Episode 21: Dream of your Country – Part 2

 

In the name of Allah the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful  and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah (SAWS[1]).  Our episode today is a continuation of the last episode.  We want to achieve a revival for Muslims.  We have already reached rock bottom and things cannot get any worse.  Usually when the curve reaches a trough, the hope that it will rise again increases and the darkest moment of the night is usually right before dawn, so let us paint the picture and visualize it in our minds.  The more we imagine it, the more it dominates our feelings, and the more we will be ready to sacrifice for it.  Furthermore, our dream will be more precious to us than our own souls.  This is not something new; it is something that is well known because all the revivals that took place followed this pattern.

 

The whole thing starts with a dream that keeps growing in the minds and imagination of the people.  They portray it in their paintings, teach it to their kids and depict it in their poetry and novels.  That dream starts to mature; they begin to see it in their newspapers and in the gatherings with their families and friends.  It grows more and more until it dominates their feelings as well as their body cells until they find it hard to live without accomplishing it.  They accomplish it, with the help of Allah (SWT), proving these Qur’anic ayahs (verses) to be true in which Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Verily, never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)." (TMQ, 8:53)[2].

 

Now that we know where we stand, and what our current status is, we want to define the goals we wish to reach.  We do not want to define vague goals; we do not want to just say, “We wish to achieve a revival.”  Rather we want to start putting the outline of the revival on paper; this is our project.  Some of you already started to send faxes and e-mails last week, in addition to the phone calls.  We are still hoping that the number of participants would increase enormously.  It is your own project, so we need you all to participate in it.  It is a national project.  It is the dream of our country.

 

We want experts, university professors, women, youth and Muslims who live in the West to participate in this project.  Not only do we want Muslims to participate, but also Christian men and women, and young people of both sexes.  We do not want individual efforts, start on your own initially then engage in brainstorming sessions.  Everything starts with a dream in the mind of someone who manages to make people share that dream with them; so what of the dream that we will all put together? It will be our own dream and it will dominate our souls and bodies.  I will give you some examples so that you may ascertain that what I say is true; the following examples are from history and real life:

 

 

1.      Malaysia:

 

Malaysia was a very poor country.  Garbage and sewage were spreading all over its capital Kuala Lumpur.  You would not have wished to visit it 20 years ago.  Now, it is more magnificent than the European capitals.  This is all due to a man who dreamt of how he would like his country to be after 20 years.  Suddenly, and in no more than 10 years, the average income per capita in Malaysia increased from $300 to $8000!  Industrial exports rose from $3 billion to reach $80 billion.  Go and see for yourself.  Invest your money in Malaysia and you will find government employees doing their best to fulfill your needs; even if the service you request was not available in their department, they will ask you to wait until they call for an employee from another department who can offer you that service.

 

2.      Dubai:

 

Twenty years ago Dubai was just a desert, until somebody dreamt of turning it into the greatest commercial center in the entire Middle East region.  The dream became true and Jabal Ali attained an extraordinary significance.  It is enough to know that it houses the main stores belonging to all the famous Japanese companies such as Sony, as well as many more; it was all just a man's dream.

 

3.      The European Union:

 

Europe went through two World wars, where 10 of its 25 countries (originally) took part in these wars.  Casualties reached 10 million and 15 million people were injured.  They actually destroyed one another's countries, until someone dreamt of establishing one united Europe.  Who would have believed that Europe which caused all this damage would become united and use the same currency.  A train passes through 25 European countries without boarders separating them.  Their people have the freedom to travel now; they enjoy an open market where 350 people can exchange goods and ideas with liberty.  They have one parliament and one constitution.

 

4.      Al-Jazeera Channel:

 

Who would have imagined that an Arabic news channel would compete with CNN! It was somebody's dream that came true.  People do not believe that dreams can come true at some point and this is why they just regard them as unlikely or improbable, until someone insists on turning his dream into a reality.  All great projects were originally just dreams; the Suez Canal, the High Dam and the al-Jazeera channel.  They all started with a dream.

 

5.      Bahrain and the Formula 1 Car Race:

 

Bahrain wanted to organize a grand sports championship, so they looked at the most famous championships in the world.  They dreamt of organizing one of these championships.  They found that the Olympiad and the World Cup, which are the world's two largest championships to be far beyond their reach, so they thought of the third largest championship, the Formula One.

 

Then, the desert was transformed into a marvellous racetrack, to the extent that the Bahrain's Formula One championship proved to be better than that organized in Europe and America! The time used to extinguish fires in cars in the American races used to be 20-25 seconds whereas in Bahrain it was reduced to only 12 seconds.  Thus, they were able to break the record, and acquire the concession for organizing this rally for the coming 10 years.  They succeeded in drawing the world's attention to their capabilities.

 

We want to imagine how our countries should become after 20 years; it is never impossible, as Allah says what can be translated as, "Allah has promised, to those among you who believe and work righteous deeds, that He will, of a surety, grant them in the land." (TMQ, 24:55).  Do not ever give up.  Furthermore, the Hadith Qudsi clearly states, “I am near to the expectations of My servant, so let him expect from me his heart’s desires.”  We always consider this Hadith in the light of paradise, hell and the hereafter, and our expectation of Allah (SWT) is that He would let us rest in paradise and have mercy on us.  This is true but this Hadith also applies to our worldly lives; how do you think of Allah (SWT) concerning worldly matters? You should also expect Him to support you, honour you and grant you success.  In the following part, we will discuss Allah's promises to His Prophet (SAWS), which were all granted, and how the companions suggested ideas, worked on achieving them and finally made them become real.  Allah (SWT) has given His Messenger (SAWS) promises, not only dreams; they were promises that proved to be true.

 

Examples of Allah's promises to the Prophet (SAWS):

 

1. One day Hatem Ibn-Addei, who was a prominent figure in his community, went to the Prophet (SAWS).  The Prophet (SAWS) invited him to convert to Islam but he refused saying that he already believed in a religion and that he did not need to convert.  The Prophet (SAWS) told him, “I know what keeps you from converting to Islam, Addei; you think we are weak and poor.”  Addei said, “Yes.” The Prophet (SAWS) then asked him, “Do you know Hiyrah (one of the greatest kingdoms of the Persian Empire at that time), Addei?” He replied, “Yes I have heard of it, but I have never visited it.”  The Prophet (SAWS) said, “I swear to Allah, Addei, that Muslims will conquer Hiyrah and that women will be able to head for Makkah to perform Tawaf (circumambulation of the Ka’ba) fearing nothing but Allah.”  At that time the road was not safe, as battles were taking place all along the road. It was only logical that Addei did not believe a word of this, but he said, “I looked him in the eye and I felt that he was honest.”  The Prophet (SAWS) then went on saying, “I swear to Allah that the Chosroes' treasures will be delivered to us right here in this place, and I swear to Allah that we will have an immense fortune so that no Muslim will be left needy (i.e. there will be no poor Muslims at all).”  Addei then said, “His vigor in saying that made me convert to Islam.  Later on, the Prophet (SAWS) died, Muslims conquered Hiyrah and I saw women heading to Makkah for Tawaf round the Ka’ba fearing nothing but Allah.  I also saw Chosroes’ treasures at the mimbar (pulpit) of Allah's Messenger, and now I am waiting for the third promise to take place; that we will have plenty of money and that there will be no more poor Muslims.  I have not seen that, yet I know for sure that it will happen because the Prophet said so.”

 

2. The Prophet (SAWS) informed his nation of a dream that would take many years to be fulfilled; it was a dream and a promise at the same time.  He told them about the dream, while he and the companions were still in Madinah, before starting the Islamic conquests.  He informed them, “Constantinople (Byzantine) will be conquered.  What a perfect man its leader will be and what a great army its army will be.”  After the Prophet (SAWS) died, every Muslim kept dreaming of being that leader, until Mehmet II, the Conqueror (Muhammad al-Fateh) did it.  The Prophet (SAWS) did not only mention Constantinople but he also mentioned the conquest of Rome.  This conquest is not necessarily a military one; it may be achieved by spreading Islam and by letting people see how great this religion is.  Now we know the conqueror of Constantinople and I wonder if we represent the second generation that will conquer Rome.  Are you looking forward to this conquest with the same spirit as the preceding generations were looking forward to conquering Constantinople?

