Tom Facchine – Amassing Power Vs Awaiting Saviors – Power & Politics In The Quran
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of community power and community projects in building power and community projects, emphasizing the need for active participation in these projects to avoid back and forth. They use the words "will" and "willful" in these terms to refer to community obligations and emphasize the importance of regular engagement in building power. The speaker warns against taking one's eyes off the prize and building power together, emphasizing the need for active participation in building power and not just taking things for granted.
AI: Summary ©
This is part 2 of power and politics
in the Quran.
And before we get into some new materials,
so basically, last time we talked about the
story of tallut and
several lessons that can be derived from the
story of Talut.
Today we're gonna take one of those lessons,
the first one of those lessons, and we're
gonna travel with it throughout the Quran to
see where else it pops up. But first,
you have to point out that when it
comes to power
and how community power,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
commands us in the Quran to build power
as a community.
He commands us both explicitly
and implicitly.
Allah says,
Prepare for them
what you're able to of power. Now then,
in the rest of the ayah, Allah continues
on with examples
that suited that particular circumstance
in which he was talking about. But as
we say in tafsir,
That when it comes to these sorts of
things,
that
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala words things generally
for a reason.
So that they have broader applicability
than simply the very specific political context
in which they were originally
revealed. So in that particular ayah, Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala goes on to talk about horses
and swords and armies and these sorts of
things.
But if you find yourself in a situation
like we are,
when
building power looks like something completely different,
it might look like owning land. It might
look like delivering votes. It might look like
organizing money and organizing,
donations or things of this nature.
Now this is a communal obligation, a farqifa'
and that it has
an ala, there's a reason behind it, and
so that nobody messes with us. Right? Why
do we have these signs
on the other side of the glass door?
These premises are under armed guards or whatever
it says.
So that nobody messes with us.
And if we look at the Quran, this
is exactly what Lut
says. Right? When it comes to, in Surahood.
When the forces of evil who want to
do you harm and do your children harm,
and In the last 5 months, we've seen
plenty of them exposed. Have we not?
When they're banging down the door
and the only thing separating between them
and you or your children
is your ability to defend yourself.
This is a very scary situation. And what
does Zut 'alayhi salam said?
He says, If only I had some sort
of power that I could resist you all.
Or I could lean upon some sort of
firm support or firm pillar to prevent your
harm. As Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says multiple
times in the Quran,
there's a certain aspect of deterrence that building
power as a community
serves. We don't build power because we're looking
for trouble. None of these
handsome security guards that we have build power
because they're looking for trouble. Right, Nadim? It's
because they're here to protect. They're here to
serve. They're here to actually keep a certain
type of peace, a certain type of just
peace.
Okay? And so that this is a community
obligation.
Whatever in our time and in our scenario
that we have to do to figure it
out, well that's what we have to do.
Now, the first lesson that we had talked
about last week in the story of Tallut
was that building power
is
a community project
and it takes active participation.
It's not a spectator sport.
Building power as a community is not a
spectator sport.
What was the problem of the people of
Saudut?
They had the right mission. They were wrong.
They were turned out of their homes and
they said, all we need
is the right guy to lead us, and
then we're down. We're ready to ride. And
then what happened?
They were given that leader and they chickened
out. They got cold feet. They said, no
thanks. Actually, we were just kidding. It was
an excuse. It was a front.
We see that this isn't the first time
that Bani Israel had this problem.
You go through
the rest of the surah, Surah Al Baqarah.
You go into Surah Al Imran. You go
to Surah Al Maidah, you see that Bani
Israel had this problem before.
When Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala talks about the
followers of Musa alaihi salaam, those who followed
Musa out of Masur, out of Egypt.
And they go through the desert, they have
all their sorts of trials and tribulations, they
get to firostihin.
What is the one thing that they have
to do? What does Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
tell them they have to do? He said,
here it is. Here's the land I promised
you. Now you have to go and there's
people who Yeah. There's people living there already.
You have to fight and then it's yours.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala promises them his
aid and his nazar and his help. What's
their reaction?
They basically have the same reaction. They say
to Musa,
how are we expected
to do this sort of thing? It's not
reasonable and there's a back and forth in
Surat Al Ma'ida that's well known.
They even are so bold as to say
to Musa,
They said, you and your Lord go. Tabid.
They're making distance between them and Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala. You and your Lord go and
fight
and we're gonna stay here and wait to
see what happens.
Right?
So building power is not a spectator sport.
And equivalent to our times
is let's say if somebody woke up every
4 years
and they look at the who up Who's
up for election this time? Which one's the
least bad one? Alright Bismillah, here we go.
That's not how it works.
Building power as a community,
it's a weekly
project.
If not a daily project. It's Farud Kifaiyah,
which means that you can't just
hope some other guy's gonna do it. You're
gonna pick the right person, they're your savior
and then you forget about everything they do.
No. Politicians are like getting toddlers ready for
the masjid.
You know what I mean by that?
You say, okay, Baba, come get your kufi,
come your shoes. Okay. He maybe gets his
jacket, now he's toddling off this way. No.
No. No. Here Baba, you have to Every
step of the way, you have to make
sure they stay on task. Politicians are the
same.
They say here's the agenda, here's why we
put you in,
here's the proof that we put you in,
Here's what you said you were gonna do.
You haven't done it yet. When are you
gonna do it? Every week you're knocking on
their door. That's how it works.
So this is what is just one of
the things and there's other types of power
other than electoral power. That's just one tool.
But we're saying that this is what it
looks like. Power, building power is not a
spectator sport. It is not something that you
can just flip on every 4 years. It's
something that takes active,
regular engagement.
Now this story pops up another time or
this lesson pops up another time and that
is in Surat Al Kahf.
With Dhul Qarnayn. The last group of people
that Dhul Qarnayn go to. Very very interesting.
The interaction between them.
He comes to a people and the people
complain about
Yeah. Jews and Met Jews. So spreading fasad
on the Earth.
Things are not good. Dhul Qurnayn, come in
and save us, basically. They're turning to Dhul
Qurnayn as a savior. Say, build us a
wall. We'll pay you.
Right? They wanna be as uninvolved as possible.
What can I pay? What's the the price
tag? Just give me the bar code. I'll
scan it. I've got Google pay. Boom. And
it's done.
And what is the Lutlarnain's reaction?
He doesn't give them exactly what they ask
for. He says, basically, no. You're gonna help
build this wall.
So bring the iron, bring the molten lead,
bring whatever you're gonna do, and here we're
gonna build it together. So as they say,
you give a man a fish, you feed
him for a meal. You teach a man
the fish.
Right? He's set for life.
So Vod al Kharnein is actually teaching the
people that he goes to how power building
works.
It's not something you just find the right
person, we find the right candidate,
we get them in power, and then we
just go to sleep. That's not how it
works.
You have to learn how to actively participate.
We see especially in the first
10 aj zap,
a lot of examples of what not to
do.
And they need to be studied.
Al Imran,
Anisa,
Al Ma'ida, Al Anfal, Atawbah. They need to
be studied
about what not to do. Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala, especially in Al Imran and Al Ma'idah,
warns us about putting our trust in the
wrong people. The people who were suffering from
Yatjuj and Matjuj were fortunate. They were blessed
because they could trust Lulkarni.
What if Lulkarni was not trustworthy?
What if he was a grifter?
What if he was somebody who came in,
he said, oh yes, Insha'Allah, and quoted a
hadith.
And then said, give me all your votes.
Right? We know that these people exist. Correct?
Correct.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has lots of
warnings for us
to not put too much trust.
Especially in people that are outside of our
community that we don't know.
And how many times does Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala say,
Do not take them as too close of
friends.
And he actually blames people for the internal
motivations that they would have.
Here you are loving these people.
Chasing their power, chasing their influence and they
don't love you back.
As we say. This is embarrassing as humiliation
or as Allah says in surah, anisa
Are you looking for Izzah from them?
All honor and dignity is belongs to Allah
alone. And Allah's found salah gives it to
who he wills, and he takes it away
from whom he wills. And so in our
project of building power, we can't lose
sight. We can't take our eyes off the
prize. We stick together as a community, and
we do what we have to do together,
trusting in one another and building that power
together.