Sikander Hashmi – Gross Injustice in the Blessed Land KMA Friday Message
AI: Summary ©
AI: Transcript ©
Respected elders,
dear brothers and sisters, my young friends,
We read in history books
about how past empires
conquered new lands
through terror
and massacres,
how those lands were ethnically cleansed,
how property
and farmland and trees were destroyed,
and villages
were razed to the ground.
My brothers and sisters,
while this is something that we read
used to occur
100 of years ago,
it is also what our brothers and sisters
in Palestine endured 75 years ago.
Between
1947 1949,
at least
750,000
Palestinians were made refugees.
530
villages
and cities were ethnically cleansed
and destroyed,
and 15,000
were killed in a series of mass atrocities,
including
more than 70,
70,
70 massacres.
This was
what is referred to as the Nakba, the
catastrophe
that they faced.
And every single day since then,
they faced
the brutalities
of occupation
and continued aggression
and unprecedented
human rights abuses
in their own homeland.
But even in the midst
of all this darkness
and oppression,
it is heartwarming to see
that even after 75
years,
they continue to hold their heads high, and
a vast majority
of the Muslim Ummah has not for forsaken
Palestine.
And in fact,
many and a growing number of people of
conscience
who are not
Muslims continue and are starting to and are
continuing to speak out. And I want to
specifically acknowledge
the leaders, the political leaders, the politicians
who had the courage
to stand up and to recognize this reality
because education is a key component
of sharing what has happened
to ensure
that it is not buried, to ensure that
it is not forgotten,
and to ensure
that it's not misrepresented.
Historically, my brothers and sisters,
this land has held a very great importance
in the hearts of Muslims,
which is underlined by its special link
to Allah
and his messengers
As we know, Allah
mentions it, refers to it in the Quran
in Suratul
Israel.
Allah
says, glory be to the one who took
his servant, meaning Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam,
by night from the sacred mosque, from Masjid
al Haram
to the farthest mosque to al Masjid al
Aqsa whose surroundings
we have blessed.
And Abu Zar radiAllahu anhu reported that he
asked the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam that, you
Rasulullah,
which masjid was built first on the earth?
And the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam responded,
al Masjid al Haram, the sacred masjid of
Makkah.
And then he asked again, which was next?
And the prophet
said, the Masjid of, the Masjid Aqsa or
Masjid Al Aqsa. And then he asked further
that how long was the period between the
building of these two masajid, of these two
mosques? And the prophet
said, 40 years apart.
And then he went on to say, apart
from these, offer your prayers anywhere when it
is time to pray. Although excellence is in
praying in these in these mosques, in these
masjid as related in Sahih al Bukhari.
Regarding the importance of visiting Masjid Al Aqsa,
Abu Huraira, radiAllahu anhu,
relates that the prophet
said,
You should not undertake
a special journey, meaning a religious journey, to
visit any place other than the following 3,
masajid,
meaning with the expectation of a greater,
reward.
And he listed the 3, the sacred Masjid
of Mecca, the Masjid of mine, meaning Masjid
al Nabwi, and al Masjid al Aqsa in
Jerusalem.
It was also reported that Abu Dhar radiAllahu
anhu said that we were discussing in the
presence of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
which of them was more virtuous, the Masjid
of the Messenger sallallahu alaihi wasallam or
Al Baytul Maqdis, meaning,
Masjid Al Aqsa. The Messenger of Allah
said, one prayer in my Masjid is better
than 4 prayers there, but it is still
a good place of prayer. And then he
went on to say something very profound.
The prophet
went on to say, soon there will come
a time that if a man has a
spot of land as big as his horse's
rope from which he can see Baytul Maqdis,
that will be better for him than the
whole world. A time will
come. Soon, a time will come when a
man
who has a spot of land as big
as his horse's rope.
How big is the land? How big is
a horse's rope? Right? You know, meaning how
small is it? Right? So even if a
person has a land of that size from
which he can see Baytul Maqdis, that will
be better for him than the whole world,
and this is reported
as Sahih from Al Hakim.
One prayer in Masjid al Nabawi is equivalent
to 1,000 prayers elsewhere in terms of reward.
So one prayer in Masjid al Aqsa is
equivalent to 250
prayers elsewhere, and Allah
knows best.
Abdullah ibn Hawala al,
Azdi
reported that the prophet
put his hand on his head. He says,
the messenger of Allah
put his hand on my head and said,
He said, oh,
if you see the Khalifa, the caliphate has
taken abode in the holy land in,
then earthquakes,
tribulations,
and great events are at hand. The last
hour on that day will be closer to
people than my hand is to your head.
Meaning, the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam prophesized
that when the, when the Khalifa is established
in that land, there will be trials and
tribulations.
There will be chaos and turmoil,
and people will be closer to the day
of judgment than they ever have been. Imam
al Khattabi,
he
understood
this Khalifa to mean the Khalifa of Banu
Umayyah, and he understood or explained this Arud
al Muqaddasa, this holy land,
to refer to as the land of Sham.
And others have taken it other scholars have
taken it as a prophecy for the coming
of, or or regarding the Khalifa of the
Mahdi with the holy land referring to Jerusalem,
and Allah
knows best. The prophet
also reported to have said that a group
of my ummah will remain upon the truth,
and they will vanquish their opponents and those
who disagree with them and will not and
they will not be able to harm them
until
Allah's command.
And the companions
asked that where they will be and the
prophet
is reported to have said that they will
be in and around Beitul Maqdis.
And this is this part about the Baytul
Maqdis, some of the scholars of hadith say
that there is some issue with regards to
its strength in terms of the chain of
narration, this last part of the hadith, and
Allah
knows best best. This is the same area
in which the Masjid of Soleiman alaihis salam
stood referred to by the Jewish people as
the temple mount, and it is their holiest
site. The Romans had destroyed it. The Romans
had destroyed it and turned it into a
trash dump and have forbade them from worshiping
there. And it was Sayna Umar, radiAllahu anhu,
who liberated Jerusalem
and helped clean up the trash with his
own hands
and gave the Jewish people the right to
reside in Jerusalem
and to pray on the Temple Mount without
interference.
Today, sadly, this blessed land has turned into
a land of oppression and occupation
recognized as being illegal by the international community.
Now there are two primary reasons
that Palestine is of significance to us, and,
of course, there is a religious significance that
we have just discussed. And, of course, we
have a duty to stand against oppression and
injustice, and there is no doubt with regards
to this. My brothers and sisters, there are
so many Muslims
around the world. The number of Muslims has
never been greater ever in the history of
Islam,
yet we feel helpless in the face of
these challenges.
And there is much to be said if
we analyze the history and the politics and
divisions
that have been gripping this ummah. But I
want to leave you,
with 3
underlying factors
that must be addressed. Otherwise, our situation
collectively as an ummah is
perhaps unlikely to change.
First of all, Thauban said,
relates
that the prophet
said,
He reported that the messenger of Allah
said, it is close. It is near that
the nations will call one another against you
just as the eaters call one another to
their dishes.
It is near that the nations
will call each other against you just as
the eaters
call one another to their dishes.
And one of the companions asked,
that is this because we will be few
in numbers that day? They could not fathom
that there will be such a time
when the ummah of Rasulullah
will
be so weak and in such a state
that the opponents
will be ready to feast upon them. So
they wondered, is this because they will be
few in number? And responded
and
said,
that actually on that day, you shall be
numerous,
but you will be like the foam of
the sea. My brothers and sisters, if you
have seen the foam of the sea, it
is weightless.
It is worthless.
It goes whichever way the tide comes. If
it the wave comes one way, it will
go in that direction. If it comes the
other way, it will get thrown around to
the other direction. So this is the example.
This is the prophecy of the prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam with regards
to the state of the ummah,
not because of small or low numbers,
not because of the numbers.
And the prophet went on to explain
the condition or the reason of that condition.
