false, then expose it to be false. Show that it is false. If on the other hand it is true then repent and accept that this Qur’an is indeed from God and that Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is indeed a messenger from God.
This is whole thing is as simple as that.
Anyone would think that this will be the end of the story and the sceptics will either put up or, what is the expression, shut up, as they say somewhat colloquially in America. But no, evidently not. Apparently, every generation, and multiple waves of naysayers in each generation, seek to beat that same dead horse and see if somehow it comes back to life.
As a result, maybe each new generation of sceptics needs to be responded to with new alacrity and vigour and using whatever new and additional proof, argument or evidence that may be available.
But in the meantime Muslim pain is very much real – and pervasive. All the attacks, all the insults, all the lies and all the propaganda, Muslims are hurting and smarting under the pain of this deluge of harassment and persecution from every side. Those who can reach out to them and say some soothing words to them are few and far between.
MUSLIM PAIN
Of late I have been running into conversations about miracles. People want proof that Islam is really from God. And that Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is really God’s messenger to the world and that he is the last in a long chain of messengers and prophets.
People want to see proof. And, in a sense, I don’t really blame them. When there is a new chorus coming every day from every side saying “This is wrong with Islam” and “That is wrong with the Qur’an,” or “The Prophet, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is not really a prophet but an impostor,” then people really begin to feel terrible and they hanker for someone to say something nice to and about them.
There is a collective sense of anxiety, confusion and stress among Muslims that needs to be addressed not only at religious and cultural levels but also at more personal, intimate and psychological levels. I understand that and I have been saying that for I don’t know how long.
So I understand why and how Muslims feel a need for a continual and ongoing validation of their faith and way of life – and ultimately of themselves and of who they are as individuals and as people. They want their identity to be affirmed and supported. This is a basic human need that they have.
Any human being that lives under a constant barrage of attacks and insults about themselves and about their culture, identity and faith cannot be faulted for feeling the need for continual psychological and cultural counselling, comfort and validation. It is perhaps fair to say that no people have been facing a more persistent or virulent questioning of who they are or what they believe and stand for as Muslims.
In modern times, to be a Muslim is to be suspect, and to be guilty, of who knows what – of whatever whoever gets to say: in person; in newspaper columns; in magazine pages; on radio and television; and on the Internet. Often, no one even knows who these people are: who they speak for; who they represent; and who it is that is paying them to not only to sell their souls and lie and malign Muslims and Islam but also to sell their own grandmothers in the process.
These ideological fanatics and their mercenary cohorts crawl from every woodwork everywhere and go after the Muslims, with Most Muslims acting like deer caught in the headlights: totally clueless about what to do or how to react.
The Muslim pain is real, ongoing and unfathomable. It is almost without parallel over the past several decades. Not since Hitler and his Nazi hordes went after the European Jews with bared fangs and sharpened claws has anyone gone after any ethnic, religious and national grouping as the modern-day successors of Hitler and Nazis everywhere have gone after the Muslims and after everything that is dear and sacred to them.
IVY-LEAGUE PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS
All kinds of people are crawling out of the woodwork and raising all kinds of doubts and questions about Islam and Muslims. And there is a clamour for clarity and a demand for proof from all sides. Poor Muslims are as befogged and clueless as ever. Enemies smell blood and they are licking their lips.
And this is happening on the campuses of some of the best and priciest universities in the world, where best of the best students from around the world congregate, including Muslims.
There are professors in some of these prestigious Ivy-League universities who are pursuing that theme avidly and producing what they say is lifelong research to make and support their case that Islam cannot be from God; Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, cannot be God’s messenger or prophet; and Qur’an cannot be a revealed book.
And there are students, from good Muslim homes, who used to pray and fast but no longer do. They now drink and malign Islam, including Rasulullah, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam. They have fallen prey to all kinds of anti-Islam influences and propaganda on campus, including powerful and highly organized and abundantly resourced proselytizing efforts by Christian evangelical groups who work aggressively to convert Muslims to Christianity.
Last night I saw a text message from a former super-good Muslim young man, who now not only drinks but also blasts Islam for banning alcohol. In that text, this young man says to his friend, a wonderful young Muslim, may Allah bless and protect him, what kind of religion is it that would forbid its followers from drinking alcoholic beverages whereas the whole medical science “proves” the health benefits of consuming red wine.
The use of that expression “proves” alone shows how ignorant and misguided that young man is, his protracted presence on an Ivy-League campus notwithstanding. Those who know science know and understand how little if anything science “proves” least of all positive health outcomes as a result of consuming this or that food. If I had time I would nail that nonsense right here and bury it 10 feet deep, but I must move on as time and energy are on a premium.
TEARLESS EYES
Allahu Akbar! What else can I say? No, I did not cry when I saw that e-mail from this misguided young man from this pricy and prestigious university. I have been without tears for years and decades now. Yes, I still cry, almost all the time, but no tears come out. Just an endless flow of pain at what Muslims and the world are putting Islam through. My eyes are tearless now.
I was not angry or upset or numb when I was shown that text message. I was just plain indifferent, well almost indifferent, to the extent it is possible for someone like me to be indifferent to news and evidence like this.
So what? A little voice seemed to be whispering inside me. How long has this been going on with the Muslims? In one form or another? In one place or another? And on one front or another? And who is doing what about it? Muslims move on.
Muslims are episodic thinkers at best and reactionary for the most part. Their brains work like a kaleidoscope changing colours and focus almost in tune with newspaper, radio and television news and reports.
When the media report something Muslims jump, demand action and make noise. And when the media move on to some other juicier event, Muslims forget whatever it was that had them interested or agitated only a little while ago and go back to their dominant ways: inaction; indifference to reality; useless and at times destructive gossip; indolence; self-indulgence; stupor of cluelessness; and morbid myopia and self-centeredness.