Dilly Hussain – AlSham in Islamic History

Dilly Hussain
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AI: Summary ©

The region of Ashan, which was the region of the Middle East during the time of the prophet Muhammad's time, was the only region where all the prophets prayed behind Muhammad sallahu alaihi wa sallam in congregation. The region was consolidated under Islamic rule and was eventually under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire. The Islamic army faced a battle of Muta and faced the first time the Islamic army confronted the Lyantines, and they were victorious. The region was consolidated under Islamic rule and was eventually replaced by the Turks after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The region is considered to have been a golden era due to its religious significance and its religious authority.

AI: Summary ©

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			Dear brothers and sisters,
		
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			I want to begin by thanking UCI ISOC
		
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			for inviting me today to deliver this lecture
		
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			on the history of
		
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			or
		
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			the lay one in his in Islam.
		
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			And when brother Abdul Rahman first approached me
		
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			regarding this lecture,
		
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			he wanted initially for me to give a
		
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			talk on the golden era of a sham.
		
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			Now depending on who you talk to, depending
		
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			on which scholars or historians, academics you speak
		
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			to, they will give you
		
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			different eras, which they regard to be the
		
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			golden era.
		
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			Fundamentally, this breaks down this comes down to
		
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			what metrics or what criteria you use
		
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			to determine
		
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			what constitutes as a golden era.
		
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			Let me give you an example.
		
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			Within academic
		
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			circles,
		
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			there's a conception that the golden era of
		
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			Islam
		
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			was either Muslim Spain
		
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			or Abbasid Bakr,
		
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			and the metrics they use to
		
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			come to this decision
		
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			is the advancement of
		
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			arts,
		
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			philosophy,
		
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			technological advancements,
		
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			respective to those times,
		
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			as well as the flourishing of thinking and
		
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			education and so forth.
		
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			However, from an an Islamic standpoint,
		
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			if you speak to many
		
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			of Islamic scholars above classical and contemporary, that's
		
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			it you will know.
		
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			The golden era of Islam has to be
		
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			in the period of the whole of
		
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			and the first three generations of Islam because
		
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			they were regarded as the best generation. So,
		
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			surely,
		
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			that is the golden era because their governance,
		
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			their justice,
		
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			the man in which they ruled
		
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			in the man in which they gave Dawah
		
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			was the most closest to the prophetic model.
		
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			So that's an example as to
		
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			why there's not a consensus
		
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			on things like what's a golden era.
		
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			Personally, I believe
		
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			the land that is known as
		
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			Ashan has played,
		
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			is playing,
		
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			and will continue to play a key role
		
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			in the direction of this from
		
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			until the day of judgment.
		
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			Another point I want to add is that
		
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			when we discuss history, brothers and sisters,
		
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			we have to be mindful that we do
		
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			not present
		
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			a utopian
		
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			romanticized
		
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			version of our history.
		
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			At the time of the beloved prophet sallallahu
		
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			alaihi wasallam, were problems.
		
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			There were feuds. There were wars. There were
		
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			arguments. There were disagreements.
		
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			Some of them continued
		
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			through to the.
		
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			They were the best
		
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			people, the best generation who
		
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			walked on this earth.
		
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			And therefore, when we talk about Islamic history,
		
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			as nostalgic as it may be, we have
		
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			to appreciate
		
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			it wasn't all hunky dory.
		
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			However, since we're discussing the golden era
		
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			today, you know, I will be highlighting,
		
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			you know, the the vast majority of the
		
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			positives
		
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			that have
		
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			emerged emerged from this region
		
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			as well as the fact that
		
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			I'm gonna whisk through 1400 years of issue
		
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			when entire studies,
		
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			books
		
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			have been dedicated to
		
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			certain periods,
		
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			certain dynasties,
		
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			certain states.
		
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			And I'm literally just gonna give you guys
		
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			a overview
		
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			of the history of Ashan.
		
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			So
		
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			where is Ashan?
		
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			Now
		
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			in the in the classical
		
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			European term,
		
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			it was regarded as the Levant, and the
		
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			regarded as the levant.
		
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			And the levant
		
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			constitutes
		
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			as Greece,
		
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			Anatolia,
		
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			modern day Turkey,
		
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			Syria, Palestine, and Egypt, and generally anything east
		
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			of Venice.
		
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			At that time, was regarded as the Levant.
		
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			In European colonial
		
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			language,
		
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			the Levant was more restricted to just Egypt,
		
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			Syria, and Palestine.
		
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			However,
		
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			in Islamic discourse,
		
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			or at least within the discourse of the
		
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			Arabs,
		
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			literally just meant the land to the north,
		
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			the land to the north of Hejaz.
		
