This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Ramadan Reflections. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7, Episode 8

Transcript

You know when we look at what’s going on in Palestine, in Gaza. We always are hopeful of and we’re certain of a better day for the Palestinian people. And we can already imagine the day when Palestine is free and the people there are liberated from the thugs known as Zionists. And we can only imagine the celebration, the joy, the excitement, the visitations that will happen as a result. And we kind of got a glimpse of that. A very nice glimpse of that when Syria was liberated from the tyrant Bashar al-Assad. However, let’s pause here for a moment and appreciate something the Quran says about Musa alayhi assalam. 

 Because in the time of Musa, when he was still in Egypt, him and his people, the believers of that time, were being persecuted. They were being oppressed, they were being killed left and right. And them, like us, were imagining the day where Allah’s promise comes to light. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala promised the people of Israel, the people, the believers of that time. He promised them that they will be saved from Fir’aun; that they will be free one day. They were waiting for that promise as we wait for the promise Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala made about Jerusalem; that it will one day be liberated and we will enter it the way it was entered the first time in the time of the companions. 

 But in light of that, Musa alayhi assalam says, “that will happen”. He says, “Allah’s promise will come to light; Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will bring the demise of your enemies And you will be free on this earth”. And now here comes a punchline. Look how Musa alayhi salam is thinking! While they are envisioning a better day, the day when all of this death and destruction ends, the day when people are no longer seen as oppressed, the most public, the most viewed, the most witnessed, observed genocide in human history. And when all this ends, Musa alayhi salam) is not thinking about the celebrations. He’s not thinking about a better future. He’s thinking about the following: When this happens, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will be watching. What are you going to do? Oh, this is really interesting! 

 What is Musa alayhi assalam saying? Like wow! Way to kill the moment, right? No, no, Musa alayhi salam is a messenger. He’s a teacher. He’s a murabbi. He is disciplining and training the next generation to succeed. And what he’s teaching them is: Don’t be so fixated on the celebrations and the victories. You have to understand, everything is a test. Right now, under oppression. Right now, we Muslims, while viewing what’s going on in Palestine and elsewhere. This is a test. What are you going to do? Are you going to be concerned with your own livelihood? Isolate yourself or say I don’t want this. Don’t bother me with this stuff. I just want to live my life peacefully. I don’t want to put my career at risk. Is that what we’re going to do? That’s a test/ some people do that.  

 Or are we going to face the challenge as we are commanded to do. It’s a test. And some people will pass. Similarly, When the rubble settles, and the rebuilding starts, and we see a prosperous Palestine, a free Palestine, Musa alayhi salam is saying Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will be watching. What are you going to do with that prosperity? What are you going to do with that freedom? It’s a test as well. And this is such a beautiful lesson because it’s essential to us to be able to do this. It’s essentially telling us and teaching us – dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to this – a believer is someone who focuses on the here and now. 

 Yes, we’re optimistic and we’re hopeful. We imagine a better future. But our focus is on the here and the now. And we embrace and appreciate the fact that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala willed. He can change the situation overnight. In fact, quicker than that. If Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala wanted to, He could liberate Palestine right now. But the point of this life is not simply convenience, comfort, and luxury. The point of this life is to strive and to struggle as an investment for our afterlife. It just so happens to be that our generation is a generation that strives and struggles to fight back against oppression. And it’s stressful. And it’s frustrating. And it’s emotionally scarring. And it breaks the heart. But we will embrace that. And we will do it because we want to pass the test. 

 And when the day comes, when it comes, then we will be ready, inshallah, with the advice of Musa alayhi assalam, with the mindset of Musa alayhi assalam. To realize that it’s a test, are we going to be people who succumb to that prosperity and become corrupted by that prosperity and begin to use our prosperity to harm others and to oppress others? You know, like the Zionists. We were oppressed in Europe, the Holocaust and what not, even though Zionism began before all of that, right? Let’s not forget that. But then they get all that they got and then they use it to do the same thing they were complaining about before, right? We need a state for ourselves, they say. Because we’re only saved there. And then they use that to oppress others. 

 Wow, what a failure right there! See, they failed what Musa, alayhi salam, told them. What are you going to do with that? So dear brothers and sisters, we live in a difficult time; a time full of turmoil. But it is a test. And the day will come where it will be peace and prosperity. But that too is a test. And you know what? Sometimes, a lot of times. If not most of the time. It is easier to maintain our ethics and our morals to be embracing our faith, to be committed to our faith in times of difficulty than it is in times of peace and prosperity. We want it. We’re going to work for it. But once we get there. We’re going to remember the advice of Musa, alayhi assalam. 

 Perhaps your Lord will bring your enemies to their demise. And He will bring you freedom and peace on the land. And then He will watch what you are going to do.  

 As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.