بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

We all are very disturbed by the current situation of Muslims all around the world. We have this inner sense of justice which constantly nudges us to do something but we don’t know how to answer the following questions:

• What to do?
• How to do?
• From where do we begin?

When we don’t get the answers to these questions, we get frustrated and this further impacts our mental health. We know that all of you want to do something and that spark that you have, needs to be channelized in the right direction. With this aim in mind, In the Name of Allah, we aspire to create this study circle and build a circle of motivated and intellectual youths. Before moving forward, we want you to read this document thoroughly in order to clarify the aim of this initiative.

Islam and Muslim:

Islam is an Arabic word which literally means ‘to submit’. If we grammatically analyse this word, it is a ‘VERB’ and not a ‘NOUN’. The word ‘Islam’ rests on the structure of a verb and this denotes that it is not just a word but an ACTION WORD. To whom do we submit? To the Lord of the Alameen. The One Who created everything, the One Who is Absolute and Who cannot be compared to anything. This fundamental belief in ‘Tauheed’ is the most important part of our psychology.

Now coming to the question that who is a MUSLIM? Islam means ‘to submit’ and Muslim means ‘the one who submits’. The one who submits himself to the One. He spends his life according to the Divine Guidance and the Sunnah of the Messenger. A Muslim identifies himself in this vast cosmology, construes his purpose from the message of Allah and spends his life according to the Divine Will. Before moving forward, we need to ask ourselves ‘Are we really Muslims?’, ‘Have we really submitted ourselves to our Lord?’, ‘Are we really extracting out our worldview from the Quran?’, ‘Are we really keen to follow the Prophet?’.

Responding to trials:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوْعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْاَمْوَالِ وَالْاَنْفُسِ وَالثَّمَرٰتِۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ

(And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient)

This 155^th Ayah of Surah Baqarah has made it clear that we will be tested and we will be oppressed by the tyrants, the society and the opponents of that time. When we will attempt to spread the message of truth, we will be encountered with a lot of repulsion. A similar psychological position can be construed from the last Ayah of Surah Al Asr.

وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

(and exhorted each other to follow the truth, and exhorted each other to observe patience)

This verse also clarifies that once a person acts upon ‘watawasaw bil Haqqi’, he will face challenges, he will be tried and ‘watawasaw bil Sabri’ will follow and we will have to be patient and courageous at the same time.

According to neurochemistry, a fearful environment serves as a neuroplasticity killer which means that a person’s ability to adapt to different and difficult situations diminishes. We need to understand that even if we are going through such a phase, we need to organise and channelise our forces in the right direction. We need to derive the essence of the Quran and focus on the next step rather than lamenting the present.

The response to the trials mentioned in the above verse of Surah Baqarah is given in the very next verse.

اَلَّذِيْنَ اِذَآ اَصَابَتْهُمْ مُّصِيْبَةٌ ۗ قَالُوْٓا اِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَاِنَّآ اِلَيْهِ رٰجِعُوْنَۗ

(who, when a suffering visits them, say: “We certainly belong to Allah, and to Him we are bound to return.”)

This response stirs hope as a person reiterates his actual destination and he knows that the Hereafter is better for him than the transient life of this world.

We will be tried and tested but Allah tests those whom he loves. Allah tests the Prophets, the Righteous servants, the Truthful servants to make them realise their potential and in order to know whether they are capable of undertaking the responsibility that they have been entrusted with. Therefore, trials are inevitable and a Muslim’s life is not at all complete without them. It is our response that determines the further course of action. If we graciously bear those hardships, then we will be able to identify our potential and succeed in both the worlds but if we back out, we won’t be able to achieve anything. The Hereafter should be our main aim and focal point. Just like we desire the best in this world, we should desire the best in that world as well. Iqbal, through his couplet has beautifully expressed this desire.

‘Tere Ishq ki inteha chahta hoon, Meri saadgi dekh kya chahta hoon

Aur Jannat Mubarak rahe zahidon ko, Main to bas aapka saamna chahta hoon’

A Return to Makkah:

We often try to find the solution in worldviews generally rooted in liberal or Marxian thought but we forget to appreciate the universality and practicality of Islam. Its high time that we once again begin our Makki phase by entering our own ‘Cave of Hiras’. By entering our own Cave of Hira, it is meant that we start introspecting, thinking and reasoning. We should think about our purpose, our source and our final abode. We should try to place ourselves in this giant scheme of things and move forward with determination.

The first step towards this Makkanisation would be to purge ourselves of our evil thoughts and habits. We need to work on our overall personality and Imaan. We need to understand the psychological importance of Heaven, Hell, the Day of Judgement and the Grave. The fear of a horrible end when combined with the hope of a blissful life emits a light which radiates the hearts of the believers and induces them to lead a purposeful life. This process was carried on by the Prophet for 13 years out of the 23 years of his Prophetic career. In this phase, they were the most persecuted minorities of Makkah but they never stepped back from their mission.

