pas

The One Who is Void of Something Cannot Give it to Others.

Chapter 9

Muslim Edx
Aug 9, 2017 · 13 min read

Our ability to contribute is a privilege, and its not to be ignored.

Money cannot be asked from the one who has no money and knowledge cannot be sought from the ignorant, for generally the one who is void of something cannot give it to others. You can support the Ummah by gaining a speciality and thereby respond more effectively to its needs.

Esa عليه السلام asked the people around him “Who will be my helpers in the way of Allah?”

A person’s participation in the effort to establish Islam is at the peak of spirituality. We have an excellent example in the Ansar (Helpers) of the Messenger ﷺ who faithfully served Islam and the Muslims by rendering every possible assistance.

The Ansar attained their special status by giving real tangible support to the Prophet ﷺ in a way that was useful and appropriate for its time. Allah strengthened them and established the religion on their backs by enabling them to represent this religion with honour and power.

Hence, when Abu Sufyan spoke to Heraclius, the Byantine ruler (which was regarded as a superpower of the time) and told him about the way of the Prophet and his companions, he said: “If what you are saying is true, then he will take possession of what lies beneath these two feet of mine”

The Most Virtuous Actions Vary by Time and Circumstance.

“The best deed to achieve the pleasure of your Lord in every moment is that which is required and dictated by that time.” — Ibn al-Qayyim

From the traps of Shaytan is that he tries to occupy the worshipper with deeds of lesser reward to keep a greater virtue away from him and therefore preventing him from attaining the reward of the favoured deed.

A number of companions asked the Prophet about the best deed and often received different answers because the deed is specific to the person, time and context. So the best deed varies from person to person and depends on what they are able to do and what is best for that time.

Battle of The Trench

During the battle of the trench, the Muslims had only a week to make preparations to defend themselves. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ alerted the people, urged them to be steadfast and summoned them to a consultation to discuss how to meet the grave threat. It is said that after several ideas were put forward, Salman al Farisi eventually rose up and said: “O Messenger of Allah, in Persia when we feared an attack of cavalry, we would surround ourselves with a trench, so let us dig a trench about us now.”

The stunning suggestion was accepted. The course of the trench or khandaq was carefully planned with Salman advising on the width and depth. The Prophet ﷺ made each section of the community responsible for a part of the trench. It was a massive undertaking. The work was strenuous and everyone, including the Noble Prophet ﷺ dug and shifted the earth and boulders.

The trench was completed and not a moment too soon the army of Quraysh and their allies advanced and when they saw the Muslims camped outside the city, they were encouraged in their hope of putting an end to them as quickly as possible. When they drew nearer, however, they were amazed to see the broad trench that lay between them and the Muslim defenders on the other side. When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, saw the trench, he said, “This stratagem has not been employed by the Arabs before.”

In the following days, the Quraysh made several attempts to breach the trench, but they all ended in failure. A long siege followed in which the Muslims’ endurance was sorely tested, while they manned the trench day and night.

You Are Just One Man

The Prophet received a visit from Nuaym ibn Masud, an Arab leader who was well respected by the entire confederacy, but who had, unknown to them, secretly converted to Islam. Nuaym wanted to join the ranks of the Muslims but the Prophet said “you are only one man” and asked him to instead end the siege by creating discord amongst Confederates.

Nuaym then came up with an efficient stratagem. He first went to the Banu Qurayza (Jewish tribe) and warned them about the intentions of the rest of the Confederacy. If the siege fails, he said, the Confederacy will not be afraid to abandon the Jews, leaving them at the mercy of Muhammad. The Qurayza should thus demand Confederate leaders as hostages in return for cooperation. This advice touched upon the fears the Qurayza had already harboured.

Next Nuaym went to Abu Sufyan, the Confederate leader, warning him that the Qurayza had defected to Muhammad. He stated that the tribe intended to ask the Confederacy for hostages, ostensibly in return for cooperation, but really to hand them over to Muhammad. Thus the Confederacy should not give a single man as hostage. Nuaym repeated the same message to other tribes in the Confederacy.

“The whole was a battle of wits in which Muslims had the best of it; without cost to themselves they weakened the enemy and increased the dissension.” — William Montgomery Watt

Nuaym’s stratagem worked. The confederate armies were marked by recriminations and mutual distrust. They lost hope as chances of success dwindled and became uninterested in continuing the siege.

In the end, the Quraysh and their allies had to withdraw in disarray. The strategy of the trench, the steadfastness of the Muslims and, above all, Allah’s help saved the city and the Muslims from annihilation.

It is rarely a waste of time to pursue something you are drawn to, even if you end up quitting because you might apply that knowledge to a different field entirely in a way you couldn’t have anticipated. Therefore acquire the skills necessary to perform the task ahead but know that Allah may have better plans for you to use those skills in a way that is unknown to you at this current time. Salman al Farsi knew how to build trenches and this was applied at the battle of the trench when the Muslims were surrounded.

WWII

The Prosper network was part of the super-secret British intelligence unit called the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The primary mission of the SOE was to aid resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied Europe by any means possible.

