Ghurbaah is an Arabic word literally translated as 'strangers'. However, the concept is inspired by a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “Bada’al Islamu ghareeban, wa saya’udu ghariban kamaa bada’a…. Fa tuba lil Ghurbaah” – Islam started as a strange thing in its community, and it will return as a strange thing to future communities, so give glad tidings to the strangers, those who despite being challenged in their faith, their patience and tenacity, will continue to fight for peace and justice. So who were these strangers who helped the prophet to establish a compassion-centred and all-inclusive Islam? It was not the elite. It was those who lived on the margins of society, the poor, the sinners, the outcasts, the women, like Sumaya who was the first female martyr in Islam. those who did not conform to the norms of society, the lower casts, the prostitutes, the marginalized. And when we bring these groups of marginalized people together, in faith and in mutual understanding of each other’s pain, we have a community and a force to be reckoned with. The fact that we are here today, a marginalized community, not willing to conform to the patriarchal norms of society, unhappy with the state of the world and make our contributions to a better world despite our lack of resources, makes us the strangers…… the Ghurbaah.

Yes, we identify ourselves as marginalized, because we are. Even Alcoholics Anonymous teach that you can only heal from alcoholism if you first accept that you are an alcoholic. Malcolm X said something to the effect that we cannot identify with the oppression of others if we do not connect with the oppression within ourselves first. The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once prayed and he asked Allah to let him die amongst the poor and marginalized, because he recognized that Allah’s mercy and love comes with having less, with being less and with serving those who have less.