Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Muslimah Next Door

Home
Muslim
#RaisingMuslimMen: Thanking Husain Abdullah for Living out His Faith

#RaisingMuslimMen: Thanking Husain Abdullah for Living out His Faith

Last updated on: September 30, 2014 at 6:23 pm by Dilshad Ali

#RaisingMuslimMen: Thanking Husain Abdullah for Living out His Faith 2014-09-30T18:23:26-04:00 Dilshad Ali

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In 2012 NFL players and brothers Hamza and Husain Abdullah missed the season so they could take a month to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in Makkah and its surrounding regions. In a sport where players are vying to get signed, negotiating bigger contracts, fighting injuries and striving for top performances, these young Muslim men left their respective teams with no guarantee that they’d receive contracts again, just so they could perform the Hajj.

Four words: Muslim male role models.

For any Muslim parent trying to raise faith-observant sons in the United States, the Abdullah brothers are great role models – young guys who have dedicated their lives to sport, have achieved success and are dedicated to their faith and family. I’ll say it again – because it bears repeating: These are guys who actually left the NFL just so they could do their Hajj pilgrimage.

When they returned to the NFL a year later, Husain was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs, after playing for the Minnesota Vikings from 2008-11. (Hamza didn’t get signed by any team.) And on Monday night’s game against the New England Patriots, after his pick 6 gave Kansas City a 41-7 lead, Husain prostrated in sajdah on the ground in thanks, something he had foretold to the Kansas City Star: “If I get a pick, I’m going to prostrate before God in the end zone.”

And promptly got a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty for delay of game.

(Which his coach and others said was because of his slide into the prostration. Later NFL spokesman Michael Signora said that the “officiating mechanic in this situation is not to flag a player who goes to the ground as part of religious expression, and as a result there should have been no penalty on the play.”

I don’t know much about football or the NFL beyond what I gleaned from my brothers growing up. But I do know that when I first heard about the penalty, my thoughts were, “What about Tim Tebow?” I mean, slide or no slide – the guy gets penalized for prostrating, when hundreds of football players before him have thanked God in a variety of ways for touchdowns, tackles and other key plays?

But beyond the penalty, beyond the vindication that the NFL now says Husain shouldn’t have been penalized, what has stayed with me is the continuing class and dedication of Husain to being a quality football player and a quality Muslim man.

My friend Hena Zuberi, who is the editor of MuslimMatters.org, often writes updates and tweets with the hashtag #RaisingMuslimMen, calling attention to the challenges and importance of raising boys into upstanding men – men who are good humans, good citizens and good Muslims beyond the stereotypes and patriarchal and culture baggage that can often weigh them down.

As a mother to two sons, the responsibility of raising boys with a good balance between deen and dunya (their faith and their worldly goals) weighs upon me too. I want them to pursue their passions, be dedicated to family, be happy in their lives, have strong morals and be good Muslims. While my game plan is different for my 14-year-old (severely affected by autism and nonverbal), I’m storing up the example of Husain and Hamza Abdullah for my seven-year old (also named Hamza).

We are again in the Hajj season, with millions of Muslims the world over descending on Makkah to perform the rites of the pilgrimage this week. Many parents like myself are using this time to teach our children about the beauty of the Hajj, the unity and generosity and feeling of one-ness that comes over the pilgrims – feelings we try and replicate in our own ways at home through the doing of good deeds and the giving of thanks for all the blessings in our lives.

So I have to say – I loved how Husain Abdullah gave thanks Monday night. I applaud his parents. Because it isn’t easy #RaisingMuslimMen.

unsportsmanlike conduct

Previous Post

September 26, 2014

Seven

Next Post

October 3, 2014 Hajj 2014 - Never Say Never - Umrah with Our Autistic Daughter

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Global Voice for Autism Autism Awareness Month 2016 Autism Awareness Month 2017 Autism Interlude Hajj and Eid ul Adha Jenin Autism Project Ramadan Three Questions Uncategorized WISE Global Conference

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How did Jesus provide for the temple tax?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Found in a tree He multiplied bread A coin in a fish's mouth He borrowed from Judas