 

3. The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) said that the Arabian Peninsula once was a green land where rivers used to run and its green nature will once again be restored! We know the Arabian Peninsula to be just a desert, so when we hear that, we say that there must be a miracle on the way! Why can’t we be that miracle?! Why can’t we invent something to restore its green state before the United States and Europe do it?

 

Why can't we dream of fulfilling the promise of the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) just like Muhammad al-Fateh and his army? These are not fantasies; these are things that we can accomplish.  Just dream as much as you want and send us your dreams; let your dreams cover all the walks of life.  Actually those who should be dreaming more than anyone else are you, the youth, for two reasons:

 

1. Your ability to imagine exceeds that of older people.  You are still fresh; you are just starting your working lives.  You have not yet encountered obstacles that hinder your way, so you can dream as much as you like.  Do not claim that this is the responsibility of older people and intellectuals.

 

2. Since we are successive generations, someone who is 40 years old now may not live to see what will happen after 20 years, but you, the youth, will most probably see the outcome of your work and what your countries will become like after 20 years.

 

If you are reluctant to dream, someone else will dream for you; note that the accomplishments that took place over the last 100 years in our countries were not our dreams.  They were the dreams of strangers; the Suez Canal was the dream of a foreigner named Ferdinand De Lesseps and the High Dam was the dream of a Greek.  Is it logical that foreigners dream for our countries and exert efforts to turn these dreams into reality on our behalf, while we are reluctant to dream for our future claiming that our reality is miserable?

 

Never be embarrassed by your dreams.  The Prophet (SAWS) used to adopt his companion’s thoughts, which seemed imaginary and impossible to achieve.  Take the Battle of the Trench, for instance.  In that very battle, an army of 10,000 soldiers was on its way to fight against Muslims in Madinah.  The number of armed Muslims back then was no more than 3,000 people.  That situation required a novel dream and an innovative idea, so Salman (RA), the Persian, suggested that they should dig a trench. To Arabs back then, a trench was a strange notion.  Besides, the enemy would be in Madinah in a fortnight and the terrain in Madinah was rocky.

 

You know, nowadays, the problem with us is that we never attempt to think of or do anything that we know nothing about.  As for the Prophet (SAWS), he seriously reflected on the matter.  Madinah is surrounded by mountains from all sides except the northern entrance, which measures about 4.5 kilometers wide.  Once that entrance is turned into a trench, the enemy would never be able to enter the city.  Thus, the Prophet (SAWS) decided to have the trench dug.  He even said, “Salman is a member of my family.”  What Salman did was so great that the Muhajreen and the Ansar (Migrants and Supporters) each started to chant, “Salman is one of us!” He had a dream, which actually saved Madinah, so they dug the trench; it was five meters deep and six meters wide.  Two and a half thousand people kept digging the trench, for fifteen consecutive days; every ten dug 18 meters.  Every person had to carry about a thousand sacks of sand to complete the trench.

 

The irony is that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia once asked a British company to build a ring road around Madinah.  The company surveyed and studied the area. Afterwards, they apologized to the Kingdom.  The reason they claimed was that the terrain was too rocky for the company’s equipment, and the cost would be too high. Whereas the Prophet (SAWS) and his companions successfully did the job with pickaxes; they did not even need any sophisticated equipment.  They had the will and the dream to do it.  Their dream was not the trench; rather it was to safeguard their faith.  This very dream was so great and sublime.  Allah says what can be translated as, “And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists.” (TMQ, 21:107).  The trench was nothing but a step towards realising that dream.

