The Vision

Introduction:

A commonly quoted figure is that in the U.S. over six-million Muslims live, of which 3.5 million are immigrants and their children and 2.5 million are native born American converts to Islam and their children. However, there is a dearth of respect for Muslims - they find themselves in the midst of a hate campaign which is growing by the day. The influx of the Jews to America preceded the Muslims by a century. Respect for the Jews one hundred years ago was very bad and they found themselves in the midst of hate which still persists in some pockets of American population. However, the Jews took advantage of constitutional guarantees of freedom in America and they used them. The Jews developed a vision for their place in American society and immediately began working on their projects. They became so successful that they could dictate to President Harry Truman the recognition of the State of Israel in 1948 despite opposition everywhere including his own Secretary of State and a majority of his cabinet members. Now, we find Jews dominating politics, economy, media and the entertainment industry of the U.S.A. It is said that almost 42% of Clinton appointees are Jews despite the fact that only 2% of the American population is Jewish. The story of the success of Jews in America is fascinating and Muslims can learn something from it. The Muslims in America must have their own vision and an Islamic approach to carve out their place in the American society.

Communities without a vision are doomed to ignominy living as subjects of those who have a vision. Similarly, individuals who do not have a vision are doomed to ignominy. We all have a vision for ourselves and we strive to turn our vision into a reality. Some see themselves as politicians, corporate managers, doctors, engineers, journalists and so on. Some try. Many succeed but some fail. Karl Marx theorized establishing a communist state and Lenin made it a reality. America’s vision to defeat communism and become sole super power, came true. Theodore Herzl had a vision of establishing a Jewish state. Americans had a vision to put a man on the moon, survey the solar system and to go beyond. Allah grants many people what they desire and work hard to get, even if it is against Allah Himself. For example, secularism is a way of life which denies Allah’s sovereignty; Allah is giving secularists success after success because they persevere. Now, the West, in general, and the U.S., in particular, have a vision of seeing the world freed of Islam as a deen. Are we, the Muslims, going to allow this to happen?

Prophet Muhammad^(S)’s Vision: We can cite at least two occasions when the Prophet^(S) talked about his vision of victory and establishment of Islam in a land where an overwhelming majority of the people were mushrik. The mushrik leadership opposed the Prophet, his religion and persecuted his followers. In comparison, American Muslims are 2% of the population, and as of now there is no serious persecution as freedom of religion and speech is constitutionally guaranteed.

1. Mid Makkan Period: Khabbab^{( R )} ibn Arat and the Prophet^(S) were sitting in the shade of the Ka’bah. The persecution of the Muslims was severe and many of the companions had already migrated to Habshah, modern day Ethiopia and Eriteria. Khabbab humbly requested the Prophet to pray to Allah for freedom from persecution and success of the Muslims. The Prophet replied that true Muslims have to go through suffering. In ancient times, the Muslims were buried alive upto the neck in the ground and their heads were sawed off in the middle. Some had to suffer the combing of the flesh from their bodies. The Prophet said that the time will come when the deen will be established and an old lady will travel from San’a to Hadr Mawt and will have nothing to fear but the fear of Allah. The Prophet’s vision of making Islam the way of life in the Arabian Peninsula, including Yemen would bring peace and security for all. At that time he did not have even one hundred followers. If we estimate the population of the Arabian Peninsula before hijerah to be 500,000, the population of Muslims was only 0.02%. Historians tell us that at the time of Farewell Hajj over 120,000 pilgrims were present which should provide us with some basis for estimating the population of Arabian Peninsula.

2. Thirteenth Year of Prophethood: The Prophet^(S), with a booty of one-hundred camels on his head, was migrating from Makkah to Madinah in the company of Abu Bakr^{( R )} and his guide. In a coffee shop in Makkah, Suraqa^{( R )} ibn Malik learned about three persons travelling north. Suraqa got on his horse and went on a chase to catch the Prophet. As he came near the Prophet, his horse began floundering in the sand. Suraqa realized his mistake and asked Prophet to rescue him, promising in return to misguide other potential bounty hunters. The Prophet told Suraqa that if he kept his promise, he would wear the gold bracelets of the king of Persia. The Prophet envisioned that Islam would spread in the Arabian Peninsula and Persia in the life time of Suraqa. At this time he had less than 300 followers, that is, under 0.06% of the Arabian population.

One may raise the objection that being a Prophet, he had foreknowledge. That is wrong. It was his wish and vision. We find that in 2 A.H. at Badr he was weeping and praying to Allah for victory at Badr. His du’aa included some words to the effect that if the Muslims lost, there would be no one left to worship Allah. If he had fore-knowledge, the Prophet would not be begging Allah so much. Allah made the Prophet^(S) to declare in the Qur’an: "Had I knowledge of the Unseen, I should have abundance of wealth, and adversity would not touch me" (7:188). There are more verses in the Qur’an giving the a similar message.

