# Oct 7th Changed Everything | Imam Tom Live

**Author:** Tom Facchine
**Series:** Imam Tom Live
**Published:** 2024-10-07
**YouTube:** https://youtu.be/kqi5753MDho
**URL:** https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/oct-7th-changed-everything-imam-tom-live
**Topics:** Culture, Family & Community, Politics & Practical Theology, Social Justice

## Description
We talk about a recent IG post that critiques Imam Tom's article, discussing intersectionality and Palestine solidarity, and why leftist causes fail.

## Transcript
**[0:00]** As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah. This is Yaqeen Institute's live stream program. A very, very special episode. We have Sami Hamdi live in studio with us tonight. Sami, as-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah. Wa alaykum as-salam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. Hayakallah. Barakatuh. So a couple of housekeeping things. We will be taking questions, so definitely make sure to put your questions in the chat.

**[0:15]** Number two, Yaqeen Institute is a 501(c)(3) organization. We're a non-profit. We have no stance, positive or negative, against any candidate in any election whatsoever. We're here to talk about policy and reflect. It's been a year since October 7th. It's October 7th, 2024.

**[0:33]** What's changed? Where are we now? What's different now, a year on? I think that when we're looking at October 7th, one year on, I think first of all it's important to note that we are witnessing one of the most horrific genocides of modern times.

**[0:49]** Lancet reports that 240,000 Palestinians are estimated to have been killed. I know many people focus on that 40,000 from that ministry, but it's been 40,000 for the last 6, 7, 8 months. Which is why Lancet puts it at 240,000 and possibly higher.

**[1:06]** I think that it's one of the most horrific genocides. We've seen kids with their heads blown off, Palestinian kids with their heads blown off. We've seen images we never thought we'd see in our lifetime of these garbage bags with limbs that it hasn't been identified who those limbs actually belong to.

**[1:24]** We've seen very graphic images and audio calls. Hind Rajab, for example, desperately asking for help. And according to international law, she should be afforded that help. The ambulance turns up, but the Israeli forces choose to shoot the ambulance and bomb the ambulance instead

**[1:41]** and leave 6-year-old Hind to die in the midst of the corpses of her family. I think that we've seen within a year that the basis of the international order, which was alleged to be one of law, we've seen that law be thrown out of the window

**[1:57]** as there has been a dogged and stubborn support for Israel's genocide and consistent cover being given to Israel's committing of genocide by the United States in particular, which at the United Nations now stands alone in resisting all the resolutions

**[2:13]** that call for an end to the occupation and the like. At the same time, we've seen politically a huge shift with regards to the perception of the state of Israel in particular, one in which in the space of one year it has gone from being seen as a haven of genocide victims to a haven of genociders.

**[2:34]** I think that we've seen a tremendous shift in public opinion, unprecedented, where we've seen now that as a result of the voices that are being raised for Palestine, as a result of the voices that are being raised by the Palestinians and the Ummah that amplifies those voices

**[2:50]** and now non-Muslim audiences who've heard that amplified voice saying change their opinions accordingly, we're now seeing France call for an arms embargo on the Israelis, the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister calling for sanctions, Norway, Ireland and Spain recognizing a Palestinian state even as the US desperately tries to prevent them from doing so

**[3:10]** by insisting there should be a negotiated settlement before any recognition. We saw that this public pressure has led to a shift even in the verdicts that are coming out of international institutions that were never designed to condemn Western interests, they were designed to preserve it.

**[3:26]** We've now seen a subversion of the original intention of these international institutions in which the ICJ now comes out and says that the withdrawal of Israel from occupied territories is not dependent on negotiated settlement, they need to leave now.

**[3:41]** We've seen the ICJ declare that Israel must be dragged on charges of genocide. We've seen that companies are now hesitant to go and invest in Israel and even leaving Israel, AXA, Itochu and these other multi-million, billion dollar companies choosing to do so. We've seen Moody's downgrade Israel twice saying their economy is not worth it anymore.

**[3:59]** We're now seeing that even amongst Jewish populations, we saw some of them before coming out for Palestine, we're seeing many of them now start to read about what's happening and changing their opinions dramatically. We're seeing that issues that were once considered taboo on the American political spectrum,

**[4:17]** we're seeing now people talk openly about why is it that the US actually supports the Israelis? Tucker Carlson coming out and saying why are we funding them? Perhaps if we stopped funding them, they might be forced to finally sit down and make peace because the only reason they're able to do what they do today is because we, the US, give them support.

**[4:36]** We saw Candace Owens, a corner that we never thought would become pro-Palestine, go on the Piers Morgan show and say bluntly, verbatim, that before October 7th, her words, not mine, I believe that Israel was a firm ally of the US that we needed to support, that we needed to help.

**[4:54]** And after October 7th, the Zionists in the media said they demanded we pay attention to what was happening. So we looked and we didn't like what we saw. We didn't like what Israel was about. We didn't like what Israel was doing. And as a Christian, no one can convince me that you can bomb kids under any premise.

**[5:13]** She went from one side to the other. Many will have seen the Middle East Eye. There was a video they're interviewing protesters in my beloved city of London where they are coming out and saying why are you here today? And she says, quote, I was Zionist before October 7th. I'm pro-Palestine after October 7th.

**[5:30]** October 7th made people read. And when they read, they started to explore. And when they started to explore, they started to see. And when they started to see, they realized they didn't like what they saw. And it only made them start reading further to the extent that Ta-Nehisi Coates is now doing a whole roadshow on individual media

**[5:48]** telling people that I went to Israel for 10 days and I know it's an apartheid regime. Imagine if he'd stayed there one month. Since October 7th, while everybody is focusing on the disaster and the genocide, there is something that is happening that is now causing severe concern

**[6:05]** amongst the Israelis and amongst those who support them in the US itself in which Nate Silver is now saying, the pollster, coming out and saying that Gaza has now become a major issue in electoral considerations in the US. In the UK, we saw how the Muslim vote emerged.

**[6:22]** And it wasn't just a Muslim vote. It was a Muslim vote that backed Jewish candidates, that backed non-Muslim candidates like Jeremy Corbyn, insisting that it was Brits against genocide. And they delivered a body blow in that, although the Labour Party won a landslide election,

**[6:39]** they won the majority on only 32% of the vote. To put it into context, 32% of the vote produced a 117-seat majority. Boris Johnson got 42% and only got an 80-seat majority. And Jeremy Corbyn got 40% of the vote and lost the election.

**[6:56]** So when the papers came and read, they didn't say Labour won, they said Conservatives lost and Labour are in trouble because safe seats were becoming marginal seats, meaning that a seat with 30,000 majority was now only 500 majority. We're seeing Gaza become a key electoral issue in Australia,

**[7:14]** where suddenly you find there's a senator, Fatima Payman, who raises her voice for Gaza and disrupts the powers that be within the ruling Labour Party. And when she eventually resigns in the most attended press conference of any Australian politician in history,

**[7:30]** the pollsters at ABC are now saying that her stance on Gaza, her stance against genocide, resonates with so many Australians, so many non-Muslim Australians, that it is convincing them to abandon two-party system of Labour and Conservatives

**[7:47]** and going towards independence because they believe they're in a fight for the heart and soul of their country and they do not want their country to be one that legitimizes genocide. And this is why I argue that when people are focusing on the genocide, it's horrific, it's tragic.

**[8:03]** But at the same time, there's something happening that suggests that we will never go back to pre-October 7 days when people were steamrolling the Palestinians on issues of normalization and trying to suffocate the Palestinian cause. And the final point worth noting on the political side of things is

**[8:19]** that although there is a PR campaign now suggesting that Netanyahu is on a winning streak, I think it's New York Times the one that posed it, there is a consensus amongst political analysts that Israel is losing badly. And I explain what I mean.