 

We conducted a study in Bahrain.  The subjects were 700 young men and women.  We asked them to think, and so they formed separate work groups of men and women.  We asked them to visualize their country in the next twenty years.  You would never believe that the session lasted for three hours and the result was 120 pages filled with those young people’s dreams about their country.  Allow me to read out some of those dreams:

 

1. Recycling garbage.
2. Finding alternatives for oil fuels before the West does.
3. Transforming humidity to drinking water and deserts to meadows with the use of artificial rain.
4. To have a Muslim scientist who would solve the problem of the ozone hole.
5. Bahrain would become the land of the 1,000 palm trees again.
6. Traveling amongst Arab countries would be without visas or any other types of restriction.
7. Founding a unified Arab Market to compete with international markets.
8. A Bahraini football club that would be Real Madrid’s rival.
9. Asian maids’ and nannies’ roles would diminish, and the role of the mothers would be revived.

10.  Building special schools and a university for the gifted and creative people of the Arab world, in order to make use of their talents.

11. Building the biggest Arabic library ever in Bahrain; this would introduce Muslim intellectuals and Islamic thoughts to the whole world.
12. The number of those who attend the dawn prayer would be equal to that of the Friday prayer.
13. Building a bridge between Bahrain and Qatar.
14. Replacing the Asian employees with Arabs.
15. Building a prestigious village for the physically handicapped.
16. Building a sports city for women.
17. Raising the flag of Bahrain and a flag which reads ‘La Ilaha Ila Allah (there is no deity worthy of worship other than Allah (SWT))’, on the moon, in the same way that other countries did.
18. There were some humorous ideas concerning religious piety, such as making special eyeglasses to avert one’s evil glances, and a special lipstick to prevent women from backbiting.

 

All these dreams came from individuals who were less than 23 years old.  You have no idea what a single dream can do! The outcome could be beyond your imagination; it would be a wondrous turning point in our capabilities.  Let us look at the following examples:

 

1. Imagine the tremendous change in Omar Ibnul-Khattab’s character.  He used to make his own god out of dates, which he would eat once he got hungry.  He once buried his own daughter alive.  However, he changed once he realized that he had a goal and a Divine promise to achieve; he wanted to turn his country into the greatest of all countries.

 Let me give you an example to see the extent of this total transformation in Omar’s character.  Hudhaifa Ibnul-Yaman was the only one the Prophet (SAWS) could confide to about the future and that there will be turmoil and strife that will occur after the Prophet’s death.  The Prophet (SAWS) also told him when this would occur.  One day Omar (RA) asked Hudhaifa, “O, Hudhaifa, tell me about the strife.”  Hudhaifa’s reply was, “What have you got to do with strife, Amir (King) of the Believers.  Between you and strife, there is a bolted door that will never open until you die.”  Omar (RA) asked, “Is it going to open or break?”  “It will break,” Hudhaifa replied. “Since it will break, is it impossible for it to get back in place,” said Omar (RA) filled with grief.  People were so astonished to hear that conversation, so they asked Omar (RA) about what went on. “Do you know whom the door that protects Islam from strife symbolizes?” Omar (RA) asked them. They replied, “Who?”  “The door symbolizes Omar; once Omar is dead, strife against Muslims would erupt,” replied Omar (RA).  Can you imagine a sole human being to be the door that defends Muslims from strife?

 

2. Ali Ibn-Abu-Taleb (RA) was 20 years old when he was asked to sleep in the Prophet’s bed.  Getting killed was a possibility, but when asked how he slept that night, he said that it was the quietest night he had ever had.  Why was that?  He had a big dream to achieve.

 

3. Muslims were beleaguered in Bani Taleb's Mountain for three years.  They had nothing to eat but leaves.  Even their excreta was like those of cattle and camels, yet none of them ever complained or told the Prophet (SAWS), “Enough is enough, I cannot go on like this, I might bear all this but my children cannot,” for they knew that their dream would come true.

 

4. The plight of the family of Yasser: despite the fact that Yasser was being choked to death, Sumaiyya was stabbed with a spear; Ammar was being burned and skinned to death.  The three of them were steadfast thanks to a phrase told by the Prophet (SAWS), “Have patience family of Yasser, you are promised paradise.” They were also motivated by the fact that Muslims needed a revival that would bring the whole nation back on its feet.

 

When one is obsessed with their dream, that dream becomes stronger than anything else, whether it be money, one’s children, one’s home, soul, or life.  This is what we lack, this is what Muslims lack.  Let me show you how a dream can instigate man to do unusual things.

