Respond with What is Better

Respond with What is Better

Opening Praise and Testimony

Alhamdulillah, we praise Allah and ask for His help and forgiveness. And we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and the evil of our actions. Whomsoever Allah guides, none shall misguide him, and whomsoever He misguides, none shall guide him. And peace and blessings be upon our Master, our Beloved, the best of Allah's creation, upon our Master Muhammad, son of Abdullah, and upon his family, his companions, and those who follow him.

As for the rest, O servants of Allah, I advise you and myself to fear Allah, for Allah's fear is the head of goodness and the head of wisdom.

Trust in Allah's Decree

Alhamdulillah, Allah says in His book:

"Nothing will afflict you except what Allah has decreed for us." Nothing will afflict you, except what Allah has decreed for us. He is our protector, Allah. And upon Allah, let the believers place their trust.

(تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ - Tawakkaltu ‘ala Allah) - When you enter your house, you say (تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى الله - Tawakkaltu ‘ala Allah). When you leave your house, you say, (تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى الله - Tawakkaltu ‘ala Allah). You can be in your house, an earthquake comes. You can go out, get hit by a car. Or something happens to you.

The Nature of This World

This is the nature of dunya. (دَارُ بَلَاءِ - Daru bala’i) - It's the abode of tribulation. Anybody that wants a good ride here, they're in the wrong place. It's as simple as that. And this is something Muslims for centuries they've known. When the Mongols came and invaded the Muslims, they knew how to respond.

- We belong to Allah, and to Him we return. This dunya is faniya, daar-o-faniya. It's effervescing before our eyes, literally.

You know, one of the interesting things about humans, when we look at each other, all you see is dead cells. You don't even see the living person in front of you. Everything that's presented to my eyes, and what's presented to your eyes, is just dead cells. We're already dead.

- You're dead and they're dead. This is dunya.

(دُنْيَا دِنْكَ دُوْنِهِ - Dunya dinka doonihi) - This is dunya. And so we have to recognize where we are, and then act accordingly.

The Prophet's Teaching to Ibn Abbas

So when tribulations happen, one of the things the Prophet ﷺ saw Ibn Abbas. Now you have to imagine, this is the brother of his father's son. So you think about the hanaan of the Prophet, his love in his heart, for every human being. Because he was rahmah for the entire, not just humans, trees, rivers, mountains, stars, planets. He was rahmah. (وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ - Wa ma arsalnaka illa rahmatan lil’alameen)

So here's Ibn Abbas. He's a young boy. And the Prophet, he loved the shubban. He said (حَالَفَنِي الشَّبَّانُ وَخَالَفَنِي الشَّيْخُ - Halafani ash-shubbanu wa khalafani ash-shaykh) He said, the young people believed in me, and the old people... You know when he said that verse? When Allah revealed, not to be like those who (طَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الْأَمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ - Taala alaihimul amadu faqasat qulubuhum) - That time passed and their hearts became hard. Because older people, their hearts get hard.

But the shubban, they have brittleness in their hearts still. They have idealism, they want to change the world, they want to make it a better place. They see injustice, it upsets them. If you don't guide the youth, if you don't guide the youth, they will go astray, thinking they're doing right. We have a responsibility towards our youth.

Words of Wisdom from the Prophet

So he took Ibn Abbas and he said (يَا غُلَامُ - Ya ghulam) - Come here young boy. (يَا غُلَامُ - Ya ghulam) - It's his cousin. (يَا غُلَامُ إِنِّي أُعَلِّمُكَ كَلِمَاتٍ - Ya ghulamu inni u’allimuka kalimat) - Let me teach you some words. And this is our Prophet (إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ مُعَلِّمًا - Innama bu’ithtu mu’allima) - I was only sent to teach.

(يَا غُلَامُ إِنِّي أُعَلِّمُكَ كَلِمَاتٍ احْفَظِ اللَّهَ يَحْفَظْكَ - Ya ghulamu inni u’allimuka kalimat ihfazillah yahfazka) - You take care of what Allah has told you to preserve from the awamir and nawahi, He will preserve you. You take care of what Allah has told you to do, and Allah will take care of you.

