My father - the man who inspired me to give dawah.

My father - the man who inspired me to give Dawah.


In each person’s life, there are one or more people or things
  that inspire one to do what they are doing. This can be art, Dawah, cooking,
  writing, sport, travel, occupation or more! Alhamdulillah, Allah subhanahu wa
  taala introduced people into my life whether as a blessing or as a lesson.
Either category of people has influenced me as a person. This month’s article
will focus on one of the individuals and that is my
father.

 My father is a 75 years old Muslim from the US Virgin Islands who
reverted to Islam decades ago. He loves giving Dawah and goes on Jamaat alot to many cities around the UK and countries abroad. Ma sha Allah. May Allah keep him steadfast in sha Allah. He is the person that spends time in dhikr in the dark. Leaves the room when hearing music. Forces himself to pronounce the words of Allah subhanahu wa taala and cries in his salah. Smiles to everyone even to those whom he knows that backbites him and speak of his colour. Always on time to do the Adhaan (call of prayer) at the local masjid. These are examples of the many amazing things he does. Yes this is my father. 
 
He is a humble person that loves gaining knowledge and always gives me advices alongside my mother on a daily basis that has been injected into my blood and travelled around my body. Amongst the advices are the following:

 “Always think before you write and talk’’

 “Even if you already know something, act like you don’t and listen to what they have to say, you will learn more’’

Living in the Muslim community in UK, it has come to my attention that there is racism but has been backed up or hidden by culture. Allah subhanahu wa taala gave us our beautiful religion Islam, and mankind gave us culture. Thus, religion should be dominated before culture as no matter who we are in the world and how much we earn, we remain the slave/servant of Allah subhanahu wa taala. During Hajj and Umrah, white is worn whether your rich/poor, black/white/brown/pink, Arab/Asian/European/African, we remain as servants in the eyes of our Almighty Allah subhanahu wa taala. When we die, our graves is dug six feet down, it is not decorated inside, it is just a standard
  shape and size for all mankind when we die. 

My dad has faced many criticisms due to his colour via various communities and some can politically hide it away but their actions and mannerisms have come to light. As a result, my mother, siblings and I also suffered. What is colour? What is so special about being fair? What’s the point of having a fair colour with a heart that belittles their own brothers and sisters’ colour? What happened to the following Quranic verses:

 Oh mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other (Not that you may despise each other). [Qur’an 49:13]

 "And among His Signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colours: verily in that are Signs for those who know." [Surah 30. Ar-Rum Verse 22]

 Those who disbelieve filled their hearts with fanatical rage - the fanatical rage of the Time of Ignorance - and God sent down serenity to His Messenger and to the believers, and obliged them to respect the formula of heedfulness which they had most right to and were most entitled to. God has knowledge of all things [Qur'an 48:26]

My father’s response to their criticisms is amazing: a smile. He was one of the initial reasons that inspired me to give Dawah, make that change and create SOS Muslim Project, student Dawah organisation from scratch. My dad
sincerely supported me a lot. I emailed many Islamic organisations and councils for funding. Rejection followed by rejection. Two amazing individuals helped out for the funding of SOS. My father sacrificed a lot of time and went on the
streets doing bucket collections from the public and Uncle Haroon Rashid, of I WILL Solicitors helped out too donating. May Allah reward them abundantly.

Treat your fathers with respect whether he had a large or small impact in your life. Without them, we would not have existed on this Earth.

Dua time:
-   Oh Allah, I pray that the Ummah unites not only with Islam but also to
treat each other with respect regardless of colour. 
-   Oh Allah strengthen my father’s health his health and keep him
steadfast, my parents' that you blessed me with, their eyes are my mirror.
-  Oh Allah please keep SOS steadfast and accept the efforts of every
member, you know our intention.

Ameen.

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