Nafsiya Reflections: An Identity worth Celebrating

Assalamu alaikum and welcome to today’s episode - ‘An Identity Worth Celebrating’

Identity is an inextricable aspect of any population or even community - and it may be based on a culture or ethnicity, a set of values or an ideological stance. The Islamic Identity is an embodiment of the Islamic values and shari actions, it reflects the true tawhid of Allah swt in thought and deed... and the natural manifestation of this Islamic identity is actualised under the governance of Shari rules implemented by a Khilafah state.

Today we see the western governments in particular, struggle against the Islamic identity; to dilute if not completely eradicate aspects of it from public life and political discourse. The term ‘muscular liberalism’ was coined by the last British prime minister David Cameron, in a bid to force the Muslim community to accept certain British values, even though they are contrary to Islam’s own.

These included support for the military operations against Iraq and Afghanistan, to feel patriotism towards Britain as opposed to a strong bond of brotherhood with the global Ummah etc. Likewise, the critiquing and debate around the LGBTQ education agenda has been discredited as one held by extremists in the media and by western politicians, rather than being accepted as an honest grassroots discussion about the core beliefs of any Muslim.

The efforts to taint the Islamic identity are snowballing and we now find that aside from a witch-hunt for those who advocate for Shariah law, or have an affinity for the idea of a global Ummah and state, or Islamic politics... the Prevent strategy has allowed a growing public opinion that now views gender roles, segregation, the Islamic dress code and even fasting as reprehensible, and worthy of attack.

The proof of this lies within the ongoing villification of the Muslim woman's dress and attempts to secularise it by promoting high end to high street variations of so called ’modest wear’, creating new industries of modest fashion, makeup and Muslim modelling, so as to overhaul the Jilbab and hijab until it is unrecognizable.

As with the issue of western politics and political participation - the rationale given to the Muslim community has gone from naive to insidious - where regardless of whether a political party may have affiliations with the illegal Jewish entity, or with LGBTQ supporters, or even advocate for anti-Islamic and anti-Muslim local and global agendas - the Muslims are encouraged to take their seat and invest their interests alongside the liberals, and exercise their vote - as part of their national identity.

The aforementioned attacks on the Islamic identity are no more random than any other political move. Rather they perfectly compliment the global agenda to erode the Islamic sentiment in the western as well as Muslim lands, in order to replace deeply held Islamic values with liberal ones, to fit into the secular frameworks upheld by the leaders of the Muslims, whose interests are primarily to serve their western allies in government and industry, at the expense of their Islamic duties and the Muslim Ummah. With the global powers literally at war with the Islamic identity, it’s the duty of every Muslim to take ownership of his Deen and protect it by practicing and upholding it in a correct and pure manner.

The example of Umar bin al Khattab RA perfectly illustrates the mentality of upholding the Islamic identity. “Mujahid, on the authority of Ibn Al-Abbas related that he had asked ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab why he had been given the name of Al-Farouque, which means the one distinguishes truth from falsehood, he replied:

After I had embraced Islam, I asked the Prophet (saw): ‘Aren’t we on the right path here and Hereafter?’ The Prophet (saw) answered: ‘Of course you are! I swear by Allâh in Whose Hand is my soul, that you are right in this world and in the hereafter.’

I, therefore, asked the Prophet (saw): ‘Then why do we have to conduct our activity in a clandestine way (meaning, in a secret manner)’. The Prophet (saw) replied, ‘I swear by Allâh Who has sent you with the Truth, that we will leave our concealment and proclaim our noble cause publicly.’

We then went out in two groups, Hamzah leading one and I the other. We headed for the Mosque in broad daylight, and when the Mushriks of the Quraish saw us, their faces went pale and got incredibly depressed and resentful. On that occasion, the Prophet (saw) attached to me the name of Al-Farouque.’

Dear Muslims - as was in the Makkan period, today too, our role is ideological and political. Just like then - today, the societal and governing aspects of Islam are presented as backward and unfit for the contemporary era, so Muslims are forced to continually distance themselves and reject the Shari norms.

It is imperative therefore that we rally ourselves behind an ideological response that seeks to refute the lies and propaganda, presenting convincing explanations of Islamic practice, purpose, and the pure Islamic solutions to the enormous failure of Capitalism the world over.

We must work to make the baseline understanding of all Muslims be that Islam it is a complete ideology, with systems and punishments that form a comprehensive vision for any society that it governs, so as an Ummah, we are protecting our identity from the corruption of man-made theology.

Allah swt says in the Quran - Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem:

( يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَقُولُوا قَوْلًا سَدِيدًا) {70}
(يُصْلِحْ لَكُمْ أَعْمَالَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَمَنْ يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ فَازَ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا) {71}

‘O you who believe, fear Allah and speak straightforwardly. He will then amend for you your deeds and forgive you your sins. And whoever obeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly achieved a great achievement’. [Surah al-Ahzab, verses 70 & 71]

So let’s remember that we should be forthcoming in our speech and our actions that affirm our identity as Muslims, to the exclusion of all other identities. Let’s remember that this Walaa wal Baraa (as in loyalty to the deen and fellow Muslims) is highly praised in Islam and an inseparable part of the Islamic mentality... without which we would fall into every trap set for us by the enemies of Islam.

It is due to this crucial concept that we as Muslims must reject the secular arguments that are put forth by many westernised Imams and the secular political so-called ‘representatives’ of the Muslim community. We must take complete ownership of the true message of the Quran, which was the complete implementation of Allah’s deen - and in the process, we should render no apologies for the grand political aspect of Islam - the ruling system of the Khilafah State.

This will be our true loyalty to the Deen of Allah. To adhere to the essence of being a Muslim, so we submit to Allah like the Sahabah did, celebrating their identity within the parameters set by Allah alone, and not allowing it to be tainted with other more acceptable secular flavours or labels. Only in this way will we be able to prioritise the issues that Islam prioritised, and work for the establishment of it in our lives.

May we as Muslims never compromise on the core merits of Islam, or erode its rulings or give up on its relevance, and may we always recognise the value of this sublime and comprehensive Deen al Islam, for what it is. And let’s not forget that an identity built upon the footsteps on Al-Farouque, is truly worth celebrating.

Jazakullah Khairan for listening. Do join us next time.