Abdul Rahman Chao - Standing Up for the Oppressed

Ibn Hisham's seerah narration tells of a very interesting incident in which a man from Iraq came to Mecca with camels to sell them. Abu Jahl, one of the most ardent haters and enemies towards Islam and to the Prophet ﷺ and to the companions and to the believers, bought some of the camels from this man and promised him that he would pay him back at a certain time and date. But did Abu Jahl pay him back? The answer is no.

Whenever this man came to ask for payment, Abu Jahl would just dismiss him and not give him his rights. "I'll give it to you later, I'll give it to you later." You hear this story so often from those who are owed money - some of them don't have the means to do so yet, or they're trying to finagle their way out. Here it is, Abu Jahl finagling his way out.

So this man came to the majlis of the Quraysh and asked, looking at all the heads of the Quraysh: "Who here will give me victory to get my money owed by Abu Jahl? Who's going to help me get this money back?"

During that time, the Quraysh knew that Muhammad ﷺ and Abu Jahl were at odds. Abu Jahl was always trying to persecute the Muslims and the Prophet ﷺ. Yes, the Prophet ﷺ was known for his honesty and to stand up for the truth and speaking truth to power, but they didn't ask this man to go to Muhammad ﷺ because of that. They actually wanted to provoke a fight between Abu Jahl and Muhammad ﷺ. So they pointed and said, "Go ask that man" - and it was Muhammad ﷺ sitting off to the side in Masjid Al Haram.

That man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, "This is the situation: Abu Jahl owes me this amount of money and he refuses to give it back to me." The Prophet ﷺ heard his story, walked with him, and came all the way to the house of Abu Jahl. Abu Jahl was inside, as always like a coward. When you look at the history of all these oppressors, they are nothing but cowards. They prey on the weak and on the oppressed - like Firaun, like Abu Jahl, like Abu Lahab.

The Prophet ﷺ knocked on Abu Jahl's door. Abu Jahl asked, "Who is it?" Muhammad ﷺ says, "It is Muhammad. Come out." Abu Jahl opens the door, and at that moment the Prophet ﷺ says, "Give this man his right."

When Abu Jahl saw Muhammad ﷺ and his demand, the books tell us that Abu Jahl's face had turned pale white and he was in severe panic and fear. He said, "Hold here, don't let him leave until I go and bring him his right" - in other words, right away. Abu Jahl went into the back of his house, brought the money out, and gave it to the man.

Later on, the Quraysh heard about this and they said, "We have never seen you capitulate like this before. What happened? How is it that you didn't want to pay him and suddenly Muhammad ﷺ goes and asks for it and you just willingly, submissively give the money to the man?"

He said, "You do not know what had occurred. When I heard his voice, a deep sense of fear overcame me. When I opened the door, I had witnessed this huge camel that you didn't see - this huge camel with this ferocious look and teeth that was ready to strike and bite me and attack me."

Now of course, this vision that Abu Jahl had was من دلائل النبوة - it is from the miracles of the Prophet ﷺ. In this time and age, when we see so much oppression going on in the world, we cannot expect that we will have some sort of ferocious camel behind us that will scare our enemies. No, but we have something infinitely more scary, and that is Allah. Never forget that.

Standing Up for the Oppressed

This narration of the Prophet ﷺ teaches us not only about the cowardice of the oppressors, but standing up for those who are being oppressed. The Prophet ﷺ was with his companions and his companions were listening, and he said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2444)

"Give victory, help your brother, oppressor or oppressed."

فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ - So a companion said to the Prophet ﷺ: "If he is oppressed, yes I can help him, but if he is the oppressor - if he is the one who is oppressing others - how am I giving him victory? How am I supposed to help him? In other words, why should I help him?"

The Prophet ﷺ says that you prevent him from doing his oppression, and that is to give victory to him. So you might wonder what does it mean to give victory to the oppressor? It means that you stop him, that you say something, that you physically prevent them if you are capable of, if no extra harm shall come to you. This is the legacy of the Prophet ﷺ.

The Power of Dua

We are thousands and thousands of miles away from those who are being oppressed, and we feel weak, we feel helpless, we feel almost guilty of our inability to do anything other than to raise our hands and make dua to Allah. That feeling is legitimate, but I am here to tell you brothers and sisters that dua is not for the weak and the faint hearted.

Because it's during these times when you feel that you don't have the ability to do anything that Shaytan will come to you and whisper inside of you and say to you: "Look at you, you are eating your food. Look at how you are enjoying yourself. You should go do something." And the Shaytan will keep whispering to make you do something that is possibly not okay, to endanger yourself, to endanger your family, and we have to be extremely careful.

Shaytan will keep guilt tripping you until you wonder: where is Allah? If Allah is - how is it that Allah allowed this to happen? And we forget to understand that Allah has a plan and He is Al-Hakim, and He is the All-Wise. We do not understand this plan of Allah.

Remember that those who have been martyred - do you think that they envy our lives in this dunya at this moment? Do you think they are sitting in the graves wishing that they came back to this world? They are actually happy, as Allah says in the Quran. They are happy. In fact, they are waiting for the reward of Allah.

Guidelines for Supporting the Oppressed

That is why brothers and sisters, with all of the social media and the things that are going on, we have to be very careful in the way of how we understand the Quran and the Hadith of the Prophet when it comes to being in solidarity and support for those who are oppressed.

Number One

It is obligatory - a communal obligation - for Muslims around the world to help those who are oppressed. In other words, if some people do it and stand up for it, then the rest will not be held accountable, but at least some people have to.

Number Two

It is very common - and there is this word in sociology called social proofing - that when we see someone else do it, we think that means it must be legit. If everyone else is doing it, that means it must be ok. In other words, if we are not doing it, if someone is not doing it, we almost look at them like what's wrong with them.

What I mean specifically, brothers and sisters, is every human being in the way they respond to these catastrophes and calamities is different. Some people scream, some people cry, some people go and write a post on social media, some people go to protests, some people go and donate, some people will make dua, and some people will go and confront those who are spreading lies, for example. Each and everyone will do their own method.

But the most important thing is: let's not tear each and every one of us down by saying, "Oh brother, I didn't see you at this. I don't know if you truly are in support. Wallahi, I don't know if you are really sincere or not." That's none of your business. Every one of us is accountable in their own ways to support in the way that they can, and they will be held accountable in the eyes of Allah of how much they can.

Remember: within the confines of the law, we do not do anything that is prohibited from the Quran and from the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ, and within the laws of the land.

Direct Intervention

Another point for us to think about is if you are physically witnessing things that are in front of you - like people being harassed - and you have the capability of doing it to stop it, like verbally at least, you must do so. The Prophet ﷺ tells us in a narration:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 15506)

The Prophet ﷺ says: "Whoever sees that another Muslim is being humiliated - so if you see some sort of individual out there saying horrible things to another Muslim, verbally attacking them, accusing them of things - and you are capable of stopping it but you did not do so, Allah will humiliate them in front of all the creation on the Day of Judgment."

Practical Steps

Brothers and sisters, the average amount per month to help an orphan is about $150. You could say, "Brother, I cannot afford that." Call your congressman, make dua. Even if you can only afford $10 a month, do it. If you hear someone saying something wrong about other people, give victory to them - stop it, say that's not true.

Yes, unfortunately we are living in a time where saying certain things get us in trouble. Remember: you are doing this for Allah, not because you don't want people to come and shame you and say, "Oh brother, you didn't stand up."

Islam doesn't require us to suffer in order to show our sincerity - that's a very Judeo-Christian theological way of thinking. You don't need to lose your livelihood in order to prove your sincerity, but you must do what doesn't harm you. So that means, at least if it means to donate to a reputable, safe charity, to make dua - this is the least that you can do.

The Day of Judgment

Brothers and sisters, on the Day of Judgment, the Prophet ﷺ tells us in a hadith that Allah will tell His servants:

"Oh My servant, I was ill and you did not visit Me."

And the man will say, "Oh Allah, You are the Lord of the universe. How could You be sick?"

Allah will say, "One of My servants was ill and you did not visit him."

"Oh My servant, I was hungry and you didn't feed Me."

The man will say, "Oh Allah, You are the Lord of the universe. How is it that You need to be fed? You don't need to be fed."

Allah will say, "One of My servants was hungry and you did not feed them."

"Oh My servant, I was thirsty and you didn't give Me water."

"Oh Allah, You are the Lord of the universe. How could You ever be thirsty?"

"One of My servants was thirsty and you didn't give them water."

Give victory to those who are oppressed.