THE QATARI SOCCER WORLD CUP OF 2022- AN HONOUR OR DISGRACE? MAINTAINING PERSPECTIVE
The spectacle has dominated the lives of many in the ummah.
As Muslims, we are enjoined to reflect constantly – to assess critically what we do, what we say, what we incline towards , what we find joy in, and what we despise – with a view to seeking guidance from our Lord, seeking His pardon, and correcting our errors of thought, belief and action.
So what can we say about Qatar 2022, and what did it reveal about the ummah?
Let’s be clear about one thing-. The hosting of the World Cup had nothing to do with either the preservation of or the promotion of deen. It was a 3 week festival, coveted by the rulers of a country who sought international kuffaar acclaim for their ability to host a major world sporting event, and who were intent on hosting an event that surpassed anything seen before. This they set out to achieve by spending (it is reported) over 250 billon US dollars.The figure is astounding, by any standards. Bear in mind, that ours is an ummah steeped in poverty, ruled in many areas by tyrants, subjected to military occupation by the forces of disbelief and victims of relentless attacks by the armies of the nations of disbelief- an ummah whose ill equipped, under- resourced and forgotten mujahidin battle daily to defend our deen.
We indulged nonetheless – we partied, we danced, we sang, we embraced our enemies and the enemies of Allah. We displayed our sisters in football attire, liberated and exuberant – how proud we were to be Muslim- to be recognised finally as no different from the Kuffaar- what joy we experienced when they praised our conduct, our hospitality our kindness- what ecstasy we experienced when some of them said they had no idea how nice we were……
How humiliated we have become that we covet the acknowledgment and recognition by the enemies of Islam with such fervor, and with such enthusiasm?
Did we forget the words of Allah , the Sovereign, with whom all Honour lies, that:
ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّخِذُونَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ أَوْلِيَآءَ مِن دُونِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ ۚ أَيَبْتَغُونَ عِندَهُمُ ٱلْعِزَّةَ فَإِنَّ ٱلْعِزَّةَ لِلَّهِ جَمِيعًۭا ١٣٩
‘those who take the disbelievers for friends rather than the believers. Are they seeking honor in their company? But, indeed, all honor belongs to Allah’
Surah Nisaa Ayah 139
Some say that the World Cup was good because it united the ummah. We say no, that’s not the case. The fitra (the natural disposition) of a Muslim, is to seek goodness for his brother and to assist him in need.This fitra is a gift from our Lord- it is not the product of the World Cup.It exists naturally within us – it is imbued in us by the will of Allah-
‘إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ إِخْوَةٌ…’
‘The believers are but brothers’
In fact, what events like the World Cup do is misdirect the fitrah, pervert it – instead of uniting to advance the cause of Islam , to defend the deen from attack and to preserve its purity, the World Cup distracted us- it made the shallow pursuit of football glory meaningful to us- it deceived us into thinking we were serving the deen by chanting for teams that represented Muslim countries – that we were advancing the cause of the oppressed -it misled us by believing that waving the Palestinian flag was brave and courageous – that somehow this would contribute to the liberation of Al Aqsa and the ummah in Palestine from the clutches of the Kuffar oppressors. Worse still, it completely hoodwinked us into thinking that we were being good Muslims by displaying solidarity with Muslim football teams.
Really? And when the world cup is over…and the drunken kuffaar fans have left…, and stadiums are empty, and the hype is over- what then? Will our sisters and brothers in Palestine have been assisted? Will our deen have advanced or have even been preserved? Will we actually fight the dastardly French government, or will we, instead witness thousands of young Muslim men risking life and limb and dignity to smuggle their way into France and other European countries, seeking the Dunya. Let’s not fool ourselves- lets recognise the lurking hypocrisy within us. Practically each one of the countries that we welcomed so warmly, whose fans we embraced, whose footballers we adore and praise – the Americans, the French, the Germans, the English, the Spaniards, the Portuguese,- all of them are at war with Muslims, ideologically and militarily- all of them have Muslim blood dripping from their greedy hands. It mattered not to us. We wanted so desperately to experience the festivity, the reckless abandon, the atmosphere, the pseudo war, the spectacle, the distraction –and we did just that: shamelessly.
There are those who laud the Qatari rulers for being firm on Islamic values. Really firm they were- No alcohol in the stadium, but it flowed in torrents outside. No public LGBQT promotion; yet they allowed an aircraft carrying the miserable English team , decorated in rainbow colours (to advance the despicable LGBQT cause) to land in Doha in all its deviant glory-how dishonored are they to welcome those enemies of Allah with such pomp and ceremony?
