Ali Albarghouthi – Are You Powerless
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful.
I was talking to someone recently and he
remarked that he no longer desires or can
tolerate watching the news because of how horrible
it is repeatedly and daily especially when you
consider what is happening to children and what
future will they have, those who survive, what
future will they have and he said that
the most upsetting thing, the most frustrating thing
is how helpless you feel.
And that prompted a question about what does
it mean to be helpless and if our
helplessness is imposed on us from outside or
if part of it is chosen.
Now we must ground all of our understanding
in the Qur'an and in the Sunnah.
If you go back to the Sunnah, you'll
find that Rasulullah A.S. sought Allah's protection
from helplessness, from inability, from his dua, وَأَعُوذُ
بِكَ مِنَ الْعَجْزِ وَالْكَسَلِ I seek your protection,
Ya Allah, from helplessness and laziness.
And these two things are companions because you
either wanna do something but you're unable.
So this is ajz, inability.
You have the desire but you simply can't.
And that's heartbreaking, that's devastating.
Or kasal, laziness, you don't even have the
desire.
You may be able to but you don't
wanna do it.
Both of them lead to the same outcome.
There is no concrete things in effectual life.
Because you don't even want it.
Or even if you want it, you cannot
do it.
So the Prophet A.S. sought Allah's refuge
from that.
That is one type of helplessness.
But in another hadith that adds another layer
to our understanding, he said, A.S., اِحْرِصْ
عَلَىٰ مَا يَنْفَعُكَ وَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا تَعْجَزْ He
says, hold on to, seek what benefits you.
Go after what benefits you and seek Allah's
assistance and don't be helpless.
And here that prohibition means that this helplessness
is chosen.
Otherwise, there is no meaning to prohibit something
that is out of your control.
So he's saying here, A.S., he says,
you know what benefits you, hold on to
it, run after it, favor it, and ask
Allah to assist you and don't act like
the helpless, don't be like the helpless.
And that means that this is chosen.
That you live like a helpless person because
you've chosen to be a helpless person.
Now if you go also to the sunnah
and to the Quran, you'll understand that the
shaytan is trying to make you helpless, whatever
you wanna do to bring you close to
Allah A.S. He's gonna stand in your
way.
وَلَأَقْعُدَنَّ لَهُمْ صِرَاطَكَ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ I will sit in
the straight path between them and you.
That's his promise, that's his declaration.
And in interpreting this ayah, the scholars bring
the hadith of the Prophet A.S. وَإِنَّ
الشَّيْطَانَ قَعَدَ لِبْنِ آدَمَ بِأَطْرُقِهِ فَقَعَدَ لَهُ بِطَرِيقِ
الْإِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ لَهُ أَتُسْلِمُ وَتَذُرُ دِينَكَ وَدِينَ آبَائِكَ
فَعَصَاهُ فَأَسْلَمُ وَقَعَدَ لَهُ بِطَرِيقِ الْهِجْرَةِ فَقَالَ لَهُ
أَتَتُرُكُ أَرْضَكَ وَسَمَاءَكَ فَعَصَاهُ فَهَاجَرُ وَقَعَدَ لَهُ بِطَرِيقِ
الْجِهَادِ فَقَالَ لَهُ وَأَتُجَاهِدُ فَتُغْتَلُ وَيُغْسَامُ الْمَالُ وَتُنكَحُ
الزَّوْجَ فَعَصَاهُ فَجَاهَدُ فَمَنْ فَعَلَ ذَٰلِكَ كَانَ حَقًّا
عَلَى اللَّهِ أَن يُدْخِلَهُ الْجَنَّةِ He said, alayhis
salatu wasalam, that the shaitan sits in any
righteous path that you wanna follow to discourage
you, to make it heavy, to frighten you.
So, in the path of Islam, he sits
and he says, are you gonna leave the
religion of your fathers and forefathers and embrace
something new?
So he disobeys him and he accepts Islam.
Then when he wants to migrate, he says,
are you gonna leave your land and your
sky, everything that you know, and go to
a new land?
He disobeys him and he goes and he
migrates.
Then when he wants to fight for Allah's
sake, he says, you're gonna fight for Allah's
sake and be killed and your money will
be taken away.
Somebody else will marry your wife.
He disobeys him and he goes for jihad.
And the Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasalam said, one
who does that, Allah promises him Jannah.