(احْفَظ الله - Ihfaz Allah) - And then he repeated it again. (احْفَظِ اللَّهَ تَجِدْهُ تُجَاهَكَ - Ihfazillaha tajidhu tujahak) - Guard Allah, meaning guard these awamir and nawahi, these commands and prohibitions. Guard these things, and you will find God before you. He will be before you.

(إِذَا سَأَلْتَ فَاسْأَلِ اللَّهَ - Itha sa’alta fas’alillah) - If you want to ask, ask Allah. (وَإِذَا اسْتَعَنْتَ فَاسْتَعِنْ بِاللَّهِ - Wa itha sta’anta fasta’in billah) - If you need help, if you need a'awn, if you need support, ask from Allah.

The Certainty of Divine Decree

(وَاعْلَمْ - Wa’lam) - And know. Look at these imperatives. (وَاعْلَمْ - Wa’lam) - Know, understand.

(لَوِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْأُمَّةُ عَلَى أَنْ يَنْفَعُوكَ بِشَيْءٍ لَنْ يَنْفَعُوكَ إِلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ لَكَ - Lawi ijtama’atil ummatu ala an yanfa’uka bishayin lan yanfa’uka illa bishayin qad katabahu Allahu laka) - If this ummah in its entirety, and this is Muslims, non-Muslims, the ummah of the Prophet is the entire world. Once he came, the Prophet, his ummah is all those people like the ummah of da'wah and istijabah. If the whole world wants to conspire to benefit you, and that benefit was not decreed by Allah, you will not get that benefit.

(وَلَوِ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى أَنْ يَضُرُّوكَ بِشَيْءٍ لَنْ يَضُرُّوكَ إِلَّا بِشَيْءٍ قَدْ كَتَبَهُ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكَ - Wa lawi ijtama’u ala an yadurruka bishayin lan yadurruka illa bishayin qad katabahu Allahu alaika) - And if they conspired, if they got together, conspired to harm you, all of them, the whole lot of them, they will not harm you except with what Allah has

decreed against you. (رُفِعَتِ الْأَقْلَامُ وَجَفَّتِ الصُّحُفُ - Rufi’atil aqlamu wa jaffatis suhuf) - The pens have been lifted and the ink is dry. This is yaqeen, he is teaching him yaqeen, be certain about your religion.

Signs of the End Times

Now, we know that towards the latter days, and we know that the Prophet ﷺ came and he said (بُعِثْتُ أَنَا وَالسَّاعَةُ كَهَاتَيْنِ - Bu’ithtu ana was sa’atu kahataini) - And he put his sababa and his wusta together. I was sent and the end of time is like this. That was 1400 years ago. So, all we know is we're 1400 years closer to that.

He said, (بَيْنَ يَدَيِ السَّاعَةِ الْهَرْجُ - Bayna yadai as-sa’ati al-harj) - You're going to see, as the hour draws near, you will see harj. They said, what is harj, ya Rasulullah? He said (الْقَتْلُ الْقَتْلُ - Al-qatlul qatl)

But harj is a specific type of qatal. It's indiscriminate killing. Sahih Muslim, the Prophet said, (حَتَّى يُقْتَلَ الْمَقْتُولُ وَلَا يَدْرِي لِمَا قُتِلَ وَيَقْتُلُ الْقَاتِلُ وَلَا يَدْرِي لِمَا قَتَلَ - Hatta yuqtalul maqtoolu wa la yadri lima qutila wa yaqtulul qaatilu wa la yadri lima qatala) - The one killing won't know why he's killing and the one being killed won't know why he's being killed. Why is this happening? All of the things that happen on this planet that are negative happen from the sins of humanity. It's as simple as that.

The Nature of Good and Evil

Human beings, there's two types of humans. There's bees and there's wasps. And you choose which group you wanna be in. Bees are beneficial, wasps are harmful. But Allah created a world with bees and wasps. He's Dhul-Jalali, the Lord of the bees, the Lord of the wasps, Dhul-Jalali, Majesty, Wal-Ikram, and the Lord of the bees. He's the Lord of both.

