Protect the image of Islam（Abdullah Cheng )
Dear brothers and sisters,
Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an:
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ فَمِنكُمْ كَافِرٌ وَمِنكُم مُّؤْمِنٌ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
He is the One Who created you, yet some of you are disbelievers while some are believers. And Allah is All-Seeing of what you do. [64:2]
This world that we are living in is mixed with believers and non-believers, and especially in this country that we are living in, we Muslims also have to integrate with the culture and society to get along with the non-Muslims.
One of the issues we have in our communities is that we often forget the importance of maintaining a positive image of Islam to non-Muslims. We might be thinking, “I only come to the Masjid for the sake of Allah, I only wear good clothes for the sake of Allah, I only clean myself for the sake of Allah, not to show off to others”, and that is correct, however, that does not mean that we should ignore the feelings and perceptions we give to others about Islam and ignore our responsibility in representing Islam to the outside world.
During the lifetime of our Prophet (SAW), there used to be a number of Munafiqun (hypocrites) that were with him, and the leader among the hypocrites was Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. Once after a battle outside the city of Madinah and while returning back to Madinah, Abdullah ibn Ubayy said very ugly and disgusting things about the Prophet and his companions, which were statements of Kufr. They thought that the Prophet didn’t know, but Allah has revealed he said in the Qur’an in Surah Al-Munafiqun:
يَقُولُونَ لَئِن رَّجَعْنَا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ لَيُخْرِجَنَّ الْأَعَزُّ مِنْهَا الْأَذَلَّ ۚ وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
They say, “If we return to Medina, (we) the honourable will definitely expel the inferior.” But all honour and power belongs to Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, yet the hypocrites do not know. [63:8]
This is how Allah exposed the evil actions of Abdullah ibn Ubayy, and the news about this verse was spread out, and some of the followers of Abdullah ibn Ubayy decided to abandon him and repent to Allah and become Muslims again. Now that Abdullah ibn Ubayy was exposed, the Prophet needs to make a decision: whether to kill him or not. Eventually, even though Abdullah ibn Ubayy deserved it, the Prophet didn’t command his death, because our Prophet cared about public relations and the image of Islam. He knew that if he decided to kill Abdullah ibn Ubayy, then people would feel scared and think that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) would kill his own followers. However, our Prophet (SAW) realized that not killing him would actually bring more benefits, and more people would be attracted to Islam because of this decision.
If the Prophet (SAW) cared about the image of Islam and people’s feelings towards Islam, then how can we ignore it today when so many people have insulted Islam and made it appear ugly and scary? How can we ignore it when we are living at a time when the image of Islam needs to be defended the most?
My brothers and sisters, do not think that defending Islam is just about trying to convince others and debating with others, it comes down to the simplest actions in our life, even at this very moment here in this Masjid, there is something you can do that can help to build a positive image about Islam to people outside the faith. Remain silent when you are listening to the Khutbah, pay respect to the house of Allah, keep the toilets clean after using it, put your shoes properly on the shelves, throw the trash into the trash bin properly, finish up your food without wasting. Especially here in Taiwan, the people here care a lot about personal hygiene and tidiness, so how come when we have our Prophet (SAW) telling us: “Cleanliness is half of faith”, we are not the ones actually implementing it, and sometimes even worse than the non-Muslims?
Defending the image of Islam doesn’t necessarily require words but actions. Just a few days ago, we all witnessed the news of our beloved uncle Khaled Nabhan being martyred in Gaza, may Allah have mercy on his soul, accept him as a Shaheed, and reunite him with his granddaughter in Jannat Al-Firdaus.
This man wasn’t even known a year ago, we didn’t even know what was his name, what was his background, what was his job, or where he studied, but by just one video of only a few seconds with only 2 words: “Ruh Al-Ruh (Soul of my soul)”, he managed to break the entire stereotype and false narrative that the Western media has been trying to portray to the Muslims, and so many people around the world have embraced Islam just because of the amount of Sabr and level of Iman he has demonstrated.
And just this week, Allah has taken his soul, and the world felt grief, pain, and sorrow to see someone we love so much leaving us here still in this Dunya. There is so much we can learn from him, and even his death reminds us of how temporary this life is, how cruel this Dunya is, and how Allah tests the patience of the servants He loves by sending them trials and tribulations. What a great man he was, and what a wonderful ending he had.
May Allah grant us patience and strength in our Iman, may Allah reduce the pain and suffering of the Ummah, and may Allah allow us to be reunited in Jannat Al-Firdaus.
Allah (SWT) says in the Qur’an:
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُمْ فَمِنكُمْ كَافِرٌ وَمِنكُم مُّؤْمِنٌ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ
He is the One Who created you, yet some of you are disbelievers while some are believers. And Allah is All-Seeing of what you do. [64:2]
This world that we are living in is mixed with believers and non-believers, and especially in this country that we are living in, we Muslims also have to integrate with the culture and society to get along with the non-Muslims.
One of the issues we have in our communities is that we often forget the importance of maintaining a positive image of Islam to non-Muslims. We might be thinking, “I only come to the Masjid for the sake of Allah, I only wear good clothes for the sake of Allah, I only clean myself for the sake of Allah, not to show off to others”, and that is correct, however, that does not mean that we should ignore the feelings and perceptions we give to others about Islam and ignore our responsibility in representing Islam to the outside world.
During the lifetime of our Prophet (SAW), there used to be a number of Munafiqun (hypocrites) that were with him, and the leader among the hypocrites was Abdullah ibn Ubayy ibn Salul. Once after a battle outside the city of Madinah and while returning back to Madinah, Abdullah ibn Ubayy said very ugly and disgusting things about the Prophet and his companions, which were statements of Kufr. They thought that the Prophet didn’t know, but Allah has revealed he said in the Qur’an in Surah Al-Munafiqun:
يَقُولُونَ لَئِن رَّجَعْنَا إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ لَيُخْرِجَنَّ الْأَعَزُّ مِنْهَا الْأَذَلَّ ۚ وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَـٰكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
They say, “If we return to Medina, (we) the honourable will definitely expel the inferior.” But all honour and power belongs to Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, yet the hypocrites do not know. [63:8]
This is how Allah exposed the evil actions of Abdullah ibn Ubayy, and the news about this verse was spread out, and some of the followers of Abdullah ibn Ubayy decided to abandon him and repent to Allah and become Muslims again. Now that Abdullah ibn Ubayy was exposed, the Prophet needs to make a decision: whether to kill him or not. Eventually, even though Abdullah ibn Ubayy deserved it, the Prophet didn’t command his death, because our Prophet cared about public relations and the image of Islam. He knew that if he decided to kill Abdullah ibn Ubayy, then people would feel scared and think that Prophet Muhammad (SAW) would kill his own followers. However, our Prophet (SAW) realized that not killing him would actually bring more benefits, and more people would be attracted to Islam because of this decision.
If the Prophet (SAW) cared about the image of Islam and people’s feelings towards Islam, then how can we ignore it today when so many people have insulted Islam and made it appear ugly and scary? How can we ignore it when we are living at a time when the image of Islam needs to be defended the most?
My brothers and sisters, do not think that defending Islam is just about trying to convince others and debating with others, it comes down to the simplest actions in our life, even at this very moment here in this Masjid, there is something you can do that can help to build a positive image about Islam to people outside the faith. Remain silent when you are listening to the Khutbah, pay respect to the house of Allah, keep the toilets clean after using it, put your shoes properly on the shelves, throw the trash into the trash bin properly, finish up your food without wasting. Especially here in Taiwan, the people here care a lot about personal hygiene and tidiness, so how come when we have our Prophet (SAW) telling us: “Cleanliness is half of faith”, we are not the ones actually implementing it, and sometimes even worse than the non-Muslims?
Defending the image of Islam doesn’t necessarily require words but actions. Just a few days ago, we all witnessed the news of our beloved uncle Khaled Nabhan being martyred in Gaza, may Allah have mercy on his soul, accept him as a Shaheed, and reunite him with his granddaughter in Jannat Al-Firdaus.
This man wasn’t even known a year ago, we didn’t even know what was his name, what was his background, what was his job, or where he studied, but by just one video of only a few seconds with only 2 words: “Ruh Al-Ruh (Soul of my soul)”, he managed to break the entire stereotype and false narrative that the Western media has been trying to portray to the Muslims, and so many people around the world have embraced Islam just because of the amount of Sabr and level of Iman he has demonstrated.
And just this week, Allah has taken his soul, and the world felt grief, pain, and sorrow to see someone we love so much leaving us here still in this Dunya. There is so much we can learn from him, and even his death reminds us of how temporary this life is, how cruel this Dunya is, and how Allah tests the patience of the servants He loves by sending them trials and tribulations. What a great man he was, and what a wonderful ending he had.
May Allah grant us patience and strength in our Iman, may Allah reduce the pain and suffering of the Ummah, and may Allah allow us to be reunited in Jannat Al-Firdaus.