RAMADAN – O SUFFERING BRETHREN!

“Brothers! You call yourselves Muslims and you believe that Allah showers His blessings on Muslims. But open your eyes and see if those blessings are in fact descending on you?…Even though there are so many Muslims and Muslim governments, the world is in the hands of those who have rebelled against God. Your necks are […]

“Brothers! You call yourselves Muslims and you believe that Allah showers His blessings on Muslims. But open your eyes and see if those blessings are in fact descending on you?…Even though there are so many Muslims and Muslim governments, the world is in the hands of those who have rebelled against God. Your necks are in their grip, to be turned to whichever side they like; your heads, which should not bow before anybody except Allah, are now bowed before human beings. Your honour, which no one dared to touch, is now being trampled upon…Is this the blessing of Allah?…You are Muslims and yet are wallowing in ignominy! You are Muslims and yet are slaves! [And since God is just], you will have to concede that there is something wrong in your claim to be Muslims…”
We are in the middle of Ramadan, and while many of us are perhaps observing Ramadan relatively comfortably, many others here in Nigeria and other countries are passing through trying times, and this Ramadan may pass without happiness passing through them. For them, we recite Inna lilLahi wa inna ilaiHi raji’un’! (From Allah we come, and to Him shall we return!), and pray that Allah compensate them for their suffering, now and in the hereafter. And if it is human-inflicted, may He, the Qahhar, take charge and destroy the inflictors of this suffering, amin.
NORTHERN MUSLIMS IN THE SOUTH EAST: Is it not such a terrible name to hear, as you are passing by, that someone would call you ‘Boko Haram’ just because you appear Oma Hausa? This epithet of ignominy is now the lot of many Northern Muslims resident in the South East, just because a tiny minority of their type have chosen to take up arms and terrorise the remaining peaceful citizens of the country. In Hausa, such derisive name-calling is called ‘dan-kira’ (little call). To add salt to injury, some states, despite denying it, are intent on identifying and profiling all Northern Muslim residents. And some so-called ‘Hausa Leaders’ are being made to own up to the unconstitutional ID Card scheme, so illiterate are they that they don’t realise the long term aim, or effect. But whatever happens, there is no way, just because some South Easterners have chosen to be armed robbers and 419ners, that we would call them by such derogatory names. So at Iftar today, remember the ID Carded Muslim Northerners of the South East!
BORNO STATE, NIGERIA: The people of Borno State are still being massacred almost daily. In Borno State, murder has become an almost commonplace phenomenon, with many communities resigned to their fates and expecting when their turn would come. The Holy Month of Ramadan has done little to dampen the murderous spirit of those who choose this way to make a pointless point. In Borno State, children have since grown used to the sound of gunfire and trauma-watching. Most means of livelihood have been stifled as people have been forced to remain indoors for many hours of the day because of what happened at the main market just a few days ago. Their Ramadan fasting is one of great perseverance in suffering, and may Allah continue to improve their situation. So at Iftar today, remember the people of Borno State and the entire North East.
PALESTINE: For several days now, the poor people of Gaza have been killed and maimed by the merciless Israeli war machine. Khalid Amayreh, veteran Palestine-based journalist, wrote a piece this week titled ‘World Passively Watching as Israel Perpetrates Open-Ended Massacre in Gaza’ on thepeoplesvoice.org. He says, interalia: “The Israeli army…continues to pound the Gaza Strip from ground, sea and air…As many as 90 Palestinians, virtually all of them innocent civilians, have been reported killed so far. A thousand others were injured, many sustaining life-threatening wounds. The scenes of mutilated and maimed children, some of whose bodies are seen protruding through the rubble of their homes, destroyed by missiles fired by American-supplied F-16 fighter jets, seem to verify the view that Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians knowingly and deliberately…” So at Iftar today, remember the people of Palestine.
MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD, CAIRO, EGYPT: It has been a year since the military coup in Egypt. Hundreds of leaders and supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, Ikhwan, which was the popularly-elected government until July last year, are in jail, including the legitimately-elected president Muhammad Mursi and Ikhwan Spiritual Guide Muhammad Badie. Hundreds have since been sentenced to death several times over. Last year’s Ramadan, if we can recall, millions of Brotherhood supporters and their families, camped out in protest for democracy at Cairo’s Madinat Nasr Rabia Mosque. All they were asking was ‘let there be democracy’. And what became of them? A massacre that every nation should be ashamed of, and which was scarcely condemned by the so-called democratic West. So at Iftar today, remember your brothers and sisters in Egyptian jails.
UIGHUR MUSLIMS, XINJIANG, CHINA: Again, the Muslim people of China’s Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region have being banned from observing the Ramadan fast this year, as it has been done for several years. This Muslim minority continues to suffer from China’s religious and political persecution. The Chinese Government has said workers should be given lunch at all offices throughout Ramadan. Anyone who refuses to eat could lose their jobs. Muslim schoolchildren are also to ‘enjoy’ free lunches during the fasting period. (And where is the United Nations? Indeed, where is the so-called Muslim World League, Rabita which only specialises in providing blankets for people who need bullets? And should the Uighurs take up arms to defend themselves, what would the Western world call them? Terrorists! And what do the Human Rights people do? Watch!) So at Iftar today, remember the Muslim people of China’s Xinjiang.
ROHINGYA MUSLIMS, MYANMAR (BURMA): The suffering of the Rohingya Muslim people in Myanmar (Burma) continues; if you don’t hear of it these days, it’s because it has fallen off the radar, in news-speak. While in China it is the Godless Communists inflicting the suffering, in Burma it is the Buddhists, the same people who claim to be intrinsically peaceful, and have the Dalai Lama to show for it, that are massacring and raping the hapless Muslim Rohingyas. The Rohingyas say: “The nights of Ramadan remain nights of nightmares; the days keep us ever watchful of extremists attacking us. We take turns to guard our houses and the neighbourhood. The torrential monsoon rains descend and we have hardly any roof over our heads; our living condition is humanly unthinkable…Not a single Masjid in Rohingya’s Arakan State is allowed to operate – all are shut down by the Burmese Government. No prayer congregation is allowed; even janaza payer for the deceased is banned. In these days of Ramadan, please remember us in your du’a.”
ON NATIONAL CONFERENCE: The plans are now unfolding, and there is chaos everywhere! So at Iftar today, remember THE CONFERENCE!
AND FINALLY, ONCE AGAIN, we continue to seek more of your prayers as we continue our journey through trying times. We trust in Allah, for it is He who controls everything. Hasbunal Lahu wa ni’imal Wakil.