Beyond Left and Right

Have you felt anxious, overwhelmed, disturbed, or perhaps simply at unease with all that is going on around the world? Does it distress you that the segmentation of society into the “left” and the “right” has left little room for people who might be socially “conservative” yet fiscally “liberal”? Have you thought about the implications the labels “conservative” or “liberal” bring with them? Have you found yourself wondering what allyship means in the age of “cancel culture?” Have you struggled to answer the question of whether endorsing a group implies we are lending support to everything else that group stands for as well? I certainly have. These are questions many of us who partake in, or want to partake in, activism face everyday. Admittedly, these are hard questions which I have no intention of answering here. What I do intend is to draw parallels between the life of the Prophet (ﷺ) and the present day in order to help us better understand the Islamic ethic of activism so that we can rephrase these questions in ways that would make seeking their answers easier.

“Have you felt anxious, overwhelmed, disturbed, or perhaps simply at unease with all that is going on around the world?”

In pre-Islamic Arabia, Yemeni merchants were virtually excluded from the Makkan marketplace. Once, a Yemeni merchant, Zabid, sold some goods to a notable from the tribe of Sahm, a household from amongst the Quraish. The person, not expecting Zabid to command any support from among the Quraish, refused to pay for the goods. Zabid protested, and to everyone’s surprise, a group of elders from within the Quraish rose to his aid. They did not just settle Zabid’s case, they went further, formalizing this alliance and deciding that regardless of whose rights were violated they would stand with the oppressed until justice was administered. This pact became known as the “The Pact of the Virtuous” . The Prophet (ﷺ) would later say, in the days of Prophethood, that were he called to be part of the pact even today, he would have signed on. There are many lessons to be taken from this incident, but the one I would like to emphasize, and one I think is of relevance to Muslim activists, is how it shows Islam’s conviction towards a universal set of principles. When the rights of people are being violated and their dignity compromised, regardless of whether we know them or not,

“Labels are irrelevant; foremost is our duty towards the establishment of justice as Allah has enjoined upon us and that should be our primary motivation.”

regardless of their ethnicity or social standing, it is our duty to stand by them. Of primary importance to our activism should be Islam’s stance on the issue. What this incident shows is that the fact that our opinion aligns with the “left” or the “right” or whether we come across as “progressive” or “regressive” by supporting or opposing an issue should be of at best marginal importance. Labels are irrelevant; foremost is our duty towards the establishment of justice as Allah has enjoined upon us and that should be our primary motivation.

Despite the fact that many of the positions Muslims generally take on inequality, injustice, poverty, immigration, the welfare state, taxation and a host of other issues align with the “left”, we must understand that there are fundamental differences between the two groups. Neither does Islam agree with all the positions the left takes nor do Islamic standards on morality change based on the whims of the majority. Ours is a much more consistent, much less subjective framework of thinking because it is grounded in scripture so we should, in our activism, avoid confining ourselves to labels. Islam stands distinct from the left-right divide.

Similarly, looming large for Muslim activists, is the question of allyship. Who should we ally with? What should be the basis of our alliance? Does an alliance imply validation? I think here as well, we can draw upon an incident from the Seerah. Upon returning from Ta’if, the Prophet (ﷺ) felt his life was in danger. This, remember, was after the year of grief when the tribal protection provided to Muslims by Abu Talib had been lifted due to his sad demise. An emboldened Quraish was now openly threatening the lives of Muslims. In these dire circumstances, stranded outside Makkah, who did the Prophet (ﷺ) call upon for help? Mut’im bin Adi, a non-Muslim cheftian. Muhammad (ﷺ)then proceeded to enter Makkah under the protection of Mut’im. The protection meant that the risks to his (ﷺ) life were subdued for the time being. It did not, however, mean that the Prophet (ﷺ) toned down the intensity of his message.

This incident has a host of relevant lessons for us today. Yes, it demonstrates the permissibility of alliances with individuals we disagree with but more importantly, it sheds some light on what the scope of such an alliance should be. This alliance didn’t mean that the Prophet (ﷺ) validated Mut’im and his beliefs, nor did it mean that he “moderated” his message to appease Mut’im. It was an alliance grounded in principle predicated on the mutual respect that existed between these two individuals. That is how I believe Muslims should approach allyship. Alliances are often necessary, but our affiliation with certain groups on particular issues must not mean that we end up toning down our opinion on issues that group would not condone. Our relationship with God, His Prophet (ﷺ), and His scripture, should take precedence over everything else in our activism

Once again, to return to where I began, I am not claiming that the propositions I have made are religious opinions. I am certainly not qualified to make any such claims, but I feel the two incidents and the ensuing commentary, the basis of which I borrow from Imam Dawud Walid’s “Towards Sacred Activism” and Safi-urRahman Mubarakpuri’s magnificent book on the Seerah, “The Sealed Nectar,” can help us narrow down the questions I ask at the beginning of the article. At its core I believe that instead of asking ourselves all those questions and engaging in a discrete search of answers, a good starting point might be to ask yourself only one question—“what are my obligations towards the people of the world, and where are my red lines?” Where, one might ask, does one start the search for answers. Might I suggest, in the exegesis of 3:110: “You are now the best people brought forth for (the guidance and reform of) mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.” “You are now the best people brought forth for (the guidance and reform of) mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah”