“In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful”
I Killed a Finger Today
‘Yes, definitely that brand juice is the best in the market’. ‘And no one does my hair like that brand shampoo’. ‘Well, my kids just cannot do without that brand burger’.
Wars are fought with the support of economy. And the greatest economic factor is oil. Not only that, oil is directly fed to tanks, jets and missiles. Wikipedia states that fifty-six percent of the world oil reserves lie in the Middle East alone, while the remaining lies distributed between different countries. The non-Muslims have duped the Middle Easterners well, so that they actually sell oil to them to be used against their own nation, yes, the Muslim nation. This oil from the Middle East is used to bombard Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other proxy wars.
I was once watching a documentary about water surfing. The surfer was an Arab prince by the name of Abdullah, who was being coached by a foreigner. Let us call him Jim. So Mr. Jim was running a commentary as he coached Abdullah, saying, ‘My, my, Mr. Abdullah is a very adventurous person. He has learnt excellent surfing. He is doing a great job…’ Mr. Jim, of course you would find reason to praise Prince Abdullah. You have made an utter fool out of him and his nation and you are even making money out of it. What could be better and funnier? You have engrossed this rich, Muslim prince in leisure, pleasure and useless sports, while he could have been an intellectual, human and financial asset to the Muslim nation, provided he lived in the correct perspective. Further, the money that Mr. Jim earns adds to the GNP of his country; a portion of which goes to their defence budget. With this budget they buy oil from the same foolish Muslims and fuel their tanks and aircrafts to bombard the same Muslim nation. I would not be surprised if Mr. Jim and his comrades, in their private gatherings, laugh out loud, get a hiccup from laughing too much and fall to the ground holding their stomachs, laughing even more. Oh I forgot to mention one small detail. The Arab prince, along with his Juba and head-dress, was even wearing a very long braid. Yes, a braid. Need I say anything else?
The same is the case with consumer products. We buy their products, we add to their GNP and consequently to their defence budget. This budget is then used to buy weapons, artillery and recruit soldiers who slaughter the same children whom you fed with their burgers, rape the same women who used their shampoos and torture the same men who were just not willing to give up a simple glass of their juice brand.
The snare of their economy has expanded so much that sometimes we do not even realize that it is their product. For example, you pick up a bottle and read the back. It reads, ‘Made is Saudi Arabia’. Your conscious becomes clear. You put it in your shopping cart and there you go…Hold on a second, Ma’am. That product was ‘manufactured’ in Saudi Arabia but it is owned by a non-Muslim franchising company. A portion of the profit is still going to them, however small. It’s called royalty.
While there are some companies, Jewish or non-Jewish, with their hearts and souls beating with the existence of Israel. They contribute financially directly towards the illegal existence of Israel and obtusely, endorse the open-air prison of Palestine.
Last but not the least, we choose to work in their countries, sometimes, just for a better lifestyle. When we live in their country, and pay tax, once again we are contributing to their GNP, a portion of which goes to their notorious defence budget.
Having said all this, there is the counter argument by people who smile cynically at this ideology and say, ‘What will you do about Computers? Weapons? Medicine? How will you quit those?’ The answer is very simple, provided we are honest and committed in our resolve not to aid anti-Muslimism.
Firstly, leave what you can. Secondly, revise what you think you cannot leave. Do you really not have any alternatives? Thirdly, if it is an absolute must to buy something, buy it but do not make it an excuse to buy everything else too. The scales of decision are set with the measurement of Muslims’ plight versus pleasure, quality and the absolute necessity.
Pleasure-buying has no justification.
Quality-buying is debatable. For example, it may be more convenient buying pampers of their brand because they are more leak-proof. However, we can put in a little extra effort of changing the lesser quality pampers more frequently to avoid the leakages. Usually, we have the cost factor in mind too; changing more frequently will cost more. Whereas the fact of the matter is that their pampers are more expensive, and at the end of the day, the expense of both brands becomes more and less equal as one costs more, and the other is used more. Similar is the argument for other consumer products. Almost always, we have alternatives, but at the cost of convenience, quality or speed of work. Are these factors more important than the dearth of life, mass destruction and unimaginable torture?
Yet, a better solution in the long run is; what stops us Muslims from making high-quality products? Carelessness? Laziness? Dishonesty? Find a quality entrepreneur, or become one yourself. It is not impossible. If you look into the history of big-time business tycoons, many of them started out as street hawkers. All you need is a vision, commitment and Allah Almighty’s help. Allah Almighty has supported their hard work. Give me one good reason why He will he not support yours?
The absolute necessity is then the absolute necessity. It can, or rather should be taken, but in the parallel, one must make a roadmap to free oneself of that necessity in the long run. For example, we might have to buy machinery of some kind from them which is not available in any Muslim or friendly non-Muslim ownership. It is the ethical responsibility of the pioneers then to build up from what they have acquired in collaboration with educational, research-based and productive institutes of the Muslims.
What do you say?
Let us say, a single bomb costs about a thousand dollars. This bomb thrown at a Muslim settlement killed about fifty Muslims. Your contribution to that bomb was only one cent because of a pack of juice that you bought of their economy. Your one cent has contributed towards blasting away a finger only, in proportion to the entire cost of the attack versus the entire massacre.
It was just a cent. It killed only a finger. Nevertheless, you killed.
“If the inhabitants of the Heaven and Earth were to share in shedding the blood of a Believer, Allah would not care anything and throw all of them in Hell.” [Hadith, Transmitted by Abu Sayd and Abu Hurayrah, Book of Tirmizi, N.991]
Will you still buy?
If you cannot make such reasonable sacrifices in your life, for what reason then do you celebrate Qurbaani, the Eid of Sacrifice, every year?
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Writer Nadia Naeem is a student of religion, an academic and a social worker. She seeks positive change in the society by awakening the thinking process, caring for other than self and contribution to society by participation of every single person of the society. She can be contacted at her mail
umme.muhammed@outlook.com
Disclaimer:
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Dispatch News Desk. Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of Dispatch News Desk.
