Islam: The Religion Of Here And There (PART 2)

Dr Adekunle Mikail

Islam is not an encourager of poverty! It does not want its adherents to live a life of deprivation and want but instead, it recognizes the importance of material well-being. To be deprived of the basic needs of this life and to be in a state of dire poverty is to be in a terrible state_ so terrible that when the prophet was asked whether the evils of deprivation equalled the evils of associating others with God, he said yes!

” Poverty,” warned the prophet, ” can lead to Kufr (rejection of God and ingratitude)”

Before now, Allah Has desired the Muslims to ask of His bounties. He said:

” And ask Allah of His bounties”
“Qur’an 4 vs 32.

In the same manners He Had commanded the faithful to hasten to prayer whenever it is called, He Has also commanded them to disperse in the land and seek His grace through the pursuit of their living, when the prayer has ended. He said:

” But when the prayer is ended, then disperse abroad in the land and seek of Allah’s grace…”
Qur’an 62 vs 10

From the verse above, monkery or the life of monastery is quite outlawed in Islam for the Muslims. It is a life which debars its practitioners, the basics of life and which pushes them into poverty! Glaringly, Islamic life ,though requires courage, resistance to evil, the firmness ,law and discipline which will enforce justice among men, it also requires men to mingle with men, so that they can uphold the standard of Truth, against all odds if necessary. These were lost sight in monasticism, which was not prescribed by Allah.

Perhaps, this is the reason the prophet ( salla-llahu alehi wasalam) has opined that ” a Muslim who mingles with others and who is patient with them is good and more preferable to the one who does not mingle and who is not patient with others” .

In another instance, He said:
” A Believer mingles with other people and other people mingle with him; there is no goodness with a Believer who does not mingle and whom others do not mingle with”

Since, man is a natural social animal , Islam does not want anything that can cut him away from his society and isolate him away from it. This is another reason the act of secluding oneself from others in an isolated place so that one will be free to devote oneself to Allah’s worship is outlawed in Islam except there is a compound Mosque where one can observe the daily canonical prayers with others therein , and in addition , a central Mosque, where he can also observe his public weekly Friday prayer in congregation!

As other religions of the world completely separate people from one another by infusing into them a feeling of a total isolation from the world, Islam from its first day has not demarcated between man and the world! This is the reason ,it situates its mosques in the midst of the compounds of its coteries which are accessible to all the dwellers therein. Not only this, it fosters the spirits of camaraderie and unity among mankind, unlike other religions, which have their temples situated on the peaks of mountains, remote places and where human habitation is mostly minimal ! It was recently that some of these world religions abandoned the garbs of isolation they were carved in and started imitating Islam by building their places of worships among people!

Islam infuses a very powerful spirit of fraternity among its ranks and files! Its brotherhood transcends blood, kin, kith and racial affiliation. All its adherents are one; no one among them is better than other except the one who strives to be righteous : ” O mankind! We had created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female , and made you into Nations and tribes, that you may know each other ( not that you may despise each other) .Verily, the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is he who is most righteous among you”

Islam’s fraternity, in addition, rejects all sorts of discrimination, race, class and else. Muslims throughout the world are one another’s brothers . The varieties of its schools and their laws make it the ideal religion to which people from all races and classes can adapt themselves. It is a religion of common-sensed people since it does not ban the positive aspects of the people’s cultures and their philosophies of life . It only speaks against the inhuman aspects of it and modifies the bestial areas of their philosophies!

Simply put, race, tribe and family confer no importance on man in Islam, but his righteousness with God and man does! Islam is a tremendous religion which brings together all the people in the world regardless of their race , nation , social status, colour and language and gives them equal rights, which balances their economical discrepancies by means of a well-calculated social-aid system, and which provides a material and spiritual discipline by which the fear of the Creator is dominant in man’s consciousness.

It is a practical religion which strives to balance life and offers solution to every difficulty man may face in his sojourn in this life. And in doing so, it does not give way to another problem, or for lack of solution, become complacent and make legal what can compound the man’s woes the more! This is the reason, it has not given allowance to an able and healthy soul among its adherents to embrace beggary when there is work to do!

Same thing, its mode of greeting or salutation transcends times but embrace prayers in forms of Allah’s security, blessing and mercy. This offers to man, in addition to greeting, the enjoyment of God’s bounties which his counterparts in faith seek for him through greeting. He who greets his brother or brothers and even has the luxury of shaking their hands, is assured of Allah’s pardons with his brothers! What an inimitable religion!

The form of Islamic greeting is ” As-salam Alekum Waramatu-llah Wabarakatuhu “! According to the prophet (salla-llahu alehi wasalam), “a minor will greet the adult , a person walking will salute the one sitting and an individual will greet people in congregation!” The one who greets will say the salutation as rendered above while the greeted will return the salutation as follows :” Wa Alekum Sallam, Waramatu-llah Wabarakatuhu”!

An attentive look at the way Muslims greet one another would suffice to realize the fact that Islam is a true religion . We only say ‘Good morning’ or ‘Good night’ to one another and just walk by. Instead of these dull and materialistic greetings , Muslims say to one another, “As-salam Alekum Waramatu-llah Wabarakatuhu”, which means , ”May peace and salvation and the mercy and abundance blessing of Allah be on you”!

To Be Continued!