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			And there is a very well known hadith
		
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			of the beloved prophet, which there are different
		
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			variations, where
		
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			he
		
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			said
		
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			that Asham is a blessed land.
		
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			And within Asham,
		
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			Jerusalem
		
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			is its most blessed city.
		
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			And within Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the most blessed location
		
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			is Masjid al Aqsa.
		
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			I think
		
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			we need to first understand why
		
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			this land,
		
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			this region
		
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			is so central
		
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			dear to Muslims. 1st and foremost, it was
		
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			the first qibla of the Muslims before
		
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			the Kaaba or Makkah.
		
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			It was the station of Al Isla Al
		
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			Miraj, the famous night journey of the prophet,
		
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			which I will discuss in a later slide.
		
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			It was the second house of Allah built
		
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			on earth after the Kaaba.
		
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			It was the place where hundreds of prophets,
		
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			alayhis salaam, are all buried.
		
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			It's a place where many of the companions
		
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			are buried.
		
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			It's a place where miracles have taken place
		
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			with Allah's permission.
		
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			It's a place which Allah himself has referred
		
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			to as a blessed place in the Quran.
		
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			There are also 70 direct or indirect references
		
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			to this region called
		
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			in the Quran.
		
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			And it's also a place where angels have
		
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			descended with Allah's message
		
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			for the.
		
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			It's the only place on Earth where all
		
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			the prophets prayed behind in jama'ah,
		
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			behind prophet Muhammad
		
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			in the night journey.
		
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			And it's the only Masjid, Masjid Al Aqsa.
		
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			It's the only Masjid mentioned by name in
		
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			Quran besides the Kaaba.
		
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			So when I'm so in today's lecture, when
		
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			we when we refer to Ashan, we are
		
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			talking about modern day Syria,
		
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			Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine.
		
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			So what was the situation of Ashan during
		
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			the time of the prophet?
		
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			Well,
		
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			this region was under the control and authority
		
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			of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantines.
		
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			And there you see an original transcript, a
		
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			letter,
		
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			which
		
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			the prophet sent to emperor Heracles
		
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			inviting
		
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			Medina period.
		
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			But there are 3 events which stand out
		
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			during the time lifetime of the prophet.
		
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			1st and foremost was the night journey, al
		
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			Isra al Miraj, in 6/21.
		
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			The reason why this particular event
		
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			is so important in Islam
		
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			is because it confirmed a few things. Number
		
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			1,
		
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			when the prophet,
		
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			peace be upon him, went from Makkah to
		
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			Jerusalem and ascended to the heavens,
		
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			all the prophets
		
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			prayed behind
		
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			Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
		
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			in congregation, which proved the following, that he
		
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			was the seal of the prophets. He was
		
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			the last messenger of Allah.
		
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			Was either the last messenger. He was the
		
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			greatest of the messengers. He was the leader
		
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			of all the prophets.
		
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			And then from there, he ascended to the
		
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			heavens
		
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			where he
		
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			met a number of prophets,
		
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			where he met Allah,
		
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			and the famous dialogue took place between the
		
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			prophet Musa alayhi salam about the obligatory prayers
		
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			that would
		
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			be put on the Muslims. That famous dialogue
		
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			about 50 and then reducing it to 10
		
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			and then and then to 5. That took
		
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			place in the night journey,
		
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			which is also mentioned in the Quran.
		
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			Then in 6 29, we had the battle
		
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			of Muta. Muta is in Jordan.
		
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			And this was the first time
		
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			the Islamic army
		
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			confronted the Byzantines,
		
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			the first ever conflict.
		
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			And
		
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			it was neither a victory and neither was
		
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			it a defeat.
		
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			Many of the companions
		
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			were killed in this battle.
		
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			Amongst the companions, 3 particular companions,
		
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			Zayd ibn Haifa, who was the adopted son
		
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			of the prophet and then freed later,
		
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			prophet and then freed later, Ja'far ibn Abutali,
		
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			the first cousin of the prophet and the
		
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			brother of Imam Ali, and Abdullah ibn Rawah.
		
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			These 3
		
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			companions, amongst others, were killed in, which is
		
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			in
		
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			modern day Jordan.
		
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			And then we had the expedition of Tabuk
		
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			in 6:30, where the prophet himself led an
		
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			army of 30,000
		
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			to meet the Byzantines,
		
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			but no battle took place.
		
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			After 6:30,
		
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			the prophet had commissioned another expedition
		
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			to be led by Osama bin Zayed,
		
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			the son of Zayed bin Khalifa,
		
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			to follow in the footsteps of his father.
		
