Yasir Qadhi – The Responsibilities of American Muslims In Light of The Gaza Genocide
AI: Summary ©
The recent terrorist attack on Muslims in the United States is a result of the Prophet SallGeneration tucked away. The importance of calling for higher values and avoiding suffering and bloodshed is emphasized. Personal victory, including faith and ethics, is also emphasized. The importance of not letting things happen to people and finding your own way to change is emphasized. The Sharia's stance on American foreign policy is also discussed, and advice is given on learning from history and finding your own way to change.AI: Transcript ©
Dear Muslims,
the events of this last week
have been so traumatizing for all of us
that I know that many of us do
not even want to watch the news.
The sheer level of evil,
the depravity,
the justification
of the onslaught and massacre
of now almost 50,000
innocent civilians.
Wallahi, we thought it would not get any
worse, but it looks like from some aspects,
it has gotten worse.
And what especially
pains us
living in this land
is that it is obvious that it is
our own government
that is supporting
and enabling this genocide,
excusing it, justifying it, and the blatant
a
It is at times like this
that we must channel our emotions
into knowledge.
We cannot act only based upon emotion.
We must channel that emotion
and learn from our tradition.
And so in today's brief khutba,
I want to look at some of what
is happening in light of the seerah of
the prophet salallahu alayhi wasallam And to extract
benefits from the seerah, to act as guiding
lights, to act as a role model,
a complete program about how we should take
comfort and solace in the very best role
model that Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala sent down
to us. And that is the Prophet SallAllahu
Alaihi Wasallam.
O Muslims, we learn from the Sirah.
We learn from the Sirah that life is
full of calamities,
that tragedies are a part and parcel of
iman,
that the more beloved you are to Allah,
the more difficult this life will be. If
anybody
would have had an easy life because of
their iman, it would be our Prophet SallAllahu
Alaihi Wasallam.
But Allah tested him, and Allah tested him,
and Allah tested him. Allah tested him in
his persona. He was physically assaulted.
Assassination
attempts, Allah tested him in his family. Allah
tested him amongst his children. He lost 6
of his children in his lifetime. Allah tested
him with poverty. Allah tested him with war.
Allah tested him in every single manner.
So from the seerah we learn that just
because life becomes difficult,
it does not mean Allah has abandoned you.
On the contrary,
on the contrary,
perhaps it is because Allah loves you that
He is testing you to raise your ranks.
And when the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam felt
down, Allah said to him, Mawadaakarabukaomaqala
walalakhiratokhairulaka
mina'ula.
Your Lord has neither abandoned you nor has
He shown you any anger, but be optimistic.
The future will be better than the past.
This is what Allah told our Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam. Salam. From the seerah, we learn.
From the seerah, we learn that religion
is not just about theology. It's not just
about preaching aqeedah.
It's not just about prayer and ritual. From
the seerah, we learn that activism
for noble causes is a part and parcel
of this religion. In the earliest phase in
Makkah, when Makkah was immersed in many jahili
practices,
the prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam was at the
forefront, teaching them to not bury their daughters
alive, teaching them that racism was wrong, teaching
them that honesty was a virtue. So we
take solace from this that we must do
something
regardless of what is going on. Our religion
also has values we need to propagate.
Remember, when the Muslims were being persecuted, they
were being tortured to death. Ja'far migrated to
Abyssinia. And he said to the Najashi, he
said to the nigas summarizing
the teachings of Islam, he said, Allah sent
us a prophet who commanded us to speak
the truth. He commanded us to honor our
promises. He commanded us to be kind to
our relatives. He commanded us to be good
to our neighbors. He told us to not
do anything wrong, to abstain from immorality, to
abstain from bloodshed, obscenities,
and false witness, and to not take orphans'
property.
Understand. When is he summarizing Islam in this
manner of ethical code? When the Muslims are
being tortured to death
and Ja'far
summarizes Islam in a code of ethics and
laws. Regardless of what is happening, we have
the opportunity
to call people to our higher faith, to
call people to nobility and virtue. And we
always utilize, no matter how difficult life becomes,
we must always continue to call to those
higher values. No matter how much pain, how
much bloodshed we see, there is still a
message that is a responsibility
on our backs that we convey to mankind.
