The Major Sins Series - Fleeing from Battle - Abu Usama 1217

The Major Sins Series - Fleeing from Battle

Khutbah by Abu Usama

Opening

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

Introduction to the Chapter

The next chapter is the twelfth or eleventh major sin: Al-Firar Min Al-Zahf - fleeing from the battlefield. The next major sin (kabira) is running away from the battlefield when the Muslims engage the disbelievers (kuffar) in the jihad of Islam.

It is a sign of weakness and a sign of being a coward.

Hadith on the Two Worst Characteristics

The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us:

"The two worst characteristics that can be in a man - the two that Allah does not love, that are against this religion - are for a man to be extremely stingy and for a man to be a coward."

(Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 2511)

Not only is he stingy, but he is worried about what other people have. He himself is stingy and greedy, and he wants to keep his money, but he also worries about who else has what. Does he have more than him, and so forth. He is racing with people. That is a terrible characteristic.

The second one - جُبْنٌ خَالِعٌ - is for a man to be a coward to the point where it is as if his heart is out of his body. He doesn't have a heart. He doesn't stand up for his religion, doesn't stand up for his principles, doesn't stand up for his women. He is a man who is extremely cowardly in his behavior.

Two characteristics that Allah does not love.

Evidence from Quran and Hadith

From the major crimes and sins in Islam is for the Muslim to run away from the battlefield. Imam Al-Dhahabi brought one verse (ayah) and one hadith.

First Ayah from Surah Al-Anfal

There is a verse that precedes it. I don't know why Imam Al-Dhahabi didn't bring it, but Allah says:

يک

"O you who believe, if you meet the disbelievers in battle, then do not turn your backs to them."

Second Ayah from Surah Al-Anfal

"And whoever turns his back to them on that day - unless it is a maneuver for battle or to join another group - has certainly returned with anger from Allah, and his refuge is Hell, and wretched is the destination."

Whoever gives the disbelievers his back and starts to run away - except the one who was running away in order to do a strategy of war (he wants to make the kuffar think that he is scared so he is going to go this way to entrap them and catch them another way - that is permissible, that is not running away).

Or the one who runs away in order to connect with another group of Muslims. He is fighting and they are losing the war. We are going to lose the war as it happened with Umar (may Allah be pleased with him).

The Muslims were fighting in Persia and they were losing the war and they didn't run away. When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) heard about it that they got killed on the battlefield, he said: "Only if they would have come back, I would have been the group they were coming to join. I would have been the one who they were coming to."

So if the Muslims are losing and they run to get with the Muslims to support them or to get strength from them, that is okay. What is not permissible is for the Muslims to drop their weapons and just run with the wind and give their backs to the disbelievers. And Imam Al-Dhahabi brought that verse.

Reminder About Physical and Spiritual Strength

Brothers, I want to take this time out again to remind myself and every single Muslim here - whether you have white in your beard or whether you are a young person, especially the young ones from amongst us - we are an ummah of weak people now (du'afa).

Hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2664)

"The strong believer is better and more beloved to Allah than the weak believer."

The believer who is strong physically - not in his iman, it's not talking about the iman - he is physically strong. He is more beloved to Allah and better than the believer who is weak, out of shape, not athletic, can't move. Because the one who is strong has the ability to get out and work, to help the ummah, to support the masjid, to help the weak and the poor. The one who is strong has the ability to raise the flag of jihad and participate in jihad.

Weak people say: "Oh, it's too hot. Oh, it's too far. Oh, it's too dangerous."

The Two Extremes Regarding Jihad

There are those people today who have gone to the extremes as it relates to jihad. One extreme is: everything is jihad and jihad is only about spilling blood - there is no understanding (fiqh) to it and no justice. And then the other extreme is the apologists who say there is no jihad in Islam unless the Muslims are attacked - and that is a lie.

It is a lie, similar to the lie that if a man wants to get married to a second wife, he has to get permission from the first wife, or the first wife can't have babies, or there has to be a problem with her. All of those crazy ideas come as a result of weaknesses in the Muslims - physically and the way we think.

Quranic Evidence on the Middle Course of Jihad

Allah mentioned in the Quran about the middle course of jihad, and it is from our religion:

"Fight them so that there will be no fitnah and the religion will be for Allah."

Fight them so that there won't be any fitnah - shirk won't run rampant in the earth. Show responsibility to stop that. And also the fitnah of oppression - one people oppressing another group of people.

Allah mentioned in the Quran:

"And what is wrong with you that you fight not in the cause of Allah, and for the oppressed among men, women, and children who say: 'Our Lord, rescue us from this city whose people are oppressors, and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper'?"

Those who say: "O our Lord, help us and get us out of this city whose people are oppressive. This country, this land - the people are oppressive. We are being oppressed. And make for us, send for us a helper from Yourself. Send for us a guardian (wali) and a person who is going to help us from Yourself."

That is our brothers in Kashmir. That is our brothers across the globe. How in the world can a Muslim sit back and say there is no jihad at all? To mention the word jihad makes people afraid. And that is the supplication (dua) of the Muslims. And the Muslim is a brother to another Muslim.

Hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 13; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 45)

"None of you believes until he wants for his brother what he wants for himself."

And those of us who have relatives from Kashmir, and we have relatives from other hot spots in the Muslim world who have been oppressed and killed - you are tasting that fitnah. It is not like the one who is sitting here and he is fat and his life is easy saying "There is no jihad in Islam."

Our Responsibility to Protect Muslims

It is our responsibility, brothers, to protect the Muslims.

Hadith:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1902)

"Indeed, the doors of Paradise are under the shade of the swords."

So the swords of jihad are above the Paradise, the doors of Paradise. So is it permissible for any speaker, any khateeb, any scholar, any Muslim to come today and say there is no jihad, when the swords of jihad are above the doors of Paradise? No one says that except someone who doesn't know the religion or someone who is being paid by the disbelievers.

Hadith on the Peak of the Matter

The Prophet (peace be upon him) told us from the authentic Sunnah, brothers: "Shall I not tell you people what is the head of the affair, what is the pillar of the affair, and what is the highest peak of the matter?"

"Ya Rasulullah, tell us what it is. What is it?"

He said: "The head of the affair is Islam - the five pillars of Islam. And the pillar, the support of the affair is the prayer (salah). The best actions that you can possibly do in this world - the obligatory prayer is better than jihad. But jihad is better than any voluntary action.

And shall I not tell you the peak of the matter? The peak of the matter is jihad in the cause of Allah."

(Sunan At-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2616)

Our Current Condition

So how is it, brothers, that as Muslims, as Muslim men - wallahi, I hate to say it but it's the truth - we cannot feel secure that we will support each other if there was a real jihad? Because we are out of shape and we love this worldly life (dunya). And we can't even make jihad over our own women not to watch Bollywood films. Wallahi, that is our condition.

So I find it utterly amazing that people will come and tell us: "Assassinate this one, assassinate that one, do this, do that." And wallahi, our ummah are weak (du'afa). And I am the weakest from amongst them.

And this one who is telling me this is on public assistance. And the disbelievers bring that out - that every single "mujahid" in this land who is talking this nonsense, the first thing the disbelievers do is say: "We supported him so far - 400,000 pounds, him and his kids." Isn't that haram? Isn't that from the disbelievers? Why don't you place on yourself that standard?

The Martyrs and Paradise

They asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about the martyr (shaheed), brothers, not to mention the many evidences (ad-dillah) of the importance of jihad.

Quranic verse:

"Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties, for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. It is a true promise binding upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have committed. And that is the great attainment."

And that is because they fight in the cause of Allah, so they will get Paradise. This is the right of Allah. This is the truth that He wrote in the Torah. So why are we apologizing? Why are we afraid? "Uh-oh, this is a hot topic, let me get out of here. I don't want my name on the list as the people who participate in the class about jihad."

No, we don't apologize about that. And we don't apologize about plural wives. And we don't apologize about slavery. But we say: this is the religion of truth, and it has knowledge behind it and wisdom behind it - not the way the foolish and ignorant are doing it around us.

That is what we say to the disbelievers. That is not the way some of our brothers are showing it to be. But we also say to our Muslim brothers: we have to embrace this concept that we have to make some preparations for jihad.

Example from Our Youth

One of our little kids told me in class: "Abu Usama, you know, I can eat four chapatis with my lunch. Four."

I said: "Four chapatis?"

He said: "Yes, my dad can eat eight."

So instead of teaching the kid about being a man, and being rough and tough at the proper time, he is bragging about how many chapatis his stomach can hold.

Allah Has Purchased Our Lives

So Allah has purchased from all of us our lives and our wealth. And jihad is from this religion, and the reward is Paradise. So the evidences (ad-dillah) of jihad are too many from the Quran and the Sunnah.

Put all of those evidences aside and just deal with the martyrs (shuhada). The martyrs in the religion of Allah - they have the highest place in Paradise. The highest place.

The Martyr and the Grave

Not only that, a man came to ask: "Ya Rasulullah, the one who is a martyr (shaheed) - does he have to deal with the trial (fitnah) of the grave? Is his thigh going to be smashed into the other? Does he have to deal with all of the torment that is going to take place in the grave and its trial?"

He said (peace be upon him):

"It is enough - the glimmer of the sword that was over his head - that is enough trial (fitnah) for him."

The Martyr's Intercession

Hadith:

(Unknown Source)

"The martyr (shaheed) will be able to intercede for seventy people from his family members."

Reference: Sunan Abu Dawud, Hadith 2522

Do you think his mother is not going to be the first one? So why would the mother say: "I don't want my child to learn about jihad. I don't want the father to teach him martial arts. I don't want the father to teach him how to box. I don't want that. I don't want you teaching and putting these foreign concepts in his head. Because if he goes to jihad, he will die."

If he dies, the very first person in line for the benefit of his martyrdom (shahada) and his intercession (shifa'ah) is his mother, his teacher, his uncle. That is the virtue of that, brothers.

Story of Umm Haritha

There is a companion with the kunya of Umm Haritha. She lost her son in jihad. She was distraught. She came to the Prophet and said: "Ya Rasulullah, you know the position of Haritha to me. You know how I love that boy. Now that he has been killed, if he is in Paradise, I will be patient and I will seek my reward with Allah if he is in Paradise. But if he is not in Paradise, then you tell me what to do. I want you to advise me."

This is evidence that the companions were upon the correct creed (aqeedah). Nobody knows where the next person is going to end up except Allah. Just because her son was a companion and just because he was killed in jihad doesn't guarantee him Paradise.

"Ya Rasulullah, you let me know. If he is not in Paradise, you tell me what you want me to do."

The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said to her, as if he was angry with her:

Hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

"Woe to you, O Umm Haritha! Who told you that? But there are many Paradises, many. And your son has reached Jannat al-Firdaws - the highest part."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2809

The lady started crying. That is the iman of those people who understood.

Degrees in Paradise for the Mujahid

Hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

"Indeed, Allah has prepared for the mujahid, whether he got martyrdom or not, one hundred degrees in Paradise."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2790

And what did he say each Paradise was?

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

"Each degree is like the distance between the heavens and the earth."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 2790

Being Balanced

So brothers, I say here today, as we say of all our issues in this religion: we have to be balanced. We have to bring back the concept and the thought (fikr) of jihad in our homes.

"I am going to take my son to the masjid this morning."

The wife says: "No, no, not today. It's the weekend, he's tired."

"No, we have to give him training (tarbiyah). We have to give him training for jihad." That is a word we have to start using. But how? We have to use it with knowledge. We have to use it with the truth (haq). The swords of jihad are over Paradise.

Do you think with it being that high - the concept of jihad - that it is going to be low and in the gutter the way it is being practiced by many of our brothers, "mujahidun," as they claim?

Warning About the Two Extremes

Another thing, brothers, about the two extremes: Don't be surprised. Don't be surprised that those people will take the life of a person who says: "This jihad of Osama bin Laden, we are free of it. It's not from our religion." Don't be surprised if they take the life of a person who says that and call that jihad.

That is the sickness of the understanding of the Muslims today - that a person will kill you because you said: "That jihad of indiscriminately killing people who are innocent is not jihad." They will kill you. And that has been their way all the time.

The Khawarij - the Prophet (peace be upon him) said about them:

Hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari)

"They leave the people who worship idols and they turn their aggression and they kill the people of Islam."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3610

We can't come and discuss an issue based upon evidence (dalil)? No - "You're from the CIA. You're from MI5. You're from MI6. You're from the FBI. You're this, you're that."

Where is the evidence (dalil)? Where is the education in what we are saying and claiming?

Staying Away from Extremes

So we want to stay away from the two extremes:

1. The extreme that everything is jihad (and it's not), jihad is the most important thing (and it's not)

2. The other extreme - and this is the majority - there is no jihad. The only jihad is when the Muslims are being threatened and we go out to save ourselves

That is an extreme as well.

Everyone in this place, in this masjid, to some degree and some level, we have to make an effort to prepare ourselves for the jihad of Islam - the real jihad of Islam.

Announcement About Next Week's Class

So therefore, what we are going to do, inshallah, next week on Tuesday, we are going to deal with jihad and the levels of jihad according to one of the greatest scholars of Islam - Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim.

In his book Zad Al-Ma'ad, for those who have the book, in volume number three, he deals with the levels of jihad. And wallahi, it is as if he was writing for today. And no one can come and claim Ibn Al-Qayyim is someone who washes things down. He was a mujahid:

• He was a mujahid against the Tatars

• He was a mujahid in that he used to get in prison with his shaykh

• He was a mujahid in that he used to write books about jihad

He has a book called Al-Furusiyah. Al-Furusiyah means being a warrior.

Recent Events and Muslim Response

So when we look at the Muslims, we do not accept what took place recently when the Quran was disrespected by the disbelievers. The Quran has been consistently disrespected in their war against terrorism. So what did the Muslims do? They took to the streets in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and Muslims lost their lives.

We say: No. No one should lose their life for something like that. Your life is more valuable to Allah than that.

But going out into the streets and feeling that kind of thing - understand where that is from. Black Hawk Down - understand where that is from. Muslims used to be warriors.

But today, that word "warrior" (furusiyah) makes people afraid. "What is going to happen?"

If You Are Arrested

Wallahi, if a person were to get arrested today and they lied on you and put you in Guantanamo Bay, that is very difficult because it is something I didn't do, it is something I don't believe. I don't believe in blowing people up.

But if they arrest you for saying: "I am not bending the rules for the religion. There is jihad in Islam, but it has a certain way" - getting arrested for that is a little easier because that is our religion.

Conclusion

So when we come to the chapter Kitab Al-Kaba'ir, we have to jump over the chapter of jihad out of fear? No. This is our religion. Prepare yourselves, because the time is going to come when you are going to have to put up. So prepare yourselves.

As it stands right now, we are not ready.

Practical Advice

So we are going to stop here, and we are going to encourage all of you brothers:

• Join a gym

• Watch what you eat

• Start exercising

• Stop watching TV and those shows that only are designed to make people stupid

Who - what intelligent man would sit and watch Big Brother? I ask you by Allah, what intelligent man would sit and watch that nonsense? I am not encouraging anyone to watch it because it is haram. It is all haram, it is a waste of time. But for those who have seen it and you see what it is about - who in his right mind will watch that?

And unfortunately, the Muslims follow them in everything. There is an Arab version of Big Brother. There is an Asian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" This is the way we are. If the disbelievers have it, white people have it, Caucasians, Europeans have it - it must be good.

We have nothing against white people and Caucasians, except that they do not determine for us what is success, what is happiness, what is intelligent.

Final Advice to Older Men

So join a gym, my brothers. You older men from amongst us, you elders, we have to start to become more conscious about what we are eating, how we are resting. And we want to prepare ourselves for the real jihad - the jihad of the Quran and the Sunnah - when the time comes.

Authority for Jihad

As it relates to jihad, no one in the United Kingdom has the authority to claim this is jihad or that is jihad. Jihad is determined by the scholars of Islam, and when they determine it and they claim it, then we don't care what these disbelievers have to say about that. We don't care what they have to say about it.

Our Brothers in Guantanamo Bay

No one in Guantanamo Bay deserves to be in Guantanamo Bay, and we make dua for our brothers in Guantanamo Bay. Some people put themselves there, others are there with injustice (dhulm). But whatever is the case, all of them are being oppressed.

Closing Dua

So we ask Allah to protect the real mujahideen of this ummah, for verily they are the best of the people, and to make us those people who are following them but on the straight path (sirat al-mustaqeem) with what is balanced.

وَنَسْأَلُ اللهَ تَعَالَى التَّوْفِيقَ وَالسَّدَادَ

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هُذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ

سُبْحَانَكَ اللَّهُمَّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ ۖ وَأَشْهَدُ أَن لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأَتُوبُ إِلَيْكَ

Final Note

Everything that was said here today is my personal understanding. Me. Me. No one else.

وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَىٰ وَأَعْلَمُ

End of Khutbah