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Assalamu Alaikum waRahmathullahi waBarakathuhu,

Respected Brothers,

We are faced with an unprecedented attack on Islam through many web sites in Sinhala by the extremist and fanatic Buddhists. As Muslims we cannot go down to their level of thinking in handling this issue. Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab would not have descended to this level of using abusive language to insult Allah (Glory be to Him), Messenger of Allah (May Peace and Blessings be upon him), Allah’s Deen and the Allah’s Book. Are we to be passive observers of this mischievous behaviour of these fanatics? Or what should be our response?

Going down to their level of behaviour is counterproductive and not a methodology acceptable to Islamic values. My humble opinion is that we must intensify our Dawah activities with an innovative approach. Our Dawah methodology so far has not produced the expected results and it is time for us to rethink our strategies in this regard.

I wish to propose the following steps.

 Unfortunately, our community has dissociated itself from the Islamic values and as a result created a very negative image about them amongst the population of this country. Financial transactions, neighbour responsibilities, social and humanitarian activities are the main areas where we must impress the non-Muslims with our exemplary Islamic values. We have created a hatred situation for ourselves amongst the other communities by our self-centred, selfish and this worldly behaviour as a result of distancing ourselves from the Islamic teachings.
Thawban (May Allah be Pleased with him), one of the Prophet’s (May Peace and Blessings be upon him) servants, stated that the Prophet (pbuh) said: “Soon the nations will call one another against you, just as people call one another to eat from a plate of food.” A man asked “Will this be because we will be few in number, O Messenger of Allah?” He (pbuh) replied: “No, you will be large in number, but you will be ‘Guthaá’ like the froth scum on the surface of a body of water, and Allah will remove from the hearts of your enemies their fear of you and shall place in your hearts Wahn.” Those present asked: “What is Wahn, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied: “The love for this worldly life, and hatred of death”. (Sunan Abu Dawood 4297).

Does not this great saying diagnose our present pitiful and perilous situation? Allah says in the Qu’ran: “We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, because they joined others in worship with Allah, for which He had sent no authority” (3:151).

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) says: “I have been given victory due to the fear our enemies have of us, which precedes us the distance of one month’s travel” (Bukhari/Muslim).

This is a specific attribute assigned only to this Ummah. This is established in the narration of Thawban (ra): “And Allah will remove from the hearts of your enemies their fear of you.”
Therefore, the first step to overcome this sad situation is to re-instil and to reinstall the Islamic values and the Islamic way of life in the minds of hearts of the Ummah. Please pay your serious attention to an effective, practical and meaningful course of action in this regard.

The Ummah is not paid any heed to, as Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “You will be ‘Guthaá’, like the froth scum on the surface of a body of water”. The proofs and signs that we have just mentioned are significant for the following reasons:

1. The body of water completely controls the ‘Guthaá’ that is upon its surface. Such is the state of the Ummah in these days. It flows along with the nations of disbelief, completely under their influence and control.
2. The ‘Guthaá’ contains things which are not of no importance to mankind. Such is the state of the Ummah today. The Ummah has abandoned the actions that have always ensured its prosperity, especially enjoining the Good and forbidding the Evil.
3. The ‘Guthaá’ passes and leaves no trace. Allah will always bring forth the good from the evil raise a people of righteousness whom will be a source of inspiration and goodness and mankind. We have failed in our divinely assigned responsibilities and before Allah decides to replace us let us get into action soon.
4. The ‘Guthaá’ will constantly carry impurities. Such are the false ideologies and values which have crept into Islam, as a result of alien cultural and social indoctrination which is incessantly on an invasion of the Deen of Allah.
5. Since the ‘Guthaá’ is under the complete control of the current, it is not known to where it is being carried. The Ummah may not be aware of the plans that have been made for it by its enemies, yet it follows the call of any and all, without assessing the worth of that call.

The Ummah in this day and age has made this worldly life its primary pursuit and objective. For this reason they have become afraid of death and what it will bring. They love this worldly life they are well immersed in, completely forgetting the importance of preparing for the Hereafter. This was one of the things that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) feared for this Ummah.

“As for him who transgressed and preferred the life of this world, verily, his abode will be Hell Fire. And as for he who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure desires and lusts, Paradise will be his abode” (an-Naziat 37-41).

Excessive love of this world is another reason for the sorry state of the Ummah. Let us discuss the other issues affecting us.

 Irreconcilable divisions in the Ummah

“And be not as those who divided and differed among themselves after the clear proofs had come to them. It is they for whom there is an awful torment” (3:105)

“Verily, those who divide their religion and break up into sects (all kinds of religious sects), you (O Muhammed) have no concern in them in the least. Their affair is only with Allah, Who then will tell them what they used to do” (6:159)

“Abdallah bin Amr bin al-Aas (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: ‘If you conquer Persia and Rome, what type of people will you be?’Abdur Rahmann bin Awf replied: ‘we will say as Allah has ordered us’. He (pbuh) replied: ‘Or other than that, You will complete against one another, then you will envy one another, then you will plot against one another, and then you will hate one another. Following this you will go to the impoverished Muhajireen and cause them to oppose one another”. (Muslim 2962)

For this reason we see that when Persia was conquered, Umar bin Al Khattaab (ra) began to weep and said: “No people were given this except that they began to fight one another”.

