What Can We Learn from the Life of Nelson Mandela - Corrected Khutba
By Zahir Mahmood | 2026-01-19T06:13:20.20356+00:00 | Topic: General
What Can We Learn from the Life of Nelson Mandela?
Shaykh Zahir Mahmood
Opening
Distinguished sisters and brothers, respected audience,
Allah's Sunnahs in Creation
Allah has a thing called sunnahs. Allah speaks about these sunnahs in the Quran and He says:
"You will never find any change in the sunnahs of Allah, they will remain His sunnahs in the creation."
Let me give you an example: water boils at a hundred Celsius. It's always done that and it shall always do that. That is a sunnah of Allah. If tomorrow it boiled at 65, the next day at 25, the next day at 14, the next day at 93, life would become quite difficult. This is a sunnah of Allah in His creation. Fire burns, with a few exceptions like the story of Ibrahim, but that exception is not the norm. So if you decided to stick your finger in the fire and it burnt, then that's your baby. This is a sunnah of Allah.
The Sunnah of Truth Overcoming Falsehood
Similarly, regarding change, Allah has some sunnahs. Allah says in the Quran:
"When the truth comes, batil disappears, falsehood disappears, it vanishes because the nature of falsehood is that it cannot stand in front of haq."
What is haq? It's Islam. What is batil? It's disbelief. Now you must be thinking: we have the haq, how come we're in the decadence that we find ourselves and how come batil is in a state of dominance?
Mufti Shafi rahimahullah, the father of Mufti Taqi, does a tafsir of this ayah. He says if you ever see that the people of haq, the Muslims, are not dominant, they're not at the fore, then know that the people of haq have characteristics of the people of batil. And if you ever see that disbelievers are dominant, then know that the disbelievers have characteristics that the Muslims should have had.
Today's society is no different. The reason that me and you are here in the west and not in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia and one of the Arab countries is because maybe there are many characteristics that the Muslims should have had - we find them here.
Examples from the Prophet's Time
Similarly, regarding individuals, the same sunnah exists. You see certain people who may be non-Muslims, who may die not on Islam, but they have characteristics that the believers should have had. This is nothing new in the time of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. There are many examples. Let me give you a few examples where the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم praised people who were non-Muslims, who died on kufr, but they had characteristics, good characteristics.
Abu al-Bukhtari
Abu al-Bukhtari was a man when the Muslims were boycotted for two and a half years and sometimes they would have to eat leaves, boil leaves and eat them. Abu al-Bukhtari tried to have the boycott lifted. The battle of Badr came and Abu al-Bukhtari was a disbeliever. He was fighting on the side of the Mushrikeen, and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "If you face Abu al-Bukhtari in the battlefield, then try to not engage him, try to avoid him." This was where? In the battlefield, he's fighting against the Muslims.
Mutim ibn Adi
Mutim ibn Adi - when the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came back from Ta'if (I spoke about Ta'if yesterday) and he was pelted with stones and he came to Mecca, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had no protection, nobody to protect him. He was as vulnerable as Bilal and the other slaves. His clan had lifted their protection and he sent a message to the leaders of Quraysh: "Give me protection." None of them gave him protection beside Mutim ibn Adi. He came to the Kaaba with his sons and he said: "I give Muhammad protection. Nobody put a finger on Muhammad."
Then came the battle of Badr and the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم captured 70 of the Mushrikeen. Mutim ibn Adi had died. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "If Mutim ibn Adi was alive today, I would have released all these men free. If he had asked me, I would have freed them all."
An-Najashi
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said regarding An-Najashi - he wasn't a Muslim, he was a Christian at this time - he said: "He's a just ruler, he's a just ruler."
Anasherwan the Just
Look at Umar ibn al-Khattab. There was a Persian leader's name was Anasherwan the Just. He was known as Anasherwan the Just. He was a Zoroastrian. Umar ibn al-Khattab had his entire biography read to him. He wanted to see what made the man tick. He was the most powerful man - Anasherwan - on the face of this earth, the superpower, the leader of the superpower, and he was known as Just.
Then Allah turned the tables and Umar ibn al-Khattab became the most powerful man on the face of this earth. The Zoroastrians came with a delegation to Medina and they go to the house of Umar ibn al-Khattab, and it's a mud hut. The most powerful man on the face of this earth and he lives in a mud hut. They say: "Is this the house of Umar ibn al-Khattab?" He says: "Yes, this is the house of Umar ibn al-Khattab."