This would include sabotage, subversion and even assassination behind enemy lines. They had an influential supporter in Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who famously ordered them to ‘set Europe ablaze’.

Similarly, the US during WW2 devised their own cunning way of making their citizens useful to their cause. Knowing that money is the lifeblood of wars ancient and modern, they wanted to exploit every opportunity to weaken their enemies economy and cause them harm.

The BBC wrote an article in December 2017 entitled “The World War Two Guide to Office Warfare”. It said:

“In 2008, the US Central Intelligence Agency made public a World War Two-era handbook written for grassroots sabotage. Titled the Simple Sabotage Field Manual, the aim of the handbook was to help citizens in occupied Allied countries bring down their governments from within — whether it was meddling with a military car on the streets in the dead of night, or casually lighting a warehouse on fire.

The 32-page document created in 1944 by the CIA’s predecessor, the Office of Strategic Services, was translated in to multiple languages and distributed from Greece to Norway and beyond.

“Many of the sabotage instructions guide ordinary citizens, who may not have agreed with their country’s wartime policies towards the US, to destabilise their governments by taking disruptive actions,” the CIA website states. Some of the instructions seem outdated; others remain surprisingly relevant. Together they are a reminder of how easily productivity and order can be undermined.

The idea was to get people to strike back in small ways — inciting people to actively participate in sabotage. The manual wasn’t asking people to sneak behind enemy lines, but rather do little things that would add up for a big impact to undermine the enemy. The goal was to stir the pot and cause disharmony that causes bad performance.

This usually manifests in tiny actions that have a cumulative effect: managers playing favourites toward ineffective workers, or employees working just slowly enough that it might derail a project. Sometimes it could be as blatant as losing documents or flagrantly ignoring emails.

You probably have colleagues who, while they may not be moles from a hostile nation, are still plotting to bring your organisation to its knees as there are some evergreen tactics to make your office run less smoothly.”

End Quote

Different Roles, Same Over Arching Goal

The Prophet ﷺ described the Ummah as one body. The body has many parts, each doing its bit. Such is the case of the Ummah, we must find our place in the body and do our bit so that the body as a whole is strong and healthy.

People can be valuable in different ways and contributing has been made feasible even to the Muslims amongst us with humble means. Uwais al-Qarani was one of the foremost Taabi‘een. He lived at the time of the Prophet ﷺ and became Muslim, but he did not meet him. What prevented him from travelling to meet the Prophet ﷺ was the fact that he was preoccupied with taking care of his mother.

The Prophet ﷺ said “He was once afflicted with leprosy and his skin healed except for a dirham’s area. He has a mother, and he treats her kindly. If he was to ever swear by Allah (for something) Allah would fulfill his oath.” He ﷺ advised Umar ibn Khattab to seek him and ask him to supplicate to Allah for him. Uwais’ piety and dua were highly valued by the believers who knew his true worth in the sight of Allah.

C.S Lewis once said “The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only — and that is to support the ultimate career.”

Never trivialise any good that you can do. Lesser known Walid ibn Walid, wrote a letter to his brother Khalid ibn Walid from the heart to the heart, inviting to Islam. Allah caused Khalid ibn Walid to finally accept the invitation from it and change the course of history.

There are others whom we don’t know or value. But they are the unsung heroes of this ummah, performing an undervalued job that is actually of utmost importance to the future of this world.

Aiding Others

Allah reminds us in the Quran “And do not forget to do good to one another. Surely Allah sees what you do” (2:238)

The Messenger of Allah said “That I walk with my Muslim brother in (fulfilling his) need is dearer to me than being in i`tikaf in the masjid for a month.” (Saheeh)

Understanding the needs of people and responding to them effectively and efficiently is from the noblest of deeds. Ali رضي الله عنه once passed by some masajid in Ramadan that had lamps inside and said, “May Allah fill Umar’s grave with light, just as he filled our masajid with light”

Umar ibn Al-Khattab رضي الله عنه was an entrepreneur par excellence, and a highly skilled administrator who revolutionised state infrastructure in some of the most important areas of public life during his leadership. With his ingenuity, he put in place personnel and processes that worked for the welfare of the Ummah and brought ease to the masses.

He ﷺ also said: “The most beloved of people to Allah are those who bring most benefit to people…” (Silsilat as-Saheehah)

The Muslims in general should seek to help the ummah with all the means at their disposal in ways that will lead it to prevail and manifest the symbols of Islam and establish justice.

Strengthen The Ummah From Your Side

By seeking to provide the Muslims with a distinct advantage.

The Prophet ﷺ instructed Zaid ibn Thabit to learn the language of the Jews (i.e. Hebrew) so as not to be dependent on others to translate for him. Zaid learnt Hebrew at the Prophet’s request and used to translate correspondence from the Jews for him.

By extension there should be Muslims who learn contextually relevant skills today in order to remove our dependency and help us advance in fields of importance. For those that are able, this may mean sacrificing your leisure to learn some highly specialised knowledge that benefits the ummah.

