Is preserving Islam the responsibility of only the Maulvis and the poor?

In 2011, a tsunami hit Japan, devastated its cities, and washed away a nuclear plant. Nuclear radiation is so powerful that its effect permeates the air, water, trees, and the environment; even iron walls cannot stop it. Seas, forests, mountains, and living things are all affected by its radiation. If a person is exposed to it, his death is certain, and often people die suffering from various physical disorders.

I salute the spirit, sincerity, compassion, and sacrifice of the Japanese as a nation to have overcome this disaster. Whichever nation possesses these attributes will be able to lead the world. All the retired and elderly nuclear engineers gathered together and avowed that they would work on the nuclear plant so that the youth would stay alive, as future generations would need them, stating, "We have completed our lives; it does not matter even if we die now." Thus, the old people saved the entire nation from the danger by offering their lives.

Muslims were also the leaders of the world in the fields of science, politics, and academics for about a thousand years, because they too risked their lives to keep their nation's head high. In the fourth century, Abbas bin Farnas embraced death while attempting to fly, and Tariq bin Ziyad initiated the spread of Islam in Europe by undertaking strategic naval missions against the Visigothic rule in the Iberian Peninsula.

The mothers of Imam Bukhari and Imam Sufyan Thauri, (may Allah have mercy on them) said: "Son, I will take care of arranging for the required loaves of bread by spinning thread, and you ensure the safeguarding of the religion of the beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ."

Imam Bukhari's teacher, Yahya bin Ma'een's father, left one million dirhams in cash. According to today's calculation, it is more than 200 million Indian rupees, which he spent on learning and spreading the hadith and, in the end, used to live in poverty.

Thriving nations dedicate their time, money, and lives for their existence, their purpose, their ideology, and their religion, which brings them glory and recognition in the world.

Nowadays, everyone is mourning the plight of the Muslims. The condition of the Muslims is pathetic. Why??? The Ummah has passed the responsibility of - protecting the Qur'an, the hadith and its education, calling the adhaan and leading the prayers, faith of Muslim generations, and answering questions and objections raised against Islam - to the poor, orphans, and destitutes. By merely giving charity to the madrasah and the orphanage, they think their responsibility has been fulfilled. Will the Maulvis alone be brought to account by Allah? Will the humiliation and disgrace befall only the Maulvis? Each person will be held accountable according to his own ability and resources.

How did Islam reach Malabar, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Singapore, and South America? Merchants in their trade, doctors in their medicine, scientists in their research, and teachers in their education never separated Islam from their lives, and thus Islam reached every nook and corner of the world through them. Even today, every affluent person should serve the religion and the Ummah through his wealth, every journalist through his journalism, every engineer through his art, every doctor through his profession, and every teacher through his education. Serving the people and spreading the truth is as much a duty on everyone as it is on a Maulvi to give the Adh'aan and lead the prayer.

If a Maulvi quits the Mihrab, pulpit, and madrasah on account of his poverty and need, then his responsibility will fall on the affluent people, and they cannot escape from Allah's punishment. Today in India, it is the duty of every professional to sacrifice and serve to the best of his abilities; otherwise, the future of Islam and Muslims will be in danger.

Shaykh Abdus Salam Omari Madani

Founder,

Aspire College of Excellence for Islamic Studies (Chennai & Bengaluru)