You Are Not My Father !!
By
Maulana Khalid Dhorat
A man worked very hard during his lifetime to bring his son, Hiran, up. Since he wasn’t given a university education, his desire was that his son becomes the first graduate in his family. He worked two eight-hour shifts a day just to ensure that the exorbitant tuition fees could be paid. Alas, on the day of his son’s graduation, he found himself on his deathbed. He urgently called his son in order to give him some parting advices:
Father: “I have worked very hard to ensure that you are not only educated, but you lead an upright and decent life after I’m no more.”
Son: “I really appreciate it, father. I will never forget you.”
Father: “Fine, I leave you with three advices: Firstly, never speak a lie in your life, even if you are chopped in half. Secondly, our neighbour’s daughter is very attractive. Ensure that no one takes advantage of her. Lastly, when I’m no more, never speak ill of me to anyone. You owe your success to me. Never forget that.”
Son: “Father. I think you are losing your mind in these last few moments. If I don’t lie in life, how can I get away with all my trickery and deception? Secondly, I’ve taken care of pretty face next door many times already. I don’t think you should worry of her dignity when she doesn’t worry about it herself. Lastly, although you sacrificed your life for me, I will always remember you by your mistakes and curse you all the time. Come to think of it, it’s a good thing that you are dying. It will save us the agony of being at each other’s throats all the time!”
His father let out an anguished shriek at these treacherous words of his dear son. Writhing in disappointment, he gave up his soul saying: “O Hiran, I gave you sound Islamic and worldly knowledge, but today you have betrayed me. You are my legitimate son, but you have made me your illegitimate father.”
Let us assume for a moment that Hiran’s father was no role-model to his son. Would this give Hiran the right to say such words and adopt such an attitude of life after his father’s death? Never. On the other hand, Hiran’s father was not only a role-model to his son, he was also caring, compassionate and upright. Can anyone respect Hiran for his treachery? In view of his words at his father’s bedside, would you have businesses dealings with him since lying has become part of his character, would you give your daughter in marriage to him knowing that he sleeps around at any opportunity, and would you confide any secret in him knowing that he will broadcast your affairs all over town? The answer will always be never.
If we would shun an individual for having such qualities, what your attitude be towards an entire people who today believe that lying is piety, violating our daughters and the wive’s of others is an act of virtue, and dishonouring and cursing their forefathers a mark of respect? Sounds far-fetched?
Religions have been built on such shameful, but attractive pillars, so that people may be inclined to it in order to sin under the guise of piety, but destroy their hereafter for which religion has been brought to preserve. This fact is not taken from the story of Humpty Dumpty or Alice in Wonderland, nor is it an exaggeration. All are invited to do independent research and find out for themselves.
Some Muslims of the past have come up with fantastic beliefs just to be recognised. The Murji’ah claimed that a person can commit any sin, and any amount of sins, he will be definitely forgiven. Isn’t this a license to hellfire? Some followers of the Batiniyyah sect would go to Caliph Ja’far ibn Masur and tell him openly: “You are God.” Abu Tahir belonged to the Qaramitah sect who believed that not only one’s property belonged to the community, but one’s wives and daughters too. Later he claimed to be god incarnate and savagely attacked Makkah. Here he butchered many pilgrims and threw them in to the well of Zam Zam. Wishing to disfigure the Ka’bah, he removed the Black Stone (Hajr al-Aswad) from its place and took it to Ahsa, his headquarters, where it stayed for 23 years until some people knocked some sense into him and he had it returned.
If the film show “Ripley’s: Believe it or Not” were to make a movie on how Muslims used their religion to indulge in strange, blasphemous, shameless and ridiculous actions, they would run the show from now till the year 3000, and it will still not end. Readers, believe me, people have misused religion to legalise prostitution, drugs, murder and even believing in multiple gods for hundreds of years already. It’s not strange that it can be happening now too!
Yearning and Desire of the Prophet
The Master, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was once sitting with his band of devoted Companions (Sahabah). He expressed an ardent desire to meet his brothers. His Companions were a little disappointed at this, and asked: “O Apostle of God, aren’t we your brothers?” to which the Master (Peace be upon him) replied: “No. You are my companions. My brothers are those who will come many years after me. Without seeing me, they will accept my religion. They will love me as intensely as you do. Ah, how I wish I could meet them!” The Master (Peace be upon him) then went to explain how his followers will be distinguished for him on the day of Judgement by means of the salutations (salawaat) they bestowed upon him, and the marks of their ablution (wudhu) and prayers (salaat) on their bodies.
O my Muslim brothers and sisters, your Prophet (Peace be upon him) is yearning to meet you in your afterlife. He is itching to give you a drink from the Pond of Abundance (Haudh al-Kauthar) after which you will never feel thirsty again. He has planted his feet at the Bridge (Pul Siraat) which is thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword. His outstretched hand is waiting to help you cross over. He has already ensured that the Scales (Mizan) of measuring your deeds are not faulty. If your deeds fall short, he will use his status as the “Best of Creation” to intercede for you. The Master (Peace be upon him) is waiting for you, but how will you face him if you cursed, disparaged, and slandered his wives, his uncles, his in-laws, his friends and his companions? How will you face him if you distorted his religion, and replaced the warmth, peace and love of Islam with the hatred, enmity and ice of a diseased heart?
The Companions (Sahabah)
No religion preaches hate and enmity, especially if such hate is directed to their own forefathers and spiritual ancestors. But some present-day religions do: all in the name of Islam. In the name of Islam, the Sahabah are publicly cursed and monuments are erected for those who murdered their caliphs.
The Sahabah were hand-picked by the Almighty to be of assistance to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him). The Almighty knows His creation and He knows full well who was deserving of this honour. But these hypocrites think they know better than the Almighty Himself. Any negativity towards the Sahabah is just like pouring a bucket of filth in the vast ocean. Such filth will never pollute the ocean, likewise no amount to cursing the Sahabah will reduce their status. Quite the contrary, it will only increase their status, and also, it will reveal the filth hidden in the hearts of the hypocrites of this great nation of Islam so we can recognise them easily.
The Sahabah were not robots, nor were they an Apple or Windows application. They were not engineered to German standards of perfection or Swiss standards of precision. They were not machines or computers. No, they were fallible human beings, just like me and you. However, they were given the most difficult job on earth: the job of assisting the Master to establish Islam. Me and you are today Muslims because of them. In return, the Master (Peace be upon him) told them: “The fire will not touch the one who seen me.” (Tirmidhi)
They had 99.99% percent goodness in them, and due to their human nature, there was a measly 00.01% of human error in them. Do we focus on the 00.01% or the 99.99%? Let’s look at it from another angle: the Qur’an has 99.99% clear words in it, and 00.01% words such as the Huroof al-Muqatta’at (Abbreviatives like Alim-Laam-Meem) that have an obscure meaning. Do we spend 99.99% of our time in solving 00.01% of the meaning of the Qur’an or 99.99% of our time in understanding 99.99% of the clear words of the Almighty?
Agreed, a small number of the Sahabah were divinely made to do things like drinking, stealing and fighting, but it was done to show us how to treat such situations. A prophet is protected from sin, so it would be against his station to commit these sins in order to show us how to punish a person who fornicates, for example. In later years, some of the Sahabah became embroiled in political disputes, but this was to show us how to solve our modern political problems: how to abdicate power in order to restore peace, how to conclude peace treaties, how to respond to mischief, how to recognise the hypocrites amongst us, and how unite against our enemies.
Let us start learning to read our history books from the front to the back, and not from the back to the front!!