 

Let us look at what the Muslims did, for example, in al-Yamama battle: the army of Musailamah, the Imposter, and Bani Hanifa was much stronger than that of the Muslims, which was led by Khaled Ibnul-Walid.  Muslims were about to be defeated; a large number of them were killed.  Khaled Ibnul-Walid had nothing else to do other than what we are doing now.  He just reminded Muslims of their dream and vigorously said, “O people, this day is one of Allah’s days, where there is no room for pride and boast.”  Having a plan in mind, he added, “O people, today you may bring glory to Islam, otherwise, we have nothing else but disgrace.”  It shows that he was reminding them.  Then, he told them to form distinct lines (i.e., they would form separate lines for Migrants, Supporters, those who knew Surat al-Baqara by heart, those who knew Surat al-‘Imran by heart, and those who knew the whole Qur’an by heart, and so on), in order to discover who would bring glory to Islam.

 

Muslims started to call out to one another, “O Supporters,”  “O Migrants,”  “O people of Surat al-Baqara,”  “O people of Surat al-Imran,”  “O people of the Qur’an,” and so on.  The army was relocated in order to distinguish those who would bring glory to Islam and who would not.  His unusual wit uplifted people’s morale; what he did was create a dream and drive them towards it.  The reason why I am telling you this is to show you how a word or a thought could turn defeated people to a power that creates miracles.

 

On that day, Ammar Ibn Yaser stood with his ear dangling from his head saying, “O people of the Qur’an, embellish the Qur’an with your deeds.”  All those who knew the Qur’an by heart gathered around him.  About 300 or 500 of those who knew the Qur’an by heart were killed.  Hundreds of thousands of Bani Hanifa, who thought they were victorious, hid in an orchard.  al-Baraa Ibn-Malik told Muslims to carry him on their spears and throw him into the orchard so that he could open the door to the orchard.  They told him not to do it for he would not make it, “By Allah, I would do it to tell the Prophet that I’m the one who did it,” was Ammar’s answer.  They went ahead; they put him on an armour shield, raised the shield with their spears, and threw him into the orchard.  He had sixty wounds all over his body, yet he managed to open the door, and did not die that day.

 

Another example is that of unemployment: The World Bank report says that by 2013, the unemployment rate in the Arab World would reach 20 million.  Basically, in order to solve this problem, there must be a dream.  There are ideas and dreams such as the Suez Canal, the High Dam, and Dubai which has employed millions of people. Once we have a dream, all the problems that we consider huge would diminish.  Still, you must have three characteristics in order to keep pace with us in Life Makers, they are:

1. Willpower
2. Sacrifice
3. Patience

 

Do you want to be just like Othman Ibn-Affan, who donated 100 camels with their saddles when the Prophet (SAWS) was raising funds for the army? The Prophet (SAWS) thanked him then asked, “Who would donate?” Othman replied, “I would give 200 camels with their saddles,” and then he said, “I would give 300 camels with their saddles.”  The Prophet (SAWS) then said, “Nothing will ever harm Othman after this good deed, no matter what he does.”  All we need is to sacrifice our money, time, and effort. We need to exert ten times more effort than that we have exerted throughout the past phase.  Before his death, the Prophet (SAWS) used to do the Sunnah prayers while he was sitting down.  When he was asked why he was doing that, he said, “Due to the efforts, I have exerted with people.”  The Prophet (SAWS) was so tired and exhausted after a period of 23 years.

 

Dreams do not imply that the path will be rosy.  We have to have patience, sacrifice and willpower.  Are you really looking forward for a revival, or do you want to live in the bottom of the pit forever? If the latter is what you want, then just stay where you are.  However, if you are serious and sincere, then work with us, and fill us in on your dreams, and never exclude anything that you might think will not work, just unleash your imagination.

 

We are looking forward to your thoughts and visions this week.  Next week, we shall tackle the details of your dreams; we shall do so for the next couple of weeks, until we reach the final form and start working.  We are waiting for thousands of thoughts and suggestions from young men and women, businessmen, ladies, and children.  Peace be upon you all .