Did the world Learn From the Past

Let us remember the holocaust and learn the lesson. I write for those who love justice and believe in human rights; the holocaust, or Shoah in Hebrew, was the genocide of millions of European Jews by the Nazi regime during the World War II (read the details of the holocaust on Wikipedia to inform yourself of the oppression of man to his fellow men).

Read about the kristallnacht--literally, "Night of Crystal," that occurred in November 1938.
During that time, great calamity and oppression befell thousands of Jews of Polish citizenship living in Germany (read about it from the Wikipedia).

I also ask you to read about the gas chambers and the extermination camps, I urge you to read about the Jewish resistance represented in the Jewish partisans or fighters who as quoted from Wikipedia "The partisans engaged in guerilla warfare and sabotage against the Nazi occupation, instigated ghetto uprisings and freed prisoners."

Read about the calamity done by humans against humans tens of years ago, and watch the calamity that is going on today. Read about the holocaust and picture the past against what you see today going on in Palestine by the hands of yesterday's victims! The same calamity is being repeated today but with different people- the victims of today are innocent palestinians.

Ironically, commenting on the calamity that is going on in Palestine, Mr Obama said: "if someone was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I am going to do everything in my power to stop that" he added: "And I would expect the Israelis to do the same thing."
I ask Mr Obama: what would you do if someone takes over your house, claiming to own it, forcing your daughters to a corner, terrorising them, starving them, and depriving them of their human rights!"

People commemorate the catastrophe of the past to learn lessons so that the world would enjoy peace in our present time and future. But alas, do we reflect? Do we learn?

I want to ask leaders of all nations of the world, specially leaders of the nations that participated in this tragedy of Palestine now and in the past, do you consider yourselves as just people? Do you really believe in human rights? I want to ask what is your definition of peace? what is your definition of justice?

If the world justifies and blesses the killing of the innocent, then what did we learn? What is the use of memorizing the calamities of the past?

Shame on a world that justifies or supports oppressing and killing of the innocent!
Shame on a world that hears cries of oppressed children and turns deaf ears!
Shame on a world that sees injured innocent children and turns blind eyes!
Shame on humans who claim morality while exterminating other innocents!
Shame on politicians and media who play with words to fool their audience and readers!
Shame on the audience and readers who accept to be fooled!
Shame on the civilized man of the twenty first century who witnesses such calamity and justifies it!
Shame on every person who participated in the genocide of the innocent Palestinians!


Let us do our best and pray to Our Creator to help and save the oppressed of the world.

Light from the Qur'an

In life we might wish badly for things that we are almost certain are good for us. Then, we pray to Allah begging Him to grant us what we want. It might happen that we do not get what we ask for, so we become angry or frustrated. We may wonder why Allah does not grant us what we want. But we may forget to ask ourselves, is what we asked for really good for us?

I selected for you four verses of the Qur'an that give us an answer:
in surah al-Baqarah 2, verse 216

كتب عليكم القتال وهو كره لكم وعسى أن تكرهوا شيئا وهو خير لكم وعسى أن تحبوا شيئا وهو شر لكم والله يعلم وأنتم لا تعلمون
"Fighting, to defend yourselves, is ordained upon you though you dislike it. You may dislike something although it is good for you, or like something although it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not"

Here, the highlighted part is the focus of our discussion. Although the verses speak about an order by Allah to Muslims in certain situations, but the rule is general for all Allah's orders. For instance, five prayers a day might seem a lot by some, while in truth it is just what we need to balance our spiritual needs and material needs in our daily life. Also, observing these daily prayers should lead us to Paradise.
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Surah al-Nisa' 4, verse 19

يأيها الذين ءامنوا لايحل لكم أن ترثوا النساء كرها ولا تعضلوهن لتذهبوا ببعض ما ءاتيتموهن إلا أن يأتين بفاحشة مبينة وعاشروهن بالمعرف فإن كرهتموهن فعسى أن تكرهوا شيئا ويجعل الله فيه خيرا كثرا

"You who believe, it is not lawful for you to inherit women against their will, nor should you treat your wives harshly, hoping to take back some of the bride-gift you gave them, unless they are guilty of something indecent (like adultery). Live with them in accordance with what is fair and kind: if you dislike them, it might well be that you dislike something in which Allah has put much good."

This verse deals with family issues when things go wrong between husband and wife. It sets certain rules to ensure justice for women. Also, Allah reminds husbands who might dislike their wives of the fact that 'not everything we hate is bad for us; there might be lots of good in what we dislike'!

In surah al-Nur 24, verse 11

إن الذين جاءوا بالإفك عصبة منكم لاتحسبوه شرا لكم بل هو خير

"It was a group from among you who concocted the lie - do not consider it a bad thing for you [people]; it was a good thing..."

Here the verse refers to the event when Ayshah the wife of the Prophet was falsely accused of indecency by some of the Muslims. This incident created such a hard time for the Prophet, his innocent wife, and the whole of the community for a month! However, it disclosed the hidden danger of the hypocrites who were secretly keen to spread evil in the society, attack Islam, and hurt the Prophet. Also, because of this incident Allah laid to the Muslims rules that create mutual love and trust between members of the community.


