Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Official Report 804KB pdf

Time for Reflection

Good afternoon. Our first item of business is time for reflection and our leader today is Imam Mohammad Sohail Ashfaque, from Blackhall mosque in Edinburgh.

In the name of God, the most merciful, the most kind.

Respected Presiding Officer, dear members of our Scottish Parliament, good afternoon and peace be upon you.

As the sun sets in a few days on another Islamic year, I am sure that you will agree that there is so much to be satisfied about and thankful for. Each of us in our roles of responsibility has been able to contribute in many ways to ensuring a better life for those for whom we are responsible. I am sure that we look forward to the coming Islamic year with hope to do more.

I try to learn lessons from those who came before us, so that their lives can inspire me to do much more. This is something that I would like to share with you. Over the past year, I have been reading up on the life of a man who lived nearly 1,400 years ago: a man who, when given the responsibility of leading his people after the demise of our Prophet—peace be upon him—and the first caliph, gave them hope with his endless commitment. In his life I found many lessons that I have been able to implement. That man was Umar ibn Khatab—may God be pleased with him.

To be close to the poor, Umar lived in a simple mud hut without doors. He walked the streets every evening to ensure the safety of his community. After consulting with the poor, Umar established the first welfare state, Bayt al-Mal. It aided the poor, the needy, the elderly, orphans, widows and the disabled. Umar—radhiallahu anhu—also introduced child benefit and pensions for the children and the elderly. He was a person who listened to his community and was never afraid to make changes to benefit them.

Umar’s inspiration was a close friend, the first caliph. I remember a story of an event that I feel had a profound effect on Umar and probably inspired him to go on to do so much more. After the demise of the first caliph, Umar—radhiallahu anhu—decided to take care of those whom the caliph used to look after personally. One morning, he went to the house of one of those poor, elderly widowed women. He made her breakfast and placed the food in front of her. What the lady said astonished Umar. She said, “It seems that the person who took care of me has left this world, because he would lift the morsels of food to my mouth due to myself being blind.”

Stories like that have inspired me as well. I have been able to help the less fortunate here in my community and around the world over the past year. I pray that this coming year is more prosperous and more beneficial for us and our communities. May our Lord give us all the strength to keep doing the good that we are doing. Ameen. Thank you.