Fruits of our Labor an Eidiya from Hurriyyah Collective
Seed Plant Root Bloom Harvest
Islam roots us. In unity with the workers of the world, we bloom. Our labor is our unifying force. Together, we plant the seeds and harvest the fruits of a better world.
Seed
Hurriyyah Collective wishes you a blessed Eid and a militant May Day! This day marks the beginning of three days of Eid-al-Fitr festivities to commemorate the conclusion of Ramadan. May 1st also marks International Workers’ Day, a global celebration of the working class and the labor movement. In many parts of Europe, May Day also once marked the transition between spring and summer since it is the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice.
This is a time of transition in the natural world. Winter has ended. The dirt stirs with new life. Seedlings and saplings angle towards the sun. As the temperature gets warmer, the days grow longer. May you and your loved ones feel the warmth of spring and the anticipation of summer. Even as we celebrate this change in weather, we also feel the devastation of climate change, and share your rage at the ruling classes’ disregard for the wellbeing of our planet. We know the brunt of climate change will be shouldered by those who live in the Global South. Just like the flowers bud and blossom, we ask Allah to invigorate and give new life to our just struggle for life and land.
Let one thousand flowers bloom! Mao
He is the One who has made earth for you like a carpet, spread out; and has opened roads and pathways for you; and has sent down rain from the sky; and We have brought forth various kinds of plants. Quran 20:53
Plant
Ramadan is a time of discipline, solidarity, and deep connection with the self, our creator, and each other. We spend a month fasting not just from food, but also divesting from the prescribed overconsumption of this culture of materialism. We learn to distinguish between what we need and what we’ve been fooled into believing we want. We learn that in Islam a true believer is the one who wants for his brother all that he wants for himself. As we refrain from food, we are filled by spiritual sustenance. We become masters of our desires and bodies, rather than letting them be the masters of us. How would our movements for justice and liberation change if we were able to channel this discipline year-round?
Ramadan is the time that we are able to reset, shut-out the noise of capitalism, and live by a different set of edicts. The traits that we strive for during this holy month, the ones we associate with the character of a pious Muslim, are also the traits that will make us better revolutionaries and comrades towards each other. In Islam piety is defined as the highest sincerest of faith, the highest expression of God consciousness. In Surah Al-Imran, ayah 92 warns the Believers: You will never attain true piety until you give freely that which you love, and whatever you may spend on anything, Allah indeed knows it.
O you who have believed, be persistently standing firm for Allah , witnesses in justice, and do not let the hatred of a people prevent you from being just. Be just; that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah; indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what you do. (5:8)
Root
All Muslims who are able are required to give zakat. Zakat is not simply charity, but a tax on our blessings, literally meaning “that which purifies”. Zakat aids in establishing a sense of balance in society, the natural flow of giving and receiving. If we only inhaled and never exhaled, we would suffocate. Zakat allows Muslims to exhale, functioning as a way of worship, “we are called to give like the sun gives to the Earth, freely and without conditions” (Secrets of Divine Love). Zakat is an innate model of mutual aid that is centered in community care and love for your kin. It also manifests in not only monetary donations but a way of life through acts of kindness, collective recognition of the needs of others, and a resistance to the individualistic capitalist model of life that has been so integrated. Zakat identifies materialistic consumerism and greed as the antithesis of Islam and the way one should live.
Revolutionary Ali Shariati also lays out the importance of the values of economic justice and selflessness in Islam for creating an ideal ummah, or a vision of a society based on a progressive spirit, writing that “the infrastructure of the umma is the economy because ‘whoever has no worldly life, has no spiritual life’... its social system is based on equity and justice and ownership of the people, on the revival of the “system of Abel”, the society of human equality and thus also of brotherhood - the classless society.” This tells us that we have a duty to prioritize collective solidarity by distributing resources to people in a just way so they are able to live fulfilled lives. The ideal vision that Shariati discusses relies on a sense of balance in society found in the model of Zakat, where resources are not hoarded by a few, but used for the betterment of the masses.
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need Marx
“For everything that you own there is Zakat, and Zakat of your body is fasting” -Imam Ali
Bloom
Exploitation against all people, especially against the poor and working class, is forbidden in Islam. There are many examples of the Prophet (PBUH) teaching those around him to treat workers with dignity and respect. Prophet Mohammed famously said that one must “give to the workers his wages before his sweat dries.” Ours is a religion that mandates our care and attention to issues of class and economic justice in our community. When the Prophet was sent to the people of Makkah, it was to free them from the bondage of jahaliyyah, or ignorance. The Prophet was sent to condemn and correct a culture that was rooted in gender, racial, and economic discrimination and oppression. Our beloved Prophet was ridiculed, mocked, and met with violence and cruelty for his message. The elites of Makkah were terrified by the radical vision the Prophet had for his ummah, one that would redistribute both power and wealth.
The Prophet was a spokesman for God on Earth, but he was also a spokesperson for the most marginalized of society because he was so attuned to their lived experiences. He had known poverty, he had known hunger, he had known illiteracy and inequality. We send peace and blessings and greetings to our Beloved Prophet. In the Prophet's vision of the world, outlined in the Quran and Sunnah, all of humankind are equal in the eyes of God. They only differ in their piety and righteousness. In this vision, the material needs of the poor are also centered. Islam demands justice for the poor and redistribution of assets from the wealthy. We are explicitly warned against the spiritual and social evils of hoarding, greed, and consumption as they remove us from the path of righteousness and piety.
WHEN WE FIGHT WE WIN
Harvest
As Muslims, we know that the liberation of all people is divinely guided, and we seek guidance from our religion for a path that will deliver us to a world where oppression falls and justice reigns. Using liberation theology, we can return to the roots of Islam as a transnational doctrine of care, recognizing that the struggle towards a more socially just world is a divine mandate and that oppression of all forms is haram. Islam is the source of our work, and we look to its teachings to condemn the forces that harm our communities, repair that harm, and liberate our people.
“The Quran wants people to ignite the fire of revolutions, fight against corrupt and oppressive rulers in order to save the deprived, and rise up whenever there is a need for rebellion…The Quran says that wealth should not be in the hands of only a few, but rather it should be in circulation among all the people (as blood in the vessels of the body of society). The Quran considers the path for reaching virtue (upright thought and action) to be the unsparing implementation of justice…The Quran wants that property should not rotate among the capitalists but it should be available for everyone. People should blot out high splurge and prodigal aristocratic lives so that the deprived people could attain opportunity to achieve their violated rights.” Mohammed Reza Hakimi in a letter to former Cuban president Fidel Castro
EID MUBARAK AND HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WORKERS' DAY