The Left, The Right, or The Truth?

Islam had begun as something strange, and it will go back to being something strange, so glad tidings to the strangers!

Sunan Ibn Majah, Chapter on Tribulations

The year is 2020. Roughly two decades after the event which changed the world, 9/11. The Muslim community in the western world now find themselves in an atmosphere of ever increasing suspicion towards them, incited by a never ending media onslaught. In such a climate, Far Right politicians, the likes of Donald Trump have gained considerable support and prominence. Muslims continue to ask, “Where do we go from here? What can be the solution to the rising tide of hatred towards Muslims?” While these concerns are certainly legitimate, what is more concerning is the way that Muslims are responding. The response of many Muslims has been to ally with the left wing, supporting their causes, including those which contradict Islam. As a result, many average Muslims are left confused as to where they should stand on many social issues.

Allah says in the Quran:

 يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُونُوا قَوَّامِينَ بِالْقِسْطِ شُهَدَاءَ لِلَّهِ وَلَوْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوِ الْوَالِدَيْنِ وَالْأَقْرَبِينَ ۚ إِن يَكُنْ غَنِيًّا أَوْ فَقِيرًا فَاللَّهُ أَوْلَىٰ بِهِمَا ۖ فَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا الْهَوَىٰ أَن تَعْدِلُوا ۚ وَإِن تَلْوُوا أَوْ تُعْرِضُوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرً

O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm in justice, witnesses for Allah, even if it be against yourselves or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, Allah is more worthy of both. So follow not [personal] inclination, lest you not be just. And if you distort [your testimony] or refuse [to give it], then indeed Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.

(Surah Maidah, verse 135)

One of the most notable characteristics of the righteous throughout the history of Islam was that they would stand with the truth even if it happened to be against themselves. This was evident from the life of Rasulullah (SAW) when the case of Fatima al Makhzumi was brought to him. Her crime was that of theft. As the punishment of theft was to cut the hand, people did not want a girl from an honorable tribe to face the punishment of theft. They therefore appointed Usama Bin Zayd, also known as “Habibu Rasulillah” or “the messengers beloved” to intercede on her behalf. What was the Messenger’s (SAW) response? Did he make an exception because the girl was of nobility and one of his beloved had come to intercede? Quite contrary to that, his answer was such an answer which history will never forget. He said:

‏ إِنَّمَا أَهْلَكَ الَّذِينَ قَبْلَكُمْ أَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا إِذَا سَرَقَ فِيهِمُ الشَّرِيفُ تَرَكُوهُ، وَإِذَا سَرَقَ فِيهِمُ الضَّعِيفُ أَقَامُوا عَلَيْهِ الْحَدَّ، وَايْمُ اللَّهِ، لَوْ أَنَّ فَاطِمَةَ ابْنَةَ مُحَمَّدٍ سَرَقَتْ لَقَطَعْتُ يَدَهَا

“What destroyed the nations preceding you, was that if a noble among them stole, they would forgive him, and if a poor person among them stole, they would inflict Allah’s Legal punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad stole, I would cut off her hand.”

Over here, The Messenger of Allah (SAW) not only refused to make an exception for Fatima Al Makhzumi, rather he swore to implement the same punishment, had his own daughter, Fatima(R) committed theft. Was any women better than Fatima, the daughter of Allah’s Messenger? Such was the manner that our beloved Messenger (SAW) would stand firm upon the truth. As the above was an instance from the life of Rasulullah (SAW). Below is an instance of much later in history of a Muslim who followed the footsteps of our Messenger (SAW) in standing firm upon that which is the truth. During the British occupation of the Indian subcontinent there was a dispute over land between Hindus and Muslims. The dispute was brought to the court wherein the judge was an Englishman. The judge had asked that one specific Muslim scholar be brought to testify on this case, as he was known for his honesty. When the Muslim scholar was asked to come testify in the court, out of animosity towards the British colonizers he said, “I do not want to even look at the face of any Englishmen, however, with regards to this dispute on a certain piece of land, the Hindus are the ones who are entitled to the land while the Muslims are on the wrong.” As expected, this response would come to the dismay of the Muslims. However as a result of this Muslim scholar’s honesty, many from the same group of Hindus ended up accepting Islam.

Respected brothers and sisters in Islam. It is important to understand that in this era of mass confusion mixed with hatred towards Islam, the non-Muslims around us do not read the Quran or the Ahadith (prophetic traditions). However, they read us. They read our behavior. In this day and age where the only exposure to Islam that most of our fellow non-Muslim citizens can get is through the news media, therefore in our dealings with them, the first impression WILL BE the last impression.

