A Friend’s Son Was Murdered In London
Aqil has been killed? Are you sure? I’m in London and Aqil’s relative in Australia has messaged me to say Aqil has been murdered in London.
Later that day, the news was confirmed.
Aqil was the son of a family friend. He was hafidh of Qur’an and had led taraweeh at my local Mosque and other London Mosques during Ramadan.
Qur’an hafidh. Skinny boy with a fancy haircut
The first time I prayed behind him was at a school meeting and he led us for maghrib salah. He starts reciting and your reaction would be ‘Wow! SubhanAllah’. His recitation was up there with some of the amazing Quran reciters we all listen to.
Now he’s been stabbed to death by some youth. How will his mother, siblings and family feel?
Young people stabbed. Will this year be worse?
That’s a question that gets raised every year as the numbers of reported deaths (mainly youth) is counted across London and the UK. Sadly, it is now so common.
There are several cases I know of in my local area in north London and down the road in East London. There was the Muslim shop keeper’s son and hafidh Aqil.
Near where I live, another Muslim boy was stabbed in what apparently was a case of mistaken identity as youth came from another area to avenge some perceived injustice or disrespect and stabbed him. Hundreds of his friends gathered for a vigil and some will no doubt try to avenge him – possibly resulting in another senseless murder.
There was the young girl killed in Northumberland Park, and there was the young man killed near my car mechanic’s garage, and I could go on.
What are the causes?
Crime. Drugs. Postcode killings where youth living in different areas fight and target those from another area.
Another issue is revenge attacks between gangs or individuals. And another issue is that “you disrespected me or my friend\gang\girlfriend … so I need to teach you a lesson”
Massive ego trips, just like you see in gangster movies, except this is real life and results in real tragedies and heartbroken families.
In Aqil’s case, the killer was another Muslim boy. So some Muslim youth are not immune from what is happening in the wider society.
What are the solutions?
Typically, after some high profile killing of a young person, the London Mayor or some other politician will organise another ‘knife crime summit’ bringing together police and others.
It hasn’t solved the issue and is usually more a case of trying to be seen to do something.
Parents and loved ones of the victims launch many praise worthy campaigns trying to talk to kids in schools about knife crime and to turn them away from a lifestyle that leads to that.
The Elephant in the room
When government, police and other officials discuss this issue, what is hardly questioned are the societal ideas and values which glamorise crime and the ‘freedom to do what you like attitude’ fed to young people.
A lot of the glamorisation is done through entertainment and popular culture. Peaky Blinders is currently a hit series on UK TV and is being exported globally.
The messages are? ‘Crush your enemies, be top dog and don’t let anyone disrespect you. You’re free to do as you like and are accountable to noone. Make money and don’t let anything stand in your way.’
It is natural that in a secular society that denies God’s role in guiding societal affairs, some of the new gods are ‘freedom, individualism and hedonism’ and the consequences they lead to. So many grow up not fearing the police, or anyone in authority, or going to jail. So, there is little deterrent from committing crimes or killing someone.
What can we do?
Teach our youth the Islamic values of accountability and fear of Allah (swt) as opposed to freedom. Teach that angels are recording every action and that the believer seeks to please Allah (swt) by obeying him and being compassionate to others.
However, living in the West, we have to admit that though we may teach Islamic values at home, in the mosque and at madrasa, our youth are bombarded with the secular values of freedom, individualism and hedonism at school, everywhere in the wider society and even on the phones when at home.
Hence unfortunately, some youth (Muslim or non-Muslim) will fall prey to these destructive secular values that led some to take another human life so cheaply. Living in the West should come with a health warning.
Qur’an event to remember Aqil yesterday
Yesterday, in a hall in north London, family and friends of hafidh Aqil organised a community event to remember him, remind us of the Qur’an that he loved so much, and talk to youth about knife crime.
Alhamdulillah, it was a wonderful event with children’s Qur’an competitions, stalls, beneficial reminders and much more.
One my elderly relatives was speaking to Aqil’s friends and they mentioned how much they missed him. They started crying and she started crying while consoling them.
May Allah (swt) grant hafidh Aqil Jannah and grant his friends and family the strength to bear his loss.
May Allah (swt) protect us all from this epidemic of stabbings in the UK
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Love and salams,
Taji
🧔 What have I been up to?
Started making videos again. Alhamdulillah. I recorded one today, need to edit and upload tomorrow inshaAllah.
May Allah (swt) enable us all to do more in His service.
📖 Ayah and Hadith
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَـٰوَٰتٍۢ طِبَاقًۭا ۖ مَّا تَرَىٰ فِى خَلْقِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ مِن تَفَـٰوُتٍۢ ۖ
فَٱرْجِعِ ٱلْبَصَرَ هَلْ تَرَىٰ مِن فُطُورٍۢ
"˹He is the One˺ Who created seven heavens, one above the other. You will never see any imperfection in the creation of the Most Compassionate. So look again: do you see any flaws? [Sura Al-Mulk 67:3]
Quote of the Week
“It's hard to beat a person who never gives up.” ― George Herman Ruth
❤ My Favourite Things
Podcast – The Last Viceroy of India – Episode of Empire, a history podcast hosted by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand.
In this episode, Anita and William are joined by Alex von Tunzelmann to discuss Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India. Listen in to hear all about his relationships with key figures such as Nehru and Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and the role he played in the partition of India.
Read past newsletters at tajimustafa.com