The Untold Story of Syed Fahad Hashmi
I am a friend of Fahad (also known as Syed Hashmi), who I have known for about 4 years, since he came from America to the UK for his studies. He was a very humble brother in almost every aspect one can think of. He was a very attentive student both in Islamic education as well as his education at university. He always used to help people as much as he could, whether it was in terms of moving houses, painting and decorating or even paying for people’s meals. He was the kind of man who would lend money to people, even if he was in need of it himself. He was working part-time to cover the costs for his rented accommodation and his studies as well as his daily expenditure.
In describing Fahad’s character, I come very close to describing the character of the Pious Predecessors. He would always smile at people, and I would always see him using the Miswak, which is an attribute of the Anbiyaa (Prophets). He would be in the Masah using leather socks, and would pray his Salaat in the Masjid. He would be on the forefront in commanding good and forbidding evil in society as well as privately, and would be at the forefront in giving Da’wah (propagating Islam) in the best manner, and he would regularly visit the graveyard – the list is endless. His relationship with the non-Muslims he lived amongst was also unique to the Sunnah; he would give his neighbours their full rights to the best of his ability. He loved the community in which he lived so much so that he would involve himself in some of their activities and generally help the community as much as he could.
Fahad has been in prison since June 2006. He was arrested at Heathrow airport while he was going to Pakistan to see his family and possibly get married. He is the youngest of the two sons that his parents have, and his older brother recently had his first baby daughter while Fahad was in prison. You can imagine the effect this has had on his family; he never saw his family much in the time he was free in the UK and would only see them rarely when they used to visit. On the day he was arrested, I dropped him to the airport, so I was one of the last friends he saw before he went through the security check. After that, we couldn’t see him. We received the news of his captivity from his solicitor – that he was arrested literally 5 minutes after he went through security.
There was not a single person who ever had an issue with Fahad; he would keep everyone happy, smile at brothers all the time and would rush to the aid of any Muslim. Fahad was a traveller to this country as opposed to being a resident, and in Islaam you must treat the traveller with a lot of hospitality. However, with Fahad it was the opposite – he would treat us as if we were the travellers and he was the resident, and always with the utmost hospitality. He would even have brothers get together at his flat to keep the brotherhood strong; there would be at least 30 to 40 brothers who would normally come to his small flat!
In the American media, Fahad is portrayed as a man of troublesome character and many are quick to absorb this false information; Allah (swt) says: “O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done.” [Surah al-Hujaraat, ayah 6].
The lies that have been created about Fahad are not only a complete contradiction to who he really is, but are also ludicrous. There are some Muslims who are inside prison as a result of something that they may have said or done, although what they may have said/done is not a crime in Islam. We make strong Du’aa for these Muslims who have been arrested as a result of propagating the Deen (Islaam). However, with Fahad, he neither said nor did anything that could have lead to his imprisonment, even according to the Kufr (non-Islamic) laws. By Allah, the Kuffaar have invented a false story and Fahad is a victim to the slanderous lies of the Kuffaar. With Fahad’s case, it is pure oppression.
Earlier in Fahad’s case the prosecution said that they had nothing whatsoever against Fahad, but regardless the judge kept Fahad remanded in custody. The defence even had given evidence to say that America was lying about Fahad’s alleged involvement with Al-Qaeda, but again the judge simply responded that he was not willing to call the Americans liars.
Fahad is now waiting to hear a decision from the House of Lords. This is his final appeal and if they refuse that, he will be shipped over to the U.S, where he will face trial. We all know that America endorses the death penalty, torture and so forth and we also know that when the Kuffaar put Muslims on trial, the Muslim is guilty until proven innocent.
There have been hundreds and thousands of Muslims arrested around the world, most of whom we don’t even hear of. Brothers and sisters, how can we help the Muslim Ummah if we don’t know what is happening to them? It is a binding duty upon us to help our Muslims and at least remember them in our Du’aas on a daily basis. The Messenger Muhammad (saw) told us: “The Du’aa is the weapon of the believer.” Please make strong Du’aa for brother Fahad and all the Muslims around the world. By Allah, Fahad is completely innocent of all the accusations that the Americans are making against him. He is expecting an answer any time soon so please, please pray for him and his family, who are in America. Like Fahad, they are suffering in these testing times, not knowing what will become of their beloved son, who has been imprisoned for a reason unknown to the world.
freefahad.wordpress.com 