An anonymous brother sent me an email asking me several questions. One of the questions he asked me was,
“What [do] you believe the ills and problems of the Ummah are and how they should be solved?”
I am not certain why this brother has asked me my opinion, considering whatever I think is insignificant, but I think it is a valid question and one that I am interested in addressing. Every hizb/firqah/Jamaa’ah of our time seems to have different messages or focal points. Even if their call is the same, their application of the message is different. For example, the sound Sunnis – the traditionalists – say they follow the Salaf-us-Saalih. The pseudo-salafis claim the same thing. So how does one choose what is haqq and what is baatil? It is as Shaykh Nuh told us quoting a statment from the salaf,
- ‘No one ever went astray except that he had a daleel [in support of him].’
A major ill facing our ummah today, in my view, is hizbiyya/sectarianism. Salafiyya began as a movement to revive the pure sunnah, a madrasah, and resulted in a hizb that is just as deviant as the Mu’tazalis of old. Some sufis are the same way, even though, as stated by Sidi Ahmad Az-Zarruq Ash-Shaadhili, “Pride in a Tariq is of the [lower] self.” In other words, the true Sufi is not one that takes pride in his tariq, rather he is one striving to annihilate his lower nafs – fanaa’ – (i.e. defeat his whims and enter the divine presence of his Lord ta’alaa) and cares for the finite in as much as His Lord demands of him.
The loving Lord says in the Qur’aan, “Hold on to the rope of Allah 
, all together, and be not divided…”. Easier said than done in our times. First we must decipher in the chaos of information what is the rope of Allah before we can unite. This state of ours, as you all know I’m sure, was in fact prophesied by the beloved master and Messenger of Allah , Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam). The message, though, still remains eternal and applicable. The command to both hold on to the rope of Allah and be united together as a body, must still be fulfilled. If you ask the pseudo-salafi what the solution is he will say, “The manhaj of the Salaf As-Saalih”. If you ask the wannabe-Sufi he will also declare the same message. The approach and understanding of which will be obviously contradictory.
So maybe some of you are reading this and asking yourself, ‘so what is the solution to all of this chaos?’ In my view, I honestly believe if you have eemaan and truly ask Allah ta’alaa for guidance, he will guide you. I recall before I accepted Islaam some years ago, I had been studying Islaam – unsure of its truths. At the same time my christian family and everything I knew, were pressuring me to abandon any notion of intellectual intercourse with Islam. Instead, they argued, you would be abdandoning “Jesus Christ” etc etc. Little did I know at that time that I would find out who Christ really was! After asking Allah , with all of your heart and in the most sincerest fashion imaginable, follow what your heart guides you too. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad 
(sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said to Waabisah ibn Ma’bad when he asked him what Birr (righteousness) was,
حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ بْنُ هَارُونَ حَدَّثَنَا حَمَّادُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ عَنِ الزُّبَيْرِ أَبِي عَبْدِ السَّلَامِ عَنْ أَيُّوبَ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مِكْرَزٍ عَنْ وَابِصَةَ بْنِ مَعْبَدٍ قَالَ
أَتَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَنَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ لَا أَدَعَ شَيْئًا مِنْ الْبِرِّ وَالْإِثْمِ إِلَّا سَأَلْتُهُ عَنْهُ وَإِذَا عِنْدَهُ جَمْعٌ فَذَهَبْتُ أَتَخَطَّى النَّاسَ فَقَالُوا إِلَيْكَ يَا وَابِصَةُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَيْكَ يَا وَابِصَةُ فَقُلْتُ أَنَا وَابِصَةُ دَعُونِي أَدْنُو مِنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْ أَحَبِّ النَّاسِ إِلَيَّ أَنْ أَدْنُوَ مِنْهُ فَقَالَ لِي ادْنُ يَا وَابِصَةُ ادْنُ يَا وَابِصَةُ فَدَنَوْتُ مِنْهُ حَتَّى مَسَّتْ رُكْبَتِي رُكْبَتَهُ فَقَالَ يَا وَابِصَةُ أُخْبِرُكَ مَا جِئْتَ تَسْأَلُنِي عَنْهُ أَوْ تَسْأَلُنِي فَقُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ فَأَخْبِرْنِي قَالَ جِئْتَ تَسْأَلُنِي عَنْ الْبِرِّ وَالْإِثْمِ قُلْتُ نَعَمْ فَجَمَعَ أَصَابِعَهُ الثَّلَاثَ فَجَعَلَ يَنْكُتُ بِهَا فِي صَدْرِي وَيَقُولُ يَا وَابِصَةُ اسْتَفْتِ نَفْسَكَ الْبِرُّ مَا اطْمَأَنَّ إِلَيْهِ الْقَلْبُ وَاطْمَأَنَّتْ إِلَيْهِ النَّفْسُ وَالْإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَتَرَدَّدَ فِي الصَّدْرِ وَإِنْ أَفْتَاكَ النَّاسُ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ وَأَفْتَوْكَ
Waabisah ibn Ma’bad said, “…So Rasulullah (‘alayhis Salaam) told me to inform him as to what I came to ask him about. I said to him, “Inform me!” He (‘alayhis salaam) said, “You have come to ask me about Birr and Ithm (sin). I said, “Yes!” He put his hand upon my chest and said, “Oh Waabisah! Consult your heart! Birr (righteousness) is that which makes the heart feel tranquil and the soul feel serene (or tranquil). Whereas Ithm (sin) is that which makes the heart waver and the chest uneasy, even if the people have given you their verdict on it and continue to give you their verdict!”1
Some argue that this is specifically for Waabisah and not general. Though this is sheer opinion. Our beloved (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) knew good and well that Waabisah would share this information with the world, as the inspired words from the last of Prophets must be conveyed. However, it should be understood that consulting your heart is restricted in matters that the Shari’ah is clear upon.
