Khutbahs
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The Inner Strength to Keep Fighting | Khutbah
We often admire the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ either as a worshipper or a warrior, but rarely make the connection that the same strength that anchored him firmly in prayer also anchored him firmly in battle.
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. We begin by praising Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and bearing witness that none has the right to be worshipped or unconditionally obeyed except for him. And we bear witness that Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is his final messenger. We ask Allah to send his peace and blessings upon him, the prophets and messengers that came before him, his family and companions that served alongside him and those that follow in his blessed path until the Day of Judgment. We ask Allah to make us amongst them. Allahuma Ameen. Dear brothers and sisters, the ayah in the Qur'an, Inna allatheena qaloo rabbuna allahu thumma istaqamoo tatanazzalu alayhimu almalaikatu alla takhaafoo wala tahzanoo. Until the end of the ayah, where Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says, verily those who believe and they remain firm, the angels descend upon them and say to them, do not be afraid and do not grieve. This ayah is often brought up solely in the context of death, that when the believer is dying, the angels descend upon the believer and the angels put the believer at ease. And the angels say to the believer, don't be afraid and don't grieve. Waabashiroo biljannati allathee kuntum tuwa'doon, and glad tidings of the paradise that you were promised. And SubhanAllah, one of the things about this verse is that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la did not restrict this verse to the time of death, even though you will need the angels to descend upon you more at that time than any other time of your existence. And even though there is something distinct about that moment, which is that you can actually see the angels, not just perceive them. You can see them, you can hear them directly telling you, don't be afraid and do not grieve. But many of the scholars of tafsir mention that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la not restricting this verse to the time of death is for the benefit that the angels descend upon us throughout our entire lives.
And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la sends them to be a comforting presence to us in our most difficult moments, especially when we are abiding by the part of istiqamu, qalu rabbuna Allah thumma istiqamu. Anytime we are saying our Lord is Allah and we're remaining steadfast, there is a descent of angels upon the believer that put them at ease and say, don't be afraid and don't grieve. And so basically understand the verse this way, that any time there is a reason for you to be in a state of fear or grief, there is an opening for Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la to cause angels to descend upon you and to settle your heart and to say, don't be afraid and do not grieve. Why is this so significant to interpret outside of the place of death? Because sometimes there are moments when we feel like we're suffocating by abiding by the command of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la or wanting to do for the sake of Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, especially when we see the devastating circumstances in the world. We feel like we're suffocating, but we need that opening from Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, even if it is not the khanqah, the strangle of death. And I want to take you to two scenes of the Prophet ﷺ that we often disconnect. Where do we summon that inner strength that is necessary for continuous steadfastness? There is Rasulullah ﷺ as the worshipper, and there is Rasulullah ﷺ as the warrior, and the ingredient that grounded the Prophet ﷺ in his worship is exactly the same ingredient that grounded him as a warrior ﷺ. How? The very famous hadith of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman ﷺ. He says, I walked in on the Prophet ﷺ as he was in his qiyam, and I joined the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the first rak'ah.
And this is Hudhayfah who is the furthest away from hypocrisy, the secret keeper of the Prophet ﷺ. It's a very famous hadith. And he said, I prayed behind the Prophet ﷺ, and he started to recite surah al-Baqarah. And I thought he would recite only up to a hundred verses, but he continued ﷺ until he finished two hundred verses. And Hudhayfah ﷺ was admitting that he's getting a little antsy. Because the Prophet ﷺ in his qiyam would recite one verse at a time, and he would make du'a and dhikr after every verse. So his surah al-Baqarah is not like our surah al-Baqarah. Then he finished surah al-Baqarah. Then I thought he'd finished. Then he started ﷺ al-Nisa. I thought he'd read a hundred verses. He finished a hundred verses. He kept going. He finished al-Nisa. You can imagine Hudhayfah ﷺ, his exhaustion. And he's thinking, okay, finally we're going to go into ruku'. Bada'a bi al-Imran. He started al-Imran. I thought he'd do a hundred verses. He finished the whole surah ﷺ. Then he went into ruku'. And you think ruku' is a break. His ruku' was as long as his standing ﷺ. His sujood was as long as his standing ﷺ. And that's why when a companion of that stature says, هممت بسوء, that I thought to do something really bad, which was to abandon the Prophet ﷺ in his salah and sujood, I couldn't keep up with him. The way he could ground himself in salah was the most عجيب thing about the Prophet ﷺ. The strangest thing about the Prophet ﷺ, by the words of our mother Aisha رضي الله تعالى عنها. It was the strangest thing about him ﷺ. The most amazing thing about him was how long he could stand in prayer at night. And he got up and what did he recite? He finished as-Sab'at Qiwal, the seven long surahs. So he continued with al-Ma'idah ﷺ, continued with al-An'am, and he kept on going ﷺ with the same pace.
