Dealing With Calamities Affecting the Ummah

لَا يَغُرَّنَّكَ تَقَلُّبُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي الْبِلَادِ
مَتَاعٌ قَلِيلٌ ثُمَّ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ

Don’t let the disbelievers’ movement in the land deceive you,
Short enjoyment, then their home is Hell; how terrible a place to go.

لَكِنِ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا نُزُلًا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِلْأَبْرَارِ

But, those who are conscious of their Lord will have gardens with rivers flowing under them,
Living there forever, a gift from Allah, and what Allah has is better for the righteous.

Introduction

Everyone follows the news today, with live updates given every moment of their lives. This is entirely different from how humans lived in the past where news would take weeks if not months to travel from one part of the world to another.

To some extent, we were not built to handle this much information at the same time. But, if we must take in this much information, there are some important foundations we need as Muslims. I wrote this article to list some of these important foundations.

Knowing the Afterlife

The chief difference between a believer and a non-believer is that a believer firmly believes this life is not the end. In fact, this life is not even a portion. This life is nothing compared to the afterlife.

That does not mean this life is meaningless or useless. Rather, this life is extremely important because it decides what will happen in the afterlife.

There are three key realizations a believer has about the afterlife:

1. Power and comfort that oppressors enjoy in this life is fleeting and temporary. ¹
2. Those who kill people and oppress will not be left alone. They will face the fire of Hell. ²
3. Those innocent believers who are killed or oppressed will not be left to decompose in their graves. They will receive their fair reward in Paradise. Allah says ⟪Never think those who are killed in the cause of Allah are dead.⟫ (3:169) ³

Knowing the afterlife is key to dealing with news of calamities affecting the Ummah as Allah himself says in the Quran.

Allah says ⟪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⟫ ⟪Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.”⟫ ⟪Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.⟫ (2:155-157)

Allah tells us to remember that we will return to Allah whenever disaster strikes.

Concern for the World vs. Concern for the Afterlife

There is an inherent tension in a believer’s faith: he works in this world, but must be concerned with the afterlife. Many people who work in the world (as they should) become concerned by the world. Many people who have faith in the afterlife fail to work in the world. But, it is necessary to work in the world while being concerned about the afterlife.

That is why the ultimate status a believer can achieve is shahadah (martyrdom), when a person sacrifices his life to further the cause of Islam in the world with complete faith that his death will not be in vain because of the afterlife.

How is that possible? How can you work in the world if you are not concerned about the world and only concerned about the afterlife?

The answer is that you must align your principles so that your concern for the world is derived from your concern for the afterlife. If your heart is not always calibrated to derive its other concerns from its concern for the afterlife, it will forget the primary concern.

If you are working a job, you must always explain to yourself why that is aligned to your ultimate goal in the afterlife. If you are reading the news, you must explain to yourself why that is aligned with your goal in the afterlife. If you are going out with friends, you must explain to yourself why that is aligned with your goal in the afterlife.

When you do this, things are put into perspective and news cannot paralyze your decision making. Even if Israel takes over the entire Middle East tomorrow, the afterlife would not cease to exist. Surely, some of your actions will change, but the small and consistent actions in your life will still continue because they have an independent purpose that do not rely on the situation in the world being stable.

If the Kaabah was destroyed brick by brick tomorrow, the qiblah would remain and we would still turn to pray towards it five times a day. If Masjid al-Aqsa was destroyed wall by wall tomorrow, the masjid would remain, because it is the land chosen by Allah, not the physical bricks, and it would remain ours goal to reclaim the masjid until we enter it again.

Why does oppression and defeat happen?

Everything has a purpose and proximate cause. So, these are actually two different questions: Why did Allah create the possibility of oppression and defeat? What leads to them actually happening in the world?

As for the purpose, Allah says ⟪If a wound touches you – there has already touched the [opposing] people a wound similar to it. And these days [of varying conditions] We alternate among the people so that Allah may make evident those who believe and [may] take to Himself from among you martyrs – and Allah does not like the wrongdoers⟫

⟪And so that Allah may purify the believers [through trials] and destroy the disbelievers.⟫

⟪Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while Allah has not yet made evident those of you who fight in His cause and made evident those who are patient?⟫ (3:140-142)

This world was not created to be a place of cushions and pillows. That is for Paradise.

As for the proximate cause, Allah says about the Battle of Uhud ⟪And Allah had certainly fulfilled His promise to you when you were killing the enemy by His permission until [the time] when you lost courage and fell to disputing about the order [given by the Prophet] and disobeyed after He showed you what you love (i.e. the spoils of war). Among you are some who desire this world, and among you are some who desire the Hereafter.⟫ (3:152)

The main cause is Muslims desiring the world and subsequently disobeying the commands of Allah and his Messenger in their quest for the world. That is also why, if you wish to be part of the solution, you need to know the afterlife.

Trust in Allah

Allah says ⟪They plan and Allah plans, and Allah is the best of planners.⟫ (3:54)

Telling people to trust Allah’s plan is a cliche, and telling them to tie their camel then trust in Allah (which is a weak hadith) is an even greater cliche.

That being said, belittling the importance of trust in Allah can only come from a materialistic non-believing mindset. Yaqub (AS) said to his sons ⟪Do not lose hope in the relief of Allah. No one loses hope in the relief of Allah except disbelievers.⟫ (12:87)

There are three aspects of trust in Allah, and they are all summarized in one verse: ⟪Whoever trusts in Allah, [Allah] is enough for him. Indeed, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Allah has already set for everything a [decreed] extent.⟫ (65:3)

1. Allah is enough. Even if you were alone in the world and you had only Allah, Allah would be enough to solve all your problems.
2. Allah will complete his plans and decrees. There is no one who can ever stop Allah.
3. Everything has already been decreed and scheduled. Allah has never been blindsided and never will be. Nothing you are seeing is outside Allah’s schedule and plan. Allah, however, has his own schedule. He will not necessarily follow yours.
   • Allah says ⟪And they urge you to hasten the punishment. But Allah will never fail in His promise. And indeed, a day with your Lord is like a thousand years of those which you count.⟫ (22:47)

Allah’s Plan in Surah Qasas

Reading the beginning of Surah Qasas will put a lot of things into perspective.

Allah says: ⟪Firaun exalted himself in the land and made its people into factions, oppressing a group among them, slaughtering their sons and sparing their women. He was one of the corrupters.⟫

⟪And We intended to show favor to those who were oppressed in the land and make them leaders and make them the inheritors.⟫ ⟪And to establish them firmly in the land, and to show Firaun, Haman, and their soldiers through them what they had feared.⟫

If you told someone at the time, while Firaun was actively killing the infants of Bani Israil, that Allah is intending to show favor to Bani Israil and give them more power than Firaun, he would have laughed at you and called you delusional.

Allah says: ⟪And We inspired the mother of Musa: “Nurse him, and when you fear for him, cast him into the river and do not fear and do not grieve. We will return him to you and will make him among the messengers.”⟫

Allah’s favor to Bani Israil and them being saved from Firaun only happened when Musa (AS) was 40 or older. Yet, Allah’s plan started when Musa (AS) was just a baby. If you had told someone that Allah had already put his plan into motion, they would not have believed you.

The plan of Allah is like that. No one sees it coming, to the point that the oppressors themselves raise the one who will destroy them.

⟪Then the family of Firaun picked him up so that he would become for them an enemy and a cause of grief. Indeed, Firaun, Haman, and their soldiers were wrongdoers.⟫

Having Iman

Allah teaches us what to do when we see disbelievers or oppressors having wealth and power. These actions are what show our iman (faith). Iman in Islam is not just in the heart, but it is intimately linked to your speech and actions.

Allah says ⟪Do they think that what We extend to them of wealth and children is [because] We hasten for them good things? Rather, they do not understand.⟫

⟪Rather, those who are apprehensive from fear of their Lord, those who believe in the verses of their Lord, those who do not associate anything with their Lord, and those who give what they give while their hearts are fearful because they will be returning to their Lord.⟫

⟪It is those who are going towards good, and they are the first to receive it.⟫

⟪And we do not make any soul responsible for more than it can bear, and with Us is a record which speaks the truth; and they will not be wronged.⟫ (23:55-62)

There are four qualities of iman Allah emphasizes:

1. Apprehensively fearing Allah and worshiping Him
   • We do not fear anything in this world but Allah. That is the only mindset that will lead to proper success.
   • This means every believer is moved to do good things in this world to the best of his ability regardless of what other things happen, since Allah is always here.
2. Believing in the verses of Allah and having a close connection to the Quran
   • We follow the Messenger of Allah (SAW) and believe the Quran he brought completely and implement it totally in our lives. That includes regularly reading it and reflecting on it. The Quran is comfort to the believers. Allah says ⟪We have revealed in the Quran what is healing and mercy for the believers.⟫ (17:82)
   • Part of believing in the verses of Allah is acting upon them and implementing them. There is no such thing as belief without action.
3. Not associating anything with Allah
   • When we do anything, we do it for Allah alone and not for people or groups or nations.
   • Everything will cease to exist, but Allah will always exist. If your hopes are tied to one person or group or nation, your hope will be very weak. If your hope is tied to Allah, Allah will always remain.
4. Giving what you give while you remember that you will return to Allah
   • Whenever you donate your money, your effort, or your time, it has to be for the sake of the afterlife. If you do it for the sake of a good cause in the world, you will become depressed if that good cause fails and stop doing anything. But, if you do it for the sake of Allah, you may become dismayed, but you will know that your efforts were seen by Allah and will benefit you and that your future efforts will also benefit you.

Importance of Salah

All of these qualities are encapsulated and crystallized in the institution of Salah. Anyone who wishes to be a good Muslim or to serve Islam must fix their relationship with Salah. This means the five prayers daily but it also means tahajjud.

Every Islamic mission is paired with Salah, even the prophetic missions.

When Allah gave Musa (AS) his difficult mission, Allah first said to him ⟪I am Allah, there is no god except me, so worship me and establish Salah for my remembrance.⟫ (20:14)

He said ⟪Go, you and your brother, with My signs and do not slacken in My remembrance. Go, both of you, to Pharaoh. Indeed, he has transgressed.⟫

When Allah gave the Prophet (SAW) his difficult mission, Allah said to him ⟪O you who wraps himself [in clothing]⟫ ⟪Arise [to pray] the night, except for a little⟫ ⟪Half of it – or subtract from it a little⟫ ⟪Or add to it, and recite the Qur’an with measured recitation.⟫ ⟪Indeed, We are about to cast upon you a heavy word.⟫ (73:1-5)

Importance of Striving in the Cause of Allah

Finally, there is no iman without striving for the cause of Allah.

Allah says ⟪The believers are only the ones who have believed in Allah and His Messenger and then did not doubt but strived with their properties and their lives in the cause of Allah. It is those who are the truthful.⟫ (49:15)

It is not a choice. Believers are only those who strive in the cause of Allah. So, when we see oppression and disbelief having free hand on earth, it is our job to temper it in however good way we can. When you strive but evil remains prevalent, you have more to do, but you can ease your mind that you did something at least.

Abu Bakr (RA) said: You all quote the verse ⟪O you who have believed, you are responsible for yourselves.⟫ (5:105) [to avoid criticizing evil and commanding good], but I heard the Messenger of Allah (SAW) say, “If people see an oppressor and don’t hold down his hand, I fear that Allah will punish them all together.” (Sunan Tirmidhi; Sahih)

The Prophet (SAW) said, “Whoever sees something wrong should change it with his hands. If he cannot do that, then with his tongue. If he cannot do that, then with his heart (he should believe it to be wrong), and that is the lowest level of faith.” (Sahih Muslim)

Striving in the cause of Allah with your life and wealth can include many things. Some of those are:

1. Speaking out against evil
2. Giving in charity to the correct causes
3. Making dua
4. Building the Muslim community in their piety and consciousness

Even the small ways you strive for the sake of Allah can become huge in the eyes of Allah and lead to a disproportionate effect. The mother of Musa (AS) did not know putting her baby in a box and leaving the box in the river was going to save Bani Israil. But, that act, because she trusted Allah and followed his commands, was a keystone in Allah’s plan to destroy Firaun.