The Prophet established a city state and expanded it through da’wah, defensive wars and preemptive strikes against his enemies. The equivalent of that city state in America would be Islamic organizations and Muslim neighborhoods. We should promote Muslim neighborhoods in all major cities of the U.S. to serve as nuclei and expand them through conversion and migration to the Muslim enclaves. The development of enclaves would give us control over the schools, local politics and help in establishing necessary institutional infrastructure. As these enclaves grow in size through conversion and immigration, the Muslims will have some say in national politics and perhaps even be able to elect Muslims as congressmen and senators. Naturally, at some point in time, we will be able to elect a Muslim as President in the White House. In time, we will be able to do what we cannot even say at this time. Defensive actions in our time, analogous to the defensive actions of the Prophet, would be to respond to the attackers on Islam in literature and the media. Preemptive strikes against the enemies of Islam, analogous to the preemptive strikes of the Prophet, would be ideological exposure of falsehood of secular humanism, secular nationalism, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and other religions and cults. However, in many cases mere presentation of the truth of Islam aggressively but rationally will be adequate to defeat the falsehood; Muslims may not need to attack other systems and religions.

Theodore Herzl’s Vision: Notably, Raphael Patai has mentioned in his book, THE MESSIAH TEXTS introduction, page xlviii:

This was before World War I, when Khilafat-e-Osmania ruled Palestine and most of the Arab world. The Jews were being persecuted everywhere in Europe. Herzl went to all major Jewish financiers for help and was turned away, including the Rothschilds, a major financial institution in Europe. Under those conditions Herzl neither considered his vision to be simplistic nor did those few Jews who supported him. History bears witness that Herzl’s vision came to reality in 50 1/2 years.

Vision is the Motivation for Progress: All advanced and progressive societies have visions. All inventors in science are visionary people. They see a problem and they want to solve it. As it is said – necessity is the mother of invention. Some may say it is the greed of getting rich fast. Well! Vision of getting rich is still a vision but on the way to riches, inventors permanently alter societies.

Let us look the history. Prophet Muhammad’s vision was shared by his successors: Umar ibn Al-Khattab and Uthman ibn Affan carried out the mission of defeating and destroying the two super powers of the time, Byzantine and Persian empires. Their successors carried the mission to the borders of China and the heart of West Europe. These Muslim leaders were visionary optimists. Alas! Muslims in America have no visionary leadership. The most that the Muslims in America have been able to do is to organize conferences, conventions and seminars. If these seminars and conferences are used to recruit Muslims as workers and motivate them to work for Islam then these conferences, etc. are a good start, only a start. Conferences as an end by themselves are a waste of money, time and energy.

Alexander the Great had a vision of ruling the entire known world. He conquered almost half of it and appointed his governors in various countries. The Founding Fathers of the United States had a vision of building an independent country free from colonialism where there would be liberty of religion, enterprise and expression of thought. Most of the recent immigrants to the U.S. had the vision of education, career and prosperity. Most of them are living economically better than their counterparts in their home countries. Vision and optimism combined with struggle, patience and perseverance give success. Those who have lived in slavery or inherited slavish minds live very selfish lives; they may have optimism in their individual visions but collectively lack vision and are pessimists.

All adventurers and inventors were visionary optimists. They envisioned a world different than they inherited, felt need for change and individually left their impact on world civilization and culture. Discoveries of steam engine, electricity and silicon chip are some of the shining examples. In the nineteen-sixties there was a serious problem of pollution – someone had a vision of a pollution-free environment. Henry Ford had a vision of mass production. The development of the computer was someone’s vision. Every change comes from one or the other man’s vision despite his being laughed at by the ignorant pessimists. World progress has come through the thoughts, visions and works of optimists. Pessimists contribute nothing but discouragement and doom.

Anti-Islam forces in the world, particularly in America have a vision to defeat Islam worldwide as a deen and render it permanently a personal religion of rituals only. Are we, the informed Muslims, going to allow it to happen or are we going to have a vision of the world through the eyes of Islam? Are we going to tolerate and accept shirk and its varied manifestations, like drug abuse, teen pregnancies, out of wedlock children, single parenthood, adultery, fornication, incest, homosexuality, drunkenness, rising gambling addiction with destruction of more and more families, flourishing gambling casinos, rising thefts and robberies, senseless murders and so on. Do Muslims living in America have any responsibility to see that shirk is eliminated, tawheed becomes a norm and we live in a safe country where anybody could walk anywhere and anytime with no fear of any kind except the fear of Allah? I believe that we do have a duty to see a safe America for Allah’s sake, for our own salvation and for our own future generations’ sake!

The cleaning process of America is not possible without bringing the awareness, acceptance and respect for Islam and Islamic values by an overwhelming majority of the population. It is the duty of the Muslim leadership to develop a vision for America for twenty years from now, fifty years from now or even one-hundred years from now. A vision must be translated into a plan and a project and be implemented.

Call for help. Those who live outside of America but have Allah-given wealth, have a duty to help those who are struggling for the establishment of Islam in America and elsewhere. Those who live in America have a double duty, (a) to spend money (infaq) by helping financially those who are working to spread the message of Islam, and (b) to spend their own time and talent in calling people towards Allah (da’wat ila-Allah).

