AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): One
of the effects of Muslims living in a non-Muslim society is the
desensitization that many may develop towards sin. This is the natural
result of living in a society utterly void of any regard for the purity
Islam seeks to instil in our hearts. If for example a man has from his
childhood seen women dressed in an immodest manner, how can the sight of
such a woman cause any repulsion in his heart? If one has always had
close peers of illegitimate birth, how can a pure lineage be valued?
Worse yet, Muslims in such a society may begin to regard purity and sin
to be no different from one another. When a child grows up with friends,
teachers, and role models who do not hold such pure values dear to
them, what is to be expected of the child?
Allah says in the Holy
Qur’an: “Say: The good and the bad are not equal, though the abundance
of the bad should amaze you.” (5:100) In this verse, Allah is pointing
to this deep truth: there is a world of difference between the khabith
(the bad: sin, vice, etc.) and that which is tayyib (the good: purity,
piety, etc.). No matter how prominent sin may be in the world around
him, a Muslim must never lose sight of the ugly reality of such deeds.
We must strive to ensure that our hearts always love and cherish that
which is pure and have an innate disgust towards that which is impure.
Undoubtedly
retaining such purity amidst a society engulfed in sin is no easy task.
Keeping this in mind, if we look at the life of the Mother of Believers
Sayyida Khadija (peace be upon her), we will be amazed at her purity.
Despite living in the immoral, polytheistic, sinful society of
Jahiliyyah (ignorance, the time before Islam was revealed in Arabia),
Lady Khadija managed to remain aloof from vice. At a time when everyone
around her was worshiping idols, she was amongst the few monotheists. At
a time when the rich oppressed the poor, she would help them with food
and clothing. So virtuous and impeccable was her character that during
the era of Jahiliyyah, she was given the title of al-Tahirah, the pure
one.
It is rather unfortunate that this great lady is often only
remembered for her financial contribution to Islam. Of course this
contribution is not to be undermined. The same Khadija whose caravans
equaled the caravans of all other traders of the Quraysh put together
died without a single dinar or dirham to her name. She gave all her
wealth for Islam. As the saying goes, “Islam was not saved except
through Ali’s sword and Khadija’s wealth.”
Nonetheless we must
consider what it was in her that made her so ready to give all her
wealth in the way of Allah. What was it about her that Allah chose her
to be the savior of Islam, the most beloved wife of the Holy Prophet,
and the grandmother of eleven Imams? Undoubtedly such lofty positions
were bestowed to her because she herself was worthy of them, as is
evident in the purity she maintained amidst the most difficult of
situations. May Allah give us – who, like Lady Khadija, live in
societies engulfed in immoral practices – the ability to retain purity
in our hearts as she did.
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