The Hayaa Oasis

What a messed up world we live in. Where a person can justify heinous crimes against humanity and be celebrated or pardoned. Where is the line between mercy and vindication? Amidst the debris of the crumbling ethics of our society, she calls for accountability to begin from childhood.

Weekly Writes written by Umm Idris. 18.10.24, 12:00pm.

There was a time when I believed in the grey area of morality. I used to think that some undesirable reactions are redeemable by justifications of executable punishments and responses for the heinous choices that others make. There is a great debate about this even today. Whether we are vindicated from our retaliatory decisions against the immoral actions of those who have wronged or oppressed us. I spent much thought wondering if we – who are quite frankly nobodies in this dunya – have any right at all to legitimise retribution and condone vengeance (in every sense of the word).

The irony of the progressive world of disbelievers is that while they promote equality, justice and freedom of rights, there is a heavy conditional treatment that favours a more merciful reaction than most to the socially immoral actions of others in accordance to their socioeconomic status and societal place. On the other hand, we Muslims are governed by a clear understanding of how we must conduct ourselves in accordance to the Quran, the sunnah of our Prophet (salallahu ‘alaihi wassalam), and later on the various Islamic laws and guidance, etc.

(Bear in mind, I am but a layman in fiqh, Syariah law, and so on. Do not expect much from me in these matters. You should be sourcing information from reliable and verified sources like your local imams, the madhab you follow, the verified sheikhs and whoever else is allowed to give out fatwas, etc.)

A recent conversation had me pondering about the severity of social injustices amongst people today. Where did we go wrong? While we fixate in horror on the apparent acts of degradation and oppression of our ummah all over the world, our clarity in that which is closer to home has slowly become hazy in its appearance. Injustice comes in all forms and to instill the qualities of fairness in every man and woman, it begins at home from childhood. While my sahabiyyah and I caught each other up about the events of our week, our conversation drifted to reminiscing about our childhood together and how our experiences were as kids. You see, we were brought up in a secular nation that prioritises preparing the young from the age of preschool to take on adulthood and succeed immediately upon graduation. The idea was that your parents mold and shape you as you grow to discover what you are passionate about and monetise it, that is if you are lucky enough to find this along the way. However, the fear of not being able to set your child up for success and an easier life eventually overtakes the remembrance of dunya and the importance of preparing for akhirah. And so it begins the race for worldly achievements and eventual shaming of not conforming to blending in with the non-Muslim crowd.

Flashbacks of memories flood my mind, and I realise that those who were responsible for me have slowly become conditioned to panicking about the ‘O’ level results printed on a piece of paper rather than the casual fact that I had dropped out of weekend Islamic classes that offer a well-rounded education consisting of not only iqra but fiqh, seerah, akhlak, tawheed, prayer, Arab and even Jawi. I remember the day it happened. It was casually pointed out to me that I did not consistently attend and that it was no different than if I dropped out. This was highlighted by the benefit of doing so: no more payments for an education that was not properly utilised and learnt. I was then offered the option of doing exactly that which I agreed to and regret today. I often wonder if the direction of my religious education could have shaped me better and if many Singaporean Muslims like myself felt similarly to the parental approach many felt forced to take under the pressure of desperately needing to ensure the future security of their children.

I feel strongly that our character and morality are intricately woven into our identity. It speaks volumes about how tolerant we become. Could it truly be seen as narrow-minded and extremist to non-Muslims if we returned to the more indisputable approach of ethics? Haven’t you ever wondered what an easier and happier world it would be if our nafs were correctly governed by the ethos of the beautiful living years of our Prophet (salallahu ‘alaihi wassalam)?

Perhaps the fear most non-Muslims have is the concept of… lex talionis (eye for an eye). The idea of restoring the dignity, honour, and rights of the one who had been oppressed or wronged frightens those unworthy of ruling – and yet are still in positions of power – as a result of their ill ventures. This is simply because they would do anything within their capabilities to prevent their poor undertakings from being publicised or worse, resulting in their inevitable prosecution. In fact, we should seriously consider if the criminally punished in today’s time have escaped the fair retaliatory punishments that befit their crimes and wrongdoings against those within their society for far too long. Has the rotting resolve of many Muslim nations resulted in their eventual complicity? Would our ummah ever find the strength of will to return to such a time when our priority as a society is to raise and nurture a nation of – not just Muslims – but people of good character, honourable speech, noble intent, and social responsibility, rather than chasing our nafs that desire the illusive and exciting world the non-Muslims have painted?

As I look back on the austerity of my upbringing, I wonder if we have gotten soft in our attitude toward the urgency of preparing our children to be good Muslims before anything else. How have mathematic exam results taken precedence over the lack of perfection in the recitation of our Al – Fatihah? Why do we not heavily admonish the missing prayers during school hours instead of being uncharacteristically forgiving because of the school’s rules? Wallahi, it is a great disaster to witness us bow down to the flock who dismiss their Creator over the command to prostrate to Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) even if there were worldly repercussions. It is a frightening notion to believe that our children are conditioned to fear their principals, teachers, and discipline masters over He who has promised Jahannam to those who do not make salah. So, why has the basic implementation of good character and respectful speech taken a backseat while the youth today endlessly protest about the severity of punishment for, say, immoral criminal injustices?

In my personal opinion, it is illogical that the character development of a Muslim is left totally to the local schools to manage and guide rather than it being the sole responsibility of us parents who must answer for their upbringing later. The unfortunate cause? Stress-driven parents who are overwhelmed by the financial crusade that obliterates what little halal earnings they keep. It is sadly the result of inescapable riba running rampant in a world that has ever so slyly engineered into every nook and cranny of the economy for a lucrative return hand-delivered to the door of the gluttonous. That is not to say our resignation toward having full responsibility for our young is excusable or acceptable. Such jihad in this dunya is about fighting against the temptation to give up and return to a life of indolence in the name of Tawakkal. But I digress.

We have taken too warmly to accepting non-Islamic perceptions of morality and subconsciously began letting go of the guidance of our Prophet (salallahu ‘alaihi wassalam). Case in point: while the incarcerated get to bargain their punishments down in the West where haram continues to run rampant and free in the name of “freedom”, Islam has granted no muddy lenses to debate the punishments of transgressions against others regardless of who they are. The rights of another must be considered carefully, especially with the knowledge of the repercussions of doing otherwise.

I continue to ponder over my initial question: Where did we go wrong? It is almost crucial that we consider this an infectious and fatal sickness of our ummah’s deen if we are planning to one day overhaul the unfair judiciary system that has been forcefully bent to favour the discriminators. It begins with the root of all things. The young will grow into their societal positions and be charged with upholding the kind of world we hope to create and hand over before we die. Their upbringing is transformative to what kind of social contract we wish to permanently instil for generations to come. If we can’t even prosecute rapists, murderers, … oppressors to the full extent of their crimes, then we must question who has raised those who sit on the thrones of ruling and government. It always begins at home.