Sikander Hashmi – When Justice is NOT Served KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
The Canadian Muslim community has experienced tragic deaths of police officers in Ontario, Canada's Ontario case. The police officers were not charged with keeping the peace, and the investigation found 50 cuts, bruises, and other obvious signs of injury on the victim's body. The community is encouraged to seek forgiveness and protect its people from mental health challenges. The speaker emphasizes the importance of justice and avoiding violence, while also reminding individuals to be grateful for their suffering and promise relief for those who have been wronged.
AI: Summary ©
Respected elders,
your brothers and sisters,
my young friends,
We begin by praising Allah
the lord of the universe,
our creator,
our designer,
our sustainer, our nourisher,
our protector,
and we begin by sending peace and salutations
upon his beloved messenger, Mohammed, the son of
Abdullah
I hope and pray that you and your
family members and your loved ones are all
well by the mercy and grace of Allah
This week, there has been much hurt and
disappointment
in our community
regarding
the verdict in the case
of the death of brother Abdul Rahman Amdi.
The police officer who was charged
was found not guilty on all charges.
What we do know is that brother Abdulrahman
was
in a
troubling mental distress.
Calls came in reporting
an individual
behaving
in an inappropriate manner.
Police responded.
Brother Abdulrahman was running back home.
Police chased him, caught up with him just
outside
the front doors of his apartment building, and
at least one officer responded
very, very violently.
And,
this was all captured.
We're grateful for the fact that this was
captured on video because otherwise it would have
been very difficult to ascertain what had actually
happened
in his final moments.
There appeared to be no urgency
to call for medical help,
and, sadly, brother Abdulhamani Abdi succumbed to his
injuries.
Now just before the interaction with police,
he was very active,
but he died soon after his violent arrest
by police
while his family and neighbors
sadly looked on.
The judge said that the police officer likely
caused
the death of brother Abdulrahman,
but likely was not good enough in the
court of law where the standard is that
an accused must be guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt. Now regardless of the legalities, the fact
remains
that an interaction with police
should not
lead to a person's death,
especially not someone who is in mental distress.
There was a similar case not too long
ago in Mississauga
where brother Ejaz Chaudhary was at home in
mental distress.
His family, his own family had called for
help, and police responded
and instead of helping him, ended up killing
him in right in his own home. Brother
Suleiman Fakiri suffered
also from mental health struggles
after a traumatic car crash. He had no
criminal record. He was repeatedly taken into custody
under the Ontario Mental Health Act and taken
to a doctor in each instance. However, the
last time, he was instead taken to a
notorious jail,
kept in solitary confinement, meaning he was kept
alone.
His, family wasn't allowed to meet him.
The a judge even ordered that he,
was to be sent to a mental health
center instead.
The ruling of the judge was not respected.
And just 3 days after that ruling,
he was found dead in his cell. And
the investigation
found
50 cuts, bruises, and other obvious signs of
injury
all over his body, and none of the
guards involved were charged by the Ontario Provincial
Police in his death. So we know that
something went terribly wrong
in each of these cases,
and no one has been held to account
for that wrong. Now, unfortunately,
this appeared and it is very unfortunate that
this appears to be a pattern where police
officers or people in authority, people who are
charged with keeping the peace and who are
supposed to be helping people, are not held
to the same standard as other members of
the public, and they are able to get
away with excessive violence and even murder,
that if a member of the public had
done the exact same thing, they would likely
not be let off so easily, if at
all.
Now this has to do with, you know,
numerous factors with biases in the interpretation of
law,
the training or, you know, lack of training
of police officers,
biases in dealing with minorities, especially
those who are Black and Indigenous,
institutional racism, and other factors as well.
Now all this being said, it is true
that there are
a number of individuals and leaders,
you know, and various police forces at the
Ottawa Police as well at the municipal and
the provincial level,
who get it, and they are trying to
bring positive change. So we are thankful to
them for that and continue to support them
in their efforts, which need to continue and
intensify.
Now justice, of course, my brothers and sisters,
is something that each person want for themselves
and
often for those who they care about. The
human tendency
is to want justice for oneself when one
is wronged, but want to but to avoid
it or want to avoid it when one
is at fault. So this is the human
tendency that we want justice
when, when we are wronged or someone close
to us is wronged,
but when we are the ones committing the
wrong, then we want to avoid it. Now
Allah
tells us that justice that when it comes
to justice, we must be objective
whether it is against ourselves
or against those who we love or even
against those who we despise.