Allah
Allah will take the fear of you away
from your opponents
and will place weakness into your hearts.
What's notable here my brothers and sisters is
that the prophet
is telling us that who is going to
do this? Allah is
the doer of this.
That Allah
will take away the fear of you from
your opponents and will place weakness into your
hearts.
So somebody asked because this is mind boggling.
The prophet
is prophesizing a time when the believers are
large in number. They're not small in number.
Yet, they are weightless and they are being
thrown around from 1 from one side to
the other like the foam of the sea.
And Allah
is the one who is putting them in
that condition
by taking away,
you know, the the the the fear from
their opponents
and placing weakness into their hearts.
So
somebody asked
that what is this weakness
that
so the prophet
responded and said,
The love of the world and the dislike
of death.
What did he say? What is this weakness?
The love of the world and the dislike
of death. So my brothers and sisters, the
love of the world and the dislike of
death, meaning
obsession
with worldly and temporary matters and materials,
ignoring the reality of death and what is
to follow,
lack of courage
and bravery. Because you see, there is no
shortage of wealth in this ummah today. Perhaps
it has never been as wealthy before as
it is today. But the love of dunya
has set in, and the primary concern has
become about enjoying life and making
good in this world,
becoming wealthy and enjoying the luxuries of this
world and not what is to come next.
Secondly, my brothers and sisters, Allah
says,
and hold firmly to the rope of Allah
altogether
and do not become divided. And Allah
tells us as we discussed last week,
The believers are but brothers, so make settlement,
make peace between your brothers.
But we find, my brothers and sisters, as
the divisions are so deeply ingrained and so
polarizing
that there is true hatred to be found
in the hearts of the believers.
And instead of reconciling,
we end up perpetuating
divisions.
And those, as I mentioned last time, those
who want to harm,
take advantage
full advantage
of the situation
to leave us and to continue to keep
us divided
while they go ahead and do whatever they
wish to do. May Allah
help us. May he remove our hearts. May
he unite our hearts and remove from our
hearts this weakness and this love for the
duniya and the dislike for death. Finally, my
brothers and sisters, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says
in the Quran in Surat Montahana, aya number
8 and aya number 9,
Allah
says, Allah does not forbid you from dealing
kindly and fairly with those who have neither
fought nor driven you out of your horror
homes. Surely, Allah loves those who are fair.
And then Allah
goes on and tells us something that is
very important and very relevant to our situation.
Allah
says, Allah only forbids you from befriending those
who have fought you for your faith, who
have driven you out of your homes
or supported others in doing so. And whoever
takes them as friends, then it is they
who are the true wrongdoers.
So this is a warning for all of
us, my brothers and sisters, that we must
be diligent and we must understand
which side we are on and who we
are to support and who are not to
support. We must do whatever is within our
means, which is wise and permissible
to take action,
whether it is political pressure, whether it is
advocacy, whether it is education.
All of these are important pieces, and they
are all good. But if we want
meaningful
and long term change,
then we must start with ourselves.
We must start with ourselves
by correcting
our own state, the state of our hearts,
the state of our homes, of our communities,
of our societies,
and
you will see that positive will will positive
change will come and will spread
You must replace
the love of this dunya with the love
of Allah and his messenger
Live for the akhirah and not for this
world while, of course, taking advantage of the
blessings that Allah
has given us, but using them as means
to an end and not as the end,
and not to let differences
cause hatred and animosity
to try to be uni uniters and peacemakers,
not dividers,
and not to, under any circumstances,
befriend those who Allah
has forbidden us from befriending. We ask Allah
to protect the people of Palestine
and Al Aqsa
and to protect all of the masajid around
the world. We ask Allah
to protect
all of the oppressed people around the world
to replace oppression and occupation
with peace and justice. We ask Allah
to foil the plots of those who wish
to cause harm to the believers
and to the innocent. We ask Allah
to purify our hearts from the love of
this world and to remove hatred and animosity
and to unite us all in goodness. Ameen.
We'll take a quick break inshallah.