So regardless of what is happening, in fact,
especially because of what is happening, it is
even more imperative
that we call mankind to the beauty of
our faith, to the higher nobility of our
virtues and ethics. We remind them of what
it means to be a worshiper of
From the seerah, we learn
that hatred
drives people absolutely
blind. The people of Makkah turned against the
Muslims,
brother torturing brother, father torturing son. We have
so many examples
of such cruel torture in early Makkah, and
the people doing it were the blood relatives
upon those whom they did it upon. How
much more so than when they are not
blood related? From the Sira, we learn that
even mothers and children were separated. Umme Salama,
who was married to Abu Salam at the
time, they forcibly separated her child from her.
They forcibly snatched the child, dislocated her arm,
and would not allow the child to be
with umma salama. That's the nature of depravity
and hatred. Don't be surprised when you see
similar hatred later on. It is the sunnah
of Allah that people who don't fear Allah,
they have a loathing and a a hatred
for the religious people. This is the reality
we learn from the Seerah. From the Seerah,
we learn that our Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
utilized any and all tactics that were permissible.
He didn't just sit and do nothing. We
learned that he argued. We learned that he
negotiated.
We learned that whatever was at his disposal
at at times, he would go to other
leaders in Makkah to argue against Abu Lahab,
to argue against Abu Jahl. This is a
type. We can call it a type of
lobbying in between the elites of Makkah. And
the example of this when he returned from
Ta'if, when Abu Lahab put a blockade on
him, Abu Lahab did not allow him to
go. The prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam negotiated
with other leaders to make intercession. He went
to the other leaders of the tribes to
allow him to get back into Makkah. So
we see from the Sirah, there's a whole
array of tactics. And the default, as I've
said over and over again, anything that is
halal is permissible. So we learn from the
Sira that we need to look at what
we can do to help the oppressed, what
we can do given our situation
and time. We learn from the Sira, o
Muslims,
that difficulty
is not going to be gotten rid of
except after pain and suffering. Fa inna al
usri usra. There must be the usr, and
then the usr comes. We learn from the
seerah that in the process,
before victory is achieved,
not everybody will see that victory. There were
many of the Sahaba who lost their lives
in early Makkah, in the end of Makkah.
Before the conquest of Makkah, there were many
Sahaba who lost their lives. None of them
are losers. They're all winners.
None of them are failures. They have all
succeeded.
We might not see success, but as long
as we give our 100%,
as long as we try our best to
bring about a better situation,
that is our victory. Our personal victory is
what is important. As for the communal victory,
it will come, but I might not see
it. You might not see it. The communal
victory for sure will come, and the people
that are being persecuted for sure will be
free. But the point is we to whether
we see that or not is not our
personal victory. Our personal victory, did we contribute?
Did we do something to try to change
the situation? From the Sira, we learn, oh
Muslims, that during
times of difficulty, during times of trial,
turning to Allah
and be understanding the wisdom of the hereafter
and consoling yourself about the existence of the
day of judgment, it helps you to placate
your anger. So many verses in the Quran,
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala tells the people in
Makkah, wait until Allah's command comes. Wait until
the day of judgment comes. Ask yourselves why.
Why is Allah telling the Muslims of Makkah,
tarabbasu,
go ahead and wait because that anger, it
needs a way out. And the way out
is you remind yourself, there is something called
yawma deen, yawmaal kayama. There is something called
Allah's hisaab. Ab. There is something called judgment
day, and every vaniem, and every tyrant, and
every killer, and everyone who has done so
much dul, we will see on that day
in public,
every one of us will see Allah's
exacting of justice, and that will bring a
sense of joy and peace. This world will
never
justice. This world will never bring back those
that have been massacred, the children that have
been starved, the hospitals that have been bombed,
the universities that no longer exist, the mothers
that had become widows, and they see their
children massacred in front of their eyes. Who
can bring them comfort in this dunya? No
one. So we placate
ourselves, Allah is Malik almulk, and Allah is
rabul aalameen, and Allah is watching, and Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala Ta'ala will ask as Allah
says in the Quran that on that day,
the mawdhatusu'ilat
bi ayatham bin qutilal That little child that
was killed, Allah will resurrect her. She will
be in a happy state, a blissful state,
and Allah will say, what who killed you,
and why were you killed? And that child
will point to the one who killed, and
Allah will exact revenge. This is why we
believe in judgment day. This is why we
have a sense of comfort that Allah Subhanahu
Wa Ta'ala will deal with the Valiums and
the tyrants. But in this dunya, the seerah
teaches us, we don't just sit back and
let them know we have to do whatever
is within our disposal, whatever is within our
means that is halal and that is noble.
