Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa: The Ultimate Fight

Posted on November 15, 2009 by Islamasaurus

Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa: Chivilry, Youth and Sahaba

“The highest level of people who control their rage is that they do good to those who do them wrong and we see that example through the entire life of our blessed Prophet(SAW).” [Shaykh Ibrahim Osi-Efa]

Shaykh Ibrahim gives an enlightening talk challenging the youth to return to the chivilrous way of the Sahaaba in a time when our society parallels that of Makkah. Makkah was a place where people of ignorance became the best of mankind under the guidance of our beloved Messenger, Muhammad(SAW). Among these masters were youth like Umar bin Al-Khattab, Ali bin abi Talib and Abdur-Rahman bin Awf, who went from being killers living in Jahiliyah [ignorance] to becoming soft hearted individuals, who had lines etched in their faces from tears that flowed as they cried from the fear and love of God.

These individuals still fought, but instead of fighting to hurt people for lowly reasons like anger and ego, they fought to uphold justice, protect the oppressed and take a whole society out of the darkness, sincerely for the sake of Allah, but first they fought the battle within themselves to conquer the anger and rage that is within everyone of us. Perfectly illustrated with the example of Ali bin Abi Talib, in which he over powered an enemy on the battlefield and after giving him the opportunity to correct himself, his enemy spat in his face, but Ali simply withdrew, putting his sword down and walking, but when asked by his enemy why he had spared him, Ali replied:

“I was fighting you purely in the way of Allah, but when you spat in my face, your insult made me angry and if I had killed you in anger, it would have taken me to the Hell Fire – so I had no choice but to let you go. To kill someone in anger or out of desire for revenge is not bravery, but the act of a coward.”

Dawah At Work

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Islamasaurus

To Dawah or not to Dawah…

So my last week of work with my current employer has finally come to an end. In an attempt to make up for the lack of dawah given to my colleagues I aimed to give every single person that i’ve come into contact with something from Islam, even if it was small and seemingly insignificant like clearing up a misconception they may hold. My motivation came from something said to me a few years ago. If our eyes have been opened to the truth and we have something that can equate to eternal salvation, is it not our duty to share it with our fellow brothers and sisters in humanity? Will God not ask us about keeping His message to ourselves? Is it not a message and mercy for all of mankind? “Yes. So ‘Islamasaurus’, don’t be selfish.”

Since entering the working world and interacting with what are supposed to be the intelligent mature adults of today, I see people are becoming more and more numb to the realities of the world they live in, more self-centred and preoccupied by the producer-consumer machine contructed to catch us in an inescapable web, chasing material wealth whilst ignoring the true wealth of knowledge that helps us understand our purpose.

After speaking to nearly everyone at my work about Islam/current affairs, whether social or economical, I have concluded that we need to start seeing all humans as brothers and sisters, who need to know the truth. Although apprently 1 in 4 people are Muslim today, the majority of non-Muslims do not have the slightest idea about the teachings of Islam, which can be attributed to the fact that Muslims themselves don’t know the teachings of Islam, let alone follow them. Many of the Muslims I have worked with did not fast, did not pray, openly drank alcohol among other things. If this is what non-Muslims see, how will non-Muslims come to know about the beautiful way of life, that is Islam.

Every single Muslim who has truly accepted the message of Islam needs to now more than ever call his colleages, friends and family back to that which gives us life and takes us out of the darkness.

Alif. Lam. Ra. This is a scripture which We have revealed unto thee (Muhammad) that thereby thou mayst bring forth mankind from darkness unto light, by the permission of their Lord, unto the path of the Mighty, the Owner of Praise. [Qur'an 14:1]

Sahaba: Dealing with verbal abuse

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Islamasaurus

QUESTION: You’re on the receiving end of some verbal abuse, do you:

a) Ignore it, remembering the old saying “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”

b) Give the abuser a peice of your mind that they’ll remember and try putting them in their place, while partly protecting your honor, or more likely pride?

“Once, a person was verbally abusing Abu Bakr (RA) while the Prophet (SAW) was curiously watching with a smile. After taking much abuse quietly, Abu Bakr responded to a few of his comments. At this, the Prophet exhibited his disapproval, got up and left. Abu Bakr caught up with the Prophet and wondered, ‘O Messenger of Allah, he was abusing me and you remained sitting. When I responded to him, you disapproved and got up.’ The Messenger of Allah responded, ‘There was an angel with you responding to him. When you responded to him, Satan took his place.’

He then said “O Abu Bakr, there are three solid truths: If a person is wronged and he forbears it (without seeking revenge) just for the sake of Allah almighty, Allah will honor him and give him the upper hand with His help; if a person opens a door of giving gifts for cementing relationships with relatives, Allah will give him abundance; and, if a person opens a door of seeking charity for himself to increase his wealth, Allah will further reduce his wealth.” [Musnad Ahmad]

c) Relax, pick up huge akhirah points and let an Angel do the hardwork for you.