Umm Salama رضي الله تعالى عنها said, I remember seeing the Prophet ﷺ sick, in his sickness. And he recited all seven of the long surahs in the first rak'ah ﷺ. It was strange. It was a strange thing to see him grounded in his salah with his feet swelling, as if he's not noticing ﷺ the swelling in his feet. There's physical pain but there's spiritual joy. What he's getting is greater than what he's giving ﷺ. But if you saw him in that, you say, masha'Allah. The Prophet ﷺ's feet had ثبات, firmness. That no one else had in the time of prayer. Now compare that to the battlefield where Ali رضي الله تعالى عنه and Ali رضي الله عنه is no joke. He's a lion of Allah. Ali رضي الله عنه is the most courageous of people. He's the person that responds to the call out from the other side, and goes to the battlefield. You talk about front line, Ali رضي الله عنه always confronts their front line. But he says رضي الله تعالى عنه, Ali كنا إذا حمر البأس و لقيا القوم القوم. That when the sun used to be right on top of our heads in battle, و لقيا القوم القوم. Like we were face to face, literally in the heat of battle. قالت تقينا برسول الله ﷺ فما يكون منا أحد أدنى من القوم منه. We would all start hiding behind the Prophet ﷺ. We take shelter with the Prophet ﷺ. And no one would be closer to the enemy than him ﷺ. You talk about front lines, no one would be closer to the enemy than him ﷺ. He'd be right in their face. Usually the leader stays behind. Prophet ﷺ changed the game, changed the dynamics. He would be right in their face. أنا النبي لا كذب. أنا ابن عبد المطلب.
I am the Prophet, and that is no lie. I am the son of عبد المطلب. اللهم نصرك العزيز. Oh Allah send down your victory upon us. Pour down your victory upon us. Ali saying we'd have to get behind him. So there's a connection between the firmness of the feet of the Prophet ﷺ at night that no one could understand. And the firmness of the Prophet ﷺ in the battlefield that no one could understand. What planted his feet there planted his feet here. You hear about the Prophet ﷺ as present as he was with his family. When the call of Adhan came كأنه لا يعرفنا. It's as if he didn't even know us anymore. Immediate to the Salah. وَثَبَى صلى الله عليه وسلم من فراشه. He would jump out of his bed if he was sleeping ﷺ like a lion. And he would rush to the Masjid ﷺ. When Adhan comes, the call of Allah overwhelms the call of every other comfort in this world. But have you compared that to what أنس رضي الله تعالى عنه says when he says ﷺ that he was أشجع الناس. He was the most courageous man I ever saw. وَقَدْ فَزِعَ أَهْلُ الْمَدِينَةِ لَيْلَةً سَمِعُوا صَلْطَةً. One time the people of Medina shook because they heard a loud noise on the outside like we were being attacked. There's a process that has to happen there. Is it worth it? The same process when it comes to Salah. Is it worth it? Do I go now? Is it worth it at night? Or do I hit the snooze button? Is it worth it? Is it worth it? Is it worth it? Or maybe I'm scared when there is an enemy present. You see the battlefield is different from جهاد النفس the struggle against the self. This is serious. I might find someone on the other side not just my own exhaustion but an energetic enemy on the other side that's ready to kill me. And Medina is full of warriors.
Medina is full of righteous warriors. But Anas صلى الله عليه وسلم said by the time people got to the edges of Medina the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم met them on a horse of Abu Talha. He took the first horse he could find صلى الله عليه وسلم The horse was unsaddled. Think of the image. And he said The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had his sword hanging on his neck like he jumped on a horse put his sword on his neck and ran to the outside of Medina by himself صلى الله عليه وسلم By the time other people got up and thought to confront the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم had already cleared the premise. And he came back and he said لم تراعوا لم تراعوا Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. It's nothing. I checked it out. Is there not a connection between the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم hearing the call for prayer and then hearing the call for protection of the ummah? Is there not a connection between his willingness صلى الله عليه وسلم to be in the front line of salah and to be in the front line of battle? Is there not a connection between what he generates of contentment in his prayer and what he generates of courage and his perseverance صلى الله عليه وسلم It's all interrelated. In fact, it's so interlaced that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم embedded these elements into the moment of the battle. The hadith of Abu Darda رضي الله تعالى عنه Where he says about the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم خرجنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في بعض غزواته We'd go out with the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم in battle. This is not So it's not one ghazwa. It's not one battle. It's a consistent trend. And he says في حر شديد Sometimes it would be so hot that he said أحدنا لَيَضَعُ يَدَهُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ
أَوْ كَفَهُ عَلَى رَأْسِهِ I mean, imagine the scene of the companions. They'd literally start trying to shelter themselves from the sun like this. That's how hot it was in the desert with him صلى الله عليه وسلم من شدة الحر And he said ما فينا صائم إلا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وعبد الله بن رواحه Not a single one of us would be fasting except for the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم وعبد الله بن رواحه رضي الله تعالى عنه Think about that. He's bringing it in صلى الله عليه وسلم He's seeing it as a means of bringing about perseverance. What does this have to do with us beyond the admiration of the messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم who is perfect in this and perfect in that perfect in his sincerity perfect in his steadfastness perfect in his courage perfect in his contentment. If you go back to the ayah إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَامُوا That verily those who say our Lord is Allah and then they stay firm. The narration of they staying firm is على فرائض الله أو على أمر الله On the obligations that Allah has placed upon them or in relation to this affair from Allah سبحانه وتعالى What that means is there's a direct connection between how quickly you respond to the things that Allah سبحانه وتعالى calls you to that are completely ordinary outside of the extraordinary not related to confronting the tyranny of these people not related to Gaza There is a connection between your willingness and your readiness when Allah calls you to anything and you squash the hesitation and you respond to the courage that is required for the moment when Allah سبحانه وتعالى puts us in this Now, Allah عز و جل also says and I'll conclude with this قَالَ سُبْحَانَا يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ Allah سبحانه وتعالى says O you who believe seek my help with patience and prayer Indeed, Allah is with the patient How many times have you seen the second part of that ayah clipped out and plastered on something إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ It's fine, Allah is with the patient but are you actually part of that category here? Because you have to do what Allah سبحانه وتعالى tells you to do in the first part of the ayah in order to qualify for the reward of the second part of the ayah So are you simply saying إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ and then defining صَبْر yourself defining patience yourself? When the scholars talk about this ayah الصَّبْر here is actually referring to the practice of الصَّوم fasting Fasting is patience that is required to restrict you from desire Do you hold yourself back from desire when you have the opportunity to displease Allah سبحانه وتعالى? The ability to control yourself willpower first starts with discipline الصَّلَاة is the patience the patience that's required to pray long days and long nights is the patience to abide by the command of Allah سبحانه وتعالى It's the exertion of energy There's a physical response when you come to prayer when you get up for صلاة when you plant your feet when you take your time in your recitation There's a physical exertion And so willpower is discipline and willpower is determination There are two types of صَبْر here There are two types of patience that are being alluded to As we're in the moment that we're in right now where things are going on for so long Things are going on for so long It's been so many months How long are we going to talk about this? How long are we going to keep on doing this? It doesn't seem like any doors are opening It doesn't seem like this It doesn't seem like that
By the way, objectively speaking this was possibly the worst week for Israel since its illegal existence Objectively speaking If you just took a step back an ICC warrant on an Israeli prime minister and a defense minister Who would have thought that's possible? An ICC order against Israel Multiple nations around the world recognizing Palestine all in one week It was a miserable week for them Alhamdulillah May Allah give them many more miserable weeks But we have to be able to take a step back and be like, you know what? There's a perseverance here that's required for this No one said this was going to be a few months here No one said this is going to be a few months But while you're trying to figure out the next strategy to do this or the next strategy to do that Realize that there's a direct correlation between your increase in your ibadah and your quickness to respond to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and your quickness to respond to the next action that's necessary there Be like the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the worshiper Be like the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam the warrior Be like the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam There's no one who manifests perfection more than him There's no one who is more worthy of victory like him sallallahu alayhi wa sallam The more we become like him the more deserving we become the more dedicated we become the more we start to bring about inshallah ta'ala the reality that we know came about with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam May Allah grant us that reality May Allah allow us to summon that strength through staying dedicated to the major and the minor acts of worship and staying the course with him subhanahu wa ta'ala and growing in our journey towards him And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allow that to be an ummah-wide reality that leads to the victory for this ummah Allahumma ameen
Innaka samee'un qareebun mujeebu da'wat Allahumma khafir lana warhamna wa'afu anna wa la tu'adhibna Rabbana zalamna anfusana wa in lam takfir lana wa tarhamna la nakunana minal khasireen Allahumma innaka afuun kareemun tuhibbu al-afwa fa'afu anna Allahumma khafir li warideena rabbirhamuhumma kamara abuna sighara Rabbana hab lana min azwajina wa dhurriyatina qurra ta'ayun wa ja'alna lil muttaqina imama Allahumma ansur ikhwan al-mustad'afeen fi filastin wa fi al-sudan wa fi kulli makan Allahumma a'izzal al-Islam wa al-Muslimeen wa a'dhillal shirka wa al-kathibeen wa dammir a'da ad-deen Allahumma ahlik al-zalimeena bil-zalimeen wa akhrijna wa akhwana min bayn al-msalimeen Ibadullah Allah ya'mru bil-adli wa al-ihsan wa ita'dil qurba wa yanha'an al-fahsha'i wa al-munkari wa al-baghi ya'idukum la'al lakum tathakkaroon fathkuru Allah yathkurukum wa ashkuruhu alil-ni'ma yazid lakum wala dhikru Allahi akthar wa Allahu ya'ramu ma tasna'u wa aqeem astaghfirullah
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