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			And at that time,
		
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			some of the companions were not happy with
		
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			this decision
		
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			because Osama bin Zayd was a very young
		
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			man. He was 17 years old.
		
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			And both were the, essentially, key events which
		
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			took place during the time of the prophet,
		
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			Hashem. Hashem
		
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			under the khulafa or Rashidin, between 632 to
		
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			661,
		
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			Abu Bakr, he
		
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			continued
		
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			the wishes
		
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			or the wish of the prophet,
		
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			and he sent Osama bin Zayed
		
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			off to the expedition
		
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			to meet the byzan times,
		
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			in battle. And, again, a number of companions
		
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			at the time were not happy because Osama
		
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			bin Zayed was very
		
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			young. Many felt that he was inexperienced, didn't
		
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			have the the
		
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			the military experience to lead such an army
		
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			in such an expedition.
		
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			Yet Abu Bakr, he fulfilled
		
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			that wish of the prophet.
		
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			Osama bin Zayed in his expedition was successful.
		
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			He defeated the byzantine in 632.
		
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			In 634,
		
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			Damascus
		
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			fell to the Muslims
		
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			under the.
		
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			During the,
		
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			we had the battle of Yarmouk.
		
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			Now there is a near consensus
		
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			that the battle of Yarmouk was such a
		
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			decisive battle in Islamic history that from this
		
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			point onward,
		
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			no other
		
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			empire or state,
		
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			or any other religion for that matter
		
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			had ever regained control of the Levant or
		
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			Ashaun from this point onward.
		
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			After had
		
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			happened, and we were victorious in that,
		
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			it was basically consolidated. The entire region was
		
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			consolidated
		
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			under Islamic rule. And, of course, we had
		
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			Jerusalem,
		
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			which came under Islamic rule in 637.
		
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			And we know that when the patriarch of
		
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			Jerusalem,
		
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			when he gave the city, he refused to
		
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			hand over the keys until he met Omar
		
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			Ibn Khattab in person, and he handed over
		
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			the keys. And then, of course, the famous
		
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			treaty of
		
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			was born out of Jerusalem
		
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			whereby Jews and Christians were given security,
		
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			and they were allowed to practice their religion
		
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			freely in the holy city.
		
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			And the entire of Hashem had fallen under
		
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			Islamic rule by the by the time of
		
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			the death of Imam Ali in 6/61,
		
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			the entire region. So modern day Syria, Jordan,
		
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			Lebanon, Palestine was all under Islamic rule by
		
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			6/61.
		
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			And just on this point,
		
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			there are many companions
		
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			who are buried in a shan.
		
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			And to name just a few,
		
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			the Abyssinian companion of the prophet, the first
		
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			of
		
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			Medina.
		
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			He's buried in Damascus.
		
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			Khalid ibn Walid.
		
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			He's buried in Homs,
		
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			arguably one of the greatest
		
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			military generals in human history, not even Islamic
		
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			history, in human history, who played a key
		
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03
			role in the advancement of Islam both in,
		
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10
			ibn al Jarrah,
		
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12
			he's buried in modern day Jordan.
		
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14
			He was one of the,
		
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17
			one of the 10 companions
		
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19
			who were granted Jannah on earth.
		
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22
			Always al Arni. He's buried in Raqqa
		
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25
			in Syria. And, of course, we have
		
00:12:26 --> 00:12:28
			the Sahabi Salman al Farsi,
		
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31
			whose very famous journey to Islam from slavery
		
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32
			to liberation
		
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34
			after seeking the truth.
		
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37
			And, obviously, he also played a key role
		
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39
			in the back of a humdock. He is
		
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40
			buried in Palestine.
		
00:12:43 --> 00:12:45
			After the death of
		
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			and what was regarded as the first fitna,
		
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52
			the Islamic empire or the had
		
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56
			moved under the control of the Umayyad dynasty.
		
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58
			The one Umayyad was from the family of
		
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01
			Uthman ibn Affairn, the third rightly guided caliph,
		
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04
			and they made Damascus
		
00:13:04 --> 00:13:06
			the capital of their state.
		
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08
			Now one of the predominant,
		
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11
			views is that the Umayyad period
		
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13
			was the golden era of Hashem.
		
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			Why? Because they were the only dynasty or
		
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18
			the only state to have made
		
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22
			Damascus, Syria, and the surrounding areas as the
		
00:13:22 --> 00:13:25
			centrality of their state. And by default, Damascus
		
00:13:25 --> 00:13:28
			became the political and military center of the
		
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29
			Islamic empire.
		
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33
			And it was also during the Umayyad period
		
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35
			that a number of deaths of the companions
		
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38
			sadly took place under the Umayyad period, and,
		
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39
			of course, they were buried
		
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			in Syria and the surrounding areas. In 750,
		
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41
			the
		
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47
			Umayyads were overthrown by Banu Abbasiye.
		
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49
			Now the Abbasids,
		
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52
			they trace their lineage back to the prophet's
		
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			uncle,
		
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55
			and they overthrew the Umayyads
		
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			with the help of a number of powerful
		
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59
			Turkic and Persian
		
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01
			tribes and dynasties.
		
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			And they moved the capital from Damascus to
		
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07
			Baghdad, though Damascus and Jerusalem remained
		
00:14:08 --> 00:14:10
			important cities of the Abbasid Caliphate.
		
00:14:11 --> 00:14:13
			Also, during the Abbasid period, we had the
		
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15
			death and, of course, the burial of many
		
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17
			of Tabi'un and Tabi'un,
		
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			the students
		
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21
			of the companions and their students.
		
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24
			However, during the Abbasid period,
		
00:14:25 --> 00:14:27
			there was a huge process
		
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28
			of decentralization
		
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33
			whereby all those entities and factions that helped
		
00:14:33 --> 00:14:35
			the Abbasids remove the Umayyads,
		
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36
			they were
		
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38
			very quickly given,
		
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39
			autonomy.
		
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42
			And so from 887 onwards,
		
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44
			there was this period of decentralization
		
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47
			whereby the Abbasid side granting,
		
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50
			we could say, independence to different,
		
00:14:52 --> 00:14:54
			states and dynasties who had assist had assisted
		
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55
			them overthrowing the
		
00:14:56 --> 00:14:56
			Umayyads.
		
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58
			And from the period of 887
		
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59
			onwards,
		
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02
			what happened to, let's say, 12 50
		
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05
			was perhaps one of the most politically unstable
		
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06
			periods of.
		
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07
			Why?
		
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10
			Because there were so many different dynasties and
		
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12
			states fighting over this region.
		
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15
			There was, like, basically a scramble for Hashem
		
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17
			between different warring factions and dynasties.
		
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19
			So in 8887
		
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22
			to 905, we had the rule of the
		
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24
			Tulaneids. The Tulaneids were
		
00:15:25 --> 00:15:25
			a Turkic,
		
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27
			dynasty
		
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30
			who were initially very loyal to the Abbasids.
		
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32
			They
		
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35
			took over the region of Assam and basically
		
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36
			declared themselves
		
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39
			as the de facto rulers, though nominally
		
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42
			accepting the authority of the Abbasids.
		
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44
			But then the Abbasids
		
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45
			retook recaptured,
		
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48
			Assam in 9:0:5,
		
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50
			and they held it until 9:49.
		
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53
			Then in 9:49, the Abbasids again
		
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55
			granted autonomy
		
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57
			to the Ikshadids.
		
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59
			Now the Ikshadids were another
		
00:16:00 --> 00:16:00
			Turkic,
		
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02
			dynasty,
		
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03
			and I will I will go on to,
		
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06
			in a later slide, explain why different Turkic
		
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08
			dynasties played a very key role in Islamic
		
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09
			history.
		
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11
			And then we had
		
00:16:11 --> 00:16:13
			the rule of the Hamdanids.
		
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14
			The Hamdanids
		
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15
			were
		
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19
			Arab Shias from Iraq, a dynasty from there,
		
00:16:20 --> 00:16:22
			and they power shared with the Ixhidids.
		
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25
			The Hamdanids ruled northern Syria, so Aleppo,
		
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27
			Idlib, whereas the
		
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29
			ruled Damascus
		
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31
			on behalf of the Abbasids.
		
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35
			And then after nearly 300 years of Islamic
		
00:16:35 --> 00:16:37
			rule, the Byzantines in 9 69
		
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39
			captured the entirety
		
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41
			of Syria,
		
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44
			and that occupation lasted around 30 years, 28
		
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45
			to 30 years.
		
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48
			The period between 996
		
00:16:48 --> 00:16:51
			to 1084, which is 88 years,
		
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53
			it was a period that was known as
		
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54
			nonstop war
		
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56
			between 4
		
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59
			dynasties. Number the Fatimids. The
		
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02
			Fatimids were an Ismaili Shia dynasty who established
		
00:17:02 --> 00:17:05
			their own caliphate based in Cairo.
		
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07
			Of course, you had the Byzantines.
		
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09
			You had the Buyids.
		
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12
			Buyids were a Persian Shia dynasty,
		
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14
			and you had the Seljuks
		
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15
			who were Turks.
		
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17
			These 4 dynasties
		
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19
			fought for 88 years
		
00:17:19 --> 00:17:20
			in Asham,
		
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23
			and the Seljuks were victorious in 10/84,
		
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24
			and they ruled Asham,
		
00:17:25 --> 00:17:28
			modern day Syria and Jordan, with exception to
		
00:17:28 --> 00:17:28
			Jerusalem
		
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30
			up until 11/75.
		
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33
			And from that point onwards, we saw the
		
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35
			rule of the Ayyubid dynasty,
		
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37
			which began form.
		
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41
			Whilst all this was happening,
		
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43
			a major calamity took place
		
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44
			in 1096
		
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47
			when the 1st crusade was launched,
		
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50
			and the 1st crusade lasted for around 3
		
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53
			years. Now you all have timelines in front
		
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55
			of you. I hope, you know, you guys
		
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56
			can make sense of everything that was happening
		
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57
			in this particular period.
		
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00
			So once all this was happening,
		
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01
			you had
		
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03
			the campaign of the first crusade.
		
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06
			And within 3 years,
		
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08
			the European crusaders
		
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10
			had occupied
		
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12
			a number of key cities
		
00:18:13 --> 00:18:14
			within the Islamic world,
		
00:18:15 --> 00:18:15
			Antioch,
		
00:18:16 --> 00:18:16
			Edessa,
		
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17
			Tripoli,
		
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19
			but most importantly,
		
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22
			Jerusalem fell under the occupation
		
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23
			of the Crusaders
		
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27
			in 1096 or 1097.
		
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30
			And he remained
		
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33
			under crusader occupation for nearly a century
		
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34
			until
		
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38
			managed to unite
		
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40
			the different war in factions
		
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43
			of Egypt and Syria,
		
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46
			and he united them on a single cause
		
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47
			to liberate Jerusalem.
		
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49
			And in 11/87,
		
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50
			with the permission of Allah,
		
00:18:51 --> 00:18:54
			Jerusalem was liberated from the occupation of the
		
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54
			Crusaders,
		
00:18:54 --> 00:18:56
			and Jerusalem remained
		
00:18:57 --> 00:19:00
			under Islamic authority or different Islamic dynasties right
		
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01
			up until 1918.
		
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04
			However,
		
00:19:04 --> 00:19:06
			between 1096 to 12/72,
		
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09
			72, nearly a 180 years
		
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13
			not a 100 and 80 years. Yeah. About
		
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15
			a 100 and 80 years. There were 9
		
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15
			crusades,
		
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18
			9 campaigns led by,
		
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19
			Europe
		
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22
			to regain control of the holy lands. But
		
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25
			in essence, only the first crusade was really
		
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25
			successful,
		
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28
			and they never managed to take over Jerusalem.
		
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32
			The Mamluks.
		
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33
			Now
		
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35
			during the period of the Abbasids,
		
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38
			it was a strategy,
		
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40
			and a policy rather
		
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42
			that the Abbasids
		
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43
			had employed
		
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45
			and brought thousands,
		
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47
			thousands
		
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50
			of Turkic slave warriors
		
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52
			were known as Mamluks.
		
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56
			These were essentially they're the predominantly Turkic, but
		
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57
			they're also Kurdish,
		
00:19:58 --> 00:19:58
			Caucasian,
		
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02
			some were of African descent, but they were
		
00:20:02 --> 00:20:04
			predominantly Turkic.
		
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06
			And these were slave warriors
		
00:20:07 --> 00:20:09
			who went on to become kings of sultans,
		
00:20:09 --> 00:20:12
			who went on to become governors, who went
		
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14
			on to rule their own sultanates and emirates.
		
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15
			And the Mamluks
		
00:20:16 --> 00:20:20
			were always a loyal fighting force of the
		
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20
			Abbasids.
		
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24
			And under their rule,
		
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26
			after the Ayyubid dynasty
		
00:20:27 --> 00:20:30
			lasted barely 80 or 90 years, they were
		
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32
			also an effective fighting force for the Ayyubids.
		
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35
			So after the Ayyubid state had declined,
		
00:20:36 --> 00:20:39
			the Mamluks assumed authority over the former Ayyubid
		
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40
			lands.
		
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43
			What happened under the Mamluk rules? 3 things
		
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43
			happened.
		
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45
			The Mamluks,
		
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47
			they revived
		
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50
			the policy of jihad against the Mongols.
		
