Ali Albarghouthi – Rising Above Our Weaknesses
AI: Summary ©
The importance of believing in Islam is discussed, along with the need to be strong and committed to one's beliefs to avoid coming to criticized others. The importance of building from the bottom up and not denying one's individual responsibility is emphasized, along with the importance of not respecting Prophet's teachings and not bragging about it. The speakers stress the need to stay true to Islam and not give up on one's individual responsibility, while also offering guidance on how to address disagreements and avoiding confusion. The importance of remorse and balancing behavior is emphasized, along with avoiding falsehood and not giving up on one's beliefs.
AI: Summary ©
I bear witness that there is none worthy
of worship except Allah.
I bear witness that there is none worthy
of worship except Allah.
I bear witness that Muhammad is
the Messenger of Allah.
I bear witness that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
Come
to Prayer.
Come to success.
Come to success.
I bear witness
that there is none worthy of worship except
Allah.
I
bear
witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.
I bear
witness that
Muhammad
is the Messenger of Allah.
That strength, in particular the strength of Iman,
which produces all types of strength afterwards, is
a goal and a desire for anyone who
believes in Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Yet, when you look at us today, it
is hard to find that that strength is
something that we have and we enjoy that
is in abundance.
Not only at the level of the Ummah,
but on the level of the individual as
well.
And the Ummah is just a product of
individuals coming together.
So when you look at the Ummah, individual
countries or collectively, you know that we don't
really have control over what happens.
Not in the world and not even in
our own lands.
Somebody else, somewhere else controls what happens to
us.
We're completely weak at their mercy.
Political events in another country determines what happens
in our countries, not what we decide, but
what somebody decides for us.
And that's absolute weakness.
And when you notice that, you then wonder
how can we be stronger?
Then if you come closer to yourself in
a micro rather than a micro look, you'll
notice that the community itself is not that
strong.
And the families themselves are not that strong.
And the individual Muslim is not that strong.
So in the face of this widespread weakness,
what can we do to be stronger?
Allah Azza wa Jal in the Quran, He
said, خُذُوا مَا أَتَيْنَاكُم بِقُوَّةٍ Take what we
have given you, what we have revealed to
you with strength.
And that means hold on to it.
And you hold on to something because you
believe it's valuable.
And the more valuable you believe that thing
is, the stronger your grip is going to
be.
So if you believe that this is the
best thing out there for you and everyone
that you know, you will not let go
of it.
So when Allah said, hold on to it
firmly, He means take it seriously.
Know what is in it.
And if you know what is in it,
you will never let go of it.
Take it wholeheartedly, not in parts, without restrictions.
Implement all of it without hesitation or delay.
Be enthusiastic about it.
Believe that your well-being in the dunya
and the akhirah lies in it.
If someone were to tell you as an
example, if you were to do A, B,
and C, you're gonna be a millionaire, you're
gonna be a billionaire, and you're someone who
loves money.
You will follow that advice every single day.
In fact, it will change how you live.
Because if you believe in it, and you
value the goal, you'll follow the advice.
Now if you believe that your value, your
success lies in what Allah has revealed, and
nothing is better than that, you will hold
on to it more than anything else in
your life.
So Allah said, take it seriously.
Because your prosperity, your success is in it.
And that is a command that Allah had
given the prophets of Allah عز و جل,
and He had given their followers as well.
He told Musa عليه السلام, فخذها بقوة.
Referring to the tablets that Allah had given
to him.
Take it seriously.
Take it with strength.
Take it with commitment.
And he told Yahya عليه السلام, يَا يَحْيَا
خُذِ الْكِتَابَ بِقُوَّةٍ Hold on to the book
firmly.
You know how when you grab something and
you hold it and you...
not let go of it.
When you embrace it, bring it to your
chest, and you don't believe yet you can
live without it.
That type of commitment, that type of relationship
should exist between you and what Allah عز
و جل has revealed to Muhammad عليه السلام.
You do not believe that any other thought,
any other ideology, any other choice, any other
identification is superior to this.
You don't put anything else, even yourself ahead
of it, even your choice ahead of it.
