12 Farhan Abdul Azeez Grounded by Faith

Grounded by Faith

Speaker: Farhan Abdul Azeez

The Siege of Medina: The Battle of Al-Ahzab

He made siege to Medina. And it was in that moment that the believers were tested in a very severe, difficult test. The hypocrites were even commenting, we can't even go out to use the bathroom in security.

When the Prophet ﷺ had promised when he broke the big stone that was in the trench, that they weren't able to break. And he came and he broke it, and three times he struck it. And all three times he said, I've been given the keys to Sham, and Persia, and Yemen.

And the Romans, and the Persians, and Yemen, and the hypocrites said, he's promising us victories over the superpowers of the world, and we can't even use the bathroom in security. That's how fearful they were.

Allah says:

Allah says, when they came at you from above you and from below you.

The Alliance Against the Muslims

So the tribe of Ghatafan was stationed in one area, the Quraysh was stationed in another area, and from within Medina itself, the tribe of Banu Qurayza, the Jewish tribe in Medina, who the Muslims had a treaty with, had secretly agreed with the Quraysh that they will break the treaty and attack the Muslims from within.

So surrounded by an army they've never seen before, the size of which they've never seen before. And from within their own ranks, this treaty that was had, the Muslims found out that will be broken. And so the Prophet ﷺ, he sought out to try and break this unification amongst the disbelievers.

The Prophet's Negotiation with Ghatafan

So he met with Al-Harith and Uyayna, two of the leaders of Ghatafan. And he began negotiating with them. And he told them, if I were to offer you a third of all of the produce of Medina, in return that you leave. You break your treaty with the Quraysh and you leave. So the majority of the army would be broken. Would you take that?

And after some back and forth, they agreed. And so it was written down. But it wasn't finalized yet, because the Prophet ﷺ said, I must confirm with the leaders of the Ansar, because the dates belong to the Ansar. It's their farms.

And Ghatafan was closest to them as well. The Prophet ﷺ knows that the Ansar know them the best, and know what negotiation would be best with them.

Consulting the Two Sa'ds

And so he calls the two Sa'd. Sa'd ibn Ubadah and Sa'd ibn Mu'adh رَضِيَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا. Two giants from this Ummah. And the Prophet ﷺ, he presents to them the deal.

He says, I have a deal and here's the paper. We give Ghatafan one third of all the produce of Medina and they will leave. This is after days and days of a siege that has caused the people of Medina to suffer and be in fear.

To the point that Allah says:

The eyes darting back and forth like in fear. The hearts have reached the throats. When every beat of your heart you could feel it in your whole body, because of how terrified you are.

Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's Response

So Sa'd ibn Mu'adh رَضِيَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُ he says:

"O Messenger of Allah, this deal you're offering to us, is this something that you love, that makes you happy, so we will surely carry it out."

Or he says:

"Or is it something that Allah has commanded, has revealed to you to take this, to do this. Then of course, again we will follow without any question."

Or he says:

"Or O Messenger of Allah, is this something that you, out of your concern for us, and the difficulty you have seen us fall into, is this something you are doing on your own accord?"

And so the Prophet ﷺ, he says that, no, this is something I am doing, because I see that the Quraysh and the Arabs have gathered with one arrow to strike you. And they've surrounded you, I've seen what has become of you, so I'm trying to break this upon you.

Sa'd ibn Mu'adh's Famous Statement

And so Sa'd ibn Mu'adh رَضِيَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُ he says one of the famous statements of his life that could be written in gold.

There's moments in your life when something happens, and you just stand up, you're there for someone, you give them that word of encouragement, or you say something in front of an oppressor, whatever the situation may be. But moments in your life that come and go, that some people shrink from the moment, and some people rise to the occasion. And they only are able to rise to the occasion based on the preparation that they've done before.

Meaning, their iman has been cultivated in such a way that when that moment comes to them in their life, they are fully able to, by the tawfiq of Allah, respond in a way that will be pleasing to Allah and His Messenger ﷺ.

So Sa'd ibn Mu'adh رَضِيَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُ says:

"O Messenger of Allah! We and them, the Quraysh, the disbelievers and us, we were the same. We used to worship idols. We used to worship idols."

And he says:

"We didn't worship Allah, nor did we even know about Allah."

And he says, during this stage of our lives. He says:

"O Messenger of Allah! When we were both disbelievers, they, the Ghatafan, they would never dream of even having one date from our harvest except if they were to come to us and we would host them or if they were to purchase it from us."

"So when Allah has honored us with Islam,"

"and guided us to Him,"

"and Allah has given us a strength of Izzah and honor through our faith, through you and through Him, through knowing Allah."

He says:

"At this moment, then we will give them our crops? O Messenger of Allah! I swear by Allah, we have no need for this. This deal, we have no need for this."