So regardless of whether,
it is in our interest or it is
against our interests,
We are responsible
by Allah
we are held accountable
for being objective when it comes to justice.
Now it is given that in this world,
you know, human beings will have conflicts, will
have disagreements,
and thus Allah
has legislated
that there must be rules
that people live by and authorities and places
that people can turn to to get justice.
And, therefore, we have laws and we have
courts and we have judges.
The guidance of Allah and his messenger, sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, allows retribution against the killer
by the family
of
the one who is murdered,
and that is their right. According to the
guidance of Allah and his messenger, sallallahu alaihi
wa sallam, that retribution against the killer is
the right of the family of the victim.
But they are encouraged
to accept a civil settlement, basically a payment,
instead of,
retribution,
or they're encouraged to encouraged
that if they can find it themselves
within themselves
to forgive the murderer altogether.
Now, of course, as citizens, we are subject
to local laws,
and so we have to abide by them
and use the legal tools that are available
to us to get as much justice
as possible.
Now we must remember, of course, that the
application of human made laws
human made laws by human beings
is never going to be perfect.
In fact, it will be flawed much of
the time because human law applied by humans
who are imperfect.
What else can we expect? Right? The laws
are created by human beings who are,
fallible and who are imperfect,
and then they are applied by human beings
who are fallible and imperfect.
So therefore we can expect that there will
be miscarriages of justice, unfortunately.
There will be times,
when people get away with crimes. There will
be times when,
innocent people get accused and imprisoned or punished
for crimes that they did not commit. Now,
even the laws given by Allah and his
messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam, which,
you know, need to be applied by human
beings,
they
too, you know, will end up in some
instances being applied
imperfectly
because, again, they are being applied by human
beings who are imperfect and who are limited
in their abilities.
There is an instance with regards
to Ali ibn Abi Talib
radiAllahu
an. He found a Christian man with his
armor, and he was Amirul Mumineen. He was
the commander, the leader of the faithful of
the believers.
He decided to take up the matter legally,
so he brought the dispute
to the judge
by the name of Shuray. And Ali
said that this is my armor. So he
made the claim. This is my armor, and
I have not sold it nor I have
given it away. I recognize that this is
my item. This belongs to me. I haven't
given it to anyone. I haven't sold it,
and this person has my armor. So Shorei
said to the Christian,
what do you say about what the leader
of the believers has said? What do you
say about what
this this this claim that the leader of
the believers that Amirul Mumineen
is, is making and what he is saying?
So he replied and said that it is
my armor. So the the person who, happened
to be a Christian and he had the
armor of Ali
he said that it is my armor, but
I do not consider the the leader of
the believers. I do not consider the Amirul
Mumineen to be a liar. So Shoray then
turned to Ali, and
he said, you, Ameerul Mumineen, o leader of
the believers, do you have proof? Because you're
making the claim, and we learned from the
hadith of the prophet
that,
the the bayina, the burden of proof is
on the person who makes the claim.
So he says, oh, leader of the believers,
Yami al mumineen, do you have proof? And
Ali
laughed, and he said, the shuray is correct.
I do not have proof. So I myself
know that this armor belongs to me and
this person has it, and I have not
sold it. I have not given it away.
But do I have any proof? No. Actually,
I don't have any proof of that, but
I know of that. So Shurei, the judge,
he ends up,
he ends up ruling in favor of the
Christian
who was, in possession of the armor that
Ali had
claimed was his, but he had no proof.
So the judge in this case had no
choice because there was no proof. It was
an accusation. It was a claim, and he
had to rule in favor of,
of the defendant.
So this person who was a Christian took
the armor
and began to walk away, but then he
returned.
And he said,
He says, as for me, I testify that
this is the judgment of the prophets,
that
that the leader of the believers
himself, the himself,
takes me to his judge. Right? Because, of
course, the the the judge is under the
the command or, you know, is is under
the, the authority of the Ameel Mu'minin who
was at the top. So he says that
the leader of the believers himself
takes me to his judge.
And the judge rules against him. And then
he says,
I testified that there is no God except
Allah, and I testified that Muhammad is the
messenger of Allah. And he says,
That by Allah, the regarding the armor, the
armor is yours, oh, leader of the believers.
I followed the army.
That I followed the army when you were
on your way to the battle of Siffin,
and the armor fell from your equipment.
So he, admits, and then Ali
responds and he says,
that if you have accepted Islam, then this
armor is for you. And,
the matter is settled in that way. SubhanAllah.