And we're an ummah, if you look at
the ummah, and how it ascended and then
descended.
We ascended, we climbed up, when we believed
the Qur'an was the best book there
is.
And that the guidance of Muhammad عليه السلام
was the best guidance.
And both of them deserve our lives.
And when we gave our lives to them,
Allah gave us life back.
Allah gave us honor, Allah gave us protection,
Allah gave us guidance, Allah gave us love
between the believers, Allah protected us from our
enemies, Allah guided us out of confusion.
But this only happens when we sacrifice.
And we sacrifice only when we believe that
something is valuable, it's worth sacrificing for.
You say, well, how can we hold on
to something firmly?
Look at us, we sometimes complain as individuals.
It's hard to hold on to the truth.
I feel alone, I feel abandoned.
It's too much, it's too challenging.
Too many temptations, too much opposition.
Not a lot of support.
And we look at us also as families
or as an ummah.
It's the same complaint, it is just too
much.
And if we surrender to that idea, we
will continue to be weak for the rest
of our lives, and the lives of our
children, and any foreseeable future as long as
we have surrendered to that idea.
We have to build from the bottom up.
You can't wait for somebody else to come
and save you.
No one is coming to save us, right?
No one is coming to save us except
Allah عز و جل, and through obedience to
Allah عز و جل, ourselves.
We are gonna save ourselves with Allah's help.
So it has to be built from the
bottom up from each individual deciding that it
is my individual personal responsibility towards the ummah
to be better.
Because if I am weak, then the entire
structure is weak.
If I give myself excuses, it's okay to
do some haram.
It is okay to stray away from Allah
عز و جل.
It is okay to doubt the Qur'an
or reject some of its commands, or the
sunnah and the guidance of Muhammad عليه الصلاة
و السلام is some of his commands.
It's okay to do this.
If you are weak, you give yourself license
to be that, and your neighbor and your
friend give their self license to be that,
then that whole road, that whole brick wall
is weak.
And if you are weak, then the entire
structure is weak.
How do you hold to the book firmly
if you do not know what is in
the book?
And so the first step is ilm, knowledge,
strength in knowledge, قوة العلم.
You're not gonna value something if you don't
know what it is.
You're not gonna respect it, you're not gonna
love it if you don't know what the
Qur'an has for you, and you love
it because of it.
If you don't value what the Prophet عليه
الصلاة و السلام had asked you to do
for your own benefit in detail, not in
general terms, but in detail, and then you
decide, that is better for me than whatever
other ideology or thinking outside.
If there is ever a contradiction, I believe
Allah عز و جل, and I believe His
Prophet عليه الصلاة و السلام.
I will not structure my life based on
what other people have thought.
I will not divide based on nationalism or
tribalism, because Islam came and melted all these
differences away.
If you value your color more than Islam,
there's jahiliyyah in you.
You're a person with jahiliyyah.
If you say because I'm white, or because
I'm black, or whatever color it is, I
am better than the other, you have jahiliyyah
in you.
Be satisfied with that.
Don't defend it.
You're weak.
Accept your weakness.
Don't brag about it.
If you believe that because of your tribe,
you're better than somebody else, you have jahiliyyah
in you.
You're weak.
Don't brag.
Accept that you are weak.
Accept that you are a tool of the
shaitan, if you want to spread that type
of belief.
Islam, when Islam came, when Muhammad عليه الصلاة
و السلام came, people who had tribes, and
the Prophet's intent was not to erase that
identification, but to subjugate that identification to Islam.
You can maintain your tribal connections, but they're
not supreme to Islam.
So and so from another tribe, if he's
more obedient to Allah عز و جل, should
be more beloved to you and closer to
you than someone from your own family who's
disobedient to Allah.
Isn't that clear?
And Muhammad عليه الصلاة و السلام put forth
the best example when he said, أَلَا إِنَّ
آلَىٰ بَنِي فُلَانَ لَيْسُ لِي بِأَوْلِيَاءٍ أَلَا إِنَّ
وَلِيِّيَ اللَّهُ وَصَالِحُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ He said the family
of so and so, the clan of so
and so, and he's referencing people in Quraysh,
in his own tribe.
