A Rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a Rat-Trap.
Retreating to the farmyard the Rat proclaimed the warning; "There is a Rat-Trap in the house, a Rat-Trap in the house!"
The Chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
The Rat turned to the Sheep and told him, "There is a Rat-Trap in the house, a Rat-Trap in the house!"
"I am so very sorry Mr. Rat," sympathized the Sheep, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers."
The Rat turned to the Cow. She said, "Like wow, Mr. Rat. A Rat-Trap, I am in grave danger. Duh?" So the Rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's Rat-Trap alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a Rat-Trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous Snake whose Tail the trap had caught. The Snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever.
Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh Chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the Sheep. The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the Cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.
So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a Rat-Trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk.
"They came first for the Communists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist; And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist; And then they came for the Jews, And I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew; And then ... they came for me ... And by that time there was no one left to speak up." - Martin Niemöller
At the same time, Islam has put a lot of emphasis on enjoining good and prohibiting evil (Amr Bil Maroof Wa Nahi Anil Munkar) in the Islamic society. Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has given a beautiful example (The sinking boat) which is as follows.
Imagine there are people traveling in a boat. One of the passengers starts to drill a hole beside where he is sitting. What will be the reaction? Everyone will start making noise and stop him from carrying on what he's doing. Suppose he says 'mind your own business, I am drilling a hole at my own place and who are you to stop me?'
Obviously, everyone will say, 'that is true. But when the water starts entering into the boat, it will not only drown you, but we all are going to sink.'
Similarly, when you see sins committed in your community, Islamic society or nation (Ummah), and if you turn a blind eye, you all will be answerable to Almighty Allah (SWT), liable for His punishment and for spreading the corruption.
"When you see something wrong happening in your community or Islamic society, it is obligatory to confront it and stop it. If you have power to speak out against the evil committed, it will be the Jihad (struggle) with your tongue. If you have no power to speak but you can write against it, it will be the Jihad with your pen. If you can neither speak nor write, but have money to pay someone who can do the job for you, it will be the Jihad with your wealth. If you cannot do anything then have hatred towards such acts and this is the weakest form of Jihad."
Narrated by Abu Sa'd al Khudri (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 79) Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: "He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do that, then he should do it with his tongue; and if he has not strength enough to do even that, then he should (at least abhor it) from his heart; and that is the least of faith."
A True Muslim always struggles and wants his faith to preserve by not just self-purification but also social-purification. He cannot tolerate non-Islamic ideologies adulterating Islamic values.
Noble Qur'an orders, "And fight in the way of Allah with those who fight with you, and do not exceed limits. Surely Allah does not love those who exceed the limits." (2:190)
Hence, Islam does not permit Muslims to remain silent to oppression. Imam Ali (as) in a letter to Malik Al-Ashtar says, "A society cannot be called Islamic unless its people stand against the usurpers in the society." Such is the emphasis of standing up and rising against oppression. |