Winning the Battle Against Islamophobia Fighting Bigotry & Intolerance - Corrected Khutba
By Yasir Qadhi | 2026-01-07T22:09:39.382879+00:00 | Topic: Justice
Winning the Battle Against Islamophobia: Fighting Bigotry & Intolerance
Speaker: Yasir Qadhi | May 2012
Opening
As-salāmu alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuhu. Al-ḥamdu lillāhi wa-s-salātu wa-s-salāmu 'alá Rasūlu Llāh wa-alá ālihi wa-sahbihi wa-man wa-lāhi. Amma ba'd.
The Treaty of Hilf al-Fudul: A Foundation for Justice
Roughly 20 years before the Prophet Muhammad (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) began preaching his message as a prophet, an incident happened in Makkah that was to forever shape the future of Arabian society. It was an incident that our Prophet Muhammad (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) participated in even though the revelation had not yet begun. He was barely 20 years old.
The Incident with Al-'Aas ibn Wa'il
A poor trader, a poor businessman from one of the tribes of Yemen, came to Makkah before hajj. The tribes of Yemen were not considered to be as elite and as noble as the tribes of Quraysh. He sold a good amount of merchandise to one of the rich noblemen of Quraysh, whose name was Al-'Aas ibn Wa'il.
Al-'Aas ibn Wa'il said, "Come to me after hajj, I'll give you your money." So the man said, "Okay, fine." He came after hajj and went to Al-'Aas ibn Wa'il and said, "Can I have my money now? You owe me such a large amount."
He said, "I don't have it, come again tomorrow." And he came again tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It was pretty clear that Al-'Aas ibn Wa'il was simply procrastinating, never intending to pay this man any money.
Why? Because he was a rich nobleman, he was a Qurayshi, and who is this man to get this money from him? And where would he go to? What court of law could he go to? What higher authority could he go to when Al-'Aas was one of the chieftains of the Quraysh?
The Poor Man's Appeal
This poor man went to many of the other elders of the Quraysh, knocking on their doors, "Help me out, do something. Al-'Aas owes me so much money," and every one of them gave an excuse. "I'm sorry, I can't get involved, Al-'Aas is too powerful, he's too rich, I'm not really... go to somebody else."
Until finally in desperation, he resorted to writing a satirical poem, a harsh poem criticizing the Quraysh. He stood up in front of the Kaaba, and this was their propaganda, this was their CNN, this was their means of getting news across - poetry. He stood up in front of the Kaaba and gave a scathing critique of the Quraysh.
He said, "Of what use is it to claim descent from the Quraysh and to live close to the Kaaba when a poor man in Ihram like myself can be cheated, can be stolen from in broad daylight, and not one of you moves a finger for that. Blessedness doesn't come from living next to the Kaaba, blessedness comes from your manners and mannerisms." A mushrik kafir speaking the truth as if there is no tomorrow.
Clearly saying, "Who cares what your lineage, who cares where you're descended from, who cares where you live. If you're not honest and if you're not upright, who cares, you're not worth anything." This poem spread across Arabia.
The Formation of Hilf al-Fudul
The elders of the Quraysh decided we need to act. The first person to act was the uncle of the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam), the eldest uncle, al-Zubair ibn Abdul Muttalib. Al-Zubair ibn Abdul Muttalib came together, he gathered the elders of the Quraysh.
There was only one person who was of the youngsters amongst them, and that is our Prophet Muhammad (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam). Everybody else was of the elders except for our Prophet Muhammad (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam). They formed for the first time in Arabian society, a pact, a treaty. This treaty, we now call it Hilf al-Fudul. Hilf al-Fudul, it's also called Hilf al-Mutayyabin, the same treaty.
Hilf al-Fudul or Hilf al-Mutayyabin basically had at its core that no matter who is shown injustice to, we as the Quraysh will be on the side of the oppressed. We as the Quraysh will be on the side of the one who was wronged, even if the one who wronged him was our brother or our uncle or our senior. The Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) participated, and he was of the youngest.
In fact, he was the youngest who participated in this pact. This pact became the most honorable pact of Arabia before the coming of Islam.
The Prophet's Pride in the Treaty
Our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, many years later in Medina, when he was 40 years after this incident: "As a young man, I witnessed the treaty in the house of Ibn Jud'an. This is the treaty of Fudul. A treaty that if I were asked to uphold it even in Islam, I would do so. I would obey the treaty even now. And I would not give up my place in that house for many red camels," which means in our language, for a million dollars, "I would not give up my place for being in that room."
The Significance of This Treaty
Establishing Character Before Prophethood
What is so beneficial? Why do we start a lecture with this treaty? This treaty demonstrates to us one of many things that the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) participated in before he became a Rasul, before the wahi came down, before Allah sent down (اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ - iqra bismi rabbik) (Quran 96:1). Our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) established a character.
He established a paradigm. He established a means, an honor. He established street credibility. A part of that street credibility was to stand up with the weak and the oppressed against the strong and the oppressors. Our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was so proud of this treaty that he said, "Even now as a prophet, if they called me to uphold that treaty, I would be the first to respond to that call. And I would not give up my place in that house for a million dollars."
Recognition of Future Leadership
This treaty demonstrates many things. Of the things that it demonstrates, of course, is that our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) despite his young age, the Quraysh recognized he's gonna become a leader. He's only 20 years old.
When is the last time you heard of a 20-year-old sitting on the shura of a masjid, sitting on a national conference? When is a 20-year-old? Never. But our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) despite being 20 years old, the Quraysh invited him in. This shows us his maturity and the fact that they understood that he would be a future leader.
Noble Qualities in Pre-Islamic Society
This treaty also shows us that the Quraysh did have some noble qualities in them. That despite all of their evil, they also had a good streak. It was because of this streak that the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was sent amongst them.
The True Spirit of Islam
Most importantly for our lecture, most importantly for our talk, this treaty demonstrates the true spirit of Islam. The true reality of what it means to be a Muslim. That is that our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) even before the revelation began, even before he began preaching (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ - la ilaha illAllah) he was standing up for truth and justice, against tyrannical powers, against evil and oppression.
It was only after the age of 40 that our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) began preaching a theological message that was different than the message of those before him.
The Problem with Modern Da'wah Approach
Unfortunately many of us in our times, and let me say this very bluntly, we put the cart before the horse. We think that da'wah is only about talking. It's only about knocking at doors and giving pamphlets out. It's only about lectures and debates. Now I'm not trying to dismiss that element of da'wah, it's very important.
We need to call people to tawheed, of course that's the essence. We need to preach, we need to teach, we need to engage in dialogue. But what I'm trying to stress here is a reality that most Muslims ignore or choose to ignore.
Establishing Credentials First
What is that reality? Before the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) began knocking on doors, before he began distributing his version of pamphlets, before he began preaching a different theology, he had already established his credentials as somebody who cared for the society, as somebody who was involved with the people of Mecca, as somebody who stood up and who strove his best to correct the wrongs and the ills of society.
Khadija's Testament to the Prophet's Character
When the first revelation came down (ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ - iqra bismi rabbik) Quran (96:1) and our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) went back to Khadija, and he said, (زَمِّلُونِي زَمِّلُونِي - zammilooni zammilooni) (Cover me, cover me). He said to Khadija, "Ya Khadija, I think that I'm losing my mind, I think that I'm seeing images, I'm hearing voices."
What did Khadija tell him? Before Khadija even heard (ٱقْرَأْ بِٱسْمِ رَبِّكَ - iqra bismi rabbik) Quran (96:1), before the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) told her what Jibreel said to him, Khadija said to the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) (كَلَّا وَٱللَّٰهِ لَا يُخْزِيكَ ٱللَّٰهُ أَبَدًا - kalla wallahi la yukhzeeka Allahu abada) (Bukhari hadith 3). "No, by Allah. Allah will never humiliate you by causing you to go mad. Allah will never humiliate you by causing you to go mad." Why? Listen to this.
(Bukhari hadith 3)
(إِنَّكَ لَتَصِلُ الرَّحِمَ وَتَحْمِلُ الْكَلَّ وَتَكْسِبُ الْمَعْدُومَ وَتَقْرِي الضَّيْفَ وَتُعِينُ عَلَى نَوَائِبِ الْحَقِّ - innaka latasilu-r-rahima wa tahmilu-l-kalla wa taksibu-l-ma'dooma wa taqri-d-dayfa wa tu'eenu 'ala nawa'ibi-l-haqq) Number one, you are good to your relatives. Number two, you feed the poor. Number three, you take care of the orphans. Number four, if there's any need in society, you're the one who volunteers to do it. You do all of these deeds, how could Allah humiliate you by causing you to be misguided, by causing you to lose your mind?
Notice Khadija can say the character of the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) even before (اقْرَأْ - iqra) Quran 96:1) is revealed. And what is that character? He has established a reputation for standing up for the causes that afflict society, for the social injustices, for the zulm, for the oppression.
Al-Ameen Before Ar-Rasul
He's already a figure that nobody can accuse of being neutral. Nobody can accuse of being selfish. One way to phrase this is, and this is a very simple phrase: Our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was known as Al- Ameen before he was called Ar-Rasul on earth. Our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) was known as Al-Ameen before he was called Ar-Rasul. Because before you start preaching, you need to have credibility.
You need to have proper credentials. You can't open your mouth and the people don't know who you are. You can't start telling them of a new religion or a new theology and nobody's ever seen you before except to preach this theology.
Even Enemies Acknowledged His Character
That is exactly what our Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) did. That when he began preaching, even his most hated enemies had to admit that he takes care of the poor and he feeds the orphan and he's good to his relatives. Abu Sufyan, he later became a Muslim.
When this story is taking place, he's not a Muslim. Abu Sufyan is interviewed by the emperor of Rome, Heraclius. He's interviewed by the emperor of Rome. He's trying his best to dismiss the message of the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam). So Abu Sufyan is asked by the emperor of Rome, "What does this Prophet tell you to do? What does he tell you to do?" And he has to speak the truth. So what does he say?
Abu Sufyan says, "He tells us to worship the one God and to leave the gods of our forefathers. And he tells us to be good to our relatives. And he tells us to take care of the poor." This was the message of Islam that even a kafir, pagan, enemy had to say in front of the emperor of Rome. "He tells us to feed the poor and to take care of our relatives."
Look at the PR. Look at the impression. Look at the message that the early Muslims had. What stereotype exists for those Muslims? They're good to the poor.
Our Failure to Live Up to This Standard
Ask anybody of our times what they think of Muslims and you all know the answer. You all know the answer, why? Because the fact of the matter, brothers and sisters, is that we have failed miserably to live up to the sunnah of the Prophet (صَلَّىٰ ٱللَّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam). To be known as Al-Amin before we start preaching what is the Risalah. To be called people who care about the causes of this world. To speak out against oppression. No, we're not known for any of that.
The Reality of Our Priorities
And wallahi, brothers and sisters, again, allow me to be blunt here. Look at the fundraisers that we have for foreign causes, many of which are very good, mashallah, tabarakallah. If we were to have a fundraiser for Palestine, for Kashmir, for any part of the world that we are connected to ethnically back home, mashallah, from the 6 to 7 digits we get from across North America.
If we try to have a fundraiser for a local soup kitchen in our own communities, we all know, we won't even get 10, 20, 30 thousand dollars. What is the reality of Islam for many of us? And I'm not astaghfirullah
criticizing giving to Palestine. You all understand what I'm saying. There's a role for this and a role for that. There's a time for this and a time for that.
Even though to be honest, to be brutally honest, many of the fuqaha say that charity is more deserving for those around you versus for those far away. And some of the madhab even say you are required to give charity locally before you give it internationally or far away. But I'm not even going that route. I'm saying, that where is the credibility that we have established with the people around us?
The Early Meccan Revelations and Social Justice
It is as if my dear brothers and sisters, that we read the early Makkan surahs and we completely ignore what Allah is telling the Muslims. The earliest revelations encourage the Muslims to be generous. Allah says in the Qur'an,
One of the first surahs to be revealed. "What do you know is the real difficult thing for you to do?"
"Go free slaves."
"Or feed somebody. When you yourself are hungry and you don't have enough, you give your food to somebody else."
One of the earliest revelations in the Qur'an
"They give their food even though they love it to the miskeen, to the yateem, to the prisoners of war."
Universal Compassion
Now, brothers and sisters, when this verse came down, there were no Muslim miskeens and faqirs and prisoners of war. There was no war going on for the Muslims such that there are prisoners of war for the Muslims. The only prisoners of war are idol worshippers. But when it comes to hunger, my dear brothers and sisters, when it comes to oppression, when it comes to zulm, when it comes to standing up for the rights of those whose rights have been trampled, our religion is crystal clear.
We don't care about your race, your religion, your creed, your color. Wallahi, we don't care whether you're Muslim or kafir. If you're hungry, we have been told we need to feed you for the sake of Allah
(Quran 76:8).
And what does Allah say?
"We don't even want your thanks."
Knowledge and Action Must Go Together
O Muslims of America, where is this early Meccan verse implemented in America? Show me, then I can show you where our da'wah is going to be successful. Brothers and sisters in Islam, our religion is an action-based religion. It is a religion where you need to match your speech with your words.
علم and knowledge and good deeds, they go hand in hand. Many scholars point out that the three letters of علم and عمل are exactly the same: (عَيْنٌ مِيمٌ لام - 'ayn meem laam). Because they are the same. علم should lead to عمل and عمل should be based upon علم
But wallahi brothers and sisters, for many of us, da'wah becomes conferences and conventions. Da'wah becomes preaching and talking. Da'wah becomes knocking and distributing. And this is only one part of da'wah. It is important, don't get me wrong, but it is only one half of da'wah and that is the علم, that is the talk.
We need the talk, but we also need the action. We also need to show who we are. We also need to have the respectability. We need to be known as being those who are championing the causes of our society.
Battling Islamophobia Through Action
Islamophobia, and that is the topic that I have today, how to battle Islamophobia. Islamophobia can primarily be silenced. We can silence our critics, not just by talk, but through our actions, through championing the social injustices that run through this society, by preaching what our religion has told us to preach, and by speaking out against oppression that our religion tells us is oppression.
The Occupy Wall Street Example
Let me give you a simple example, very simple example brothers and sisters, related to what is happening right now. Look at the anger that this country has for the style of capitalism that is currently being executed and demonstrated by the rich bankers in Wall Street. Look at the Occupy Wall Street movement. Look at the "we are the 99%." Who amongst us could have predicted 5 years ago that this nation would despise and hate the very system that they used to claim was the reason for their success.
Now this system has been destroyed and demolished. Now 99% of America is saying, "Occupy Wall Street." They don't like the fact that the rich get richer, that the top 1% of this land owns more than 35% of this land. They don't like these unreal statistics. This is a pharaonic society that we enjoy the pyramids, but you cannot build pyramids without millions of slaves. And this is what this society has become.
Brothers and sisters, where were we at the head of the Occupy Wall Street movement to simply tell them, "Oh fellow Americans, our Lord has told us in the Quran that this system is not a good system, that this system will collapse. Our Lord has told us that the economic system cannot be, and I quote the Quran,
(Quran 59:7)." This ayah is the strongest ayah criticizing the capitalist system as it exists in America. In few words, Allah demolishes this version of capitalism.
What does it say? Allah says
(Quran 59:7). "Money should not be a plaything amongst the rich so that the rich get richer." Allah doesn't want the rich to get richer. Allah wants the rich to give their money down to the poor.
Allah wants to minimize this economic disparity that we're currently seeing in America. If we had been at the head of that movement, if we had been telling the people that this is an economically unjust system, it's not going to be sustainable, that we need to make sure that wealth goes through permeates throughout society, that the wealth is not meant to generate more wealth, wealth is meant to take care of society. If we had been at the head of that movement, what would have happened brothers and sisters? The people would have seen, "You know, you guys are right, you guys were right, we should have listened to you."
And then you'll say, "Well, you know what, if you didn't listen to that, let me tell you something else, maybe you'll listen to that. And that is (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ - la ilaha illallah)."
Islam and Social Justice Issues
If we had been at the forefront of environmentalism, of animal rights, all of these things are a part of our religion. If we had been telling the people the reality of what our religion tells us to do. And by the way, this isn't just for the PR. PR comes along, yes. But the reality is, if we do these things for the sake of Allah, we are being true Muslims. We shouldn't be doing them just for the sake of PR. We shouldn't be wanting to change and challenge social injustices because it's gonna benefit our da'wah.
Brothers and sisters, challenging social injustice is the essence of our da'wah. And until we understand that, we're gonna continue struggling, we're gonna continue trying to make people convert to Islam, and we will not be successful because da'wah is more than just talk. Da'wah is primarily actions.
The Example of Dr. Hawa Abdi
And you know, I don't need to mention many legendary stories of the past. I don't need to talk about role models of Malaysia and Indonesia and no Muslim armies having gone there. There's plenty of stories that can be mentioned.
But today I had the honor of meeting, in my humble opinion, a living legend for me. Somebody who I'd heard a lot about and who truly for me demonstrates the reality of what this da'wah is. You wanna battle Islamophobia? You wanna win over the hearts and minds of the people? There are far more effective ways to do that than opening your mouth and talking.
And that is by showing through your actions what you're really made of. In an earlier session today, I was very humbled and honored to be speaking next to Dr. Hawa Abdi. How many of you have heard of Dr. Hawa Abdi? Not too many. Well, after tonight, everyone of you will know who Dr. Hawa Abdi is.
Dr. Hawa Abdi's Story
Dr. Hawa Abdi is from Mogadishu in Somalia. And more than 25 years ago, she opened up a small women's clinic. She was one of the few women who actually managed to get an education, become a
gynecologist, study abroad, come back to Mogadishu. But then the country was immersed in a civil war. And it's been involved in civil wars and warlords and Islamic extremists. The whole shebang, everything is a big mess.
What did Dr. Abdi do? She opened up her clinic and she made it free for all. And during the civil war when two tribes began killing one another for no reason other than nationalism, Dr. Abdi took in both sides of the conflict, both from this tribe and that tribe. And she didn't care about what tribe the person belong to.
And on more than one occasion, she was threatened by members of the one tribe not to treat the other tribe. So much so that at one point in time, one of the tribes marched up to her clinic and at gunpoint demanded that she hand over members of the other tribe so that they could massacre them right then and there.
Standing Against Threats
Dr. Hawa Abdi didn't have an army. She didn't have CNN or any other media. She stood her ground as a woman who believes in Allah. And she said, "If you want to kill them, you're going to have to kill me first."
At another time, these warlords, some of whom think that they're Islamic, but the fact of the matter is you can't be an Islamic warlord. It's an oxymoron. Some of these warlords with their overzealous interpretations of Islam told her that as a woman, she cannot treat men. And she is the only hospital and dispensary for hundreds of miles. And so they marched to her clinic and said she's not allowed to treat men.
And once again she stood her ground and she said, "If you're not going to let me treat men, you open your own dispensary, you get your own clinic. But until you do so, I'm not going to close my clinic." She stood up to them and guess what? They walked away in cowardice.
Recognition and Impact
Dr. Hawa Abdi has treated tens of thousands of people (فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ - fi sabilillah). So much so. And wallahi, I am positive that when she started doing this, she had no idea that the world would be watching. For 25 years she's been doing this. But slowly and surely news trickles out. And guess what happened? When the West found out, when news agencies found out, what a beautiful story.
She was nominated, she was given awards, she won the National Woman of the Year award by multiple institutions. Glamour Magazine nominated her Woman of the Year. When was the last time Glamour Magazine nominated a muhajjiba for anything? Ted Talks invited her over to give a talk.
And Ted Talks is one of the most prestigious speaking institutions in the world. And she gave a speech in Ted Talks wearing her full hijab, everything there. When was the last time Ted Talks invited a muhajjiba?
This is what you call battling Islamophobia.
And listening to her story, and I knew it before, moved me so much. I said, it is not possible for me to stand on this stage without honoring this great woman amongst us. Dr. Hawa Abdi, can you please stand up and come on to the stage? Because wallahi, you deserve much more than this.
Please come up here. And she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. But wallahi, brothers and sisters, even the Nobel Peace Prize cannot do justice to her.
Dr. Hawa Abdi's Response
[Dr. Hawa Abdi speaks]
Thank you, brothers and sisters. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. I'm very happy today to share with you this grateful day and stay among you. I'm thanking IKNA and Helping Hands people and whole Muslim world. Thank you very much. And of course, IKNA and Helping Hands has played a major role.
We have been giving her funds. We have been giving her a lot of electronic equipment to fund her hospital. She said that there are only 5 doctors for over 150,000 people in that area. And her and her 3 daughters make up 4 of those 5 doctors. Subhanallah.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, I'll conclude by a very simple statement. You wanna battle Islamophobia? You see it right in front of you. This is how you battle Islamophobia. That's all you need to do.
Jazakumullahu khairan. Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.