Why Raggiungere?

Often, my friends that aren’t Muslim ask me questions that are very troubling to me…

“Why do ‘your people’ always talk about killing and violence and hatred for all non-Muslims?”

“Why do Muslims treat women so badly?”

“Why are Muslim countries so oppressive and backwards?”

“Why do Muslim preachers yell when they are giving talks at your Friday prayers?”

I could answer them and talk about the bias of the Western media and how they aren’t seeing the whole picture. And this is, in fact, much of the problem. But when it gets down to it, the answer to all these questions is, “Because many Muslims don’t know Islam and as a result, the ummah has lost its legacy.”

We have. We have forgotten the stories of the Prophet (pbuh), his character, how he handled particular challenges and situations. We don’t apply his example to our lives. We pay lip service to his message, his life, his integrity and upstanding nature, but we’re not living like he lived. We have strayed so far from the Islam that was revealed 1400 years ago that some of us don’t even know how to identify truth from falsehood anymore.

We have allowed our perfect faith to be mired in the filth of cultural constructs and have subjugated the true beauty and majesty of Islam. Many have gone to the extremes that the Prophet (pbuh) warned about. Either they are overconsumed with fiqh issues and have forgotten spirituality, social justice, and ihsan altogether, or they have given up all rules and regulations and have become free-spirited and negligent of all controls.

Islam is balance. It is the middle way. It is the most perfect path and produces the most perfect peace when put into practice correctly. It is time for our youth to ressurect our legacy, to remove the tarnish and rust from our golden history and to shine brightly as lights in our world, just as the Prophet (pbuh) and his companions once did.

Raggiungere is a word of action and resolve. It is a word of strength and commitment. It is a word of struggle and striving past adversity, calamity, and all hardship. It encapsulates the spirit I wish for myself and for all the Muslim youth to possess so that we may one day stand in front of Allah (swt) and be able to declare,

“I sought Your glory by first knowing your Deen, then applying it to my own life and sharing it with others. I did not corrupt your Deen for my own benefit, nor did I dishonor Your Way. I desired only to show others Your Light and Your Grace through all my words and actions. And I prayed each and every day that my efforts would earn Your favor on this day.”