by Sh. Saad Tasleem

by Sh. Saad Tasleem

These days Muslims are being tested, from being mocked at to intrusions of surveillance, the threat of expulsion, and even vile remarks towards Allah SWT, The Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. In these tough times, it is faith in Allah SWT, sabr (patience and perseverance) and tawakkul (trust in and reliance on Him SWT) that bring about calmness amidst the chaos and turmoil, bestowing peace and tranquility to the hearts. Moreover, sabr provides illumination – light, guidance, and clarity – in moments of darkness, as Rasoolullah (peace be upon him) said, “… patience is illumination.”

Often sabr is translated as patience or withstanding with patience whatever difficulty has befallen a person. One may think that it is a passive state of accepting the tests and trials of this dunya, including those inflicting injustice or oppression. But another meaning of sabr is “tasabbur” or perseverance. This is the ability to continue on in spite of difficulties, with steadfastness and unwavering purpose. So sabr is not fatalistic resignation, a passive acquiescence to a situation or circumstances. Both aspects of sabr, patience and perseverance, are required when going through trials and tribulations. And let us be reminded that Allah SWT is with those who have sabr: “And be patient and persevering, for Allah is with those who patiently persevere” (Quran 8:46). For sure, Allah SWT tests the believers throughout their lives, from childhood to old age. Our status in this life can change instantly, from richness to poverty, ease to hardship, joy to sadness, health to sickness, security to fear – life has ups and downs and phases of good or ill fortune.

Slavery, in all its hideous iterations throughout history, was, paradoxically, the outgrowth of “civilization.” In more primitive groupings of human beings such as hunters/gatherers or subsistence farmers, slaves would have been viewed as burdensome additions to an already tenuous existence. There was no hidden or apparent advantage in being responsible for the food and shelter of another person when survival, itself, was difficult and uncertain. With the development of villages and towns, along with the establishment of commercial farming and craft development, cheap or unpaid workers became desirable. There were many ways for a free person to end up as a slave, including inability to pay off a debt, being captured by adversaries during raids, kidnappings, or wars. Slaves and their societal status have been outlined in ancient legal works such as the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, and in religious texts such as the Old Testament, the Quran, and the authentic traditions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Slavery has also been chronicled in the practices of ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome. With the advent of Islam, all justifications for enslaving another human being were eliminated except for prisoners of war. However, Muslims were commanded to feed them the same food as they ate, to clothe them as they were clothed, and not to overburden them.

Terror in Paris. Mass killing in San Bernardino. These words were burned into my mind in the past few months as we were faced yet again with the horrific slaughter of innocent people, and also with a media barrage once more blurring the line between Islam — and the majority of Muslims in the world — and terrorism. The American consciousness is infused with very selective portrayals of world events, portrayals that present the “other” — foreign, dangerous — at fundamental odds with everything “we”’ stand for. The notion that “we” solely uphold the highest standards of civilization and humanitarian ideals, in contrast to the rest of the world, permeates the information we receive from news and entertainment, and is further given currency by all those around us who have been equally indoctrinated. The result is the perception of an actual “us vs. them” scenario. In the minds of so many, the identity of “them” is equated with Muslims.

Friday sermon by Nouman Ali Khan at Islamic Society of Central Jersey on Jan. 1st, 2016.

O you who have believed, let not a people ridicule [another] people; perhaps they may be better than them; nor let women ridicule [other] women; perhaps they may be better than them. And do not insult one another and do not call each other by [offensive] nicknames. Wretched is the name of disobedience after [one's] faith. And whoever does not repent - then it is those who are the wrongdoers.

Surah Hujurat, Chapter 49, Verse 11

The Holy Quran

Khutbah by Nouman Ali Khan at Islamic Society of Central Jersey on Jan. 1, 2016

The Quranic story of Mary begins while she is still in her mother's womb. The mother of Mary, said: "O my Lord! I do dedicate to You what is in my womb for Your service. So accept this of me, for You hear and know all things. When she was delivered, she said, ‘O my Lord! Behold! I am delivered of a female child’ - and God knew best what she brought forth – ‘And no wise is the male like the female. I have named her Mariam, and I commend her and her offspring to Your protection from Satan, the Rejected.'" Mariam literally means "maidservant of God." While she had expected her baby to be a male who would grow up to be a scholar or religious leader, God had a better plan. God is the best of planners.

Throughout time, religion and politics have fueled conflicts. The Crusades, the ethnic cleansing during the Bosnian War, and the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli crisis have shown how deep rooted the tensions can be among Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Such strife, recurrent in history, leads one to wonder whether our three religious groups are fated to be at odds, or if there is some common ground that can be the basis for reconciliation and understanding.

Humanity has been busy throughout its history, supplicating, bowing down, and engaging in diverse acts of worship. In the annals of religious observance, however, people have codified worship of many false gods. Worship of the sun was quite common. An Egyptian cult deified the sun as Ra, ruler of the heavens, and the sun figured centrally in Babylonian and some Asian religious cults. For the Aztecs, Tonatiuh was the sun god, and demanded human sacrifice as a demonstration of their esteem and gratitude or else the sun would refuse to provide its warmth and energy to earth. But the Aztecs, like many cultures, had a multitude of gods in their pantheon – gods of creation, nature gods, gods of fertility, gods of death, and many others. Many cultures deified their emperors, seeing them as living gods on earth. The cult of Devaraja, the God King, was an ancient state religion in Cambodia. The story of the Egyptian Pharaoh typifies the worship of human leaders. In telling the story of Moses going to Pharaoh, the Quran says, “When Moses came to them with Our clear signs, they said, ‘This is nothing but spellbinding eloquence devised: never did we hear this among our forefathers!’ And Moses replied, ‘My Sustainer knows best as to who comes with guidance from Him, and to whom the future belongs! Verily, never will evildoers attain to a happy state!’ Whereupon Pharaoh said, ‘O Chiefs! No god do I know for you but myself…” (28:36-38).