He says, they're not my allies.
They're not close to me.
My ally is Allah عز و جل and
the righteous believers.
They're not close to me just because we
speak the same language, we eat the same
food, we've come from the same lineage.
That does not matter.
The choice that you make, if you're obedient
or not, close to Allah or not, that's
the thing that matters.
So if you're gonna put your gender before
Islam, you have Jahiliyyah in you.
If you're gonna structure your life based on
gender, I'm a woman first and then I'm
Muslim, or I'm a man first and then
I'm Muslim, you have Jahiliyyah in you.
Any other identification should melt away and Islam
should come first.
And that's how you think about yourself and
the world around you.
And when you know, when you understand what
Allah has to offer you and what the
Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has to offer
you, then you could look at other ideologies
and then wonder and think and be critical.
Liberalism, neoliberalism, capitalism, socialism, communism, feminism, anti
-feminism, whatever it is, you're not gonna simply
accept it uncritically.
You're not gonna accept what popular culture feeds
you.
But you take it and you analyze it.
And you are analytical, critical of what they
have in light of what you know.
And if you don't know, then you'll be
ignorant.
That's why we have to have strength in
knowledge.
And I'm gonna tell you, Jum'ah is
not enough to provide that.
Half an hour a week.
Half an hour a week is gonna teach
you your religion.
It's gonna give you all the information that
you need to fight every single day.
We need much more than that.
So if you're a person who's taking his
religion seriously, then what are you doing to
learn your Islam?
In the masjid, online, from authentic sources, what
are you doing to learn your Islam?
Otherwise, you're defenseless.
Now, second to knowledge is implementation.
Not to simply learn, but to learn it
and then do what with it?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, خُذُوا مَا
آيْتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاسْمَعُوا Take what we have given
you firmly, seriously, emphatically, and listen.
The people of the book, what did they
say?
سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا Yeah, we hear but we disobey.
But the Muslims who were successful, who were
strong, who were beloved to Allah Azza wa
Jal, سَمِعْنَا وَعَطَعْنَا Yes, we hear and we
obey.
And without restriction, without hesitation, without partition of
the shariah, without saying, I like this and
I hate that.
I submit to all of it.
Because only then will Allah Azza wa Jal
elevate you all.
But if you just take some and you
reject some, there'll be humiliation upon the Ummah
of Muhammad until they quit that.
The other thing to keep in mind, خُذُوا
مَا آتَيْنَاكُمْ بِقُوَّةٍ وَاسْمَعُوا Remember what is in
it.
That is continuous remembrance.
Continuous remembrance.
Because as soon as you will leave the
masjid, in an hour or two you'll start
to forget.
And if the khutbah increased or happen to
increase your iman, it'll start declining when you
leave.
So what is the next remembrance?
When will it come next?
Will you wait another week?
Or will it come tomorrow?
Or will it come next month?
If you do not remember the truth that
you have, you will not be committed to
it.
So remember it.
And because of that you need to do
several things.
You need to be in the house of
Allah عز و جل.
You need to come.
You need to attend the halaqas and the
study circles.
You need to be around Muslims who will
remind you and make you strong because they're
around you.
You need to quit the company of those
who weaken you, internally and externally, because they
disobey Allah عز و جل.
They anger Him and so they drag Allah's
anger to you.
They bring it closer to you.
So you stay away from what weakens you.
And you stay closer to what strengthens you.
And you keep the remembrance of Allah عز
و جل on your tongue as often as
you can.
The dhikr of Allah, the book of Allah
عز و جل.
You feel that you're gonna be lost and
abandoned and weak if you don't remember Allah
عز و جل.
So you keep it close to you on
your tongue, close to your ears.
And this is how you be strong.
And interestingly, Subhanallah, Allah عز و جل said
in the Qur'an, وَالَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَأَقَامُوا
الصَّلَاءِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ He says,
those who hold firmly to the book and
establish the salah, we do not waste the
reward of the reformers or the righteous.
He said in the tafsir, يُمَسِّكُونَ, that emphatic
emphasis on holding to the book.
He says, because it's a renewed commitment.
It's not just to hold once.
But يُمَسِّكُونَ, for them to keep holding on
and on every single day.
And to hold on to all of it.
Because they are gonna be challenged.
They are gonna be attacked in the process.
They may at some point find themselves alone.
When others abandon the truth and they have
a choice, am I gonna follow the truth
because it's the truth, or will I follow
the truth because it's fashionable, because everybody is
doing it, because it's easier at that point.
No, يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ is every single day it's
a commitment.
I will do it despite what other people
are doing or not doing.
I will do all of it.
And this is what I will do even
if I find myself alone.
But eventually Allah عز و جل will give
you strength.
But the commitment, the desire needs to be
there.
And if we understand and we implement, and
we remember, and we don't give up.
Even if you find yourself alone because you
say to yourself, as long as one person
is holding on to the truth, Allah عز
و جل will give it light and give
it strength eventually.
Your challenge and my challenge, your commitment and
my commitment should be to the truth even
if we stand alone.
Even if there seems to be no hope.
Because our hope comes from Allah عز و
جل, not from people, but from Allah عز
و جل.
أقول قولي هذا وأستغفر الله لي ولكم فاستغفروه
الحمد لله رب العالمين حمدا كثيرا طيبا مباركا
فيه ملأ السماوات و ملأ الأرض و ملأ
ما شئت من شيء بعد وأصلي وأسلم على
رسوله محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم أما بعد
Another point to keep in mind is how
we relate to each other and talk to
each other and discuss and dispute and debate
and what types of manners we bring and
how we may be failing the ummah and
failing each other and how we talk to
each other and think about each other and
what I mean by that is Allah عز
و جل says وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَلَا تَنَازَعُوا
فَتَفْشَلُوا وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ He says obey Allah and
his messenger and do not dispute for then
you will fail internally وَتَذْهَبَ رِيحُكُمْ externally you
will be weak so if you do this
منازعة you will lose strength internally meaning you
will be cowards on the inside and weak
on the outside and this منازعة, this dispute
has two meanings the first is to dispute
with Allah and his messenger the command comes
the obligations, the prohibitions you dispute that and
Allah عز و جل is saying that if
you were to dispute that which is the
cause and reason of your strength of course
you're gonna be weak that is the only
thing that is making you strong if you're
gonna reject it you will languish in weakness
so don't do this type of منازعة dispute,
rejection there's another type of منازعة which is
between each other of course we're always gonna
have different points of view we're always gonna
have people of different levels of knowledge and
understanding and commitment and backgrounds etc, etc, etc
the thing here is how do you maintain
a balance between stating, speaking the truth and
maintaining the unity and the integrity of the
ummah and some people lean on one at
the expense of the other and we should
maintain a balance between the two some people
they will for the sake of just speaking
the truth alienate scores and scores of Muslims
in how they talk, in how they present
in how they dispute in their bad manners
in how they suspect others in how they
malign and attack them all in the name
of the truth not realizing that you're creating
fictions and divisions between the ummah between people
and that is wrong and when you note
how Rasulallah maintained that balance you'll understand that
both are important and some people lean heavily
on the other side we need all to
be united we need all to be together
so for that they suppress the truth and
that is a mistake as well because the
thing that keeps us together and gives us
strength is not a bunch of people coming
together it is Allah azza wa jal and
it is He who brings people He who
guides them not their simple desire to be
together so we need to have that munaza
if it's to happen to be ruled by
etiquettes by manners by adab and the best
of adab فَإِن تَنَزَعْتُمْ فِي شَيْءٍ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى
اللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولِ if you dispute if you disagree
where do we take that disagreement it is
take it to Allah and the messenger if
they are supreme let go of your ego
you don't have to be right says Shafi
'i رحمه الله and he used to talk
and he used to debate and he used
to present but he said whenever I would
debate whenever I would dispute with someone I
would love that they would reach the truth
on their own without me and he would
say I wish that everybody would know the
truth that I know without them having it
or learning it from me I want them
all to know it it's not about ego
it's not about me being right and he
also said whenever I would debate someone and
they are wrong and they admit that they
are wrong he says they will increase in
nobility in my eyes because I know that
they are a good person they can see
that they made a mistake and say I
made a mistake he says I know that
they are noble and whenever I talk to
someone and they make a mistake and they
stubbornly cling to it and refuse to admit
their mistake he says I lose respect for
them it's not the issue is not about
making mistakes the issue is about what how
stubborn you are in holding on to falsehood
so if you want to talk to someone
if you want to dispute with someone if
you want to present something to someone is
it about you or is it about what
pleases Allah if it is about you please
don't talk you are not helping if it
is about Allah proceed and that is a
good thing to keep in mind whenever you
are going to have a disagreement between you
and your wife, you and your children you
and your parents, you and your friend why
are you disagreeing with them, for Allah for
the truth or you just simply want to
win, if it's simply just winning, be quiet
be quiet, Allah azawajal will send the truth
to you but if it's an issue about
the truth being revealed then be compassionate be
kind pave the way for them to accept
the truth not to reject it, make it
easier for them to follow it, not to
run away from it may Allah azawajal make
us among the strong on this earth, may
Allah azawajal make us of those who hold
firmly to his book and to the sunnah
of his prophet alayhi salatu wassalam we ask
Allah azawajal to teach us what's in the
Qur'an and the sunnah and to give
us commitment to what is in the Qur
'an and the sunnah above anything else we
ask him subhanahu wa ta'ala to make
us of those who aid and help the
Ummah of Muhammad alayhi salatu wassalam to make
us a cause for its victory and elevation,
not a cause for its weakness and disgrace,
we ask Rabb al alameen to send victory
to any Muslim who is oppressed on the
face of this earth, ya Allah Rabb al
alameen we ask you that you would quickly
come to the aid of our brothers and
sisters in Gaza, in Palestine in Bilad al
Sham, in As-Sudan and every other spot
on the corners of this earth where a
Muslim is suffering, ya Rabb al alameen we
ask you ya Rabb al alameen to clothe
them and feed them, to treat those who
are injured to take care of their orphans
and widows to give them shelter ya Rabb
al alameen to give them protection from the
plots of their enemies and their bombs, ya
azuzu ya hakeem, we ask you that you
repel the aggression of the aggressors ya Allah,
repel the aggression of the aggressors, ya Allah
repel the aggression of the aggressors, ya Allah
forgive us all of our sins and the
rest of the sins of the rest of
the Muslims and protect us from all fitan
ya Rabb al alameen those that we know
about and those that we do not know
about Allahumma atina fid dunya hasanatan wa fil
akhirati hasana, wa qina azaban nar, Allahumma ya
muqalliba ya musarraf al qulub, thabbit qulubana ala
deenik, Allahumma ya musarraf al qulub sarrif qulubana
ala taatik Allahumma a'inna ala dhikrika wa
shukrika wa husni ibadatik, Allahumma nas'aluka al
ikhlasa wa na'udh bika minash shirk kullih,
Allahumma nas'aluka al ikhlasa wa na'udh
bika minash shirk kullih, Allahumma nas'aluka al
ikhlasa wa na'udh bika minash shirk kullih,
Allahumma nas'aluka Rabb al alameen an tulsila
rahmatika wa barakatika ala ahl al shami Rabb
al alameen, Allahumma kun lahum wa la takun
alayhim ya arham al rahimeen Allahumma at'imhum
wa asqihim wakfihim wa awihim, ya Rabb al
alameen Allahumma alayka bi'adowhim fa'innahum la
yu'jizoonak Allahumma alayka bi'adowhim fa'innahum
la yu'jizoonak Allahumma alina fihim ajaiba qudratika
wakhzihim, ya Rabb al alameen ya hayyu ya
qayyum, birahmatika nastaghif aslih lana sha'nana kullah
wa la takilna ila anfusina tarfata