We can do something about what is happening to our Muslim brothers and sisters. Boycott Israeli products (look at every product you buy and boycott it if it comes from Israel). Encourage our men to go to the demonstrations. Make sincere du`a to Allah for our situation. How pathetic we feel and how little we can really do in the here and now to impact the situation.
I believe that the greatest and most powerful contribution we can make as mothers is this:
Bring up your children to be Mu`mineen, who take the laws of Allah seriously, who are attached to the life of the Prophet sallaAllahu alaihi wa sallam (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Sunnah.
Teach your children history and the lessons of history.
Teach them not just about the physical laws that Newton elucidated so well, but the Metaphysical laws that the Qur`an elucidates so perfectly.
A few days ago we went through the story of the battle of Badr and I taught my children about the Sunnah of Allah, that if He wills he can make a small group of people overpower a huge number of people...I taught them that no one knows the army of Allah but He. 300 men who were less well armed beat 1000 well-armed men that day - I want them to remember that forever. It can mean so many things in their lives: that the little kid can overcome the big bully, that when the odds are stacked against you, if you have Iman (faith), you can win...that quality is more important than quantity...that if Allah is on your side, you have nothing and no one to fear...
The metaphysical laws that are the Sunnah of Allah are mentioned throughout the Qur`an.
The law that After hardship will come ease.
That Allah obliterates Riba (as we have recently seen) and make Sadaqah profitable
That if you thank Allah, he will give you more...all of these and many more have been mentioned in the Qur`an.
That the Jews and Christians will never be pleased with you until you follow their religion and way of life.
That if you are conscious of Allah, He will give you a way out and provide for you from means that you never imagined.
These are all laws that we can observe and that are talked about in the Qur`an.
If they grow up with Yaqeen (true belief and conviction) in these metaphysical laws, they will be the bravest of men, because the apparent will not deter them...what is visible to the eye will not scare them...they will not be risk averse, rather they will leap off the most dangerous mountain, knowing that they will only be hurt if Allah wills it, they will jump into that deepest ocean, believing that if they are doing so for the sake of Allah then Allah will grant them victory over the waves. They will not be fooled by what seems to be reality because they will be aware that anything is possible if you have Allah on your side.
That is what this Ummah needs. A generation of people who have so much Iman in the sunan of Allah that they will take risks, they will dare to do what no one`s done before, they will be willing to go against the grain, unapologetic, firm in their resolve.
The problems of the Ummah did not appear overnight and they will not disappear overnight. But we, the mothers of the Ummah can set that change in motion...we must set that change in motion.
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