Lowest of the low, Al-Wahan, Truly a shame
Issue 389 » August 4, 2006 - Rajab 10, 1427
General
| Living the Quran |
At-Teen
(The Fig)
Allah has perfected all His creation; and the special emphasis laid here and elsewhere in the Quran on man's being endowed with perfect form shows clearly that this creature, man, has enjoyed extra care. Moreover, Allah's care for this creature despite his distortion of his upright nature and the corruption he indulges in suggests that Allah has given him a special rank and a special weight in the universe. Allah's care is most clearly apparent in the moulding of his highly complicated physical structure and his unique spiritual and mental make up. The emphasis here is on man's spiritual qualities since these are the ones which drag man down to the most ignoble state when he deviates from the upright nature and turns away from belief in Allah which is perfectly harmonious with this nature. It is needless to say that man's physical structure does not sink down into such a low level. Moreover, the superiority of man's creation is most clearly apparent in the spiritual qualities. He is made in a way which enables him to attain a sublime standard, superior to that of the highest ranking angels. This is illustrated in the story of the Prophet's ascension to Heaven. Then, Jibril stopped at a certain level and Muhammad, the human being, was elevated much higher. At the same time, man is given the dubious ability to sink down to levels unreached by any other creature. In this latter case, the animals become superior to him and more upright since they do not violate their nature. They praise the Lord and fulfil their function on earth as they are guided to do. But man who has been given the fairest form and abilities denies his Lord and sinks right down. Having laid down the way. Allah left man to choose whether to follow it or not. "Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds." For these are men who stick to the upright nature, consolidate it with faith and righteous deeds, elevate it towards its destined level of perfection until they finally attain a life of perfection in the world of perfection: "for theirs shall be an unfailing recompense " But those who cause their nature to sink to the lowest of the low go down with it along their slippery road until they reach the lowest level, that is, in Hell where their humanity is shed and they are completely debased. Both ends are natural results of two widely different starts and lines of action. Thus, the importance of faith in human life becomes clear. Faith is the elevating path through which upright human nature ascends to its ultimate perfection. It is the rope stretched between man and his Maker. It is the light showing him where to put his feet along the elevating path. When the rope is cut and the light put out, the inevitable result is the fall down the steep path into the lowest of the low. The clay element in man's make-up separates from the spiritual element and man, along with stones, becomes fuel for the hell-fire. Source: |
| Understanding the Prophet's Life |
| The State of Al-Wahan Muslims have lost their power and become a weak nation because faith no longer has a place in their lives and behaviour. The majority of Muslims follow Islam in name only. They become Muslims because their families are so, or because they have been born in a Muslim country by Muslim parents. They lack strength in faith and enthusiasm to follow its teachings. Could people in such a feeble state manage to revive their power and restore their strength? In fact the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) referred to the causes that would weaken the Ummah and belittle it in the eyes of its enemies. With the elapse of time, the Prophet's words in that regard have proved to be true. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Nations are about to scheme against you in the same way as greedy eaters vie with one another at the dining table.” One of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them all) asked, “O Messenger of Allah! Will that relate to being few in numbers?” The Prophet said, “No, but your huge number will be of little effectiveness, and (Allah) will cast al-wahan in your hearts.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, what does al-wahan mean?” He said, “Your hearts are strongly attached to the luxuries of life and you feel a strong aversion to death.” See what causes weakness in hearts! It is running after the worldly pleasures and yielding to temptations of this life. When one does so, one becomes a slave to one's desires, and can no longer have control over oneself. One, in such a case, gets lost and has no real objects to seek in life. We have, unfortunately, turned to be useless. We speak and do not act; we import and do not produce. We are passive receivers; we imitate others and do not try to devise something ourselves. In a word, we destroy, not build; we sink into oblivion, not revive. Our nation is in need of a new spirit that can revive it and change its view towards life and things, so that it can get rid of the state of dependence it suffers from and become productive itself. Source: |
| Blindspot! |
Truly a Shame
The French poet Charles Baudelaire had this merry expression: "The devil’s finest ruse is to persuade us that he does not exist." In the same vein, one could affirm that the most diabolic achievement of the plotters of today is to persuade us that plotters and plots do not exist. The instrumentalisation of "the war against terrorism" has reached the epitome of lies, hypocrisy and intellectual and political terror. One should have perhaps paid more attention by the comments made by Ariel Sharon after the September 11th, 2001 attacks where he stated that Yasser Arafat was "[his] terrorist", indicating, in a curious premonition, that one day the Palestinians were going to pay the price for New York. A global strategy of confrontation has been unleashed first in Afghanistan, then in Iraq - with hundreds innocent civilians of the “collateral damages” - before the lightning rod would eventually strike the Palestinians in "the devastated territories." One could have expected that the United Nations, the proclaimed voice of the wisdom of the nations, would intervene and put an end to the massacre. So many bad memories have reawakened. It was more than ten years ago in Srebrenica that the peace forces left those they were mandated to protect and whom they had disarmed beforehand. In Rwanda the United Nations forces came to protect and rescue the White people, "the foreigners", and once again left the Tutsis in the deadly hands of the Hutu. Two weeks ago, Lebanese families and civilians came seeking asylum in the headquarters of the United Nations forces run by Ghanaians. The Lebanese were denied protection. On the road to exile, a few hours later, Israeli bombs decimated a family of 27 people. Now, there is no guarantee that the UN can even protect themselves, judging from the recent bombing of a UN outpost in Southern Lebanon by Israeli forces. Five UN peacekeepers were killed, to the “deep sorrow” of the Israeli Prime Minister. This appeared to be the “unbearable scandal” while more than 350 innocent civilians have already been killed and the war continues. What is the role of the United Nations representatives? Who do they serve? Truly a shame, time after time. In our everyday lives, in our social peace, in our cordiality, in our safety, in our laws, in our rights, in our freedoms as in our lives, we will soon experience very concretely the consequences of our cowardice in the face of barbarity. The muteness of those who cannot denounce once again “official terrors” nor rise against so many injustices and such horrors is a shame. Undoubtedly, we will one day be invited, in one way or another, to the table of those who have scores to settle. Like so many others, we too will have to drink the substance of our dehumanized shame, resignation and passiveness. What is the use of "condemning the silence" of the international community vis-à-vis the continued oppression of the Palestinian people and the massacres perpetrated in Lebanon. How is that useful? Perhaps in order to give oneself the right, in the name of consistency, in being silent when the powerful of this world are toiling to "condemn" the consequences of their silence! Perhaps, there is some logic to that. Or it is a simple question of dignity... we will refuse to stay silent and never cease resisting oppressors and murderers, be they rich or even "civilized"! Source: |
