Sikander Hashmi – Putting out the fires of hate KMA Friday Message
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Shalaam. It took a couple of minutes to
offer some prayers. We will continue.
Respected elders, dear brothers and sisters,
my young friends,
If I can kindly ask the brothers to
please move forward and fill in all the
gaps.
My brothers and sisters, we begin by praising
Allah
the lord of the universe,
our creator, our renourisher, our protector,
and we begin by sending peace and salutations
upon his beloved messenger
and final messenger, Muhammad, the son of Abdullah
My brothers and sisters,
as Muslims, we know
that our objective in this life is to
make it to Jannah safely.
Our objective in this life, to put it
very briefly,
is to make it to Jannah safely.
Now the path to Jannah goes through this
dunya.
The path to Jannah,
Allah has
made it for us that it goes through
this dunya. And that means
that we have to engage and live in
this world
to fulfill
our needs which are necessary
to
fulfill the needs of others
and live
by what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala likes according
to the teachings of his messenger Sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam on this path to making it
to Jannah.
Okay. It's as simple as that.
Now
because we are living in this duniya we
have to deal with the affairs of the
duniya as well. That have to do with
our well-being
and the well-being of others, have to do
with our needs and the needs of others.
And as a result,
there are, you know, different things we have
to do in terms of work
and business to earn a halal income, education,
you know, health,
worrying about our health, you know, worrying about
housing and transportation,
worrying about the safety in our communities,
and so on and so forth.
And as a result of that,
we need to be paying attention to what
is happening around us, what is happening in
our community, in society, in the world,
not so that we can become engrossed with
it and obsessed with it and constantly thinking
about it and and and enjoying it and
living it, but rather so that we can
have an understanding of what is happening, so
that we can fulfill our legitimate needs, so
that we can take care of our families,
of our communities, and of our neighbors and
others
so that we can make it safely to
Jannah.
Now as we know, yesterday,
there was an election here in the province
of Ontario.
And I want to congratulate the winning candidates
and thank everyone who came forward and made
an
effort because it's not easy.
And the system isn't perfect,
but it does allow
for people's voices to be heard
and for elected officials
to be accountable to their citizens to a
certain extent. Right? It's not a perfect system.
I agree with you 100% if you say
that. But at the very least, there is
an opportunity for people to be heard, for
voices to be heard, for complaints to be
heard. And if somebody is really doing a
bad job, people do have the opportunity of
voting them
out. However, my brothers and sisters, what is
concerning
is that the voter turnout
was very low, the lowest in Ontario history.
43.5
percent of people voted approximately.
In most Ontario electoral writings, which is electoral
districts,
over 50% of eligible voters, people who were
citizens who were registered to vote did not
vote.
So that means
that about 40,000
to 50,000 people in each writing, including in
Canada Carleton, chose not to make their voices
heard.
Now why is am I mentioning this? Because
if even 1 third of those people so
even if 1 third of those 40 or
50,000 people in Canada who chose not to
vote, if they had voted for the 2nd
place or the 3rd place candidate, and not
just in Canada, all across Ontario in every
single writing, almost every single writing, they would
have made the 2nd or third candidate win.
But because people did not vote,
as a result,
their not voting was actually a vote for
the winning candidate.
So if you're okay with whoever won in
your writing, then that's fine. That's great for
you, of course, because that works for you.
But if you're not,
then you need to go out and make
sure that you vote next time and get
everyone else you know who's not voting as
well to do the same. Because a lot
of times we talk and we complain and
we discuss on WhatsApp or on Facebook or
social media or wherever you are or over
tea and coffee and, you know, biryani and
piscus or whatever it is, but that doesn't
affect the election.
Talking doesn't do anything. Right? Maybe it helps
you feel good or we we clarify our
views or whatever, right, or share views. That's
okay. But in terms of affecting the election,
it doesn't make a difference until you actually
go and you put a vote. You put
a x and you put it and put
it in. Right? And when we think that
we can't have any change, I just want
you to remember that, that if 1 third
even of the people who did not vote
yesterday voted, the 2nd or third place candidates
could have won easily.
But because they didn't vote,
the ones who won, won.
Right? And as I said, if you're happy
with that, that's fine. No problem. Right? Because
I don't pick or choose candidates or or
suggest who to vote for. If you're okay
with that, you like that, that's fine. Right?
But if not,
then the way to resolve this is and
for our voices to be heard or your
voice to be heard is to actually go
out and vote. So for those who did,
I thank them. My brothers and sisters,
it has almost been 1 year since
our London family. And when we call them
our London family, we're talking about the 4
members
of
our our our brothers and sisters living in
London, Ontario, 3 generations of the same family
who were out for a walk in their
neighborhood. Normally, just like as we would be
on any evening when the weather is nice,
they were killed by the driver of a
pickup truck
who was motivated by hate. So that fact
that he actually ran into that family at
the intersection
while they were waiting and they were visible
as Muslims because of their their their lebas,
because of their dress, he did that purposely
because of how they were. And we ask
Allah to have mercy on them and to
elevate their ranks, and we ask Allah Azza
wa Jalal to be the guardian for the
young boy who was the only one who
was left behind from that family.
My brothers and sisters,
we know that the hate for Islam, as
we refer to as Islamophobia,
hate for Muslims and from Islam, has always
existed.
And we know that our mission in life
is not to get everyone to love us.
That is not our purpose in life. That
is not our objective that we make everyone
like us. However,
hate and Islamophobia
are directly impacting our communities,
our institutions,
and our collective well-being,
and it is having an effect
on
the self esteem of Muslims, the identity of
Muslims, especially young Muslims,
and therefore,
their willingness
and ability to practice their religion and to
truly live as Muslims. And so this is
a very serious issue.
Recently, there was a survey
that found survey was done across Canada, and
the survey found that about 25% of Canadians
don't trust Muslims,
33%
are concerned with the number of Muslim immigrants
entering Canada,
and 27%
said that hijab should be banned.
Now the big question is, my brothers and
sisters,
is how do we go about challenging
this hate and this Islamophobia
in meaning full ways.
Right? And the key operative term here is
meaningful ways,
because it's one thing to, you know, have
some slogans,
to have some signs,
to have, you know, some do some action,
which is good.
But meaningfully,
how can we actually have a positive impact?
It's very important for us to understand
that there is a spectrum.
Right? Even the time of Jahiliyyah when Sayna
Rasulullah hsallallahu alaihi wa sallam came with the
mess message of Islam, there was a spectrum
that not everyone
who is opposing is the same.
So there are those who are just ignorant.
They have had no exposure to Islam and
Muslims except for what they have seen in
the media which was negative.
K. Or they have had some personal interaction
which was negative. Or they know someone who
knows someone who had some interaction and it
was negative.
Okay. So people who are generally just, first
of all, ignorant, they don't know anything at
all and therefore, they they are afraid or
they can't trust,
and those who have had some, you know,
negativity in their exposure.
So ignorance
that leads to fear
and mistrust.
And that fear and mistrust can then lead
to
anger and hate,
especially when there are people who are trying
to capitalize on that ignorance because they have
an agenda. They want to push hatred of
Islam and Muslims, so they look for the
people who are ignorant,
who are simple, who are ignorant, who don't
know any better, and they feed them misinformation
and lies to convert them into people who
hate Muslims and Islam and who are angry
towards Muslims and Islam.
So this is very important for us to
understand that not everyone is the same.
And, of course, there is a critical role
to be played by government, by leaders, by
laws and legislation,
and by police and law enforcement intelligence agencies,
and they can do a lot. But at
the end of the day,
they cannot cure hate
because hate is something which resides
in the hearts and minds.
K. So you can make all the laws
that you want. You can create, you know,
lobby all you want, and it's important. I'm
not saying it's not important. It has a
place and it has a role to play.
But at the end of the day, it
comes down to hearts and minds. Now for
us, it may seem like there are many
Muslims in Canada, and what happens is a
lot of times we are living in bubbles.
You come for you see so many people.
You go for Eid. You see so many
people. You go on the streets in you
see our sisters in hijab. You think, oh,
everything is good. There's so many Muslims here.
Okay? But the reality is that, yes, locally,
there may be. Maybe 10% in Kanata, you
know, maybe 30% in Bayshore
and other parts of the city and other
large cities. But nationally, Muslims are only about
3% of the population, maybe 4%.
K? And understand
that
we are very visible, and we are very
different
than most others.
Okay. So you imagine your country where you
came from, and if a people came, a
group of people came who were different religion
than the majority,
they looked different,
they just dressed differently, and they had views
which were sometimes different than the rest or
you thought that,
and their names were on the top of
the list when crimes were committed, how are
you gonna feel about them?
You put yourself in the shoes of the
majority. Okay. You are the majority. You imagine
your own country and some other group of
people come who are not like you and
they are different in almost every way that
you can see,
and you think they are doing things which
are not positive. How are you gonna feel
about them?
So it's as simple as that.
It's as simple as that.
Now subhanAllah when we look at the example
of Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam how he and
a small number of Muslims in the beginning
in Makkah were able to overcome the extreme
hate and animosity from the mashrikoon of Makkah.
We take that example, and it doesn't mean
that overcoming it is is easy. Right? It
isn't.
It takes a lot of effort. It takes
a lot of courage
and determination,
you know, and
faith. Iman, yaqeen takes time,
and there is a role for political strategy.
There is a role for media and for
writing. I'm a media person myself. There is
a role, you know, for building alliances and
all of those things. But ultimately, though, it's
about touching people's hearts and minds
in a manner that leaves a positive and
lasting impression.
And when we leave a positive and lasting
impression, it's not
lasting and positive impression of Sikander
or of you,
but rather it is intended to be a
positive and lasting impression of Islam because every
single one of us is an ambassador for
our religion.
Whether you like it or not, each one
of us is an ambassador for Islam.
So inshallah, let us discuss a few lessons,
few points from the Quran and the sunnah
that can help us in doing that inshallah.
So remember
that people as the saying goes, people don't
remember what you say.
They remember what you do and how it
makes them feel.
Very important whether it's in this or anything
else.
People don't remember what you say.
They remember how
you make them feel
and what you do.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about
Rasulullah his salallahu alayhi wasalam and his character
which was exemplary.
An example for all of humanity.
Wa innaqalaa
Allah khuluqin
aazim.
And you are truly
a man of outstanding character.
And the Rasool Allah SWAMI said,
I was sent to perfect
good character. And sometimes we wonder,
okay. Well, the message of Islam
primarily wasn't about character.
It wasn't about,
like, it's about, it's not about aflak. It's
about, you know, Allah
and not doing shirk and tawheed and all
of those things. But in fact, what it
is teaching us what Rasulullah hissalallahu alaihi wasalam
was perfecting
was our good character first and foremost with
Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
How should a member of the creation of
Allah, the humanity that Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
has created,
what should be his or her character with
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala?
How should be his or her in, approach
in dealing with Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala?
And then, of course, with our families and
our neighbors and our fellow believers and the
rest of humanity and the rest of the
creation of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, even animals.
Right. So the perfection of character
that Rasulullah
alaihi wasalam was teaching covers
all of the entirety of the message of
Islam. Now it's very striking that 25%
of Canadians
don't consider Muslims to be trustworthy.
Right.
And what was Sayyidina Rasulullah
known as
Asadiq al Ameen.
Uh-huh. So we've got some work to do
there.
We've got some work to do when
our master Rasulullah hissalallahu alaihi wasallam
was known as being
trustworthy even by his opponents, even by the
people who did not believe. Even those who
hated him knew that he was trustworthy.
So we've got work to do.
Abdullah bin Salam radiAllahu anhu said that when
Rasulullah
alaihi wasallam came to Madinah,
the people rushed to meet him and it
was said
that Rasulullah has come salaahu alaihi wasallam. The
messenger of Allah has come. The messenger of
Allah has come 3 times.
It says I came with the people to
see him and when I saw his face
clearly, I knew that his face
was not the face of a liar.
When he saw his blessed face and of
course he was a formerly a Jewish rabbi,
Says when I saw meaning the narrator, Gulagun
Salaam So
he says when I saw the face of
the blessed face of Sayyidina Rasulullah I
knew that his face was not the face
of a liar.
So the way we behave has an effect
on our face, and that is something that
can be seen by others.
The first thing I heard him say when
was when he said,
yuhanas, o people,
spread salaam, spread the greeting of salaam.
Spread the words of salaam. Spread peace.
Feed others.
Uphold the ties of kinship,
and pray during the night when people are
sleeping and you will enter Jannah with salaam.
Night alaykumah.
Spread salaam.
Afshus salaam.
Feed others, feed people, uphold
the ties of kinship.
Pray during the night when people are sleeping
and you will enter Jannah with salaam with
peace.
So my brothers and sisters, what do we
learn? To spread the salaam,
it is to do outreach.
To give salaam to the one you know
and you don't know. To greet the one
that you know and you don't know,
to spread positivity through words because to to
spread salaam is not doesn't have to be
an action apart from just words.
A good peaceful message.
Spread that. And this hadith, these instructions are
not specific only to Muslims.
Most for Muslims within the community, outside the
community, for everyone.
Spread goodness. Spread the message of peace, positivity
through your words. So do outreach with your
words and spread positivity and goodness. Number 1.
Feeding others. What do we learn? To care
for others,
especially through feeding.
Again, whether they are Muslim or not and
especially in their time of need it doesn't
have to be at the time of need
but especially at the time of need when
someone is hungry and they don't have food
they're looking for a hot meal and you
give them a meal
You give them something to eat. And especially
if it's nice with Ihsan, it's it's a
delicious meal
that touches
that satisfies their hunger, their stomach, but also
touches their hearts.
The ties of kinship. Be connected
to those who are close to you, of
course, your immediate relative, the ones you have
a bond with,
starting with your family.
Right?
But we also learn from other teachings to
be connected with the community, to be connected
with your neighbors, to be connected to the
people who are around you, and to have
Ihsan with them, and have good dealings with
them, and to care for them. This is
from the message of Islam.
And he said, salaam,
pray during the night while people are sleeping.
Right. So along with all of this outreach
and just taking care of people,
you have to be connected with Allah
especially through a prayer but in every way
and particularly when most people are not.
So what indicates
is along with all the other actions
having a strong relationship with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala
in a way that maybe others are not
paying attention to.
Being connected to Allah
at all times but especially
in those private moments with Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
If you do these things
and be a means of peace for people
and goodness towards people,
towards others, and having the strong relationship with
Allah, you will get a very coveted reward.
And that is enter Jannah with salaam with
peace, without any punishment, without any trouble inshallah.
My brothers and sisters, these are small positive
actions,
but they need to be done by every
single one of us and especially together.
So every masjid, every community should be doing
these things and should have people who are
promoting this and who have this on the
forefront and are encouraging people to do this,
and you will see the impact insha'Allah.
Even a smile.
Many people are naturally afraid. As I told
you, if in your country, your place where
you come from, many different people were coming,
you would be feeling a little bit afraid,
unsure of them maybe.
K. We do look different. We do behave
a little bit differently. Okay. Which is fine,
which is good because we are different for
good reason.
But smile. It is sadaqah,
and it removes
fear.
It removes any misgivings people might have.
It makes them feel happy. It makes them
feel good.
Share nice words. Hello, good morning, good evening,
thank you, goodbye. Small things.
They have an impact
and even if it is not being done
collectively start from those around you.
Right. So we have a better community,
better society that has more love and peace
and less hate and animosity insha Allah. May
Allah remove hatred and ignorance from the hearts
and minds wherever it may exist. May
Allah protect us all from its harmful effects.
I mean,
I just want to extend from what Imam
just spoke about
our London family.
This was a family like our family. We
also we see nice weather. We take our
family. We go for a walk,
and we think we'll be fine, but some
there are people. As Imam said, there's 25%
of the people in Ontario
who do not trust Muslims,
and one of these people gets motivated by
something on the Internet
and does
horrific things.
You know, when 911 happened,
the trust among Muslims,
about Muslims went down deeply down, and there
was a lot of,
things government did governments did for against Muslims.
You know, a lot of Muslims were caught,
sent to jail, sent to different countries to
get tortured, but some people of our community
fought back.
And
today, the environment is not like that. It's
much better than, say, 20 years ago, and
that is because some people,
some individuals decided
to do something about it. You know, I
can say we should go this and do
this. I know I hear a lot. I
hear a lot in WhatsApp group. We should
do this.
And I sit and and dinner and people,
you know, sit down and lecture and say,
we should do this.
And I have become allergic to the word
we.
Because when we say we should do this,
what it means
is that all of you should do something,
not me.
All of you, not me.
But until I may I can change that
we to I, nothing will be done. If
I decided to do something, things will happen.
So each one of us
need to say what can I do instead
of saying what should we do?
So the word I we needs to be
replaced with what I in our conversations.
Insha Allah, I know the NCCM is organizing
an event on Monday to to remember the
family, and it is very important to remember
this family because
they were like us. They were Muslims, and
the only reason they they were,
attacked was because they were Muslims.
And, you know, if we think it's not
gonna happen to us, I think that's just
the, you know,
wishful thinking.
It can happen to anybody, and we need
to raise awareness within our community
with other people, with Canadians. We need to
speak out to Canadians. Sorry. I need to
speak out to my friends. Everybody that I
I meet, I need to speak about this.
I need to address it when the topic
comes up, and I need to take action
on this. And the the least we can
do is all of us to show strength
and to show it to the Canadian public
and show it to our own community that
I will go to parliament hill on Monday
at 7 o'clock, 7 PM inshallah,
and do us, you know, do us, there
is a small walk happening from parliament hill
to the flame, to the,
I know, the Algonquin Street Confederation Square.
And we go for a walk and inshallah
that shows strength, shows up in the media,
shows to other Muslims and other communities and
other politicians and policy makers that Muslims care
about these things. Because, you know, if
and politicians only look at the numbers. These
are policy makers. They make policies and they
make, you know, they talk about things and
talk about in their parties. You know, 20
years ago, the conservative party was making laws
against us, trying to come up with all
these weird laws, you know,
and now they want our membership. So people
who have individuals who have worked hard, their
work is now paying off, and you can
also do something. Your children can do something.
Each one of us need to do our
part, and I,
each one of us need to show up
on Monday, Insha Allah. Bring your families. Talk
to your family today about in on your
dinner of what happened to to the family
and what happened what can you do as
individuals,
not as we.
Individuals, yourself and your family. What can you
do? Can you show up on Monday? Can
you sacrifice,
you know, can you sacrifice 2 hours of
your time? Can you sacrifice going to a
grocery store? Can you sacrifice going for your,
you know, sports club or wherever you go?
Can you sacrifice 2 hours of your time
inshallah on Monday and show up and show
up and give us give, no support to,
Muslim communities across Canada inshallah.