**[8:35]** When Netanyahu went into Gaza, one of the reasons he went in was he needed to offer something to the Israelis for breaking the social contract of Israel. The social contract in Israel is not one of democracy or liberal values or the like.

**[8:51]** The social contract is we Israelis stole this land. And the government's primary duty is to ensure that the homeowners never come and assert their right over this land. The government has to guarantee security over the... And that's why when 60,000 settlers left those territories

**[9:09]** in what is referred to as Northern Israel, Netanyahu panicked. Why? Because the social contract was broken. And Israelis were willing to topple him, not because they were against genocide, but because he dared to scupper the promise of security

**[9:24]** of that stolen land. So when he goes into Gaza, he had three options. The first was to take over Gaza, occupy it, and establish apartheid. But he couldn't because there are too many Palestinians in Gaza. It's too expensive to impose apartheid there.

**[9:39]** And even Ariel Sharon could not do it, which is why he withdrew in 2005 and decided instead to make a war and make it into a concentration camp. Failing apartheid, Netanyahu's plan was ethnic cleansing. Let me kick these Palestinians out.

**[9:54]** Take the land and offer that land to the Israelis and say that although there was a threat, security threat, here's my compensation. Take this land. The problem with ethnic cleansing, however, is Gaza has a sea behind it and the Rafah border

**[10:10]** that Sisi refuses to open because Sisi knows if he opens that border, the Palestinians go into Sinai. If the Palestinians stay in Sinai, it's likely they will continue resisting. If they resist, Israel will invade Egypt-Sinai. If they invade Sinai, when Sisi goes to Washington

**[10:26]** and says, get these Israelis out of Sinai, Washington will say, there is a terror threat, we need an international peacekeeping force, we need a demilitarized zone, and therefore Israeli forces should stay in Sinai. And when Sisi looks at other Arab countries hoping for support from their lobbying power against Washington,

**[10:42]** he'll find these Arab countries have instead joined the peacekeeping force, which is why Sisi says I'm not opening the Rafah border. Netanyahu, when he realized there's no strategic victory in Gaza and instead it's hemorrhaging support internationally because the genocide is so horrific

**[10:58]** that even Antony Blinken has to fly from Washington to offer a PR strategy of a humanitarian corridor because it's becoming shifting American public opinion. The second option was to go to the West Bank. The problem with the West Bank, however, is when Netanyahu attacks the West Bank,

**[11:14]** he finds greater opposition from Washington than he does when he attacks Gaza. Why? Not because Washington is against genocide, but because the condition for normalization between certain Arab countries and Israel is that in the words that was leaked once

**[11:29]** by one particular Muslim ruler who said I don't care about Palestine, but my people do, West Bank is the theater that is required for normalization. The Palestinian state, the paralyzed Palestinian state, the impotent Palestinian state where 80% is controlled

**[11:45]** by Israel anyway, the West Bank is supposed to serve as that Palestinian state. That is theater to throw to the masses to say this is Hudaybiyyah, look what we did, and Ya Ibadallah, this is the stepping stone. If Netanyahu annexes the West Bank,

**[12:00]** there is no theater for these countries to do the normalization, which is essential for normalization. These states are still opening their airspace to the Israelis. They're still investing in Israel through Jared Kushner's investment fund. Their channels are still promoting the Zionist line,

**[12:15]** but they need the theater of a state. So Netanyahu realized I can't go after the West Bank, and this is why now he's attacking Lebanon. He's not attacking Lebanon from a position of strength. He's attacking from a position of weakness. Why? Because there are only two moments in history

**[12:30]** where Israel was able to impose mass ethnic cleansing. They are the 1948 Nakba, the war, and 1967, the Six-Day War. The only way that Netanyahu believes he can ethnically cleanse these areas is if he drags the U.S. and his allies

**[12:47]** into a war with Iran. So he's attacking Lebanon to try to provoke them so that the U.S. will go into a war. When there is an all-out war that the U.S. wholeheartedly backs, then Netanyahu can go and really try to drive out all of these Palestinians in an ethnic cleansing drive.

