Admonition,
Etiquettes & Belief – Morals
By Imam Suood Ash Shurym (Imam of Haram)
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I advise you, as well as myself, to fear Allah in times of
prosperity and misfortune, in secret and in public: "O
mankind! Worship your Lord, who created you and those before
you, that you may become righteous." (Al Baqarah: 21).
O
people! When a person meditates upon the histories of past
nations and populations, he will be instantly amazed at the
revolutions and transformations they went through. For instance,
there was a pioneering nation (i.e., the Muslim nation) which
led the world for many centuries but then, it faltered and
lost its leading role; it fell in the midst of blind imitation
and followed the paths of other nations in terms of manners
and beliefs. Once it was at the acme of development and reached
the highest level of power and glory, but it later fell to
the lowest point and was afflicted with misery. It died after
it had been living, deteriorated after it was once flourishing
and withered after it was blossoming. It was the nation that
discovered the sources of knowledge and developed the Islamic
civilization and sciences, which the West later obtained significantly,
without having to exert the least of efforts. Thus it seems
as if the gates towards progress had been shut off for the
Muslims as they turned into artificial consumers of the Western
civilization. They even began to adopt certain features of
it, which were originally theirs but had been stolen away
from them.
O
Muslims! When a Muslim blindly imitates the West, he turns
into a loyal supporter of their beliefs and customs; he is
like one who tries to reform something but spoils it while
he is unaware. He is just like a defeated follower, like a
baby who bites and severs his mother's breast while it is
in his mouth. Such a person does not know that blind copying
of the West involves hidden hazards and that our rights, honour
and dignity are violated by such imitation and imbecilic pride.
O
Muslims! The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam said: "You
will imitate the nations before you very closely to the extent
that if they went into a lizard's hole, you would enter it
as well” his companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
inquired: “(Do you mean) the Jews and Christians, O
Messenger of Allah?” He sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam
replied: "Who else?” (Bukhari & Muslim). The
Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam also said: "The
Day of Judgment will not come until my Nation closely imitates
the nations before them.” It was asked: “Like
the Persians and Romans, Messenger of Allah?” He sallallaahu
'alayhi wa sallam replied: "Who are the nations (I could
mean) except those?” (Bukhari).
O
servants of Allah! The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa
sallam used to prohibit imitating other nations. It is worth
mentioning that these traditions do not indicate that the
entire Muslim nation will commit this sin as he sallallaahu
‘alayhi wa sallam also foretold that a group of his
nation will continue to stick to the Straight Path until the
Day of Judgment.
The
Muslims constitute the most guided and well-mannered nation
in this life; and on the Day of Judgment Allah will make them
witnesses over all other nations as He says that which means:
"And thus We have made you a median [i.e., just] community
that you will be witnesses over the people and the Messenger
will be a witness over you…" (Al-Baqarah: 143).
Indeed, this is a very prestigious position. How is it, then,
that Muslims imitate others in their customs, traditions and
feasts? The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam even
forbade the Muslims from acquiring religious information from
the People of the Book; once, ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab,
may Allah be pleased with him, was reading some parts of one
of the scriptures of the People of the Book to the Prophet
sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so he got angry and said:
"I have conveyed to you a clear religion. Do not ask
them (the People of the Book) about anything, for they may
tell you the truth while you belie them or they may lie and
you might believe them. I swear by Him in Whose Hands is my
soul, if Moosaa was alive, he would not have any choice but
to follow me.” (Ahmad & Ibn Abi Shaybah).
Allaah
made human beings and all other creatures accustomed to interacting
with their similar counterparts. When the degree of similarity
increases, such interaction and hence imitation in morals
and characteristics becomes more complete, until it is hardly
possible to distinguish between them. Accordingly, human beings
are affected by each other and acquire each other's traits
through cohabitation and imitation. It is also known that
if a human being stays in the company of a certain type of
animal, he would pick up some of its features; that is why,
for example, those who tend camels are known for their pride
and arrogance, while shepherds are known to be humble and
calm, whereas those who raise both camels and mules acquire
some of the bad attributes of both. Similarly, a domestic
animal acquires some human characteristics, such as the ability
to live with others.
