When Umar Al Khattab went out to kill Rasulullah, his reason was not because of the call to one God. His declared opposition was because Islam caused disunity. The Quraisy argued that Islam turned children away from their parents, wives from husbands and broke the families up. The Message of Islam was seen as a disuniting force. The family and tribe were at the apex of their social structures. Tribes would go to war for years without really knowing what they were fighting for, just to defend their members. This changed radically with Islam. Instead of loyalty to tribe, Islam commanded loyalty based on aqeedah. The system they lived in and defended for centuries was going to unravel with Islam. It was this social fissure that drove Umar to want to assassinate Rasulullah. And yet, a few years later, we see Umar not only defending the loyalty as commanded by Islam, but to totally reject his previous concern for tribal loyalties. After the battle of Badr, Rasulullah asked his companions for their opinions with regard to the prisoners of war. While Abu Bakr suggested allowing the prisoners to ransom themselves as they were of their kin, Umar suggested the opposite. For Umar, the prisoners of war should be killed. Not only were they to be killed, every Muslim should kill the prisoners who were related to them as evidence that Islam is more important than familial links. Here was a man, who rejected Islam because of his support for the tribal, familial system. And who changed so totally that he was willing to kill his relatives and tribesmen who fought against Islam. We live in a similar situation. Instead of loyalty to tribe, our loyalty is to the country. Soldiers fight for countries without really knowing what they are fighting for. Instead of family, our loyalty is based on geography. This is the system we live in. This is the system we support and defend. I see some Muslims now willing to fight to defend the system. They will give up their lives to support the country. They reject any attempt to demand loyalty purely to Islam. My doa is that one day, they will be like Umar. Insha Allah they will reject demands for loyalty to anything else. And like Umar, they will only be loyal to Islam.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Jan 2015 04:40:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015