Sikander Hashmi – Spiritual Strength During Conflict KMA Friday Message
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AI: Transcript ©
Mohammad
Respected elders, my dear brothers and sisters,
my young friends,
We begin by praising Allah
the lord of the universe,
our creator, our sustainer, our nourisher, our protector.
And we begin by sending peace and salutations
upon his beloved messenger,
Muhammad, the son of Abdullah
May Allah
bless you all. May Allah
protect you all. I ask Allah
to keep you, your family,
your loved ones,
and all of our brothers and sisters around
the world
under
his unseen and special protection
and under his mercy and blessings.
I
hope you're all well, my brothers and sisters,
and it's a great pleasure to join you
on this blessed day, a beautiful day, a
bit cold today, and
it's amazing how we see the temperatures change
from one day to the other. One day,
you know, you need the air conditioning to
be on, and the other day, it's almost
like you need the heating to be on.
Keep you all well and keep your families
well. I
mean, My brothers and sisters,
we know that the or it appears at
least that the ceasefire
in Palestine
is holding.
So the aggression
against the innocent people
of Gaza has come to an end for
now.
But while the aggression has come to an
end, the oppression and injustice
against them and against all of our
brothers and sisters in Palestine
has not come to an end.
And
as it hasn't come to an end for
our Uighur brothers and sisters in China
and for our Rohingya brothers and sisters and
our brothers and sisters in Kashmir
and in so many other places in the
world.
So while it is good, it
is at least some improvement
to see that,
there are no bonds falling upon them.
The oppression,
the aggression, the injustice
continues
as it has been continuing
for many years,
sadly.
Now,
many people have been speaking up
on, social media raising their voices. Many people
have been contacting,
politicians,
have been attending protests,
have been giving in charity to support these
causes. May Allah
accept all of the efforts. May Allah
bless all of the efforts.
And, you know, an important thing for us
to remember, as I have been saying,
is that
we all want peace.
In all of these places, we want peace
all around the world. Right? Our objective
is to have peace on the earth. But
in order to have peace, there must be
justice as well. When injustice will continue,
when injustices have occurred and injustices
continue,
then it is
very, very difficult to have peace. Right? Peace
will prove to be
elusive
until
justice is established. Once there is justice,
there will be peace as well. And this
is a natural thing, and this is is
something that everyone should be able to understand.
That when a person is wronged
when a person is wronged and, is wronged
and is oppressed,
and,
their
wealth, their property, the things that they own,
and not just that they own, but that
they depend upon for their survival
are taken away from them, are stolen from
them.
How can we expect such a person
to remain at peace?
And especially with their aggressors, right, with the
per people who have committed,
right, with those who have committed the crime.
It is very difficult.
It is unimaginable for all of us, right,
regardless of where you are, regardless of who
you are. When an injustice and oppression has
occurred against you,
it is maybe one person will be able
to forgive and will come to terms with
what has happened. But when we're talking about
an entire people, when we're talking about an
entire region, an entire,
nation, an entire country,
then it is very, very difficult
to have everyone,
accept the injustice and just,
you know, ask for peace without getting justice.
So it's a matter of justice.
Once justice is established,
then peace will prevail. We ask Allah
for peace and for justice for all of
the people who are oppressed. We ask Allah
for peace all around the world.
So, masha'Allah, like I said, many people have
been participating
more than before, have been speaking up, and
we also have to give credit to the
politicians. We have to give credit for especially
when we talk about Palestine, we have to
give credit to,
the Jewish people who are actually speaking up.
And as I've mentioned before and as we'll
say it again, this is not about a
conflict between Muslims and Jews. This is not
about hate against the Jewish people. This is
about oppression, injustice against the Palestinian people.
And, for the Jewish people
who have had the courage to stand up
and speak the truth and say what is
right, We ask Allah
to continue to to bless them and guide
reward them for their courage and to continue
to, to guide them towards the truth. May
Allah
make it easy and guide all of us
to be people of truth.
Now the reality is, my brothers and sisters,
that as we discussed last week, there will
be conflicts and struggles in this worldly life.