"I swear by Allah, we will not give them except, we will meet them in battle. If that's what they want, that's what they will get. Until Allah makes the decision between us."

And then he took the treaty that had been written up, and he tore it up into pieces.

Finding Strength in Faith

But subhanAllah, in this moment of difficulty and trial, when they're besieged and they're in fear. And Sa'd ibn Mu'adh himself, he died a martyr from the wounds he suffered in this battle.

He wasn't, he found strength. He found conviction. And the knowledge and the certainty that he is on the right. And Allah will eventually decide the affair even if it looks bleak right now. Even if it looks like there's no way out. We have no way to meet this army. We have no way to face them. But he found faith and strength in his faith.

The Believers Were Shaken

And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, He said about the believers. At this moment, in the battle of Al-Ahzab, He says:

"There the believers were tested and shaken with a severe shaking."

They were shaken, a very powerful shaking. To their core, the fear had reached.

And so when earthquakes come our way, what keeps us grounded? When these catastrophes in our life hit us, Allah uses the word:

"The believers were shaken to, you know, a mighty shaking."

And we know (الزِّلْزَال - al-zilzal) is the same word used for earthquakes. And we know what happened to our brothers and sisters in Turkey and Syria.

Examples of Faith from Turkey and Syria

But subhanAllah, we see from their example. Perhaps you guys have seen the videos, incredibly powerful videos of faith manifest in the most difficult of circumstances.

An old man, an old man trapped in the rubble. And you know the temperature there right now, at night it's dropping into the low 20s. And the day reaches just above about 40 degrees. It's very cold. And they find this old man in the rubble, and they're telling him, we're gonna give you a blanket. And you know what he says in response? After how many days he's trapped in this rubble, he says, "Give me water, I need to make wudu so I can pray." Allahu Akbar.

What kind of faith? But even in the most difficult circumstances, he knows that he has a very good likelihood that he may not survive this. And the survivors who are being pulled out, it's not like they're saved and we're, you know, back to normal. They have compartment syndromes in their extremities, they need emergency surgery, they go into renal failure, they need dialysis.

And what kind of services are there in Syria, in a land that's been bombarded for almost 10 years? How many, there's a, the main hospital in Idlib has one dialysis machine, or two dialysis machines. If they don't get dialysis, they will die. But even in this, he's saying, they're telling him, you don't have to pray right now. You're given the exception, it's okay.

The Old Woman and Her Hijab

You see, an old woman, and subhanAllah, the age is so profound. Because it's not a young woman in her 20s or 30s in the peak of her beauty. She's in her elderly stages, and they find her after days under the rubble, and they're telling her to come out, and she's refusing. Until you bring me a hijab so I can cover myself. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.

The Example of Aisha and Her Haya

I mean, you see the example of Aisha, our mother. The Akram al-Khattab was buried in her room. Her husband, Prophet ﷺ, was buried in her room. And her father, Abu Bakr, was buried next to the Prophet ﷺ. Both of them are mahram to her. The Prophet's her husband, Abu Bakr is her father رَضِيَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُ

But when Umar al-Khattab was then buried in her room, she would never enter her room except that she would keep her jilbab and hijab on. Even though he's buried under the ground. Because of the level of haya.

Then you see this old woman, no one knows her name. She's just a lady in a village. And her faith. Her faith.

What Keeps Us Grounded

And so what keeps us grounded? At these most moments of difficulties, what we cultivate in the times of ease.

And so when the Prophet ﷺ in his most difficult moment of his life, when he went to Ta'if, to give the message to the people there. And he was ridiculed and to eventually drive him out of the city after being there for at least 10 days, 10 to 14 days.

They sent the slaves and the children to stone him out of the city. And they stoned him for a period of time. It wasn't just like here to the exit of the masjid. Just maybe 10, 20 yards. The narrations say he was continually followed until he entered into a garden that's two miles outside of the city. Imagine from here to like Walmart. Continuously being stoned by a mob of people.

The Du'a of Ta'if

And at that moment he makes this powerful du'a:

"Oh Allah, it is only to You that I complain of the weakness of my strength and the scarcity of my resources and the humiliation I'm facing in front of the people."

And that's the famous du'a.

But as we know, what does he say as it goes on? He says:

"But oh Allah, ultimately what it comes down to is so long as I know you are not angry with me, then all of this doesn't matter."

Whatever trial I may go through, whatever personal earthquake I might have in my life, so long as I know you're not angry with me, it doesn't matter.

"But your pardon and ease of course is easier for me."

And the du'a goes on.

The Example of the Believers

But subhanAllah, we find that the believers, the companions, the prophets, all of them left for us a beautiful example. And we find that example living in the lives of the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ till this day.

That you find strength in your iman in the times of most difficulty. And that only comes for those who cultivate it in times of ease.