Then they go to the masjid and they don't find Umar, and they ask one of the boys: "Have you seen Amir al-Mumineen?" They said: "Yes, we saw him lying under a tree." So they go to the tree and they see Umar, the most powerful man on the face of this earth, lying under the tree. The sand is his pillow and the heavens are his blanket.
The Zoroastrian delegation, they're shocked and they say impromptu: "You ruled and you were just, you were just, and therefore you bought security and you sleep wherever you wish." See, he studied the life of Anasherwan and he took the message, but he learned from it. There were lessons from him that he learned.
Nelson Mandela: A Modern Example
You know, today it's no different. Nelson Mandela - what the man achieved! The greatest leader of our times, the greatest statement of our times, the most popular individual on the face of this earth. What I want to do with his life is that I want to draw some parallels with the seerah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. That this is our legacy. How come we've left our legacies and other people are adopting the legacy of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم?
First Characteristic: Empathy
One characteristic that Nelson had was empathy. Do you know what empathy is? Empathy is the ability to put yourself in somebody else's shoes and relate to that person. It's an ability to care.
You look at the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - he had this ability even before Islam. When the first revelation descended upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and he's in the cave and he comes home and he says to his wife Khadija: "Cover me, cover me." And she said: "What happened?" And he told her about the incident of the revelation. Then he said: "I fear for my life."
What did she say? She hadn't prepared a talk on the life of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. It was impromptu. She said: "By Allah, Allah will never forsake you because you have the characteristic - this was before Islam - you rejoined, you reconciled ties, you carry other people's burdens, you care for those that nobody else is ready to care for."
The Story of Adi Ibn Hatim
When Adi Ibn Hatim became a Muslim, he came to Medina. Adi Ibn Hatim was a Christian and he was a Prince. He comes to meet the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and he's walking through the streets of Medina, and this African slave woman comes to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم or a freed slave - and she stops the Messenger of Allah and she said: "O Messenger of Allah, speak to my boss. He overburdens me with work. I can't bear it."
Adi says: "When I saw that woman stop the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - he wasn't a Muslim at that time - when I saw him being stopped in the middle of the street, I knew this man wasn't a King nor was he a Prince, because you don't stop Kings and Princes in the middle of the street. But he was Rahmatan lil Alameen."
Then the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم said to her: "Take my hand and take me to any street in Medina and ask me for assistance. I will assist you." The lowest person that you could have in society at that time was those who had been slaves, who were African of origin, and who were females. And what's the Messenger of Allah saying? "Take me to any street in Medina, ask me for assistance, I will assist you."
This was the compassion and the empathy of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. It wasn't just limited to the Muslims or the Quraysh. It was wide. And you see this characteristic in Nelson Mandela.
Mandela's 27 Years
27 years in a prison for his people, for a struggle. Not one day, not two days - 27 years. He fought for his people. He emancipated his people from the wretched regime of apartheid. 27 years for what he believed in.
See the amazing thing about Nelson Mandela - that this empathy wasn't just limited to the Africans or to the blacks. It was general. He cared about humanity. Let me quote a few of his statements, especially related to the Muslims, because the vast majority of the crowd is Muslims.
Mandela's Statements on Justice
Let me quote, and when you hear these quotes, by the end you come to the conclusion the man's a radical. He said about the American Britain: "They're undermining the UN." He said about Bush: "He's a small man, a man with no foresight, a man who wants to plunge the world into a holocaust." This isn't Michael Moore speaking, this isn't Tony Benn speaking.
Listen, with all due respect, I know there's a huge contingency from America here. If you've got a problem with the statements, speak to Mandela. He said about America: "The war in Iraq was for only oil." He said: "If there's a country on the face of this earth which has committed unspeakable atrocities, it's America." He said: "The South Africans can never be free until the Palestinians are free. We can never have total freedom until the Palestinians are free."
In 1990, when he went to Australia, he called Israel a terrorist state. What relationship did Nelson Mandela have with Iraq or Afghanistan or Palestine? He had no relationship. He wasn't a Muslim, but he had empathy. He couldn't take anybody being oppressed, and this was an amazing characteristic. He had a concern for humanity, and this is how believers should be.
Sheikh Abdullah Mandela
Let me recreate Nelson Mandela for you today. His name is Sheikh Abdullah Mandela, and he says all these statements that I just mentioned. He would be on a hundred watch lists. But does anybody have the guts to call Mandela a terrorist? No, nobody has the guts. And this is why for Muslims, our battle is not just a Muslim battle. We should have the empathy that we see in the life of the Messenger of Allah for humanity, not just for the Muslims.
