بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Al-Wahn
In this blessed month of Ramadan, the Ummah displays their great desire to worship their Lord and to be extra attentive to the Quran as being a guidance and criterion to all that pleases and displeases Him. It is in this atmosphere that we read more surahs and hadiths and that we are amazed by the wisdom and accuracy of their relevance to our daily lives. It is during the nights of Ramadan that we make promises to ourselves and to Allah to uphold these feelings of truly understanding that the Quran has all the answers, not only to our individual struggles but also to the problems we see around us in the world. It is therefore in this month that we should make use of this positive energy and atmosphere and reflect on important revelations which came to us through the Quran and the Sunnah in order that they change the way we think and behave.
One narration that keeps coming to mind when seeing the images of the indescribable suffering and oppression of Muslims world-wide is the following hadith where the Prophet (saw) says:
«يُوشِكُ أَنْ تَدَاعَى عَلَيْكُمْ الْأُمَمُ مِنْ كُلِّ أُفُقٍ كَمَا تَدَاعَى الْأَكَلَةُ عَلَى قَصْعَتِهَا قَالَ قُلْنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَمِنْ قِلَّةٍ بِنَا يَوْمَئِذٍ قَالَ أَنْتُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ كَثِيرٌ وَلَكِنْ تَكُونُونَ غُثَاءً كَغُثَاءِ السَّيْلِ يَنْتَزِعُ الْمَهَابَةَ مِنْ قُلُوبِ عَدُوِّكُمْ وَيَجْعَلُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ الْوَهْنَ قَالَ قُلْنَا وَمَا الْوَهْنُ قَالَ حُبُّ الْحَيَاةِ وَكَرَاهِيَةُ الْمَوْتِ»
“The People will soon summon one another to attack you from every place in the same way that a pack calls around its prey.” Someone asked, “Will that be because of our small numbers at that time?” He replied, “No, you will be numerous at that time: but you will be froth and scum like that carried down by a torrent (of water), and Allah will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy and cast al-wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death.” (Ahmed)
None of us can deny that the above narration is an accurate resemblance of the situation of the Ummah today. It is therefore necessary to contemplate on the meaning of the words of our Prophet (saw) in order to understand what is expected from us.
Let’s start with the part; “...to attack you from every place in the same way that a pack calls around its prey....”
What we can understand from this, is that the ummah is seen as something which is beneficial to the “pack” that surrounds it. The ummah is the “prey” which is seen as food for the ones that surrounds them. We know that the Muslim lands are rich in resources with 70% of the world’s crude oil reserves and 50% of world’s natural gas reserves. So it is in the interest of the pack to weaken its prey so they will not put up much resistance when being attacked for their resources. They have weakened the Ummah by undermining what connects them together, doing everything they can to sever their bond with Islam and consequently with each other. They do their best to weaken the Ummah’s adherence to their Deen by using the timeless struggle between Haqq and Battil (Truth and Falsehood).
And yes, nations have summoned together and are attacking the Muslims and Islam world-wide all in a similar manner and only differing in intensity.
We see the struggle of our Uyghur brothers and sisters who try to hold on to their Islam whilst living under an oppressive Chinese regime. A regime who send Muslim men to “political re-education camps alias concentration camps”, who force Muslims to eat during the month of Ramadan and who force Muslims sisters to marry non-Muslim men.
It is the struggle of Muslims living in the west like in Denmark where Muslims are being forced to institutionalize their one-year old infants so that they also can be indoctrinated with un-Islamic values in a similar attempt to undermine their Islamic values.
And it’s the struggle of the Muslims in Kashmir, Palestine, Syria, Rohingya and Yemen where holding on and proclaiming your Deen has become a reason for which you can be killed.
The hadith tells us that the Muslims will indeed be numerous but are described as being like Froth and Scum. Froth is described as being a mass of air filled bubbles, it is what lies on top of the sea, insignificant because it has no real power to decide where it goes, it is dependent on the waves of the see. In the absence of an Islamic leadership and a political entity to follow through, the Ummah will continue to be like the froth on the sea, dependent on its surroundings, unable to change its situation. A position totally unworthy of Muslim Ummah. Also Froth can also be described as “insubstantial talk or activities” something we clearly see when looking at the inactivity of the leaders in the Muslim world when confronted with the oppression of their Muslim brethren.
“And Allah will take the fear of you from the breasts (hearts) of your enemy” In the absence of true Islamic leadership the lives of Muslims has become cheap and the enemies of Islam, are well aware of the fact that only Froth will come from the mouths of the rulers of the Islamic world, in response to the killings of two honourable young Muslims like nurse Razan al- Najjar from the Blessed Land - Palestine or Kaiser Ahmed from Kashmir.
Naturally the Prophet (saw) has also given us guidance by telling us what our ailments will be in order that we may be cured. He (saw) said: “And Allah cast al-wahn into your hearts.” Someone asked, “O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?” He replied, “Love of the world and dislike of death.”
The Ummah is being influenced by the “Battil” of this world which comes in the disguise of capitalism and its secular values. It is a way of life which focusses on gaining the pleasure in this life by focussing on materialism and ignoring the fact that this life will eventually come to an end. Muslims for this reason are at danger of losing sight of what Allah (swt) teaches us to be important when He (swt) says:
(قُلْ مَتَاعُ الدُّنْيَا قَلِيلٌ وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ)
“Say: ‘Short is the enjoyment of this world. And the Hereafter is the best for those who do right.” [an-Nisa: 77]
In order for us to understand why the situation of the Ummah has changed from that of the Prophet’s time, it’s necessary for us to make a comparison with a similar difficult situation for the Muslims of that time. A good example of this is, the Battle of Badr. Where the Muslims were clearly outnumbered by the enemy. Yet they remained strong and firm and differed to the ummah in two significant ways.
First of all, they could not have had this Al Wahn in their hearts. For they truly understood that only Allah (swt) can provide victory even when it was plain to see that they were on the losing end when looking at worldly strength. They remained firm understanding that “death” was an inevitable part of life and that If Allah decided to take their life during that battle they would have achieved the highest level one can achieve, the status of a martyr.
Secondly, they stood beside each other under a single Islamic leadership. This absent Islamic leadership which is the shield and the protector of the Muslim Ummah, by which all the orders of Allah will be implemented, is what the Ummah is in desperate need of. This is what will, on mass get rid of all wrong concepts hiding in the hearts of the Muslims, including al Wahn.
(وَلَا تَهِنُوا وَلَا تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ)
“So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers” [TMQ Ale-Imran: 139].
Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Yasmin Malik
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir