1985-September-13

The Muslim Journal

Combating Un-Islamic Influences In Our Lives

Imam W. Deen Muhammad

IF WE lose sight on the important things in our religion, influences will come and get the important places in our lives.

If I don't have the Islamic reinforcement or the Islamic protection, in terms of what 1 believe, in terms of what I should place more importance on, etc., then an influence from the outside, from the non-Islamic world, and their sources, will come in and occupy that space that's unoccupied.

I like to resort, sometimes, to what I learned of physics. One law of physics is that no two things can occupy the same space at the same time. Another law is that there is no space that can remain unoccupied. If nothing is there, something is going to go in and fill the vacuum.

SO IF I PROFESS that my religion is Al-Islam, my book is Qur'an, my prophet is Muhammad (may the peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), great!
But where is that in my domain?
Have I established that, have I planted that'.'
Have 1 cultivated that in my domain?

Have I structured that in my own personal kingdom? If I haven't, then I have a vacuum there and the influences of the world naturally are going to go into that vacuum. And for that reason, we have people, thinking they are Muslims, wanting to be Muslims, saying "As-Salaam-Alaikum," and they are nothing but a shadow, a shell of a person.

THE CORE OF their life is r Assessed by the influences of the world. Therefore, the husband has no Islamic authority in his home, the wife has no Islamic authority over her children, and the children have no Islamic conscience to check each other, simply because they are vacant vessels, inviting the influences of the world to come in and possess their souls.

You should be working like busy ants, busy bees, ana busy beavers to instill the teachings of Qur'an in your life, the life of your children, your husband, your wife, your grandmother, everybody within your reach. That should be our obligation, that should be our challenge! Yes! Because that's our salvation. Salvation lies right there -in us filling the unoccupied spaces of our souls, our minds and our life with teachings of Qur'an and instructions from Muhammad and the discipline of a Muslim's life. That's the answer! That's our salvation.