And this is, reported in Al Bidaya w
Nihayah. So Ali
was upon the truth, but the judge, Shura'i,
had no choice but to rule in favor
of the defendant because
he was, of course, bound by,
the rules and regulations of the court, which
come from the sunnah of the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, and he had to rule
accordingly even though this judgment was going against
Amir ul Momineen, who he was, you know,
working under. Now in Islam,
the Muslim judge who sincerely tries to to
be just receives 2 rewards
if they're correct in their judgment and one
reward if they're incorrect.
They're not sinful. Right? So the haadi who
was making a decision,
if they are correct, we learn from the
prophet
that they have ajran. They have 2 rewards.
But if they make a mistake, they don't
they're not sinful, if they're sincere, of course,
they're they're sincerely trying to to rule, correctly
and fairly,
then they are, not sinful, but rather they
only receive one reward instead of 2 which
they receive when they are correct. Now today,
unfortunately, we find that the justice system moves
very, very slowly here, but also in other
countries as well. It is also very, financially
stressful. You know, there is legal aid available,
but, you know, it is very challenging for
the poor to have strong representation
in court, or for people who are, you
know, even who are not considered to be
poor.
You know, they're not necessarily considered to be
from the less fortunate, but it can be
very, very expensive to go to court. Now
sometimes
it is the skill of a lawyer that
lets a guilty person go free. What do
they do? They create doubts, and that's their
job. They create doubts. They poke holes,
or sometimes that same approach leads to the
imprisonment of an innocent person. In the case
of brother Abdul Rahman al Abdi, it took
7 months for charges to be laid. So
that was just the first question. Because when
there is, death, or injury, related to police
action in Ontario, it is the responsibility of
the special investigations unit, the SIU, to investigate,
that case. And this investigation
took 7 months. So for 7 months, the
family and the community didn't even know if
there was going to be any action taken
whatsoever, any charges were going to be laid
or not,
against, the police officers involved.
So it took 7 months, and of course
that was a long wait, and and it
is very difficult for the family,
especially for the family.
So after 7 months,
the first step was cleared, and the SIU
announced that, yes, they were going to be
laying charges.
Now it has been over 4 years
since the death of brother Abdul Rahman Abdi,
and after 4 years, the verdict has been
reached. Now this time,
is often very painful and very difficult for
the friends and family members of the victims
of a crime and also for those who
are wrongfully accused as it happens from time
to time. We have in this country of
ours,
and of course in other places as well,
you know, instances where people have been accused,
even wrongfully convicted.
This has happened in the past with regards
to, you know, murders and and other,
other crimes.
Members of our, of of the Muslim community,
the Canadian Muslim community have been impacted as
well, especially with relating to, you know, with
regards to, terrorism
related charges as well. So we find trumped
up charges,
false accusations,
even in case of, you know, entrapment as
well. So people are are wrongfully accused,
in various cases,
and that also happens, and the the trials
take so long to come to court that
those, you know, 4 or 5 years, even
more,
are are really just just so painful,
for the person who has been wrongly wrongfully
accused and their family members. And then, you
know, after all that waiting, when the judgment
go comes out and it goes against all
expectations of justice,
that pain and difficulty
just increases,
increases exponentially.
And it is indeed a great test of
patience and perseverance.
And as we discussed, last week, you know,
each moment of pain, of anxiety, of stress,
of depression, of worry will not go unnoticed
by Allah
and there will be something good in return
for each moment. Insha'Allah.
We ask Allah Almighty to ask, to grant
justice,
peace and closure to the families of brother
Abdulham,
brother Suleiman Fakiri,
brother Ijaz Chaudhry, and to, and all of
those who are victims, their families, and the
wrongfully accused and imprisoned.
Now, my brothers and sisters, the pursuit
of justice,
the pursuit for justice must continue,
and we must offer our support to those
who have been wronged.
For those who do not believe, perhaps it
is quite difficult to cope with injustice.
It is not easy for believers as well,
but we have great hope and good expectations
from Allah
First of all, Allah is
the ultimate judge, al Hakam,
and the most fair.
So one who doesn't, believe or is weak
in faith may think that they can escape
justice and accountability
by winning a court case, by fooling people,
by hiding their crimes.
Right? A person may think that they can
get away, but the reality is is that
that the punishment of this world, right, the
the punishment that a a person receives in
this world is expiation
for punishment of the hereafter. This is what
we learned from the sunnah of the prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam.
