Remaining positive when witnessing the crisis of the Ummah
Q: I am greatly troubled with occurrences worldwide e.g. the situations in China, Palestine, Saudi, Iraq, North Korea, etc. Sometimes, I do read the news. Alhumdulillah I am trying to be consistent in my duas and nawafil for the oppressed worldwide.
Can Mufti Saheb please offer some advice on how to remain positive about these situations as well as what we should be doing to help those in need?
Is it alright to read the news occasionally (avoiding all murat i.e. pictures of animate objects)?
How can we remain safe in these times of fitnah?
A: A person should eat only that much which he can comfortably digest. Similarly, he should only take that amount of information which he can manage. If he cannot manage it then he should rather use that time for making dua for himself and for all Muslims, for their well being and for them to be relieved from all forms of suffering and oppression. When people take on more information than they can comfortably manage then this creates problems for themselves, and many a times, for others as well.
Presently, the news has become so unscrupulous and so subjective that most people end up depressed. Islam does not want you to inflict injury upon yourself unnecessarily.
For every crisis, Islam has shown solutions. One solution that the hadeeth shows is to remain within your home i.e. don't mix with people. One type of association is reading such articles that stresses the mind. Secondly, cry over your sins. Crying over your sins everyday will increase your consciousness and relationship with Allah Ta`ala. Thirdly, control your tongue i.e. one is the actual tongue and the other is disseminating information. One should be extremely cautious in this regard.
And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.
عن عقبة بن عامر، قال: قلت: يا رسول الله ما النجاة؟ قال: املك عليك لسانك، وليسعك بيتك، وابك على خطيئتك (سنن الترمذي، الرقم: 2406)
عن أبي هريرة، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: من حسن إسلام المرء تركه ما لا يعنيه (سنن الترمذي، الرقم: 3976)
عن سفيان بن عبد الله الثقفي، قال: قلت: يا رسول الله حدثني بأمر أعتصم به، قال: قل ربي الله ثم استقم، قلت: يا رسول الله ما أخوف ما تخاف علي، فأخذ بلسان نفسه، ثم قال: هذا. (سنن الترمذي، الرقم: 2410)
عن ابن عمر، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا تكثروا الكلام بغير ذكر الله فإن كثرة الكلام بغير ذكر الله قسوة للقلب، وإن أبعد الناس من الله القلب القاسي. (سنن الترمذي، الرقم: 2411)
Answered by:
