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SPEAKING
FREELY
Islamic obligation to
shine on one's brother
By M
Hamdan Azhar Yousuf
Speaking
Freely is an Asia Times Online feature that allows
guest writers to have their say. Please click here
if you are interested in
contributing.
"Not one of you
truly believes until he loves for his brother what
he loves for himself," declared the Prophet
Mohammed, thereby sealing the universal
brotherhood of man and enjoining on the society as
a whole the upkeep of the downtrodden among their
ranks. The Koran definitely declared 1,400 years
ago that the most noble among men is not the
wealthiest nor the one with the princely lineage,
but he with the greatest God-consciousness
(Taqwa). And how does one attain
God-consciousness? By spending out of that which
one loves. The believers are praised in the Koran:
"And they feed the poor, the orphans, the
prisoners, out of his love, saying 'We desire
neither thanks nor reward' save for the pleasure
of God, for indeed we fear from our lord the
distressful day of fate."
In the better
days of the Islamic state, the coffers of the
public treasury were overflowing to the extent
that there was excess in supply of funds for the
help of the community. Alas, today the Muslim
world faces not a unified caliphate but a handful
of Islamic nations, each with its own interests
and problems. And yet it is in light of these
circumstances that we must take on our collective
responsibility of aiding our Muslim brothers who
have fallen under distress with the recent tsunami
disaster in South and Southeast Asia. The Prophet
said: "The Muslim community (ummah) is like
a body; if one part is in distress, the whole
suffers." It is incumbent on us all, especially
the better off among us, to contribute to this
immense disaster to alleviate some of the
suffering of the victimized peoples.
It
should not be considered offensive to suggest that
for the Muslim countries, it is not only our
religious obligation but a vitally important
strategic necessity to assert our influence in
this part of the world. Because, whether we like
it or not, this is how the West is perceiving this
opportunity. The Independent (UK) notes: "There is
already talk of an updated 'Marshall Plan' for
Asia, similar to the postwar aid for Europe, that
would save lives and repair America's tattered
reputation across the world." Even more dangerous
than quasi-imperialist designs, however, is the
much more latent threat of "predatory
evangelists", who are swarming Indonesia's heavily
affected Aceh region, "mixing Christian missionary
work with humanitarian aid", as reported by the
Baltimore Sun.
With the Muslim
ummah in such dire circumstances, with
children dying daily in Kashmir, Palestine and
Chechnya, is it economically and theologically
sound for us to divert precious funds to a people
whose faith is of dubious quality? No doubt this
is the question being raised, if not vocally, then
at least inwardly on the parts of the leaders of
the Islamic governments. In response, let us
consider a tradition mentioned by Imam Ghazali in
his Ihya, an explanation of the Koran. A
Zoroastrian came to the Prophet Moses asking for
some water; Moses said: "First convert to Islam."
The man walked away offended, shortly after which
the Prophet came to realize his error and ran to
him asking him to come back. After Moses treated
the beggar to dinner, the man inquired, "Tell me
about this Islam," after which he subsequently
converted. The lesson to be taken is that the Love
of God, as manifested in its supreme form, by the
practice of Islam, cannot be forced down someone's
throat; rather, it is best spread by the
maintenance of superior Akhlaaq, or
character, through which naturally the seeds of
faith are spread far and wide.
The question
that now arises is simply: What must be done? The
wealthy Muslim countries, especially the oil-rich
Persian Gulf states, must now contribute to the
relief effort in amounts commensurate with their
wealth. We cannot and must not allow the
rehabilitation of the world's most populous Muslim
country, Indonesia, to be co-opted by hostile
forces as another volley in the battle of
"imperialism in the name of liberation". It is
indeed a sad state of the ummah when we are
forced, out of our weakness, to accept the aid of
nations who, at the same time they are feeding
starving children in Sumatra, are massacring other
starving children in Samarra. Nor is there any
real reason that we have to accept the idea of
thousands of evangelical missionaries teeming
around a Muslim state, preying on weak souls, with
the goal of supplanting Islam with their own
faith.
As members of the brotherhood of
Islam, we must help our downtrodden fellow
believers in their time of need. While the
individual indeed can contribute in many ways, the
strength of Islam has always been in the
jamaat, or community. The Prophet said:
"Stick to the community for verily the wolf eats
the sheep that strays from the pack." While it
must be admitted that today we are faced with the
prevalence of mulk (nation-states) as
opposed to khilafah (caliphate), if these
states were to combine their efforts, there is no
limit to the good that could be done. Why don't
the wealthy Islamic countries, such as Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates match the
billions contributed by American and European
interests? Why doesn't the sole Islamic nuclear
power, Pakistan, replace the US marines in
Indonesia? Why don't we have thousands of
volunteers from Egypt and Afghanistan rushing to
the help of those in need?
Recently,
Franklin Graham, the same demagogue evangelical
who in 2001 called Islam an "evil and wicked
religion" and lobbed vicious slanders against the
Prophet Muhammad, left for Indonesia to supervise
Christian relief efforts. He said: "If we are
going to depend on Muslims to go in and help
Muslims, well, they aren't coming."
Let us
prove him wrong.
M Hamdan Azhar
Yousuf, an undergraduate in economics at
Pennsylvania State University and an active leader
in the Muslim-American community, is a
representative to the Political Action Task Force
of the Muslim Student Association of the United
States. His other works can be viewed at www.personal.psu.edu/hxy152.
Speaking Freely is an Asia Times
Online feature that allows guest writers to have
their say. Please click here
if you are interested in
contributing. |
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