If you want people to fight for your cause, then you must fight for the cause of other people. Don't be selfish. You know, we speak about Palestine. Let me give you an example of Palestine.
Example of Palestine Support
After Operation Cast Lead - and I don't really want to blow my own trumpet, but I just want to mention this - after Operation Cast Lead, we were in the first Viva Palestina convoy which went to Gaza. When we came back, I wanted to open a permanent billboard regarding Palestine. So I managed to find a shop in Coventry Road, which is the most busiest place in our city for the Muslims, and I wanted to open a shop which would be a permanent reminder for the locals about Palestine, and all the proceeds would go to Palestine.
So I decided to check on the net: is there any similar shop? And I found a shop in Edinburgh where all the proceeds would go to the Palestinian cause. So I jumped on the plane, I went to Edinburgh. I told the taxi driver: "Here's the address, take me there." He takes me and he parks outside the church. I said: "Are you sure you got the right address? It looks like a church to me." He said: "That's the address you gave me."
So I go into the church, and inside the church there is a shop where every penny goes to the Palestinian people. Vast majority of our masajid, you can't even speak about Palestine.
Second Quality: Having Principles
The second quality I want to speak about is having a principle. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was a principled man. When they came to the Messenger of Allah and he started the message, what did they say to him? They said: "Oh Muhammad, is it wealth that you want? Then we will give you wealth. We will give you half the wealth that we have. Quraysh, half the state wealth is yours. Is it women that you want? Then we will marry you to the most beautiful women. Is it leadership that you want? Then we will make you our leader."
What did the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم say? The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "If you put the sun in one hand and you put the moon in my other hand, I would not forego spreading this message. This message is a mission."
Mandela's Principles
For Mandela, 27 years in prison. What did they say to him? They said to Mandela: "Relinquish your struggle and we will give you post, we will give you honor." But what did he say? Did he accept it? No, he didn't accept it.
He said he revived the sunnah of Yusuf عليه السلام. When Yusuf عليه السلام was in prison, he said: "Oh my Lord, I rather be in prison than accept what they call me towards. I rather rot in prison than accept what they will call me."
Principled. How principled are me and you? No, really. They write an article about our organization or our imam or our masjid and we get flustered, and then we speak about the sacrifice of the salaf. You know, they write an article about one sheikh and all of a sudden all the Muslim organization say: "Bro, leave that sheikh alone, leave that sheikh alone. He is too hot." What do you mean he is too hot? You seen a sheikh in a mini skirt?
And then we speak - you have a non-Muslim who is more principled than many Muslims. As Dr. Tariq Ramadan was speaking the other day: Muslims should be brave. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم sought refuge from being cowardice. Being cowardice, we are meant to be people who have firm beliefs. We work for the akhira. This dunya is a mazraa, it's a field for the akhira. What you sow is what you will reap by Allah.
Creating a Harmonious Society
You know, I lived in South Africa for three years just before the election. My studies finished, so in the apartheid - tail end of the apartheid regime - I lived in South Africa. There was much talk three months before the election. I left. There was much talk from many of the blacks that when we will come in power: "You see that house of the white man there? That's my house. You see that house of the coolie Indian, Muslim, Hindu? That's my house." There was much talk like this.
This is why Nelson Mandela said an amazing statement. He said: "I fought white dominance and I fought black dominance." He fought both dominances, and then he created a society to the best of his ability which he tried to create harmonious.
27 years in prison is a long time for the venom of revenge to run through your veins. Hundreds of years of seeing your people being persecuted. The Muslims in South Africa, the Cape Malays, have been there for 300 years. They were brought over as slaves. You can imagine what the blacks went through: persecution, torture, murder. And you come out of prison and there's no revenge, there's no bloodshed.
Whose sunnah is this? This is a sunnah of the believers.
Historical Examples of Forgiveness
Salahuddin's Conquest of Jerusalem
Let me tell you a couple of examples in our history. Salahuddin rahimahullah, when he took Quds. When the crusaders took Quds, the narrations mentioned that they took babies from the arms of their mothers and they smashed their heads against the walls. They gathered the people in the masjid, and the Christian chronicle has mentioned that they slaughtered them until the blood of the Muslims came to their knees. All this was recorded in history. All this Salahuddin knew.
Today he comes in as the conqueror and he enters, and there's no revenge. Stanley Lane Poole says that the Muslim leader showed the Christian the meaning of mercy.