We must do this. And in doing so,
we will channel our anger. We will channel
our emotion and rage, and we will turn
it into activity to do something. May Allah
Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala bless me and you with
and through the Quran. And may he make
us of those who as verses they understand
and applies halal and haram throughout our lifespan.
I ask Allah's forgiveness. You as well ask
him for his Dhighafoor and the Rahman.
One of the very awkward questions that comes
up.
And unfortunately, in a Khutba, I cannot give
it justice, but I need to verbalize it
in front of the public, and I need
to begin a response. And insha Allah, maybe
in other lectures, we can talk about it
in more detail. And I wanna say as
well, especially for the youth in our in
my masjidin community, that I'm always available for
you. Please come to me. I have office
hours. I am a part of your community.
Those that are watching online, go to your
scholars and ask these awkward questions, and make
sure you understand
Islamic wisdom and don't act upon emotion. What
is the awkward question? The awkward question, and
it has been asked of me by our
or by our own youth. The awkward question
is, is it ethical for us to remain
in this land? Is it halal for us
to be here when our country and our
taxes are doing what they are doing? And
even more difficult questions about what is permitted
and what is not permitted that I'm not
gonna verbalize over here. But we saw this
cycle 20 years ago when this country of
ours, which we love in some aspects and
hate in other aspects. And we say this
loudly and clearly. There are positives in this
country and there are negatives. 20 years ago,
this country falsely invaded Iraq and Afghanistan and
spent 1,000,000,000,000 of dollars, and 1,000,000 of lives
were lost, and they did this and they
did that, and Guantanamo,
and all of that happened. And back then
as well, groups rose up, and many of
our youth were flirting with the idea, should
we join those groups or not? And my
message has always been consistent in this regard,
and that is we are opposed to the
policies of this country. And we say that
American foreign policy is a disaster of the
highest magnitude, and we say more people have
been massacred by our foreign policy than any
any of these acronyms and groups all combined.
But still, the Sharia teaches us that we
take that anger and we channel it with
wisdom in a manner that is permissible. We
don't do something that will bring harm to
innocence, and there are innocent people in all
of this equation. And we don't do something
that will result in a worse harm than
the harm that we are in. We must
act with wisdom. It is not as simplistic
as once upon a time George W Bush
said, you're either with us or against us.
This is not the Islamic methodology. It is
not the Quranic methodology. It is not the
in
also be against acts of violence against innocent
people. Both of these are not mutually exclusive,
and this is my path that I've been
consistently
I this is a question you have to
think about. I cannot answer it for you,
what you should do or not do in
terms of living or not living here. But
I will give you some generic guidelines. The
sirrah teaches us. The sirrah teaches us that
some people did migrate from Makkah. But when
did they migrate? Did they migrate because Makkah
was evil? Did they migrate because there was
Fahisha? Did they migrate because they were living
in a culture and society in which Muslims
were being persecuted and tortured? Don't forget,
Ammar ibn Yasir, Yasir and Sumayyah Bilal. So
many Muslims, they were tortured. Some of them
lost their lives. And the Muslims living in
Mecca, in the end of the day, they're
a part of that society. And therefore, whether
one likes my saying this or not, they
are in some sense living amongst people that
are contributing to the Islamophobic environment that was
there. That is the reality. In fact, even
when the prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam migrated
to Madinah, and there was an Islamic state,
and jihad had been legislated.
We have incidents where the prophet, salallahu alaihi
wa sallam, realized he couldn't do anything. Of
them is the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. Of them,
the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah,
When Abu Jandal who had been tortured almost
to death, the scars were on his body
and he jumped into the army of the
Muslims. He jumped amongst the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi
Wasallam. He said, You Rasulullah,
save me. The Quraysh are torturing me. But
the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam had a treaty
of Hudaybiyah,
and he tried his best. He pleaded,
he begged with, with Suhayl ibn Amr, let
him give him one person. But Suhayl refused
and said, No, I'm not going to do
this. And so the prophet shalallahu alaihi wa
sallam was not able to help. Abu Jandil,
a month later fled from Makkah, made his
way all the way to Madinah, and still
the prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam did not hand
him back, but he didn't allow him to
remain as well. He realized he has a
treaty to uphold, and this is the awkward
reality that needs to be said here. Allah
tells us in the Quran, look it up,
oh Muslims. Surah Anfal verse 87. Surah Anfal
verse 87.
Wanistan salukum fiddeen. If fellow Muslims ask you
to help them against an invasion by non
Muslims, if they ask you in the name
of the religion, help us. Give us naser,
faalaykumun
nasr You must help them. This is the
general rule. The Ummah is one body, but
then Allah makes an exception.
Illa alaqawmin
baynaqumwabaynahummithaq
Unless they're asking you against another nation, another
tribe, you have a treaty with them. In
that case, Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala allows you
to not and you cannot break the treaty.
And if you want to break the treaty,
Allah says we cannot surprise break. Allah says
in the Quran,
wa'immataha fundamentqawminqhiyanatan
fumbit ilayhim aala sawa If you fear that
a contract is gonna be broken by a
treachery, then you must announce that you're breaking
the treaty. You cannot pretend to have a
treaty and then be treacherous. Why am I
saying this? Because I say loudly and clearly,
our heart is with ghazah. Our towns, it
was is with ghazah. We criticize,
we completely castigate, we completely say our country's
guilty of genocide,
but still every one of us who has
citizenship,
every one of us who has a visa,
we must abide by the conditions of that.
Islamically, we must. And that means we are
not allowed to physically harm other people. We're
not allowed to do anything that will go
against the general, in Arabic it's called aad.
And our passport and our visa is a
type of ahad. When we say this, we
are not enabling and supporting war criminals, astaghfirullah.
We are supporting Islamic principles as found in
the Sirah, as demonstrated in the treaty of
Hudaybiyyah, as demonstrated in Surat Al Anfaat and
places, we have no choice. Our hearts hate
it. Our tongues speak against it, but our
hands are tied, and we obey the law
of the land, and we do not bring
about harm to innocent people. Now as for
living or not living, I say to you
very clearly, it is not obligatory
to live in any one land. So if
you really want to go live somewhere else,
it is up to you. The one allegiance
we have is to Allah. Every other allegiance,
it is conditional. So I say this without
any shame, without any,
Mujammal if you wanna say that we do
not owe our allegiance to any nation state
unconditionally. Alhamdulillah,
I
I am somebody who can live in any
land. And alhamdulillah,
I have many places to go to, but
I have chosen to live here. Why? Because
my reading of the Sira, and I could
be wrong in this, my reading of the
Sira, we don't just look at the negative,
we look at the potential for positive.
We don't just look at the evil. We
look at the effects of positive we can
do. And in my humble opinion,
the fact that we are in this land,
an Americans,
the fact that this is our country,
we can achieve a positive
that no other community can achieve.
We can bring about an influence that is
legal, that is ethical, that is shari, that
is constitutional.
And I've said this multiple times. This isn't
some secret agenda. This isn't preaching some radical
jihad, radical sharia. I am telling you to
understand your responsibilities
as American citizens,
to understand your civic duty in shaping the
law of this land and the foreign policy
of this land. This is not some hidden
agenda. This is the essence of being an
American citizen. And we are the only people,
American Muslims, who have that potential and power.
So I say in my humble assessment, where
will you run away to? Which country is
less guilty? Wallahi so many of our own
Muslim countries, I cannot mention names here. They
are even more guilty than what our own
country is doing. And it hurts even more
because they're Muslims are supposed to know better.
Where will you run away to? What will
you do? So I am telling you, this
is my personal suggestion.
Don't just jump based upon emotion. Think logically.
Think 10 steps ahead. And don't just look
at the negative. Look at the potential for
positive.
I say bluntly,
you should be angry, you should be ashamed.
Wallahi, it is disgusting that even a small
percentage of my taxes goes over there. So
when you give taxes, I've said, you should
make your niyyah. Oh Allah, my niyyah is
my taxes are going for the roads, for
the health services. My niyyah is my taxes
are are not going for foreign policy. You
should and you must make that intention because
we don't want our taxes to go there.
But still, we look at the positives. What
can we do? And do you know what,
oh, Muslims?
Every single week, the percentage of the next
generation that is changing its mind is increasing.
I just looked at the surveys from last
week.
80%
of Americans
under the age of 35
have sympathies with the Palestinian people. 80%.
Do you not realize our government, the elites,
the powers are becoming paranoid and fanatical.
They're banning TikTok. Do you wanna know why
they're banning TikTok? Because TikTok is changing the
minds of the next generation. So they're introducing
legislation.
They have the most bizarre legislations
that are actually going against the first amendment.
They're losing track of reality. It is a
sign of desperation.
Wallahi, our hearts are bleeding because of the
deaths of the Palestinians.
At the same time, we see frustration
and desperation from the elites. We see on
the other side, the table is turning and
they know it. And I say, Alhamdulillah
thummalhamdulillah.
It is obvious that maybe, maybe the apartheid
regime might win the small battle. Maybe, but
they have lost the
war. Globally, they have lost the war. They
have lost the support of the majority, if
not all of mankind. Kind, and our one
country is left standing. All of the EU,
all of the other countries, they've withdrawn. It's
only our country. So this is the time
to become active. This is the time to
tip over. This is the time to do
whatever you can. We are the only Muslim
community in the world that has the legal
and civil rights to change from within. And
you wanna abandon and go somewhere else. No.
Wallahi no. My advice to you I'm not
saying it's wajib. My advice to you as
somebody
who really does read and understand and think
it's my humble suggestion, take that anger, take
that guilt, and channel it to activism, to
social media, to changing the hearts and minds.
Eighty percent, we wanna make it 100%. That's
your goal. We wanna make it 100%.
So go do that. Find your colleagues
It takes many, many years. Even the process
of them took 23 years. You think me
and you are gonna do it any faster?
Even the process of them took it took
2 decades to the conquest of Makkah. And
of course, this is just from the seerah.
We're gonna learn from history. It's more than
this. So bottom line, yes wallahi, it's awkward.
Our hearts are very hurt, but then it
should motivate us. What did our prophet sallallahu
alaihi wasallam say? Whoever amongst you sees evil,
try to change it with your hand. What
did he say then? If you cannot do
so. Okay. We cannot do it. We cannot
change it with our hands. He gave us
a way out. If you cannot do so,
change it with your tongue.
This is what we can do. It is
our constitutional right to do so. That alhamdulillah,
we have those freedoms. So go ahead and
use the tongue that Allah has given you.
Use the pen, use the social media, and
do your best to help our brothers and
sisters because insha Allah, the victory is close.
Oh, Muslims, we learned from the Sirah
that sincerity to Allah is the most precious
commodity.
We learned from the Sira that worshiping Allah
is the most satisfying nourishment during times of
trouble and calamity. We learned from the Sira
that adversity
only increases the piety of the pious. We
learned from the Sira that victory only comes
to those who are tested and will
always
will always be victorious in the end. Allah
has promised this, kataballahu
laaghlibannaanaana
wa rusuli.
Allah has decreed that I shall always be
winner and my prophets, meaning everyone who follows
Allah and the prophets. So we learn from
the Sirah. Victory is for the believers. Let
us be with the believers and let us
learn from the Sirah and follow the footsteps
of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. And from
the Seerah, we shall always continue to learn.
Allahu ma'inida'infaaminoo
Allahuma latagrafihiyamidhaminillaga
farta
Allahum Mansuruhuwananafifalastin
Allahum Mansuruhu
youyaaziz
Ubad Allahinna Allahu ta'alaamr
Allahumasalli wa salamwabarakwaanaimmalaabdikurasulika
Muhammad wa'alaalihiwasahibijma'in,
Ibadullahinnaallahu
ta'alaya
Related Episodes
- Sulaimaan Ravat – Sahaba Profile – Asma bint abi bakr {RA} Part 2
- Yaser Birjas – The Value Of Good Speech In Islam March 6th 2012
- Karim Abuzaid – Why did we get Corona Virus & what can Muslims do to save themselves
- Hatem al-Haj – Fiqh of Transactions #24 – Book on Endowments
- Yahya Ibrahim – Guidebook to God #06 – The armor of piety
- Mirza Yawar Baig – Reminders Test Part 3
- Khalid Yasin – Fighting The Enemy Within 001