The Green Islamic Foundation

يسم الله الرحمان الرحيم

الحمدلله رب العالمين و صلاة و سلام على حبيبنا و سيدنا محمد و على اله و صحبه و سلم

Considering the recent tragedies within the Muslim community, it may be useful to reflect upon the approach towards securing our places of worship, communities and most importantly our souls. In the past, in the African American Muslim community, very few would be foolish enough to even attempt to assault a Muslim on masjid grounds. At one time in the United States, the presence of a Muslim on the street was enough to have the criminal to the authorities and everyone in between stand with respect and caution. There was a disciplined rage that could be seen in the eyes of Black Muslims at one time. We trained, we heard, obeyed, and were committed to the cause. Unfortunately, the presentations of Islam at the time did not necessarily provide the avenues by which such an empowered force could discipline the worst of their adversaries. The worst adversaries to man are four as the scholars of tasawwuf have mentioned. The first and most dangerous enemy of man is his own self (nafs[1]). The second is the object of desire of the self (hawa[2]). The third is the devil (shaytan[3]) who whispers and incites the nafs to prefer itself over the command of Allah. The last of the most dangerous enemies of man is the world (dunya[4]). In it lies all the trappings of desire (hawa) along with the inciters, shayateen that the self could engage. Without an active awareness and methodology to discipline the soul, especially in such a powerful state, such an illusion of power will inevitably become an agent of corruption of that soul. The foundation of the science of excellence (ihsan[5]) or tasawwuf is repentance. The essence of repentance is remorse. The essence of remorse is ma’rifah[6]. Ma’rifah is a knowledge, gnosis, or acquaintance. The essence of the innate characteristic of knowing right from wrong and thereby feeling remorse for the wrong is a ma’rifah of Allah.

The foundation ensuring that the powerful are not corrupted by their power is their deep understanding that there is no power or change except with Allah. Knowing that with Allah is all power and ability, knowing that Allah is all knowing and able to act impunity, swift in taking account and strict in punishment should cause a great awe and immense fear in the knower who could be deluded by the illusion of prowess and power. When one slips or sins, intentionally or unintentionally,  the remorse and fear of Allah founded by the deep understanding of one’s faith (iman[7]) would lead one to turn back to God in repentance (tawbah[8]). Repentance, in the Islamic tradition, literally refers to turning back to God. Therefore, according to Imam Abdur Rahman Al Akhdari, the first obligation for one who is accountable for their actions is that they correct their understanding of their faith. A deep and correct understanding of faith serves as the foundation of all that comes after it in worship and excellence of the religion of Islam. The second obligation of the one accountable for their actions is to have knowledge of what they need to know to rectify and perform their individual obligations (fard ayn[9]). Individual obligations build upon the establishment of the correction of one’s faith with proper action which includes refraining from that which Allah has prohibited. Part of one’s individual obligation is repentance. Repentance itself has conditions. The importance of the conditions of repentance is that it actualizes the sincerity of one’s remorse and repentance. From its benefits is that if actualized, it renders one’s repentance effective not just as a corrective measure but also a preventative measure. The conditions of repentance are the following:

1. Remorse
2. Making intention to not commit the act of disobedience again in one’s life.
3. If one finds themselves engaged in the act, stop immediately.
4. If the act of disobedience or wrong is against another person, make amends.

Knowing and committing to these conditions when repenting should render repentance effective for correcting the wrong as well as preventing it from occurring again. It cannot be overstated that repentance is a turning back to God. In other words, repentance is turning away from being in a state of disobedience which would render the displeasure of God and turning towards a state of obedience which would render the pleasure of God. The effectiveness of repentance relies upon one’s knowledge of the attributes of God which causes one to fear His punishment and displeasure. When you know God is not one to play with, you will act accordingly. If you slip, you make amends with your Lord quickly.

It would be essential for one whom Allah has established in the land with authority, prowess, and strength to have knowledge of Allah. Knowledge of one’s obligations and deep awareness of how and why one would turn back to God are necessary to properly their given authority. As we get serious about securing our physical bodies and the territories of our communities and people, we must realize that their safety lies not in what our hands can do but, in the submissiveness, and conviction of our hearts. Faith is that which is in the heart, expressed with the tongue and acted upon with the limbs. Our actions are a sign of our faith. We must ensure that we maintain a proper balance between physical authority and strength and spiritual submission, attentiveness, and obedience to Allah. This is how we ensure that our temporal power does not corrupt. Likewise, this is how we ensure that our outward is not weak. There is a hadith that I am reminded of which gets to the heart of this article,

وَعَنِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الْحَلَالُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشْتَبِهَاتٌ لَا يَعْلَمُهُنَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنِ اتَّقَى الشبهاب استبرَأَ لدِينهِ وعِرْضِهِ ومَنْ وقَعَ فِي الشبُّهَاتِ وَقَعَ فِي الْحَرَامِ كَالرَّاعِي يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَرْتَعَ فِيهِ أَلَا وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى أَلَا وَإِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ مَحَارِمُهُ أَلَا وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُله أَلا وَهِي الْقلب»

An-Nu’man b. Bashir reported God’s Messenger as saying, “What is lawful is clear and what is unlawful is clear, but between them are certain doubtful things which many people do not recognize. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and his honor blameless, but he who falls into doubtful things falls into what is unlawful, just as a shepherd who pastures his animals round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. Every king has a preserve, and God’s preserve is the things He has declared unlawful. In the body there is a piece of flesh, and the whole body is sound if it is sound, but the whole body is corrupt if it is corrupt. It is the heart.”

(Bukhari and Muslim.)

Mishkat al-Masabih 2762

https://sunnah.com/mishkat:2762

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[1] ^{Nafa – The self}

[2] ^{Hawa – The object of desire}

[3] ^{Shaytan – plural Shayateen – The devil}

[4] ^{Dunya – The world or the lower life. The dunya is the current life.}

[5] ^{Ihsan – Perfection. It is also the name of the a facet of Islam as described in the hadith Jibril alayhi salaam, which when asked about what it was, the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله علسه و سلم  said “Ihsan is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you do not achieve this state of devotion, then (take it for granted that) Allah sees you.”.}

[6] ^{Ma’rifah – a knowledge ,gnosis of acquaintance of something.}

[7] ^{Iman – Faith}

[8] ^{Tawbah – Repentance. Tawbah means turning towards God.}

[9] ^{Fard ayn – individual obligations}