Abdulfattah Adeyemi – We Are Victors Not Victims

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The history of the title "the victory of Noah" in the Bible describes those who were victorious and not victims, as well as those who were not weak or weak, and those who were strong. The story also touches on the perception of the story and its significance to the culture of the time. A woman named Moqud was punished for protecting the book of Islam and faced trials related to her actions. The importance of embracing the idea of growth and success is emphasized, along with the need to be mindful of one's emotions and consider the potential consequences of one's actions.
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The Quranic stories are all about those who
are victorious, not those who are victims.
The Quran tells many beautiful stories and there
are narratives that span centuries and civilizations in
the Quran from the humble deserts to the
mighty palaces of kings.
These are not tales of defeat, these are
not stories of despair, these are not stories
of helplessness, they are accounts of victory in
the truest sense of victory and this victory,
the victories of these prophets are not over
lands or wealth alone, but over despair, victory
over tyranny, victory over temptation and victory over
the trials of souls.
The Quranic heroes, the prophets and righteous personalities
are victors, they are not victims, for their
triumph lies in their steadfastness, their faith and
their submission to the divine will of Allah.
And I want you to take the story
of Noah for instance, for 950 years he
preached the message of Tawhid, he endured the
mercury, he endured the rejection, he endured even
the betrayal from his own family and outwardly
a person may think he failed, his followers
were few and the world around him drowned
in disbelief, yet the victory of Noah was
not measured by numbers but by the steadfast
commitment to his mission.
His ark became the symbol of salvation, it
carries not just a handful of believers but
the hope of the continuity of the faith
in Allah.
You see that in Quran chapter 71 verse
1 and from the perseverance of Noah we
learn the true victory lies in remaining steadfast
in the face of overwhelming odds that may
be against you.
The story of Noah, he was not a
victim of the people that he preached to
that didn't believe in him, but he became
victorious at the end of it all, that
is an inspiration for all of us.
Then look at Ibrahim a.s, a lone
figure that was standing against an empire of
idolatry, defying his people and their king, he
was thrown into a blazing fire and he
emerged unscathed by the will of almighty Allah.
His faith as pure as the flames were
fierce, Allah gave him that victory, he was
not a victim of society's cruelty, he was
the victor who redefined courage and trust in
almighty Allah.
That was Ibrahim, his sacrifice symbolized by his
willingness to offer his beloved son became a
timeless lesson in submission and is celebrated annually
by Muslims all over the world.
Then look at Yusuf a.s, he was
thrown into the well by his own brothers,
sold into slavery and in prison on false
charges, yet from the death of betrayal and
despair, Yusuf rose to become a ruler in
Egypt, he embodied forgiveness and wisdom and what
you must understand from here is this, he
was not a weak person, he was not
a victim, a weak person cannot be said
to be good at forgiving others because even
if you don't want to forgive, you don't
have the power to take revenge.
The person whose forgiveness of others is most
valuable in the sight of Allah is the
one that has the power to take revenge,
yet he forgave.
I need you to begin to understand this
is the meaning of being a victor, somebody
who is victorious, is somebody who can forgive,
not somebody who is weak and defeated and
you saw what happened to him eventually, he
forgave his brothers because he had the power
to take revenge and his forgiveness is supposed
to be a lesson for all of us
to learn.
Then consider Musa a.s, don't get it
twisted, Musa was not a victim to Firaun
and that story was not about Firaun, the
story was about Musa a.s, you observe
all of his trials with Firaun, he led
his people out of bondage eventually, he split
the sea by Allah's command and he shattered
the chains of oppression with the power of
Allah's divine revelation, his life was marked by
challenges and despite these challenges, his legacy is
one of liberation and courage and trust in
almighty Allah.
