Definition of asabiyyah:
Linguistically, asabiyyah comes from the word
asabah, which is the relatives of the person from the father side. These
relatives are called asabah because they strengthen and defend the person that
makes him/her stronger.
Idiomatically, asabiyyah is man's supporting his people to whom he belongs,
whether they are right or wrong, oppressing or oppressed. The belonging to these
people can be due to kith and kin, ethnicity, color, birthplace, citizenship,
school of thought, or a group of people with common interest.
What causes asabiyyah?
The drive that causes asabiyyah is the feeling of
being better than others, and that others are at a lower class. So, the person
that has this feeling of asabiyyah thinks so highly of himself and of those to
whom he belongs, and thinks that other people are as good as his own people.
This kind of thinking is corrupted, and it is in fact a kind of arrogance
that comes from the mentality of Iblis, which led him to disobey the command of
Allah when He ordered him to prostrate to Adam. Iblis said, "I am better than
him, You created me out of fire and you created him (Adam) out of clay." The
Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) warned us when he said, "No one enters Paradise if
they have in their heart a grain weight of arrogance." The prophet (S.A.W.)
defined this arrogance in two things: Rejection of the truth and looking down on
people.
What are the harms of asabiyyah?
Asabiyyah is harmful in many ways. It
destroys the ummah, and changes the unity and harmony to disunity and
disharmony. This is beneficial to the enemies of the ummah or an opportunistic
group of people from this ummah. This situation is witnessed many times in the
past as well as today.
The asabiyyah, in Jahiliyya time before Islam turned the Arab tribes into
enemies and made from their Arabian Peninsula a battlefield. Allah (S.W.T.) told
us about their situation before Islam in surat Al-Imran, (verse 103), what can
be translated as, "And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah, and
be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allahs Favor on you, for you were
enemies one to another, but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His
Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith)" This kind of situation is not
restricted to the Arabs, it actually plagued all nations that were disunited
because of asabiyyah.
So how do we rid ourselves of Asabiyyah?
This is clarified in the Qur'an. Allah (S.W.T.) commanded us in surat
Al-Emran, (verse 103), what can be translated as, "And hold fast, all of you
together, to the Rope of Allah, (Islam) and do not be divided among yourselves."
Holding tight and assimilating on the deen of Allah (S.W.T.) and no other
deen, and assimilation on the basis of anything else is an unIslamic, ignorant,
and a rejected assimilation. This holding tight and assimilation on the deen of
Allah should be done by all Muslims with no exception. If some do not do this,
the cure from asabiyyah will not be complete.
Also, it is a must that Muslims unite regardless of the factors that suggest
differences, like skin color, languages, regions, national origins...... because
unity is obligatory.
The cure is also with purifying the soul from the traces of jahiliyah and
purifying it from arrogance, and looking down on people and planting the virtue
of humility and respect of others.
The cure is also with the total awareness that asabiyyah is from the works of
Iblees and a means of destruction in the hands of the enemies of the Muslim
ummah from within and from outside. Asabiyyah is a sharp knife that has cut the
veins of the Muslim ummah and is still bleeding and dying.
We ask Allah (S.W.T.) to protect us all from all forms of Al-asabiyyah
Al-Jahiliyah and make us true believers. ( Ameen )
Linguistically, asabiyyah comes from the word
asabah, which is the relatives of the person from the father side. These
relatives are called asabah because they strengthen and defend the person that
makes him/her stronger.
Idiomatically, asabiyyah is man's supporting his people to whom he belongs,
whether they are right or wrong, oppressing or oppressed. The belonging to these
people can be due to kith and kin, ethnicity, color, birthplace, citizenship,
school of thought, or a group of people with common interest.
What causes asabiyyah?
The drive that causes asabiyyah is the feeling of
being better than others, and that others are at a lower class. So, the person
that has this feeling of asabiyyah thinks so highly of himself and of those to
whom he belongs, and thinks that other people are as good as his own people.
This kind of thinking is corrupted, and it is in fact a kind of arrogance
that comes from the mentality of Iblis, which led him to disobey the command of
Allah when He ordered him to prostrate to Adam. Iblis said, "I am better than
him, You created me out of fire and you created him (Adam) out of clay." The
Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.) warned us when he said, "No one enters Paradise if
they have in their heart a grain weight of arrogance." The prophet (S.A.W.)
defined this arrogance in two things: Rejection of the truth and looking down on
people.
What are the harms of asabiyyah?
Asabiyyah is harmful in many ways. It
destroys the ummah, and changes the unity and harmony to disunity and
disharmony. This is beneficial to the enemies of the ummah or an opportunistic
group of people from this ummah. This situation is witnessed many times in the
past as well as today.
The asabiyyah, in Jahiliyya time before Islam turned the Arab tribes into
enemies and made from their Arabian Peninsula a battlefield. Allah (S.W.T.) told
us about their situation before Islam in surat Al-Imran, (verse 103), what can
be translated as, "And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah, and
be not divided among yourselves, and remember Allahs Favor on you, for you were
enemies one to another, but He joined your hearts together, so that, by His
Grace, you became brethren (in Islamic Faith)" This kind of situation is not
restricted to the Arabs, it actually plagued all nations that were disunited
because of asabiyyah.
So how do we rid ourselves of Asabiyyah?
This is clarified in the Qur'an. Allah (S.W.T.) commanded us in surat
Al-Emran, (verse 103), what can be translated as, "And hold fast, all of you
together, to the Rope of Allah, (Islam) and do not be divided among yourselves."
Holding tight and assimilating on the deen of Allah (S.W.T.) and no other
deen, and assimilation on the basis of anything else is an unIslamic, ignorant,
and a rejected assimilation. This holding tight and assimilation on the deen of
Allah should be done by all Muslims with no exception. If some do not do this,
the cure from asabiyyah will not be complete.
Also, it is a must that Muslims unite regardless of the factors that suggest
differences, like skin color, languages, regions, national origins...... because
unity is obligatory.
The cure is also with purifying the soul from the traces of jahiliyah and
purifying it from arrogance, and looking down on people and planting the virtue
of humility and respect of others.
The cure is also with the total awareness that asabiyyah is from the works of
Iblees and a means of destruction in the hands of the enemies of the Muslim
ummah from within and from outside. Asabiyyah is a sharp knife that has cut the
veins of the Muslim ummah and is still bleeding and dying.
We ask Allah (S.W.T.) to protect us all from all forms of Al-asabiyyah
Al-Jahiliyah and make us true believers. ( Ameen )
