In The Name Of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful

Ramadan Kareem, Brothers And Sisters!

May this reach you in the best of health and strongest of Imaan.  Ameen.

The Blessed month of Ramadan is upon us, the month when Allah sent down His final instructions to mankind as a blessing to His creation and as we begin this Holy month, we are required to take stalk of our individual progress and reflect on the issues facing our Ummah. As we embrace our Qurans and contemplate the glorious message that we have been honored with, we need to absorb the word of Allah in light of the challenging times we live in.

For over a century, the Muslims have been under the jackboot of Western powers, living a life of defeat and shame and even more so since this so-called war on terrorism began.  And if we look at the reasons why we have seen unending and ever-worsening oppression, the answer clearly lies in the actions, or rather lack thereof, from the Muslims. As I have said many times before, the enemies are not too strong; the Muslims are too weak.

Allah tell us:

"Indeed Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change themselves." Quran 13:11

As Muslims, we are bombarded with requirements to conform to Western ways from countless directions; from very blatant aggression, as is the case of our beloved Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Somalia, through to US-backed regimes that keep the masses hungry and preoccupied in countries like Egypt and Syria. Derogatory media demeans our rich history and floods our eyes and ears with all things contrary to piety in an effort to erode our morality and remove man's only hope from existence.

Most importantly, throughout the globe, fear is used as a method of terrorizing the Muslims. In the once vibrant Muslim communities in Britain for example, Muslims are faced with an impossible choice of serving their country or Allah.  British Muslims are expected to endorse Downing Street's war effort against our Brothers and Sisters or, at the very least, not to object to it.  With a host of new laws aimed at making an example of anyone who does not hold the party line, many British Muslims are doing just that, conceding some parts of their religion; a small bit here and there. But these actions are not small; they come at a huge eternal cost not only to themselves in the Hereafter but to the rest of the Ummah for it further erodes the fabric of our deen. And the same applies in virtually every so-called developed nation.

There are more subtle ways that we are being striped of our religion. In Malaysia for instance, in just a short decade in the history of this young country, it has gone from being a Muslim country, to considering Islam as merely it's "official" religion, to introducing a Islam Hadhari, or "civilizational Islam" and weakening the Muslim message at every turn; in the mosques, the schools, in its multi-faith programs and its media.  This is being done in order to attract Western investment into the country, corporations that siphon out profits, giving little in return to the locals other than Western products and services that recycle petro-dollars that are financing the very slaughter of our  brethren.

Let us be clear. At the heart of Muslim weakness is love of this world, a dulling of the conscience and unwarranted fear that paralyses the Muslims from action. 

Thauban reported that the Messenger of Allah said:

"It is near that the nations will call one another against you just as the eaters call one another to their dishes." Somebody asked: "Is this because we will be few in numbers that day?" He said: "Nay, but that day you shall be numerous, but you will be like the foam of the sea, and Allah will take the fear of you away from your enemies and will place weakness into your hearts." Somebody asked: "What is this weakness?" He said: "The love of the world and the dislike of death." (Abu Dawud)

Until open war comes to each and every doorstep, we somehow seem to sympathize with those who are in the living hell of battle zones but then we turn away.  We change the channel. We rationalize their fate. We make excuses. And then we get back to our lives.

The enemies are cunning indeed as we have seen in six years of open jihad.  The "divide and rule" methodology that brought our once great nation to its knees has only magnified. First it was said that there was a handful of terrorists; now terrorists exist in every country, in every Mosque, in every Madrassa and even in Allah's Holy word that is being rewritten to take from us the very recipe we require to change our condition. We distance ourselves from those who go through persecution, be they neighbors or family members; the very opposite of what we are required to do.  We have capitulated for so long that we now exist as microcosms with our individual versions of belief based on what we think will sustain us; not what the word of Allah says. We are sliced and diced in every possible way to keep us weak; as moderates, extremists, sects, ethnic origins, status and under an assortment of labels designed to divide us.  We trust the Kufr over the Muslims and we wrongly think that we will be spared from their wrath if we do not antagonize them and live as they define "good little Muslims." The reality is that by the time we reach this point, we have already sold our religion in preference of a life of this world and in fact, we gave broken the very covenant we made with Allah to begin with.

The Holy Quran tells us:

"Allah hath purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Gospel, and the Qur'an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah? Then rejoice in the bargain which you have concluded: that is the supreme achievement." Quran 9:111

I often reflect on this verse when I think of how we have arrived at this weakened state.  Indeed, each of us has a covenant with Allah but it seems that for the most part we do not believe that one person can make a difference. This thinking implies that Allah is not capable of empowerment!.  In comparison, I think about great Muslim general Khalid Bin Waleed, the Sword of Islam. Did he believe that Allah was not able to direct his sword in battle? No! He was fully submitted to Allah and he knew that there was no way that he could loose; whether he achieved victory or martyrdom his success was guaranteed by Allah and he won more battles for Islam in it's formative years than any and made an indelible impact of military strategy that has far out lived his time on this earth.