There will be conflicts. There will be struggles
in this worldly life because that is the
reality of this worldly life and
because it is not Jannah. Right? If these
things didn't happen, then it will be Jannah.
And if we want protection,
from conflicts, from strife, from trials, from tribulations,
then we have to aim for Jannah because
that is the only place
where there will be complete safety and there
will be complete protection
without any trials, without any tribulations,
without any evil, without any hardships,
without, even,
you know, a a harmful or evil word.
Even, subhanAllah, the wine of Jannah will be
that which cannot cause drunkenness. So everything will
be pure and everyone will will be safe,
but only in Jannah. In this dunya, we
have to deal with trials and tribulations.
That is the decree of Allah
Now when these challenges occur, when these difficulties
and calamities strike,
as these are tests
these are tests to for us to see
that when it strikes, when that difficulty, when
that calamity strikes, where do we stand?
Where do we stand in front of our
in in terms of our intentions,
in terms of our feelings, and in terms
of our actions? Where do we stand? So
these are all tests.
These are all tests from Allah
And the question is, where do we stand
in terms of our intentions, in terms of
our feelings, and in terms of our actions?
And the results are always in the hands
of Allah
So our job starts with concern
and intention,
and our job ends with effort.
Our job starts where? With concern and intention,
and our job ends with effort. And then
Allah
takes it to completion from there. K. So
we have to know we have to be
realistic
about what our role is and what our
responsibilities
are and what is,
what is it that we should be aiming
for. So intention
or concern, intention, effort,
our job is done. And then Allah
is the one who's gonna make it happen.
Allah is the one who's gonna take it
to a completion that is not something that
is in our hands. Now the question is,
my brothers and sisters, what should the effort
look like?
What should the effort look like? What are
the characteristics
of this effort? So let's look at some
verses of the Quran. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
has given us clear guidance in the Quran
and sometimes, you know, when people are conflicted
about such issues when they are, confused,
you know, about, some of these issues which
appear to be challenging, sometimes they wonder, you
know, maybe we should just look at the
Quran. Maybe we should just read the Quran
and reflect upon what Allah
is saying, the examples that Allah
has given. Then honestly, if we all become
people of the Quran,
then these matters become very, very clear and
easy to understand for us. May Allah
continue to guide us, and may Allah
continue to bring us closer and closer
to him, himself, and to his his words,
his book.
So what should the effort look like? So
number 1, we learned that we should take
available means, of course, that are wise and
are likely to have a positive effect. You
see in Surah Al Anfal,
Allah says
Allah
tells us tells the believers
that they should build capacity,
that the believers should build capacity and preparedness.
Now it goes without saying that because the
believers
are about the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, they believe firmly in the tawhid, in
the oneness of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
They believe firmly
that Islam is the true deen of Allah
They stand firmly
against oppression.
They stand firmly for, you know, for speaking
the truth and for justice.
So it is,
expected.
It is expected that they will face opposition.
It is expected that they will be attacked
and that they will be,
facing, you know, troubles from those who are
opposed to this universal message of the oneness
of Allah
and this perfect way of life that has
been sent by Allah,
through his messengers
So it is given that there will be
opposition
from people who are against the tawhid of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, who don't wanna believe
in the prophet
who have jealousy and hatred and envy for
various reasons, who are oppressors, people who want
to, weaken the believers, people who want to,
you know, take over their homes and their
rents and their properties and harm them in
different ways for different reasons. So it's a
given that's gonna happen. So Allah
instructs the believers to build capacity
and preparedness. Now today, my brothers and sisters,
the scope of the skills that are required
to defend
our community, right, to defend innocent people, to
defend the oppressed,
that scope of skills has expanded
compared to before.
K. So compared to what would be used
before and the types of skills that would
be used. So for example, poetry was one
of the skills that was used at the
time of the prophet
right along with the regular, you know, tools
and and skills that would be required,
when it came to conflicts.