So the punishment that a person receives for
their crimes in this world is expiation for
the punishment that they would have otherwise received
in the hereafter.
So a person who is truly guilty
and escapes the worldly punishment,
they will have to face the ultimate judge,
which is Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. Allah tells us in the Quran,
says we will set up the scales of
justice
on the day of judgment,
so no soul will be wronged in the
least.
No soul will be wronged
in the least.
And even if a deed is the weight
of a mustard seed, you know, a a
something that is so tiny, indeed, we will
bring it forth. It will be brought forth.
It will be made apparent, and sufficient are
we as as a vigilant reckoner.
So there is no getting away.
Has to be. So there is no getting
away for anyone, for any wrong that they
have committed. Everything will be brought to account
on the date of judgement, no matter how
small it is. And, radiAllahu
anhu, relates that the prophet
said that
that the rights of justice will be restored
to the people
on the day of judgment or will be
restored restored
to their holders, to their people, to those
who they are due to on the day
of resurrection.
And prophet
said even between the hornless and horned sheep,
subhanAllah,
that the,
the sheep that is,
horned
if they if it has, you know, hurt
the hornless sheep, even that will be settled
on the date of judgment. And this hornless
sheep will receive justice as well. So it
is not just for human beings, but also
between animals as well, that Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala will grant ultimate justice on that day.
And every single person, every single being, every
single soul that has been wronged in any
way will receive,
will receive justice on that day. And every
single person, you know, who has committed a
wrong and has gotten away with it in
this world will be brought to account
for their deeds. So we learn, my brothers
and sisters, that ultimate justice will occur on
the date of judgment, insha'Allah. And this gives
us much hope, but it should also make
us afraid as well. Inshallah, everyone who has
been wronged in any way will get their
day in court and a result with which
they will not be disappointed with, insha Allah.
If not in this world, then certainly in
the next. Because for us, when we pass
away, when a person dies, that is not
the end of their existence.
That is actually,
you know, the the real beginning of their
existence because this world is just, you know,
a very short and very, temporary
part of our existence. We we existed before
we were born. Our souls existed before we
were born and will continue to exist after
we pass away as well. So when a
person dies, it is not the end. And
in fact, in many ways, it is actually
the true beginning of our existence.
So my brothers and sisters,
we,
must also
examine ourselves as well that, yes, if we
have been wrong, we want justice on the
day of judgment. We want justice in this
world. And if not, then we ask for
justice on the day of judgment, which we
will receive, insha'Allah.
But we must also examine ourselves
that what have we done to wrong others,
and what if we are the ones being
held to account on the day of judgment?
Right? So it goes both ways. So on
the one hand, yes, we all want justice,
and everyone who has been wronged will receive
justice.
But what if we are the ones who
have done something wrong and that there are
claimants against us? So this should also make
us fearful and should make us very, very
careful in terms of our dealings of with
others,
if we have wronged anyone, you know, that
we try to rectify our affairs. We try
to seek forgiveness from them. We try to
set matters straight. We seek forgiveness from Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, and we we try never
to repeat our actions,
because,
you know, otherwise, we could very well be
brought to account on the date of judgment
as well. Now finally, for everyone who creates
evil plots against others,
know that Allah
says clearly in the Quran
that but the evil plotting only backfires
on those who plot.
That evil plotting only backfires
on those who plot. So those who are
going around making evil plots, trying to, you
know, do things to put others down, to
entrap others, to cause trouble to others, to
get away, you know, plots to get away
with crimes, with oppression,
know that every evil plot will fall apart
and embroil the plotters in their own evil.
Sooner or later, that is going to happen.
Whether we see it or not, whether we
realize it or not, that is going to
happen, and it is what Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala tells us in the Quran. So my
brothers and sisters who have,
suffered injustice, who are suffering injustice and oppression,
who,
you know, have hope
have hope and persevere
and know that the injustice and oppression that
has been done against you, done to you
and your loved ones will never go unnoticed.
And if you have,
if you have not suffered injustice,
then thank Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Be grateful
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and commit to
supporting those who have been wronged, those who
have suffered injustice,
those who are,
who have and who are suffering from injustice
and oppression. My brothers and sisters, let us
make dua.
To all of those who have been wrong.
Oh, Allah, please grant them and their families
relief and peace and closure.
Oh, Allah, please bring all the perpetrators to
account for their crimes.
Oh, Allah. So many people walk free. Oh,
Allah. So many criminals. Oh, Allah. So many
oppressors.