Surah Al-Imran 3, verse 180:

ولا يحسبن الذين يبخلون بما ءاتاه الله من فضله هو خيرا لهم بل هو شر لهم سيطوقون ما بخلوا به يوم القيامة ولله ميراث السماوات والأرض والله بما تعملون خبير

"Those who are miserly with what Allah has granted them out of His grace, should not think that it is good for them; on the contrary, it is bad for them. For whatever they meanly withhold will be hung around their necks on the Day of Resurrection. It is Allah who will inherit the heavens and earth; Allah is well aware of everything you do."

Here the verse shows us a picture of some people who are so mean and do not spend in charity for the sake of Allah. They like collecting money, which Allah granted them. They think that what they do is good for them, out of ignorance. But Allah confirms what they do not know; this money will be held around their necks and burn them on the Day of Resurrection



Looking at these verses that deal with different incidents, we can clearly see that not everything we consider as bad is always bad, and not everything we think of as good and winning is always so. When Allah orders us to do something like, for instance, women to be covered, we should not receive this with hate and dislike; it is definitely good for us. When things do not go the way we plan in our family life, we should not base our reaction on hate and love. We should fear Allah and refer to Him in solving our problems. If something bad befalls upon us, we should not lose hope or blame it on Allah. We need to return to Allah, ask His help and guidance, and do our best to remove the harm, then search for what good we can gain from what has happened. When we try to disobey Allah, thinking that we are clever, and that we can get away with something, we have to know that we are wrong and on the losing end; pleasing Allah is the winning card that we should use.

The Message of Hajj

Once every year, at around this time, the hearts of millions of Muslims yearn to visit al Ka'bah, the first house built for worship on Earth. These feelings are like a code carved on the hearts of millions of people all over the globe. Although performing hajj, pilgrimage, is one of the pillars of Islam and a duty ordained upon those who have the physical and financial abilities to do so, these feelings are a lot deeper than an urge to do what should be done; there is more to this worship than being an obligation that needs doing.

The first ten days of thi-lhijjah are the best days of the year; Allah made an oath by the nights of these days at the opening of surah 89, al-Fajr. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) mentioned that no days in the year surpass these ten days of the month of thi-lhijajah and that good deeds in these days are loved by Allah more than deeds done in any other time of the year. That is why, in the first ten days of thi-lhijja, the Prophet (PBUH) taught us to increase remembrance of Allah such as tahmid (praising), takbir (glorification) and tahlil (articulating that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah alone).

It is important to note that the 9th of thi-lhijja, the day of Arafat, is of an even higher status than the rest of these ten days. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) mentioned that no day is viewed by Allah as greater than Arafat. In that day Allah descends to the lowest heaven, in a manner that suits Him the Almighty, praising the Earth's inhabitants, those who came travelling from every corner of the Earth, hoping to be granted Allah's mercy and be spared His wrath. The Prophet (PBUH) confirmed that no other day of the year would witness more people being exempt from Hell-fire than on the day of Arafat. As we can see, during this time of the year, there is a big chance for our sins to be forgiven if we work for it.

A question arises: why has Arafat attained such a high status? Each year, the season of hajj revives many noble meanings and memories of the Prophets of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon them all) who journeyed to the Ka'bah, showing submission and declaring their devotion to the Creator of the universe; the words of Prophet Muhammad's last advice in his farewell khutbah; the lessons from the life of Prophet Ibrahim, his wife Hajar and their son Prophet Isma'il. These days also revive an unexplained, overwhelming sense of longing to this place that seems to run in the blood of millions of people. Pondering upon the reasons behind these special emotions that we feel during this season brings forth some important scenes from the past that this article will highlight:

1. The scene of Ibrahim (PBUH) prostrating to Allalh in a wild desert with no signs of life in it, leaving his young wife and only baby, whom he had always longed for. In doing so, Ibrahim was obeying his Lord's command. So he did not question this divine order that may seem to be harsh according to our logic; his wife and baby could perish. But it did not seem so to Ibrahim who was a living example of absolute trust and submission to Allah. With all the trust he had in Allah, he took the possible measures to protect his family in this situation; he prayed to Allah. He could do no more.
2. The scene of Hajar hurrying after Ibrahim asking him: ''why are you leaving us alone?'', responding to her human logic- she feared she and her child would perish in that desert. But the moment she received Ibrahim's answer that it was Allah's will, she surrendered her heart to Allah and assured herself saying: ''He would never leave us to be harmed''. Although Hajar was certain that neither she nor her baby would perish in the lonely desert, she took all the measures she could in these circumstances to save her child's life; she kept searching hard for a source of water. She showed the positive and correct way of submission to Allah, as her husband did.
3. The last scene we recall here of this family, is that of the old, exhausted, loving father accompanying his son, now in his teens. Both Ibrahim and Isma'il were going through another test. Ibrahim knew for sure, from a repeated inspiration, that Allah was ordering him to kill his only son. Ibrahim was not worried about the wisdom behind the divine order; he knew his Lord well. He was worried about his son-how would he receive this difficult test? To Ibrahim's joy, his son, who was mainly raised by such a wonderful, believing mother, was another example how Islam to Allah should be. Calmly, he said to his father: ''O father do what you are ordered to do, I'll be patient''. Isma'il did not ask Allah, Why? What is the wisdom behind this seemingly hard test? Putting all of his trust in his Lord, Isma'il accepted the divine order without hesitation. The faith of both Isma'il and Ibrahim was tested to the last minute. They took all the steps to carry out the order. Just as the blade of the sharp knife fell upon the neck of the boy, an angel was descended with a sheep to offer as a sacrifice instead. This season, bringing to mind scenes from the life of this family, reminds us each year of how our Islam to Allah should be.

Could these great lessons be the reasons for the deep longing to that place? Actually, the answer is that this season and its place of occurrence, particularly the place called Arafat, where the pilgrims spend the whole of the 9th day of thi-lhijjah, brings forth to the eye of humanity another event that occurred thousands of years ago, or maybe a lot more as we have no records. It concerns and involves the whole of humanity. It connects the very start of mankind to their very end. It clarifies the main purpose of our creation. This great event occurred upon the creation of the father of mankind: Adam and is mentioned in verses 172-174 of chapter 7, 'al-A'raf:

وإذ أخذ ربك من بنى آدم من ظهورهم ذريتهم وأشهدهم على أنفسهم الست بربكم قالوا بلى شهدنا أن تقولوا يوم القيامة إنا كنا عن هذا غافلين * أو تقولوا إنما اشرك ءاباؤنا من قبل وكنا ذرية من بعدهم أفتهلكنا بما فعل المبطلون * وكذلك نفصل الآيات ولعلهم يرجعون

These three verses tell us about the very first moments of our own existence in life, when Allah our Lord extracted the offspring from the backs of Adam's children, then He made them bear witness each other's acknowledgement as they were asked: ''Am I not your Lord?'' and they testified: ''Yes, we bear witness''. Then Allah warned them, lest, on the day of resurrection, they deny the truth that they testified, or blame their disobedience on their forefathers who falsely ascribed partners to God, so that they, the offspring, would escape from being punished for ascribing partners with God by blindly following their people or cultural practices. Then Allah affirms in the last verse that He explains His message clearly to mankind in the Qur'an, so that they may return to the right path. This is a glimpse of the scene of our very first existence that the Qur'an highlighted, leaving, as usual, the details to be explained by the Prophet (PBUH).

The Prophet (PBUH) mentioned that this event of taking the pledge of the offspring of Adam, all members of the human race, occurred in Arafat. It dated to after the descent of Adam and his wife to earth from paradise. This testimony of the human race when Allah brought them into existence as al-tharr (which means the size of the smallest particles), is known as the pledge of natural instinct: mithaq alfitrah. This pledge could explain the deep feeling of the existence of God that is experienced by many people, while for others it might be covered or hidden by many factors.

In the Hadith, the Prophet mentioned that Allah took out from the back/loin of Adam his offspring; then, He took from each of Adam's children to be, their own offspring and so on until He, the All mighty, extracted all those who would live on Earth until the last day, in the form of al-tharr-in the size of very small particles. (After the knowledge we have of how the plan of a whole human is stored in very tiny chromosomes, and how genes are passed from one generation to the other, it becomes easy to grasp this concept).Then, Allah made the offspring in that tiny form able to speak . So, when He asked them ''am I not your Lord?'', they acknowledged that He is their Lord. It was then that they made their pledge to believe in and obey Allah. They said: 'labayka Allahumma labayk' ''O Allah, we responded and obeyed you''. After that, Allah returned them back from where He extracted them. This sentence, 'labayka Allahumma labayk', is the same call which Allah taught Ibrahim to say during hajj and is the same call that Muslims have been taught to repeat a lot during hajj.

The flow of pilgrims each year, during these days, summoned in Arafat on the Day of Hajj, appears to be a replication of the moments when we took the pledge to worship Allah alone. There, thousands of years ago (or even more) all humans, those who are living today, those who were living in the past and those who will be living in the future, all repeated 'labayka Allahumma labayk'. Those same words are repeated every year, in the same place at the same time of the year on the greatest day of the pilgrimage-the day of Arafat.

Thus, this season represents not only the unity of the Muslim Ummah and the universality of Islam, but also the unity of mankind who share one origin, one purpose of creation, one destiny and One Creator; the brotherhood of mankind, men and women of all races and colours. The hajj is a call for peace between all nations.

''O people, We created you all from a single man and a single woman and made you into races and tribes so that you should recognise one another. In Allah's eyes, the most honoured of you are the ones most mindful of Him: Allah is all knowing, all aware.'' (Surah 49: verse 13)

Picture taken from opiejoe.blogspot.com