WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

How should we as Muslims respond to these times? There is no excuse or reason for Muslims to be involved in terrorism. Not only that, but we should be the ones who strive against those who believe terrorism is an acceptable or Islamic way of dealing with the problems in our world. We need to educate ourselves about Islam, and then make sure our brothers and sisters are educated as well. It is just not right for a Muslim to believe that killing and or blowing things up are legitimate, Islamic actions. They are not jihad because they do not follow the example of the Prophet (pbuh).

Just think about it this way: Muhammad (pbuh) never EVER plotted to blow up institutions of the Meccan government, nor did he target and kill the Meccan people because they supported and followed the Meccan government. Muhammad (pbuh) was a prophet, sent by Allah. Allah had given him knowledge and wisdom that others didn’t have, and Allah told us to follow his example. Muhammad (pbuh) described the formation of the embryo, he demonstrated an unprecedented knowledge in hygiene and medicine, things which are still being discovered or proven today. His way of life was complete and perfect.

If terrorism, or killing ourselves, blowing up institutions, and other innocent people was something Allah ordained, if it was a part of Islam then it would have been a part of Muhammad’s (pbuh) teachings, and it wasn’t. Allah knew exactly what we Muslims would be facing today. All the means we need to solve our problems can be found in the Qur’an and Sunnah.

I know, many Muslims watch the news and see the latest arrest of a group of terrorists or foiled terror plots and are skeptical. Rightly so, how do we know what is really going on? We don’t know any Muslims who would do such things. On the contrary, we may even know Muslims who have been falsely accused. As a result we have a tendency not to believe that these Muslims who just got arrested are guilty. We have a tendency not to believe what we see on the news anymore. Allah knows best. But even though we don’t know what to believe anymore, we still have a responsibility to know our religion.

We Muslims are not here to fix the world, or to correct all the wrongdoing committed by others. We are here to worship Allah, to live Islam, to know Islam. For if we don’t know it, how can we live it. There are things we need to strive to change and to fix. We should all work within our capabilities and unique situations to better firstly, ourselves, then we work on our family’s, then once we can manage that (which is no easy task), we can start to try to help and influence others. It’s all there in the Sunnah, have we forgotten?

If we really want to help, if we have reached that level of iman where we want to strive to better the world, then we must realize that there are constructive, peaceful ways of expressing ourselves, enjoining the good, and forbidding the wrong. Something almost all of us can do is to firstly, regularly study the Qur’an and Sunnah, secondly strive within our communities to promote patience and understanding. The world is a small place, people of all different cultures and beliefs are living together side by side. If we want to be able to solve the problems of our day, we must be able to understand those we are living with and we should encourage them and help them to understand us. Why do they do the things they do? What do they believe? It is crucial that we bridge this huge gap. Trying to understand ‘the other side’ does not undermine or weaken our faith, it can only help. When we understand and respect each other then we can move forward and try to find constructive ways of solving our problems.

As Muslims we not only have to understand Islam, but we have to at least have a basic understanding of politics, the sciences, health and hygiene, economics, etc. The more we know the better. If we are among those who don’t know what to believe, who is right and who is wrong, then let us err on the side of peace, choose the lesser of two evils, and educate ourselves about Muhammad and the teachings in the Qur’an.