Hypocrisy: The Counterpart of Faith

Whenever Muslims are in trouble or Islam is under attack, there arises a group of people willing to sacrifice their fellow Muslims or to sacrifice the tenets of Islam in exchange for what they perceive to be a better state for themselves. They do not care to fight for Islam or for their fellow Muslims. They would rather capitulate.

This group of people is the hypocrites, and they are the exact opposite of the believers who have faith.

1. Whereas believers fear Allah, hypocrites fear the people and want to avoid being blamed by them in any way.
2. Whereas believers believe in the verses of Allah and have a close relationship with the Quran, hypocrites think the Quran should not be taken seriously or the Messenger’s Sunnah should be ignored.
3. Whereas believers do not associate anyone with Allah, everything hypocrites do is performative either to non-Muslims to show their support or to other believers to show their supposed Islam.
4. Whereas believers give everything they can give because they know there is an afterlife, hypocrites think it is superstitious to give up things for the sake of Allah for an imagined afterlife.

Some people wrongly think hypocrites always consider themselves disbelievers in their hearts, but that is not the case. Hypocrites may even genuinely consider themselves believers and Muslims. Those are, in fact, the most dangerous group of hypocrites.

There are two questions to ask yourself:

1. Do my actions portray faith or hypocrisy? If an outsider were to observe me, what would he assume about the state of my heart?
   • Avoiding hypocrisy is why it is necessary to build a private relationship with Allah with private prayer at night and reflection on the Quran separate from your public actions.
2. Who are the believers and who are the hypocrites in my surrounding?
   • It is important to identify hypocrites, not for you to pass judgement on them, but so that you choose your company more wisely.
   • If you are in the company of hypocrites, you will spiral into continuous negative thinking by their influence.
   • Allah says ⟪And when you see those who engage in [offensive] discourse concerning Our verses, then turn away from them until they enter into another conversation. And if Shaitan should cause you to forget, then do not remain after you remember with the wrongdoing people.⟫ (6:68)

Knowing Your Limits, Knowing to Wait

Allah says ⟪And we do not make any soul responsible for more than it can bear, and with Us is a record which speaks the truth; and they will not be wronged.⟫

A person is not and cannot be responsible for everything. In the modern day, information is too widely available. You can live on one side of the world while getting live updates from the other side. The speed of information has changed a lot but the speed of your actions affecting the world has not changed proportionally nearly as much. As such, a lot of people become frustrated and feel helpless.

It is necessary to understand that Allah did not make us responsible for what we do not have the ability to affect, so why burden your heart with the responsibility?

Allah is watching everything and no one will go free. No one will be wronged. It is only our job to do what we can, not to worry about what we cannot do.

The Prophet (SAW) spent 13 years in Makkah where countless Surahs ended with advice to the effect of: ⟪Be patient for the decision of your Lord, because you are under our eyes. And exalt [Allah] with praise of your Lord when you arise⟫ ⟪And in a part of the night exalt Him and after [the setting of] the stars.⟫ (68:48-49)

Spreading News

If news comes to you from an untrustworthy source, whether good news or bad news, do not spread it as if it is true until you verify it. It is better to have true bad news than false good news.

Allah says ⟪O believers, if there comes to you a disobedient one with information, investigate, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become, over what you have done, regretful.⟫ (49:6)

Allah says ⟪And when there comes to them information about [public] security or fear, they spread it around. But if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it.⟫ (4:83)

Civil War

A Muslim should not side with either of two nationalistic factions of Muslims fighting each other. A Muslim should always be on the side of justice and truth, even if it is against his own nation. This is easier said than done. It is hard to find many Muslims who side against their own nations for the sake of justice.