So whatever thing you wanna do, whatever righteous
good thing that you wanna do, you must
understand that the shaitan is sitting right there
to frighten you, to make it improbable, impossible
in your eyes.
Why would you do this?
It's too difficult.
Sit and be relaxed and have fun and
enjoy your life.
Why strive?
Why struggle?
It's gonna end up in failure anyway.
And he's gonna keep up with these whispers
until you stop.
And in another hadith, alayhi salatu wasalam, he
said, اذا نام احدكم عقد الشيطان على قافيته
ثلاث عقد He says, when you sleep, the
shaitan will tie three knots at the back
of your neck.
فاذا هو ذكر الله انحلت عقد But if
you wake up and you remember Allah, one
of those knots will be loosened.
If you make wudu, the second knot will
be loosened.
If you pray salah, the third knot will
be loosened.
And you will wake up طيب النفس نشيطا
Energetic, in a good mood.
But if not, وإلا أصبح خبيث النفس كسلام
If not, you will wake up sluggish, lazy,
in a bad mood.
So this is the plot of the shaitan
to make you lazy, tired, unable.
So there are ways to fight that.
But you have to be aware of that
external plot to make you helpless.
And if not, we would be complicit in
our own helplessness.
Because you know the disease, you know the
plot, but you know the remedy.
And we choose not to medicate ourselves.
There are a couple of stories in the
Qur'an to illustrate.
And they are very instructive.
And how we make ourselves helpless.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, أَلَمْ تَرَى
إِلَى الْمَلَئِ مِن بَنِ إِسْرَائِيلَ مِن بَعْدِ مُوسَى
إِذْ قَالُوا لِنَبِيٍ لَهُمْ إِبْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكًا نُقَاتِلْ
فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ So have you not seen
and heard about the people, the Israelites after
Musa, when they've asked the prophet of theirs,
send us a king so that we would
fight in Allah's cause.
And I want you to see the similarities
between their condition and ours.
To understand that these stories are not just
simply stories.
They are way out.
They are lessons.
They are predictive.
They are analytical.
قَالَ هَلْ عَسَيْتُ مِنْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِتَالُ أَلَّا
تُقَاتِلُ So the prophet told them, perhaps when
fighting will be prescribed for you, you will
not fight.
Meaning you're saying something, but your actions are
gonna be different.
قَالَ وَمَا لَنَ أَلَّا نُقَاتِلَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ
وَقَدْ أُخْرِجْنَا مِنْ دِيَارِنَا وَأَبْنَائِنَا He says, why
would we not fight for Allah's cause and
we've been driven out of our land and
our children were taken away from us.
You see the incentive?
We lost our land, we lost our children.
We wanna fight, send us someone.
That's the energy.
That's the bravado.
We wanna do this.
Allah said, فَلَمَّا كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقِتَالُ تَوَلَّوْا إِلَّا
قَلِيلًا مِّنْهُمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ When fighting was
prescribed for them, they turned away except for
a few among them.
And Allah knows the unjust.
He knows them very well.
Not everybody who says something are gonna do
it.
Not everybody who expresses a sentiment is gonna
do it.
There's a difference.
And Allah when He continues that story to
understand that there is no way out except
with taqwa.
And it's sometimes surprising that when we find
the ummah in the situation that it is
or someone is simply facing personal ordeals and
problems.
And the suggestion is, go back to Allah
عز و جل, be alright with Allah so
that Allah could assist you, so you could
find a way out.
Some people are surprised and they think that
this is irrelevant.
How is it irrelevant?
Because if you are not ready, if Allah
does not assist you, if Allah does not
champion you, how would you be able to
survive, to prevail, to be able to be
successful?
To win over the shaitan and everybody else
who is assisting him?
If you and I in ourselves are weak,
how would we be able to win?
So see the remainder of the story.
فَلَمَّا فَصَلَ طَالُوتُ بِالْجُنُودِ قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مُبْتَلِكُمْ
بِنَهَرٍ He says, when Talut separated with the
rest of the soldiers, he said that Allah
is gonna test you with the river.
Whoever is gonna drink from it, he's not
one of us.
He's not gonna join us.
And the one who does not drink from
it will join us, except if you take
few sips.
فَشَرِبُوا مِنْهُ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِنْهُمْ They all drank
from it except very few.
That's where patience and taqwa matter.
