Advice in Light of the Tragic Masjid Shootings

I sadly woke up today to the shocking news of what happened to our brothers and sisters, young and old, in two masājid in Christchurch, New Zealand. They were peaceful human beings who woke up expecting their Friday to be like every other Friday.

They entered their day expecting to work, go to school, attend to their children, pay their bills, eat their favourite dinner, pray their salāh, recite Sūrah al-Kahf, and observe the Jumu’ah proceedings.

Then, Subhān Allāh, without a moment’s notice, when least expected, it all came to an end at the hands of two terrorists and those who support and fund them. To add to insult to injury, one of the terrorists recorded his entire rampage unashamedly.

Indeed Allāh Almighty is enough for us.

Many at this fragile moment are saying: “Stop the world, I want to get off!”

By Allāh, I felt estranged at the shocking news as well, and couldn’t help but wish it was a bad dream that I would wake up from and seek protection in Allāh as a result of.

At this difficult time, allow me to share the following important guidance.

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Every soul shall taste death at its appointed time with the permission of Allāh Almighty, not a second before and not a second after.

Our brothers and sisters whom returned to Allāh Almighty; it was their exact time.

Allah Almighty says in Sūrah Āl-‘Imrān:

وَمَا كَانَ لِنَفْسٍ أَن تَمُوتَ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ كِتَابًا مُّؤَجَّلًا ۗ وَمَن يُرِدْ ثَوَابَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا وَمَن يُرِدْ ثَوَابَ الْآخِرَةِ نُؤْتِهِ مِنْهَا ۚ وَسَنَجْزِي الشَّاكِرِينَ

And it is not [possible] for one to die except by permission of Allāh at a decree determined. And whoever desires the reward of this world – We will give him thereof; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter – We will give him thereof. And we will reward the grateful.[1]

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This was shared by one of my students, and I thought it was worthy of being passed on, especially since the advice is proactive and has a basis from an Islamic perspective.

1. Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice. How you say it counts more than what you say.

2. Make promises sparingly, and keep them faithfully, no matter what it costs.

3. Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging word to or about somebody. Praise good work, regardless of who did it. If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.

4. Be interested in others, their pursuits, their work, their homes and families. Make merry with those who rejoice; with those who weep, mourn. Let everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard him as a person of importance.

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A summary of a more detailed comprehensive lecture on the topic delivered at the Kensington Prayer Facility, in Harare, Zimbabwe,

Introduction:

As human beings, the unknown and things upon which we have no control over inherently distress us. This is because Allah سبحانه وتعالى has created us as anxious human beings. As the Qur’an says, “indeed, mankind was created anxious” [70:19] Everyone experiences stress for many different reasons, the most common of which are circumstantial realities, such as the death of a loved one, prolonged sickness, or financial difficulties. However, some people are created with an intrinsically anxious demeanor causing them to be more easily stressed than others, and this is a physical reality (i.e. They have been created this way)

We know that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم experienced a great deal of stress when his people refused to accept his message. Allah سبحانه وتعالى knew the emotional attachment the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had to this message and the physical impact such stress was causing him, and thus he revealed the verses “and perhaps you will kill yourself (or invoke a great deal of harm) if they do not believe in this message, out of sorrow.”[18:6]

Even though we understand stress to be a creation from the creations of Allah سبحانه وتعالى we should understand that Allah سبحانه وتعالى does not reveal a sickness except that he reveals its cure, and thus we should take the following prescribed medicine as an antidote to stress.

As physical stress requires physical intervention by healthcare professionals, we will focus on ten ways to manage circumstantial stress from an Islamic perspective.

1. Mental coaching

As mentioned in surat al-Baqarah, “Allah does not burden any human being beyond what they can bear.”[2:286] Allah سبحانه وتعالى will never give us responsibilities that we cannot handle and thus we need to trust that if Allah سبحانه وتعالى brought us to it, He سبحانه وتعالى will surely take us through it. Just like the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his companions went through times of hardship as a minority during the early days of Islam, their persistence and trust in Allah سبحانه وتعالى got them through it and established them as the new ruling majority. We need to have this firm belief, constantly revisiting and mentally coaching ourselves through this knowledge, to ensure that we do not feel defeated before the battle has even begun.

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“‘ibadah is obedience to Allah by acting upon what He commands, and abandoning what He forbids; and this is the reality and essence of Islam. And the meaning of Islam is: istislam (submission and surrender) to Allah – the Most High – along with the utmost compliance, humility, and submissiveness”. (ibn Katheer)

Culture is a complex whole including beliefs, knowledge, rituals, morals, customs, and other habits and capabilities of people. Thus, we can say that Islam has a culture- and it entails monotheism in worship, and marriage, and eating with your right hand…etc.

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