Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!). Something will have to give, and soon, in sha Allah.
Whose heart wasn’t touched by the picture of those little Christian children killed while worshipping in Wusasa? Whose heart wasn’t touched by the murder of innocent Muslim travellers at Gonin Gora (where, but for Allah’s intervention, I would have been a similar victim, as I was on the same road driving back to Abuja from a lecture at ABU Zaria that very morning)? Whose heart wasn’t touched?
Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!). Something will have to give, and soon, in sha Allah.
Yes, there are hearts that are apparently not touched; the hearts of those rogues and robbers and thieves and vagabonds who claim to be our leaders, or who claim to work for us. The hearts of those under whose beds can be hidden a bank plc with a two billion naira capital; the hearts of those who transact foreign ‘exchange’ at 4.00am; the hearts of those who steal from the poor pensioners (and are condemned to hell by the same person who should make a law to have them executed).
Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!). Something will have to give, and soon, in sha Allah.
The criticism of people of religion usually includes the fact that they are seen to be fatalistic, nay suicidal. They tend to explain away anything with ‘As Allah wills.’ Yes, everything is as Allah decrees, but no, Allah did not will that you will steal our funds. And no, Allah did not will that you kill me. But we are desperate, and Allah says: “Verily, with hardship there is relief” (Qur’an 94:6) and also ‘…Bear with patience whatever befalls you….’ (Qur’an 31:17). Allah also says: “And whosoever puts his trust in Allah, then He will suffice him”. (Qur’an 65:3).
Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!). Something will have to give, and soon, in sha Allah.
A Muslim Brother, Nisaar, writing a blog, Islamic Reflections, at www. xeniagreekmuslimah.wordpress.com, says: “The last verse of Sura ale Imran in the Holy Qur’an has a phrase…ya ayyuhallazina amanu‘s biru wasabiru…(O You who have believed! Be patient and have patience…). The advice to be patient is accompanied by the advice to continue patience. But till when?
“The Qur’an directs the time limit of sabr. In Surah al Baqarah, verse 214, Allah says: ‘Do you guess that you will be entering paradise without passing through the way those before you passed through? They were rattled by hardships, poverty and adversity till such an extent that even the Messenger and those with him cried out Mata Nasrullah? (When is the Help of Allah arriving?). The same verse assures…Indeed the help of Allah is near…”
Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!). Something will have to give, and soon, in sha Allah.
Another Muslim Brother, Abu Muhammad Yusuf, writing on a blog on www.eislam.co.za (titled ‘The Smoke Signal’), also spoke my mind:
“Life’s difficulties are necessary for our own development, so when they come along, accept them, embrace them and never ever lose hope and always place complete reliance and trust in Allah. Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles; they toughen and make you strong.
“The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for Allah to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. He nevertheless remained hopeful of Allah’s help and continued his praying every day. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.
“The ‘worst’ had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief. ‘O Allah, how could this happen to me!’ he cried. Early the next day, just before Subh, the early morning prayer, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. ‘How did you know I was here?’ the man asked the sailors when he was on the ship. ‘We saw your smoke signal,’ they replied.
Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground–it just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace and help of Allah!”
O Allah! Our little hut has burned. Send us a ship!
FINALLY: We have occasion to again mourn someone so close; Dr. Haruna Salihi, Head of Department of Political Science at Bayero University, Kano who died recently after an illness. Brother Haruna Salihi was a dedicated Muslim brother who has spent his entire life promoting what the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) always promoted, the ‘Hudaibiyya Spirit’, the spirit of Reconciliation and Moderation. It is at the Hudaibiyya Foundation, Kano (the headquarters of which is at the National Islamic Centre, Zaria) that all shades of opinions are tolerated. Only a few months ago, the Foundation also lost its leading ideologue, Shaikh Ibrahim Umar Kabo. May Allah forgive them both, and give us the fortitude to bear the loss.
And yes, again Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!). Something will have to give, and soon, in sha Allah.
