1.
In
life, you may have a cause that you have to push through and you will need the
support of a whole lot of people. The cause may be a new initiative, a
movement, and an agenda that will really reveal the very purpose of your
existence in life. A cause of such nature was Islam, that of our noble
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
2.
In
life, some may not believe in your cause, but they will support you at the
peril of their lives. They will incur the wrath of many who will wonder why
they support you yet will never give in. They will never bulge nor waver, nor
cower in their support till death. That is the case of Abu Talib, the Prophet’s
Uncle.
3.
In
life, some will be your family members. Some closer to you in consanguinity yet
will be the trailblazers of hate against you and your cause. Don’t be surprised
if they are your fathers or uncles. They will swear heaven and earth to go
against your cause till they lose their lives in that. Check out the Prophet’s
Uncle Abu Lahab.
4.
In life, some will be with you through thick and thin. They
will support you from the first day. They will pull through with you through
the turbulences and pestilences your cause will gather. And they will be the
first to help you put out your head above the troubling waters. They will
expend their resources in other to see you excel in your cause. The Prophet
stated that all the people he called towards Islam accepted after a little
hesitation except Abu Bakr. And Abu Bakr really expended himself and his
resources in the cause of Islam.
5.
In life, when all your family members do not see the need to
join you in your cause, there’s that family member who will stand against all
and declare his support for you. He will be active in the cause and radiate its
ideals wherever he finds himself till the point of death. A strong case in
point is the cousin of the Prophet Ali ibn Abi Talib.
6.
It is stated that “behind every successful man is a woman.”
This was aptly epitomized by the unwavering support Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
gave the Prophet ab initio. It is of
no mean significance that the Prophet stated “She believed in me when all
others disbelieved; she held me truthful when others called a liar; she
sheltered me when others abandoned me; she comforted me when others shunned me;
and Allah granted me children by her while depriving me of children by other
women.”
7.
In
life, some will never believe in your cause. As a matter of fact, they will
move heaven and earth to put a twang in the progress of your cause. They will
do that not because they disbelieve in you or in your cause. Far from that!
They will hurl fire, brimstone and thunder on you because they see your
progress as a betrayal of their cause, prestige or their very existence on
earth. This was clearly exhibited by the nobles of Makkah like Abu
Jahl, Ummayyah ibn Khalaf and Waleed ibn al-Mughirah and in
Madina by Abdullahi bin Ubayy ibn Salul.
8.
In life, some will be persecuted, trampled upon, despised and
treated with disdain just because they believed in you and your cause. Some
will be maimed. Some will find themselves on the shores of afterlife for their
support. Some will also carry horrible scars of the persecution they suffered
for their unflinching support. Bilal ibn Rabah, Khabbab ibn Arrat, Suhaib
ibn Abi Sinan, Summayyah bint Khayyat.
9.
In life, some will not believe in your cause in its initial
stages. They will be a thorn in the flesh of your cause. In fact a pain in the
neck. They will lead the attack on your tenets until they see the light in you
are calling towards. Then they become the anchorage for your progress. They
become “an anchor that keeps the soul steadfast and strong while the billows
roll. Fastened to the rock which cannot move. Grounded firm and deep in their
support.” Such is the case of the one given the name Al-Faruk (the distinguisher between right and wrong), Umar
ibn Al-Khattab.
10. In life, some may not
necessarily be part of your family. They come nowhere close to your genealogy.
But they will prefer dying for your survival. They protect you from far and
near, both intra and inter with the last drop of their blood. They will
sometimes be the brain behind your victory against your enemies. Their
unflinching support and love to your cause will force you to accept them into
your family. Such is representative of Salman
The Persian case when the prophet said to him “Salman is one of households of the prophet”
11. In life people will
vehemently go against your cause. They will give out whatever they have to make
sure your cause is derided off the face of the earth. They will lead the
attacks on you. But after they have
realized the purity of your cause, they, irrespective of how they stood against
you, become the ardent advocates of your cause. This is a typical case of Abu Sufyan’s
ibn Harb when the prophet said during the Conquest of Mecca “whosoever enters Abu Sufyan’s house is safe.”
12. In life, people will
disturb and frustrate your cause. They will kill the supporters of your
beliefs. They will be the brain behind
your enemies overcoming you in terms of war by applying superior war tactics. But after they have accepted to be part of
your fraternity, there is nothing you can do than to accept them. And they will
contribute immensely with the same skill this time around to overcome your
enemies. Check out the life Khalid ibn Al- Waleed.
13.
Others, if you consider
the magnitude of the damage they have wreaked on your cause, how they sadly eliminated
your strong men and the level of monstrosity they have caused to humanity. After
they have realized their mistakes and are now ready to holistically accept your
cause, you can’t reject them. That is if your cause is geared towards uplifting
the face of humanity. Wahshi the Abyssinian readily comes
to mind.
