saima abdullah
my life iz 4 Allah
Words of Wisdom from Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī
When we listen to news stories that cause us distress, we are faced with the same question that those before us were faced with: what can we do? Definitely, getting involved and participating in relevant mediums of activism is part of the answer. Another part was once addressed by Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī in his article titled, “The Way of Allah (in Dealing) with Past Nations and its Application for Muslims,” published in his news journal, al-‘Urwatu’l-Wuthqa, during his stay in Paris in 1884. Though al-‘Urwatu’l-Wuthqa only lasted about eight months with only eighteen issues, it became the medium through which his ideas spread internationally during that tumultuous time. Its influence and relevance persisted, even though the project was short-lived.
The Way of Allah (in dealing) with Past Nations and its Application for Muslims, by Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī
“Verily, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves” (Qur’an, 13: 11). These are the verses of the Wise Book, which guides to the truth and the straight path, and no one doubts in them except for the misguided. Does God go against His own promise while being the Most Truthful of those who promise and the Most Capable of those who can fulfill it?! Have Allah and His Prophet ﷺ lied? Has He forsaken His prophets and hated them? Has He cheated His creation and paved for them the path of misguidance? We seek refuge in Allah (from such thoughts)! Did he send down the clear verses in vain or in play? Did His Prophets fabricate against Him? Did they slander Him? Did Allah speak to His slaves by symbols they don’t understand and signs they can’t comprehend? Did He call them to Him by what they cannot conceptualize? We ask forgiveness from Allah (for such questions).
Has He not sent the Qur’an in Arabic, without mistake, and explained in it all matters, clarifying all things? His Attributes are sacred and Allah is Elevated, a Great Elevation, above what the transgressors say. He is the Most Truthful in His promises and threats, and has never taken His Prophets as liars. He never brought anything for play, and He did not guide us except to the path of guidance. There is no replacement for His verses. The heavens and the earth can perish, but a law from the laws of His book would never perish, as falsehood can never approach it, from before it or behind it.
God states, “Certainly, We have written in the book [of Psalms] after the [previous] reminder that My righteous servants shall inherit the land” (Qur’an, 21:105). He also states, “…to Allāh belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers” (63:8), “And incumbent upon Us (God) was support of the believers” (30:47), and “It is He who sent His messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, that He may make it prevail over all other religions; and sufficient is Allāh as a Witness” (48:28).
Allah caused this nation to emerge from a handful of believers, and took it to such heights of greatness that many hearts trembled in fear of it. Indeed, a people who were true to their covenant with Allah earned deeds that allowed them glory in their worldly lives and happiness in the afterlife. This Ummah today has reached about 280 million people and its lands, as previously discussed, stretch from the edges of the Atlantic Ocean to the ends of China. Blessed with good soil, fertile plantations, spacious homes…yet, its lands are being plundered, and its wealth robbed. Intruders are taking over the people of this Ummah. They are dividing its lands among themselves, country after country, province after province. It is left neither with authority, nor with a voice. Its torchbearers find themselves in pain by day and in distress by night. Their time has become constricted by the increasing catastrophes that have gathered upon them, and their fears have become greater than their hopes.
This is the same nation that collected the jizyah from large nations to look out for them. Oh what a disaster! Oh what a loss! Is this not a calamity?! What is the reason for this decline? What has caused this fall and humiliation? Should we be suspicious of divine promises? Should we despair from Allah’s mercy and think that He has lied to us? We seek refuge in Allah (from such thoughts). Should we doubt His promise of victory to us after He has affirmed it for us? No, it is none of that. It is upon us then to look at ourselves, and see that there is no one for us to blame except ourselves. For He said, “And you will not find in the way of Allah any change” (63:62).
He, The Most High, showed us through His clear verses that nations He has honored do not perish or fall from greatness. Their names are also not erased from the tablet of existence, except by their deviation from the ways Allah established on the foundation of extensive wisdom. Allah does not change a condition of a people to honor, authority, luxury, living, safety and comfort, until those people change what is in themselves—through illumination of the mind, soundness of thought, and depth of vision; from taking lessons from the actions of Allah with previous nations, and reflecting on the situation of those who joined forces against the path of Allah—for they were destroyed—and those who neglected the practice of justice, and left the path of insight, resolution and wisdom—for they were ruined.
Unite together in commitment to righteous work, truthfulness of speech, soundness of the heart, chastity in the face of desires, and protection of truth, standing for its victory, and cooperating in its protection!
(Ammara, Mohammad. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, al-A`mal al-Kamilah. al-Mawsu’ah al-Arabiyah li’l-Dirasat wa’l-Nashr: Beirut 1988. V.2 pp. 58-60).
