How social justice activists neglect Allah and set up a sacred cow

Imran Khan

Shawwal 14, 1445 2024-04-23

Daily News Analysis

by Imran Khan

When people don’t centralize Allah, they centralize the people.

One of the sacred cows in the eyes of social justice activists is the oppressed people.

Fatal. Absolutely fatal.

No matter how good their intentions, there can be no justice in the absence of Allah.

As always, we must immediately reference ourselves in the dear Book and proceed to visualize things through the Qur’anic lens.

“And they all will have appeared before Allah [on the Day of Judgement]; and then the weak [who were powerless in life past] will say to those who had gloried in their arrogance [of worldly power and authority], ‘Behold, we were but your followers: can you, then, relieve us of something of Allah’s chastisement?’ [And the others who held sway in world affairs] will answer, ‘If Allah would but show us the way [to salvation], we would indeed guide you [toward it]. It is [now] all the same for us, as far as we are concerned, whether we grieve impatiently or endure [our lot] with patience: there is no escape for us!’” (The Ascendant Qur’an, Surah Ibrahim, ayat 21)

“And [despite these warnings] the kafirs say, ‘We will not believe in this Qur’an or in whatever preceded it!’ If you could only see [such] people of iniquity as they are detained in the presence of their Sustainer [on that Day] repeating themselves to each other, the oppressed [little guys] saying to the oppressors [the big wigs], ‘Were it not for you, we would have committed ourselves [back in the world] to Allah’s power and authority!’ The arrogant oppressors will say to the demoralized and oppressed [who endorsed their oppressors], ‘Was it we who diverted you from [scriptural] guidance after it had come to you? Rather you were [plainly and simply] criminals.” And the demoralized and oppressed of the world will retort to the worldly arrogant high-and-mighty, ‘Rather it was your night and day conspiracies that required [and demanded] us to deny Allah [His power and authority] and to set up competitors [to His power and authority]!’ And when they cast their eyes on the suffering [that awaits], they [both the oppressed and their oppressors] will conceal their disappointment [and sorrow]. We will place shackles around the necks of the kafirs. Shall they be requited for other than what they had been doing [in their worldly lifecycle]?” (The Ascendant Qur’an, Surah Saba’, ayat 31-33).

“And bear in mind their mutual argumentation as they [who in life favored temporal power and authority over Allah’s] are in the Fire! Those who were disempowered [in the world] will say to those who were arrogant [due to their power in the world], ‘Verily, we were your followers: so, are you able to relieve us of [our share of] the Fire?’ Those who were arrogant [in their worldly life] will reply, ‘Indeed, all of us [now] are in it [Hell]; certainly, Allah has passed His judgement among His subjects.” (The Ascendant Qur’an, Surah Ghafir, ayats 47-48)

In these three separate yet similar Qur’anic discourses, there’s an argument/discussion between the mustad‘afin (i.e. those who are/considered themselves powerless in this world) and the mustakbirin (i.e. the arrogant powers).

They are having this argument/discussion in the inferno.

The gist of this discussion comes down to the mustad‘afin in this world having been unable to break away from the mustakbirin and, therefore, they are also in hell.

So, we come to today.

You will find many mustad‘afin are still inseparable from the system of kufr, shirk and dhulm and actually they are very much an integral part thereof.

The question for a principled Muslim is: are we identifying more with the oppressed people than with the Qur’anic direction that we are supposed to identify with?

And if Allah is saying,

“But We want to favor those [very people] who have been oppressed on earth and make of them leaders and make of them heirs [to Pharaoh’s power].” (The Ascendant Qur’an, Surah Ghafir, 47-48).

Yet these same mustad‘afin are having a practical argument with Allah and indicating by their thoughts, words and actions that they don’t want Allah.

What trajectory should the Islamic Movement take under these circumstances?

Should the Islamic Movement integrate into this movement of mustad‘afin who themselves are integrated into the structures of kufr/denial and rejection of Allah’s power and authority, shirk/rivalling and competing with Allah’s power and authority and dhulm/doing injustice and thereby set themselves up to be part of the discussion in the inferno?

No! The Islamic Movement ought to follow the guidance of Allah and extend the hand of mercy, care, love and guidance by pointing out the mistakes, errors and deviations of the oppressed peoples.