A NIGHT FOR THE UMMAH

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barkatuh. Well into the blessed month of ramadhan, may Allah shower His endless mercies on us all ameen.

Thank you for visiting this blog dear readers. Unearthing4deen is an islamic space created out of passion for writing and love for Islam. What better way to put my writing than for the sake of Allah? If you are here for the first time, each article takes its title along with a poem usually at the end of the page.

I used to think the word ummah refers to the muslim community only until recently a brother pointed out that the whole of mankind was the ummah initially.

As a theological concept, the ummah is supposed to transcend race, ethnicity, nationality and class. Moreover, it is believed that all of humanity was at one time ummah, a united group, until they fell into division and disobedience.

Thus, the mere fact that multiple religions exist is considered by some to be a sign of human sinfulness because it is a consequence of disobedience and selfishness.

“Mankind was but one ummah, but differed (later). Had it not been for a Word that went forth before from thy Lord, their differences would have been settled between them.” (10:19)

There are other places in the Qur’an where Allah speaks specifically about this ummah (meaning the ummah of Muhammad, upon whom be peace). Allah has given this Ummah a special, honored position to be inheritors of the earth, and with that position comes responsibility.

“If Allah so willed, He could make you all one Ummah: but He leaves straying whom He pleases, and He guides whom He pleases: but you shall certainly be called to account for all your actions”. (16:93) 

THE PROPHET’S LOVE FOR THE UMMAH

“(The Prophet peace and blessings be upon him) is greatly grieved at your loss and extremely anxious for your good. For the believers he is full of kindness and rahmah (mercy, love)”. (9:128)

The Prophet’s love was not limited just to the believers. Allah says in the Qur’an:

“We have not sent you (O Prophet Peace and blessings be upon Him) but as rahmah to all the worlds.” (21:107)

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-’As relates that the Prophet  once recited the saying of Allah ‘azza wa jal regarding [the dua of] Ibrahim, “My Lord! They have misguided many of mankind. If anyone follows me, he is with me; but if anyone disobeys me, You are Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful,” as well as the saying of ‘Isa ‘alaihis salaam, “If You punish them, they are Your slaves. If you forgive them, You are the Almighty, the All-Wise.” He then raised his hands and implored, “O Allah! My Ummah, my Ummah!” And he cried.

Allah ‘azza wa jal then said, “O Jibreel, go to Muhammad – and your Lord is most knowledgeable [regarding all this] – and ask him, ‘What causes you to weep?‘” So Jibreel ‘alaihis salaam came to him and asked him. The Messenger of Allah then informed him of what he had said – while he already was aware of that. Allah then said, “O Jibreel, go to Muhammad and tell him, ‘Indeed, We will please you regarding your Ummah, and We will not cause you to grieve.” (Sahih Muslim)

This hadith is in conformity with the saying of Allah ‘azza wa jal in surah Duha, “And soon will your Lord give you so that you shall be well pleased.”

On the day of Qiyamah, what is it that would please us? If we were to be saved from its unspeakable terror and be granted Jannah, that would be enough to make us fulfilled. We would not even think, let alone care for anything else.

Subhanallah the prophet’s SAW happiness and contentment lies not in him being granted safety, but rather in our salvation. His happiness is tied to ours. What would make him proud of us now is our unity and love for one another.

Such love would reflect in our prayers for each other knowing that our Nabi cared so much for us that our safety is his pleasure.

I found some heart touching pieces and would love to share. I however am not certain of the narrations, I put them here in good faith hoping to benefit anyone who reads. May Allah forgive me if I’m wrong and if anyone who reads it has contrary views upon its authenticity please let us know.

If you can recall the ta’if story, one will see evidence of his love. When he went there to preach islam, he was forced to leave the city humiliated, being stoned by street boys for 3 miles because the people wanted nothing to do with islam. He was running to save his life, and he didn’t even raise his hands in dua to destroy them.

He had fainted and even Utba, a great enemy of Islam, when seeing him in this condition, had tears in his eyes. His shoes had filled up with the blood dripping from his body. But when he awoke after fainting, he immediately raised his hands in supplication and prayed to Allah not to punish them because they didn’t know and to forgive them.

