Zia Sheikh – Optimism shown Prophet peace be upon him
AI: Summary ©
The speaker discusses the importance of staying positive and not losing hope in difficult situations, as it is crucial to not become negative and leave the country. They emphasize the need to become involved in the larger society and register for Islam, as it is crucial to learn from the Prophet's principles and become effective in advancing Islam. The speaker also mentions the importance of doing things that will benefit the future.
AI: Summary ©
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, he showed
optimism at this very difficult time.
And what was that optimism?
It's summed up in a hadith in which
the Sahaba came and said to the Prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, this hadith is in
Bukhari, narrated by Jabir radiallahu ta'ala anhum,
that they came to him and said, Ya
Rasulallah, there's this big rock that we cannot
move while we're digging the trench.
It's huge and we cannot move it.
So the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said,
I'm going to get down into the ditch
and I'm going to dig myself.
And he picked up the axe or the
pickaxe and he started breaking this rock.
Barah radiallahu ta'ala anhum, he says, this
is a different riwayah which talks about the
same thing.
He says, When
we were digging this trench, a huge rock
was presented to us.
It came to us and the pickaxes that
we had, it could not do anything with
this rock.
We complained about that to the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam.
He came to it and he took up
this tool, this instrument, this pickaxe to start
digging himself.
He started with Bismillah.
And he hit this rock.
He said, I've been given the keys of
the Syrian Empire.
Sham refers to Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, all of
these areas there, known as Bilad al-Sham.
Now a person who uses his sense and
logic, he thinks to himself that this man,
he has two stones tied to his stomach.
And all of the people around him are
starving.
The cold is severe.
We think that our lives are going to
end.
And yet, he is giving us dreams of
conquering Sham.
This was the optimism that the Prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam gave to the Sahaba.
That at this very difficult time, they should
not lose hope.
He says, I've been given the keys of
Sham.
And I swear by Allah, I'm seeing its
red palaces right in front of me right
now.
Then he hit it another time.
And another piece of the rock broke off.
I've been given the keys of Faris, the
Persian Empire.
And I'm seeing its white palaces right in
front of me right now.
Then he hit it a third time.
He did with Bismillah.
And the rest of the rock, it broke
off.
I've been given the keys of Yemen.
The keys of Yemen have been given to
me.
I can see the gates of Sana'a.
Right in front of me right now.
So again, he gave the people optimism.
He remained optimistic.
He showed optimism.
He showed people to remain positive.
Not to have a negative attitude.
But to look forward.
And to do what they could in advancing
the cause of Islam in this world.
So, the summary of the story is, my
dear brothers and sisters, and the lessons that
we learn from this surah are that in
these very difficult times, we should not become
like the hypocrites in terms of losing hope
and having a negative attitude.
Rather, we should remain positive.
And we should do all that we can
to advance the cause of Islam in this
country.
And one of the things that we need
to do is become involved in the larger
society.
Not just become introverts and remain within ourselves,
but become involved in the larger society.
In forms of giving dawah.
In forms of getting involved in the electoral
process.
Registering to vote.
Voting.
And making sure that we make our voice
heard in the outside system.
And unless and until we do that, we
will continue to get the short end of
the stick.
And continue to be oppressed.
And our voices will never be heard.
So, this is the attitude that we should
have in these difficult times.
Not that we should shrink into our shell
or run away and leave the country.
This is not what Islam is about.
Islam is about standing up to your principles
and learning from the seerah of the Prophet.
This is what we need to learn.
This is not what we need to put
into practice.
I pray that Allah SWT protects us.
Allah SWT gives us leadership.