Radio Islam Newsletter

The following Khutbah was given in Britian (Something to ponder over):

By Arshad Gamiet
http://www.khutbahbank.org.uk/Royal_Holloway_khutbahs/surviving%20freedom.htm

I recently visited South Africa, where Muslims have lived as a tiny minority (less than 5%) for over 300 years. For the first 150 years, Islam was a banned religion in that country, and if you were caught trying to convert others to Islam, you faced the death penalty. Even when Islam was legally recognised, Muslims were still treated as second class citizens. For the next 150 years, they could not vote until Nelson Mandela was freed from prison, and became State President of a non-racial South Africa.

Three centuries of hardship produces a certain calibre of Muslim. When you are treated unjustly, when your faith is in danger, and when you have no legal protection for your human rights, then you really seek Allah's help, and you are drawn closer to your Creator.

Now that South Africa is free, there are other challenges. Muslims have survived the oppression, but are they surviving the freedom? The answer is far from clear. There are simply so many distractions and opportunities for Shaytaan to do his work. There is a huge difference between the rich and the poor, and the gap widens by the day. Crime, gambling and financial debt along with the breakdown of family life, drug and alcohol abuse, have become serious problems over there. Does this sound familiar? It's a problem over here also.

Brothers and Sisters, these are worldwide problems of modern life. These are the challenges we all face, inside and outside the Muslim communities. We say that here in the West, we are free. But free from what? We may be politically free to think and speak and write and vote as we please. But are we really free from crime? Are we free from financial debt? And, most importantly, are we free from the burning desire to have those things that distract our attention from Allah Ta'aala? Are we free from the misguidance of Shaytaan, from greed, envy, and the love of material things? These are questions we must answer.

Has our political freedom made us better Muslims? Have we come closer to Allah than our forefathers were? If Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wa Sallam were to visit Britain today, would he be proud to see the condition of his followers here? Brothers and Sisters, many of us have suffered hardship just to get here to Britain; but the bigger challenge remains: now that we are here, can we survive the freedom without damaging our faith and our moral values?

Here in Britain as in South Africa and elsewhere in the West, the success of Muslims in politics, business and the professions is well known. Muslims in private and public life are making a big contribution to their country's progress. For the small numbers that we represent, we are punching well above our weight. But there are some worrying tendencies. We've become so materialistic. Our lives are centred on trivial and silly things. We must have that new car, those designer clothes and all the latest gizmos and gadgets. Some of us really believe those adverts that promise so much pleasure, but they deliver so little lasting happiness.

With pressures from all sides, inside and outside, how can we ensure that we and our children and grandchildren will hold fast to Allah's rope, and stay united? How can we survive the freedom and prosperity even better than we survived the difficulties in our countries of birth?

Brothers and Sisters, there's something about human nature we must understand. We human beings are not evil by nature, but we are forgetful, and our forgetfulness can lead us to do wrong. Allah made us that way. We are easily distractible, and we only remember Allah with effort and practice. We remember Allah mostly when we are in danger, when fear grips our hearts. That's why they say there are no atheists on a sinking ship, or a plane that's making an emergency landing. Even atheists and agnostics quickly find God when death stares them in the face. But when the plane lands safely, or the lifeboats rescue the survivors from the sea, how many of us truly turn to Allah in gratitude?

In Sura An ‘aam v [6:63] Allah Ta'aala asks us a beautiful rhetorical question:

"Say: Who is it that delivers you from the dark recesses of land and sea, when you call upon Allah in humility and silent terror, saying: If only Allah would deliver us safely from these dangers, we vow we shall truly show our gratitude."

Most people are ungrateful, and they forget the Hand of Mercy that reached out to save them from disaster.

Brothers and sisters, we must thank Allah Ta'aala for helping us to keep our Imaan and Taqwa intact for all these years. We are politically free, but we must make our Imaan and Taqwa even stronger, to avoid the temptations of shaitaan. We must work hard to ensure that we leave our children a good legacy on which they can build. But life has become so cosy and safe for us and some of us don't think we need Allah's help as much as we did before.

We must not be seduced by the attractions of this life, the attractions of this world, and forget what's even better, waiting for us in the hereafter, in the life to come.

In the last verses of Sura Al-A'la:

"Behold, you prefer the life of this world, when the life to come is better for you, and more enduring."

Allah swt does not want us to deny His favours. He wants us only to put them in their proper place. He wants us to enjoy his favours without forgetting Him. He is he Main Agenda. His favours are only the bonuses. The material benefits of this world, the nice car, the big house, the clever gadgets we play with, these are only the by-products of our worshipping Allah Ta'aala. They should come incidentally, not intentionally. It's not the main agenda. The main agenda is to remember Allah at every moment, with love and gratitude. When we put Allah first, at all times, then he sends us all these comforts and conveniences both as a test for gratitude and as a bonus. So let us not be distracted by the bonuses, the by products of worship, and forget the main agenda. Let us be Allah-aware at all times.

All praise is due to Alláh, the Lord of all the Worlds; may the greetings and peace be upon the best messenger, Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi Wa Sallam, the unlettered prophet; and upon His family and upon all of His companions.