New resolution and fresh accountability

This year is coming to its end and many people will be looking for inspiration in forming their new year resolutions which, whilst they may have a purpose for some, for many they have become a fashionable chore intended only to impress others. We should understand that any change in life style means a change of heart and mind and any change of direction always implies a realisation of destiny and the purpose for which we have undertaken that journey. When I seek a resolution to live by it always seems, to me, to be singularly straightforward. The Quran teaches us one in its very first Surah, Al-Fatiha or the Opening Surah, saying: ‘You alone do we worship and You alone do we turn to for help. Show us the Straight Path’.

Allah also shows us another beautiful resolution in the Surah al-An`am, saying: ‘Whoever come to Allah with a good deed shall have ten times as much, and whoever come to Allah with an evil deed shall be requited with no more than the like of it. They shall not be wronged. Say: as for me, my Lord has guided me on to a Straight Path, a right religion, the way of Abraham who adopted it in exclusive devotion to Allah, and he was not of those who associated others with Allah in His Divinity. Say: surely my Prayer (Salaah), all my acts of worship (in Hajj) and my living and my dying are only for Allah, the Lord of the whole universe. He has no associate. Thus have I been bidden and I am the foremost of those who submit themselves (to Allah)’.  Surah 6 and verses 160-163

The ‘Straight Path’ leads to God and connects man with Him. We cannot create our own type of ‘spirituality’ and ‘connecting routes’ to God unless they lie within the framework of Allah’s guidance and fulfil the required terms and conditions. However, with all the measures that we take to satisfy our own kind of perception or conception of this ‘Path’ that leads to God, we often end up leading ourselves away from this ‘Straight Path’.

What is a resolution for? And why do we need one at the beginning of a new year? We should remember that accountability for oneself is a good thing and a helpful practice in steadying us on the Straight Path. The need that many of us feel for a resolution may be an indication of a desire in our sub-consciousness that is urging us to commit to the act of self-accountability.

In a hadith narrated from our Prophet Mohammad, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, it is said: ‘A clever person is one who brings himself to account and works for the life after death. And a feckless person is one who follows his vain desires and expects wishful outcomes from Allah’.

This contains a guidance for making a resolution that can change the lifestyle and future of a person, as we all know that ‘good reviews’ and ‘feedback’ help to improve a product or the work pattern of a person in their workplace. We all want to live well in this life and attain the best material support possible. While there is nothing wrong with this, we should remember that Allah has granted us this life so that He can see from our actions ‘who is better in good deeds’.

The Quran clearly states that ‘Has he not been informed of what is in the Scrolls of Moses? And of Abraham who lived up to the trust? That no bearer of a burden shall bear the burden of another; and that man shall have nothing but what he has striven for’; and that the result of his striving shall soon be seen’. S53 V36-40.

This requires from us a very conscious approach in all our ‘striving’ in this life and a constant analysis of all our actions and deeds that we are depositing in our accounts of this life. Indeed, it reminds me a verse in the Surah al-Tawbah (Repentance) that reads as follows: ‘do they not see that they are tried every year once or twice? Yet they neither repent nor take heed’. S9 V126

So resolutions and accountability are part and parcel of our need to reflect on changing the course of our lives.  Any desire to correct our path, and find the best one that can connect us with our destiny, must embrace the ‘Straight Path’ which every committed praying Muslim asks for in their daily Salaah.

Further, in another hadith, our Prophet Mohammad, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, directs us and the rest of humanity towards the path of achievement and successful outcomes in our lives by saying: ‘A stronger believer is better and beloved to Allah than a weaker believer, even though in both there is goodness. Commit yourself to what is beneficial to you, seek help from Allah and do not get stifled, and if you are afflicted by something, do not say: I wish I had done differently so the outcomes were such and such, but say: what Allah had stored for me and what He willed was done. Because the word ‘if’ opens the door of Satan’.

The Quran and the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad contain all the resolutions people could ever need and which will surely connect them to the right causes and bring benefits.

In today’s world words seem to have lost both their value and purpose. The more media outlets and social media channels that spring up the more we seem to stray away from the ‘Straight Path’ which connects our souls with Allah, the Almighty. We enjoy structuring beautiful sentences and love the sounds of inspiring words but while all appears fine on the surface, living in reality has become a tough task for many people.

With the blatant violations of human rights and the chaotic situations in many parts of the world and with money dominating the consciousness of most people, one resolution, in my opinion, becomes the most relevant;   to be a truthful human companion, accepting our own accountability and feeling shame for our wrongdoing.

The people of this world will receive only what they deserve in this life and in the next. We must not take that which is not ours, even if it appears to be under our control. We leave everything behind us when our time on earth is done. What remains, in the memory of others, is the good we have accomplished for God and for other people. But, never forget, many of us are now living in a dream world, very elusive and very deceitful.  

