Click here to read Part One of Ryssa’s journey

“Look around you, sister. Everybody has lost someone. A mother, a father, a sister…We are all Muslim brothers and sisters”, the majhi said, “We are Muslim Rohingya wherever we live or wherever we are, and we will go back to Myanmar as Muslims.”

SubhanAllah. Can you imagine your lives being in jeopardy, only for the reason that you believe in One Lord?

A story that comes to mind from the Prophet (pbuh),  that of the hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter, Mashita. After defying Pharoah by proclaiming “My Lord and your Lord is Allah”, and refusing to leave Islam, Mashita and her children were tortured and thrown into boiling water. Mashita hesitated before her youngest child was thrown in, as it was still of breastfeeding age, but Allah being Al-Qadir, the most powerful, allowed the infant to speak before being thrown into the water, “O mother, go ahead, for the punishment of this world is easier to bear than the punishment of the hereafter”.

The very same thing the Rohingya are now fighting for is what the beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) went through himself. A refugee, an orphan and a widower, fighting for the sake of Allah.

‘Indeed, Allah is with the patient’ (Qur’an / 2:153). The path of hardship, the path of trials and tribulations is the path of the Prophets. The path of the saliheen (the righteous ones). The more we go through our own trials and tribulations, the more we really see, envision and take it upon our hearts that an injustice to one is an injustice to all. It’s then that we become less attached and captivated by what this world has to offer. The less enchanted we are, the more we run towards the Most Just, and to that which is Everlasting. Allah.

Shukr (gratitude)

In detaching from this world through suffering, the Rohingya have managed to find the wisdom behind it, leaving them in a constant state of gratitude. Their sabruun jameel (beautiful patience) during their ongoing calamities is a true example of tawakkul (trust) in Allah, that only Allah will get them through. Thus, by placing their reliance and tawakkul in the One who is in control of everything, they are content with the decree of Allah, and so they have been blessed with the sweetness of gratitude, and growth in both their imaan and character.

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is better for him”. (Hadith, Sahih Muslim)

How are we using our rizq?

While those who have nothing find no reason to complain, those who have ‘everything’ find reasons to complain about everything, particularly those of us in more ‘developed’ countries. We tend to disregard the vast amount of blessings the Almighty has granted us. The blessing to be able to worship Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’Ala without fear. And so we need to look at our blessings and question ourselves; why have we been granted such rizq (provision)?

Are we using our rizq to benefit our own selves in this world or are we investing in a way to benefit mankind, to spread His message and to gain His blessing? We need to be asking questions about why Allah swt has chosen us for the comfort we are in now, as we are not better than those oppression and suffering of any kind. The moment we start thinking that our rizq has been given to us because of our own actions is, is the moment we start believing that we are entitled to our rizq, and entitlement shows ingratitude and arrogance to the source of all our provisions. Allah has crafted us all as individuals with different rizq apportioned, and it all depends on how we are using our opportunities and blessings. We are not in charge of our rizq, but we do have control of how we use it, and we will be held accountable for the decisions we take. Are we investing enough in this dunya for the sake of Allah?

Ibn Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your illness, your riches before your poverty, your free time before your work, and your life before your death.”

Are we investing enough with our rizq today before it’s gone tomorrow?

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 Service to others is service to Allah

Just as we will be held accountable for our rizq, we will be questioned about our responsibility for others. Whilst many may say that the Rohingya are the ‘forgotten people’, and despite a majority of the media portraying it to be a nationalistic issue, the root cause as to why they are being persecuted is merely for the fact that they are Muslims.

“Whoever kills a person (unjustly)…it is as though he has killed all mankind. And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved all mankind.” (5:32)

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “The example of Muslims in their mutual love, mercy and sympathy is like that of a body; if one of the organs is afflicted, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever.”(Hadith-Muslim)

Denied legal recognition in Myanmar, and treated as illegal immigrants in Bangladesh, the Rohingya have lived in limbo for far too long. Myanmar’s Buddhist nationalists are justifying the genocide on the basis that Buddhism needs to be protected against the ‘threat’ of Islam taking over by the Rohingya, despite the fact that only 5% of Myanmar’s 54 million population is Muslim. Such religious and racial rhetorics have been used to systemically marginalise the Rohingya community for decades. 

“The Burmese army have taken our hearts. Even if our hearts long to go back to Burma, in our hearts we can visualise our own death.”

Our religion is not a passive religion. It is one which strives for the sake of Allah, upon every action and one which social justice is a vital aspect of our faith. We cannot be bystanders when we see this injustice. We have become negligent of our responsibility to others.

On the authority of Abu Sa’eed al-Khudree (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) say, “Whosoever of you sees an evil, let him change it with his hand; and if he is not able to do so, then (let him change it) with his tongue; and if he is not able to do so, then with his heart — and that is the weakest of faith.” (Hadith, Muslim)

Every moment that has been facilitated to us is an opportunity for us to serve Allah. Every human interaction is a present from Allah for us to respond and give it its due. So while it was facilitated for me to able to visit and reach out to our fellow Rohingya brothers and sisters in the camps, the exchange in this article is an opportunity for all those reading to give the Rohingya community their right due.

Serve them to serve Allah. Serve humanity to serve Allah.

True justice

Not only have we been negligent with our responsibility for others, we have become negligent of the good that we have at our disposal. Our issue isn’t the impossible things we wish we could do, but it is the things within our very reach that we fail to do. We need to look at our potential to do good and use it. We tend to think that the only way we can help those facing injustice is to physically go out and lend a hand, but we fail to see all the other means Allah SWT has blessed us with. We often lose sight of our blessings because of how easily accessible they are to us. We’ve lost appreciation for them as we haven’t had to work or strive for them. For example, if Allah has blessed us with technology, won’t we be questioned on our use of social media? Are we educating others enough about the Rohingya exodus? More importantly are we educating ourselves?

With so much suffering in the world, it’s easy for us to become desensitised when we see such atrocities. Our indignation can be used to inspire us, but it’s often short lived, and what we lack is consistency with our activism. We need to let it resonate and affect us enough to cause a change, internally and externally. We need to be keeping ourselves updated but more importantly, we need to take it back to the root cause of our social justice: what has God declared to be just?

The Prophet ﷺ said, “The most beloved of actions to Allah are those that performed consistently, even if they are few”. (Hadith, Sahih al-Bukhari 6464)

It is not sufficient for us to only educate ourselves about the plight of the oppressed, we must also educate ourselves about our deen continuously and consistently. It is from our deen that we learn about our rights and responsibilities and where true justice lies.

We are all ambassadors of our religion and we are all ambassadors of the truth.

May Allah guide us to do that which is in our capacity with sincerity and consistency for His sake, and may He forgive us for our shortcomings for when we fail to do good with what is within our capacity. May He help us to adopt an attitude of gratitude and grant us patience to undergo His trials.

For the Rohingya and all those oppressed: My Lord, build for them near You, houses in Paradise, and save them from the wrongdoing people, Ameen.