When we listen to news stories that cause us distress, we are faced with the same question that those before us were faced with: what can we do? Definitely, getting involved and participating in relevant mediums of activism is part of the answer. Another part was once addressed by Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī in his article titled, “The Way of Allah (in Dealing) with Past Nations and its Application for Muslims,” published in his news journal, al-‘Urwatu’l-Wuthqa, during his stay in Paris in 1884. Though al-‘Urwatu’l-Wuthqa only lasted about eight months with only eighteen issues, it became the medium through which his ideas spread internationally during that tumultuous time. Its influence and relevance persisted, even though the project was short-lived.
The Way of Allah (in dealing) with Past Nations and its Application for Muslims, by Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī
“Verily, God does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves” (Qur’an, 13: 11). These are the verses of the Wise Book, which guides to the truth and the straight path, and no one doubts in them except for the misguided. Does God go against His own promise while being the Most Truthful of those who promise and the Most Capable of those who can fulfill it?! Have Allah and His Prophet ﷺ lied? Has He forsaken His prophets and hated them? Has He cheated His creation and paved for them the path of misguidance? We seek refuge in Allah (from such thoughts)! Did he send down the clear verses in vain or in play? Did His Prophets fabricate against Him? Did they slander Him? Did Allah speak to His slaves by symbols they don’t understand and signs they can’t comprehend? Did He call them to Him by what they cannot conceptualize? We ask forgiveness from Allah (for such questions).
Has He not sent the Qur’an in Arabic, without mistake, and explained in it all matters, clarifying all things? His Attributes are sacred and Allah is Elevated, a Great Elevation, above what the transgressors say. He is the Most Truthful in His promises and threats, and has never taken His Prophets as liars. He never brought anything for play, and He did not guide us except to the path of guidance. There is no replacement for His verses. The heavens and the earth can perish, but a law from the laws of His book would never perish, as falsehood can never approach it, from before it or behind it.
God states, “Certainly, We have written in the book [of Psalms] after the [previous] reminder that My righteous servants shall inherit the land” (Qur’an, 21:105). He also states, “…to Allāh belongs [all] honor, and to His Messenger, and to the believers” (63:8), “And incumbent upon Us (God) was support of the believers” (30:47), and “It is He who sent His messenger with guidance and the religion of truth, that He may make it prevail over all other religions; and sufficient is Allāh as a Witness” (48:28).
Allah caused this nation to emerge from a handful of believers, and took it to such heights of greatness that many hearts trembled in fear of it. Indeed, a people who were true to their covenant with Allah earned deeds that allowed them glory in their worldly lives and happiness in the afterlife. This Ummah today has reached about 280 million people and its lands, as previously discussed, stretch from the edges of the Atlantic Ocean to the ends of China. Blessed with good soil, fertile plantations, spacious homes…yet, its lands are being plundered, and its wealth robbed. Intruders are taking over the people of this Ummah. They are dividing its lands among themselves, country after country, province after province. It is left neither with authority, nor with a voice. Its torchbearers find themselves in pain by day and in distress by night. Their time has become constricted by the increasing catastrophes that have gathered upon them, and their fears have become greater than their hopes.
This is the same nation that collected the jizyah from large nations to look out for them. Oh what a disaster! Oh what a loss! Is this not a calamity?! What is the reason for this decline? What has caused this fall and humiliation? Should we be suspicious of divine promises? Should we despair from Allah’s mercy and think that He has lied to us? We seek refuge in Allah (from such thoughts). Should we doubt His promise of victory to us after He has affirmed it for us? No, it is none of that. It is upon us then to look at ourselves, and see that there is no one for us to blame except ourselves. For He said, “And you will not find in the way of Allah any change” (63:62).
He, The Most High, showed us through His clear verses that nations He has honored do not perish or fall from greatness. Their names are also not erased from the tablet of existence, except by their deviation from the ways Allah established on the foundation of extensive wisdom. Allah does not change a condition of a people to honor, authority, luxury, living, safety and comfort, until those people change what is in themselves—through illumination of the mind, soundness of thought, and depth of vision; from taking lessons from the actions of Allah with previous nations, and reflecting on the situation of those who joined forces against the path of Allah—for they were destroyed—and those who neglected the practice of justice, and left the path of insight, resolution and wisdom—for they were ruined.
Unite together in commitment to righteous work, truthfulness of speech, soundness of the heart, chastity in the face of desires, and protection of truth, standing for its victory, and cooperating in its protection!
(Ammara, Mohammad. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, al-A`mal al-Kamilah. al-Mawsu’ah al-Arabiyah li’l-Dirasat wa’l-Nashr: Beirut 1988. V.2 pp. 58-60).