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52
			Everyone knows of the
		
00:20:53 --> 00:20:56
			unfortunate incident of 1258 when Baghdad was,
		
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58
			looted and ransacked by the Mongols,
		
00:20:59 --> 00:21:02
			and the last Abbasid Khalif was killed.
		
00:21:02 --> 00:21:05
			And then the remaining family members were put
		
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05
			into exile.
		
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08
			It was the Mamluks who gave them protection
		
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09
			in Cairo,
		
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11
			and in 12/16,
		
00:21:12 --> 00:21:14
			the Mamluks defeated the Mongols in a very
		
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16
			famous battle called under
		
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18
			the leadership of Sayyid Qutuz,
		
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22
			And this battle was so decisive
		
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23
			that the Mongols
		
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24
			never
		
00:21:24 --> 00:21:27
			really stepped into the region of Assam beyond
		
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28
			that point.
		
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31
			But another thing which the Mongols did was
		
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31
			that they preserved
		
00:21:32 --> 00:21:35
			the lineage of the dynasty of the Abbasids.
		
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36
			Now
		
00:21:36 --> 00:21:39
			the Abbasids after 12 50, 12 50 8,
		
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40
			after loss of Baghdad,
		
00:21:41 --> 00:21:43
			they were just their position was merely ceremonial.
		
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46
			They never really held any
		
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49
			central or legislative
		
00:21:49 --> 00:21:52
			power within the Islamic world. However, the Mamluks,
		
00:21:52 --> 00:21:54
			due to their long history of loyalty to
		
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55
			the Abbasid household
		
00:21:55 --> 00:21:57
			as well as granting them
		
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59
			political and religious legitimacy in the eyes
		
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01
			of the other,
		
00:22:01 --> 00:22:03
			states of the time, they preserved
		
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04
			the Abbasid,
		
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05
			lineage
		
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07
			and nominally
		
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11
			caliphate alive in Cairo
		
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13
			right up until 15/17
		
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15
			even though they were the real,
		
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18
			holders of power.
		
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20
			In 15/17,
		
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23
			the Mamluks were defeated
		
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25
			by the Ottomans
		
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27
			in a famous battle called,
		
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29
			Marj Dabik.
		
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31
			The Ottomans defeated the Mamluks
		
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34
			and then Sultan Salim Avaz,
		
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37
			the 9th sultan of the Ottomans and the
		
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39
			1st caliph of the Ottoman dynasty,
		
00:22:40 --> 00:22:42
			he made the last Abbasid caliph, the
		
00:22:42 --> 00:22:44
			third, forcibly abdicate.
		
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45
			And then from 15/17
		
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49
			onwards, the Ottomans assumed the position of the
		
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51
			caliphate in the Muslim majority
		
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55
			world. Another viewpoint
		
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57
			of what is regarded as the golden era
		
00:22:57 --> 00:22:59
			of Asham is the Ottoman period.
		
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00
			Why?
		
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03
			Because they ruled
		
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04
			this region
		
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06
			for 4 100 years uninterrupted.
		
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09
			And for this reason alone,
		
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13
			many ulama and historians have said, no. It
		
00:23:13 --> 00:23:15
			wasn't the Umayyad period that was the golden
		
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16
			era. It's in fact the Ottoman period
		
00:23:17 --> 00:23:20
			because the metrics and the criteria they used
		
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21
			was security.
		
00:23:22 --> 00:23:24
			The fact that for 400 years,
		
00:23:24 --> 00:23:27
			there was no invading force. Of course, the
		
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28
			Ottomans had some problems,
		
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31
			during this period of, but there was nothing
		
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32
			major,
		
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34
			to symbolize that there were
		
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37
			internal feuds happening with different states or dynasties.
		
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39
			So
		
00:23:40 --> 00:23:42
			many would argue that,
		
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44
			the Ottoman period was, in fact, one of
		
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45
			the golden eras.
		
00:23:46 --> 00:23:49
			And this region was actually a jewel in
		
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50
			the eyes of the Ottomans.
		
00:23:51 --> 00:23:53
			It is recorded that they invested
		
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54
			so much money,
		
00:23:55 --> 00:23:58
			in the infrastructure and development of this region.
		