فَلَمَّا جَاوَزَهُ هُوَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ وَقَالُوا لَا
طَاقَةَ لَنَا الْيَوْمَ بِجَالُوتَ وَجُنُودِهِ Then when he
separated or moved beyond that river, he and
those who are believers with him, they said,
today we have no power against Goliath and
his soldiers.
We're helpless, we don't have energy, we don't
have power.
It's not possible to win against them.
Now you see the value of iman.
قَالَ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُمْ مُلَاقُوا اللَّهِ كَمْ مِنْ
فِئَةٍ قَلِيلَةٍ غَلَبَتْ فِئَةً كَثِيرَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ
مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ Those who know that they're gonna
meet Allah Azza wa Jal said, how many
times did it happen that a small group
won against a larger army with the help
of Allah Azza wa Jal.
And Allah is with those who are patient.
And then when they faced Goliath and his
soldiers, they said, قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا
وَثَبِّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ When they
faced them, they said, Ya Allah, pour patience
upon us and make our feet strong and
steadfast and help us to win against those
who disbelieve.
فَهَزَمُوهُمْ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ They defeated them with the
will of Allah.
So those who listened to Allah and they
had Iman, they weren't helpless.
And those who disobeyed Allah Azza wa Jal,
they were helpless.
To understand that the choice that you and
I make results in helplessness or in power
and ability.
We have a role that we play in
that.
Take another incident that comes before that with
Musa Alayhi Salaam.
When he speaks to the Israelites, and he
said, يَا قَوْمِ ادْخُلُوا الْأَرْضَ الْمُقَدَّسَةَ الَّتِي كَتَبَ
اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَلَا تَرْتَدُّوا عَلَى أَدْبَارِكُمْ فَتَنْقَلِبُوا خَاسِرِينَ
He says, O my people, enter the sacred
holy land that is written for you and
don't turn away, then you'll be among the
losers.
قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى إِنَّ فِيهَا قَوْمًا جَبَّارِينَ He
said, O Musa, there is a mighty people
inhabiting the land and we will not enter
until they leave.
So if they leave, we will go in.
That's helplessness.
Why?
Because you disobey Allah.
You close that door.
You think it's impossible, but nothing is impossible
with Allah Azza wa Jal.
So their own weakness makes them helpless.
Allah Azza wa Jal says, قَالَ رَجُلَٰنِ مِنَ
الَّذِينَ يَخَافُونَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمَا اَدْخُلُوا عَلَيْهِمُ
الْبَابِ It says, Two among those whom Allah
blessed who fear Allah Azza wa Jal told
them, just enter the gate.
Meaning as Allah commanded you.
What did He want from you?
Believe in Him and enter the gate.
فَإِذَا دَخَلْتُمُوهُ فَإِنَّكُمْ غَالِبُونَ If you enter, you
will be victorious.
You will defeat them.
وَعَلَى اللَّهِ فَتَوَكَّلُوا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ And rely
upon Allah if you are believers.
Meaning do as Allah wants from you.
Don't put impediments, false impediments in front of
you.
Don't listen to your own weakness or to
the whisper of the shaytan.
Allah said this, just do as Allah is
saying.
You will win.
Believe in Him.
What do they say?
قَالُوا يَا مُوسَى إِنَّا لَنَّدْخُلَهَا أَبَدًا مَا دَامُوا
فِيهَا فَذْهَبْ أَنْتَ وَرَبُّكَ فَقَاتِلَ إِنَّهَا هُنَا قَعِدُونَ
They say, Oh Musa, we will never go
in as long as they are there.
So if you wanna fight, you and your
Lord, you go and fight.
We're just gonna be sitting right here.
And in the face of this insolence, what
does Allah Azzawajal say?
What does He do to them?
قَالَ فَإِنَّهَا مُحَرَّمَةٌ عَلَيْهِمْ أَرْبَعِينَ سَنَةً يَتِهُونَ فِي
الْأَرْضِ It is then forbidden for them.
40 years they will wander the land lost.
Lost.
Meaning the land that is supposed to be
theirs and there is a promise from Allah
Azzawajal.
Now, for 40 years, they will not be
gave entry to it.
They will not be permitted to enter it.
Plus, they're lost.
They can't find their way out.
And imagine, if you can't find your way
out of the masjid.
I know where the door is.
I just simply can't find it.
Where is it?
For 40 years they cannot find the way
out.
That's helplessness.
But was it imposed on them from outside
or did they choose it?
Think.
It was chosen.
And then Allah punished them with it.