So what is the solution to the current crisis which we face? We need to first examine the two current solutions that are being experimented with by Muslims. The first supposed solution sought out by Muslims has been to directly ally with the left. By directly allying with the left, whats implied here is not voting left in and of itself. Allying with the left implies advocating everything in the Left’s agenda, including such positions which contradict Islam, such as abortion and LGBT advocacy. In recent times since Trump’s presidency, and even prior to it there have been alarming instances wherein well known Muslim activists have openly voiced support for LGBT rights, arguing that it would come in favor of furthering Muslim rights as well. While the numerous fallacies behind this reasoning can be addressed in a separate article, what needs to be addressed here is the extreme harm it will do to the masses of laymen Muslims, particularly the younger generation. Just as Ulama have previously warned, it has resulted in cognitive dissonance. It has gone to the extent of Muslims questioning their own faith due to the contradictions they find between Islam and Leftism.

The second solution which very few have opted for has been that of allying with the Right. While there won’t be so much pressure to support policies deemed morally reprehensible in Islam, (such as LGBT rights and abortion), there will be serious pressure in other areas. Muslims who have allied with the right are typically of the opinion that Islam is inherently in need of change. People of this category will often throw all Muslims under the bus for refusing to agree that Islam in and of itself needs to be reformed. Most importantly it is this category of so called Muslims who openly support Zionism. To support Zionism or any other form of occupation and oppression in Muslim lands will fall under what Allah warns us against when he says:

 وَلَا تَرْكَنُوا إِلَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا فَتَمَسَّكُمُ النَّارُ وَمَا لَكُم مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءَ ثُمَّ لَا تُنصَرُونَ 

And do not incline toward those who do wrong, lest you be touched by the Fire, and you would not have other than Allah any protectors; then you would not be helped.

Now whether one chooses the route of allying with the left wing and in turn, supporting their causes, (such as LGBT advocacy, or abortion “rights”), or one chooses the route of allying with the right wing and in turn supporting their causes, (such as “reforming” Islam, occupation and imperialism in Muslim lands, and Zionism), one very simple yet serious question deserves to be asked. That question is, “how will you answer before Allah?” For instance, I myself heard this from the mouth of a fellow Muslim, “we should support LGBT rights because according to the constitution, we’re the same definition of a minority as them!” To that my simple question is, how will you answer before Allah for the fact that you’re supporting an act, and calling for others to support an act, for which Allah destroyed an entire nation? Similarly, if a Muslim who supports the right wing were to say, Allah forbid, “don’t you realize that there’s a serious problem with Islam and the Muslim world today? We need to reform Islam!” To that I will also say, how will you answer to Allah for the fact that to deny anything indefinitely part of Islam, or even a single verse of the Quran can amount to disbelief? Perhaps there may be some worldly benefits in the short term from supporting a certain political faction’s agenda. However, the consequences of the hereafter are far too great for us to even consider supporting unIslamic causes such as LGBT rights, or abortion. The consequences of the hereafter are far too great for us to even consider “reforming Islam”, just to please people on the right wing.

It was prophesized by our Messenger (SAW) that a time will come when:

 يصبح الرجل مؤمنا ويمسي كافراً ويمسي مؤمنا ويصبح كافراً، يبيع دينه بعرض من الدنيا‏

A man would be a believer in the morning and turn to disbelief in the evening, or he would be a believer in the evening and turn disbeliever in the morning, and would sell his Faith for a piece of the Dunya (material world).

The very last words should be quite familiar to the current setting we see around us. It is not difficult to find people who have compromised their Deen for worldly benefits atleast to a certain degree. Some have gone to the degree of compromising aspects of their Deen for the sake of furthering their political ally’s agenda, thinking it will bring some sort of greater benefit to the Muslim community. Such as Muslim activists on the Left. Others have gone to the extreme of conceding that Islam inherently has a problem and needs to be changed, thus gaining recognition from those on the Right, at the very cost of renouncing their Deen in all but name. Lastly there are those who have drowned in the capitalist, materialistic, radically liberal climate, and have thus completely renounced their Deen to no longer feel any sort of moral boundaries from ones hedonistic desires, “free at last!” All the above are clear examples of manifestations of the above hadith.

