‘SHOULD WE BE rocking the boat?’ my son asked me the other day.
‘Why would we want to do that?’ I asked.
‘People say that we live here in Britain as a minority. We enjoy the benefits of living here. We have our masajid to pray in. We can wear hijab if we want to. We shouldn’t therefore make things difficult for ourselves by talking too much about Islam,’ he said.
‘I suppose if Islam was only some aspects of personal beliefs and actions then that would be fine. But Islam is a lot more than that. It sets the standard of what we strive to be as an individual and as an ummah and it makes us responsible for those around us. We live in a secular society (here in the West and the Muslim world) where it has already been decided (despite the mantra of freedom of speech and belief) what is acceptable in private and in public. Values are being set that everyone is being asked to conform to. Anyone who doesn’t is labelled as being bigoted or phobic, an extremist or backward. Very few are challenging whether these values are good for society and even fewer are providing an alternative.
I don’t see talking about Islam, especially all those aspects that are not personal, as rocking the boat. A better way of looking at it is to consider ourselves encouraging the good and forbidding the evil.
This is part and parcel of what it means to be a Muslim. Can you remember what Luqman said to his son?’
‘He advised him not to commit shirk, to be good to parents, that Allah is All-aware of what we do…’
‘And in the next ayah Allah ﷻ relates:
يَـٰبُنَىَّ أَقِمِ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأْمُرْ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَٱنْهَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَٱصْبِرْ عَلَىٰ مَآ أَصَابَكَ ۖ إِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ ٱلْأُمُورِ
‘O my dear son! Establish prayer, encourage what is good and forbid what is evil, and endure patiently whatever befalls you. Surely this is a resolve to aspire to.’ (Luqman 17)
Allah ﷻ tells us to encourage what is good and forbid what is evil and bear with any difficulties that such a position can entail. This is an essential part of being a Muslim. Wherever we are, in whatever age we live in, we have a responsibility to do this, according to our capability.
The Prophet ﷺ said: ‘Whoever of you sees an evil must then change it with his hand. If he is not able to do so, then [he must change it] with his tongue. And if he is not able to do so, then [he must change it] with his heart. And that is the slightest (of) iman.’ (an Nasa’i)
Whilst we enjoy many comforts living where we live, we cannot ignore the munkar that surrounds us and that is leading to so much suffering for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Societal breakdown, economic inequity and hardship, insecurity, injustice, mental distress, environmental damage etc. are all resulting from this way of life. We Muslims, who have been given true guidance from Allah, surely must call all the people to that which is the best. We have to show the crookedness of a way of life built on disbelief against the straightness of a way of life built on iman. And we have to do so with sincerity, knowledge and wisdom.
What would happen if we didn’t encourage the good and forbid the evil?’
‘Evil becomes the norm.’
‘Yes, even the non-Muslims have a saying that evil prevails when good men do nothing.
Over the last 20 years since 9/11 and the so-called war on terror, many Muslims thought that we could just bury our heads in the sand and the issues would just blow away. They haven’t. Things are only getting tougher for the Muslim communities across the Western lands (and in the Muslim world too). The secular liberal way is becoming more aggressive and intolerant of any other view, and the process is only accelerating. Iman is being assaulted at every opportunity and we have seen huge shifts in a very short time of what is considered acceptable in society. If we are to safeguard the iman of our future generations living in the West, can we continue to remain passive?
For the Believers, there is an added dimension that the Prophet ﷺ tells us: ‘By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! Either you command good and forbid evil, or Allah will soon send upon you a punishment from Him, then you will call upon Him, but He will not respond to you.’ (Tirmidhi)
It isn’t an easy path for certain.
Allah ﷻ says in surah Asr:
إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ
Except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance. (al-Asr 4)
Notice how sabr (patient perseverance) comes after urging the truth. People won’t like to hear the truth, especially those who benefit from the status quo and those who fear change, so once we have urged the truth we need to accept what comes our way and remain patient.
After all this life is nothing but a test and the path to Jannah isn’t cheap.
أَحَسِبَ ٱلنَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوٓا۟ أَن يَقُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ ۖ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ
Do people think once they say: ‘We believe,’ that they will be left without being put to the test? We certainly tested those before them. And (in this way) Allah will clearly distinguish between those who are truthful and those who are liars. (al Ankabut 2-3)
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