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Overcoming Despair When We See Mutilated Bodies | Khutbah
Seeing bodies torn to pieces can psychologically paralyze our efforts and du'as. How did the Prophet ﷺ deal with the companions seeing their loved ones mutilated, and how do we deal with the images out of Gaza today?
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu. A'udhu billahi minash shaitanir rajeem. Bismillahir rahmanir raheem. Alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, wa ala adwan ila ala al-dhalimeen, wa al-aqeebatu lil-mattaqeen. Allahumma salli wa sallim wa baraka ala abdika wa rasulika Muhammadin salallahu alaihi wa sallam wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallim tasliman katira. I think that I speak for the majority of us, subhanAllah, that when you see the images that come out of Gaza, particularly Rafah right now, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make it easy for them and give them victory, accept their dead as shuhada, cure their wounded, and grant them safety and tranquility. Allahumma ameen. Sometimes the imagery produces a certain type of shutdown, emotional shutdown, that it's very hard for us to psychologically get over that, and it has the impact, the effect, of perhaps diminishing our efforts or diminishing our du'a. And so if you think about the range of emotions that get produced when you see people torn up into pieces, when you see the meat of human beings trying to be identified, put into grocery bags, subhanAllah, things that we're just not accustomed to seeing, when you think about the range of emotions that it produces, it actually helps you understand, first and foremost, the hikmah of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam, that he forbade something that was very specific, and it was a practice of war back then, and it has always been a practice of war, which is to desecrate the bodies as a means of psychologically breaking down your enemies, to crucify or to desecrate the bodies or to make an example out of them as a means of breaking down your enemy's psychology, that is something that the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam particularly prohibited. And there's a wisdom to that that's very obvious, that it contradicts everything about the rahmah of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam, about the mercy of the Messenger salallahu alaihi wa sallam. But what about when it's done to us? And so I wanted to kind of analyze through the seerah of the Prophet salallahu alaihi wa sallam how he taught
the companions to deal with gruesome imagery that was right in front of them. And sometimes it just means analyzing some of the very specific incidents of the seerah that we're already familiar with, but through that particular lens. So for example, when you hear about Sumayyah radiyallahu ta'ala and the means by which Abu Jahl martyred her, right, it's a very nasty form of literally tearing through her body, right, with a spear through her midsection. Someone has to pick up the pieces, right, and has to sort of come to terms with that. And you can imagine the specific test to the faith of those that have to put the pieces back together, right, of the first martyrs of Islam and what that can do to someone and how that can shut someone off. And subhanAllah, one of those incidents, and I start with this for a reason, is the incident of Khabbab ibn al-Arat radiyallahu ta'ala anhu himself. Because Khabbab himself was a victim of a heinous crime which made it very hard to look at him. And that is that everywhere from the back of his head all the way down to his lower back, the skin was completely burned off. It was completely melted off. Why? Because his master used to torture him in Islam by taking burning hot coal and she would run it down the back of his head all the way down his neck all the way through his back to where if you looked at him it immediately struck you. Now imagine the people looking at Khabbab and imagine Khabbab himself. Now consider the hadith that is very well known in the in regards to the subject that we are discussing today. And that is the very famous hadith that Khabbab says that we complained to the messenger of Allah ﷺ and we said to him, أَلَا تَسْتَنْصِرْ لَنَا أَلَا تَجْعُوا لَنَا Will you not seek victory for us? Will you not make du'a for us? Will you not ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
to hurry up and conclude this affair for us? It's getting too much for us. It's getting too difficult for us. And look at what's happened to me and look at what's happening to my brothers, my sisters, from the weak ones of Mecca, the slaves of Mecca who are getting the brunt of it because they had no way to protect themselves in this moment. And what did the Prophet ﷺ do? The Prophet ﷺ spoke directly to the root of the matter, which was that the imagery can blur perspective. The imagery and the pain can blur the ultimate reward that you are seeking. And he ﷺ said immediately, قَدْ كَانَ مَنْ قَبْلَكُمْ يُؤْخَذُ الرَّجُلُ فَيُحْفَرُ لَهُ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَيُجْعَلُ فِيهَا He said ﷺ that before you, there used to be a people where a man would be put in the ground and buried halfway. He's going to give you a very specific image ﷺ. فَيُجَعُ بِالْمِنْشَارِ فَيُوبَعُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ فَيُجْعَلُ نِصْفَيْنَ Can you imagine the Prophet ﷺ said that the practice of this people was that when someone would become Muslim, they would bury them halfway in the ground and they would slice them into two. And the ulama said this way and this way as a means of making an example out of them. Meaning what? That there was a group of believers that came before you that lived a very difficult time. And can you imagine the psychological torture of seeing their brothers and seeing their sisters sliced into two. And he said ﷺ that they would bring these combs of iron and they would be on fire and they would comb off the meat of people so that the only thing that would