Jerusalem – ‘The City of Peace?’

Yesterday we all heard the disastrous news that the Trump administration took a unilateral decision to proclaim Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Of course, we, as Muslims, reject this unwise and disturbing political act and its inevitable consequences. We can only hope that other more fair-minded people and sensible politicians and countries, with a more stable and valid world overview, will also oppose this biased decision.

Democracy is a political system that claims to guarantee human rights and personal freedom for all peoples. Sadly, it also allows people to enter into political decisions that don’t contain the values of these democratic rights. Mr Trump is clearly a politically biased, prejudiced and ill informed Islamophobic president.  America has devalued its core values by electing such a person to its highest office.

Mr Trump serves three political constituencies; the extreme right, the American evangelical Christians who are the fervent supporters of Israel on the basis of Biblical belief and international Jewry. This has never, right from the beginning of his term in office, boded well for Muslims or for any Muslim cause. Muslims have, of course, never expected any fair or favourable treatment from a person whose anti-Muslim stance has been well known from the moment he stood for election. Banning Muslims from certain countries for a limited period would have never made America safe from extremists, but it was an indicator of his continuing anti-Muslim mindset.

Mr Trump cannot be regarded as a religious person nor is he of Jewish heritage, but the support of the above three political constituencies, during his presidential campaign, has provided him with what he regards as enough reasons for him to take the decision that he has taken. In addition, his vice-president comes from an evangelical background who would similarly ensure that the ‘right course’ of action is taken.

The BBC says that it is a ‘Christian thing’ and the highlighting of the face of Mike Pence, beaming over Mr Trump's shoulder during the announcement, said it all. The vice-president was an influential voice in convincing Mr Trump to follow through on his campaign promise, and this illustrates the political power of hardline Christian evangelicals who fervently support Israel.

That was not lost on Palestinian legislator and Christian Hanan Ashrawi.

"My god did not tell me what his god tells him," she spat out in an interview with the BBC. "We are the original Christians, we are the owners of the land, we are the people who've been here for centuries. How dare they come here and give me biblical treatises and absolutist positions!"

“Supporting Israel is not a political issue ... it is a bible issue,” pastor John Hagee, the founder and national chairman of Christians United for Israel, said in a speech.

Evangelical Christians make up the biggest pro-Israel bloc in the US. Support for Israel is stronger among American evangelicals than it is even among American Jews. According to a poll conducted by the Pew Research Centre, 82 percent of white evangelicals think God gave Israel to the Jewish people. Less than half as many Jewish Americans or Catholic Americans agree, and according to a Bloomberg poll, almost 60 percent of evangelicals say the US should support Israel even if its interests diverge from American interests.

Why do so many Evangelicals so strongly support Israel? The answer is that a significant majority of American Evangelicals believe that the Abrahamic Covenant is still in force. The Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3) says, amongst other things, that God promised the land of Canaan to the Jews forever. A significant majority of American Evangelicals believe that God is a keeper of His promises and that the "Promised Land" belongs to the Jews, in belief and unbelief, in obedience and in disobedience, forever. (It is an unconditional promise, with no time limits or conditions.)

Bearing in mind the political constituencies supporting Mr Trump and his Islamophobic stance and mindset, the values of human rights, which also include the right of nations for a dignified co-existence and the value of personal freedom and self-determination, will become ever harder to retain.

Europe and Canada seem to possess greater political wisdom than some politicians on the other side of the Atlantic. They appear to adhere to their political values and take a longer term world view in their political approach.

Mr Trump continues to devalue America’s role in the minds of many fair-minded people. UK and Europe have already made their stance clear and will not recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. East Jerusalem is Palestinian by UN directive, surrounded by occupied territory and the Palestinians want to make it the capital of any future Palestinian state. Stealing that land from them, as has been done elsewhere, serves only to degrade the Biblical values of God’s teachings or Commands.

Peace in the Middle East now seems to be even farther away and more elusive than ever before. The world continues to expect the Palestinians to make sacrifices, even though their lands are being taken away from them inch by inch. Justice must be implemented, otherwise religious values will lose their divine perspective and evangelical Christianity will come to be seen only as an ungodly group of political extremists.

Jerusalem has become a more contentious issue now than ever before. No American president should be allowed to determine the fate of a people or ignore their desire for self-determination. There are many driving forces behind this conflict; Israelis, American, Europe, Palestinians and of course the Muslim and Arab world. How will the geo-politics of this conflict drive the world’s politicians and who will gain what?  Will the people’s will, the politicians’ will or God’s will prevail?