TENSION IN THE AIR - ANY SOLUTION?

Most people are well aware of the fact that tensions in Kenya are very rapidly escalating, and have turned the country into a pile of super-dried firewood just waiting to burst into flames. We make dua to Allah that He brings down upon this firewood drenching rains of peace, even before any matchstick can get anywhere close to it. However, for this rain to come, the blockage that is stopping it from showering down upon us must be removed. Removing this blockage is the only solution for the tension we find ourselves in. This blockage is our sins, our spiritual sicknesses, our evil actions.

Today we leave no stone unturned in blaming everything else and everyone else for what we find ourselves in, but we conveniently forget that it is we who are to blame – the problem is in us, the problem is in me. Allah states in Surah Room – “Strife, havoc, and problems have become manifest in the land and in the sea, due to the (evil) actions of the people, so that Allah can make them taste some of the consequences of their evil deeds, and so that they may turn back (to Allah.)” In this deeply beautiful aayat, Allah is telling us that the problems we face – whether on a domestic level, a national level, or problems affecting the entire world – are due to the earnings of our own hands It is we who have brought upon ourselves the dire and grim conditions we are complaining about. We, the Muslims, who are bound by the commands of Allah, are very busy in stoking the fire of sins at every chance we get, wherever we are. We have become bold, open, and fearless in violating the injunctions of Sharia, and throwing behind our backs the beautiful lifestyle of our beloved Nabi Sallallahu alaihi wasallam. When grave sins like watching TV and movies, indulging in animate pictures, free intermingling of sexes, music, women emerging from their homes uncovered, men cutting or shaving their beards below a fist length, men letting their garments reach their ankles, unbridled indulgence in material luxuries are so rampant and rife in our society, then what peace and mercy are we expecting? We constantly defy Allah, and yet we expect His help to rain down upon us?

The only solution to our difficulties, not just in Kenya, but all around the world, is for us to make tauba – repent and turn to Allah. The only way that negative conditions can be changed is if we give ourselves over to Allah in total humility and subservience. We need to extinguish the fire of disobedience that we have set alight, with tears of repentance. We need to become true slaves of Allah for every moment of our remaining lives, till we breathe our last. Failing this, no security guards, and no CCTV cameras are going to be of any use.

This is my humble, heartfelt plea to all Muslims residing in Kenya specifically, and all Muslims in the world in general – let us cleanse and purify our lives from both external and internal sins, before it is too late, and we are left with nothing but regret in a time when regret will be futile.

I, the weakest and most sinful of all, repent from all my sins, open and hidden, and turn to Allah in regret and tauba. May Allah forgive me and all Muslims.

Servant,

Madrasah Fadhlul Uloom

FIDGET SPINNERS - THE LATEST DAJJALI TREND

                                 
In any other era, if we were to see an adult aimlessly and mindlessly spinning a silly, colourful, childish toy between his fingers, we would perhaps start to doubt the fact that his mental capacities were still functioning according to the Divinely set and apportioned harmonious equilibrium normally found in adults. Or, in simpler terms, we would consider calling the psychiatrist. But not in the era we are living in. This techno-tronic era we find ourselves in is an exaggerated form of The Brave New World of Aldous Huxley, and the 1984 of George Orwell, satirical works written many decades ago about a futuristic world devoid of, well, everything even remotely humane. An era in which Dajjal calls the shots (at least according to his deficient and limited mental scope), and we, the Ummah, obediently follow in utter subservience, choosing to ignore and lay to waste the great gift of intelligence given to us by Allah Ta’aala, and the ability to think for ourselves.

Fidget spinners, as these new toys are called, have been quite aptly named. It is claimed that they help bring about concentration and calmness, and remove fidgeting. Outwardly it may seem so, but in reality this toy has been cleverly designed to do just quite the opposite – it is nothing but a time-wasting distraction which causes excessive and dangerous fidgeting of the spiritual heart, and the fidgeting it is actually supposed to remove is quite different from anything we may imagine. The saddest and most distressful part is the fact that Muslims have been rushing to buy, and even sell the toy, despite knowing well that Allah has categorically and clearly stated in the Quran, “Beware! It is only and only through the remembrance of Allah that the hearts can attain peace, contentment, tranquillity, happiness.” Concentration and calmness cannot be achieved through fidget spinners when a person is involved in the disobedience of Allah, because to disobey Allah is to forget Him. Peace can only be achieved through staying away from sin, and involving oneself in salaah, dhikr, recitation of the Quran, pondering over the power and beauty of Allah, sitting in the gatherings of the Awliyaa, among numerous other praiseworthy deeds.

Whoever has seen a fidget spinner will know that they come in various colourful designs and shapes. When spun, the rotation of the designs creates a mesmerising, hypnotic effect similar to what is used in actual hypnosis sessions. Similarly, the spinner comes with an option of LED lights, for spinning in the dark. The effect created by these fast spinning, colourful LED lights is almost the same as the effect of flashing, pulsating, rotating disco lights. Disco lights aren’t how they are without any reason, the lights have been specifically designed to achieve sinister objectives. Disco lights were created to blanket the human mind into a mildly hypnotic stupor, and this is what happens with the LED lights on the fidget spinner. Not everyone goes to the disco, so they simply brought the disco lights home in the form of a seemingly harmless toy. From this we get to know that the spinning of the colourful designs and/or the LED lights exercises a tranquilising, hypnotising effect on the brain, relaxing its natural guards and alarms, so that the mind becomes more willing to accept subliminal messages and suggestions, and becomes more vulnerable and susceptible to subconscious programing. In layman’s terms, fidget spinners have been designed to make our minds more willing to blindly accept, consciously or subconsciously, whatever Dajjal and his cronies want us to believe, without every knowing what we are actually doing. It thus effectively removes the ‘fidgeting’ of the mind, otherwise more commonly known as critical thinking. Not coincidentally, television works according to the same principle of flashes of colourful lights moving with high speed, to achieve a similar objective.

Fidget spinners are extremely dangerous and harmful toys for adults as well as children, which can destroy our dunya as well as Aakhirat. Let us not become gullible, blind slaves to the fads and crazes being propelled by the West. Let us learn to think for ourselves, and look deeply into matters with the noor of the heart, to be able to see the reality that is not apparent at first glance. May Allah save all of us from the traps of Dajjal.