Abdul Rahman Chao - 5-5-23

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Towards the end of the sixth year of the Hijri calendar, the Prophet ﷺ saw in a dream that he would enter Mecca performing the lesser pilgrimage known as Umrah. He saw himself entering Mecca.

He saw himself wearing the clothes of Ihram, the white two pieces of cloth that men have to wear. And the dreams of Prophets are not just mere visions, but they are true visions, prophecies, promises from Allah. Just like when Ibrahim ﷺ saw his dream about his son, that he was supposed to sacrifice him. But here the Prophet ﷺ in the sixth year, in Dhul-Qi'dah, he saw that he entered Mecca.

And so he prepared himself, he invited the companions, and the Bedouins in the surrounding areas of Medina who had become Muslim, not every one of them were able to join, but around 1400 of them left. And so they took with them travelers' swords, and their intention was to go and perform Umrah, and it was purely a peaceful mission. It was not to provoke the Quraysh, it was not to create any sort of disharmony, it was to go and perform Umrah.

And the role that the Quraysh had was twinfold. First, they were the enemies of the Prophet ﷺ, but number two, they were the historical custodians and guardians of the holy sanctuary in Mecca. So according to the rules of diplomacy back then, even if their enemies were to come to Mecca, they were to be given sanctuary, they were not to be prevented, they were to leave them alone, even if they were the Quraysh's enemies.

Why? Because the bayt of Allah, the Kaaba was for all. And this was a rule that was to be respected. So the Prophet ﷺ started marching, and as he got closer and closer to Mecca, the Meccans got word that the Prophet ﷺ was coming.

So they discussed it among themselves, and they realized that we will stop Muhammad ﷺ and the Muslims from entering. For the Quraysh, they had two difficult decisions, or two choices. If they allowed the Muslims and the Prophet ﷺ to enter Mecca, it would be an utter additional humiliation, because that means that their greatest enemy walked into Mecca unopposed.

In fact, just the year before, the Quraysh had assembled the largest army of confederates to come and attack the Prophet ﷺ in Medina, the battle of Al-Khandaq. And what happened? They lost miserably, and their reputation sunk. So now their main focus is we cannot let the Muslims come in.

So to keep it simple, the Prophet ﷺ sent ambassadors and emissaries, they also sent ambassadors and emissaries. In fact, the Prophet ﷺ sent Uthman bin Affan to negotiate, and there was even a rumor that Uthman was killed. And the laws of diplomacy, ambassadors are to be left alone.

But towards the very end, the Quraysh sent one man, Suhail bin Amr, to come and negotiate. And he had one deliverable, and that was, we cannot allow the Muslims to come before Umrah. So as they were writing the treaty, they began the treaty with, بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Suhail, he objected. He says, Rahman, Rahim, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful? No, we don't know this name for God. Ali bin Abi Talib was a scribe, he was not very happy with this change.

And so the Prophet ﷺ said, write بِسْمِكَ اللَّهُمَّ In the name of Allah. And then they started writing, this is a treaty between Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, and he objected. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.

Messenger of Allah? If we knew you're the Messenger of Allah, we would not have fought you. And so Muhammad ﷺ said to Ali, erase the clause, Rasulullah, Messenger of Allah. Just erase it.

Ali bin Abi Talib said, no. He felt that that was disrespectful to the Prophet ﷺ. So the Prophet ﷺ said, point it to me, show me where the word Rasulullah is. And the Prophet ﷺ with his blessed hands, he erased it.

So the Muslims are already feeling that they are getting the short end of the stick. So the terms of the agreement were as follows, there will be no war for 10 years. Any tribe that wishes to ally themselves with the Muslims may do so, and they will be under this protection of no war for 10 years.

So the Khuza'ah and the Banu Bakr, one of them joined the Quraysh, and the other one joined the Muslims. So the Khuza'ah, I believe, joined the Muslims, and Banu Bakr joined the Quraysh. That was the second one.

But perhaps the two most difficult things that they agreed on, which many of the Muslims felt that this was unfair, was that they were not allowed to perform the Umrah. They had to turn back and go back. So they could come back the following year and only stay for three days.

But that any Muslim who wanted to leave Islam and leave Medina and join the Quraysh in Mecca, they were free to do so. However, if a Muslim left Mecca to join the Muslims in Medina, they would be prevented from doing so, and they would be extradited back to Mecca. So for many of the companions, they thought, how is this a fair agreement? This is not fair.

They get to take their people back, but we can't have our Muslims from Mecca come to us. And the Prophet ﷺ tried to explain to his companions, if we have someone in our community that doesn't want to be a part of our community, they want to go and join the Meccans, good riddance. That's actually very smart.

Good riddance, let them go. We don't want them in our ranks. In fact, as the treaty was signed, Abu Jandal, the son of Suhail ibn Amr, he came and he had escaped Mecca hoping to join the Muslims.

And the Prophet ﷺ had to turn him back. And he said, Ya Rasulallah, you are going to turn me back to my enemies? But the Prophet ﷺ had an agreement. Umar ibn al-Khattab was livid.

He went to the Prophet ﷺ, he said, you are the messenger of Allah? The Prophet ﷺ said, yes. He says, we are on the truth, and they are upon falsehood. He said, yes.

So why are we giving in and compromising? The Prophet ﷺ says, Allah is my Lord, and I will not disobey Him, and He will guide me. It wasn't until much later, after the treaty was signed, that the fruits of this treaty came to the forefront. And that was, see the Meccans thought that if they shut the Muslims down and send them back to Medina, that this was their main goal, that this is a victory.

No. But because now, the Meccans were not allowed to harm the Muslims, the Prophet ﷺ was able to dedicate his entire time, unobstructed, unhindered, in calling the tribes and the four nations to Islam. So at that moment he had 1400, but during the conquest of Mecca, three years later, their numbers swelled to 10,000.

Brothers and sisters, this story is an excellent example of how sometimes we go through life and we experience difficulties. And we see just from the outside, from the surface, oh, this is not very good. We don't actually think through it and realize that there could be some good from it.

Umar bin Khattab, he says, that for the rest of his life, he felt such regret that he had initially questioned why this treaty was being signed. And he said, I was continuously fasting and praying to repent, to ask Allah for forgiveness, because he thought that this was a bad deal. But in fact, it was a good deal, as Allah says:

Verily, we have given you a great victory.

أقول قولي هذا أستغفر الله الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى أهله وصحبه أجمعين أبعاد

Trusting Allah's Wisdom in Difficult Decisions

As we go through life, you will find many difficult challenges that come to you. Should we do this? Should we not do this? Should I marry this person? Should I not marry this person? Should I apply for this job? Should I not apply for this job? Should I go ahead with buying this house? Or should I not go ahead buying this house? Should I pull my child out and take them to this other school? Decisions, decisions. Part of life of being an adult.

Nothing surprising. But how do we know when something is actually good for us versus something that might not be good for us? Brothers and sisters, before we talk about how we should deal with it, we have to understand that sometimes we have to sit back and realize that maybe Allah doesn't give us something because we're not ready for it. Whether it is our physical strength or because of our mental capability or even for our own iman.

Abu Dard radiallahu anhu asked the Prophet ﷺ, Ya Rasulullah, can you appoint me to a position so you can use my services for the Muslim community? And the Prophet ﷺ said, No. You are a weak individual. Your personality is weak.

It's not that he was making fun of him, but he was saying for leadership you have to have a strong personality. And so sometimes Allah doesn't give us certain things because we're not in a strong position. We're not meant for it.

We're not ready for it. Additionally, sometimes brothers and sisters, Allah doesn't give us certain things that we think is good for us but maybe it's not actually good for us yet is because we're rushing the process. Prophet ﷺ says in a hadith that your duas are all answered as long as you don't rush.

As long as you don't say, دعوت و دعوت فلم يستجب لي and it was not answered.

The Example of Musa's Protection

Brothers and sisters, when we look at the life of Musa ﷺ, Allah told his mother to put him in a basket and send him down the Nile to protect him from Pharaoh. On the surface level we'll think, how is putting an infant in a basket down the Nile river, a river that flows very fast, full of crocodiles, how is this actually safe? He's gonna drown.

But Allah knew that the way to protect Musa ﷺ is that this basket is going to end up at the palace and that the wife of Pharaoh is going to bring him in. And that as you read the life of Musa ﷺ, as you read his upbringing in the palace and later how he comes back and he confronts Pharaoh, his foster dad, to confront him face to face for the crimes that he has done in oppressing the Bani Israel, the children of Israel. It was only possible because Allah placed and prepared Musa ﷺ in a very special way.

The Right Mindset for Decision Making

Brothers and sisters, we have to be able to understand that there are certain things out there that are good for us and certain things that are not good for us. And we might not, I'm not talking about the halal and haram, that's obvious. But when we have to make a certain decision, how do we know if something is good or not? Number one, you have to have the right mindset, that Allah يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ Allah knows and you don't know.

You have to submit that to Allah. And number two, you have to think good about Allah. If you're constantly thinking, oh, is Allah going to punish me? Is Allah going to set me into this position where I'm going to fail? Or maybe I'm going to not succeed? You have to think good about Allah as the Prophet ﷺ says in a Hadith Qudsi that Allah says, I am the way how my servant perceives me to be. So if you're in front of a situation where you feel that this doesn't feel right, ask Allah for help. Think good about Allah.

The Example of Ibn Taymiyyah

Additionally, brothers and sisters, you look at a good example of this is Ibn Taymiyyah. You know Ibn Taymiyyah lived one of the scholars of the past, a major scholar.

And he said a very famous quote when he was being oppressed by the rulers, etc. What did he say? He said, what are my enemies going to do? What are they going to do to me? My garden and my paradise is in my heart. Wherever I go, this paradise is with me.

If they exile me, then it is a time, it is an opportunity for me to travel. If they lock me up, it is khulwah. It is a time for me to seek seclusion and worship Allah.

And if they decide to execute me, then it is martyrdom. So during those difficult times, see the silver lining. See the benefits that are there that Allah has placed in front of you.

Allah Always Gives Something Better

Finally, brothers and sisters, know that Allah will always give you something that is better. Because you don't know where the good is. Like the story of Umm Salama when her husband died after the battle, and she had no one left, and she didn't know who else she should marry.

She didn't know that the Prophet ﷺ would end up marrying her. In fact, the Prophet ﷺ taught us of a dua that she used to read:

We belong to Allah, and to Allah do we return. Oh Allah, reward me. Give me reward for my patience in this calamity that I have, and give me something better.

The Prayer of Istikhara

The last point I would want to instruct all parents, and for all individuals to practice, is to learn the dua of istikhara. صلاة الاستخارة This dua, the Prophet ﷺ teaches us word for word in Bukhari. And you can look it up. دعاء or صلاة الاستخارة It means to seek Allah's counsel.

In other words, you are seeking Allah's help. So whenever you want to make a decision, what should you do? You should read this dua. And the wording is, Oh Allah, I'll keep it short, Oh Allah, I seek your counsel through your knowledge, and I seek your assistance through your might, بقدرتك وأسألك من فضلك العظيم And I ask you from your immense favor, فإنك تقدر ولا أقدر For you ordain and I do not ordain.

وتعلم ولا أعلم And you know and I don't know. وأنت علام الغيوب And you know all the knowledge of the unseen. Oh Allah, if this matter is good for me, in my deen and in my dunya, then will it for me and bring it to me.

And if this thing is not good for me in my deen or in my dunya, then keep me away from it and keep it away from me. And make me pleased with whatever you have decreed. And decree for me the goodness or decree for me goodness wherever it comes.

Practice this dua, seek Allah's counsel, and so that way you will be able to know how to make difficult decisions.