Let us REALIZE !!!

Do we really want to change the state of the Ummah? Are we serious about improving the condition we are in? Let's be frank and not tip toe around issues. Let's tell it like it is and not beat around the bush. Let's be honest with ourselves and not make up lame excuses.

"Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves." [13:11]

"That is because Allah would not change a favor which He had bestowed upon a people until they change what is within themselves." [8:53]

So what have we done to change our condition? Watered down our religion and tried to explain away that which doesn't seem to suit us? Sadly, that is where we find a great many today. We seem to miss the point completely. We do not want to admit that we are in this horrible state because we have chosen to put our religion second to everything else. Our priorities are completely messed up.

What do we need to do?

First and foremost, we need to realize that everything rests in the Hands of Allah. He and He alone can help us, thus we need to turn to Him and implore Him to rectify our affairs. At the same time, we must know that in order to have our prayers answered, we need to do our part.

"O you who believe! If you help (in the cause of) Allah, He will help you, and make your foothold firm." [47:7]

To start, we need to learn and practice Islam according to the way of the Prophet (saws) and his noble Companions and those who followed in their footsteps. This means we must know who Allah is and understand why He created us. We must know who the allies and who the enemies of the believers are. Our support must be for Allah and the believers and we cannot depend on the unbelievers. Our Islam has to be apparent; we have to establish the Salaah and adhere to the tenets of Islam. We cannot make excuses for not praying five times a day and on time. We have to stop finding excuses to deal with Riba and for forsaking many of our obligations.

In order to accomplish this, we need to have good leadership. Our masajid and Islamic centres must be run by competent people. Frankly speaking, the vast majority of the ones I am aware of are run by incompetent and unfit people and it is the masses who are to blame for this. Rather than empowering people of knowledge and scholars of truth, we allow these misfits to have authority over the real Scholars. Thus, Masajid and Islamic centres are full of politics. These incompetent thugs who have control over them know what a soft spot the masses have for the Masajid and they take full advantage of it. The masses, on the other hand, don't seem to understand that supporting these Masajid and centres financially is strengthening the position of the thugs. We see all the nonsense these people are up to, then we say silly things like, let's work on change from within, we can't oppose them because we need to maintain unity etc. With attitudes like that, change is most unlikely. Let's open our eyes and take a good look. Sure, perhaps Masajid are being built and renovated, but what about real teaching and Da'wah? Imaams are kept on a tight leash; more often than not, if they touch on certain topics the thugs are not comfortable with, they are warned and threatened. People of knowledge who can offer services and contribute to the well-being of the community are shunned and actively opposed by the thugs. Sadly, the enslaved Imaams become complicit in this and the masses just sit silently.

As for Ahadith such as, "Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then (let him change it) with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” [Muslim], then we interpret them in a way that favours the criminals running our Masajid and centres. All this, hiding behind the (misunderstood) concept of unity.

Due to all these politics within the Masajid and centres, some students in Islamic universities found a good business opportunity. They saw that Masajid and Islamic centres were not offering the services they are supposed to, so they took that as a great source of income for themselves and established "institutes and academies." In principle, I have no issues with Islamic institutions like that, but because the primary goal is to make money, they end up very pally pally with the thugs so they can be allowed to promote themselves through their Masajid and Islamic centres. In addition, since they want to increase their customer base, their teachings are also watered down to suit the political climate. They call it "hikmah or wisdom", but it is in reality selling out. This has led to what we now know as celebrity Da'wah and a cult like culture among many of the youth who have been bamboozled into falling for these popular institutes and academies.

I think you get the picture; things are in a real mess! But we can turn things around if we are sincere, fear Allah, keep our duty to Him, place our trust in Him and work on bringing about positive change. Let's start by straightening out our own lives and practice of Islam, then by joining hands with those people of knowledge who have not sold out, even if they are not popular. Remember, we are not fighting a popularity contest, we are fighting for the well-being of Muslims. I am confident that if we focus on learning and practicing Islam in its pristine form, many of our problems will be solved. There seems to be this notion that we need to be aware and cautious of extremism. True, we do have to be cautious of extremism, but whether it is in the form of exaggeration or extreme negligence. The reality is that we suffer mostly from extreme negligence these days; negligence in truly adhering to Islam.

If we want our state of affairs to change, if we want to be successful and ward off Islamophobia and such things, we need to change ourselves first. We need to enter into Islam completely and be confident that Allah will support us.

"Take ˹necessary˺ provisions ˹for the journey˺— surely the best provision is taqwa (righteousness, fear of Allah, piety)." [2:197]

By Shaykh Younus Kathrada (hafidhaUllah)