History will once again repeat itself. The same solution for the Muslim community during the toughest times for the Muslims, the Meccan period, is the exact same solution for the Muslims today. That is: Massive Da’wah, increasing support for Islamic institutions which will focus on helping to create a Muslim identity for all Muslim laymen. As far as civic engagement is concerned, I hold the opinion that it should be done. Muslims should vote for candidates who will be of better interest of our community. However, at the same time, we need to exercise severe caution in our support for political candidates and political parties. By no means should we forego our own Islamic principles for the sake of furthering the campaign and agenda of a political party. If people are voting Left, or in a sense advocating for the Left, it is important to first categorize the causes and positions of the Left into two categories: those which align with our values, and those which contradict. The first category would include supporting policies which seek to improve the living standards; universal healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, ending student debt, improving the infrastructure and education system, as well as paid family leave. It would also include the promotion of sustainability, such as those endeavors aimed at countering global warming. Fiscally liberal policies, all of which come under the first category can in fact be promoted by our Islamic standards, as historically, Islam supported welfare for the economically unprivileged. And without any shadow of doubt, as Islam teaches us to care for the environment, policies aimed at keeping the environment greener and countering the threat of global warming can and should be promoted by Muslims. The second category needs no explanation as I have already highlighted it above. But to be precise, we as Muslims need to stand firm on the fact that with regards to all policies that have come as a byproduct of sexual liberation (“Gay” rights, the so called “reproductive” rights or abortion, as well as the teaching of sex-ed and LGBT lifestyle to children in schools), not only should Muslims refrain from supporting such policies, but in following the footsteps of our Messenger (SAW) and supporting the truth unconditionally, we should voice our opposition to these policies. Unfortunately today, Muslims will see this as allying with the “conservative right.” There is no doubt that this would involve supporting a specific cause often voiced by those on the Right. Our reasoning over here is specifically due to the fact that Islam teaches us to stand by the truth no matter who speaks it. Even if it may come from our adversaries. On occasions when a when a conflict of interest exists between the Muslim community and the Left, the entire media as well as our fellow citizens observe very closely the route that we take. To stand with the truth at that moment would be a Da’wah opportunity to all those around us including those who happen to lean towards the right. Respected brothers and sisters. If acceptance is what we seek from our current method of discourse, know that acceptance will never happen. Following the one and only true religion comes at a real cost. Once again as mentioned above:

“‏ بَدَأَ الإِسْلاَمُ غَرِيبًا وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ ‏”

“Islam began as something strange and will go back to being strange, so glad tidings to the strangers!”

Yes, there will be some level of struggle. There will be some level of alienation from people around us. We already experience it right now. However, to compromise on our principles would be to run in the very direction of the problem rather than solving it because compromising the Deen means inviting the anger of Allah. Throughout our history we find that calamities usually befell the Ummah when the Muslims were engulfed in sin. Historians write that the siege of Baghdad by the Mongols happened when the Muslims under the Abbasid Caliphate were engulfed in sin and the implementation of “Amr bil ma’roof nahi an munkar” (enjoining good and forbidding evil) was largely abandoned. Rasulullah (SAW) has said:

والذي نفسي بيده لتأمرن بالمعروف، ولتنهون عن المنكر، أو ليوشكن الله أن يبعث عليكم عقابًا منه، ثم تدعونه فلا يستجاب لكم‏”

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: By Him in Whose Hand my life is, you either enjoin good and forbid evil, or Allah will certainly soon send His punishment to you. Then you will make supplication and it will not be accepted…….

While Allah knows best, scholars have written that as a result of leaving out this important deed (enjoining good and forbidding evil), this massacre had taken place. Half of the population of Baghdad was murdered. The Khalifa of the time, Musta’sim Billah was wrapped with a carpet and trampled to death by horses. It was one of the most catastrophic moments in the history of Islam. And it all happened at a time when Muslims were engulfed in sin. When enjoining good and forbidding evil was greatly neglected. Allah the exalted has said:

 وَاتَّقُوا فِتْنَةً لَّا تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنكُمْ خَاصَّةً

And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you exclusively !

If Muslims are concerned about their safety, and afraid of being put into internment camps, like what happened to the Japanese Americans during World War 2, then we should in fact fear invoking the anger of Allah, as all safety, in reality, is in his hands. If we fear what can happen to us as a minority, then the greatest remedy is in making an effort to present Islam in a positive light. Aligning with the Left-Wing’s social agenda will do exact opposite as it will only portray us Muslims as complicit in the degeneration of society, thus further tarnishing our public image. Portrayal of Islam in a positive light will only happen if we support the truth at all costs. May Allah allow us to be the shining light in times of darkness like that of today.

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