Yasir Qadhi – How Muslims Attain Victory
AI: Summary ©
The Surah of the Bible provides seven lessons for victory, including meeting the characteristics of the bumper, gaining and deservinging of victory, and maintaining a plan. The importance of persevere and not giving up is emphasized, as well as showing unity and support to achieve success. The importance of showing acceptance and gratitude to oneself and others, as well as showing the United Front, is emphasized. The speaker provides advice on gratitude and the benefits of learning from the Sira and the Quran, including the use of words like "will" and "will" to describe actions and events.AI: Transcript ©
Muhammadanabiduhumuwaraasooloo
You
ayyuhalatheenaamanu
taqullahuqati
walatumunalawantu
Muslimun
Ahmadabad.
Dear Muslims,
the very first battle that took place in
the Sirah, the Battle of Badr,
because of it, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
revealed an entire Surah in the Quran.
Surah 2 Al Anfal.
And when ibn Abbas was asked about this
surah, he said, Yes. That is surah 2
Al Badr. He calls Suratul Anfa Suratul Badr
to indicate the entire surah is about the
Battle of Badr.
And the Battle of Badr, as we know,
was the most decisive battle
in early Islam. In fact, Allah calls it
yawmul
furqaan,
the day of clarification,
the day of criterion,
the day that truth was separated from falsehood.
Today, insha Allah, in my Khutba,
I will extract from Surat Al Anfal
7 lessons that we can learn for victory.
How do Muslims attain victory?
Surat Al Anfal was revealed
right when the Muslims
saw the victory firsthand.
They were not expecting that victory. In fact,
the battle was not even planned. The battle
of Badr wasn't a planned battle, but it
just so happened the circumstance was created, and
the Muslims found themselves
ill equipped,
unprepared,
facing an enemy far more powerful than them,
prepared enemy. The Muslims didn't come to battle.
The Muslims came to take the the khanima
of Abu Sufyan, but that was not meant
to be planned. So let us read that
surah. And obviously, in a short khutba, only
so much can be done. And I encourage
you after the khutba to read the entire
surah on your own with a tafsir. We
can only give some basic benefits so that
insha Allahu ta'ala we are inspired in our
daily life and struggle.
Seven lessons for victory from Surat Al Anfal.
And by the way, this type of tafsir
in light of the Sira, it combines between
the Quran and the Sira together. And this
is one of the most powerful mechanisms
Quran, and look at the Quran through the
lens of the Sira. And that's what we're
gonna do today inshaAllahu
ta'ala. The first lesson, right at the beginning
of the surah, when Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
mentions right
at the beginning, Innamal mumminoonal ladheenaydadookir Allahuwajlatkulubuhum Waythetulliatalihim
ayyatuhuzadatumimana
waala rabbihim yata wakaloon.
The very second verse,
Allah describes the believers,
innamal mumminoon.
The true believers
are those who, when Allah's name is mentioned,
when they hear the remembrance of Allah, their
hearts tremble in fear. Wajilatqulubuhum.
And when the Quran is recited to them,
their iman goes up and they put their
trust in Allah.
Now, this Surah came down
to talk about the victory of the Battle
of Badr,
And Allah begins the surah
describing who the real believers are,
describing the strength of iman,
describing their fear of Allah,
describing their love of Allah,
describing them listening to the Quran and increasing
their iman, describing their tawakkul in Allah. Is
this a coincidence?
Of course not.
Victory is given to those who meet this
description.
You want Allah's victory?
Read the Surah from the beginning.
The very second ayah tells you who victory
will be given to. Innamal mumminoonal
ladeenaadakirallahuwajlat
kullupum. You want Allah's nazar to come, 1st
and foremost,
have your khashya of Allah, your tawakkud in
Allah, your trembling of Allah, your iman in
Allah, you're listening to the tilawah of the
Quran of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Do all
of these
characteristics, and then Allah's nazar will come. Taste
the sweetness of imaan.
Understand that victory is given to those who
earn and deserve it, and that earning and
deserving comes before the victory. The victory will
come. You must put in the preparation for
it. This is the first lesson. Meet the
characteristics of the muminoon as Allah describes in
Surat Al Anfal.
The second wisdom we learn,
a constant theme of the surah, multiple ayaat.
And again, I give the disclaimer. This is
a very short nafsir.
Multiple ayaat mention that look, you can plan
as much as you want, but Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala will plan separate from you. And
the plan of Allah is better than your
plan. Sometimes what Allah plans, you don't like
it. You weren't expecting it, but you must
trust that Allah's plan is better than your
plan. This is a constant theme of Surat
Al Anfal. So for example, Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala says, wa idya'idukumAllahu
ihdhaqtaifaitani
annahalakum
Allah promised you, you would get one of
the 2 caravans. Watawadoona
annagayradati
shawkatitakunulakum
You wanted the easier one. You wanted Abu
Sufyan's. You wanted the caravan that was coming
from Makkah, laden with goods, but Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala wanted something else.
And Allah, azzawajal, wanted to sift the truth
from the falsehood.
So what this ayah tells us, of course,
you make your plan. Of course, you have
a khittah, you have an entire model. Of
course, you do that. But realize, sometimes
your khitha, your plan doesn't go according to
your plan. You still have to continue and
put your trust that Allah's plan will be
better than your plan. Allah
said, you wanted the one that was easy,
but Allah wanted the one that will separate
truth from falsehood. You wanted a swift victory,
but Allah wanted the long term victory, and
that's gonna come at a cost. So we
learn from Surat Al Anfal, also in another
ayah, that Allah says, walota wa'atum
laqtalaftun
filmi'adi
walakill liakdiyaAllahuamran
kana ma froula Allah says, even if the
2 of you had agreed
when and where to fight, you wouldn't have
agreed. You wouldn't have had that meeting, but
Allah
wanted His command to be fulfilled. Even if
you had planned exactly what had happened, it
wouldn't have happened, but Allah had planned it.
And because Allah had planned it, it did
happen. What we learned from this is that
you, of course, have your plan. You, of
course, have a victory in mind. You, of
course, have an entire strategy. But understand,
sometimes
things are gonna happen that you didn't expect.
You must persevere. You must continue
and put your trust in Allah that even
if in the short term, because when the
Muslims saw the entire army, there was an
element of demoralization.
There was an element of doubt. What's happening?
We didn't expect this. And Allah said, watawadoona
annagaayradati
shawkititakululakum
You wish the other plant had happened. And
Allah says, wayuridullahu
anyouirkalhaqqah
Allah wanted the truth to be manifest. You
have to put your trust in Allah that
sometimes your plan doesn't work out, but you
still did good because your niyyah was right,
and your methodology was right, and Allah's plan
will be better than your plan. This is
the second thing we learn from Surat Al
Anfal and from the Battle of Badr. The
third thing that we learn, and in fact,
in the whole surah, perhaps the most explicit
verse in the, in that surah about advice
to those who were in the battle of
Badr, advice to those who were in the
thick and thin of that battle. Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala gives them, and through them, he
gives everybody who wants victory a similar type
of advice. Verses 454640
7, read them after the the khutba. Go
and open up the Quran and read them.
Right in the middle of the Surah, verses
45 onwards, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, you
ayyuhallatheenaamanoo,
O you who believe, idalaqitum
fee atan. If you meet a contingent, if
you meet the other side, if you meet
the other side, by the way, there is
a type of indirect reference here, it that
you should not be eager to begin. It
should not primarily be your job. And this
is, of course, the overall methodology of the
Quran and of our Sirah and of the
Sharia is that you give the enemy the
opportunity
to have a peace treaty, agree to the
conditions. But if you are forced to, then,
of course, if you have to fight for
your freedoms, then you fight for your freedoms
as the prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam did
against the Quraysh. So there is this notion,
and this is
explicit in the seerah, by the way, in
the hadith and Sahib Bukhari. In the Battle
of Badr, the Prophet, salallahu alayhi wa sallam,
addressed the army right before the Battle of
Badr. And he said to them, oh, you
who believe, latatamanno rikaal a'adu Don't desire that
you're gonna engage in battle. We are not
a bloodthirsty religion. We are not a religion
that wants war. We don't want violence. We
want peace. We want everybody to be in
peace. That is the default of our sharia.
La tatamannao
likaal adus hadithas in bukhari for for the
battle of Badr. Don't desire to meet the
enemy. It should not be that, oh, we
just wanna fight, fight, fight, but sometimes you
have to. And so if it happens
and if they're going to attack you, fa
idhaalakeetum
If you meet them, fathbutu,
then be firm. Don't give up, don't waver,
don't be cowards, don't run away. And this
is explicit in the Surah as well. In
another verse, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, when
you meet them, don't turn your back and
run away in fear. Whoever does so will
meet Allah's punishment. That's not the way of
the believer. So Allah says, idadakheetum
fee atan fathbutu
When you meet the contingent, then be firm.
We learn over here. Don't give up. Don't
falter. Don't waver. Whatever is your plan, whatever
is your vision, whatever is your agenda, continue
and persevere.
Even if you personally fail, the army is
gonna succeed. You might not get to the
end, but if you collectively push together, you
will get to the end. Do not take
your personal failure as the failure of the
entire army. You might not see the victory,
but you must continue to persist and persevere.
You do your job and leave the rest
to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. This is a
direct commandment. Fathbuthu,
remain firm. Whatever is your agenda and plot,
whatever is your entire khita or your methodology,
persevere in that and don't give up. Fathbutu.
The next point, wathguro
Allaha katheeran
laallakumtufliroon.
Even as you're engaged in your methodology,
even as you're doing what you need to
do, don't forget help comes from Allah. So
make sure your tongue is constantly moving with
the dhikr of Allah. In fact, during the
thick and thin, when you are physically engaged,
Allah is saying, wathkullaha
kathiran.
Imagine, this is in the battle of Badr.
Imagine, they're literally fighting the army of the
Quraysh, and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is telling
them, even in the thick of the battle,
don't forget to remember Allah frequently if you
want to be successful.
Success comes when you put in the effort.
Again, fathbuthu.
Again, this is the dual combination.
You do your effort, and then you put
your trust in Allah. You exert your utmost.
You don't give up. And as you do,
the utmost you can do, turn to Allah
for help wathbutoo, wathkurullah
hakatheeran
la'allakumtufloon.
You want falaah? You want success? The 2
combination of your physical effort along with your
turning to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Also, we learned from this as well, the
notion of turning to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
ta'ala and helping. And this is a constant
theme of the surah as well. Ittastagreedhunarabbakum.
This is in the Surat al Anfaal as
well. Remember when you are making du'a to
Allah that help us, oh Allah. Istighatha means,
oh Allah, we need your help. Istastaghithoonarabbakumfastajabalakum.
When you were constantly making du'a to Allah,
then Allah responded to your du'a. Notice, it's
a conditional clause.
Only when you continue to turn to Allah
and you continue to beg Allah for victory,
Allah then gave you victory. And this is
of course a constant theme, not just of
the entirety of Badr, the entirety of the
Sirah, and especially the Battle of Badr. We
learned one of the most iconic moments in
the battle of Badr, the night before, when
all of the sahaba were getting ready, and
they were mentally preparing, and they had to
also physically prepare, and so they forced themselves
to go to sleep because they have to
be physically fit. Aw baqarasudiqwoka
before Fajr to pray tahajjud, and he walked
outside, and he saw the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi
Wasallam with his hands raised high, having spent
the entire night in Tahajjud. He didn't sleep
the night before the Battle of Badr. Why?
Because he was preparing a different battle. His
battle was the battle of du'a. The entire
night, he was begging Allah, and Abu Bakr
as Siddiq heard him say, You Allah, if
you don't help us tomorrow, you will not
be worshiped on this earth anymore. You Allah,
we need your help. You Allah, help us
against the qaumal kafireen, the qaumal zalimeen, the
qaumal fasakeen.
And he had kept on raising his hands
until his shawl had fallen and his upper
body had no upper garment on it. And
Abu Bakr as Siddiq felt so much pity,
so much mercy. He leaned down. He picked
up the shawl. He put it over the
body of the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam,
and he gently pushed his hands down. And
he said, enough You RasulAllah,
Have mercy on yourself. Your Lord has heard
your prayer, and your Lord will answer your
dua. Abu Bakr as Siddiq felt so much
compassion, shafaqa, mercy that he said, Enough You
Rasulullah, get some rest before the battle. Allah
has heard your dua. But what does this
show? It shows us you have to beg
Allah, plead Allah, turn to Allah. Ittastareethoonarabbakum
When you were begging Allah for help, fastajabalakum
animumitukum
bi alfimillam laikati munzileen I promised you I
will send a 1,000 angels to help you.
Allah's miracle will come. Allah's help will come,
but you have to turn to him and
ask him and know that help comes from
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala. Also in the same
verse 45, 46, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala then
says, waati'irlaha
waati'irlaha
warrasoolah la allakum tufloon
Obey Allah and his messenger if you want
to be successful. Once again, notice in the
thick of the battle and Allah is saying,
you want Allah's help? Make sure your lifestyle
is in accordance with the Quran and sunnah.
Make sure you're obeying Allah and the messenger.
Make sure that you're not following your desires.
Make sure that the haram is haram and
the halal is halal. Make sure that your
life is in conformity with t with the
sharia, and not they're tripping and choosing what
is convenient for the sharia in your life.
So you want success right in the thick
of the battle. Allah reminds them,
waatiye'ilullah
Obey Allah and his messenger if you want
to be
successful. Also in Surat Al Anfal, one of
the powerful verses Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
You ayouallatheenaamanoo
O you who believe, istajeebu
lillahi walirasuli
idhaadaakumlimayyikum.
Hearken to the call of Allah and his
messenger when they're calling you to that which
will give you your life. Obey the command
of Allah and His messenger. When they call
you, what do they call you to? Anything.
Whatever they call you to do, listen to
that call. Obey that call. Respond to that
call. In responding to that call is your
own
life. Istajebu
lillahi walirasuli
idadaaakumlimayuriyikum
Respond to the call of Allah and the
call of his messenger
when they call you to that which will
give you your own life back. Your life
is meaningless
without obedience to Allah. Your life is spiritually
dead without servitude to Allah. You want to
feel spiritually
alive? You want to feel
the power of iman? Then turn to Allah
and his messenger, and you will find that
hayah. Also, verse number 46, walatanaza'oo
fatafshaloowatadhabariyyookum.
And do not differ amongst yourselves.
Do not fight amongst yourselves.
If you do so, you're gonna lose hope.
You're gonna get discouraged, and your riyyah, your
optimism will go away. This is a a
powerful, powerful message because in the battle of
Badr,
like in any circumstance, this is how weak
we are as human beings. A small issue
became bigger and bigger, and it was possible
for them to start bickering over each other.
But Alhamdulillah,
they managed to come together. And so Allah
reminded them, do not differ amongst yourselves. If
you do so, fatafshaloo,
you're gonna feel despair. You're gonna be divided.
Watadhabarihukum.
You know, the spirit, the riya. Literally, you
know, they say in English, the sail in
your, the the the the wind in your
sails. Literally, your optimism is gonna become deflated
if you start bickering amongst yourselves. And one
of the biggest problems we have today is
we are constantly fighting amongst ourselves. We are
constantly divided. We have no unity. We take
each others as enemies. And what is the
saddest thing is that this animosity
is the most amongst the religious folks. We
differ amongst the most petty issues amongst how
you pray or what you believe about this
aspect or some tiny aspect of theology or
fiqh or methodology.
And instead of understanding, we're all on the
same team. We start hating one another. Oh,
this guy
kafir. This guy's a muqtadir. This guy's a
reformist. This guy's this and that. La hawla
walaqoo it'salabillah.
Don't you understand
this disunity? Not only are you causing chaos
amongst ourselves, you are benefiting the enemies of
Islam. All Muslims fear Allah and listen to
the Quran. Walatanazaoo
Don't differ amongst yourselves. In this battle right
now, there's only 2 teams. There's the team
of Allah and his messenger, and there's the
team of Abu Jahl, and the and the
Quraysh, the Kuffar, those that are fighting Allah
and his messenger. There's only 2 teams. Choose
your team, and then ally with those on
your team. It's that simple. How can you
possibly be in in disagreement in this regard?
Do not differ over the most petty of
issues. Do not start double guessing and doubting
your Muslim brothers and sisters.
Walatanaza'oo.
Do not differ amongst yourselves. If you do
so, fatafshaloo,
you're gonna feel despair. Watadhabarihukum,
your optimism is gonna become deflated. You wanna
win? You have to be optimistic. You have
to have the best thoughts. In order to
do so, you must show a united front.
This is so important,
especially in the world we live in.
This ayah was revealed when the Prophet SallAllahu
Alaihi Wasallam was alive and they had him
in their midst. How much more so when
he's not here, then we have to try
our best to come together and be united
as it
as it one team. And then the final
point
of Qudba and again, so much can be
said but time is limited. Wasbiroo
innallaha ma'asabi.
The final advice we give, wasbiroo.
Be patient and Allah is with those who
are patient. Now, this is an interesting verse
because
patience implies
things happen that you didn't want to happen.
Patience implies you weren't given victory.
Patience implies you have to keep on pushing,
pushing, pushing.
Which
means victory will not come
immediately, which means you have to keep on
persevering
and do not give up. Wasbiroo
innallaha ma'asabeen
Allah explicitly says, you're not gonna be given
victory at the first beginning of the battle.
You're gonna have to keep on, keep on,
keep on, and eventually
those that are patient, they will taste victory.
These are but some of the many, many
blessings that we learn from the Sira and
from the Quran. And in the second khutbah,
I will talk about some generic spiritual blessings
we can learn from Surat Al Anfal. May
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala bless me and you
with and through the Quran, and may he
make us of those who is verses they
understand and applies halal and haram through our
other lifespan. Ask Allah's forgiveness. You as well
ask him for his Ghafoor and the Rahman.
Surat Al Anfal also has some spiritually motivating
lessons.
Surat Al Anfal teaches us so much
about our own attitude towards success, towards failure,
towards trust in Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala, towards
the reality of the battle between good and
evil. Of the verses that are so powerful
in this Surah, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says,
thalikum wa annallaha moohinu kaidil kaffireen
Know for sure, oh believers,
that Allah
will always weaken the plot of the enemies.
Wa annullaha'muhi
no kayidil kafireen.
The enemies might have so much power in
your mind. The illusion of power might be
there. You might think they control the media.
You might think they control superpowers. You might
think they have so much, but Allah is
on your side, and Allah works in ways
you don't understand, and Allah will debilitate, and
Allah will weaken their ranks from within their
own ranks.
Muhinu kayedil kaffireen
If you live up to your expectations,
Allah will work miracles on the other side,
and Allah Subhanahu Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala will bring
about an implosion in their own infrastructure, which
is exactly what happened in Badr and in
every single battle. Also, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala
reminds reminds us that walantugniyaan
kumfi'azukumshayin
walokathurad
Allah reminds us to, of the reality of
strength and of numbers. Allah says, all of
your
wealth and power and all of your numbers
will not benefit you no matter how many
you are. Walantuguniyaankumfiadukumshayanwalawkathurat Even if you're katheer, ankumfiadukumshay
and walawkathurat.
Even if you're katheer, it doesn't matter. Allahu
Akbar and Allahu Akhtar and Allah Azawajal doesn't
care how many you are. So, oh Muslim,
do not be dissuaded, do not be frightened
by the quantity
because Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala has said, it
doesn't matter how much they are, I will
help the believers.
And Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala reminds us in
the Quran, walla Never ever think those who
have rejected
Allah that you will win.
Allah will always
destroy your plot. Wallayasabanlariyna
kafaroosabahu
Those who reject Allah will never win. Allah
Azawajal
will always call them to task. Also, we
learned from the Surah that the goal is
to achieve peace. The goal is to have
an amicable solution. The goal is not bloodshed.
The goal is not violence. In Surat Al
Anfal Allah Subh'ana Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, wa
injana hooli salmi fajanah laha If they ask
you for peace, then you as well give
them peace. If they bring an end to
hostilities, then you as well bring an end
to hostilities. And Allah reminds us, you continue
to give da'wah to them, continue to negotiate.
We are not a religion of bloodshed. We
are not a religion of war. We simply
want peace for everybody as the prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam wanted in the battle of Badr
and with the Quraysh. And Allah Subhanahu Wa
Ta'ala says, kulllilladeena
kafarooinyantahu
yookfar Allahhummaqadd
Tell the people who rejected you, tell the
kuffar.
If they stop these hostilities,
if they allow you to live in peace,
then all they have done in the past
shall be forgiven.
All shall be forgiven. Inyantahu
yawfarlahu
maqadsalaf
wa inya oodu But if they persevere, but
if they persist, faqadammadat sunnatulawaleen
Show them what happened to the people in
the past. Show them the power of Allah.
Show them the lessons of history. This is
our methodology, oh believers. We learn from the
Sirah, we learn from the Quran, we learn
from the teachings of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi
Wasallam, and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala reminds us
constantly in the Quran, kataballahu
laaghlibannaanaanawarussoodi
Allah has decreed,
I shall always
be victorious along with my prophets. Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala says in the Quran, Allahuwali
yulatheenaamanoo
Allah is the protector of those who believes.
Allah says in the Quran, Innallaha yudafiroo
aniladheenaamanoo
Allah will defend against those who believe. This
is the constant theme. Do not be dissuaded
by the illusion of power on the other
side. Do not be dazzled by the illusion
of what they have on the other side.
Musa and Firaun, there was no competition in
power. The prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam in
the Quraysh, there was no competition in power,
but the one side had Allah and the
other side did not have Allah. And the
side of Allah will always win. Ala innahisballahihumulqhaliboon
Verily the side of Allah will always win.
This is the incontrovertible
rule. There are no exceptions to this rule.
You have to be on the side of
Allah. You have to do the best that
you can. You have to be the most
muttaqih, the most pious. You have to put
in the best plan. You have to put
in the best agenda. You have to have
the best goal, follow with the best methodology,
and then leave the rest to Allah. And
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta A'la will eventually,
always,
inevitably
give victory to the righteous and pious.
I'm making dua, make dua along with me.
Allahu manida'ainfaaminoo.
Allahu manataanafihadyomithambanilaghafartawalahhammanilafarajtawaladayin
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