be left were the bones of these people. SubhanAllah, this is gruesome imagery that the Prophet ﷺ is saying. Meaning this is not new. What you are going through is not new. People before you have lived these very gruesome times. And he ﷺ said, ثَمَا يَصُدُّهُ ذَلِكَ عَن دِينِهِ And none of that would be enough to turn these people away from their religion. None of that would turn them away from al-Islam. But here's what's very interesting. There is a range of emotions that Khabab is speaking to. It's anger. Why is this happening to us and we want to be able to do something back to them? It is frustration, right? That when is the Nasr of Allah going to come? There is a range of emotions. There is despair that could come as a result of that as well, right? Are we ever going to get out of this? And what did the Prophet ﷺ choose to speak to? He said ﷺ, وَاللَّهِ لَيُتِمَّنَّ هَذَا الْأَمْرُ حَتَّى يَسِيرَ الْرَاكِبُ مِنْ صَلْعَاءِ لَا يَخَافُ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَالذِّئْبَ عَلَى غَنَمِهِ He said ﷺ, I swear by Allah, Allah will see this matter through. Meaning at the time where victory seems most unlikely, I swear by Allah, Allah will see this matter through for the community, for the ummah. To the point that a person will be able to ride from صنعاء to حضر موت. May Allah bless our brothers and sisters in Yemen. Allahumma ameen. From صنعاء to حضر موت. Only fearing Allah and perhaps that maybe a wolf would attack their sheep. What is the Prophet ﷺ speaking to? Fear. In Mecca, you had to look over your shoulder because these people were crazy. They spared none of the مُسْتَضْعَفِين. The Prophet ﷺ is saying there will come a time where not only will you not fear the effect of
fear in your own vicinity, but a person will be able to travel wide swaths of the ummah in complete safety. Fearing no one but Allah ﷻ. But he said ﷺ, وَلَا كِنَّكُمْ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ You're too hasty. Be patient with Allah ﷻ. Someone says, you know, when? It's been this many days. The months are going on. When? When? When? If Khabbab could hear from the Prophet ﷺ, وَلَا كِنَّكُمْ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ Don't be hasty with your Lord. Who are we to become hasty with Allah ﷻ? So I wanted to start with this hadith for a reason that the Prophet ﷺ in his hikmah always spoke to the root. And for us today, I think that I speak for everyone when I say also that when something is out of sight, it's easier to reason with it. Meaning, if you did not see what was happening in Gaza today, if you didn't have the imagery of it, but you knew the facts on the ground, then maybe it wouldn't be as paralyzing, right? Maybe it wouldn't be as paralyzing. You'd be able to be a little bit more rational. You know, you'd be able to maybe analyze the facts, look at the political winds, see the light at the end of the tunnel. But when you're looking at it, fear, anger, rage, despair, all of those things can sit in. And there could be a fear that there won't be victory for the community and that the individual will not be paid back in the way that they should be paid back. This was never more apparent than in Uhud. And I want to take you through some of those scenes in Uhud. Because wallahi, this hadith I thought of in particular, Anas ibn Malik radiAllahu ta'ala anhu describes his uncle Anas ibn Nadhr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, who ran towards the battlefield on the day of Uhud. And he saw Sa'd ibn Mu'adh fleeing or leaving
the battlefield. And he said, where are you going, O Sa'd? I can smell Jannah coming from Uhud. And he dove into the battlefield radiAllahu ta'ala anhu and he was killed. Now look at the rest of the hadith. SubhanAllah. Because it gives you perspective. He said, when they were trying to identify the bodies of the people of Uhud, they couldn't figure out who this was. Because of how badly he was murdered. Because of how badly his body was desecrated. Until his sister was able to identify him by his fingertips or by a mole on his body. SubhanAllah. Think about that. So when you see the scenes of unidentifiable human beings, the sahaba live this. Rasulullah ﷺ lived this with his companions. Where people were completely desecrated top to bottom. Where nothing was apparent of who they were to where you'd have to look at the fingertips and find someone who was most intimate with that person to be able to tell who this person is. In the same moment, they go around and there's a hikmah from the Prophet ﷺ, which is the Prophet ﷺ was trying to stop some of the loved ones from seeing their family members in that state. It's also hikmah. It's also wisdom and it's also mercy. Jabir ibn Abdillah radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, who says, My father was brought forth on the day of Uhud and his body was made an example of. They cut off his nose. They poked his eyes. They did things to his face radiAllahu ta'ala anhu. But they wiped him. He was one of the chiefs of Medina.
And my people stopped me, as they should, right, to not go and see my father in that state, because what's what good is going to come out of seeing your father in that state? And he said, but at that point, when he was eventually seen, that there was this loud voice that came out, a woman shouted. And it was his mother or his, I'm sorry, his sister or his daughter, his sister or his daughter. The Prophet ﷺ asked, who is that? And he said, it's his sister or his daughter. The Prophet ﷺ responded. He said, So I swear by Allah that the angels have shaded him with their wings until he was raised up. Is the Prophet ﷺ just giving generic advice? Is he just, you know, throwing something out there that might land with her as the Prophet ﷺ speaking again, to the root of the problem. You see what you see. You see a body that is missing some of its natural parts. I see an extension that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la has given to it. You see Ja'far without arms. I see him with the wings flying around Jannah. You see your father laying on the ground, the blood flowing and seeping into the ground, barely recognizable. I see a man that is ascending to the heavens with the angels shading him. How do we deal with this, dear brothers and sisters? SubhanAllah, there is a divine scheme and there is a wisdom to how we approach the divine scheme. And it comes down to two things, time and value. The hereafter is better and everlasting. Time and value. And the reward of the hereafter is better and longer lasting. Meaning anytime we are
struck with a situation like this, if we're struck with a pain in this world, we remember that it is a limited time and that the reward from Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la will be greater than the pain that was felt here. When we face some sort of a worldly trial, we remember how temporary it is. When the body is devastated, we remember that the soul will go on and that what happens to the body is limited, whereas what the soul is rewarded with is greater. And so how do we deal with all of these situations? It is a consistent methodology from the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam that something has to be better than this in order to deal with what's immediate in front of us. This isn't it. You are seen with a very particular lens, but this is not it. And every single time we see a body that is desecrated, we have to remember that. And every single time we see someone who seems unrecognizable, we have to remember that. What would the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam had said to us if he was walking around the way he did in Uhud, if he was walking around Gaza and he was comforting those families? He would have reminded them SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam that this is not it, that what has happened to them is temporary and limited, and the reward of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is comprehensive and forever, everlasting. But with that being said, and I want to come to this, at the end of the day, we're all human. We're all human. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam lost someone so beloved to him on that day, Hamza radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. And we know how Hamza was desecrated, radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, he told Zubayr to stop Safiyyah bint Abdul Muttarib, the sister of Hamza from coming forward, because he knew that if Safiyyah saw the body of Hamza, that it was going to be absolutely devastating to her. So even though
the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is in his pain, standing over the body of Hamza radiAllahu Anhu, he says, go stop your mom. And she wouldn't stop until, as Zubayr said, that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam orders you to stop. Otherwise, if it was just her son, she kept on walking towards the body of Hamza radiAllahu Anhu. Now with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, one of the things, one of the athar that's narrated from the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam is as he was standing over Hamza radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu, you'll find it in the books of seerah, that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said, I will mutilate 70 of them in your place. It's one of the things that we find in the books of seerah. Now again, hadith methodology is a little more stringent, in fact, a lot more stringent than the books of seerah, because they say that an ayah came down after this. Now whether the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam said these exact words or not, you can imagine the sentiments, right? That what was done to us, we will do to them. However, what is more authentically narrated in the books of hadith about the ayah that they say is related to this, because we don't find, you know, a particular narration that completely checks out in terms of authenticity tracing back to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, even though we know the anger and the hurt of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam that day, is indeed what Ubayy ibn Ka'b radiAllahu Anhu narrated. That when the sahaba finished picking up the pieces, they looked around and they said to themselves, that if we have a day upon them like they had upon us, we will show them what they showed to us. We're going to double it. We will do to them what they did to us. We will mutilate them like they mutilated us. We will do to their bodies what they did to our bodies. And then guess what? That day came. And that day was the day of Fatih Mecca. And you know, when you've been through something
like that, you don't forget. For a person who would have lost his loved one in Uhud in that brutal way, walking into Mecca now and having these people at his mercy, Uhud is like yesterday. It's not years ago. It's not a decade ago. It's yesterday, right? This is the day I was waiting for to do to you what you did to my loved one. To put you to the sword the way you put my loved one to the sword. To wipe your body. To do to your face. I mean, subhanAllah, it's human to think that way. It's human to feel that way. And this hadith is authentic. This is where Allah revealed on the day of Fatih Mecca, that if you are struck, if you have been punished or if you punish them, then punish them with exactly what you were punished with. But if you show patience, and in this ayah here patience means grace, then Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala has certainly prepared a better reward for those who are patient. Meaning Allah Azawajal is telling them on that day when they have that power that they swore that they would one day take revenge. Don't do it. The reward with Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala is better. And Ubaid radiAllahu anhu continues in this narration. He says, There was a man who said there is not going to be any Quraysh after today. Quraysh is done. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said, Leave them except for four. And we've already talked about who those four are in the first. Leave them except for four. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not do this nor did he allow the companions to do this. And of the instructions, subhanAllah, that we find in the authentic hadith that the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam would give to an army when he dispatched them, he would say
He said Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam when he would send out a military dispatchment, do not mutilate. Do not mutilate. It's not who we are. We don't mutilate people's bodies. We hate when it's done to us. It's disgusting. And the first thing you tell yourself when you say zhulm is may Allah protect me from becoming a zhulm like that. Alhamdulillah, we're not the shayateen that we see on the other side. Alhamdulillah, we're not these people because these people on the day of judgment are going to have a long eternity. They're not going to be dancing on TikTok on the day of judgment. They have a long eternity ahead of them of punishment. And may Allah allow us to see that punishment with our own two eyes. But may Allah protect us from ever becoming that evil. How sick, how evil. May Allah protect us from ever inheriting that evil or ingesting that evil ourselves. So the first thing he would say Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is don't mutilate. Then don't be treacherous. SubhanAllah, we see the lies, the treachery, the ceasefire agreement. We see the treachery, constant treachery, the lies, the treachery. Don't be treacherous. And he said Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam don't steal from the spoils of war. And he said and don't kill a child. These are our ethics as Muslims. This is who we are. So dear brothers and sisters, in conclusion once again, does it feel like you want to shut down when you see the bodies being mutilated? Absolutely. But you remind yourself this is temporary, this is limited. What Allah has promised is forever and what Allah has promised is better. As for the Ummah, that's where the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said Allah will see this affair through. Some of you saw that I got to meet Brother Wael al-Dahdouh. I could do a tafsir of that entire lesson of two hours. I'll just tell you this, SubhanAllah. He didn't say a word of complaint and what he said, he said
Alhamdulillah, Allah chose us to be one of the Asbab of his Nasr. One of the means by which he brings victory InshaAllah. Even if I don't live to see that victory, I know that my entire family was chosen to be Sababan min Asbab al-Nasr. One means of the means of victory. May Allah make us of the means of victory and may Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala not deprive us of the reward. And may Allah never allow us to be paralyzed by what we see in front of us. And may Allah allow us to be focused on what we believe is ahead of us. Allahuma Ameen. BarakAllahu Feekum. Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. Al-Fatiha.
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