Are we not in this situation today? We are divided into many Jamaaths and each Jamaath is opposing, hating, fighting and envying other Jamaaths. Are we not violating the teachings of Allah (The Most Merciful) and ignoring the warnings of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) in this regard. Who are giving leadership to these abominable sectarian divisions of the Ummah? Can you give any other than the so called Ulema of this country? Distortion of the Deen, Sectarian Divisions, Violations of the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the beloved Messenger of Allah (pbuh), all done under the able leadership of these so called learned Ulema of this country. At times, when we have sectarian strife, we seek the assistance of the kuffar to subdue the opposing group. Through these practices, the kuffars have learned very well all the pros and cons of the Ummah and they in turn use it against the Ummah in general.

Our enemies, the hosts of Iblees and his servants, have tried to hinder the progress of the Ummah by attacking the Deen of Allah and take from its territories when they see that ‘Wahn’ has set in inflicted us. Even since the dawn of Islam until today, the kuffar and mushrikeen have continued in their endeavour against the Muslims. They have always sought out ways to render our people weak. They have even attempted this in the very city that was established and fostered by the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). This is clearly illustrated in the story of the three that were left behind from the Tabuk expedition. (see 9:118). Ka’b bin Malik (ra) said: “As I was walking in the market place of Madinah, I saw a farmer who was a part of a trading caravan from Shaam selling some of the foodstuffs that he had brought with him. He was asking as to where he could find me and was then directed to me. He then handed to me a letter from the (Christian) king of Ghassaan. Being literate, I began reading it. It said: “To proceed: We have received news that your friend (Messenger of Allah – pbuh) has snubbed you. Allah does not wish for you to remain in a land of disgrace. Come to us and we shall take care of you” (agreed upon).

O Muslims! Ponder and reflect upon the how the people of disbelief, those encircling the Muslims, receive news of what is occurring within us. They sit in wait, seeking an opportunity to unleash their assault.

It must be made known that the nations of disbelief will never destroy the Ummah. Even if they were to all come together in that pursuit. In another narration by Thawban (ra), we see that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Allah compressed for me the whole of the earth allowing me to see its east and west. Mu Ummah shall surely spread throughout the world. I have been given the two treasures, the red and the white (gold and silver, the treasures of the Persians and Romans). I asked my Rabb not to destroy my Ummah with drought. I also asked that He not send an enemy against them from other than their own selves, nor one that will take away their unity and strength. My Rabb said: ‘O Muhammed! When I decree an order it cannot be rejected. I have granted you your request on behalf of your Ummah, that they not be in a state of drought. I will not send upon them an enemy from outside them who will take away their unity and strength – even if all nations came against them. This state (of security) will remain – until they (themselves) begin to destroy one another and to curse one another”. (Muslim 2889).

Who is RESPONSIBLE for our disgraceful, pitiable and pathetic situation at present? We have to BLAME ourselves and NONE else.

 Another important issue is that the Ummah is not strengthened by its numbers or by its weapons. The strength of the Ummah is in its ‘Aqeedah and with those who uphold Tawheed’. Have we not heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say: “Verily, you will be many in number”. And do we compass the following lesson that will remain relevant in every time, when Allah Said: “And on the Day of Hunain, when you rejoiced at your great number, but it availed you naught” (9:25)

What is the definition of or what we identify as Islam? At the farewell Hajj, our beloved Messenger of Allah summarised his 23 years of work in his infamous speech made at this occasion. He (pbuh) very categorically stated that he (pbuh) is leaving behind the Book of Allah and his exemplary Sunnah for us to holdfast. He (pbuh) further said that if you cling to these two sources you will never go astray. This is the AUTHENTIC Islam. We have another category of Islam, which has with the passage of time got corrupted by alien beliefs and passed on to us by our fathers and forefathers. This is not AUTHENTIC Islam. Unfortunately, majority of us follow the second category of Islam. The saddest part is that the majority of the so called learned Ulema of this country give nourishment, leadership and support to the second category of Islam, which may be generating monetary and other worldly benefits for them.

“When it is said to them: ‘Follow what Allah has sent down’. They say: ‘Nay! We shall follow what we found our fathers following’. (Would they do that) even though their fathers did not understand anything nor were they guided?” (2:170).

“He who obeys the Messenger of Allah, has indeed obeyed Allah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you ( O Muhammed) as a watcher over them”. (4:80).

“O you who believe, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. Then, if you quarrel about something, revert it back to Allah and the Messenger, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is good, and the best at the end.” (4:59).

Prophet (pbuh) said: “Whoever turns away from my Sunnah is not from me” (Bukhari/Muslim)

He (pbuh) further said: “Certainly, the one who will live among you will see lots of differences. So stick to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the righty principled and rightly guided successors. Bite onto that with your molar teeth. And avoid newly introduced matters. Verily, every heresy is a going astray” (Ahmed/Abu Dawood/Tirmidhi).

Let us place our Deen on correct and authentic sources and practice accordingly.

 A last word.

Let us take all above matters into consideration and plan suitable corrective measures to place Ummah on a situation where we will, Insha Allah, attain success in this world and the Hereafter. With regard to cyber attacks on Islam, we must adhere to basic Islamic teachings and values in responding to them. We must intensify our Dawah activities immediately.