Allah says ⟪And if two factions among the believers fight, then make settlement between the two. But if one of them oppresses the other, then fight against the one that oppresses until it returns to the ordinance of Allah. And if it returns, then make settlement between them in justice and act justly. Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly.⟫ (49:9)

Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman said in a long hadith: I asked the Prophet (SAW) about the future, and he said, “There will be callers at the gate of Hell. Whoever responds to them will be thrown into it.” I asked, “What should I do if I see that?” He (SAW) said, “Stick to the main body of Muslims and their leader.” I asked, “What if there is no main body and no leader (i.e. there is a civil war)?” He (SAW) said, “Then, leave all factions even if you have to eat the roots of trees until you die.” (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

Knowing Your History

Muslims have experienced no shortage of tragedies in their history. A person may look at news today and wrongly imagine that what is happening is new or unprecedented. It is neither new nor unprecedented.

Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA), the second khalifah, was assasinated in front of the Muslims while they were praying Fajr. It is difficult to understate how big of a tragedy that was.

Once, Umar (RA) asked Huzaifah (RA) what he remembered from the Prophet (SAW) about the fitnah (civil war). Huzaifah (RA) said, “There is a closed door between you and it.” Umar (RA) asked, “Will the door be opened or broken?” Huzaifah (RA) said, “It will be broken.” Umar (RA) said, “Then, it will never be closed again.” The door was Umar (RA).

Then, there were many years of prosperity and wealth in the time of Uthman ibn Affan (RA), the third khalifah.

After that time, Uthman (RA) was surrounded in his house in Madinah by rebels. He did not let anyone fight them because he did not want blood to be shed. But, the rebels eventually broke into his house and killed him. His wife tried to block their sword with her hand but they cut off some of her fingers.

The bloodied shirt of Uthman (RA) was taken to Muawiyah ibn Sufyan (RA), the governor of Syria at the time, and he swore vengeance for the killing of his cousin Uthman.

Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA), the fourth khalifah, came to his position at this tenuous time, and his tenure was mired with civil war as a result. Many companions died in those wars fighting each other, while they had all seen the Prophet (SAW) with their own eyes. Eventually, Ali (RA) himself was assassinated.

Then, there was a time of peace under Muawiyah (RA).

Then, after the accession of Yazid ibn Muawiyah as the second Umayyad ruler, the Prophet (SAW)’s grandson Husain (RA) along with his family members were killed at Karbala by Umayyad forces because Husain (RA) attempted to claim khilafah.

Then, after the death of Yazid, Abdullah ibn al-Zubair (RA), the grandson of Abu Bakr and the first child born when the Prophet (SAW) migrated to Madinah, claimed khilafah in Makkah. This led to a drawn out civil war with many different sides, which eventually climaxed in Umayyad forces firing catapults into Makkah and damaging part of the Kaabah. When they conquered Makkah, they had Abdullah ibn al-Zubair crucified, while his mother Asma bint Abu Bakr (RA), the lady who packed the Prophet’s food when he left for Madinah was still alive to witness it.

Then, there came justice and prosperity under the khilafah of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, the eight Umayyad ruler.

After all these times of darkness, Allah returned times of peace and goodness. Today is not different or worse. It is the purpose of the world to shake you, but it is the purpose of your iman to keep you firm.

Allah says ⟪Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said, “When is the help of Allah?” Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near.⟫ (2:214)

Hadith of Hudhaifah (RA)

Hudhaifah ibn al-Yaman narrated:

People used to ask about the good, but I used to ask about the bad, fearing that I would fall into it.

I said, “Messenger of Allah, we used to be in Jahiliyyah and evil, then Allah brought us this good. Will there be bad after this good?”

He said, “Yes.”

I asked, “Will there be good after that bad?”

He said, “Yes, but with a stain.”

I asked, “What will be the stain?”

He said, “People who don’t practice according to my Sunnah and don’t take guidance from my guidance. You will find some good from them and you will find evil in them.”

I asked, “Will there be evil after that good?”

He said, “Yes, there will be callers at the gate of Hell. Whoever responds to them will be thrown into it.”

I said, “Describe them for us, Messenger of Allah.”

He said, “They will be people with our skin speaking with our tongues.”

I asked, “What should I do if I see that?”

He (SAW) said, “Stick to the main body of Muslims and their leader.”

I asked, “What if there is no main body and no leader (i.e. there is a civil war)?”

He (SAW) said, “Then, leave all factions (i.e. don’t participate in civil wars) even if you have to (leave the cities and go to the desert and) eat the roots of trees until you die.”

Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim