Losing Identity: Dissolving in Others

Authour: unknowen May Allah reward them ameen

All praise is due to Allah and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions.

The Muslims have been migrating to and settling in western countries for a long time, and this phenomenon has been increasing in recent years. In some cases this migration may be justified according to sharee'ah, but in most cases these migrants have not settled in the west for legitimate shar'i reasons, but because of their whims and desires, or personal and social circumstances.

Narrated By 'Umar bin Al-Khattab : I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for." [Buhari Vol 1, Book 1. Revelation. Hadith 001]

One of the most prevalent phenomena in the Muslim community is the weakness or complete lack of a distinctive Islamic identity in their beliefs and conduct. The influence of the western environment is quite obvious in their case, especially among the youth who have been born, brought up and educated in the west. This phenomenon is an expected result which does not need to be examined, researched or proven. What does need to be pondered and examined is the case of the Islamic activists in particular, many of whom are not free of the influences of the negative environment.

One example will suffice here, which is the failure to adhere strongly to many rulings of sharee'ah, especially in matters pertaining to women. We are not referring to the famous differences among fuqaha' as to whether the hands and face are 'awrah or not; the matter is more serious than that, because unfortunately, in some cases the hijaab has become no more than a theory with no substance to it.

It is simply a form of fashion, and is now a days just a simple cloth that covers part of the hair, accompanied by the wearing of tight pants and wearing all kinds of adornments and perfumes. Mixing, shaking hands with non-mahrams, talking to them carelessly and freely are matters that have become ordinary, an everyday thing.
If anybody speaks out against such things, they will quickly be accused of being fanatical and extremist, and of being ignorant of the realities of life in the west and the social circumstances in which people live. He will be told that he is looking at America or Europe through the eyes of a simple Bedouin who has no understanding or insight. Once, there was a person waving his hands about before an audience of Islamic activists, telling them to raise their intellectual standards and be positive in their interactions with the circumstances created by modern civilization, warning them against being inflexible and falling into the mire of backwardness and darkness. He said all of that because he had heard one of them reciting the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): "I do not shake hands with women" (narrated by al-Nasaa'i, hadeeth 4110)!

What is strange indeed is that you can find some of those thinkers and daa'iyahs who consider themselves entitled to issue fatwas justifying this laxity by means of distorting the daleel. There was one of the contemporary shaykhs at an Islamic conference in America opening his lecture with a heavy attack on the organizers of the conference who had segregated men and women, and criticizing this "intellectual backwardness" and "ancient thinking" which was still prevalent among us even in America! At the end of the talk, the organizer of the conference stood up to comment, and everyone would think that he would defend the way things had been organized, but instead he admitted his "mistake", apologized to the brothers and sisters, and said that the reason for the segregation had been logistical, not intellectual. He promised to correct the matter the following day, and he kept his promise…!

When Muslims live in a western environment, it leads to an incredible degree of adjustment of the Muslim personality, a great ending of adherence towards the rulings of sharee'ah and an obvious tendency to look for concessions (the easiest options) without any understanding or insight. In many cases the description given in the Qur'aan is true, where Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"And among mankind is he who worships Allaah as it were upon the edge (i.e. in doubt)…" [al-Hajj 22:11]

The irony is that new Muslims of western origin are often more courageous and more sincere in their adherence to the rulings of sharee'ah; they are proud of them and are not embarrassed to show them before the people!

There was one area of the USA where there are many people from a Christian Protestant sect called the Amish, who believe that one of the causes of the misery in which mankind is living is this materialistic civilization which is dominating western man and has led him to this swamp of immorality and corruption. Hence they have withdrawn from society and forsaken all forms of modern civilization, refraining from using all modern technological inventions. They have established their own communities, including schools supervised by their church, and they work in farming and raising livestock using the ancient means that are available to them. They also refrain from drinking alcohol and committing adultery! What is remarkable is that their women still wear long, covering dresses and scarves on their heads, and they do not mix with men. Despite the fact that some of their fellow Americans look down on them, they are proud of their principles and their ways!

Now we are not here to analyze the phenomenon of these Amish. The point here is that although these people have seen their country reach the pinnacle of modern material advancement, they have withdrawn from them and are practicing their beliefs and morals in a proud manner. Why do we Muslims - who believe with certainty, praise be to Allaah, that we are following the true religion - not have the strength to be proud of our faith and practice its principles, adhering firmly to them and holding our heads high with pride in our beliefs and morals and manners? Hence you see the opposite, many Muslims embarrassed about their deen, afraid to speak about it with people, feeling ashamed to the degree where they hide their faith in order to please the disbelievers

Being enjoined to follow the rulings of sharee'ah is one of the ways in which a man's faith is tested.

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Who has created death and life that He may test you which of you is best in deed…"
[al-Mulk 67:2]

This religion is a serious matter, it is not a joke. The worst thing that we can commit against ourselves is to regard the laws of Islam as a game, taking only those which suit our whims and desires, or letting the realities of this deviant intellectual or social environment be the guidelines which dictate to us whatever they want. We have clear evidence in the Qur'aan in which there is no ambiguity or confusion, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

"It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision" [al-Ahzaab 33:36]

Being defeated in one's outward appearance is a sign of being defeated at heart. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) issued a stern warning against that, when he said: "Whoever imitates a people is one of them." (Narrated by Abu Dawood in al-Libaas, hadeeth 3512)

There is a saying: 'Birds of a feather flock together'

When a person looks at the histories of past nations and populations, he will be amazed at the revolutions and transformations they went through.

For instance, there was a great nation (i.e., the Muslim nation) which led the world for many centuries but then, it faltered and lost its leading role; it fell in the midst of blind imitation and followed the paths of other nations in terms of manners and beliefs. Once it was at the acme of development and reached the highest level of power and glory, but it later fell to the lowest point and was afflicted with misery. It died after it had been living, weakened after it was once flourishing and withered after it was blossoming.

It was the nation that discovered the sources of knowledge and developed the Islamic civilization and sciences, which the West later obtained significantly, without having to exert the least of efforts. Thus it seems as if the gates towards progress had been shut off for the Muslims as they turned into artificial consumers of the Western civilization. They even began to adopt certain features of it, which were originally theirs but had been stolen away from them. And now the west claims that Muslims in the Middle-East are so lacking of knowledge, technology and are being deprived of their freedom that some Muslims have heard this so much that they now have begun to believe their lies. They now look down upon themselves believing the words of the corrupted western media. Doubting their own beliefs and wondering whether its their religion that has given this set back..this depression. But now so many Muslims have forgotten about the greatness of this religion and how much we can achieve by following it.

Look at the Prophet Muhammad {saws} and his companions and see how they made the Deen of Allah conquer the whole of Arabia within a few years.

The Muslims have listened to the words of the liars so much they that now have become brainwashed and are now thinking it's the truth. How many Muslims have forgotten about the importance of coming to the masjid. Of sending your kids to learn in the masjid.

Now a days, the Muslim children are being sent to Christian private schools where this can bring doubts about their own faith. They might become adapted to their friends, believing their words and religion and questioning their own.

So there is a test for the Muslim in the upbringing of their children. Many Muslims before getting married do not even consider the religion or the emaan of the one whom they are marrying. Whether she is pious or not, whether she is religious, God-fearing or not is not even considered anymore, is not even an issue. So the Muslims have become so careless with this issue that their own children are not educated about their deen. Hence making it very easy for them to grow up corrupted and lost. Look at ourselves, living in the west, how many of us were given the full Islamic education whether that was from our parents or from schools.

Many Muslims now a days don't even pray and most of them are dissolving within the Western society. Most of them are so lost and if they are so lost than imagine their children, and their childrens children…how lost will they be…how Americanized will they be.

The women in our Muslim homes have no barrier, no limits to what they can do. Many of them are going out, here and there and ruining their chastity and reputation.
So we will end today by mentioning what Allah has said:

"Your wealth and your children are only a trial, whereas Allah! With Him is a great reward (Paradise)." [Surah At-Taghabun: 64:15]

Be Aware of the Traps of the West and Protect Yourself and Your Family Before it is Too late!

So we ask Allah to safeguard and protect our Muslim children and to enlighten them with faith and knowledge. And to raise the ranks of the Muslim ummah and may Allah bless our prophet Muhammad, his family and companions - ameen