Even though the angels could have caused the mountains to crush the city in between and its people, the prophet SAW preferred not to have them destroyed because from their progeny might arise people who would be from his ummah, who would become muslim. Look at the conduct of our beloved prophet SAW. He neither cared for revenge, nor for himself. He only cared about his ummah.

He prayed:

“O Allah! I complain to You of my weakness, my scarcity of resources and the humiliation I have been subjected to by the people. O Most Merciful of those who are merciful. O Lord of the weak and my Lord too. To whom have you entrusted me? To a distant person who receives me with hostility? Or to an enemy to whom you have granted authority over my affair?

So long as You are not angry with me, I do not care. Your favor is of a more expansive relief to me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Face by which all darkness is dispelled and every affair of this world and the next is set right, lest Your anger or Your displeasure descends upon me. I desire Your pleasure and satisfaction until You are pleased.

There is no power and no might except by You.”

On the day of judgement, the prophet SAW will be brought a chair on the order of Allah, to sit on by the angels. The prophet SAW would be concerned about his ummah lest it takes him into Jannah and his ummah gets left behind.

He will put a hand on it, so that Allah’s commandment is fulfilled. His hand will be on the chair, his feet on the floor, and his eyes on his ummah. This is a day when every prophet will be asking for themselves, too afraid to ask for anyone else, when every mother will forget her child and care only for herself, when every friend will forget their friend and wives will not care for husbands, the prophet s.a.w will be one person who will be asking Allah to save his ummah.

May Allah give us such love for each other the way the prophet SAW loved us.

On his death bed while his soul was taken out he cried “O Allah, how great is this sakaratul maut. Give me all these pains, don’t give it to my people.’

The body of Rasulullah became cold, his feet and chest did not move anymore..

His lips vibrated as if he wanted to say something, Ali took his ear close to Rasulullah.

‘Uushiikum bis shalati, wa maa malakat aimanuku – take care of the saalat and take care the weak people among you.’

‘Ummatii, ummatii, ummatii?’ – ‘My people, my people, my people.’

And the life of the noble man ended.

He had us in mind even as he died, sad to say we are forgetting each other even while we are alive.

POEM TITLE: A NIGHT FOR THE UMMAH

The beds feel cold
Hearing these news told
Spilling of the ummah’s blood
Our arms we cannot fold

Let us wipe out borders and maps
Disregard the communal marks
Islam unites skin shades and tribes
Together in faith we face the tests

Syria cries, Somalia dies
We already are in the end of times
O Allah we may be in despair
But in Your promise our hearts long to fare

Afghanistan bows, Palestine bows
In la ilaha illallah we muslims vow
A faith to stand the test of time
They may shake us now, but in time will be fine

What are we thinking, them being miles away?
Did not Islam teach us for all we can pray?
Let us fall down and hold on in prostration
If Allah wills this could be our restoration

Our homes far away in fading colors
On lands in drought, we need Allah’s favors
As they clutch on triggers, we hold on Allah’s words
Our jihad is not just in fighting with swords

They may be breaking our chain
This massacre is insane
But we are praying for bridges
They would pray too if only they know what the walk on sirat is

What are we doing sleeping while a part of us is dying?
Wake up dear ummah in our prayers there is healing
If we can’t stand with them, we can stand for them
To stand on that day as one, today we must stand firm

What about the muslims of Burma
News hitting us with such mental trauma
Ruthless killing, so much intense hate
Enemies forget qiyam is the sure date

Flags of green, white green in despair
O Lord our father land is drowning in tears
Surely the help from our Lord will soon suffice
Unified we will be on the day of disgrace

They may kill our brothers but we live by Al-Muhyit, The life giver
They may starve our sisters but we feed by Ar-Razzaq, The Provider
They may hurt our daughters but we heal by Al-Muhyi, The Restorer
They may imprison our sons but we are free by Al-Wakil, The Trustee

If they have the army, we have Al-Muntaqim, The Avenger
If they own the media, we have Al-Basir, The All seeing
The enemies may be many but we are one by Al- Ahad, The One
They fight us and we fight by Al-Azeez, The Mighty

Let our unity set our mishaps ablaze
Ya Allah help us walk through this daunting maze
Drop the blankets and let the mats face the qiblah
Wake up, sacrifice a night for the ummah.

For the sake of our dear prophet SAW let us pray for our unity.