One person can make a difference. Waleed made a difference, Abu Baker made a difference, Hamzah made a difference, Salahuddin made a difference and there our countless examples right up to this very day where a small amount of Mujahideen have thwarted enemy forces many times greater by fully accepting the terms of their covenant with Allah. Yes, one person can make a difference, two people working together can make a bigger difference, a chord of three is rarely broken and a group that is solely dedicated to Allah can achieve results that are many times greater than their numbers.

Jihad is compulsory on each and every one of us at this time.  It is a Fard obligation when our Brothers, Sisters and even ourselves are being persecuted; an obligation that no true scholar disputes. That does not mean if we can not rush off to the open fronts and battle on the front lines that our obligation is not binding.  Jihad is with our pens, with our voices, with our resources, our skills, our bodies and with our brains. If we see an injustice against our Sister or our Brother, we need to speak up and act.  If we see our religion being diluted in our cities and our towns, be it by Kufr or Imaan, we need to debate it and presents Allah's words until they turn back from it. If we see Muslims embracing innovations or backsliding or faltering under worldly pressure, we need to come along side them and help them to return to the Quran and the Sunnah. We must speak out for the release of our captives that are held without trails or charge and actively get involved in  campaigning for their release. We must speak openly about the right to defend our lands and religion and we must carry that out with action.  And we must fear Allah, not the worldly souls whose aim is only to turn us away from our religion and get us to fight among ourselves. The history books bear witness to what transpires when Muslims fully submit to their Lord and honor the covenant we have made and indeed this is not lost on the Kufrs. They will try their best to prevent the rise of the Muslims with every weapon possible for when the Muslims rise, the unbelievers fall.

Much has been said about Muslim unity but the bare facts are that our brotherhood exists in pretty much name only.  We say we can't make changes because we have no leaders but as leaders rise we do not support them.  We do not rally around those who do stand up for fear of association. We distrust one another and rarely honor commitments we make to each other. The Prophet (pbuh) told us that after belief comes brotherhood and he told us how we should treat each other so that the Ummah is strong.

"A Muslim is the brother of another Muslim.  He does not harm him nor does he hand him over to his enemy.  One who fulfils the need of another Muslim, Allah (swt) will fulfill the formers need.  One who fulfils the need of another Muslim, Allah (swt) will remove one of his troubles on the Day of Judgment.  Similarly, one who covers the faults of another Muslim, Allah (swt) will cover the formers faults on the Day of Judgment". (Bukhari and Muslim)

During this Ramadan, instead of occupying ourselves with festivities and celebrations, let us contemplate the state of our Ummah and let us bleed for our inactivity.  Let us bleed for the brothers who will willing spend their lives in the next thirty days honoring their covenant by  protecting the Muslims at the cost of their own lives in the war zones while we sit in our armchairs. Let us bleed for those who will die from the bullets of the enemy defending our lands while we plan our Eid celebrations. Let us bleed for the detainees in jails around the world, many in solitary confinement, who will not see the light of day, let alone another Muslim, while we laugh and enjoy families and friends in our homes. But most of all let us bleed for ourselves, for not only are we sealing our eternal destination but we are directly responsible for the suffering of those who are being oppressed, tortured, and killed by our very inaction.

Allah tells us:

"And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the Cause of Allah and for those weak, ill-treated and oppressed among men, women, and children, whose cry is: "Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from You one who will protect; and raise for us from You one who will help!" Quran 4:75

Ramadan is the month of Jihad, a month when many of the historic battles that established  Islam took place and the Muslims rose.  Let us contemplate our own jihad this Ramadan and question what we are doing to honor this obligation to Allah.  Let us think deeply about the suffering of many of our Brothers and Sisters and consider what we can do, first as individuals and then with others, for our joining together is what Allah will multiply many times over.  And then let us take action to end division and oppression and injustice that will surely come to each of us if we do not honor our covenant with Allah for He will only help us if we change ourselves.  Let this Ramadan be a new beginning, a renewing of our oath to Allah and a springboard to action in His Mighty name that returns us to the path of noble righteousness, inshaAllah.

I seek refuge in Allah Lord of the Worlds, the Most Gracious the Most Merciful. Whomever Allah guides, no one can misguide and whoever Allah misguides no one can set straight. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is His Messenger.

Peace and Blessings to those who follow His guidance.