وَدُّوا۟ لَوْ تُدْهِنُ فَيُدْهِنُونَ
‘They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you.’ Surah Qalam Ayah 9
“Don’t be unfair”, some say- “Qatar was so firm on Islamic values that officials even prevented 2 spectators who were dressed in Crusader outfits from entering the stadium-such conviction!”. Yet Qatar allows the evil US government to operate a massive military base in Qatar, from which countless drone attacks on Muslims have been carried out, and continue to be carried out – the drone attacks that targeted and killed Sheikh Anwar Al – Awlaki, his daughter and son (may Allah have mercy on them all ) while shrouded in secrecy were most likely launched from the American Base in Qatar.
Some say that there was much good during the World Cup from the perspective of dawah- a few hundred people apparently became Muslim in Qatar – “That shows that the hosting of the World Cup was correct ”, they assert. Actually not. Every single day, Allah the Most Merciful , gives hidayah to thousands of people across the globe, large numbers of whom are in poor countries – such chosen people embrace the deen, having been invited to it by duat, or independently, through Allah’s Mercy- with minimum fanfare, no lavish haram entertainment, and no shameless acts of deviance. No, dawah was not advanced by the world Cup- it was in fact insulted and sullied.
Others comment on how amazing it was to hear the Quran recited during the opening ceremony, and to see the verses of Allah’s kalam around the stadia. Have we stooped so low that we treat Allah’s kalam as entertainment, preceded and followed by open displays of fawaahish and Haraam?
وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا۟ ٱلْحَقَّ بِٱلْبَـٰطِلِ
‘Do not mix truth with falsehood..’ Surah Baqarah Ayah 42
“Come on “, others say “ This World Cup highlighted the hypocrisy of the west- their double standards were visible for all to see” .Do we really expect the enemies of Allah to be noble and principled? It’s not their hypocrisy that is the problem- we expect that of them- it’s our hypocrisy – our claim to being Muslim, but loving all that the kuffaar do- our claim to loving the deen, but abandoning it completely in favour of the lifestyle of the kuffaar –our claim to being protectors of the deen, yet abandoning jihad and maligning the mujahidin.
قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌۭ فِىٓ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَٱلَّذِينَ مَعَهُۥٓ إِذْ قَالُوا۟ لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَءَٰٓؤُا۟ مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ ٱلْعَدَٰوَةُ وَٱلْبَغْضَآءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّىٰ تُؤْمِنُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَحْدَهُۥٓ
‘You already have an excellent example in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people, “We totally dissociate ourselves from you and ˹shun˺ whatever ˹idols˺ you worship besides Allah. We reject you. The enmity and hatred that has arisen between us and you will last until you believe in Allah alone.” Surah Mumtahina Ayah 4
We are at war with the nations of disbelief- that is the reality. The ummah needs soldiers, agitators, and commanders- not entertainers and “one liner” motivational speakers- the ummah needs unflinching loyalty to the sublime message of Islam, not enslavement to secular political parties and governments.Serving the deen uncompromisingly brings honour (by the will of Allah) instead of the disgrace that is heaped on us when we bow to and covet the lifestyles, and affirmation of our enemies. The ummah need armies to be gathered, not fan fares, and self-indulgent festivals that wreak of extravagance and deviance.
We are enjoined to strike terror in the hearts of our enemies, not mimic and court them.
The ummah need soldiers…not party goers…..
What will you be ?
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ ٱلْجَنَّةَ ۚ يُقَـٰتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ ۖ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّۭا فِى ٱلتَّوْرَٱلتَّوْرَىٰةِ وَٱلْإِنجِيلِ وَٱلْقُرْءَانِ ۚ وَمَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِعَهْدِهِۦ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ۚ فَٱسْتَبْشِرُوا۟ بِبَيْعِكُمُ ٱلَّذِى بَايَعْتُم بِهِۦ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
‘Allah has indeed purchased from the believers their lives and wealth in exchange for Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah and kill or are killed. This is a true promise binding on Him in the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran. And whose promise is truer than Allah’s? So rejoice in the exchange you have made with Him. That is ˹truly˺ the ultimate triumph.’
Surah Tawbah Ayah 111
May Allah grant us the true understanding and open our eyes to reality – Aameen.