The bees give us honey, we heal our bodies with it, nourish our bodies with it, and they give us wax. Traditionally, wax was used for candles to light people's houses. That's what bees do. Wasps, they just harm. And the world has a lot of wasps in it. Not the kind with wings and stingers, human wasps. They just harm people, that's their nature, they can't help it.

It's like the scorpion and the frog, he wants to go across the pond, carry me across the pond. The frog says, I'm not stupid, you'll sting me. He said, that's stupid, just get me across. I wouldn't, we'll die. So the frog says, hop on. Halfway across the pond, the scorpion stings him. He said, why'd you do that? He said, my nature.

There's some people, they can't help it, they're just, they're people, the Prophet called them, the mafatih ash-shar, keys to evil. Why they're here, Allah ta'ala a'lam, we can't, Allah created good and evil, liyabluwakum, to test you.

The Khawarij Prophecy

So, there's a hadith, in Sahih Muslim, in which the Prophet says, that he said about the Khawarij:

(سَمِعْتُ يَقُولُ وَأَهْوَى بِيَدِهِ قِبَلَ الْعِرَاقِ - Sami’tu yaqulu wa ahwa bi yadihi qibal al-iraq) - He pointed his fingers towards Al-Iraq, the country of Iraq, what's now Iraq. And he said, (يَمْرُقُونَ مِنَ الْإِسْلَامِ مُرُوقَ السَّهْمِ مِنَ الرَّمِيَّةِ لَا يُجَاوِزُ تَرَاقِيَهُمُ الْقُرْآنُ - Yamruquna minal islami muruqa as-sahmi minar ramiyyati la yujawizu taraqihimul quran) - It won't go past their

throats. In other words, it won't go to the heart, they won't understand it. And then he said, they will leave this religion like an arrow leaves the bow.

In another hadith, he says (يَأْتِي فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ قَوْمٌ حُدَثَاءُ الْأَسْنَانِ سُفَهَاءُ الْأَحْلَامِ - Ya’ti fi akhiriz zamani qawmun hudathau al-asnaani sufahau al-ahlam) - young people, sufaha al-ahlam. Safih is somebody who's, he can't control himself, he's mubadhdhir. Safih with wealth is somebody who's extravagant, they waste their money, they're incontinent, they can't control themselves.

He said they're (يَقُولُونَ مِنْ خَيْرِ قَوْلِ الْبَرِيَّةِ - Yaquluna min khairi qawlil bariyyati) - They'll say the best of words. In other words, they'll quote the Quran and hadith. (فَإِذَا لَقِيتُمُوهُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ فَإِنَّ فِي قَتْلِهِمْ أَجْرًا لِمَنْ قَتَلَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ - Fa itha laqitumuhum faqtuluhum fa inna fi qatlihim ajran liman qatalahum yaumal qiyamah) - It's as simple as that. This is a plague on humanity. Now, that's what the Prophet said.

Characteristics of the Foolish

The word safih, here's what the ulama said in the tafsir: سَفَةٌ - The word حَاصِلُ تَفْسِيرِ السُّفَهَاءِ فِي صِفَةِ الْمُنَافِقِينَ عَلَى مَجْمُوعِ اللُّغَاتِ أَنَّهُمْ ظَاهِرُ - They're ignorant people. خَفِيفُ الْعَقْلِ - Their intellects are weak. ضَعِيفُ الرَّأْي - They have no opinion. رَدِيءُ الْفَهْمِ - Stupid. مُسْتَخِفُ الْقَدْرِ - Low. سَرِيعُ الذَّنْبِ - Sinful. حَقِيرُ النَّفْسِ - Contemptible. مَخْدُوعُ الشَّيْطَانِ - Fooled by Shaytan. This is called تَلْبِيسُ إِبْلِيسَ - When Shaytan plays with you. أَسِيرُ طُغْيَانٍ دَائِمُ الْعِصْيَانِ مُلَازِمُ الْكُفْرَانِ لَا يُبَالِي بِمَا كَانَ - That's the safih.

