IF YOU ARE not inviting others to your thoughts and way of life, they will invite you to theirs.
You might not think so but that is the reality of life. There is no neutral position.
The New Year’s Eve celebration is a good example.
Whilst some may use it to reflect on the year gone by, the norm has become late-night partying, social gatherings and countdowns where people dance, eat, get drunk, and watch or light fireworks.
We all know that all this has nothing to do with Islam or Muslim history. It isn’t related to our Islamic calendar. So, why is it that Muslims adopt it?
If you lack a clear sense of who you are and the confidence to express it, you will likely imitate those around you, a passive recipient of the liberal way of life.
In the Muslim world, New Year’s celebrations are gathering steam. Again we see the underlying issues of an erosion of our identity and history and a lack of critical thinking leading to the imitation of Western culture.
Worse still is when a state begins to imitate. Then it is truly the blind leading the blind.
So in the UAE records are set each year of how extravagant the New Year’s displays are.
This year for instance the Dubai Media Office shared that the fireworks display is the result of ten months of preparation. With a total of 15,682 pyrotechnics, the show will feature a choreographed firing sequence across 365 positions, with over 2,800 unique locations, making it the largest and most intricate display yet. As described by the Dubai Media Office, the event is set to be “the brightest, biggest, and most colourful fireworks show,” an achievement made possible by the tireless efforts of the teams working around the clock.
Depending on our thoughts, this statement may make us very excited as we look forward to being dazzled by the fireworks and seeing this as a sign of progress and honour for our nations. Or we may be deeply saddened as we witness the terrible waste, especially knowing how the UAE has been supporting the genocide of our ummah in Gaza and the war in Sudan.
So, what gives a nation honour?
When Umar al Khattab (ra) went to collect the keys of Jerusalem upon its conquest, he arrived at the city in a patched cloak. His army commander Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah (ra) asked if he would dress up as the Christians were accustomed to pomp and pageantry. Umar (ra) rebuked Abu Ubaidah (ra): ‘Indeed, we were a disgraceful people and Allah honoured us with Islam. If we seek honour from anything besides that with which Allah honoured us, Allah will disgrace us.” (al-Mustadrak ‘alá al-Ṣaḥīḥayn)
That truly gives us the correct understanding of what it means to have honour. The Arabs were not even considered worth fighting over by the then superpowers- the Roman Byzantines and the Persians. And yet within a generation of the establishment of the Madinan state by the Prophet ﷺ, Islam dominated and unified Arabia and then defeated and overtook Persia and Byzantium.
What made the Muslims so strong and able to do what they did?
It was our aqeedah (beliefs) that gave us clear ideas about our purpose in life and what we should strive for. From that aqeedah arose a complete (socio-politico-economic) way of life that enabled us to solve whatever issues came our way. It allowed us to build a fantastic civilisation that spanned continents and brought unprecedented levels of learning, technology, welfare and security to its citizens. Islam’s thought came first, and material progress followed.
What we see with these Gulf States is the opposite. It is about the outward material advancement brought about by squandering vast oil wealth but what lies underneath is empty. No matter how big the New Year’s displays, how tall the skyscrapers are built, or how many sporting events are held, no one will ever say that they lead the world. That is because to lead the world you need to lead with your thoughts.
To use a crude example, look at an iPhone in your pocket: ‘Designed in California, made in China.’ The thought leadership lies in the US. They can get anyone else to do the manual work of making the phone. They are the ones who make the most profit and have the acclaim. Not the poor labourers who get paid peanuts to make them.
Similarly, we find that the Western nations lead with their aqeedah of freedom and capitalism. They promote these ideas, and they insist the rest of the world follow them.
Sadly, our leaders in the Muslim world are unable to challenge this because they have no thinking of their own. When you have no thoughts of your own, you are left only with imitation.
Many Muslim communities in the West are starting to see the problem. Every year events are held in the masajid to give an alternative to our young people away from the parties on New’s Years Eve. But it isn’t good enough to say that something is wrong, don’t do it, here are some rituals that you can occupy yourself with.
Rather we need to engage our young people and build a thought-based Islamic identity and cause that they are confident with and one that they want to live for and invite others to.
Living For Islam 