Expand the scope of what it means to contribute

We excel in different ways and so our service will take a myriad of forms. The nurses among us heal; the artisans, craft; the scholars, research and teach; the architects, design; the relief workers, rescue etc. Such people are using their talents to portray positive messages of Islām behind the scenes in subtle yet effective ways. Arguably, their impact on the masses is greater and more effective than many of those callers to Islām that may be distanced from the rhetoric, interests or needs of the masses.

People are capable of making significant change once they decide to care. Extraordinary contributions often comes from people who are engaged, enrolled and aware of whats going on around them.

Move on From Your Past Indiscretions

Sometimes, our sins weigh heavily on us. We recognise our mistakes but instead of turning back to Allah, we turn away. We feel that we must be so bad that even the All-Merciful will reject us. Other times, we do not see the fruits of our perseverance and believe that we will not be given what we have worked so hard for. Perhaps we do not even begin an endeavour, thinking there is no use.

Unfortunately, when we do this, we attribute human qualities to Allah. We act as if Allah has some grudge against us that will heal as soon as He punishes us or rejects one of our requests. We act as though Allah is just waiting for us to slip up. We assume that we have to “deserve” the mercy of Allah by being almost perfect. This sounds absurd when articulated, but our actions unfortunately indicate that we believe otherwise.

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “None of you should say: My soul has become wicked. Rather, let him say: My soul has faulted.” (Bukhari)

Knowing Allah is Ar-Rahman, Al-Rahim, invites optimism and instills hope in Allah’s mercy, fogiveness and acceptance of whatever we have to offer for His sake.

Perfection and Permanence Only Belong To Allah

Great men and women were raised in the shade of the Prophet ﷺ. The world knows who the they became, but not how they got there. To us, they were incredible role models, never pausing to think: they were just like us with personal imperfections. They made mistakes and experienced disappointment. Cried, got angry, and faced defeat.

It is essential to understand that the Sahaba were not infallible. Rather, they were human beings like any others. But whatever sins or mistakes anyone of them may have made maybe overlooked in comparison to the honour of accompanying and supporting the Prophet ﷺ and his mission of making Islam reign supreme.

They are as Allah says “They are those whom we shall accept the best of their deeds and overlook their evil deeds. (They shall be) among the dwellers of paradise…” (46:16)

Knowing that Allah is al-rahman, al-rahim, invites optimism; it instils hope (raja’) in Allah’s impulse to forgive, pardon, pity, overlook and, ultimately, to accept what little we offer Him as needy, fragile and imperfect creatures.

Your past does not dictate your future

This knowledge is very encouraging and helps us to get over our sins and get on with contributing. Sometimes the people with the worst past, create the best future.

“That Allah may remove from them the worst of what they did and reward them their due for the best of what they used to do.” (39:35)

These verses stand as evidence that sometimes the believers do wrong but Allah forgives and rewards them for their best efforts.

From the perfection of Allahs forgiveness is that He is Al Afuww. Al-‘Afuww comes from the root ‘afw, which means to hide, obliterate, or completely erase or remove something. This meaning connotes ‘pardoning’, which is when one looks over a another’s error and does not take them to account for it.

Imam Al-Qurtubi indicates that this quality also indicates Allah’s mercy and ease on His creation.

On the Day of Judgment, we may find that many sins we committed are not in our record; this is ‘afw, which is when Allah completely removes your sins from your record as if you never committed them. When it comes to ‘afw, Allah (swt) says:

And He pardons much. (42:34)

Al-‘Afuww pardons His Servants by not calling them to account for their sins and erasing their sins from their records. Not only does Allah pardon and remove our sins, but He (swt) loves to Pardon, as is implied in the du`a’ for the last 10 nights of Ramadan.

Not only that, but, “… those who repent, believe, and do good deeds: Allah will change their sins into good deeds, He is most forgiving, most merciful.” (25.70)

The exegetes explain that evil deeds are actually turned into good deeds, and this is what is meant by this verse.

No matter how great the sin, Allah’s mercy, forgiveness and generosity are greater. Allah, may He be exalted, turned in mercy to people who had lived all their lives in disbelief, polytheism and barring people from the path of Allah, then they became leaders of guidance, lights that illuminated the darkness and beacons on the path of truth and righteousness.

In Summary

The Muslim world today is falling apart around our ears, and we all have to do our part to prevent further chaos and establish a better order.

No one wants to hear that your auntie and uncle’s parties take priority when the repercussions of inaction are worldwide genocide. Living your daily life and hoping that by not rocking the boat you’re doing daw’ah by example is not enough. We need more from everyone. Our aim is to help people realise that they’re capable of a significant contribution.

“O you who have believed, fear Allah and seek the means (of nearness) to Him and strive in His cause that you may succeed” (5:35)

Anything we do with the intention of assisting the religion is worship. Realise that you have something to offer and use it to elevate your status in the sight of Allah “…seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter…” (28:77)

We all have complementary roles in serving Islam which highlights the importance of diversity in serving the message. Each of us has a niche within the community that we are better equipped to address, through our ethnicity, social upbringing or life experiences — Exploit those natural connections.

May Allah utilise us for every good and make us shiny examples of what it means to be a Muslim in this time and place.

All Chapters

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade