Are we among the "few" or are we among the "most"?

“Do the people think that they will be left to say, "We believe" and they will not be tested?”

              Quran 29:2 

Allah’s promises are true and our time to be tested has fallen upon us. 

We are in the process of seeking admission for my daughter for her 11th grade and we, especially my daughter, had hopes in one particular school as it offered the syllabus she is keen on taking, along with a few other aspects we were looking for. Everything went well, except for one thing. We had a request. By the time she reaches back home, she would miss one of her 5 daily prayers. So we asked if they would allow her to perform that particular prayer in the school. We told them that it takes hardly 5-10 minutes and requires just a nook. They were very surprised and said, “We have many Muslim students here but none of them have made any such requests till now ever since we started the school. This is a 1st. So we will have to discuss with our management about it.” They said they’ll let me know within two days. Today they confirmed that they will not allow it. 

Why should they after all? It would have sounded like a weird request to them that after so many years of their experience in having Muslim students studying in the same institution, this was the 1st of its kind. Some time back one of my friends told me about this very famous educational institution in the city where some Muslim parents together went to request if their boys would be allowed to perform juma’ah during lunch break and the authorities simply handed out the TC application forms as their response. The parents of course were shocked, returned the forms unfilled and went back home. Their children continued to study in that same school. Why should OUR religious obligations matter to them when we have again and again and again shown the world that we are ready to compromise on our religious obligations at the drop of a hat? I don’t blame them in the least bit. They’re from a different faith and they do not know of the importance of it. They do not know that our 5 daily prayers is THE MOST important aspect of our faith which we cannot avoid doing even on our deathbeds. But oh my dear co-Muslims, don’t YOU know? Then why do we lament that Muslims are treated badly all over the world when we do not respect ourselves and do not have the spine to stand up for what we believe and not compromise on it at any cost? Why do we lament when we have willingly become the slaves of this world and not of the Owner of this world? 

“Indeed, Allāh will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.”

Quran 13:11

Next time we lament, let’s at least have the dignity to blame ourselves and not others. 

This is where the hypocrisy of the so-called broad-minded Muslims becomes absolutely horrendous. In the name of tolerance, they expect Muslim institutions to celebrate the festivals of other faiths and criticize the ones that do no harm but choose to not celebrate them. But when it comes to tolerance on this side, they change swiftly and will say “Well it’s their institution, and you’ll have to compromise a bit here and there if you want to get in. Else look somewhere else”.  While not celebrating a festival of another faith does no harm, saying 'no' to a religious obligation puts them in a position to choose between their education and faith.

I'm reminded of this incident when Umar bin al-Khattab radi allahu `anhu (may God be pleased with him) was walking in the market, he passed by a man who was supplicating, “O Allah, make us of Your ‘few’ servants! O Allah make us of Your ‘few’ servants!”

So ‘Umar said to him, “Where did you get this du`a’ (supplication) from?” And the man said, “Allah in His Book says ‘And few of My servants are grateful.'(Qur’an 34:13)” So ‘Umar wept and admonished himself, “The people are more knowledgeable than you, O Umar! O Allah make us of Your ‘few’ servants.”

At the same time, if you look for the words “most people” in the Qur’an, you will find that most people “do not know” (7:187), “do not give thanks” (2:243) and “do not believe” (11:17). And if you look for “most of them”, you will find that most of them are “defiantly disobedient” (5:59), “ignorant” (6:111), “turning away” (21:24), “do not reason” (29:23), and “do not listen” (8:21).

So we would rather and happily be of the “few”, whom Allah says about them:

“And few of My servants are grateful.” (34:13)

“But none had believed with him, except a few.” (11:40)

“In the Gardens of Pleasure, A [large] company of the former peoples, And a few of the later peoples.” (56:12-14)

Ibn al-Qayyim (ra) said, “Go on the path of truth and do not feel lonely because there are few who take that path, and beware of the path of falsehood and do not be deceived by the greatness of the perishers.” 

Indeed everything is worth sacrificing for Allah, but nothing is worth sacrificing Allah for. For we are indeed people of the everlasting hereafter and not of this fleeting dunya.

Oh Allah make us among the "few".