They walk free in this or on this
earth. Oh, Allah. They think they can get
away. Oh, Allah. They walk with pride. Oh,
Allah. They boast about their wins and about
the oppression and injustices
that they have committed, and they feel that
they are immune to the wrath and and
and to justice. Yeah, Allah. Oh, Allah. Please
grant, please bring them all to account.
Oh, Allah. Please grant justice
to those who have been wrong.
Oh, Allah, please shower your forgiveness, and your
mercy upon our brothers, Abdul Rahman, Abdi, our
brother,
brother, brother, Ijaz, Jodhuri. Oh, Allah, please grant
them the best place in Jannah
Oh, Allah, all of those who have been
wronged, all of our brothers and sisters who
have been wronged and have lost their lives
in this way. Oh, Allah, please grant them
the blessed place and best place in.
Oh, Allah, please shower your mercy and forgiveness
upon them.
Oh, Allah, oh, Allah, please grant relief to
all of those who are experiencing distress, anxiety,
grief, worry, depression, and any other type of
suffering. Oh, Allah, please remove all of these,
you know, feelings. Oh, Allah, please replace them
with happiness and ease.
Oh, Allah, please cure all of our brothers
and sisters who are suffering from mental health
challenges. Oh,
Allah, please grant ease and peace to their
family members.
Oh, Allah, please remove the worries and anxiety
of their family members.
Oh, Allah, especially those parents who have children
with mental health challenges. Oh, Allah, children who
are suffering from various illnesses. Oh, Allah, please
grant relief. Oh, Allah, please grant cures. Oh,
Allah, please cure their children. Oh, Allah, please
cure their youth. Oh Allah, please cure their
adult children. Oh Allah, please grant ease and
peace to all parents and families in this
situation.
Oh Allah, please remove the trials and hardships
from the lives of all of our brothers
and sisters.
Oh Allah, please grant them strength to succeed
to the trials that have been decided for
them.
Oh, Allah, we thank you and we praise
you for all of your blessings. Oh, Allah,
we thank you and we praise you for
all of the ease and comforts that you
have blessed us with. Oh, Allah, please protect
our children. Oh, Allah, please protect our youth.
Oh, Allah, please protect all of us
from all types of harm, oh, Allah, whether
it's spiritual harm, mental harm, or physical harm,
oh, Allah, in this age of the pandemic,
oh, Allah, please protect all of our healthcare
workers and teachers, Oh, Allah, all of those
who are having to go out and interact
with others. Oh, Allah, please protect them, our
children, our youth, oh, Allah, and all people
from all types of harms and hardships. You.
Oh, Allah, please envelope us all in your
unseen protection.
Will Allah please cure all of those who
are ill and facing hardships and struggles with
regards to their health. Will Allah our elder
sister living in pain and weakness. Will Allah
our brother and sister living with long term
pain and injuries and struggles. Will Allah our
elder pioneers oh, Allah, who have given much
of their lives to serving your deen, to
serving our communities, oh, Allah, they are ill,
oh, Allah, suffering from cancer, other illnesses,
and injuries. Oh, Allah, oh, Allah, please grant
them in a speedy recovery. Oh, Allah, please
accept them and shower your mercy upon them,
you Allah. Oh, Allah, please cure them from
all of their hardships and pain and suffering,
you Allah. Oh, Allah, all of those who
are ill or injured, Allah, you are the
cure. Oh, Allah, you are the healer. Oh,
Allah, no one can heal except you. Oh,
Allah, no one can cure except you. Oh,
Allah, please grant them all the speedy and
complete recovery.
My brothers and sisters.
Bless you all. Please, those who are at
home, go ahead and offer for a cause
of the Lord prayer. Those who are scheduled,
for a register for Friday prayer, please, come,
offer, Friday prayer at your allotted time,
Insha'Allah. And, tonight we will be having,
a very,
interesting discussion Insha'Allah
regarding Islamic history month, and why you should
care about Islamic history. This will be happening
at 9 PM Insha'Allah. It's, it's another edition
of Friday night mic drop, at 9 PM
EST Inshallah.
Find it at kanada muslims.ca/live,
and also on our, Facebook and YouTube channels
at kanada Muslims. We will have sister Shaina
Sidibi from, Winnipeg, from Islamic History Month Canada,
brother Hussam Munir, historian from Mississauga Insha'Allah, and
I will be hosting the discussion. So I
look forward to, seeing you at 9 PM
tonight.