The Second Khutbah

إِنَّهُ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ

The Story of Yunus عليه السلام

When Yunus عليه السلام Prophet Jonah, was swallowed by the whale and taken to the bottom of the ocean, he heard the... Allah allowed him to hear the soil and the pebbles of the bottom of the ocean making tasbih of Allah. And when he heard the tasbih of the soil, he too said, let me take this place as a place to worship Allah.

So he went down into sujood, in the belly of the whale. And he cried out to Allah. Allah says:

In the belly of the whale going into sujood and saying, "O Allah, there is no God but You. How perfect You are (Subhanaka). I was amongst the wrongdoers."

He prayed to Allah in his time of need.

The Angels Recognize Yunus

And subhanAllah, the angels, you know, the different commentators of tafsir, they mentioned that. When they heard the voice of Yunus عليه السلام they said

"O Allah, this is your slave Yunus. We recognize his voice. We know his voice. But it's coming from a strange place. We've never heard his voice coming from the depths of the ocean and worshiping You."

But we recognize his voice. So then Allah told them about Yunus عليه السلام so they asked Allah, "O Allah, this is your slave Yunus عليه السلام the one who used to continue to have good deeds sent to you and his du'a used to be answered." And Allah said, "Yes."

So they said:

"O Allah, will you not then reward him for what he used to do in times of ease by saving him in his time of difficulty?"

Allah said, "Yes, of course." And he was saved.

Allah says:

"So We answered his du'a."

The Advice of the Prophet ﷺ to Ibn Abbas

And so we know the famous statement that the Prophet ﷺ told Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما as a young man, a young boy when he put him on his ride behind him, he says, I will teach you some words. He says:

(Tirmidhi, Hadith 2516)

"O Ibn Abbas, get to know Allah in times of ease and Allah will be there for you in times of difficulty."

Cultivating Our Iman

So brothers and sisters, we have to cultivate our iman. If we live a life, you know, subhanAllah, when tests come our way, you know, after 9-11, there was this whole fear of like, Muslims being put in internment camps and what's gonna happen and all sorts of them. There's still some sort of fear there. If God forbid, something were to happen again, then we're all in trouble.

And imagine that, I remember thinking as a young man, a high schooler at that time when it happened, like what would be the state of you or I if we were in this position, if we were trapped under the rubble in Turkey or if we were in a prison, unjustly in prison, awaiting relief. What would be our level of ibadah and worship of Allah and the sincerity of our du'a and the tilawah and the adhkar and the like.

But perhaps Allah sends us these reminders because He doesn't hear our voices in times of ease. So in times of difficulty, because Allah loves to hear you, He will put you through a difficulty so that He can hear your beautiful voice. And then you realize, and well, why don't I just live a life like that all the time? Why don't I live a life connected to Allah all the time? Live my life as if I'm in that state.

So then when you are ever tested, when I would do bid'ah, but if you are ever tested, Allah will be there for you by your side and give you tawfiq. To have a standing moment in your life, perhaps a word you say or an action you do that will earn the pleasure of Allah that you will never ever have to worry about anything after that until you meet Allah.

"Get to know Allah. Develop your connection and your relationship with Allah in times of ease. And Allah will be there for you in times of difficulty."

Du'as for Times of Difficulty

There's different hadith, but for sake of time, I can't go through them. But just to share with you, that when the Prophet ﷺ was advising the companions what to say in times of difficulty, all of the hadith focus on belief in Allah and iman in Allah, right?

Right, the Prophet ﷺ told the companions to say:

(Hakim, Mustadrak 2000)

"O Ever-Living, O Self-Sustaining, by Your mercy I seek help. Set right all my affairs and do not leave me to myself even for the blink of an eye."

And:

(Bukhari, Hadith 6346; Muslim, Hadith 2730)

"There is no deity except Allah, the Most Great, the Most Forbearing. There is no deity except Allah, Lord of the Mighty Throne. There is no deity except Allah, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth and Lord of the Noble Throne."

So you like, but du'a that we say, all of them bring us back to our belief in Allah.

Closing Du'a

You strengthen that, you cultivate that now, you'll face the reward inshaAllah afterwards.

"O Allah, forgive the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the living among them and the deceased. Indeed, O our Lord, You are the All-Hearing, the Near, the Answerer of supplications."

Oh Allah, ease the affairs of our brothers and sisters in Syria and Turkey and all across the world. Oh Allah, we ask you to give them warmth from their cold and give them food from their hunger and give them drink from their thirst and give them health from their sickness.

Oh Allah, we ask you to give them security and peace and tranquility, to shower your mercy upon them, to shower your mercy upon those whose lives were lost and those who are ill and those who were affected. Oh Allah, we ask you to bless all those who are afflicted with trial and calamity in this world and give them the highest reward in the hereafter.

بَارَكَ اللَّهُ فِيكُمْ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