And so the scholars say, He says, whenever
you find yourself as an ummah, or even
as an individual, lost and confused, you don't
know where the truth is.
You can't find your way out.
Go back to your previous choices when you
disregarded Allah's command.
Because the confusion like the Israelites today comes
from disobeying Allah Azzawajal.
That's the confusion of the ummah of Muhammad
Alayhi Salatu Wasalam today.
And that is its helplessness.
That each individual believes that he is helpless.
They don't push themselves, they don't know, and
they don't want to do what Allah wants
from them.
And accumulatively we become collectively helpless.
So even as an individual, if it's hard
sometimes to fathom how this works for an
ummah.
Sometimes when you are presented with haram choices,
you think that the haram gives you options,
right?
Oh, I have this and this and this
options because of the haram.
You don't understand, you don't really realize that.
Once you choose the haram, you've chosen restrictions.
And the paths that were available before will
be taken away from you.
And you will be lost, not guided, weak
and not empowered.
So don't believe the whispers of the shaitan
when he says, follow the haram and you'll
prosper if you follow the haram, you'll be
lost.
Say this, and Allah will forgive me and
you.
Alhamdulillah rabbil alameen.
Praise be to Him who is good and
blessed.
In Him are the heavens and the earth
and all that you desire.
And I send salutations and peace upon His
Messenger Muhammad and upon his family and companions.
Escaping helplessness comes when we desire what Allah
Azza wa Jal wants us to do.
We embrace it, we want it because we
believe that it's the best for us.
And we strive, we push ourselves to do
it, to embrace it, to fulfill it.
And only when we cannot, then we say,
la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah.
Meaning, I cannot do this.
And I'm seeking Allah's assistance.
So la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah
in the beginning, in the middle and in
the end tells you that you're not doing
it because of your own power.
We have no power.
You're doing it because Allah is assisting and
will assist and promises to assist.
So don't look at your own limitations.
Look at the possibility that Allah Azza wa
Jal has for you.
And then embark and embrace what Allah Azza
wa Jal wants.
It comes with an aspiration, with an ambition
to be better and to do better, not
to be content with the world as it
is or with yourself as it is.
Once, the story is about that ambition.
Once the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he
was hosted in one of his travels by
a Bedouin.
And then he told him, he said, alayhi
sallatu wa sallam to him, once you're in
Medina, come to us so that we would
honor you in return.
So when that Bedouin came to the Prophet
alayhi sallatu wa sallam, he asked him, what
is it you want?
Qala uridu naqatan wa anuzan ahlubaha.
He said, I want a camel and few
goats to milk.
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he
said, ajustum an takoonu mithla ajuzi bani Israel.
He says, are you unable, are you helpless
to be like the elderly Israelite woman?
They say, oh Prophet of Allah, who is
this elderly Israelite woman?
He says, when Musa alayhi sallam wanted to
lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he was
lost.
He couldn't find his way out of the
city.
He kept trying, but he couldn't find his
way out.
So he turned to the Israelites, and he
says, what is this?
Why is this happening?
He says, because Yusuf alayhi sallam made us
promise before his death that when we are
gonna leave Egypt, we take his body with
us and we bury it in Asham.
So we cannot leave until we get his
body.
Where is his body?
He asked.
He says, no one knows.
Except an elderly woman.
She's the only one who still remembers where
he's buried.
He goes to her and he said, where
is he buried?
He says, I know where he is buried,
but I will not tell you until you
give me a promise.
He says, what is it?
He said, that I'll be your companion in
Jannah.
Musa did not want to give her that.
Just for this information, yet Allah azza wa
jal revealed to him, give her her request.
She's gonna get it.
Where is he?
She said, here, drain this lake.
They drained it, extracted his body.
He says, as soon as they extracted the
body, the path was lit like the day.
Exactly, they knew where to go.
When something is missing, the exit is missing.
And you want the exit to be clear?
Go back to Allah azza wa jal and
push yourself.
And don't be helpless.
And seek what benefits you.
And rely on Him.
And don't say it's too difficult.
Another story that tells you about religious ambition.
How you should seek the hereafter more than
the dunya.
The Ansar, may Allah be pleased with them.
They once said to themselves, they said, we
got tired of transporting water from the wells
to our farms on camels.
Why don't we go to the Messenger a
.s.w. and ask him that he would
ask Allah for the Medina to flow with
rivers so that the water would come to
our farms.
Why don't we go and ask him this?
So they got ready and they went to
the Prophet a.s.w. And the Prophet,
when he saw them, he says, Ahlan wa
marhaban, welcome.
He greeted them.
And he said, something must have brought you
here.
They said, yes, O Messenger of Allah.
He said, whatever you ask me, I will
give you.
And whatever I ask Allah, He will give
me.
So meaning, ask whatever you want, it's given.
And he'd ask them what it is.
Whatever you want is gonna be given.
Now what do you think they asked him?
They turned to each other and they asked
themselves, ad dunya turidun?
He said, you want the dunya now?
Kalu, Ya Rasulallah, Messenger of Allah, istaghfir lana
Allah.
He said, O Messenger of Allah, ask Allah
to forgive us.
Faqala Allahumma khfiril ansari wa liabna'i alansari
wa liabna'i abna'i alansar.
He said, Ya Allah, forgive the ansar and
the children of the ansar and the children
of the children of the ansar.
They could have had the dunya And be
just content with it, rivers, farms, crops.
But now that they have this unparalleled opportunity,
you could ask whatever.
And the Prophet ﷺ will give that to
you and Allah will give that to you.
What is it that you want?
Their iman said the next life.
And so they and their children and the
children of their children receive the best supplication
from the Prophet ﷺ.
Don't mind rivers and farms and money and
wealth and all of this.
The next life is a thing that is
gonna last.
So, are we helpless?
To a degree there is some helplessness that
is imposed on us.
And to another degree there is selected, willful,
chosen helplessness that we choose to and be
engaged in.
We are not restricted to only du'a.
There is much more that we can do
than du'a.
But even du'a we are not doing
enough of.
But then beyond du'a there is money.
Beyond that there is your own righteousness that
helps you and your family and the ummah
of Muhammad ﷺ.
There are opportunities that remain closed because we
did not knock on the door, because we
did not push.
So, before we surrender to helplessness, let's ask
ourselves, why are we?
And rely on Allah عز و جل so
that we are not.
And then you will find that our situation
will change by the will of Allah عز
و جل.
So, let's start simply complaining.
And ask yourself, what is it that I
can do and I can do better and
more?
And lastly, inshaAllah, as you know, there are
brothers here who are asking for your donations
for their masjid.
So, Allah Allah, please Allah عز و جل,
and give from your heart, and give what
you can, and make du'a for them,
and spread the word around it.
And again, don't be helpless.
If you have an opportunity to build and
maintain a house of Allah عز و جل,
don't sit back and say, no, somebody else
is gonna do it.
No, it is you who is being asked,
it is you who is being requested, and
it is your and my responsibility to do
this every time.
Hold yourself personally responsible for what is happening
around you.
And to the ummah of Muhammad صلى الله
عليه وسلم, it's not somebody else, it is
me, it is I, it is you.
Let's do something about this.
So, we ask Allah عز و جل to
help them establish a house of Allah عز
و جل, and to help us be partners
in that establishment.
We ask Him رب العالمين, not to make
us among the helpless or lazy.
We ask Him رب العالمين to help us
make the right choices.
We ask Him رب العالمين to instill in
our hearts iman and taqwa, to instill our
hearts love for Him سبحانه وتعالى, more than
any other love, and love for Muhammad صلى
الله عليه وسلم, more than any other human,
and love for the believers, and love for
what Allah loves, and hate for what Allah
hates.
We ask Him سبحانه و رب العالمين to
forgive us all of our sins, to give
us power against our addictions, against our weaknesses,
to give us رب العالمين the best in
this life, and the best in the hereafter.
We ask Him رب العالمين to send His
help to the people of Gaza, to the
people of Palestine, and to the rest of
Muslims throughout the world.
Ya Allah, we ask You that You would
assist them, and be on their side, that
You would clothe them and feed them.
Ya Allah, that You would cure them, and
accept the dead, Ya Rabb al-'alameen, as martyrs.
And You would take care of the orphans,
and take care of the widows, Ya Arham
al-Rahimeen.
You are the best protector, and You are
the best provider.
اللهم آتنا في الدنيا حسنة و في الآخرة
حسنة نوقينا عذاب النار اللهم إنا نعوذ بك
من الهم والحسن والعز والكسل والجبن والبخل وغلبة
الدين وقهر الرجال يحيوا يا قيوم برحمتك نستغيث
أصلح لنا شأننا كله ولا تكلنا إلى أنفسنا
طرفة عين