The Muslims at Crossroad

By: Zeenat Fatima Kazimi
Imam Ali (A.S.) Islamic Seminary, Sanford, Florida, USA
The first time we step in a school, the race of our life starts. As a school going children we are taught to study well and come first in the class as a result we are always compared with the top student. During our high school years we strive and endeavor to get best results in order to get admission into a reputed good university as a result we can be compared with Bill Gates and other billionaires. The modern university system of higher education is based on marks which pressurizes student to study only to obtain good marks. If the grades in the university are good then we can get a job into big companies, get married, get loans, house and credit cards. The moment we enter into university we are forced into students debts. When we get into professional job, we again get into housing debts. Since our childhood we work hard to get good grades and end up indebted to the banking system based on interest (Riba) the symbol of secular Western material culture based to get maximum profits based on the inhuman banking interest (Riba) which Islam forbids and abhors. Until we get old and physically weak we still are indebted to pay the student, housing, car, furniture and more other loans to the banks. The entire system has been made in such a way that all our life we study to pay the Haram interest (Riba) to the banks. Our life and destiny is decided and is in hands of this evil banking system based on Riba. We wake up 5 AM in the morning and head towards work and come back at 6 PM. If we don’t pay the debt of the house to the bank we get homeless.
When I entered in the Islamic Hawzah (Islamic seminary), I resided in women residence just like a university student resides in a dormitory. The big difference is that we get into university to earn a career, house and money. But we get into Islamic Hawzah (Islamic seminary) to learn true Islam. At university, I was always under stress for various reasons but at the Islamic Hawzah, I had no stress and pressure because I was not worried about getting a job, and buying a house. The biggest thing that I was looking for since years was peace and I achieved it at the Islamic Hawzah.
In the Western world, Islam is portrayed negative in the eyes of the people. When a Muslim girls/ women in Hijaab( modest dress code for women in Islam) go out for work, people look and treat them in a different way. In a survey conducted in Canada recently 60 per cent of weak willed Muslim women gave up their Hijaab just for the sake to sustain their job. There are many Hijaabi women who left Hijaab when they were questioned about their Islamic identity or faced racial discrimination by people in the Western world. There are several parents who told their daughters to abandon hijaab just because they were bullied at school. There are many Muslim parents trained in the secular Western education system who request their children to adapt the secular materialistic culture they live in even if they have to abandon the commands of Allah. The reason behind is the love for their desires and the secular materialistic world.
When our Holy Prophet (SAWA) propagated Islam openly in Makkah, he and his family members and followers were stoned, insulted and boycotted. The first woman to embrace Islam, Hazrat Khadija (SA),the wealthiest person in Arabia, the beloved wife of the Holy Prophet (SAWA) gave up her entire wealth for the sake of Islam. Hazrat Fatima Zahra (SA), daughter of the Holy Prophet (SAWA) and and Hazrat Khadija (SA), always stood up for Islam. Hazrat Zainab (SA), the combatant and courageous daughter of Imam Ali (AS) and Hazrat Fatima Zahra (SA), stood up against the Umayyad oppressors ruling the Muslim Ummah and also became a perfect example of Hijaab. Islam grew on result of their perseverance and resistance. The path of Islam is not easy to tread, people of all the ages had struggled to implement the commands of Allah.
