Mohammad Elshinawy – Ten Heroes Of Muslim Jerusalem
AI: Summary ©
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AI: Summary ©
So I was asked to speak on heroes of Muslim Jerusalem or Muslim Palestine. And I'm going to challenge myself and your attention spans
to really two primary objectives for this talk.
The first one is going to be to try to create a mind map or sort of a linear timeline of the history of the sacred blessing lands of Palestine. Through mentioning 10 personalities 10 personas in chronological historical order, that grace, these blessitt lands are heroes, or grace, they're its people. That's the first objective. The second of them is to while doing that, highlighting some of the less popular heroes of Palestine so that we can widen our our conceptualization, our notion of what a hero is, and what heroics are. So we can fit ourselves inside of it and shallow to Allah, so that we can grow by that widening
our desire to be among those heroes because they will exist. We know that much is true, it is inevitable. We know what the last chapter of the story will end like from Saudi of animals do from the one who does not speak on his own behalf. sallallahu alayhi wasallam.
Here on number one
is a young Palestinian child named Yusuf alayhi salam
who was betrayed by his brothers, and then abducted
by a trade caravan and sold in the slave markets of Egypt.
Then framed for a crime he didn't commit and toss in the dungeons, but he showed exemplary resilience. Through being anchored in his faith. He patiently awaited for the decree of Allah azza wa jal to come to pass. And not only did he heroically survive all of this, but he heroically rescued his family in Palestine, and brought them all to Egypt so that they would not be subjected to death by starvation in the famines that were happening in Palestine and elsewhere.
And so now the children of Jacoba Alayhis Salam, like Yusuf and others, Jakub, his name is Israel in in the Quran, so that's why they're called the Israelites. For those who may not know the Israelites now live in Egypt.
And the stage is set for our second hero,
which is the Prophet Musa alayhis salam.
there arises to power in Egypt, a ruthless tyrant, known as Frauen, known as the Pharaoh of Egypt, who in slaves and slaughters the Israelites, the children of Israel and their families that had migrated generations prior. And they are saved in heroic fashion by Musa alayhis salam who carries them out of Egypt and returns them to the promised land of Palestine.
Due to their cowardice and rebellion, they were not able to enter just yet. And Musa alayhis salam went two separate ways with his people and died in frustration with their resistance and non compliance with the command of Allah and the command of his prophet.
And they were lost in the desert for 40 years as a consequence for their rebellion.
And now the stage is set for our third hero,
which is
Joshua,
you SHA, Allah He Salah Alehissalaam,
the apprentice and student of Musa alayhis salam, who served him and accompanied him in the famous story and pseudo then KEF when he had to go learn from Kadir Alehissalaam. Joshua 40 years later, he takes the Israelites finally, and he marches into Jerusalem triumphant with Benowitz raw Eve.
And then Allah azza wa jal sense the people of Palestine and these lands their next hero, which is followed Alayhis Salam or Radi Allahu Anhu. Perhaps he was a prophet, but he was certainly a righteous man who was
followed, it's shadowed in Hebrew, and it is Saul in English. And he's mentioned of course in the Quran, that when Allah elected this man as their king, they said, Yeah Allah, we're getting beat up all over the globe. We need the king give us a king. And so Allah says, I have appointed followed as a medic for you. They said, and I quote, hola, hola Malika Elena on COVID Mulqueen. Who Allah mutesa terminal man, they said, how can he be our king?
We are more entitled deserving qualified to be the kings. He's broke. So Allah chose a poor man to be their king. For his righteousness, certainly and the qualities that Allah knew of him.
And Allah azza wa jal, the most wise was certainly right. His poverty had built in him and austerity that we hear about in the Quran that was transferred to his troops, those of them that could handle to march with him. When you get to the river only take a sip of water, the story said and so the Bacara and that was the army that was able to defeat in heroic fashion. A massive opponent led by a living legend named dilutes named Goliath.
And Allah azza wa jal sent it among the followers of King followed by an even greater King. That emerged this young, extremely handsome young man from where you least expect it gets up and personally challenges Goliath the legend
and with one shot of his slingshot, knocks him dead and destroys the morale of the army. And he eventually himself his name was Devil Without his setup. He eventually himself becomes the most celebrated of the kings of the Israelites of these tribes that live in Palestine, that live in Jerusalem
you know, in the Hadith and Sunnah and autonomy, the
Allah azza wa jal showed Adam Alayhis Salam, all of his progeny and he saw one of them who just stood out was distinct had a such a light to his face. So he said, Yeah, Allah who is that? He said, that is one of your great children, who will be sent at the end of time. His name is Deadwood at a histogram. So this is where we get that it is at the end of time, let alone where we are now. And where we get his beauty and His radiance and his handsomeness from he ultimately became the heroic king of bento saw in and establish the Kingdom. After taking down Goliath with his slingshot, he became the king who was also a prophet. And then he handed off to his son,
the heroic prophet and king Solomon, I think he set out.
So we have Yusuf Ali's, Sarah, and then Musa alayhis salam, and then you Shah alayhi salam, and then followed Alehissalaam we're in Libya couldn't be in
Canada in the cathedral. And then you have the wood allihies Salam, and you have sold a man out of his salon your six year old. So the man Allah Salam, of course, was the one who solidified the kingdom. And Allah azza wa jal rewarded him by accepting his dua to widen his kingdom in a way because he intended good by it, not power, not ego, right? Not just *. Allah extended his kingdom and his influence to the point that even the animals as you know, even the animal kingdom, and even Jin kind was at his service were loyal subjects of his
and of what we know about the heroic accomplishments of Suleiman, Allah He said, is that he channeled and harnessed all this power Allah gave him to restore and Mr. doxa and this is what they call in history, the peak of the of the kingdom of Israel, Israel. Today is a name that is CO opted from the Prophet yaku Don't get it twisted, right alayhi salam, to try to wash away the sinister intentions. They are not the heirs of Abraham or the followers of Moses, or have any rightfully attributed attribution to Jaco Alehissalaam. But this is why it was called the kingdom of Israel.
Because these are all descendants of Jaco is sort of in Alehissalaam. And so he rebuilt Mr. de la casa, and he ruled so justly and he had the utmost piety and humility.
To the point that encoded will be Rahim Allah Allah says that when Sulaiman Alayhi salaam knew, because every prophet was told, if the final prophet emerges in your time, you stand by
Track and follow his lead that he used to he created a ring for himself on which it was engraved. None is worthy of worship of Allah.
And Muhammad is the messenger of allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the beauty in his humility. I'm just here waiting to hand off to the true leader of the prophets, the true leader of humanity, Muhammad Ali's salatu salam.
And he used all of that power, of course, not to be self serving, but to serve humanity by sharing Islam with them and the exchange that you have in the Quran between him and the Queen of Sheba of Sabah and Yemen is well known.
After Suleiman Alehissalaam, passes away.
ills of prosperity, there are power grabs that take place, and the kingdom is divided between the North and the South kingdom. And they began to deviate, and they began to fall into disbelief, and every vise you can think of. And so as a result, Allah empowered against them external enemies. One time after another, they were the battleground for the empires that surrounded them. They were once again subjected to so much pain, so much atrocity. They were ravaged by these empires over and over and over again.
Until ultimately,
Jerusalem landed in the hands of the Roman Empire, which sets the stage for our next hero of Muslim Jerusalem, which was Jesus peace be upon him, he was born into the period of the Roman reign.
And although Allah azza wa jal did not give him power, in the worldly sense in the political sense, Allah gave him the impeccable strength, to speak truth to power to be a nation within a man. And he battled the corruption of not just the political establishments, but even internally within the religious establishments. And even the Bible has remnants of accounts of this, he threw out the fraudulent rabbis, and the people that were
commandeering sort of religious language for the sake of their materialistic interests. And he continued to do this fearlessly and consistently, until they came after him to ultimately execute him. And Allah who refused that they'd be able to do that. And He lifted him into the skies. And every single one of his disciples essentially, was martyred. And they too, certainly were heroes of the great hero rissalah His Salam.
O ultimately, the Roman Empire takes some turns evolves, as all civilizations and empires do. About 300 years after Jesus peace be upon him, Constantine, under direction from his mother, he founds the Roman Catholic religion, if you've ever wondered why it's called the Roman Catholic, it's because they tried to sort of utilize the names of these personalities that were heroic and pious, and sort of apply them to a pre existing pagan tradition that existed among them. And so it became that merger of doctrines and it was the Roman Catholic religion that chose a very specific creed called the Trinitarian doctrine, right as the enforced by the power of the state, and that is what was
established in Jerusalem.
In the year 325, common errors over 300 years after the birth of a salahi's Salam, and now we set the stage for the coming of Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam, the best of Allah's creation and the seal of his revelation to the world. Salawat Robbie was Salam wa ala. And of course, Allah
leaves no ambiguity regarding those accolades by carrying him in a single night, before changing that they blur from a Mr. OXA to the kava, Allah subhanho wa Taala carried him to a lesser AXA, to lead those heroes and prophets in prayer. He could have went up to the heavens from Makkah, but Allah insisted that it go through Al Aqsa to tie this OMA before the Qibla leaves it to tie this OMA until the end of time with this blessed land, the lands of prophets and righteous kings and heroes, time and again, and the story is not over.
About 10 years
after the death of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam
rumor mill hubub Radi Allahu Anh takes the reigns of this ummah and he is our eighth hero for tonight.
he liberates Jerusalem, and he restores al Masjid Al Aqsa, He rebuilds it.
He cleanses it. He purifies it, he restores its honor and the glorification it deserves because those who were running though that territory had left it the ruins had desecrated, it had not valued it as as only a true believer and Allah and the Last Day would.
And at the same time, he left the room open not just for the Muslims, but for the Christians and ultimately for the Jews to live in peace, as they did in every period of Muslim Ron Islamically informed Jerusalem that was always the case.
And then, as the Islamic Empire grew, and the ills of prosperity crept up on us as well, Allah azza wa jal is not inconsistent or unjust. Equity is for all and it is against all.
There is no favoritism. When it caught up with us, and we felt it was unconditional as well, that promise of God and we felt we were gods favorites for a second, the Muslim ummah began to fall apart in many respects,
which is when the Crusader armies driven not just by their fanaticism, but by their economic woes. drove into the Muslim ummah, to recoup whatever they could and gather whatever they could muster of resources and new life for their crippling civilization. And so they ultimately reached Palestine ultimately reached Jerusalem and they slaughtered every one they could put their hands on, on route to Jerusalem and in there, it was not just the 70,000 Muslims that were slaughtered in cold blood
in a single attack in the courtyard of a Mr. That aqua, but even the juice, they were all stuffed into their own temples and synagogues, and they were burned down upon them.
But this woman never dies, and his obituary will never be written.
And this only set the stage for our next hero.
Number nine, Salahuddin Saladin and a UB Rahima. Hola.
88 years later, he achieves the unification of the Muslims
and he is able to liberate Jerusalem.
And he restores once again what he found of a desecrated
defiled Masjid Al Aqsa.
And he says to those who had once pillaged and burned and massacred in this place, you are not our teachers, and it was in the month of Ramadan.
And he could not help I'm sure but to recall that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam gained the upper hand against those who oppress them and persecuted him for decades sallallahu alayhi wa sallam because the conquest of Mecca was also on Ramadan.
And he let whoever wanted to go to go in peace and allow them to take their belongings with them. And even so many of the combatants who couldn't afford to ransom themselves were let go out of goodwill, or he ran some them out of his own money Rahima hula, or because they're women or children could not travel alone. So he would send with them entourages and release for them their husbands.
And so it's it returned to the fold of Islam, returned to the sanctuary of the Muslims and Masjid officer Palestine in Jerusalem until it was overseen by the Mamluks, and then the Ottomans. And then finally, Great Britain.
Which is no longer great when hamdulillah colonize
Palestine and granted it without the right of course, to design as Jews upon the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s.
Which sets the stage for our 10th and final hero.
Who's it going to be?
No, I mean, who among you? Is it going to be? May Allah write us all among its next heroes?
You see,
only those who realize
that they were not just nine
can muster the inspiration can muster the optimism to say maybe I can be the 10
you see these nine figures
you know, some of them were prophets. Some of them were commanders. But what
about everyone in between.
You think they came out of nowhere? You think they came to a time and a place that was undeserving of them?
No, they came out of a hole environment, a blessing ecosystem as we were hearing about last night.
You remember when I told you that Musa alayhis salam brought them to the promised land?
But then they couldn't get in? Let's take a little bit of a deeper dive in sort of Hillman either Allah azza wa jal speaks about this moment. And he says that Musa alayhis salam said, You have called me all my people are the whole herbal Naka desert Allah ticket Hola Hola, como when I started to Allah at Valley Conference and Kalibo Cassadine all my people enter the Promised Land that Allah has in fact, awarded you.
If you are indeed believers, then it's yours. There was never unconditional and don't turn your backs. You will be regretful
what was their response the very next ISS yeah Musa in a free half oh man, Jabarin Musa. We can do it. There are big, bad tough people in there.
And we will never enter it
until they exit it. If they exited, then we will enter it. We're not willing to sacrifice for it.
This third area now is what I want to call your attention to that is the point of reference. Allah azza wa jal said, Allah Raju Lani Mina Lavina ha funa and I'm Allahu Allah Hema are the Holo Ali himmelberg.
Then there were two men, we don't know their names. We didn't count them among the nine heroes, but Allah immortalized they're mentioned in the Quran
to be an inspiration until this very night at NJ dot O and beyond to random men, refuse to mine their business refuse to be marginalized. I refuse to say I'm not a prophet, I'm not a king. I'm not a commander. In the presence of a prophet, they still took initiative. And they did what their part what was their part? Listen to the Prophet. That was their part. Just listen to he said, just walk in, it's going to be easier than you think. Allah will strike fear in their hearts, something's going to happen. Just follow instructions. So Allah praise them that they feared nothing but Allah azza wa jal, and they were echoing the words of the Prophet, those who are heroes,
that the Quran made a point to mention.
You know, there's just like the story of Saudi Arabia scene, if you open sort of the scene to the
second page, it mentions that Allah sent a prophet and a second, right that he's sending messenger after messenger to call the people to the truth. And they're just being stonewalled. They're finding dead ends everywhere. Then Allah azza wa jal says, what what Yeah, I mean, after all, solid Medina theological, then from the end of town, a man comes running, saying what you have called me who mousseline Oh my people listen to the messengers. Why did this man have to be mentioned in the context of messengers, because most of us will not be.
But it is the greatest honor to be included among the followers of the greatest messenger to echo his call to the world to be the heroes that initiate whatever we can initiate. And recall this also, Musa alayhis salam
was ready was intent was determined on liberating Palestine. That's what made him the hero. Did he do it in his lifetime? No, he didn't. But our Dean says the normal amount of money yet right?
Whatever you intended you got, so he died while attempting this. And so he is written among those who accomplished this. And so are you.
If you stop focusing too much on the result, the immediate result then when you know heroes, true heroes are people that are working blind, working in the shadows. I don't know when it's gonna happen. And I'm not getting any credit for it, nor am I even seeing sort of any progress being made. I'm still working, that takes digging deep within yourself, and asking yourself what drives me? Do I believe in Allah or not? Do I believe that he will make it worth my while they're not
just as the Warriors themselves on the ground were heroes, so we're, so were their mothers who raised them upon firm faith, raise them upon loyalty to Allah and his messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and loyalty to this almost every last individual that belongs to it.
You know, just as the commanders and the generals were heroes, even their armies, every last one of them
that didn't get mentioned tonight. They are not heroes. You know, think about even the ethical practices, right, the virtue, the magnanimity, the forgiveness, the refusal to enact vengeance that we talked about with Ramadan Katara dalla Han or Salahuddin la UB, do you think
they alone had the sentiment inside them that Allah who will ask me if I wrong anyone, even if my commander doesn't catch me, this was a sentiment that flowed through them all.
Every single one of them restrain their hands, every single one of them kept working, even if they weren't being getting an order an audible mention
it was the entire army it was the entire movement. It was the entire period. You know, if I would like capture for you this famous words of
the scholar on of Islamic history, John Esposito from Georgetown University.
He says the Muslim army at the time when Jerusalem was liberated at the hands of salida and right just one of our heroes. He says the entire army was as magnanimous in victory, meaning forgiving and you know, forbearing and refusing to enact vengeance was as magnanimous in victory, as it was tenacious and battle.
They brought it all home within these less than hearts. They were prophetic, truly. He says, the chivalrous the brave Salahuddin. He was just their leader. And he reflected the masses that were behind him. He said sallahu Deen was faithful to His word and compassionate towards non combatants, unlike the others who promise then massacred without conscience.
You know, when I think about the heroics of pious restraint the heroics of humility before Allah azza wa jal, you know, I always think of Nadine sangee Notre Dame Zheng, some of you may know who he is, most of you probably don't. They often say in his biography that he was leaps and bounds, more pious than Salahuddin.
Even if he wasn't as known as Salahuddin,
you know, they say that when he was building up the momentum, for the liberation of Jerusalem, it took 88 years, right. Even though Dean was towards the end of it towards the climax. They say no to Dean was a man of unique righteousness. There was an incident where he was forced to fight on multiple fronts simultaneously, which was very dangerous, but if he didn't do it, too many of the Franks were going to be able to come south and sabotage the project of liberating Jerusalem. And so the Franks had basically landed in and laid siege to damietta, which is the north eastern city of Egypt, that my both my parents happened to be from the Myat.
And when his army reaches there, to give you a glimpse of this man's relationship with Allah azza wa jal
nurudeen, you know, he fell on the ground in a place called tell him a little hill called him. And he was he was saying to Allah azza wa jal that, Oh Allah, these are your allies.
And these are your enemies. So give victory to your allies against your enemies and don't deprive them because nobody is among them.
And people used to say we have no Dean on our side nobody never loses and he used to say who is no Dean who is the Light of the religion? You say Oh ALLAH Dino Dino UK Well, June to June duck failure of the Maria Coby Quranic the deen is your deen the army is your army. So do oh my lord, what is befitting of your generosity gift us this. And one night he said on tell him.
He said
don't deprive them because no the dean is among them because of my sins don't punish them. Men have been killed. No route mode had you on sir. He his name was Muhammad, nor Dean sangee. He said who is this dog I'm a nobody this dog nurudeen to be granted victory.
And so a scholar
saw that night in his dream, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa alayhi wa sallam.
And he said to him, go tell notre Dean, that Allah has heard him say what he said, on the Hill of Hatem
who is no Dean to be given victory.
And so the scholar said to the Prophet salallahu, alayhi wasallam
How would he ever believe me? He's going to sort of tell the armies Don't worry go in the opposite direction because some guy saw something in their dream at night.
Give me an Allameh give me a sign so he'll believe me that it's actually you it's actually a gift from Allah disclosure from Allah azza wa jal.
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said to him, tell him, Allah has heard him say, who is nodine That dog to be given victory.
And so he woke up and he rushed to the masjid and found Notre Dame praying his night prayers in the masjid. And he said to him, I saw the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam on this night. And he said, Allah has heard you say, who is no Dean, who is my mood
to be given victory, and he is telling you that they have departed from the mouth.
And he left out the word dog out of respect for the commander.
And so in order Dean was skeptical, and he said to him, say the full dream. So the man put his head down and said, he said, Allah has heard you say, Who is that dog my mouth, too, to be given victory. So he knew it was a true yeah, he true. It was a true vision from Allah true gift from Allah that is worthy of being acted upon. And so he acted upon it.
Decades later, Palestine, Jerusalem, was cleansed of the atrocities that had befallen it, that nobody never lived to see it. That noodle Dean built a pulpit for a Masjid Al Aqsa, two of them actually,
that Salahuddin later installed.
And decades before nurudeen When the massacre first happened at eight years prior, there was Zainal Islam, Al Holloway,
a great scholar from Herat, Afghanistan, who saw the OMA not moving busied with themselves. And so he went to the capital city, Baghdad, and he went into the big mosque of Baghdad during Juma in the daytime of Ramadan. And he stood in front of everyone and he started eating.
Dr. Yasser Ali has an excellent presentation on this on the Internet called the wave. That Friedel axon is how it started. And people flip out like what kind of monster are you to deliberately openly shamelessly eat like that in the daytime and Ramadan? Now he had everybody's attention. He said, You guys are so angry, because I eat in the daytime of Ramadan. And you're not angry when the messy that oxide is on fire.
And so part of heroics also and with that I will close is the heroics of not becoming jaded, not becoming numb, not despairing, not becoming complacent. May Allah subhanho wa Taala write us and you among the 10 of the heroes of a mystery that offsite in Jerusalem, allow for us to share even if it's just in the build up of how we know the story will end. Allahumma Alameen wa sallahu wa Salam wa barakaatuh b&m Muhammad Ali he also he has remained