Whose Conspiracy Is It?
Complementary to what was discussed here, I want to share some of the transcript & words of Maulana Tariq Jameel, which I think crucial for us to understand; on the topic of Muslims, its current condition & the fallacies/mindset that ingrain within us.
On what led to the downfall of Muslims in this era, whose conspiracies is it? Was it the work of the West? Maulana answered this question in a beautiful words of his:
It is not the conspiracy of anyone. Those who say, "This is the conspiracy of America, this is the conspiracy of the United Kingdom, and this is the conspiracy of France..".
These excuses are signs of those nations which come under calamities. They blame their fault on others. They blame their weaknesses on others. If they were to get a pain in their stomach, they would even blame this on America.
It was clear that the ‘siege-mentality’ has pervade the minds of Muslims. This further explains why we cannot really find the real cause of the problem.Then he said:
Calamities arise from within not from outside. Illnesses develop from within, not from the outside. The cause develops from within not from outside. Just like the cause of human illness develops from inside. Likewise the cause of a nation's calamity develops from inside.
A nation's ship only drowns when its own crew members drill holes in it. Those who kill their own well-wishers cause the ship to sink. Those who dismantle the ship cause it to sink.
The main point here: Any calamities that befallen us was always the work of our own hands, of our own self. Period.
And further, this point really caught my attention. Going further deep into the cause of the problem (which is our self), Maulana explicated what really is within us that cause such problem:
The biggest cause of our calamities is that our very own people are oppressors: Our poor are oppressors, our rich are oppressors, villagers are oppressors, city dwellers are oppressors, the government & police force come later.
First of all the roots of oppression have become deep & engraved in our society. To such an extent, that whilst oppressing one doesn't even realize the magnitude of the sin he Is committing; while drinking alcohol one realizes he is sinning, whilst committing fornication one realizes he is sinning. Yet, whilst deceiving someone, he does not realize the magnitude of the sin being committed.
This is the real cause to our problems. This made what we are today. One should realize that there are no conspiracies that can ever weaken us if we did not allow them to subjugate us at first place. Furthermore, Maulana explained:
When oppression, deceit & lying enters the Ummah… Who is forcing the vendor/street trader to lie. With whose conspiracy is he lying? With whose conspiracy are the youth being disobedient to their parents? Who has conspired for the son to be so enraged when being told of by his mother? With whose conspiracy does the child become so aggravated due to one glare from his father? I have heard from my very own ears, a girl telling her mother, "Don’t bark! Don’t bark!" And seeing her mother's tears falling. Whose conspiracy is this?
Trustful has become sparse whilst lying has prevailed. Justice has been abandoned leaving the darkness of oppression. Trust has left whilst dishonesty has become the norm. Fraud has become the norm. Cheating, in the name of trade/work. Whose conspiracy has caused all this? It has happened because of our own actions. We have dropped the hammer on our own foot. Then other causes may enter, but the root is still us.
There is no better way to explain this. These are the real factors that led to the downfall of ourselves. The real problem arises from within, down deep within ourselves; there are 3 causes to a nation's downfall (which the root is from within each of us):
- Oppression; that society in which there is oppression they relinquish their right to survive
- Lying; such a curse is on these people that the Prophet SAW said, "Lying leads to destruction, whilst truth leads to liberty". Our little children lie, the mother lies, the father lies, the brothers lie, the lies of politicians come later.
- Cheating/deception/dishonesty/fraud; that society in which there is deception/cheating/fraud/dishonesty, its misfortune becomes as certain as the setting of the sun. Like the sun cannot be brought back up, likewise no one can bring that society back from disgrace.
It is very crucial for every one of us to understand & comprehend this important point. The only way that can give rise to the prosper of Islam is by changing ourselves, from worse to better & by being cognizant to the fact that everything befallen us were the work of our own hands; It all started within ME, not from ANYONE ELSE!!
Contemplate & give it a thought.
