The Breaking of the Cuban Link

The Breaking of the Cuban Link Part 1

THE FIRST BREAK IN THE CUBAN LINKMAN FORGETS HIS LORD AND HIS PURPOSE OF CREATIONAllah says in the Holy Qur'an, "O mankind! Worship your Lord who created you and those who were before you so that you may become the pious." 2:21At least from a religious point of view, when we go back to the fashioning of our existence and the creation of our father Adam, we find that he was tempted, misled, and disobeyed his Lord. Sometime afterwards, Adam forgot about the purpose of his existence. He fell victim to the evil whispers of the accursed devil and his desires. As a result, he was cast out of heaven and sent to this world to finish out his term, and in the process began the cycle of life as we know it. During this event, while still in the loins of Adam, mankind bore witness that their Lord was the one and only one God.With Adam and his counterpart Eve now established on earth, and with the commencement of procreating, life unravels all of its wonders. It began with the birth of Adam and Eve's children. From this couple, spread a broad multitude of men and women. The structure of family starts to take its course. Man and woman begin to nurture their young, teaching them the importance of education, molding their minds to be strong, hard-working people so they can earn their keep. They warn them of all the trials and tribulations that life has to offer and most importantly, remind them of the purpose of their creation: to worship their Lord and that everything else is an accessory to this worldly life. Every other means in this life is pursued only to take us from one juncture to the next.From here, adulthood is reached and the generations to come commence establishing their own families. This succession continues until a community structure starts to take its shape and, subsequently, populate the entire earth. Tribes, nations, countries, and continents are now developed. With this comes the diversity of different ethnic groups—languages, shapes, sizes, colors, strengths and weaknesses. All created equally with absolutely no group being superior to the others. Within the nations themselves, God has favored some above or below others with wealth, intelligence, status, and even in their native lands caused certain minerals to grow and foods to flourish where other nations cannot produce such. Everything imaginable is at man's disposal. At this injunction, mankind, with their God given qualities and characteristics, must now perform their duties and set the tone for those who follow.With all the favors that God has bestowed upon mankind, there are also responsibilities and duties that come with it. Among the many obligations imposed upon man in this life are: that he was only created to worship his Lord and Him alone; that he uphold the trust and responsibility that he swore to protect by upholding the commands of his Lord; that he be dutiful to his parents, and lead his family and community in a positive direction; that he participate in a life-long battle in enjoining the good and forbidding the evil; and that he strive to die in a state with his good outweighing his bad, being pleased with his Lord and all that He has given him. To help man in this endeavor, God has sent many prophets and messengers among us, reminding us to live a life filled with purpose and determination. The prophets inspire us to be worshippers of God like themselves and giving it our all. The prophets guide us aright and bring us back to our senses when we go astray. They advise us to maintain our relationship with our Lord and call on Him when times get bleak. Prophets warn us of the punishment that awaits those who continue to be disobedient to their Lord and die in that state.Since the beginning of time, worshipping God has always been a staple for mankind. With God revealing to His creation His perfect names and attributes, it enabled mankind to have a well-lit conscious of Him and acted as a steer to maneuver him away from all of His prohibitions. In a perfect sense, everything that we approach should stem from this theme, including but not restricted to amicable relationships between men and communities.Once the command is given from our Creator, it is incumbent upon us to act on it and not treat it as something trivial. In this case, establish a healthy rapport with our loved ones first, then all those who we encounter. The bonding among family is paramount, as it sets the tone for the generations that will follow. The bonding should not be limited to supporting each other with wealth and material things, but also communicating with each other effectively, supporting each other mentally and physically in times of need andfrustration, and grooming the young to replace the elders as leaders. Man must persevere, maintaining a headstrong connection with his Lord and avoid falling short therein. Man must imbed into his dependents' hearts and minds that acknowledging God, worshipping Him and obeying Him is not only paramount, but that everything in this life other than that is insignificant. If man fails in this, then surely his dependents and community will be at a loss. The adage goes, "If the head falls, then the body is lifeless." 

       So with the passage of time—generation after generation, war after war, evolvement after evolvement, discovery after discovery, trial and triumph after trial and triumph—in spite of all that God has bestowed upon man, man decided to take his lower desires as his Lord and divorced himself from his Creator and the obedience thereto. Was he destined to follow the footsteps of his father Adam? Did the accursed devil use the same tactics against him as he did Adam and lead him astray? Everything that he has been taught and reminded of has been abandoned. He has disregarded every reminder sent to him that had a positive effect on his well-being. Man has deviated from his purpose—systematically causing disunion among the people; creating factions among mankind based upon race, economics, social status, and geographical locations; starting strife and committing bloodshed in the name of nationalism, religion, and politics; enslaving others in an attempt to occupy their land and produce a dependent and submissive mentality from his captives and adversaries; traversing through the world without any navigational system or common sense—calling to all that the Creator prohibited, and warning against and ridiculing all that the Creator calls to.The saying of our Lord holds true, "He has created man from mixed drops of male and female discharge, then behold, this same man becomes an open opponent." The Holy Qur'an 16:4. Man has abandoned all that he was rightfully taught and has relied upon his worldly whims and greed. This ideology trickled down to the generations that followed. So much so, not only has mankind been derelict in his relationship with his Lord, but also with his fellow man, including his family. Without the spiritual guidance and leadership of the man in his household and his community, his dependents seek leadership and refuge elsewhere, only to be led further astray. The dependents and the community now become victims of the coldhearted world. Their role models now become everything despicable and counterproductive to all the excellent examples of righteous men that God has revealed. In an attempt to try to make amends with their community/family/nation, the sense of abandonment overtakes them, and the families remain in disarray. As a result, the father, the brother, the fellow man, and the son have become something foreign to each other. Because of the passage of time with very little successful amending, the two parties are no longer able to identify with each other or relate. The two parties no longer have any concern for the other, as general well-being among the people ceased to exist many generations ago. Man can no longer guide them aright, nor counsel them. He has lost his way and his ability to identify, nurture, and lead his people. In return, his people have chosen a similarapproach, so it becomes a no-win situation. Truly, the bond between man and his Lord must be reestablished and maintained. If not, then the results will continue to be catastrophic.I say that the disruption between man and his Lord, and the relationship therein constituted the first break in the Cuban Link. This break gave birth to all the breaks that succeeded it. This holds true because absolutely nothing is fully functional, except that God leads the way, His aid is sought, and everything is done for Him. When man turned away from the guidance of his Lord and all Hiswarnings, not only did he renege on his duties and responsibilities, but he also left his dependents and community to fend for themselves.I sincerely believe that one of the major causes to this first break in the Cuban Link is that man stopped visiting the religious houses of worship on a frequent basis. The houses of worship are pillars to any community and not only act as a safe haven from evil, but also as a spiritual hospital for those who need healing and God's guidance. Not only did man stop bringing home religious knowledge to feed his spiritually malnourished family, but he also abandoned taking his family to gatherings of learning as well. So, as a result, his dependents and his community typically relied on their ill-natured social circles to teach them, perpetuating every possible immoral act known to man. Furthermore, it has become so injurious that now those who strive to be God-conscious and callers to the worship of God, some people, some communities, and some groups from among them, deem these people as soft, weak, and uppity. It is as if being God-conscious was restricted to a certain class of people. Man has taken the most reputable attributes given to him by God and has turned them into badges of ridicule and mockery. Either this was the case, or man's over-indulgence with the worldly life has diverted him from more important matters.Be that as it may, no matter how far off man ventures away from the remembrance of his Lord and the obligation to lead his family, he seems to always seek out his Lord's help in times of desperation. It's in man's DNA to return back to his Lord no matter what the situation. Unfortunately, once man is rescued from his trial and returned safely to his rightful place, he forgets about his previous struggle and reverts to his old ways. Once again, the link is broken and approaching the point of being irreparable.