Worth More Than 1000 Men

Worth More Than 1000 Men | Dr. Omar Suleiman

Opening and Introduction

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Audhu billahi min ash-shaytani r-rajim. Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim.

Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen. Wa la ilaha illa anzalameen. wal aqibatu lilmuttaqeem.

Allahumma salli wa sallam wa barak ala abdika wa rasulika wa muhammadin. Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim tasliman kathira.

Are you all familiar in London with the concept of a BMI? Body Mass Index.

Do you all do that? You weigh muscle, body fat, a BMI. So you're well acquainted with the idea that two people can step on a scale and they might technically weigh the same but their health is actually entirely different. The content of that person does not immediately show based upon what shows up on the scale, what number shows up on the scale.

I want you to remember this concept inshaAllah ta'ala. It will make sense to you in about 20 minutes bi-idhnillahi ta'ala.

The Story of Muadh as an Ummah

Masrook ibn al-Ajda, rahimahullah, says that one day I was reading to my teacher, Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

And the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam said, man arada an yasma'al qur'an ghaddan tariyan kama unzil. Whoever wants to hear the qur'an fresh like the day that it was recited, let them listen to the recitation of ibn Ummi Abd. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

And as he was reading to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, he came across the verse:

Translation: That verily Ibrahim was a nation. Ibrahim was an ummah, devout in his worship to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, a monotheist. And he did not associate partners with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And he said that, as I recited that verse to Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, ibn Mas'ud responded. And he said, inna Mu'adhan kana ummah.

Mu'adh ibn Jabal was an ummah. So Mas'ud tried again and he thought that maybe it's a mistake. Or he asked ibn Mas'ud, why are you saying that inna Mu'adhan kana ummah? And Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu responded.

And he said, atadri mal'ummah? Do you know what an ummah is? He said, what? It's not a nation of people. It's not by number. It's not by tribe. It's not even by belief. What is an ummah? He said, allathee yu'allimun nas al khayr. The one who teaches the people good is an ummah.

And he said, atadri mal'qalit? Do you know who a person that's devout in his worship to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is? He said, who? He said, allathee yu'ti'ullaha warasoola. The one who obeys Allah and the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. And he recited once again, inna Mu'adhan kana ummah. Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu was an ummah in and of himself.

The Character of Muadh ibn Jabal

Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu. How many of you are named Mu'adh? Just a show of hands. I know we have some Mu'adhs that are here. MashaAllah. Some of you are hesitant. I don't know what to make of that.

How many Mu'adhs do we have here? May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us all nations like Mu'adh radiyallahu ta'ala anhu. Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu died when he was between the age of 34 and 36. And on the Day of Judgment, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned that when the lines are set, that Mu'adh radiyallahu ta'ala anhu is the master of the ulama, the leader of the ulama on the Day of Judgment despite that young age.

Now subhanAllah, this ummah was sent to Yemen. And the fact that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu to Yemen is a sign of the intention that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had for Yemen. Look how beautiful, look how powerful, look how incredible the fruits of that da'wah are in Yemen.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless the people of Yemen. Faith is Yemeni. There are people who have soft hearts that incline quickly to this message.

And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had the foresight to send an ummah from Medina to go to Yemen. And an ummah comes out from Yemen from which the fruits are still being borne. Inna Mu'adh kana ummah.

Ibn Mas'ud: Small in Stature, Great in Scale

The one to whom that was being recited was Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu. Ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, if you saw him, his description is that he was physically short. Not only that, but he's someone whose presence had absolutely no imposition by virtue of the physical makeup of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhu.

But the famous story of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم with ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu ta'ala anhum is that when he went to pick a siwak for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,and the wind blew up his toe, and you could see his legs, the sahaba laughed at the size of his legs. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, what are you laughing at? They said, Ya Rasulallah, we're laughing at the size of his legs. And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, lahuma fil mizani athqalu min jabri uhud.

You're laughing at his legs. His legs in the mizan, his legs in the scale of Allah جل جلاله on the Day of Judgment, is the size of Uhud. Can you imagine a man walking with legs the size of the mountain of Uhud? Imagine if that person existed today.

If any of you have ever seen Uhud, it's humongous. Imagine walking and your legs being the size of Uhud. Because it wasn't the physical mass of Abdullah bin Mas'ud صلى الله عليه وسلم that defined him as a person.

It was the character, the faith, that was inside of him, that defined his size in front of Allah جل جلاله And the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, on the Day of Judgment, ya'ti bil rajul as-sameen al-'azim, Allah will bring forth people that are huge, great, in quotation marks. Fala yazinu 'inda Allahi janaha ba'udah. And they would not weigh in the sight of Allah جل جلاله the wing of a mosquito.

The BRI: Body and Soul Index

Remember I asked you, your BMI, body mass index. There will be tyrants on the Day of Judgment running between the feet of people like ants. There's a very specific tyrant that comes to my mind right now, but I'm not gonna say his name.

But may Allah جل جلاله allow us to crush him just like this. And the people of Palestine to crush him just like this and all of the zalimeen along with him. Allahumma ameen.

Little tyrants that will run forth on the Day of Judgment. So you've got extremes. You have a man walking whose legs are like Uhud. You have Mu'adh صلى الله عليه وسلم who's like an entire ummah. And you have everyone in between. I've given you the scope.

When you hear about a companion by the name of al-Qa'qa'a رضي الله تعالى عنه and Abu Bakr as-Siddiq رضي الله تعالى عنه who sends him to reinforce the army of Khalid ibn al-Walid said, I'm sending you a man رجل بألف a man who is worth a thousand men, whose voice is better than the voices of a thousand men, whose presence ensures that an army will not be defeated. If you look at him, no matter how big his presence is, if you physically put him in front of a thousand people, the one thousand look greater than the one. But remember your BMI.

Let's call it your BRI. Your Body Ru'ih Index. We're gonna change it up insha'Allah ta'ala.

Body and soul. Ru'ih and jasad. It's not the physical weight. It's the weight of the soul. And in that, the weight of the heart, the weight of the akhlaq, the weight of the character. So you have Mu'adhs in Ummah, you have the tyrants on the Day of Judgment that are ants.

You have Ibn Mas'ud radiyallahu anhu whose legs the size of Uhud. You have the voice of al-Qa'qa'a radiyallahu ta'ala anhu that is louder and more powerful than a thousand. A man who as one is better than a thousand.

Umar's Wish for Men, Not Gold

And everyone in between. Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyallahu ta'ala anhu is one day sitting with his companions. And he said to them, make a wish, tamannu. Some of them said, we wish that we could have this entire room full of gold so we could spend it in the way of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Another man wished for a room full of pearls and rubies, also fi sabirillah. Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu was the only one who got it.

The only one who saw things differently. And subhanallah, because Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu himself understood that as physically imposing as his presence was, that had he died in a state of ignorance, his body would have been just like the body of Abu Jahl. Also a huge man.

That his physical presence and the volume of his voice, the imposing strength, was not what made him. But the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم's da'wah took Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu and truly made him into a mountain. Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu said, everyone make a wish.

Everyone wished for things, possessions, that they could spend fi sabirillah. And indeed you talk to a lot of Muslims and they say, our problem is we don't have the money. Our enemies have money.

Our problem is they've got this and they understand how to do this and they understand how to do that and they have these resources at their disposal. That's not a Muslim mindset. That's not a Muslim mindset.

Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu said, he said, ask for me, I wish I could have a room full of men like Abu Ubaidah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, al-Jarrah, Mu'adh ibn Jabal radiyallahu ta'ala anhu and Salim Mawla Abu Hudhayfa. I wish I could have a room full of men like that. If I had a room full of men like that, I don't need the gold.

I don't need the pearls. I don't need the resources. Because what Allah has put in the content and the substance of those people is greater than any resource that could come to the hands of this ummah.

That's what I want. I want people like that. And subhanAllah, these three men, Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, when he was dying, he said, if any one of them were alive, I would have appointed them as the khalifa of the Muslims.

By the time Umar radiyallahu ta'ala anhu passed away, all three of them had gone. Why? What makes these three men? I know many of you have heard this narration. And the obvious implication of the narration is that, well, if I have great people, it's better than great resources.

But why those three? What is the common denominator of those three? Abu Ubaidah was an ummah. Mu'adh was an ummah. Salim was an ummah. Each one of them was a nation. And if you think about what each one of them represents in terms of influence, in terms of content, in terms of the substance of their character.

Abu Ubaidah: The Trustworthy One

Abu Ubaidah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu, if you saw him, he was an extremely unassuming person, by the way. He was the ameen of this ummah. The trustworthy one of this ummah. What a beautiful name.

SubhanAllah, as the ulema mentioned, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is as-Sadiq al-Ameen. He's the only one to take that name as an extension of the characteristic of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. So you have Abu Bakr as-Sadiq and Abu Ubaidah al-Ameen, both drinking from the fountain of as-Sadiq al-Ameen, the truthful one, the trustworthy one صلى الله عليه وسلم. And Abu Ubaidah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu is the trustworthy one of this ummah. He's the ameen of this ummah.

What does that even mean? If you looked at him, he'd be the guy that is looking around, making sure that everything is set up properly. He'd be the person watching your back. He'd be the person, while someone else is standing on stage, going around and making sure that all the chairs are holding.

He'd be the person checking out the sound of that balloon to make sure no one just opened fire on the gathering. He'd be the person making sure that everyone is well-fed. He'd be the person making sure that the crowd flow is right.

He'd be the person making sure that the content is right. He was an unassuming person. You get the point.

He was missing some of his teeth and he had a lisp in his mouth. You know why? He had a lisp in his teeth. Because on the day of Uhud, when the helmet of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was driven into his head, Abu Ubaidah radiyallahu ta'ala anhu used his teeth to pull out the helmet of the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم stuck in his cheeks.

Bit with his teeth and lost his teeth in the process. He's a caretaker of this ummah. He didn't dress fancy. He didn't give long speeches. But he was always watching the ummah, always taking care of the ummah, always establishing the ummah wherever he went. A man full of khair.

And you could trust him. You know in a moment, subhanAllah, where people can demonstrate such great appearance, we need more Abu Ubaidahs. Because the ummah knew that Abu Ubaidah always had its back.

The ummah knew that Abu Ubaidah radiyallahu anhu always put the interest of the ummah before himself. Everywhere he went, he set the stage. Before Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyallahu anhu walks into Jerusalem.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala liberate Al-Quds in our lifetime. Everyone say ameen. And allow us to enter into it with that same spirit of Islam that Umar radiyallahu anhu entered into it with.

With izzah, with dignity and honor. Everyone say ameen. Who was the one that set the stage? It was Abu Ubaidah radiyallahu anhu.

He's the one that set the stage. He's the one that got it all ready for the entrance of Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyallahu anhu. We need men like that. We need people like that. People of substance. Not people of appearance. People of substance.

Muadh: Teacher of Good

As for Mu'adh radiyallahu anhu, we already said. The man carried the ummah with him wherever he went and made new branches of this ummah.

Salim: A Person of Quran

As for Salim Mawla Abu Hudhayfa, he's one of those who the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said, take the Qur'an from him. And subhanAllah, when you talk about people that hold it down. I want you to remember this especially in this day and age.

You know, everyone wants to grow up, or not everyone, but many people want to grow up and want to become Qur'an. Amazing that you want to be people of Qur'an. But do you want to sound good? Or do you want the Qur'an to fill your heart? Do you want people to hear your recitation and go mashallah? Or do you want Allah to see your heart full of Qur'an on the Day of Judgment? And be elevated with the recitation of the Qur'an.

I want to read like the Imam of the Haram. I want to read like this famous person. I want to read like this. I want to read like that. There's nothing wrong with wanting to beautify your voice with the Qur'an. But before that, I want to be a person of Qur'an.

One of the most profound quotes I heard from Salim Mawla Abi Hudhaifa radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. A man of Qur'an. A man whose voice was so beautiful people would gather around to listen to him recite the Qur'an.

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم loved his voice. The Sahaba loved his voice. On the Battle of Yamama, Salim Mawla Abi Hudhaifa radiAllahu ta'ala anhu said لَبِئْسَ حَامِلٌ الْقُرْآنِ أَنَا إِنْ أَتِيَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ قِبَلِي.

What a pathetic carrier of the Qur'an I am if the Muslims are attacked from my direction.

What a pathetic حامل القرآن memorizer of the Qur'an I am if the Muslims are attacked from my direction. If I don't have the substance to hold down my fort to be of the strongest links of the Muslims to account for more than just myself then the Qur'an has not benefited me in any way. What is my علم? What is my knowledge? If it doesn't benefit the ummah.

If it doesn't fortify the Muslims. What is my knowledge? ماذا نفع به that Allah سبحانه و تعالی will ask me about and ask you about if it did not lead to the creation of something greater that would be of benefit to the ummah if it didn't bear any fruit. What's the point? Salim رضي الله تعالى عنه was demonstrating something of incredible importance that too many people want to be a trophy not enough people want to be a torch.

Too many people want to sound sweet. Not enough people want to have substance and strength in their hearts. Too many people want to be celebrated. Not enough people want to be a cause for the ummah celebration. Too many people want the appearance. Not enough people want the hearts with Allah سبحانه و تعالی.

He wanted to be a person of substance and he never deluded himself into saying I think my voice sounds good therefore I'm carrying my weight. Carrying my weight means I'm holding it down and protecting the ummah from my direction.

Modern Application: Gaza and Palestine

When people come forward and they say I want to benefit Palestine this ummah is like one body.

That doesn't just mean that you feel the hurt of another part of the body. That also means that you are not a cause of hurt for the rest of the body. That doesn't just mean that when one part of the body is weak that you feel that weakness.

It also means that you do your best to be the strong part of the body. You do your part to also strengthen what Allah سبحانه و تعالی has given you in your place, in your regard. What's your BRI? What's the content of your soul? What's the content of your character? What is it that caused the body of Sa'ad ibn Mu'adh رضي الله تعالى عنه when he was buried? A man once again in his 30s and his death shook the throne of Allah سبحانه و تعالی.

What is it? Was it the strength of Sa'ad رضي الله تعالى عنه? Or was it the content of his character? The content of his soul? The weight in his heart in which he magnified, glorified Allah سبحانه و تعالی. What made him who he was?

Now there are a few points to address in regards to the current moment that we are in. I want you to understand that what makes Gaza so special are not the buildings.

They could flatten all the buildings that they want. But there are mountains in Gaza that they can never flatten. They could destroy every physical structure in Gaza by the end of this.

And they would have not flattened a single mountain in Gaza. There are 9-year-old mountains in Gaza that could stand up to the most sophisticated military, most enabled military in the world. And some people don't understand that.

I've heard Muslims saying it's one of the most offensive things in the world. I've heard Muslims say, why don't the Palestinians just give up? Why don't the Palestinians just خلاص have sabr, have patience, move on from this all. Give it up until Allah سبحانه و تعالی makes a way out for you.

Translation: Don't you remember that the people of Musa عليه السلام did not enter into Jerusalem because they said what? They got big massive people in there.

The people of Gaza don't care. The people of Palestine don't care.

They don't see جبارين They see cowards. They don't see people of strength. They see people who hide behind the superficial methods of strength. They don't see people who actually believe in themselves. They see soldiers who have a mindset of destruction but have no content inside of their hearts.

If you don't understand the iman of the people of Palestine and the people of Gaza who are holding it down on behalf of the rest of the ummah, then at least save them from your opinion of them. Keep your opinion to yourself. They're not going anywhere بِإِذْنِ اللهِ تَعَالَى because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم mentioned that they will be there and they will insist upon that way كَذَلِكَ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللهِ وَهُمْ كَذَلِكَ Until the command of Allah comes, until it comes to an end and they are that way.

When we say that their existence is resistance, we mean it. They're mountains. They're not moving. They're mountains. They don't want to be refugees. You don't pick mountains up and put them somewhere else.

They're mountains. They understand the weight of the burden of insisting on not being uprooted from that land because for them as people to be uprooted from that land is for Islam to be uprooted from that land. The best thing we can do is make du'a for them.

Oh Allah, make their feet firm. What do you think you're saying when you make that du'a? Oh Allah, make their feet firm.

Descend upon them tranquility.

What do you think you're making du'a for? Those people are mountains. Those people are an incredible source of inspiration to the rest of us. I want you to think about how many angels that go around the world looking for the righteous are clustered there.

You know the Gaza Strip is one of the most populated areas in the world. Imagine what the population of malaika is in Gaza. The population of angels is

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