Recent events have left me feeling disheartened, overwhelmed, hated, feared, & pessimistic as a Muslim. I feel like retreating, tired & irritated from having to explain or defend Islam yet again to those that seem set on believing the worst no matter what.
It feels hard right now & I need some perspective. So, on this day of remembrance & blessing, I'm thinking of two events - Taif & Karbala.
The Prophet's (sallalahu alayhi wa salaam) attempt to bring the message to the people of Taif provoked insults & abuse - he returned with wounds all over his body & blood filling his shoes. This, after over a decade of ill-received preaching in Makkah, & during a three-year boycott by the Quraysh, in which Muslims were reduced to eating grass and leaves off of trees. How exhausted & humiliated he must have felt.
But instead of asking for Taif's destruction, he chose to pray for its salvation. He also made the following supplication:
"O God! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and my humiliation before the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair? So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of more abundance to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or your displeasure descend upon me. I desire your pleasure and satisfaction until you are pleased. There is no power and no might except by You."
During the 10-day siege at Karbala, Imam Hussein's camp suffered horrific tortures. Yet, he remained steadfast in his faith, saying,
"O God! It is You in whom I trust amid all grief. You are my hope amid all violence. You are my refuge and provision in everything that happens to me. How many grievances weaken the heart, leaving me with no means to handle them, during which friend deserts me, and enemy rejoices in it. I lay it before You and complain of it to You, because of my desire in You, You alone. You relieve me of it and remove it from me. You are the Master of all Grace, the Essence of Goodness, and the Ultimate Resort of all Desire."
His group of 72 men & boys was obliterated by an army of thousands. After witnessing the loss of his own children, he himself was killed. The few survivors were taken to Damascus where imprisonment awaited. There, his sister Hadhrat Zainab said to Yazid:
"Do you think that by making us prisoners...you have humiliated us in the sight of God and have earned respect for yourself? ...Are you forgetting that God has said:
3:177 Surely those who have bought unbelief at the price of faith shall do no harm at all to God, and they shall have a painful chastisement.
Feel not elated with our defeat, for you will have to pay the penalty of it on the day when you will be rewarded for your misdeeds. God is not unjust to anyone. We trust in Him. He is our place of refuge. In Him we seek sanctity and with Him rest our hopes!"
They never despaired or lost their iman (faith) or hope in spite of immense suffering. They never lowered their standards, or stooped to conquer. Thus put into context, the cartoons are revealed as insignificant, the violent reactions to them foolish, & the divisions between believers painful.
I think sometimes I forget what mercies we've been given in Islam, the continuous opportunities for reflection, repentance & return with which our year is filled, the days & months of blessings & mercy. When overwhelmed by the world I sometimes forget to turn to the Qur'an, sunnah & history, to the lessons of struggle & patience which put this brief life in perspective. But once I do, they calm distressing emotions & make me think about ways in which to honor God & his Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa salaam) through my words & actions - for that is all I can control in this world.
Remembering reminds me again of three things: that the world will always be full of sorrow for that is its nature; that in spite of that I must remain committed to changing for the better what I can; and lastly, that all things will be set right by His grace in the end. Truly, there is no calamity if there is certainty in Him.
May our fasts today be accepted & of benefit to us. May He protect us from despair, & grant us iman, patience, & courage, ameen.
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"Keep to forgiveness, and enjoin kindness, and turn away from those who choose to remain ignorant."
-Al-Qur'an, 7:199
"And give us certainty that makes all calamities in this world insignificant."
- Prophet Muhammad (sallalahu alayhi wa salaam)
4 comments:
Ameen to all your dua sis.
Thanks B, I've been at a loss for words these days which is kind of a good thing because I'm reading more. It's easy to get distracted and lose hope. Sometimes I have to step back and remove myself a little. It helps me to remember that there's enough pain the world without us creating more. I don't want to be one of the ones adding to it. Doing nothing isn't much better than acceptance so working towards change is all that's left.
This is very encouraging and uplifting in a time when I feel very unhappy about what is happening around us. Thank you.
Salaam alaykum,
Just a word to say Thank You Sister for a beautiful and inspiring post.
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