For you to see, Musa was not a
weak person, he was a strong personality, remember
when he gave somebody a blow and the
person died seven times, if I didn't mention
seven times, I'm just adding it, it's like
one blow, seven deaths, that was not a
weak person and eventually when Allah asked him,
what's that thing you are holding oh Musa,
it's my staff, I reclined on it and
I used to beat down folders for my
flocks, there are many other things I use
it for and Allah said, Musa, I know,
drop that staff you are holding and when
Musa dropped the staff, you know what happened,
the stick hit the ground and the stick
did not stay still, it began to move
and to quiver, began to waver and began
to be animated and lo and behold, what
happened, that stick, that staff became a snake
and for a person who is just seeing
this story for the first time, you will
think that okay, well it was the death
stick, then it became a snake, no, it
was a complete transformation from plant kingdom to
animal kingdom, I didn't mean that the stick
just started growing leaves, okay, it was dead
and came to life, it didn't just come
to life, it moved from plant kingdom to
become an animal and it was moving and
moving and Musa ran because he saw what
he never expected and Allah said, excuse me,
where are you going, go back, pick your
staff, didn't you tell me it was your
staff, go and pick your staff, now my
staff has now become somebody's snake and Allah
asked him to pick it back between you
and me now, I was not there too,
if you were there and Allah asked you
to pick the snake, will you pick from
the head or will you pick from the
tail honestly, you want to pick from the
tail, it will make more sense, so you
just like move around, turn around, see how
you can grab it by the tail, but
the Allah that I know will not want
Musa to pick by the tail and the
Musa we are talking about is not somebody
that will pick by the tail I believe
strongly that Musa gripped the head of the
snake, if you could grip the head of
the snake, then you can face somebody like
Firaun, the story is not about a weak
person, the story is about a strong man
and so he was described by one of
those two ladies, the daughter of Shu'aib,
he said, one of the daughters said, oh
my father, hire this man because the best
person you can hire is a strong person
that is trustworthy, now the story of Muhammad,
who happened to be the conqueror that declared
forgiveness for his oppressors, when he had to
go to Mecca, Allah says, Allah
said, indeed, I've already opened Mecca for you,
I've already granted you a manifest and a
conquest, a manifest victory, Muhammad did not play
victim with the people of Mecca, the prophet
did not gather weak people around himself, the
prophet gathered the people that he knew were
strong enough for the faith, for you to
understand very well, I'm saying it again and
again, Islam is a religion of power, Islam
is a religion of strength, Islam is a
religion of victory, but it all depends on
your perceptions about what you see and what
happens to you in life, let me tell
you about this perception, you all know Abu
Hanifa, one of the four right-handed caliphs,
there's a well-known story of Abu Hanifa,
Imam Abu Hanifa, he was imprisoned with this
very notorious thief, he had problem with the
caliph of those days, Muhammad Al-Mansur, there
was a debate and Imam Abu Hanifa's own
side of the story is that, no, the
Quran is the word and revelation of Almighty
Allah and then the other scholars, they had
different opinions and because that was the opinion
of the king himself, all of the other
scholars stood to the side of the king,
but Imam Abu Hanifa stood aside, he said
no, I will not accept for you to
adulterate this Quran, the Quran is what it
is, so what happened, they grabbed him, they
beat him up, they removed his turban, somebody
kicked him from behind, he fell and they
dragged him like that, removed his clothes eventually
and people were like, ah, ah, our Imam,
our Imam, they put handcuffs on him and
they shackled his legs and they were dragging
him like a slave, like a prisoner, like
a thief, they dragged him into prison, but
Imam Abu Hanifa would still not change his
mind and eventually, he met this thief that
happened to be notorious and the head of
all thieves in that place and the thief
just saw Imam, he would crouch to one
corner, he would be doing a scarf, he
would be looking morose, he would be looking
sad because part of the punishment of Abu
Hanifa was that he should be flogged every
morning and evening, then one day, the thief
approached him and the thief said they flog
me 1000 every day, but you know the
difference between you and me, Abu Hanifa, you
are supposed to be happy that you are
being flogged like this and humiliated, then Abu
Hanifa looked up, why, look at what he
did to me, the thief said you see,
you are being flogged for being righteous, while
I am being flogged for committing crimes, are
you not lucky, we are suffering punishment for
two different things, you are being punished because
you go to paradise, I am being punished
because I'll go to *, you are being
punished for defending the book of Allah, I
am being punished for defiling the book of
Allah, you should consider yourself lucky, then from
that day on, the perception of Abu Hanifa
changed and he began to almost enjoy whenever
he was being flogged for that because he
knew yes, I'm being flogged actually because I
defended the cause of Allah, now your perception
for suffering, for trials, for things you go
through in life, you have to be sure
you have a good reason for suffering, you
know some suffering in life, Allah will be
like, hey, yeah, you suffer, then I will
compensate you for suffering, right, you know that,
but there are some sufferings, if you suffer,
you suffer for nothing, you suffer for nada,
no reward for your suffering, so ensure that
your suffering, your trials are on the path
of Allah, an armed robber that is being
resilient, running away from being caught by the
police, that is resilience now, isn't it, hey,
you're still hard-working now, right, you're still
very strong, isn't it, but still, you see,
he's going to be punished for what he
has done, but for somebody who is resilient
on the path of Allah, you should be
happy that Allah gave you the opportunity to
pass through some trials, but be very sure
that you are going through trials and test
of Allah, not because you are weak, not
because you are naive, not because you are
ignorant, and not because you are stupid, and
not because you have victim mentality, you are
going through trials because Allah has brought it,
not that you brought it upon yourself, many
of the trials that happen to us is
because of what our hands has put forth,
we cause most of it by ourselves, beware,
there are consequences, many of us are not
going through trials from Allah, we're only going
through the consequences of our weaknesses and our
stupid actions, sorry, I'm using that word, the
victim mentality is the shackle of the mind,
if anything happens to you, what can I
do, I don't have power, this victim mentality
is a prison that is built not of
steel, but of sorrow, somebody can remove the
steel, but they can't remove the sorrow that
you brought against yourself, it is where the
inmates of the prison, it is where they
carry the weight of every hardship, every slight
and every failure as an unbearable burden, it's
a perspective that narrows the soul and you
begin to whisper, why me, why me, when
you hear somebody says, why me, that person
is having a victim mentality, the victim mentality
clings to pain, as if the pain were
a badge of identity, somebody will be like
just telling stories of helplessness, stories of blame,
stories of despair and some people just like
to wear their sufferings because they want people
to be proud of them that they are
suffering, when was the last time you ever
see a hadith that tells you that suffering
should be something you should be proud of
and there are some people when you are
telling them, you see I went through and
so, they'll be like, hmm, you have not
seen anything, let me tell you what I
went through, is it a competition to show
okay, who suffers more, you or me, the
people you see speak like that, they see
the storm and they ask why the sun
has forsaken them, why, they do not see
the blessing of the rain and they do
not see the cleansing of the earth or
the renewal that follows the rainfall, indeed they
lament the wetness of the rain, the discomfort
and the cold, they allow the clouds to
obscure the infinite possibilities of the horizon, the
victim mentality feeds on self-pity, then you
begin to organize pity party for yourself, the
victim mentality feeds on your self-pity and
they assign power to external forces, you look
for people to blame, you look for circumstances,
you look for poverty to blame, you look
for weaknesses to blame and sometimes you blame
your destiny for bringing such weaknesses your way
and for bringing such circumstances your way, it
shrinks the heart and blinds the eyes to
the wisdom in trials, to the strength forged
in adversity and to the beauty of resilience,
it cries out for justice but often forgets
that true justice begins from within, are you
just with yourself, it begins with the will
to rise and reclaim control over your soul,
Allah will not change your situation until you
change what is within your heart and the
quranic stories remind us that even the darkest
moments are not final destinations in our lives,
Yusuf will have chosen the victim's lament as
he lay in the depths of a well
or the shadows of a prison, he will
have been complaining and complaining but he embraced
the life of trust, he changed his chains
into stepping stones towards honor, to remain a
victim is to remain stagnant, it is to
drown in the mire of if only and
what if, how I wish I had and
you forget that within every hardship lies the
seed of opportunity, the victim mentality is the
wind of the spirit, the victim mentality swallows
