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U
NSPEAKABLE
T
RAGEDY AND
T
HE
C
ONDITION OF OUR
U
MMAH
I think there’s a place in the human mind where we hide
when there’s nowhere left to go. And perhaps there’s a
part of the human heart where we relive forever
unthinkable tragedy. However, for the people in Syria and
Palestine today, that tragedy is not just an image of the
mind or heart; it is the only reality they know.
As I stand helplessly watching the carnage in these lands, I
too find myself unsure of where to go. I look for a place
inside my mind, a place where I can make sense of the
senseless and imagine that it isn’t really happening. I drift
between sadness, anger, depression, and back, but in the
end I return to one relentless question:
Why?
Why is this happening to us? Why are we suffering all
over the world? Why are we so helpless to stop it? Why
are we so politically powerless in the very country we are
citizen to? Why do we scream at the top of our voices,
writing letters and calling representatives in the White
House, only to have them continue mantras like: “Israel
has a right to defend itself?” Why are we at this point?
Why?
We have to ask why.
We have to stop and really examine where we are as an
ummah (nation) and what we have become. There was
once a time when Muslims were revered in the world, a
time when we were loved by our friends and feared by our
enemies. Today we have become the most targeted,
vilified, and hated group in the world. In a recent Gallup
poll, more than half of Americans said their
opinion
of
Islam is “not too favorable” or “not favorable at all”, and
43 percent admit harboring at least “a little” prejudice
against Muslims—more than double the percentage
reported towards Christians, Jews or Buddhists.
However we are not just hated. In many places, we are
being tortured, killed, and stripped of our belongings.
Where we are not physically targeted, we are stripped of
our rights, falsely accused, and even falsely imprisoned. In
fact, the widespread hatred of Muslims has become so
deep that anti-Muslim rhetoric has become the accepted
bigotry of choice. It is so accepted that it is even used by
some people to get ahead politically.
This situation that we as an ummah find ourselves in was
described in detail more than 1400 years ago. The Prophet
Muhammad
said to his companions (radi Allahu
`anhum): “The people will soon summon one another to
attack you as people, when eating, invite others to share
their food.” Someone asked, “Will that be because of our
small numbers at that time?” He replied, “No. You will be
numerous at that time: but you will be froth like that
carried down by a torrent (of water), and Allah will take
the fear of you from the hearts of your enemy and cast al-
wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of
Allah, what is al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of this dunya
and hatred of death.” [An authentic hadith recorded by
Abu Dawud and Ahmad]
Just as the Prophet
predicted, the people have
indeed summoned one another to attack us just as someone
invites others to share their food. In this hadith, the
Prophet
also describes us as becoming like the
froth on the water. If you watch waves flowing in the
ocean, you’ll see that the thin layer of froth on the top is
completely weightless and with little substance; the
slightest breeze can destroy it. It does not even have
enough power to determine its own course. Instead, it goes
wherever the water carries it.
This is our condition, as the Prophet
described it.
We must, however, return to the question of why. The
Prophet
gives a clear answer for this question. He
explains that the hearts will be filled with wahn. When
asked about this word’s meaning, the Prophet
responded with a few words that hold a truth deep in
meaning. He said it was “love of this dunya (world) and
hatred of death.” The Prophet
here is describing a
people who have become so completely engrossed in this
life that it has made them selfish, materialistic, short-
sighted, and heedless of their meeting with Allah. He is
describing a people who have become so worldly that
they have lost their moral character.
It is within the realm of this moral character that the
condition of any people will change—either from good to
bad or from bad to good. Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala
(exalted is He) tells us, “Indeed, Allah will not change the
condition of a people until they change what is in
themselves.” (Qur’an,
13:11
) It is, therefore, because of
their character that the condition of a people can change
from a world superpower to the froth on the ocean. And it
is only by changing the hearts and character that what was
once only froth on the ocean can once again become
strong.
Hence, we as Muslims should never lose hope. The nasr
(help and victory) for His deen is promised. The question
is whether you and I will be part of it. Allah (swt) reminds
us of this in the Qur’an when He says: “So do not weaken
and do not grieve, and you will be superior if you are
[true] believers.” (Quran,
3:139
)
It is only by our sincere faith and our striving, that Allah
(swt) will ever change our condition. So for the sake of
those bleeding in Syria and Palestine and all over the
world today, we, as an ummah, need to wake up and
return to Allah.
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