Similarly, today, we find that that scope has
expanded and now includes, you know, various types
of skills in education. For example, understanding of
the law, being able to debate and and
argue according to the law,
public relations, strategic communications,
politics, lobbying,
you know, so many, many different areas that
are now included
in or that are needed in order to
stand up for the oneness of Allah
to defend our communities, to stand up with
the oppressed, and to stand up for justice.
So these are some of the things that
are needed and required, and Allah has given
us a general instruction
to capacity and to have preparedness, meaning we
should not be dependent upon others. We as
communities
should as of communities of believers should have
skills
that enable us to stand up for what
is right and to be able to defend
ourselves
in the various arenas that are, in which
conflicts take place or,
to the various means that, conflicts can be
dealt with.
So our job, my brothers and sisters, as
individuals
and as communities,
is to build capacity
to get into these fields, right, and all
the fields that are required
in today's times to
defend the the, the the deen of Allah
to defend our communities, to stand up for
just and for the oppressed. So get into
these fields with the right intention.
What's important? With the right intention and this
is for my my young friends as well,
those who are, you know, contemplating different careers,
get into these fields. With the right intention,
what should the intention be? To please Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, to defend the servants of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to stand up for
justice, to stand up for the oppressed and
the innocent regardless of who they are. So
this is what our intention should be, and
every single one of us in one way
or the other can try to
contribute in a positive, in a wise, and
a legal way.
So that's the first thing first thing that
we learn is to build capacity. Secondly,
is when the time comes,
when a conflict arises, when the time comes,
you stand firm and you don't back off.
Right? Now, of course, it goes without saying
that you have to make sure that what
you're standing,
that, you know, what you're standing for is
sound and is defensible in front of Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala. Whatever position you're taking, whatever
cause you are supporting,
you have to be certain that it is
sound.
And by sound, what does it mean? It
means that you are able to defend your
support.
So if it is a a cause,
that is,
defensible in front of Allah
and also if the means that are being
used by the cause, are they defensible in
front of Allah
And if the means are not defensible, meaning
you cannot defend those means that are being
used, then clearly you do not take part,
you do not participate
in that cause.
K. I apologize. Having some, technical difficulties here,
with the connection, so I apologize for that.
And, I hope that I am back. If,
you're able to,
see me, and hear me,
then perhaps,
you can just leave a comment
to make sure that everything is working okay.
So as I was saying, if the cause
is one that is,
the the cause has to be defensible in
front of Allah
So you must be able to
defend that cause in front of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. And secondly, if
the means
that are that are being used
are not,
are not permissible, are not defensible in front
of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala,
then you support the cause, but you do
it in a way,
that is,
permissible
through means that are going to be defensible
in front of Allah
And those means that are not permissible, that
are not correct,
then we stay away from those means. So
the cause has to be correct, but also
the means have to be correct as well.
Now once you're in it so once you
know that the cause is sound, once you
once you you believe that, you know, the
the cause, the means are all,
permissible and you can,
you know, you feel that you you may
be able to defend yourself in front of
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala if Allah were to
ask you about them, then you stand firm.
What do we learn? Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
tells us that then we stand
firm. Now what does that mean? Allah
says,
all believers, when you face an opposing force,
stand
firm. When you face an opposing force,
stand firm firm. So don't run away.
Once you're in it, don't run away. Don't
chicken out. You know, don't flee.
Give it your 110%
while having perfect faith and reliance in Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And now,
he writes in his
that the Arabic word used by the Quran
is
is which means to stand firm, to hold
the ground, to be steadfast.
Now this includes firmness of the feet and
firmness of the heart,
both because a person whose heart is not
strong
and
whose heart is not strong and firm can
hardly be expected
to have the rest of their body hold
to the ground. So that is something that
everyone knows and understands. Now every nation of
the world gives high priority to this strength
because all experienced people know it well that
the first and foremost tool in the theater
of conflict is nothing but the firmness of
the heart and the feet. And without these,
all tools are rendered
useless. K. So so
having courage, having firmness,
you know, having
a presence and determination
and courage, right, to stand firm, which requires,
inner strength. Right? So this is something which
is absolutely
necessary because if we have a community,
if we have a group of people who
are trying to stand up for what is
right, but at the end of the day,
they are they lack courage.
Right? They lack courage. They lack,
decisiveness.
They lack,
inner strength.
Then there's there's there's really very little prospect
of having any positive outcome
because,
you know, it's it's really a a weak,
a weak group,
not just weak, necessarily in terms of their
physical skills, but also,
you know, but also internally weak, which,
is the the the most important factor here.
So having inner strength to stand firm.
Now
we also learn that we are to make
effort of the physical needs.
But as believers,
we know that the spiritual means are not
not just as powerful but are more powerful
than the physical means.
Right? So
the the spiritual means are not just as
powerful but are more powerful than the physical
means. Allah
says,
continuing that verse,
And remember Allah often, remember Allah much so
that you may triumph, so that you may
be successful. Now the dhikr of Allah
is
a powerful tool in its own right,
special and spiritual, something that is known to
Muslims only, either not known to or is
neglected
by the rest of the world. And this
is the reason the scholars say that why
the Muslims that whenever they had to confront
others,
while following these instructions precisely
as given, they were able to gain superiority
and essentially, you know, completely,
dominate
forces which were superior
in terms of their adversaries.
Now
to remember
Allah and to be confident about it is
like the example that is given is like
a highly charged, you know, electronic energy which
makes a weak person run through mountains. Right?
So a special energy
that a a weak person, finds or an
ordinary person finds that gives them tremendous strength
and tremendous courage. So no matter what the
odds
be against or, you know,
no matter how much personal discomfort
or emotional anxiety,
this zikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you
know, puts all of that pushes all of
that into thin air, making the heart of
a person strong and their feet firm. So
going back to the previous point of having
steadfastness
and being firm and having courage, where does
that energy, where does that inner strength come
from? It comes from the remembrance of Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala. As I've mentioned before, there
are no anger act of worship
except the dhikr of Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala
has been repeatedly commanded in the Quran with
the instruction that it should be done, that
it should be done abundantly and profusely.
Right? And, the example that is given, by
Mufti Shafi'i in his tafsir is that, you
know, expressions like making
salah much. Allah has not said
or he has not said
that, you know, you should make prayer much
or that you could you should do fasting
much. He's not mentioned that anywhere. Right? So
the reason is that the dhikr of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala is easy to do. It
is a convenient
act of worship. You don't have to spend
a lot of time. You don't have to
spend a lot of effort doing it, nor
does it stop you from doing something else
at hand. And on top of that, this
is an exclusive
grace from Allah
that he has not placed any preconditions
or restrictions,
you know, on such as
or having,
a state of,
you know, or a particular type of dress
or, you know, like, dress code or orientation
towards the or
anything like that for the performance of the
dhikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So it
could be done in by anyone under, all
states with or without wudu while sitting, while
standing, while lying down, while jogging, while really
doing anything. Now
in the present context, the command to remember
Allah
abundantly
while in conflict
may give, you know, may give the impression
that it is,
something additional, one more duty
that is assigned
to to those who are who are standing
up,
in in the defense of the deen of
Allah
and for the the believers and for the
innocent and for justice, something which may usually
demand, you know, concentrated hard work. So there's
already effort to be done. And then on
top of that, you know, there's, another,
a command here to remember Allah.
But what is,
unique
is the the the the effect
of the properties of
the. Why? Because it does not,
you know, subject its performer
to what will be hard labor,
but instead, it brings a kind of pleasure.
Right? So the the command to to do
the
brings a kind of pleasure, energy, and taste,
which actually does what? It actually helps one
accomplish a lot of things
one is trying to do in their lives.
Right? So for that matter, there is nothing
unusual
about this as we commonly notice that the
people who handle, you know, hard labor or
difficult tasks and, you know, they they what
do they do? They like to take a
set of words or some sort of beat
or some sort of jingle or
song, that they have, that they while they're
trying to work. And you probably noticed this.
If you go to a mechanic, you know,
you go somewhere, someone is trying to do
a job, fix something, or maybe some other
task, and they're, you know, they're humming something.
They're singing something. Right? Now the Quran has
blessed Muslims with an alternate, a a much
better and perfect alternate for that, something which
has,
has countless
advantages and wise considerations. And therefore, at the
end of the verse, Allah
says so that you may be successful, so
that you may triumph.
Right? It means you went on to master
these two tested techniques of standing firm and
remembering Allah
and you used it in conflict, then you
can be sure that prosperity
and success are all yours. So this is
a prescription that Allah
has given.
Firstly, my brothers and sisters, Allah says in
the next verse,
obey Allah and his messenger
So we see that the believers have been
prompt prompted to follow another instruction and that
is to obey Allah and his messenger
because help and support from Allah
can be expected to come only through obedience
to him. A person cannot expect to be
disobedient towards Allah
to be working in contravention
against the guidance of Allah and his messenger
and then expect that Allah
is gonna help them. Like, it doesn't make
sense. So negligence and deceive disobedience
can only
be the causes of the displeasure of Allah
and a certain loss, you know, certain deprivation
from whatever grace and blessings could come from
him. So if we follow Allah and his
messenger
then inshallah,
that will,
make us worthy of receiving the blessings, the
grace, and the the the assistance of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. So so far, you know,
we've had,
firmness
or, you know, building our capacity, standing firm,
the zikr of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and
obeying Allah and his messenger
And finally, my brothers and sisters, is to
be united and not to dispute. Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says,
Do not dispute with one another.
Do not dispute with one another, or you
would be discouraged
and weakened. Right? The wind will be taken
out of your sails. Right? Essentially, it's how
it's been described. You will be discouraged
and weakened. What if you dispute with one
another? So do not dispute with one another.
Otherwise, you're going to lose.
Otherwise, you're gonna end up losing momentum. You're
gonna end up losing courage.
And
says,
preserve,
be, purse, you know, be
patient. Surely Allah surely Allah is with those
who preserve,
or persevere rather. Allah is with those who
are patient.
So here, a warning is given against the
negative aspects of conduct which must be avoided.
And the negative aspect or conduct, which impedes
a successful effort, especially in a conflict or
in a struggle, in a challenge,
it is nothing but mutual differences and disputations.
Right? Conflicts
amongst people
within the people who are,
who are struggling for or standing up for
one cause. So, therefore, Allah said,
do not dispute for mutual dissension and discord
would breed cowardice among them, and they would
soon lose their image of dominance. And the
worst the ayah points to to, to 2
end products of this mutual dissension.
Number 1, that you would become personally weak
and cowardly, and secondly, that you will lose
your predominance
and turn low in the sight of the
opponent.
And the fact,
you know, that mutual disputation
that arguments in fights amongst a group may
make them appear low in the sight of
others,
especially their opponents is obvious. But how does
it affect one's own strength to the limit
that it turns into weakness and cowardice? How
does that make sense? So the reason is,
my brothers and sisters, that given,
mutual unity and trust,
everyone is backed up by the strength of
the whole group. Everyone is backed up by
the strength of the whole group. So, therefore,
one individual feels the relative strength of their
whole group in themselves. And once that mutual
unity and trust is gone, then what remains
behind is no more than a person's own
solitary strength, and that can be very demoralizing.
Right? There is strength with others with knowing
that others are also, you know, struggling for
the same cause. Others are also supporting,
of supporting the cause that a person, even
if they're alone, especially nowadays in their own
homes, you know, in their own places, they
know that there are people that are united.
They are making dua together. They are struggling
together. They are standing up against or standing
up for the same cause against oppression and
against injustice.
But if they they break away into small
groups all fighting each other and disputing against,
you know, against each other, then that that
feeling of strength and and and the the
increase in morale that comes from that unity
that is lost and the person is left
alone, and that is demoralizing. Allah also says,
of course,
and hold firmly to the rope of Allah.
Many commentators say this is the Quran, the
words of Allah
hold on altogether
and do not become divided. Here's the key
part, Allah says
do not become divided. Allah
also says
that the believers are but brothers, so make
settlement, make peace, right, between your brothers. So
we should always be aiming to be peacemakers
who bring people together, who try to cover
differences, who try to promote understanding
as opposed to being the people who perpetuate
differences
and who cause conflicts
and, and or who perpetuate, you know, small
issues
into something which, is is is big and
unnecessarily
causes further harm and further strife to, the
believers, especially when they are, when they find
themselves in a conflict. So to recap, my
brothers and sisters,
number 1, build your skills.
Build your skills. Every person can contribute in
some way which is legal and wise. Encourage
your children. Encourage your youth to, to acquire
the skills that are going to help them
help
the our community that will help them, you
know, defend and stand up for the deen
of Allah
to promote the deen of Allah
to stand up for justice, skills that will
help them stand up for the oppressed
and for,
the, the weak. So that is number 1.
Number 2, when you find yourself in a
situation
of a conflict, stand firm. Do not back
off. Number 3, very important, remember Allah
much, whether it's to the dhikr of Allah
like in terms of and
or whether recitation of Quran,
or even, you know, offering salah, especially the,
you know, offering night prayers, wafting tahajjud, all
of these things are very, very important because
like we said, the spiritual strength is greater
than the physical strength.
Follow Allah and his messenger
to the best of your abilities. So do
not disregard the guidance of Allah and his
messenger.
Try to follow it as much as possible.
And finally, do not argue and dispute,
amongst one another. Be united. You don't have
to be uniformed.
Uniformity
is not required. Unity is required. The unity
of the hearts have respect and love for
one another despite whatever differences opinion you may
have on
secondary matters,
and
stand firm with patience and perseverance, and Allah's
assistance will be with you. We ask Allah
for his assistance and guidance in standing up
for the truth and against oppression and injustice.
We ask Allah
to grant us sincerity and unity. We ask
him to always guide us and our future
generations to be his true servants and to
always act according to his guidance and that
of his messenger.
That is
We ask you to forgive us for our
weakness and our and our shortcomings.
Oh, Allah. Oh, Allah. Please cure all of
our brothers and sisters.
Oh, Allah. Please remove all hardships from all
of our brothers and sisters who are struggling.
Oh, Allah. Oh, Allah. Please remove all the
stress and anxieties
and fears from all of our brothers and
sisters, You Rabbal Alameen. Oh Allah. Please protect
all of the innocent and grant justice to
the oppressed. You Rabbal Alameen. Oh Allah. Please,
please take away the oppression from the oppressors
and guide them. You Rabbal Alameen. Oh, Allah.
Whoever is standing with the oppressors, Oh, Allah.
Please open their heart to the truth, You
Rabbal Alameen. Oh, Allah. Please guide us and
guide everyone to what what is true and
what is right, You Rabbal Alameen.
Please go ahead and offer photographs of the
heart prayer at home.
We will be bringing back,
I was gonna say our Ramadan quiz, but,
of course, Ramadan is over, but, alhamdulillah,
due to popular demand and, masha'Allah, the success
of the the daily Ramadan quiz. We now
have a weekly,
family quiz. You can fill it out with
your family or you could fill it out
alone as we were doing in Ramadan,
meaning fill it out individually.
But, inshallah, it'll be posted every Thursday evening.
It'll be first posted on Thursdays
by Thursday, and it will be due, by
6 PM on Friday. You can fill it
out right now if you like at kananamistems.ca/quiz.
And, we will still be doing a prize
draw, and, we'll be announcing the prize draw
their new program called, KMA Friday Family Night
Live.
9:15 PM tonight, we'll be live online and,
the same format as we used to have
a sunset live.
Of course, we're not going having a dam
for iftar anymore,
but you can join us, and we'll be
going over the questions, having some discussion. You
can interact as well through the chat box,
and, we'll be announcing the prize draw winner
for this week. So once again, carnamustlums.ca/quiz.
Fill out the quiz, and join us at
9:15 PM. Cannamustlims.ca/live,
and, of course, also on Facebook and YouTube.
My brothers and sisters. May Allah
protect you all. May Allah
always keep you happy.