The world is inundated with the news of the loss of one man’s life these days. Osama bin Laden is top of the headlines and on the mouths and minds of people from sea to shining sea. Heck, I don’t even have a television and I never watch or read the news, and even I know all about it!
From conversations to Facebook posts I feel like I have a play by play. I even read a blog by one of my favorite Imam’s (Khalid Latif) explaining why a burial at sea is not against sharia (Islamic law). It may be the first time that I do not totally agree with the man…but that’s off topic.
So really, what can I add and why am I writing about it? I am no scholar of Islam. In fact, I am like a newborn in this faith, having only reverted 4 years ago. And what drew me so swiftly to this beautiful religion was the totality of the Koran. The justice and peace I was preached in every Surah moves me even still today. And, in every comment, in every rendition of what’s happened to Osama bin Laden, I’ve rarely heard reference to these fundaments of our faith.
As Muslims, it is not our right or place to judge another. Our greatest example was in Rasulallah, the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). This beautiful man endured profane acts of terrorism from every which direction, including from within his own family. He was beaten, his life was threatened countless numbers of times, for heaven’s sake, he and his family were almost starved to death. Yet, time after time after time after time, our beloved Prophet (PBUH) prayed over his enemies, sought every opportunity to offer peace where war was waged, and (most importantly) forgave. He forgave his trespassers. He forgave his enemies. He forgave and sought to forgive.
Rasulallah (PBUH) experienced the divine mercy of Allah (SWT) and with every ounce of his being he sought to bring that mercy to each and every one of us. This is our faith. This is our Islam!
We may rejoice at a hindrance to the operations of a terrorist network. I am ecstatic to see Muslims and non-Muslims unite over the demise of a false representation of Islam. But we should never excite ourselves over the death of another human being. Like it or not, every human on this earth has the same opportunity to seek Allah (SWT) until his last breath. And it is not ours to judge or decide his soul's journey. Our FAITH is that we come from our Creator and to our Creator we return (inna illahi wa inna lillahi rajioun). How we live in this world (dunya) is our choice, but how we live in our hearts, in our minds and in our prayer is known and judged only by Allah (SWT).
Let us not get caught up in the hatred. If we accept our faith and live it with true Iman, we will seek to protect ourselves from the darkness of worldly judgment.
For Osama bin Laden, I say: inna illahi wa inna lillahi rajioun.
