Glad Tidings to the Strangers
"Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings to the strangers."
Many times in many situations the people that follow the religion of Allah feel a sense of not belonging, of being out of place, of not fitting in, and, in other words, of being strange.A person sees his brothers and sisters doing acts that are contrary to Islam, or taking part in innovations that sometimes even border on kufr yet he feels that he does not have enough power or courage to stop them in these acts. Some brothers and sisters, especially if they do not have enough taqwa or Islamic knowledge, sometimes buckle under the pressure of their peers and join in these acts, knowing that this is not what Allah wants them to do. However, feeling helpless, since it seems that they are alone in their ideas and without any support to help them do what is right, they succumb to such pressures.
These brothers and sisters, may Allah have mercy on them, should take consolation in the verses of the Qur’an and the many statements of the Prophet (saws) describing this very situation of strangeness that they feel.
It was asked, "Who are those strangers, O Messenger of Allah?" He replied, "Those that correct the people when they become corrupt." Another narration says, "Those that correct my Sunnah which has been corrupted by the people after me."
In another narration he said in response to the same question, "They are a small group of people among a large evil population. Those who oppose them are more than those who follow them."
This is what Allah says in surah al-Anaam,
"And if you obey most of the people on Earth, they will lead you astray" (Qur'an al-Anaam 116).
Allah also says,
"And most of mankind will not believe, even if you (O Muhammad) desire it eagerly" (Qur'an Yusuf 103);
"And truly, most of mankind are rebellious and disobedient (to Allah)." (Qur'an al-Maidah 49)
"But nay, most of mankind are ungrateful" (Qur'an Yusuf 38).
"O you who believe! Take care of your own selves. If you follow right guidance, no harm can come to you from those who err" (Qur'an al-Maidah 105)
he said, "Nay indeed, order good and forbid evil until you see stinginess being obeyed, and desires being followed, and this world preferred [over the next], and each person being deluded by his own opinions. Then take care of yourself and leave the common people. For indeed, after you there will be days of patience, where patience will be like holding on to glowing embers. Whoever is able to do this will have the reward of fifty people that do like him." They asked, "O Messenger of Allah, the reward of fifty of them?" He replied, "The reward of fifty of you" [Recorded by al-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud with a weak chain but it has supporting evidence. Al-Albani calls it sahih. See al-Sahiha, #957]. This reward is due to his strangeness among the people.
So, if the believer whom Allah has blessed with wisdom and knowledge wants to tread upon this path, the path of Allah, then let him be prepared to resign himself to the life of a stranger among his people, just like his predecessors who accepted Islam were treated by the people. For indeed, he will be a stranger in his beliefs, because his people have corrupted their beliefs. He will be a stranger in his religion, due to what the people have done to it. He will be a stranger in his manner of praying, because the people are ignorant of the prayer of the Prophet (saws). He will be a stranger in his ordering of good and prohibiting evil, for the people have taken what is evil as good and they have abandoned what is good as evil. In short, then, he will be a stranger in all his matters of this world and the Hereafter, calling to the path of Allah and withstanding the harm of all those that go against him.
As for the second type of strangeness, then know, O reader, that this strangeness is the blameworthy strangeness, for its people are the evil sinners, the ignorant and the arrogant of mankind. Their strangeness is due to their refusal to follow the correct and straight path of Allah. This strangeness is the strangeness of not conforming to the religion of Islam and, as such, it will remain strange even if its followers are numerous, its power is strong and its existence is widespread. These are the strangers to Allah. May Allah keep us from becoming one of them.
The third category of strangeness is, in essence, neither praiseworthy or blameworthy. It is the strangeness that a traveller experiences when he travels to a different country, like a person who lives in a place for a short period of time, knowing that he has to move on. One aspect of this strangeness is that all of us, whether we realize it or not, are strangers in this world, for we will all go one day to our permanent abode in the Hereafter. This is the meaning of the hadith of the Prophet (saws) when he told Abdullah ibn Umar, "Live in this world as though you are a stranger or a wayfarer." Thus, this category of strangeness has the potential to become a praiseworthy strangeness if we realize the meaning of this statement of Allah’s Messenger (saws).
We pray that Allah bless us to be Muslims, knowledgeable and pious, and that He forgive us our sins and bless us with His Mercy. Glorified be your Lord, the Lord of Honour and Power! (He is free) from what they attribute to Him And Peace be on the Messengers. And all Praise and thanks be to the Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Total Comments 8
Comments
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the spoilers aren't working for me, or is that supposed to happen?Posted 05-29-2009 at 01:47 PM by J.K.Murphy
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i took the spoilers off but it is a long articlePosted 05-29-2009 at 01:59 PM by QUEEN_UCHIHA
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Thankyou uchiha
and I can hardly complain about the length after posting some of my blogs
haha I shall read it knowing you worked hard on it 
Posted 05-29-2009 at 02:19 PM by J.K.Murphy
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I think this is about following in what you believe and not just what others believe...
If so this has really made me think...Posted 05-29-2009 at 02:56 PM by MaximRide
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I think it's about not allowing other to tempt you into straying from your own beliefs, and I'll praise anyone that can do it.
Hello MaxiPosted 05-29-2009 at 04:25 PM by J.K.Murphy
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thank you for commenting guys...yes i do believe that we would be alot stronger and firmer in our beliefs if we can control our desires for people pleasing and needing to fit in...
we all have intelligence and our own sense of morality,so we should showe our strength by not allowing ourself to go astray from ourselves,if that makes any sense ^^Posted 05-29-2009 at 04:36 PM by QUEEN_UCHIHA
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yeah it make perfect sense UchihaPosted 05-29-2009 at 06:06 PM by J.K.Murphy
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keep up the good work
-gabePosted 10-06-2009 at 04:34 AM by ilovecookies
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