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59
			For those of you who have been to
		
00:23:59 --> 00:24:01
			Palestine or to or to Syria before the
		
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02
			war, you will still see a number of,
		
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04
			Masajid, a number of madrasas, a number of,
		
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05
			the works that was done,
		
00:24:06 --> 00:24:08
			to the Dome of the Rock and Masjid
		
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10
			al Aqsa, which is carried out
		
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14
			by the Ottomans right from
		
00:24:14 --> 00:24:17
			Khalif Suleiman the Magnificent right up until Sultan
		
00:24:17 --> 00:24:20
			Abdul Hamid the second up until, you know,
		
00:24:20 --> 00:24:23
			the early 20th century. The Ottomans invested a
		
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24
			lot
		
00:24:24 --> 00:24:27
			in this region because of its religious significance
		
00:24:27 --> 00:24:30
			as well as having control of this region
		
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31
			as well as the Hejaz
		
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			gave them the kind of religious authority to
		
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			assume,
		
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			rulership of the.
		
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			And there you see a map
		
00:24:41 --> 00:24:43
			of of where Sham was split into 4,
		
00:24:44 --> 00:24:47
			or or or provinces. You have the of
		
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49
			Aleppo, Northern Syria,
		
00:24:49 --> 00:24:51
			of Deir ezul, the
		
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52
			of Syria or Damascus,
		
00:24:53 --> 00:24:56
			the of Beirut, and then the holy cities
		
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56
			there.
		
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			And that remained like that,
		
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00
			right up until the end of World War
		
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01
			1.
		
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04
			And the reason why it's so important, brothers
		
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06
			and sisters, to understand at least this period
		
00:25:06 --> 00:25:09
			of history of Ashon is because it's the
		
00:25:09 --> 00:25:11
			period which is most closest to us.
		
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13
			Our great grandfather
		
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16
			would definitely remember
		
00:25:16 --> 00:25:18
			or recall who the Ottomans were.
		
00:25:19 --> 00:25:21
			Or for those of of those of you
		
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23
			who whose great grandparents may have fought in
		
00:25:23 --> 00:25:26
			the colonial effort for Britain or France would
		
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28
			have known who the Ottomans were.
		
00:25:28 --> 00:25:31
			The very situation that we see this region
		
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31
			today
		
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34
			was as a result of what took place
		
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34
			in 1917
		
00:25:35 --> 00:25:37
			after the Sykes Picot agreement
		
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39
			and after the defeat of the Ottomans in
		
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40
			World War 1. And it says to you,
		
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42
			they were the last Islamic legacy
		
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43
			of this region.
		
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45
			So while we may discuss the
		
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47
			life of the prophet,
		
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48
			the sira,
		
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49
			the companions
		
00:25:50 --> 00:25:52
			right through to the medieval period, sometimes
		
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53
			it's difficult to connect
		
00:25:54 --> 00:25:56
			because you think these these periods were sold
		
00:25:56 --> 00:25:59
			a long time ago. Can't can't really connect.
		
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00
			But
		
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01
			the
		
00:26:01 --> 00:26:03
			Ottomans survived less than a 100 years ago,
		
00:26:04 --> 00:26:06
			and they had authority over this region less
		
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07
			than a 100 years ago.
		
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10
			And the situation in Syria,
		
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12
			the situation in Palestine,
		
00:26:13 --> 00:26:15
			the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,
		
00:26:15 --> 00:26:17
			the sectarian issues in Lebanon
		
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19
			were all born
		
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20
			out of
		
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21
			what happened in 1917
		
00:26:22 --> 00:26:24
			when they were defeated,
		
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25
			by the allies
		
00:26:25 --> 00:26:27
			in World War 1.
		
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29
			Now
		
00:26:29 --> 00:26:32
			I can stand here, and I can
		
00:26:32 --> 00:26:35
			relay to you all dates and incidents and
		
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38
			events and make this entire lecture all about
		
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38
			data.
		
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39
			Right?
		
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42
			But, truly, we wanna be able to
		
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44
			take some lessons away
		
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45
			from
		
00:26:45 --> 00:26:48
			the region of Assam or most importantly, its
		
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48
			region.
		
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50
			When we look at Assam today, what do
		
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51
			we see?
		
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53
			We see that Palestine is occupied,
		
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56
			and we see a firm resistance
		
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58
			in Gaza and in Syria.
		
00:27:00 --> 00:27:02
			And what this region has
		
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03
			shown
		
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05
			us, generation after generation,
		
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07
			period after period,
		
00:27:07 --> 00:27:10
			is that when the stacks have been weighed
		
00:27:10 --> 00:27:12
			against the people of Assam, that they have
		
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12
			always
		
00:27:13 --> 00:27:15
			overcome tyranny, oppression, and occupation.
		
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18
			Whether it was during the time of the
		
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20
			prophet and the companions in facing the Byzantines
		
00:27:21 --> 00:27:23
			when they were just a mere,
		
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24
			you know,
		
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26
			little state in the
		
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27
			Arabian Peninsula.
		
