8/4/2019 Who Died and Left You Boss - Revised

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Who Died And Left You Boss?Abdul-Qaadir Abdul-Khaaliq

I recall delivering a khutbah (Friday sermon) many years ago where I mentioned several matters concerning the need for

Muslims to allow Islam to change their lives by correcting themselves and conforming their behavior to it. I was later takenaside by one of the followers who commented something to the effect, 'We don't need somebody telling us how to live. We

need to know more about our deen and how to get ahead in life and deal with what the kuffaar are challenging us with outhere...' It must have seemed to that person that I was making a personal affront by having the audacity to tell people that

they needed get their lives together according to Islam. Who was I to advise or tell anyone what they should do? It is ironic

that the very same person was later arrested for a serious crime. Could it be that he had blinded himself to the reality that

internal change was indeed badly needed before all else or had he rationalized his actions at some point? Although heprayed and spoke well of Islam, he must have somehow separated all that from the terrible crime he was committing. Is such

an attitude not commonly found in many people even if not always to such a dramatic degree? That is, they somehow make

an amazing separation between what they do and what they claim to believe. This is the well-known position of many who

separate "church and state".

In another khutbah I mentioned that, 'The soul of a person is erratic, sometimes hard to control and is inclined to followwhat is put attractively before it. It is almost like the power in a nuclear reactor that if unleashed and uncontrolled would

wreak massive destruction but when controlled and contained its tremendous power can be used to great benefit.' I went on

to mention that Islam was like the reactor, in that it is the means by which the human being can contain and control his

impulses and erratic nature and instead harness and hone it until it becomes a powerful entity able to fully work in the

capacity for which it was created - namely, to serve Allah Almighty. I was again later criticized for seeming to make a

statement that was too 'mystical', too much like that which some “deviant sufis” make. The critic was later corrected by a

person whom he respected as having knowledge of the sunnah only to b surprised that he confirmed that what the I stated

was indeed the purpose of Islam.

Surely, if the human being was not erratic and flighty, then we certainly would not see the many evils that plague mankind

and the ease with which they seem to spread and take hold. Allah (subhaanahu) mentions in His Noble Book, quoting theadmission of the woman who could not resist attempting to seduce the noble Prophet Yusuf ('alaihi salaam): Verily the

 human self (an-nafs) is inclined to evil except when my Lord bestows His mercy. Verily my Lord is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. [Al-Quraan 12:53]

In one other incident, I remember when a speaker at a conference was strongly criticized for exposing, in a very academic

way, the deviations and lies put forth by several groups of so-called Muslims. He did so to protect the Muslims from fallingprey to serious deviations by making the truth known. At the time, someone who had emotional ties to one of those groups,

but otherwise no detailed knowledge of their beliefs and practices, stood up shouting at the brother and accused him of 

telling lies and not knowing what he was talking about. A second person wisely stated "If correcting the false 'aqeedah

(beliefs) of the people wasn't the job of Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam), then I don't know what else it was."

Allah has indeed been merciful to humanity by providing them with the means to hone themselves into the best of creatures.

He has revealed the message of truth to all the Prophets and Messengers ('alaihimus salaam) who in turn taught the message

to their people and lived according to it. The last of these Prophets and Messengers ('alaihi salaat wa salaam) brought the

perfected guidance and way of life to all. Surely it is Islam, but most people are heedless. Those who have answered the calland sincerely adhere to the path of Islam are absolutely convinced of its correctness and can demonstrate its superiority.

However, those who are not absolutely convinced, seek other means and methods to acheive some notion they have of human excellence as defined by other than those who have submitted to Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa

sallam).

It is up to the true followers of Islam to both convey and display the message of Islam. Every aspect of Islam is designed to

develop the human being to the highest possible level of human development. Everything must be practiced, starting with

tawheed, salaah, and then the remaining deeds in Islam. Only then will Muslims bear the sweet fruit of Islam. The job of the

Prophets and Messengers of Allah ('alaihimus salaam), as reiterated in many places in the Qur'aan, was first to convey the

message of tawheed and then conform to the commandments of Allah. The last of them, Muhammad (sallallahu 'alaihi wa

sallam) did the same and additionally he said: I was not sent except to perfect the noblest of morals. [Muslim]

Bear that in mind, the next time a daa'ee or speaker is criticized for telling people what to believe or do with words like:

'Who do you think you are?' or 'Who died and left you boss?'