where the victims crawl, while other people don't
know what they want to do you already
figure out where you are going, it's a
state of mind that sees trials as the
bridges not barriers and challenges as calls to
growth not curses to the victor does not
ask why me but the victor asks what
can this actually teach me if victor walks
into the storm with unshaking faith he knows
that every gust of wind every crash of
the thunder is shaping them into something stronger
something greater the victor knows that the teabag
will not let out the best of his
level without the hot water and when it's
inside the hot water it basks in it
with resilience knowing fully well that this is
where the best of my flavors will be
let out the victor do not deny pain
and did not dismiss adversity but they embrace
as a teacher they understand that refinement comes
through the ordeal of hardship the victor does
not relinquish control to external forces they remember
that is the ultimate planner and that every
trial every trial is a part of a
divine wisdom that is beyond human comprehension this
mentality is not born out of arrogance but
out of submission submission to the will of
Allah to the belief that the soul is
never given a burden that is greater than
what it can bear Allah does not burden
his soul beyond what it can bear the
victim mentality is embodied in the prophets Ibrahim
a.s stood before the fire not as
a victim but as a victor and so
you have the choice to make life presents
choice to be a victim or a victim
the different lies not in the circumstances but
in the response the victim sees a test
as a punishment the victor sees it as
an elevation after every trial Allah elevates you
and when you are passing through trial you
have in front of you the fact that
Allah will promote you to a higher class
the victim bows to despair but the victor
bows to Allah standing taller with every prostration
the Quranic narrative is a testament to the
victor spirit it calls out to the human
soul it urges us to rise above the
victim mentality to embrace the trials of life
as gift in disguise and to walk the
path of the prophets who triumphed not because
they were spared the hardship of life but
because they converted the hardship into worship the
lesson goes to all of us do not
let the weight of your trials press force
in your life let them be the button
that press play in your life or that
press fast forward to your life to process
your drawing closer to Allah and the ultimate
victory of eternal bliss in the presence of
Allah and finally for the women folk if
you observe the women mentioned in the glorious
Quran they were all matriarchs and great women
great women who are the ones you are
to emulate in the glorious Quran the story
of Hadnatu the mother of Mariam Mariam the
mother of Isra Ali sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
all of these women you hear mentioned are
great women in Islam for all of you
to emulate and you see what you can
do about that they were mostly matriarchs matriarchs
are women who are in control and in
charge of their destinies they were not laid
down people who didn't have anything to do
with their life you remember the story of
Bilkis the one that eventually married Suleiman Bilkis
was a matriarch she was not just a
woman like that you should emulate her story
know that the way Suleiman had his kingdom
Bilkis also had her kingdom you should understand
it is in that same story Allah mentioned
the story of the Namlu the Namlu that
is the ant that was calling the other
ants all your ants enter into your holes
so that Suleiman and his people will not
march you will not step on you without
and you see it is called Namla that
Namla happened to be a female ant the
one that was in control and in charge
in other words Muslims we are not victims
we should be strong we should be powerful
when trials come trials should come not because
we were weak not because we didn't know
what to do but because Allah chose that
trial for us and we can recognize it
like that when trials come in form of
punishment we should ask Allah's forgiveness perhaps we
have been negligent in some of the things
about our lives and if you look at
all of these prophets who have mentioned you
see that these episodes in their lives were
just part of the journeys of their life
and Nabi Ayub the one that was sick
for a while remember that he was a
wealthy man before Allah tried him with this
sickness and after the sickness Allah restored him
back to his wealth he didn't spend his
life as a downtrodden person let the believers
rise up to their duties and responsibilities let
us not be weak anymore let us be
very strong and let us be the kind
of powers to reckon with on earth because
this is what's supposed to be Allah has
designed it like that so that Allah will
make Islam to supersede every other way of
life that is the design of Islam that's
the principle of Islam and that's the mentality
of Islam that we are victors we are
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