The point I am trying to make is that if the believer truly loves and worships Allah alone, Allah will inspire his heart, unless of course He ta’alaa wills that the person enter Jahannam, and we ask Allah ’s refuge from such an abode! Amin! So in the ‘fog of information’ one must, after seeing the arguments, eventually rely upon what his heart is comfortable with.
Another ill that I saw in myself as well as the general mass of Muslims is lack of dhikr. I especially see this with the pseudo-salafis. Dhikr, to them, is simply a hadith to be memorized and repeated, if even that. The pseudo-salafis will attempt to dispute such, but I know very well the reality of their affair and let them say what they like. I have seen and tasted their methodologies bitterness. True dhikr is what causes the skin to tremble and soften, the soul to flutter, and the heart to yearn for its beloved!
Allah says,
- “Allah
has revealed (from time to time) the most beautiful Message in the form of a Book, consistent with itself, (yet) repeating (its teaching in various aspects): the skins of those who fear their Lord tremble thereat; then their skins and their hearts do soften to the Dhikr of Allah . Such is the guidance of Allah: He guides therewith whom He pleases, but such as Allah leaves to stray, can have none to guide.”2Imagine an Ummah wherein men truly seek Allah ta’alaa’s pleasure with absolute Love for Allah ! Such men do not argue over petty matters. Such men do not seek to needlessly kill, murder, torture, rape, steal or do anything displeasing to Allah . For when you are in the divine presence (hadrat Allah ), as the sufi nomenclature states, you do not think of anything or anyone save Allah . You live your life with He as your only goal. Eternal bliss is sought, not the temporal mundane. “Muslim” is not a badge nor a fad. Rather it is a reality. A reality you taste with every drink, touch, feeling. Recall in your mind the beautiful narration from the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) when he stated,
- “Allah
, the Exalted said: “Whoever takes a Wali (friend) of Mine as an enemy, I will wage war on him; and My slave will not perform any act with which he draws closer to Me, more beloved to Me then when he fulfills what I have ordained on him; and My slave will keep drawing closer to Me by performing the Nawaafil (voluntary acts of worship) until I love him, and when I love him, I will be his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hands with which he strikes, and his legs with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him; and if he seeks refuge with Me, I will grant him refuge.”3So when you act, you become concious of Allah ta’alaa. You walk as though you see Him. You speak as though you seek Him. You act as though you see Him. Awareness overcomes you. Few feel such connection and love for Allah ta’alaa in our secular times. This though, in my view, is a solution for mankind. The pure dhikr of Allah drawing the slave near to Allah ta’alaa. When one lives for Allah , only Allah matters.
Many times I was told that “Jihaad-bis-sayf / Jihaad with the sword” is the solution. By no means do I deny the importance of Jihaad in our affairs. Defending the Muslims in our times is fardh and necessary to preserve Islaam and the precious lives of the innocents. However, in hindsight, I see that dhikr, mudhaakara, Jihaad An-Nafs are necessary in our times to reform the souls of the believers. What I mean is that we need to reconnect with Allah ta’alaa. So many times did I use to bash the “Sufis” for saying that Jihaadun-nafs is our concern. Though after experiencing what I experienced, I believe now that it is necessary to struggle to subdue our desires, and eliminate kibr, envy, material attachment and other diseases of the heart.
Recall the authentic story of Imaam ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (radhiya Allahu ‘anhu). As he was plowing through the army, his brute force subdues the pagan enemy. The pagan spits in his face as his sword is drawn to strike his kneck. The Wali of Allah , ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib, in his self-control and true manlihood, ceases to fight him and states that he was going to slay him for his Lord’s sake until he spit on him, for then he was going to kill him for his own sake. He stopped from killing the enemy, in the heat of battle, for fear of doing ‘eebaadah for his own lowly nafs!
I know that the majority of the Muslims, including myself, do not have such control over their nafs. Such control is needed for the sincere Mujaahid and every other sincere slave of Allah ta’alaa. It is this self control that tasawwuf imparts upon the sincere saalik (traveller).
As they say, “Keep it real!”
wa Salla Allahu ‘alaa Sayyidunaa Muhammad wa ‘alaa aalihi wa sahibi wa sallam
