An agonising complaint from an African Muslim and its remedy
In The Name of Allah, The Most Merciful The Bestower of Mercy.
Allah, The Most High, said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ
Verily! Allah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change what is in themselves. [Al-Rad: 11]
Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, said: The wording of this verse shows that Allah) does not remove His blessings which He bestowed upon His servants until they (abandon) obedience to Him and disobey Him. [1]
فَلْيَحْذَرِ ٱلَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِۦٓ أَن تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ
And let those who oppose the Messenger’s (Muhammad) commandment (i.e. his Sunnah legal ways, orders, acts of worship, statements, etc.) beware, lest some Fitnah (disbelief, trials, afflictions, earthquakes, killing, overpowered by a tyrant, etc.) befall them or a painful torment be inflicted on them. [Al-Nur 63]
The complainer said:
We were ravaged by merciless conquests, unjust enslavement, and imperial deceit. Whenever a noble leader arose from our ranks to champion the unwavering struggle for our liberation from the mental bondage imposed upon us, the signs of this mental subjugation favour the oppressor, despite the physical shackles of slavery having long since vanished. Yet, the chains of our minds continue to imprison many; not through the savagery of colonialism, but through the weight of debt; not with lashes, but via multinational corporations; not by enforcing compliance through colonial statutes, but through economic coercion, cultural hegemony that seeks to alter Islamic tenets, and efforts to suppress the truth. Those who dare to confront this injustice are met with assassination, conspiracy, or exile, orchestrated by foreign agents and their local collaborators – the betrayers among us.
We stand against our rulers in defense of the outsider, and in this endeavour, we acknowledge our failure to rebuild despite our suffering. We are not turning to the divine texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah for wisdom, even as we endure wounds, nor are we seeking solidarity in all that is beloved to Allah, while resolutely striving to liberate ourselves from oppression. Instead of demanding fairness, fair partnership, and mutual exchange, we find ourselves reliant on handouts.
Those who have been oppressing us did not achieve dominance through persuasion or a superior belief system; rather, it was our separation from the Qur’an and Sunnah that allowed them to plunder our resources and invade our territories. This has led to our demoralisation, destabilisation, discrediting, and the destruction of all our efforts. What they fear most is our unity on the path of the Salaf. They understand that through this unity, the world they aspire to create to keep us subservient will no longer be a comfortable haven for them, and they will be unable to exploit us as intermediaries and brokers of their interests at the cost of our well-being. Anyone who critically expresses concern regarding the neocolonial oppressor and take bold steps for self-determination is labeled a radical and deemed a dangerous anti-Western agitator. In this manner, they monopolisze narratives, utilisng distortions that are clouded by falsehoods. They portray us as beings devoid of humanity, savages existing outside the bounds of civilization, wretches in need of salvation, famished individuals, afflicted by disease, chaos, terror, devoid of hope, success, development, and honor.
Despite the abundance of resources on our continent, we remain the most impoverished. Our land is rich in cobalt, essential for the functioning of cell phones and electric vehicles. This cobalt is sourced from our continent, yet the majority of our population cannot afford such devices. Additionally, our continent boasts extensive reserves of platinum, crucial for electronic gadgets and medical implants. However, even with this platinum originating from our land, we find ourselves paralyzed by rampant unemployment. Our continent is also rich in gold, yet our people are mired in poverty. Furthermore, we possess diamonds that are extracted by oppressors, while our miners struggle to survive on meager wages. Lastly, our continent is endowed with vast quantities of uranium, which powers the nuclear plants of our oppressors and illuminates their cities, while our villages remain shrouded in darkness. [End of quote]
Following this agonising complaint, the reply consisted solely of the particulars outlined in the article below: https://abukhadeejah.com/state-of-ummah-causes-of-weakness-means-of-rectification-ebook/
[1] Bada’i at-Tafsir Al-Jami Limaa Fassarahu Al-Imam Ibnu Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah. 2/80