We can confidently construe from this that the first rebellion should be against one’s own Nafs. We should be ready to face the challenges that come our way and that will only be possible when we have that tawakkul and taqwa. Therefore, we need refer to the Prophetic methodology of social change and the first step towards that is to follow the Makkan model as this is an evergreen path. And as Iqbal has said:

‘Ajami khum hai to kya, mai to Hijazi hai meri

Naghma Hindi hai to kya, lai to Hijazi hai meri’

House of Al-Arqam:

In the light of inhuman harassment, the Prophet deemed it wise to advise his followers to conceal their Islam. He took the decision to meet them secretly lest the Quraish should get to know of his designs, and plot to foil his goals. He also wanted to avoid any open confrontation with the polytheists because at that early stage, such action would not be in the interest of the fledgling call to Islam, that was fragile and weak.

For the general welfare of the new converts and in consideration of the strategic interests of Islam, he took Dar Al-Arqam, the estate of Al-Arqam on As-Safa, as a temporary center to meet his followers secretly and instruct them in the Quran and Islamic wisdom. Another purpose of Dar Al-Arqam was to provide the community of the believers with a good company.

We need to augment our knowledge and develop our thought in order to move forward. We also need a good company of like-minded people who aspire to contribute to this cause. We need to strike a balance between our intellectual (wisdom), offensive (courage) and carnal (chastity) forces. A harmonious combination of these qualities of Hikmah, Shujaat and Haya is the required state of Adalah, that is the just equilibrium.

Time:

In order to make anything successful, we need to sincerely dedicate some time. Time is the most important resource that we have at this stage. It is this ‘Time’ by which Allah swore and said, “Verily, man is in loss”. Therefore, we need to INVEST our time in order to make this project a success. The word ‘INVEST’ has been highlighted in order to communicate that each and every second spent in this cause will prove to be beneficial for us on the Day of Judgment.

At the end of the day, our efforts would matter and not the result. In, Islam success does not depend on what we achieve but it depends on how hard we try to achieve our goals. Therefore, we need to wisely utilize our time and we need to balance our affairs. After all, we need to prepare a CV for the most important interview that awaits us.

وَوُضِعَ الْكِتٰبُ فَتَرَى الْمُجْرِمِيْنَ مُشْفِقِيْنَ مِمَّا فِيْهِ وَيَقُوْلُوْنَ يٰوَيْلَتَنَا مَالِ هٰذَا الْكِتٰبِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيْرَةً وَّلَا كَبِيْرَةً اِلَّآ اَحْصٰىهَاۚ وَوَجَدُوْا مَا عَمِلُوْا حَاضِرًاۗ وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ اَحَدًا ࣖ 

(And the book (of deeds) will be placed (before them), then you will see the guilty people scared of its contents and saying, “Woe to us! What a book is this! It has missed nothing, minor or major, but has taken it into account.” Thus, they will find whatever they did present before them, and your Lord will not wrong anyone.) [Surah Kahf, v.49]

During the last moments of our life, none of us wants to look back and say, “Kaash ye kar lia hota, Kaash ye na kia hota.”

Reverse Engineering from the Akhirah:

The word ‘eternal’ is enough to describe the importance and the seriousness of the Hereafter. We need to adjust ourselves and our present lives according to the Hereafter. A grave which will accommodate us for a longer period than this world, a Day of Judgement that will last for 50000 years and then an ETERNAL LIFE. The course of the abovementioned three stages depends on what we do in this life.

Therefore, our main focus should be to improve our standard of living in the Akhirah. Allah has not stopped us from improving our present lives but at the same time we have to focus on that life as well. 50 years or (Grave + 50000 years + An eternal life)? What’s a better bargain?

The purpose of the above discussion was to clarify that we are not here to function like robots. We have an origin, a purpose and a destination. Instead of just being depressed about the state of this Ummah, we need to start acting and doing whatever is in our capacity. We need to put in our sincere efforts and invest our time for this cause in order to be successful in both the worlds.

ITS TIME TO ACT AND NOT JUST REACT.

Iqbal has also propounded the same message through his poetry:

‘Tujhe aaba se apne koi nisbat ho nahi sakti,

Ki tu Ghuftaar wo Kirdaar tu Saabit wo Saiyyara’

But lets give a befitting reply to Iqbal by changing our attitudes:

‘Waqt e fursat hai kahan, kaam abhi baaqi hai,

Noor e Tauheed ka itmaam abhi baaqi hai’