The main enemy is our worldly desires (Nafs-e-Ammarah). The way we have been raised in this secular Western education system is such that it has made us materialistic. Our dreams for worldly life have overcome our faith. Every trouble and problem is a blessing from Allah to test our level of faith. The secular Western education system has trained us to choose between better and the best and not right (Haq) and wrong (Batil). When Imam Husain (AS), grandson of the Holy Prophet (SAWA) stood against the oppressor ruler of the time, more than eighteen thousand believers wrote him letters by saying that they would rise against the injustice and oppression of the Omayyads but when the time came to stand against the unjust oppressive rulers they abandoned him. What was the reason behind this coward act of the people? The Muslims loved Imam Husain (a.s), but when they realized that they will loose their property, family and life they left Imam Husain (AS) alone in Karbala. Love for the worldly desires was more than love for the immaculate leader of the time which resulted in the sorrowful event of Karbala. Imam Husain (AS) started his journey from Madinah along with his family to help the oppressed people. Thousands of people abandoned him accept the few who along Imam Husain (A.S.) sacrificed their lives at the battlefield in Karbala to save Islam
Our desires and love for this material world which is under the influence of the secular materialistic Western civilization forces the Muslims with weak faith to abandon the commands of Allah. The secular materialistic Western civilization has become a barrier between the Muslims and the commands of Allah. The material secular system which is imposed on this world today only teaches materialism and selfishness to humanity and is the main reason for inequality, injustice, poverty and oppression in the contemporary world.
When I was in high school, my biggest dream was to pursue higher education in United State of America, get a professional job and make property. The secular Western education system taught us that this life is a race and in order to survive one have to beat others or kick them out of your way. I started pursuing my career based on these materialistic ideas. The aim of my life like all other followers of the secular Western education system became money and fame. I started comparing myself only with the successful people. The result was that I lost my peace and my mind was occupied with stress and worries. I used to earn good money as a software engineer but did not enjoy anything I had as I always wanted more. Within two years of my career life, due to recession I lost my professional job, just like other Americans. I was home for a long time looking for a job. I used to live with my elders with no worries except the worries of not be able to make properties as per my dreams. I used to cry and be very depressed on being home without earnings.
This was the time when I looked back into my previous life and started thinking about my entire life I lived. I realized many things; I come from a Syed family where men and women live a very simple life based on commands of Allah. I was raised in hands of those elders who have practically sacrificed for the sake of Islam. Then, I started thinking about my actions. My family always encouraged me to study and work for the sake of Allah but the secular Western education system has dominated my mind so much that I was living for the sake of injust and forbidden Riba based banking system created by materialistic Western civilization. This was the time I started listening to the lectures of Hujjatul Islam Mirza Mohammad Baig and Hujjatul Islam Syed Abbas Aeliya. There was much information that I was already aware of but forgot because of my materialistic life and many more information I learnt from these pious Alim (religious scholars). After a very long time, I raised my hands and thanked Allah from the depth of my heart for taking my job away from me. If I would have been earning money I would have got more blinded in this secular Western materialistic world. Allah removed many curtains from my face which blinded me by showing many realities. When I heard Maulana Mirza Mohammad Baig had opened Islamic Hawzah named as Imam Ali (A.S.) Seminary in Sanford, Florida, U.S.A I took admission in the Hawzah.
My husband and I entered in the Islamic Hawzah Imam Ali (A.S.) Seminary in Sanford, Florida. Men and Women residence quarters were separate; I resided in women residence quarter just like a university student resides in a dormitory. It was difficult for us to live separate from each other after two years of marriage but Allah gave us the support. The big difference is that we get into university to earn a career, house and money. But we get into Islamic Hawzah only to learn and propagate the true Islam. At university, I was always under stress for various reasons but at the Islamic Hawzah, I had no stress and pressure because I was not worried about getting a job, and buying a house. This is a two years program and I have completed nearly one year. I have lived in four different countries and travelled to six countries but this one year I saw life with different perception and experiences. The biggest goal of my life that I was looking for since years was peace and I achieved it at the Islamic Hawzah. My deepest passion of becoming famous and rich ended very soon. This does not mean that I am discouraging the readers not to pursue a career. Islam encourages everyone to study and strive to earn for their livelihood but it should be for the sake of Allah and not for the profit of the Riba based Western banking system. Imam Mahdi (May Allah Almighty Hasten His Reappearance and Second Advent) needs companions from every profession and from everywhere.
Allah Almighty created human beings as free and not as slave. It’s we who choose to become the slaves of the secular materialistic Western civilization. No matter what profession we choose we must do everything for the sake of Allah by following his commands.