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28
			They've
		
00:27:29 --> 00:27:31
			faced off one of the biggest superpowers at
		
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33
			the time, the Byzantines, and they were victorious.
		
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35
			Whether it was
		
00:27:36 --> 00:27:38
			liberating Jerusalem from the grips of the Crusaders
		
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40
			under Salahuddin,
		
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41
			whether it was
		
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42
			repelling
		
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44
			the Mongol invasion
		
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45
			by the Mamluks,
		
00:27:46 --> 00:27:49
			although he's a valiant efforts by the Ottomans
		
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49
			before
		
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53
			Jerusalem and Hashem was lost to Britain and
		
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53
			France.
		
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55
			We can take
		
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58
			from the history of Hashem
		
00:27:58 --> 00:28:00
			that the people of this region, the Muslims
		
00:28:00 --> 00:28:02
			of this region, have always shown
		
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03
			patience and perseverance
		
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05
			as steadfastness.
		
00:28:06 --> 00:28:09
			And after everything they have faced under different,
		
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10
			periods,
		
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12
			they always overcame
		
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13
			the enemies
		
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15
			with the permission of Allah.
		
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17
			And today is no different.
		
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19
			Today is no different.
		
00:28:20 --> 00:28:22
			So, therefore, therefore, the characteristics that we can
		
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23
			at least agree upon
		
00:28:23 --> 00:28:25
			of this region is one of hope,
		
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27
			is one of revival.
		
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30
			Hope because
		
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31
			when
		
00:28:31 --> 00:28:34
			the rest of the Muslim majority world appears
		
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35
			to be so apathetic,
		
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37
			so spineless,
		
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41
			comfortable in their own ways,
		
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42
			that Hashem
		
00:28:42 --> 00:28:44
			seems to be that beacon of hope for
		
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45
			the with
		
00:28:45 --> 00:28:47
			the very little that they have in terms
		
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48
			of resources,
		
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50
			in terms of support,
		
00:28:50 --> 00:28:53
			that they still remain steadfast in facing oppression
		
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54
			and injustice.
		
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56
			And it's a place of revival.
		
00:28:57 --> 00:28:59
			There are many statements of the prophet
		
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01
			where he particularly
		
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02
			specifically
		
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04
			refers to Asham,
		
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05
			Jerusalem,
		
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06
			Damascus,
		
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07
			to be places
		
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08
			of
		
00:29:09 --> 00:29:11
			very, very important events,
		
00:29:12 --> 00:29:14
			of key battles towards the end of times
		
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15
			between
		
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17
			the camps of good and evil,
		
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18
			truth and falsehood.
		
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21
			It would be the place where Isa alaihi
		
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22
			salam
		
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23
			will descend
		
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25
			in his coming towards the end of times.
		
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28
			It is a place where
		
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31
			said he is protected by the angels.
		
00:29:33 --> 00:29:35
			And therefore, it is a place of revival.
		
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38
			There are so many prophecies about liberation and
		
00:29:38 --> 00:29:40
			victory regarding this region.
		
00:29:41 --> 00:29:43
			Now whilst we're all here
		
00:29:44 --> 00:29:46
			in the UK are not warriors,
		
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49
			are not physically fighting oppression or occupation,
		
00:29:50 --> 00:29:52
			we can take lessons from the people of
		
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53
			Hashan in the way we go about our
		
00:29:53 --> 00:29:55
			daily lives and struggles,
		
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57
			whether it be the way we interact
		
00:29:57 --> 00:29:59
			with our non Muslim peers and colleagues,
		
00:30:00 --> 00:30:02
			whether it be the way in which we
		
00:30:02 --> 00:30:05
			face some of the issues as a community,
		
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07
			a time of heightened Islamophobia
		
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09
			and anti Muslim hatred.
		
00:30:10 --> 00:30:13
			Whether it be the resilience and the that's
		
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15
			required in your own respective fields of studies
		
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16
			and dawah and activism,
		
00:30:17 --> 00:30:19
			we can take all these lessons from the
		
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20
			people of shaman,
		
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21
			internalize them,
		
00:30:22 --> 00:30:24
			actualize them, and learn from them.
		
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26
			That if they,
		
00:30:26 --> 00:30:29
			people in Gaza and Palestine and Syria as
		
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30
			we speak,
		
00:30:30 --> 00:30:31
			are being bombed, killed,
		
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32
			maimed,
		
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36
			that at least we all with the comforts
		
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38
			of our lives here,
		
00:30:38 --> 00:30:41
			are able to implement some of these values,
		
00:30:41 --> 00:30:44
			which they have shown over the course of
		
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45
			1400 years.