In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
On Youm ul Jumu’ah, December 26th, rising up from slumber to offer the Fajr Salaah, Muslims in Toronto were greeted with news of devastation. Initial reports on the radio and television told of a massive earthquake that had wreaked destruction upon the ancient City of Bam, Iran. Details were sketchy and the toll was initially placed at 3000 dead with thousands more injured. As Muslims chanted the praise of Allah and offered Duas for the victims in the wee hours of that day, we did so with conviction and acknowledgement of the mercy and power of Allah. In a period of time where it would appear that Muslims all over the world are caught in a continual cycle of bad news, this only added to the agony of the Ummah. But as Muslims we also acknowledge the Qada and Qadr of Allah Subhanahu Watallah. We ask his help and guidance, long for his mercy and seek solace in his infinite wisdom. We know that Allah is ever aware of our conditions and hears our pleas and supplications.
As mere human beings, creatures of wants and needs, we also seek support and solace from those around us. Our families, friends and leaders of our community are expected to be pillars of support in times like these.
On that fateful morning, families were trying to grasp the severity of that calamity as the death toll continued to rise. By mid morning, the toll had stood at 20,000 dead and thousands more injured and or missing. This was the news that occupied the airwaves and the print media on that day. This was the news that everyone, Muslims and non- Muslims alike were greeted.
Alas, that was not true. For whilst we trundled out of our homes and headed to the various Masajid for Jumu’ah Salaah, We did so expecting to hear some words of comfort, some form of solace or in the very least a dua offered from the Mimbar. But that was not to be. Our Khateebs were oblivious to what was current and happening all around them. And to this we must direct our collective attention.
You brothers, our leaders and Khateebs were asleep at the wheels, as you have been for the past numbers of years. It would appear that on that eventful day, you got up out of your slumber and headed straight to the Masjid, making a beeline for the Mimbar and mouthed a Bayan. Perhaps you may be given the benefit of the doubt and allowed that you may have gotten up earlier in the day for Salaatul Fajr. But then again if you did, then you may have heard the news and your Bayan would have been relevant.
Sadly, my dear brothers, by virtue of not being current and not speaking to the issues that affect the community, your Bayans have become irrelevant and by extension so have you. You may not be aware, but this is a thriving Muslim Community whose strength lies in its intellectual capacity. Please do not denigrate us!
You are our leaders and we expect you to be bastions and exemplars of this thriving community. We expect our leaders to be knowledgeable and our khateebs to be intellectually stimulating, and current. We expect of you that you deliver a Khutbah of relevance, with substance and essence of issues that confront us. We expect of you that you deliver such message to us that may be inspirational and motivating. We expect that you may use the Mimbar to tell us of the perils that may befall us and offer us solutions and reminders on how to avoid them. We expect that you may show leadership and act as a steadying force in this tumultuous era that we now behold.
You have become irrelevant. Historically, you have failed the people of this community. You continually chant Bayans that bear messages of little or no importance to the community. Your absence is glaringly conspicuous in times when leadership is wanted. You treat us with disrespect by arriving late for important occasions. You treat us with disdain by being inaccessible and aloof. You are in the employ of this community and have failed to make meaningful contributions to its advancement.
On the contrary, you have by virtue of being inaccessible and failing to acknowledge precedents and practices that were hitherto entrenched, added to the malaise that infects us. But before you think that this is an attack on your person and character, It would be best to remind you of the story of Umar (RA) who when confronted and rebuked, acknowledge that it was within the right of the people to do so. Muslim leaders must be accessible and accountable.
Do not for a moment feel that this is harsh criticism of your qualities, rather, it is a reminder to you of your duties and obligation to the community. You should introspect and remind yourself that you will be held accountable to Allah for the lack of leadership that you have demonstrated.
The least that can be done is to let you be aware of your failures instead of allowing you to wallow in your self-imposed quagmire. Allah will also hold us accountable if we fail to warn you.
May we all be guided, may Allah have mercy upon us all and may He cause strong leaders to rise up from amongst us!
Jay Mobeen
jaymo