Then they came to the church where Isa عليه السلام is assumed to be buried, and they said to Salahuddin: "Oh Salahuddin, let's break this church down. We don't believe he's buried there. Let's break it down and the war will finish. The longest war in history is the battle of the crusaders. 200 years it lasted. Just Christians, 6 million Christians died in the crusades, and many more Muslims. Let's resolve the issue. Break it. Game over."
What did Salahuddin say? Salahuddin said: "A man who was better than me took Quds and he did not break it, so I will not break it." Who was that man? That was Umar ibn al-Khattab.
Ibn Athir rahimahullah says: "It is enough for the virtue of Salahuddin, it is enough for the virtue of Salahuddin that history will remember his name with Umar ibn al-Khattab." Who will remember your name and my name? How will we be remembered?
Current Syrian Crisis
No Salahuddin is going to come. You know, 2 weeks ago I was in Syria. I don't have time, but Wallahi, it was minus zero. You should have seen children walk around without shoes. Somebody just sent me a clip of a 6-year-old child, and his final words were - what his final words were - "I will tell Allah what I've seen." 10,000 people in one camp I saw. No hot water. 6 million people displaced. 2 million outside Syria. And you complain about your lot. You complain that you have it hard. You should do shukr of Allah that what Allah has given us. Wallahi.
The Prophet's Conquest of Mecca
So Mandela, he brought the sunnah alive. He brought the sunnah of who alive? He brought the sunnah of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم alive. When the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم went back to Fateh
Makkah, after 10 years in exile, today the Muslims are coming back and the Muslims are the superpower. The Makkans don't even put up a fight. They don't even bother with a fight.
When they enter into Makkah, can you imagine all the memories, all the persecution comes back? By Allah, there was never a day where there was not a new persecution, not a morning with a new trial, not an evening with a new tribulation. Can you imagine they enter into Makkah and they see the place where Sumayyah رضي الله عنها is martyred? The memory comes back. They see the place where Bilal is dragged through the streets of Makkah until his skin peels from his body. They see the place where Khabbab is made to lie on hot charcoal until his skin melts from his body. They see where they were boycotted for two and a half years. All these memories come back.
One Sahabi, Saad رضي الله عنه in the heat of the moment, says:
"Today is the day of bloodshed, today is the day of retribution, payback time."
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم heard him and he said: "Saad, come here." He said: "Change that into:
Today is the day of mercy, today is the day of forgiveness."
Then everybody gathers by the Ka'bah. The Muslims are there, the Mushrikun are there, and they're shaking in their boots. They don't know what's going to happen to them. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says to them: "What do you expect of me?"
They say: "You are Kareem, your father was Kareem, your grandfather was Kareem. You're all honorable."
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said:
"Go, you are free. There is no reckoning upon you." After all those years of persecution, he says: "Go, you are free. There is no reckoning upon you."
The Elevation of Bilal
Then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم - you know, they say about Mandela he emancipated the blacks. No doubt about it. But let me tell you another story. Fourteen hundred years ago in Mecca, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was sitting there and all the Sahaba are there - those who were in the battle of Badr, Uhud, those who were at the Bayt al-Ridwan. They are all sitting there, and the ten who were guaranteed Jannah sitting there. The two father-in-laws of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم are sitting there. The two son-in-laws of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,Uthman and Ali, are sitting there.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looks around and he says: "Where is Bilal?" He says: "Where is Bilal?" Bilal stands up. He said: "Bilal, climb on the roof of the Kaaba and give the Adhan."
The roof of the Kaaba was the most holiest roof, not just to the Muslims but also to the Mushrikeen, because the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم wanted to show a token of the society that he came to create. That Bilal left the servitude of man and he went into the servitude of the Lord of Man, and this is how Allah elevated him.
You see, fourteen hundred years ago, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم dealt with the issue of racism, and we still have it within our communities. In reality, we don't need any outside interference. We are good at breaking our communities up.
The Incident with Abu Dharr
When Abu Dharr said to Bilal: "Ya Ibn Saudah" (you son of a black woman), Bilal went to the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم and he complained. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم called Abu Dharr and he said: "O Abu Dharr, did you actually say that?"
He said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah."
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "You're a man who still has the traits of ignorance in him." Then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said an amazing thing. He said: "I, Muhammad, am equally the son of a black woman as I am a white woman," because he was breastfed by a black woman.
You see the society that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came to create fourteen hundred years ago. He saw Bilal suffering. How was Bilal elevated? Bilal رضي الله عنه was being tortured, and the Prophet صلی الله عليه وسلم walked past and he said to the Sahaba: "Is there anybody who can buy Bilal?"
Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه goes and he goes to Umayyah. He says to him: "Sell me Bilal." Umayyah says: "I'll sell him because you corrupted him in the first place." He said: "How much?" He said: "I'll sell him for ten gold coins."
Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه goes home and he brings ten gold coins and he gives it to him. He takes the ten gold coins and he begins to laugh. Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه says: "What's making you laugh?"
He said: "I swear by Allah, if you had haggled with me and you had offered me one gold coin for Bilal, I would have accepted one gold coin."
Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه said: "I swear by Allah, Umayyah, if you had haggled with me and you had asked me for a hundred gold coins for Bilal, I would have given you a hundred gold coins."
Brothers and sisters, do your somersaults afterwards. Let me finish my talk. He bought Bilal and then he freed Bilal. Then what would he say? He would say: "Sayyiduna Bilal" - Bilal is my master. The greatest
creation after the Anbiya to walk on the face of this earth called Bilal his master. He bought him.
What would Umar رضي الله عنه say? The second greatest creation to walk on the face of this earth, he would say: "Abu Bakr Sayyiduna, Abu Bakr is our master and he freed our master."
Today you have these beautiful masajid, million pound masjid. You call it Masjid Bilal, but if Bilal came, you would not allow Bilal to become a committee member because he doesn't come from your village or your country. You call it Masjid Salman Arumi - Salman the Roman, the white man - but if Salman came: "Oh no, brother, sorry, you're not from Egypt, you're not Egyptian. We can't allow you to become a committee member. Possibly Husni Mubarak, yes."
You know, sorry, sorry Bilal, we know the sacrifice that you made, but you know what? You're not from India, and we Indians and we Pakistanis are the chosen people, so we can't make you a committee member. 1400 years ago, and you still have the same problem.
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said to Abu Dharr: "Abu Dharr, you are a man who has the traits of Jahiliyyah in you. You have the traits of Jahiliyyah in you." Then the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Whoever has the traits of Jahiliyyah, he will dwell in the fire of Jahannam."
The Sahaba said: "Even if he prays or fasts?"
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Even if he prays or he fasts, he will dwell in the fire of Jahannam."
Let me make this quite clear. There's many Muftis. If I'm wrong, they can rectify me afterwards. To be racist is as haram as eating a pork sandwich. You talk about an Ummah, you talk about an Ummah, and then you break the Ummah. You talk about Bilal. Let me tell you, if that's your approach in your organization or in your homes, then take Bilal - next time you read a book, say: "Forget, we omit Bilal, we omit Salman, we omit Sohaib, because they're not the right type for us."
Conclusion: Our Legacy
My time is up. My dear respected brothers and sisters, we the believers are people of a legacy. Nobody's gonna change our status quo besides ourselves. Nobody's gonna come.
You know, there's a poet. He says a beautiful poem. He says:
"People come to the graveyard of Salahuddin and they say: 'Qum ya Salahuddin qum' - 'Salahuddin, stand up from your grave, stand up. Don't you know what's happening in Palestine? Don't you know what's happening in Iraq and in Syria? Qum ya Salahuddin qum.'"
"Stand up Salahuddin, stand up, until Salahuddin's own grave begins to complain about the wrench, the stench around it." The poet says: "How many times in a year are you gonna wake Salahuddin up? 'Oh Salahuddin, come to Canada, we're having it tough now. Come to America, it's getting tough. We can't handle the heat.'" He said: "How many times in a year are you gonna wake up Salahuddin? How many times are you gonna whip Salahuddin because of your own cowardice?"
And then he says sarcastically: "Is it true that the living have started asking the dead for help? That we started asking the dead for help?"
Therefore, my dear respected brothers and sisters, the man Nelson Mandela left a legacy. He died on disbelief, but there's no exaggeration - he globally revived many of the sunnahs of the Prophet: the sunnah of forgiveness, the sunnah of being principled. These are our legacies, and this is a legacy that we need to recapture if we want to regain that glory that we had once upon a time.
May Allah make this ummah great again. May Allah alleviate the suffering of the believers and the non-Muslims wherever they may be. May Allah make us an ummah which Allah speaks about in the Quran - the khair ummah. May Allah remove the sickness of racism from us. May Allah keep us united in this dunya and may Allah reunite us in Jannatul Firdaus.
"May Allah reward you [with] goodness."
وَصَلَّى ٱللَّٰهُ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَىٰ نَبِيِّنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَىٰ آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