Monday, 4 November 2013

Hijrah 1435: A replay of history

Life keeps coming and going. Days continue to run like the clicks of the clock. Death keep occurring in different ways without anybody having any power to stop its course. In a matter of few days, this current year (1434) of Islam will end and all that we have done therein will go with it forever.
This reality of life is what the entire humanity fails to understand; for if we do, our actions will tilt towards Godliness and fellow-feeling. No sensible human will contest the fact that man is not at ease today with all that go around him.

A good historian also knows that nothing is anew as regards the wanton sinfulness and crimes men are perpetrating today. The onus then lies on us as wise human creatures to learn from history to avoid repeating or replaying its horrendous past. The consequential rains of our or others’ evils have not spared any one.

As a way of making us reason and return to our Creator, we are made to suffer different natural disasters and human menaces –earthquakes, flood, fire accidents, diseases, insecurity, extreme strange occurrences, etc. A world where sophisticated weapons gain ascendancy cannot be in peace.
There will be perpetual insurgency, oppression, resistance and dissatisfaction. Hence, the only pathway to a peaceful world is to believe in the Lord of peace. It is for us as Muslims to live by the dictates of Islam and nothing but that. We need to live our entire lives as Vicegerents of Allah (SWT).
The meaningfulness of our existence resides in ensuring the law of Allah (SWT) rules the world. If this is missing, we do not worth the name khulafaa. The least we can do then is to keep struggling to re-establish it. The dynamics of change are not dissimilar in any society.

The battle rages on as long as there exists the contending forces of truth and falsehood. As it has always been, the forces of evil initially and apparently tend to control the machineries or paraphernalia of power. They oppress, persecute or evil kill the upholders or promoters of truth.
That was what happened when the Prophet (SAW) and his few followers called for change in Makkah. How can a minority go against the age long tradition? How can a people who were once their countrymen or even common man turn around to condemn their cherished inherited ways of life? This kind of thinking is same for all that enjoy any present order to the detriment of the majority.
This is manifest in our society today. Evils and wrong ways of doing things have gained ascendancy and popularity that if the upholder of truth is not convinced, he will almost doubt his own position. The pervading atmosphere is callously canny and devilish.

It is so weighty that if the believer does not derive his inner strength from Allah (SWT), he will give up. This is exactly our plight today. The rain of fasad is falling torrentially. The sun of the impacts of these fasads is scorching on the called. The sea in which the society swims is deep.
So, how do you cope under the heavy rain when you are yourself suffering from fever? How do you withstand the intense sun or survive in the deep sea?

You have to create your new Madinah in this same enclave. You have to embark on Hijrah by distancing yourself from all evils pervading the society and its traces. The road to Madinah is long and tortuous. There are hills, valleys and mountains. There are the enemies on your pursuits.
Not joining them in their fasad is again considered a threat. You should expect a lot to happen during your Hijrah. Taking cue from the Prophet’s Hijrah to Madinah, it opens a new chapter in the life of humanity.

Notwithstanding the battles of Badr, Uhud, Khandaq, Khaybar, Hunayn; notwithstanding the challenges and intrigues of the hypocrites and Jews, notwithstanding the sacrifices of living their birth place and lost lives, it was indeed a victory at the other side of the tunnel.
Returning to Madinahtoday is inevitable. Victory is bound to be yours. So far you get prepared for it. On this return, you must realize that you are not doing something new but simply repeating history.

Dr. Zafaran is the Director, Vanguards Academy

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