Look up some verses from the Qur’an.

• Lo! The Deen with Allah is Islam. (3:19)
• Would they desire to put out the light of Allah with their mouths! But Allah will perfect His light, however much the disbelievers may hate. (61:8)
• He it is Who has sent His messenger with the guidance and the Deen of Truth, that He may cause it to prevail completely. And Allah suffices as a witness. (48:28)
• And fight them until persecution is no more, and the Deen is for Allah. (2:193, 8:39)
• But nay - they who are bent on evildoing follow but their own desires, without having any knowledge (of the truth). And who could guide those whom Allah has (thus) let go astray, and who (thereupon) have none to help them? And so, set your face steadfastly towards the (one ever-true) Deen, turning away from all that is false, in accordance with the natural disposition which Allah has instilled into man: (for,) not to allow any change to corrupt what Allah has thus created - this is the (purpose of the one) ever-true Deen; but most people know not. (30:29-30)
• O you who believe! Surrender yourself (unto Allah) wholly, and follow not Shaytan’s footsteps, for, verily, he is your open foe. (2:208)
• And whoso seeks a deen other than al-Islam, it will not be accepted from him, and he will be a loser in the Hereafter. (3:85)
• When Allah’s help and the victory comes, and you see the people entering the Deen of Allah in troops. (110:1-2)
• The same Deen has He ordained for you as that which He enjoined on Noah - that which We have revealed to you (O Muhammad). And that which We enjoined on Abraham, Moses, and Jesus: namely, that you should establish the Deen, and make no division therein. (42:13)

• And thus We have appointed you a model Ummah, that you may be witnesses against humankind, and that the messenger may be a witness against you. (2:143)
• Let there arise out of you a band of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining what is right, and forbidding what is wrong: they are the ones to attain success. (3:104)
• You are the best Ummah that has been raised up for humankind. You enjoin what is right, forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. (3:110)
• O you who believe! Shall I show you a business that will save you from a painful doom? You should believe in Allah and His messenger, and should strive for the cause of Allah with your wealth and your persons. That is better for you, if you did but know. He will forgive your sins and bring you into gardens underneath which rivers flow, and pleasant mansions in gardens of Eden. That is the supreme triumph. And another (favor will He bestow), which you do love - help from Allah and a speedy victory. So give the glad tidings to the believers. O you who believe! Be Allah’s helpers, even as Jesus son of Mary said unto the disciples: Who are my helpers for Allah? They said: We are Allah’s helpers. And a party of the Children of Israel believed, while a party disbelieved. Then we strengthened those who believed against their foe, and they became the uppermost. (61:10-14)

• Allah promises such of you as believe and do good works that He will surely make them to succeed (as a super power) in the earth even as He caused those who were before them to succeed (and became super powers); and that He will surely establish for them their deen which He has approved for them, and will give them in exchange security after their fear. They serve Me. Those who disbelieve henceforth, they are the evil-livers. (24:55)

• Do you believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in a part thereof? And what is the reward of those who do so except ignominy in the life of the world, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be consigned to the most grievous punishment. For Allah is not unaware of what you do. (2:85)

• That is because Allah never changes the grace He has bestowed on any people until they first change that which is in their hearts, and (that is) because Allah is Hearer, Knower. (8:53)

• Lo! Allah changes not the condition of a nation until they (first) change that which is in their hearts; and if Allah wills misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it, nor have they a defender beside Him. (13:11)

The Muslims were given promises: (1) the Sahaba and the 8-12 generations that followed, fulfilled the conditions stipulated in the verse 24:55 and Allah fulfilled His promise. As Muslims became weak in their faith and works, Allah’s punishment came and, over the centuries that followed, Muslims were disgraced so much that they were made subjects of their enemies (colonial powers). On the curve of rise and fall of nations Muslims are at the bottom of the trough. Colonial powers are gone physically but their agents continue to rule the Muslims on behalf of their masters, only more brutally. At the end of 20^th century Allah’s promise (2) is in effect. To go back to His promise (1) we must go through His promise (3). In this paper I am calling you to bring change through developing the vision of the Prophet^(S) and his companions.

Some may argue that the Muslims must become perfect or better Muslims before we go to non-Muslims and invite them to Islam. This argument is rooted in ignorance of the Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet. The process of correction of Muslims goes parallel with the propagation of Islam – one helps the other. It is like a bicycle which needs both wheels. Some Muslims should take the job of calling Muslims back to Islam and others should call non-Muslims to Islam. Both groups need to be taught Qur’an and Sunnah, not cultural Islam. Muslim’s material and human resources should be allocated equally between the work among Muslims and the work among non-Muslims. We must use modern technology and resources in our work.

Participation: If you agree with the vision stated in the opening, join the Institute of Islamic Information & Education (III&E) for the dissemination of knowledge about Islam and Muslims to the American people, educating those who enter the folds of Islam and developing material and human resources to do the job. In addition, please support your local Da’wah organization. If there is no Da’wah organization, establish one for the sake of Allah.