Furthermore,
when a person puts on the clothes usually worn by scholars,
he may feel himself as somehow closer to them, because similarity
and imitation in outward appearance leads to resemblance in
inward characteristics such as personal characteristics and
morals, as is witnessed in reality and is confirmed by Islaamic
jurisprudence and common sense. In the old times, it was said:
‘Birds of a feather flock together’; this is a
realistic proverb which conforms to the manner in which Allaah
has formed His creation. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wa sallam spoke the truth when he said: "Whoever imitates
a people is one of them." (Ahmad & Abu Dawood)
If
we embrace the means to be powerful, stick to deep-rooted
principles such as strong will, piety, courage and Islaamic
zeal and adhere to our distinctive code of life which indicates
that we are religious and ethical people, what harm would
we get from it? Are these not the true Islaamic morals? Are
there any other solid foundations for progress besides them?
Allaah says that which means: "[And say, ‘Ours
is] the religion of Allaah. And who is better than Allaah
in [ordaining] religion? And we are worshippers of Him’”
(Al-Baqarah: 138) and also: "[Say], ‘Then is it
other than Allaah I should seek as judge while it is He who
has revealed to you the Book [i.e., the Qur’aan] explained
in detail?’…" (Al-An’aam: 114)
However,
if we are to adopt foreign customs and traditions alien to
our religion, from the West, we should remember that Islaam
is Islaam and polytheism is polytheism, and that they live
in one hemisphere and we live in another. We were the masters
before we assumed these Western traditions that ruined the
free Muslim nation – its men and especially its women,
who have rushed after the unknown in a breathless attempt
to imitate the West. They are amazed by the eye-catching products
of its industries and have followed its disgraceful women
to the extent that their clothes became almost the same as
those of Western models.
O
Muslims! The restrictions imposed by our religion on the human
being are not meant to torture or deprive him from the pleasures
of this life. Rather, their aim is to elevate him from mere
animalism to complete humanity. Thus, a Muslim will become
capable of overcoming subservience and dependence, and his
faith and piety will overpower animalistic lusts.
Whenever
a society ignores such restrictions or belittles them, it
jeopardizes and opens itself to serious problems and positions
itself on the brink of destruction, as Allaah says that which
means: "…And whoever transgresses the limits of
Allaah – it is those who are the wrongdoers [i.e., the
unjust]” (Al-Baqarah: 229) and also: "…And
who is more astray than one who follows his desire without
guidance from Allaah? Indeed, Allaah does not guide the wrongdoing
people." (Al-Qasas: 50). |
"Once
upon a time there was a shepherd looking after his sheep
at the side of a deserted road. Suddenly a brand new Porsche
screeches to a halt. The driver, a man dressed in an Armani
suit, Cerutti shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses, TAG-Heuer wristwatch
and a Pierre Cardin tie, gets out and asks the shepherd,
If I can tell you how many sheep you have, will you give
me one of them?
The
shepherd looks at the young man, then looks at the large
flock of grazing sheep and replies, Okay.
The young man parks the car, connects his laptop to the
mobile fax, enters a NASA website, scans the ground using
his GPS, opens a database and 60 Excel spreadsheets filled
with algorithms and pivot tables. He then prints out a 150-page
report on his high-tech mini-printer, turns to the shepherd
and says, You have exactly 1,586 sheep.
The
shepherd answers, Thats correct, you can have your sheep.
The young man takes an animal and puts it in the back of
his Porsche. The shepherd looks at him and asks, If I guess
your profession, will you return my animal to me? The young
man answers, Yes! Go on then.
The
shepherd says, You are an auditor. That was quick...How
did you know? asks the young man. Very simple, answers the
shepherd. Firstly, you came here without being wanted. Secondly,
you charged me to tell me something I already knew, and
thirdly, you don't understand anything about my business.
Now can I have my dog back? "
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