Here’s an excerpt from, “Inside the Soul of Islam”, that seems appropriate given the sudden emergence of violent white racist Islamophobes all over the UK.
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The Prophet, peace and blessings upon him, said:
‘If a person is wronged and he forbears it just for the
sake of Allah the Almighty, Allah will honor him and give him the upper hand with His help.’
This is what it means to be a true Muslim; a true source of
peace for humanity, and a true follower of the Prophet, peace
and blessings upon him. Here are some words of wisdom from
an early scholar and spiritual master of the Islamic tradition,
describing a true Muslim:
‘The true Muslim is like the Earth.
All filthy and disgusting things are cast upon it,
But only beautiful things grow from it.’
Imam Junayd
To be a true Muslim, then, in an age when Islam is the most
hated religion in the world, means that we say about those who
hate us:
- They can hate us. But they can never stop us from loving them.
- They can lie and slander our religion. But we’ll only speak the truth to them.
- They can fear us. But we’ll always be there for them, ready to protect them.
- They can mock and ridicule us. But we’ll only do good to them.
- They can look down on us. But we’ll always see them as equals and never look up to them.
- They can join us. But we’ll never join them.
Because in the end, these people were never our teachers. The
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him, is our
teacher. And what he taught us is the noble path of all of the
prophets of Allah. So whatever the Opponents of Peace do or
say, we won’t fall off this path, just because of them.
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If you haven’t read it yet, I recommend it, if not for your own sanity and spiritual well being in these times, then as a gift for anyone you know who’s curious about what Islam really teaches.
