Omar Suleiman – The Most Important Ashura Of Our Lives
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
We begin by praising Allah
and bearing witness that none has the right
to be worshiped or untraditionally obeyed except for
him. And we bear witness that Muhammadan Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam is his 9 Messenger.
We ask Allah to send his peace and
blessings upon him,
upon the prophets and messengers that came before
him,
upon his family and companions that served alongside
him and those that follow on his blessed
path until the day of judgment. And we
ask Allah to make us amongst them. Ullaatma
ameen.
Dear brothers and sisters,
as the day of Asura is on the
horizon,
I want to start from a place
where a conversation
was being had in the battlefield.
And it wasn't
a conversation
between Musa alayhis salaam and Firoun,
But it was a conversation
between an oppressed believer
and Firaun
And he is Abu Jahad, Amr ibn al
Ghisham.
And the conversation takes place in the battlefield
of Badr.
The dust
has still not settled.
And
Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
who represented
the epitome of the oppressed man.
He was small in his physical stature.
He was unknown in his lineage.
He belonged to the lowest of economic classes.
And he was a follower of Muhammad salallahu
alayhi wasallam
which made him the most vulnerable
class
or of the most vulnerable class in Mecca.
And one day,
he was the first man to recite the
Quran in front of the Kaaba.
And we just left the month of Nuhijja
and the scenes of the Hajj where you
saw the people in the millions around the
Kaaba reciting the dhikr of Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. Once upon a time, he was the
only man
who stood in front of the camera and
recited the Quran out loud,
Until that same man, the pharaoh of this
ummah, stomped him
and broke his collarbone
and left him unconscious and almost dead.
And now he's in the battlefield of Badr.
The days go by and the days go
by and they are switched. A day for
you
and a day that is hard upon you.
A day of hardship and a day of
ease.
A day of a defeat and a day
of a victory.
And this time, Abdullah ibn Masood radiAllahu, who
stands on the chest of that salaam of
the pharaoh of this Ummah.
And the pharaoh of his Ummah says, laqad
al Tabaita,
work up on Saba the other way in
Nunav.
You have climbed the difficult climb, O shepherd
of sheep.
And he asked them, Lima Nalu Halaaba.
Who is winning
the battle?
Give me your commentary.
Who's winning
this battle
between the believers and the disbelievers,
between the Kuffar of Quraysh
and the believing men and women that flooded
their persecution.
The followers of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.
Lima Al Ghadada.
Who's winning this battle?
And the last words that Abu Ghahad heard
before he left this world
was Abdullah ibn Masihrim saying,
Victory belongs to Allah
and belongs to the Messenger of Allah,
O enemy of Allah.
Those were the last words that he heard
before his soul left his body
and after he was killed, the prophet sallallahu
alaihi was speaking
to
those
dead ones
who persecuted
and saying to them,
We
have found what our our Lord has promised
us to be true.
Have you found what your Lord has promised
you to be true? And so Abuja had
heard the words of defeat before he was
killed and he heard the words of defeat
after he was killed.
A Fir'awn
who left this world humiliated
and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will surely humiliate
all of the Firauns, all of the pharaohs.
Allahu al Amin.
Now we go back to Asura.
It is not an exaggeration
to say that perhaps this is the most
important time in our recent lifetime
to reflect upon the lessons of Ashura with
what is happening to our brothers and sisters
in Gaza. There may be no more important
time to really absorb ourselves
in the lessons of Ashura
and the reflection of Ashura
than this particular Ashura, the first Ashura
since this genocide in Gaza has begun.
And I want to take you
to the moment
where the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
came into a Madinah
and he asked sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
about what their fast was about.
And the Jewish
tribes of madina
were fasting
to honor
the victory of Musa alaihis salaam over Firaun.
And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,
We are closer to Musa alaihi salaam than
you. We have a greater right. So we
too will observe this fast out of gratitude
of the day
that Musa alaihis salam was given victory over
the Fir'aun. The day that the Fir'aun drowned
in the sea
while Musa alaihis salam
and his followers had the seed parted for
them. The way that this story started
was the mother of Musa, alaihis salaam, throwing
him into a river
to protect him from the brutality
of this pharaoh.
And the way the story ended was this
young man now walking between the parted seas
and then the sea engulfing and drowning the
pharaoh with the same
punishment, the same terror and tremor
that the mother of Musa once feared for
him as a baby.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has days like this
and days like that.
And what I want you to appreciate before
we get into all of the lessons of
Surah
is that when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
ordered the Muslims to fast this day,
Il Madila,
Makkah was still under the occupation of the
disbelievers.
They were technically still a people in exile.
They were still fresh
in the taste of the oppression
of Makkah.
They had not yet experienced
Fath Makkah. They had not yet experienced the
promise of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. The followers
of Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
were still a few people.
But they fasted that day
out of gratitude to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
for the victory that he gave to Musa
alayhi salaam. And with an understanding
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives victory to
the believers.
It is only a matter of when and
it is only a matter of how. It
is never a matter of if. Allah gives
victory
to the believers
but
perhaps not in the way that you want
and not at the time that you want.
But victory
is promised.
The promise of Allah. He does not betray
his promise.
Most people can't think.
Most people can't grudge.
They can't see past the circumstance that's immediately
in front of them. They can't see past
the dunya that they are living in at
this moment.
Now, SubhanAllah,
as we look at this day of Asura,
what I want you to realize is that
it is not only
that the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
ordered the believers to pass that day in
gratitude to the victory of Musa alaihi wasallam
even though the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam had
not yet been given victory.
But I want you to think about the
decades of oppression
that Siraun wreaked on this earth
before the moment that he was drowned?
What happened to the 100 of 1,000 perhaps
of Shohada,
of martyrs
that's their own massacre.
What about them?
Did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala not too give
them victory?
Did Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala not give them
what was promised to them?
They're not vulnerable mothers and children that beg
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala whilst their own
wreaked his tyranny on earth.
A core
collection
of the catalog
of atrocity we see happening in Gaza right
now with the pharaoh of this day.
Were there not women and children that begged
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala for years and people
that waited for the destruction of Farqam?
Did Allah let them down? Absolutely not.
They had no doubt when they made their
dua
that the day would come that the Fir'aun
would drown in this life and that victory
would be achieved.
But they also understood
in the Nasr al Wahsa had
it is either victory in this world
or it is martyrdom.
And that too is victory.
You see, Azibid Masiran stood on the chest
of Abu Jahl
and sallallahu alaihi batulillah victories for Allah.
There are also other companions
who had
a spear put right through them
and they say, Fustu warabulkar.
I have succeeded by the Lord of the
cow.
That was their personal victory
that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala granted to them
of Shahada
because the moment that they left this world,
they knew that the promise of Allah was
true before their soul even left this body.
Because the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam says
that the Sahih,
the martyrs, seized their place in Jannah at
the first strike
before
Asia,
alaihi salam
could feel the full thrust
of that boulder hitting her.
And this was a woman of perfect iman,
perfect faith. Did Allah not hear her dua
when she said,
Oh Allah, build for me with you a
palace in paradise. Did Allah not hear the
dua of a woman with perfect ilam
strung
as the boulder was falling on top of
her? If you were an onlooker, maybe you
would think
her dua was in nothing because you would
have seen her body shed to pieces the
way that we see our brothers and sisters
in Gaza literally shred to pieces.
But before her soul even left her body,
before she could even feel the pain of
that boulder, she already experienced the pleasure of
her paradise.
Assia had victory over the Fir'aun.
Assia had victory over the Fir'aun.
Even if the witnesses saw a defeat,
Assia was victorious.
Musa was victorious.
We know that on this day as well
that the beloved grandson of our Prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam, that Hussain radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu
granted him victory, but not like the victory
of Musa over Fir'aun, like the victory of
Asiya over Fir'aun.
Allah granted him a Shahadah.
And then Hussain radiAllahu ta'ala and whose body
was also dismembered
but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rewards the souls.
The believer has a different way of thinking
about things.
We don't believe that victory
is relegated or limited to worldly circumstances
of victory. We believe that victory is being
pleasing to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. In fact,
if Allah grants you victory over a pharaoh
in this world,
but that victory was granted to you
despite your disobedience,
despite your evil, and you had the name
Muslim on you. And you said La ilaha
illa Allah but everything about your actions represented
the opposite of La illa wah. But you
had material victory in this world, you've still
failed
because you were displeasing to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
Victory is not in the worldly circumstance of
victory.
Victory is in the soul being in a
place that is pleasing to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala. The Asura is a collection of this.
And the days of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
are not random, dear brothers and sisters.
It's not just what happened in history after
on the day of Asura, after the death
of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam with Al
Hussein radiAllahu ta'ala Anum. It's even before. As
Imam Ahmad Raqimullah, there's a narration from him
that this was the day that the Safeena
of Nuh alayhis salaam, the ship of Noah,
the Ark of Noah arrived at its landing
place.
And SubhanAllah,
on that day, people drowned.
And on that day, the only people that
were saved were those on the Safina of
Nuhr alayhi sallam.
I ask you to reflect, dear brothers and
sisters, and I come to you from the
United States of America.
And in Europe, they say that there's been
a 400%
increase in people embracing Islam since Gaza.
And I tell you that there is not
a khutba that I give in my Masjid
except that there's someone who embraces Islam.
And that since the people of Gaza have
undergone this atrocity with beautiful patience
through the ugliness of the genocide, through the
ugly of this atrocity. People have seen the
beauty of Al Islam.
They've seen the beauty of the faith of
those people.
That should not make us
want any less to bring victory to the
people of Gaza in the material sense and
victory to the people of Palestine. But that
should allow us to reflect
that more people have boarded
the Safina of Nuh alayhis salaam, the Ark
of Noah, in this time than any other
time in our lives.
More people are coming on board
where true salvation and safety and victory is
done.
The day of Asura is a day to
reflect
on the victory
of Nuh Alaihi Salaam and the people who
found safety on that ship
and to want to be on that ship
ourselves and to bring as many people as
possible onto that ship. The day of Asura
is a day to reflect
on what true victory means.
Whether it is the victory like the one
of Musa alaihis salaam over Finaum or like
the one of Asiya alaihis salaam over Finaum.
What victory truly means. And every incident that
has happened through Ashura is for us to
go back to them
and to reflect.
Now when we fast, dear brothers and sisters,
our siyam,
shamqur Ramadan.
The month of Ramadan came down
to honor
the Quran or the fasting of Ramadan is
a celebration of the Quran.
The day of Arafah which we have fasted
is a day that honors the moment of
our original covenants.
The day of Asura is to honor victory
and to show gratitude to Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
And someone might say,
but in this day and age,
what are we thanking Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
for
in terms of the victory
of Gaza?
First and foremost, we thank Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala for the blessing of iman.
Alhamdulillahiaminahkat
iman. Alhamdulillahiaminahkatil
Islam.
All praise and greet to Allah for the
blessing of faith, for the blessing of truth
and being on the side of truth and
justice. I don't care what the odds are
against the people of Palestine, against the people
of faith.
I ask Allah that all of us kneel
on the side of faith and the side
of truth and the side of justice.
And may Allah not let us incline towards
the oppressors in any way whatsoever. I don't
care what they have.
I care what we have.
And so gratitude to Allah that we have
the content
that brings victory in this life and the
next. That we have the substance.
As the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and his
desperate followers in Madinah started to fast this
day knowing that one day Allah would give
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam victory like he
gave his brother Moses, his brother Musa alaihi
wasallam victory.
So we have the content and we thank
Allah for that. We reflect upon that. Secondly,
the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said,
How wonderful is the affair of the believer.
And nothing
or no one has this except for the
believer.
Everything that happens to the believer is good.
No one has this except for a believer
when good comes to him.
When good comes to him, he says Alhamdulillah,
he's grateful.
And that's better for him.
And when hardship strikes him.
He's patient.
And that's better for him. No one has
this except for the believer. No one has
this mindset that whatever happens to me, Alhamdulillah.
That whatever happens to us, Alhamdulillah,
so long as you are not able to
take away my being and that I attain
true victory. Alhamdulillah
Alhamdulillah
Alhamdulillah
The Sahid al Qadza
does not feel sorry for himself or herself.
The tyrant,
the Zionist tyrant
that murders our people in Gaza will certainly
feel sorry
when they encounter
what they have been promised and stuff.
And I give you this, dear brothers and
sisters.
On this day of Ashura,
and in fact, on every day,
The true defeat of Fir'aun
was not the day that he drowned.
It's what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
That al Nab, the fire. Allah states starts
this verse with, it is the fire that
they are presented to
every morning
and every night.
The Fir'aun is presented to the fire
every single morning and every night, and the
fire of * is far worse
than drowning in the sea.
Every day he is dipped into that fire,
morning and evening. We'll do one war machine
until
Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala
says,
enter,
oh,
people of Threon into the worst of punishment.
And you know what, dear brothers and sisters?
Firaun had no children.
Firaun had no kids.
So who is Allah, aaswadhan, referring to when
he says, aala Firaun? Some of the scholars,
they say the people of Firoun are the
people surrounding Firoun, his generals and those that
participate in the tyranny.
And some of them said,
Those that were on his way, his religion,
his methodology,
his way of oppression,
All of these people are Al of Fir'aun.
They're all the people of Fir'aun.
The question that we ask ourselves, are we
the people of Musa al Islam?
Are we the people of Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi
Salam?
Are we the people of Ibrahim Alaihi Salam?
If we are,
These people
that have been killed
are in Jannah.
Our dead are in paradise. Your dead are
in hellfire. Look at Saraw now and look
at all of the mothers and children that
we have never heard of and what they
achieved right now. In fact, the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wa sallam even seen the hairdresser of
the daughter of Siraun and her mas on
the night of the Nisra wal Mirhamash?
How many mothers and children
that are unnamed casualties of Fir'awn are in
Jannah, eating from its fruits in joy?
And every day Firaun, even when the world
has moved on from him and his palaces
and his tyranny, every day he is dipped
in the fire 2 times
until the greater punishment
will come to him.
So why do we fast?
It's not about circumstance.
The one who eats and is grateful
is like the one who fasts and is
patient. It's not about your circumstances. It's about
your gratitude to Allah.
The one who's given worldly victory and thanks
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is like the one
who is killed and thanks Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala.
The one who loses limbs but doesn't lose
their life is like the one who loses
their life if they are patient for the
sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
The one who has a heart and an
intention to support the oppressed, to support the
truth,
to support the people of the truth. No
matter what the circumstances
are, are like those people
because their hearts are there. Allah knows who
you are. Allah knows what's in your heart.
Allah knows what's in your dua.
Victory
is promised to the believers.
Asura
is a celebration
of victory. We celebrate the victory of the
past and we anticipate the victory of the
future. And we thank
Allah for the victory of the present, which
is the victory of being upon.