Harj: Indiscriminate Violence

Now, in another hadith, the Prophet said - قَالَ أَبُو مُوسَى الْأَشْعَرِيُّ قِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا الْهَرْجُ قَالَ الْقَتْلُ فَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّا نَقْتُلُ الْآنَ فِي الْعَامِ الْوَاحِدِ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَذَا وَكَذَا )Musnad Ahmad 19885) - Some of them said, we kill from the mushrikeen every year, they kill themselves.

He said, we kill them. Every year some die. The Prophet ﷺ said لَيْسَ بِقَتْلِ الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَلَكِنْ يَقْتُلُ بَعْضُهُمْ بَعْضًا بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا - It's not going to be killing from the mushrikeen. Some of you will kill others.

Now look at what he said. حَتَّى يَقْتُلَ الرَّجُلُ جَارَهُ وَابْنَ عَمِّهِ وَذَا قَرَابَتِهِ - He'll kill his neighbor. He'll kill his cousin. And a relative. فَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْقَوْمِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَمَعَنَا عُقُولُنَا - Do we have intellects? The sahaba were intelligent people. They said, do we have intellects, ya Rasulullah? What did he say? لَا - No brains. تُنْزَعُ عُقُولُ أَكْثَرِ ذَلِكَ الزَّمَانِ - The people of that time, the majority of them are without brains.

People Without Spiritual Weight

They'll leave people هَبَاءً . You know, weightless people. Without gravity. Gravitas means weighty. You know, we're... Allah made us تَقَلَيْنِ. You know, jinn and ins were called تَقَلَيْنِ. Because we're weighty. We're weighty physically, which holds us down to the earth. If you're too light, you just fly up. You're like the jinn. Just move up, gas.

But Allah made us ثِقْلٌ ثَقَلٌ. He made us weighty spiritually and physically. But if we lose our spiritual weight, our physical weight has no meaning. In fact, all we're doing is taking up space. That's all.

The State of Leadership and Wealth

The Prophet said, if your أُمَرَاءُ are tyrants, and your أَغْنِيَاءُ are بُخَلَاءُ your أَغْنِيَاءُ are بُخَلَاءُ and your أُمَرَاءُ are tyrants, so your rich are misers, your emirs are tyrants. He said, (بَطْنُ الْأَرْضِ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ مِنْ ظَاهِرِهَا - Batnu al-ardi khairun lakum min zahiriha) - That to be under the earth is better than being over the earth.

This is our tribulation. This is our time. Allah put us in this time. He knows why He put us in this time. But, the only time I ever saw the Prophet ask for death, in all the hadiths that I've read, and all the duas of the Prophet that I've read, I only saw one time that he asked Allah to take him. He said, in one he gives the choice, if it's better for me, then take me. Right? But this hadith he specifically says, and he said it after every prayer according to one riwayah.

He said, (اللَّهُمَّ إِنْ يَسَّرْتَ فِعْلَ الْخَيْرَاتِ وَتَرْكَ الْمُنْكَرَاتِ وَحُبَّ الْمَسَاكِينِ - Allahumma in yassarta fi’lal khairati wa tarkal munkarati wa hubbal masakin) - Let me do good things, leave bad things. Give me (حُبَّ الْمَسَاكِينِ - Hubbul masakin) - Let me love poor people. Why? Because they're Ahlul Jannah.

The People of Paradise

(تَحَاجَّتِ الْجَنَّةُ وَالنَّارُ - Tahajjatil jannatu wan nar) - The Jannah and Naar got into a debate. The Jannah said, the Naar said, I've got, look at these tyrants. You know, I've got all these tyrants. They were big people in the earth. They ruled, they had power. And the Jannah says, what do I have? I have all these weak people, poor people, oppressed people.

And Allah said, the Naar is my punishment for those tyrants. And the Jannah is my reward for those patient ones. The Prophet said, can I tell you the people of Jannah? He said, (كُلُّ ضَعِيفٍ مُتَضَعَّفِ - Kullu da’ifin mutada’af) - Every weak oppressed. Those are the people of Jannah.

The Reality of Muslim Suffering

So, right now Muslims, people think we're causing the problems. Seriously, it's amazing how Shaytan is إِبْلِيسَ - Iblis has made these people think we're causing the problem. The Muslims are suffering more. Twenty people died yesterday in Cairo in a restaurant from a bomb thrown into it. There's over a million dead Iraqis. A million dead Iraqis. Even Tony Blair admitted that we opened the door. There's no Daesh without the American invasion of Iraq.

Something horrible has been unleashed on this planet. But unfortunately, we have a lot of angry, resentful Muslims. And when I say a lot, it's significantly insignificant. But we are 1.7 billion people. So, even our insignificant numbers are significant. So, you might say there's only 400,000. That's the latest estimate of these people. There's only 400,000. That's a lot of people. And then you look at their sympathizers. They estimate they're about 15 million. These are estimates. But that's a lot of people.

The True Nature of Islam

That is a gross misunderstanding of our religion. Because anybody that can tell me Islam is a cruel thing, I would tell you you are a liar. Anybody can tell me that the Prophet was cruel, I would tell that you are a liar. Our Prophet, (فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ كُنتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَا نفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ - fabima rahmatin mina Allahi linta lahum wa law kunta fazzan ghalizal qalbi lan faddu min hawlik) (Quran 3:159) - By the mercy of Allah, you have a soft heart. If you were hard-hearted, if you were harsh, you would see them fleeing.

Look at these people and you see if everybody's flocking around them. You look at everybody fleeing from these people. And if you think, and Allah knows what happened down south, I don't know. You know, we have to... First of all, we're dealing with a demonic element. Really. There's clearly a demonic... We believe in the jinn and we believe in the unseen.

CNN doesn't know about that. So, they're not gonna be reporting about Iblis' activities. That's an unfortunate thing. They used to believe in the devil. In fact, one of their theologians said the biggest trick that the devil ever pulled on this civilization was making them think he didn't exist. But unfortunately, Iblis doesn't make the news. Abdullah makes the news. Ghulam makes the news. Sayyid makes the news. A lot of you have those names. And some of you have... You know, you fit the profile.

And then they show up. They have... Like, they had somebody dressed like Usama bin Laden in their minds saying, yeah, he was a friend of mine but I'm a peaceful Muslim. For the guy in Kentucky, he looked just like Usama bin Laden. This is the mentality we're dealing with.

Our Responsibility as Muslims

Now, we have a responsibility as Muslims in this country. Either you pack up and leave. That's an option. Hijrah is an option. Seriously, people can pack up and leave. Good luck. Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Kashmir, Chechnya, Philippines. I mean, there's not a lot of options here. But we have to deal with the fact that we live in this country.

I'm from this country. On my mother's side, all the way back 1764, they came from Ireland. So I go way back. I have a great-grandfather who fought in the Revolutionary War. So I've been here a long time. At least my ancestors have. Some of you are new. But this is a land of immigrants. The only people that can honestly say that they're from here are what they call Native Americans. And they're not even from here. They're from Mongolia. So everybody made hijrah here at some point.

And migration is a sunnah of God on this planet. Birds migrate. Traditionally, borders were open. People should be able to go where they want. That's a human right. But we have borders now.

Obeying the Law of the Land

And Allah says (أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ - Ati'ullaha wa ati'ur-Rasula wa ulil amri minkum) (Quran 4:59) - We have to obey the law. Anybody that comes into this country. And I said this three days before 9-11. They didn't report that. They reported something else. But I said three days before 9-11 in Philadelphia. I have it on tape. I said anybody that comes into this country with a visa or is living under the law of this land and they commit a criminal act or a terrorist act, the Prophet ﷺ is against them. Because this is our religion.

You have to obey the law of the land that you're in. And the Prophet was a law-abiding. When he was in Mecca, he was a law-abiding citizen. You look at his seerah in Mecca. He didn't have terrorist cells. He didn't have anybody assassinated in Mecca. He was oppressed. But he was a citizen of that. And Dar al-Nadwa were the ulul amri in Mecca. And the only time you don't obey them is if it's a ma'siyah to Allah.

But no Americans putting a gun at your head saying drink alcohol or eat pork like they did in Spain and Andalusia. They used to do that to the Muslims. If you go to Spain today, they have this big hunk of pork. And when you come into the little shops in Andalusia, they cut off a piece of the pork and they offer it to you. Why they do that? Because that was a test. Hundreds of years later, they still do it because it's tradition for them. But they used to test Muslims. Have some pork. And if they didn't eat it, they would report them to the inquisition. We're not in that situation.

The Benefit of Tribulation

Now the other thing, one of the benefits of this, and trust me, the only way you get strong is resistance. If you want to build your muscles, you have to have resistance. Allah puts resistance to make us stronger spiritually and physically. Everything that happens to us is good.

(عَجَبًا لِأَمْرِ الْمُؤْمِنِ إِنَّ أَمْرَهُ كُلَّهُ خَيْرٌ - 'Ajaban li amril mu'mini inna amrahu kullahu khayr) - It's all good. That's a hadith in Sahih Muslim, Suheib al-Rumi. Everything that happens to us is good. If we have (عَيْنُ الْيَقِينِ - 'aynul yaqeen) if we have the eye of certainty. If you're caught up in dunya, oh, my dunya is not looking good, then that's another thing. That's not (تَوَكَّلِّ عَلَى اللَّهِ - tawakkal 'ala Allah). That's another problem. That's a disease of the heart.

The unsettling state that the Muslims are in in this country, this is a good thing. It's about time Muslims start waking up. You've been here for a long time. What have you done? Who have you told out there who you are? Where are all the amazing free clinics? Not one down in Los Angeles or one over here. Where's the Muslim hospital where we treat anybody that comes? You don't need insurance because Muslims traditionally did that.

We, in this country, the Muslim physicians are worth several billion dollars. Several billion dollars. Where are our institutions? Where are our colleges? Where's our television station? The Mexicans have dozens of television stations. Dozens. And when we do these things, we usually do them so poorly nobody's gonna watch. So, we have to wake up.

Breaking the Covenant with Allah

But trust me, you have to accept what comes to you with intelligence, but you have to accept what comes to you. Allah is waking this ummah up and we're still snoring. And it keeps happening until people wake up. You break the covenant with Allah, (إِحْفَظْ لَا يَحْفَظْكَ - Ihfaz la yahfazka). (إحْفَظْ لَا يَحْفَظْكَ - Ihfaz la yahfazka). You break the covenant with Allah, then if Allah removes His providential care, you have no one to blame but yourself.

(فَمَن وَجَدَ خَيْرًا فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللَّهَ وَمَن وَجَدَ غَيْرَ ذَٰلِكَ فَلَا يَلُومَنَّ إِلَّا نَفْسَهُ - Faman wajada khayran falyahmadillaha wa man wajada ghayra dhalika fala yalumanna illa nafsah) - If you find good, thank Allah. And if you find anything other than good, don't blame anybody but yourself. Because that's the madhhab of Islam. You want the madhhab of Islam? That's the madhhab of Islam.

The madhhab of Islam is (أَنَّى هُدًا - anna huda) - Why is this happening? Why did we lose Uhud? We're the people of truth. We were with the Prophet (قُلْ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ أَنفُسِكُمْ - Qul huwa min 'indi anfusikum) (Quran 3:165) - That's Sahaba, the best. (كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ - Kuntum khayra ummatin ukhrijat lin-nas) (Quran 3:110) - Have we disobeyed the Prophet? Those people on the mountain that abandoned their... for booty, for dunya, they abandoned their place and they lost. They had a... Even the Prophet was bloodied.

He lost part of his tooth. He had the chain mail in his cheek. The place where his blood dropped still smells like musk. I've been there. The smell is amazing. After 1400 years, you can still get the whiff of that from his blood that was spilt there. But that's our Prophet ﷺ.

The Command to Obey Authority

So, if Muslims don't obey Allah and obey His messenger (أَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ - Ati'ullaha wa ati'ur-Rasula wa ulil amri minkum) (Quran 4:59) - As long as they don't tell you to disobey Allah. And that's any government you're under. Whether it's a Muslim government, whether it's a Christian government, like in Habesha, where they weren't having terrorist organizations, planning to assassinate Najashi, that kafir, that trinitarian kafir.

No, they went, they spoke to him. Amr ibn Aas went there and said, Oh, they say this and that about your religion. Right? When the Prophet's companions went there and Ja'far spoke, he didn't say, Yeah, you're a kafir because you say (إِنَّ اللَّهَ ثَالِثُ ثَلَاثَةٍ - Inna Allaha thalithu thalatha) (Quran 5:73) - You say that, no. He said, here's what our religion teaches. He didn't attack his religion. He said, here's what our religion teaches.

And Najashi had tears coming down his eyes. This is the hikmah. Our Prophet never created any terrorist organization. He never had cells. He never had secret meetings at night. His home is completely transparent. We even know what was revealed in the house. We know the domestic disputes. We know Aisha. We know about the honey. We know about Zaynab. We know about Hafsa. Open book. That's our Prophet. He had nothing to hide. Nothing to be ashamed of. And if you're practicing his faith, you have nothing to hide and you have nothing to be ashamed of.

The Glory of Islamic Civilization

And I'll just conclude by saying one thing. This ummah historically is the single most extraordinary civilization in human history. No civilization has the record that this ummah... You have nothing to be ashamed about of your fathers, your ancestors. But we should be ashamed about how we represent them today. The people that built Taj Mahal. If these guys got to India, they'd blow up Taj Mahal because it's a tomb. They'd blow up Taj Mahal. I seek refuge in Allah. Bid'ah.

We are very fortunate to be in the Bay Area. (وَذَكِّرْكُمْ بِنِعَمِ اللهِ - Wa dhakkirkum bi ni'amillah) - This is a very educated place. And as you know, you have neighbors, you have people that you work with at your jobs. They're by and large good people. This is a reality. This civilization has been trying very hard to overcome its historical sins of racism. They're trying. They're not there yet, but they're trying. There are a lot of people trying.

Allah's Mercy and Justice

Allah says (وَمَا كَانَ رَبُّكَ لِيُهْلِكَ الْقُرَى بِظُلْمٍ وَأَهْلُهَا مُصْلِحُونَ - Wa ma kana rabbuka liyuhlikal quraa bi zulmin wa ahluha muslihoon) (Quran 11:117) - Allah will not destroy a people for their dhulm. Bayadawi says it's shirk here. If amongst them are people that are trying to rectify. And there's a lot of people that try to do that. That's something that we have to recognize about this culture.

But these people are frightened. They're scared of us. Just like Muslims in the Muslim world are scared of the Americans. They are. They're scared of drones. They're scared of bombs and strikes. They're scared. The Americans here, they're afraid of us. Because they have been brainwashed into thinking this is a religion of hatred, of terrorism. We have a responsibility. We have a responsibility.

Understanding the Fear

And unfortunately, when events like this happen and Allah knows what happened. But when events like what happened in San Bernardino where it's somebody who's been working for several years at a place everybody knows him. Even the Muslims say he didn't appear to be radical. And suddenly he goes ballistic. Then people start thinking maybe dhulm, you know. He seems normal but look at that guy down there. You know, they're afraid. And you have to recognize that. Do you know? So, it's important for us to be aware of the time we're living in.

The Power of Reaching Out

I received something the other day. Somebody was at a place where Bill O'Reilly was staying. And Bill O'Reilly was having dinner. And there was a Muslim family in a table next to him. And they started having a debate. Should we reach out to him and just ask him to... And some of them said it's a waste of time. He won't do anything. There's no benefit. And some of them said no, we should do something.

So, they got a dessert and they sent it over to his table just as a gift. And then he acknowledged it. The next day, they saw him again and they decided to approach him. And one of them sat and had a long conversation with him about being a Muslim and what Islam is. After the San Bernardino incident, when he mentioned it, he mentioned this man at the table. And he said, unfortunately, this taints millions of good law-abiding Americans.

Respond with What is Better

Even people that have horrible track records. (ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ - Idfa' billati hiya ahsan) (Quran 23:96) - Listen to the words of Allah. ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ - Don't return a wrong with another wrong. That's true. (جَزَاءُ سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِّثْلُهَا ۖ فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّهِ - Jazaa'u sayyi'atin sayyi'atun mithluha faman 'afa wa aslaha fa ajruhu 'alallah)

(Quran 42:40) - That's true. Allah says, you can redress wrong with justice, which He called a sayyiah. It's not a sayyiah, but it looks like it because it's harsh and it's intiqam. But He said (فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللهِ - Faman 'afa wa aslaha fa ajruhu 'alallah) - Right?

But people forget that. They forget all those verses in the Quran that tell us, and what did our Prophet do? That's his sunnah. You wanna follow the sunnah of the Prophet? Reach out to your enemies. Because that's what he did. He sat with them.

The Example of Asma's Mother

When his wife's mother came to Medina, she wouldn't sit with her because she was a mushrik. She wouldn't sit with her. And the verse was revealed (لَّا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُم مِّن دِيَارِكُمْ أَن تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا إِلَيْهِمْ - La yanhakumullahu 'anillazeena lam yuqatilukum fid deeni wa lam yukhrijukum min diyaarikum an tabarroohum wa tuqsitu ilayhim) (Quran 60:8) - Her own family was fighting. But this was a woman who was a non-combatant. She wasn't fighting you. And Allah said, she's your mother, bring her in. Treat her with birr. This is our religion.

(ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ - Idfa' billati hiya ahsanu fa izal lazi baynaka wa baynahu 'adawatun ka annahu waliyyun hameem) (Quran 41:34) - Then the one with whom you have animosity towards, suddenly he's like your best friend.

Never Despair of Allah's Mercy

(وَلَا تَيْأَسُوا مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ - Wala tay'asu min rawhi Allahi) (Quran 12:87) - Don't despair of the grace of Allah. Because the people that hate Islam most, according to the Prophet (أَشْدُّهُمْ عَدَاوَةً لِلْإِسْلَامِ - Ashadduhum 'adawatan lil Islam) become the best supporters of Islam. That's a hadith.

So don't think because they hate Islam, everybody's looking at death. Everybody's looking at death. One of the rahmahs that we had is the study of Quran that came out, that Harper Perennial published. Hopefully many many Americans will buy that and see an intelligent religion and a beautiful scripture that calls people to these high ideals. These are great blessings in the midst of the tribulation. So (نَحْنُ فِي عَيْنِ الْبَلَاءِ مَعَ الْعَافِيَةِ - Nahnu fi 'aynil bala'i ma'al 'afiyah) - Like Imam Al-Mujaddidi said, we're in the midst of tribulation in the dunya, but we have the well-being of Allah.

Closing Supplication

Alhamdulillah. So may Allah inshallah make us lighthouses that show people what true Islam is. May Allah elevate our community. May Allah restore our intellects for those who have lost them. May Allah put the plots of those who plot against this religion. May they fall back on them. May Allah protect us from their evil. May Allah guide those who are ignorant amongst them who want good. May Allah guide them. And those who know what Islam is and yet are distorting it. May Allah deal with them as He deals with people that are evil.

May Allah protect this country and protect the Muslims in this country and protect the people that we live amongst. May we be good neighbors to them. May Allah protect our women and give them courage in the face of these calamities and protect our children. May Allah inshaAllah restore our brothers and sisters in other places to better times. May Allah restore security to the Muslim lands and give them sukun and repose and help. And may Allah give us yaqeen in our hearts to know that nothing will afflict us except what Allah has decreed

for us. May Allah give us the yaqeen of Ibn Abbas. May Allah give us the sincerity of those early people.

InshaAllah.

May Allah forgive all of us, forgive this, protect this masjid and all our masjids, these places of worship and protect the synagogues and protect the churches and protect the temples. These are the things that we were sent to protect as a community.

كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ (Quran 3:110) - You came out for all of humanity. May Allah restore these truths to our hearts and to our community.

Final Reminder

He commands to justice and charity. He prohibits foulness and dishonorable things. He forbids these things, to aggress against people. May Allah realize these truths in our hearts. يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ - He is exhorting us that perhaps we might be reminded.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ أَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