You often hear the outcry from all sides of the political spectrum of the fill-in-the-blank statement: “_____ First” (whether America or otherwise). Why is this, though? Why is it that society tends to gravitate towards nationhood, or family, or the consumer, all before they finally arrive at the guise of their moral compass, the barometer by which they navigate through life — in other words, their religion.
Why "America First" — when not Christianity first? Why "Family First" — when not God first? Here in the West, we have grown far too accustomed to forgetting what we supposedly put first.
A comfortable life with unlimited food for whenever we desire; endless satiation to the feeling of thirst; unlimited stimulation to the receptor cell; endless entertainment; a myriad of messages; a telephone to the world; multiple screens; a cyclical cycle of scrolling; a TV in every room; a digital CD player; an all-in-one streaming service — multiple of them, actually — 10-plus social media platforms. Woah… I think all that may be too much!
Compare that to those in need, fiscally deprived, and so deeply economically disadvantaged that they cannot afford even the basics of this modern world, never mind the privileges… but are they really privileges? The more of these “privileges” we have, the more technologically advanced we become as a society, the more atheistic we become. It's not even that we put our faith on the back burner… It's that we forget it entirely.
But as Muslims, though, we often are braggadocious over the fact that our religion is the fastest-growing of all. Yet that's not entirely true: the fastest growing “religion” in this country is, well, no religion at all — secularism, for lack of a better word. The comfortable and content mindset. So comfortable, in fact, that it seems we have forgotten our Lord. We have neglected Him. For why have we done that? For He does not neglect us.
Our brain processes 70,000 thoughts daily, our taste buds regenerate every 10 days, we move via our spinal cord without even thinking; the mere contraction of hiccups rests our diaphragm — and yet we still reject.
We choose nationhood over the Sustainer (Al-Muqit) of nationhood, family over the Giver of Life (Al-Muhyi), wealth over the Architect of Provision (Ar-Razzaq). Allah ﷻ, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, the All-Encompassing, the Protecting Friend, the First, and the Last. And yet, so many of us find ourselves putting Him last — "I'll do this first", "I'll just do this now and I'll do that later" — imagine our Lord treated us the same way. Ya brothers and sisters, whatever you do, put the First first. Put your religion first. Put…
Islam First
Yes… Islam First. Not Britain First, or America First; certainly not Israel first… but Islam First. I want the entirety of the ummah to repeat this very phrase. A movement unbeknownst to many as it stands, but one that will grow and flourish with time, in shaa Allah. Why? Because why anything else?
Check out this week's show, dropping this Thursday, in shaa Allah.
Jazak Allah khair for your time and attention throughout!
Faithfully, STN.