**[13:02]** In other words, when we look at October 7th, it's easy to feel despondent about what is happening with regards to the genocide. And it's true the hearts are breaking. It's true there's a permanent sadness in the heart. It's true that you can see how vile the international powers are in their support.

**[13:18]** But there is hope. There is hope because you see how public opinion is shifting to such an extent where it could decide the elections. There is hope in that Israel is now talking about an existential crisis because people are seeing it for what it is. And this is why Netanyahu came out in the press conference

**[13:35]** and said, Biden, stop these students doing the encampments. Why would Netanyahu come out and do a press conference if he felt there was no threat? He's doing it because he knows that these Muslim and non-Muslim students are forcing a shift in America. When Netanyahu comes out in a press conference

**[13:51]** and says, Macron, how dare you call for an arms embargo? It's because there are taboos that once you could not call for, once you could not push for, once you could not mobilize for, what was taboo before October 7th is now becoming normalized and mainstream.

**[14:09]** And this is why, and I promise I'll finish on this point, but this is why I always say, if you want to look at a parallel in history, in 1945, when the French were liberated from Nazi Germany, the Algerians took to the streets in the same week that the Geneva Conventions were written

**[14:26]** that every man is born free. The Algerians came out and they said, this document, they're saying every man is born free. We also, we want to be free. So instead of Kharrata and Guelma, they protested.

**[14:41]** They demanded their right to freedom. The French danced at their freedom in Paris and proceeded simultaneously to massacre 50,000 Algerians in one week, telling them freedom doesn't belong to you. Alistair Horne in his book,

**[14:56]** The Savage War of Peace, writes that this was the turning point because global public opinion shifted. The shock and horror of what the French did in that week was such that it mobilized society to move.

**[15:11]** It deterred public opinion from the French and it meant that in the next 10 years, France could not call on international support when the Algerian Liberation Front emerged. And here is the irony. When I always say that for Muslims, it's non-Muslims who believe in the power of Allah

**[15:27]** more than Muslims do. Because when Muslims saw that massacre and they felt that the Ummah was really in the depths of despair, that truly it is weak. When they look at Gaza, they said, truly it is weak. The French general who committed the massacre in 1945,

**[15:42]** according to declassified documents by the French, is the only Frenchman who went back to Paris when the French said, look at the lesson we taught these Algerians. Look at the lesson we taught these Algerians. Look at the bloody lesson that we taught these Algerians.

**[15:57]** They said they will never revolt again or they will never pursue their rights again. The only Frenchman who said, no, you're wrong, is the general who committed the massacre. He said, guys, after the massacre we've committed, I've bought you 10 years of peace.

**[16:12]** But after 10 years, after this, I think there's no going back. I think that this is going to be a turning point. He was wrong. It wasn't 10 years. It was nine years and eight months when the declaration was declared on the 1st of November of 1954. I know that you ask me, where's your area?

**[16:27]** And I've done the long route round. But I think that when we look one year on from October 7th, I'm wary of people falling into the sense that somehow it's Palestine who's losing. I think when you look at the election dynamics here in the US, it's Israel that's losing. When you look at the lobbying efforts here in the US,

**[16:42]** it's clear that Israel is losing. When you look at what happened in the UK elections, it's clear that Israel is losing. When you look at new media narratives, it's clear that Israel is losing. When you see how many people are shifting their opinions, it's clear that Israel is losing. When you see the way that European states are defying US

**[16:58]** over their stance on Palestine, you can see that it's Israel that's losing. When you see that the US wanted to help with ethnic cleansing by breaking the back of UNRWA so that there would be no support for refugees and they criminalized it in Congress, you saw Canada break with the US and restore funding. UK break with the US and restore funding.

**[17:15]** Australia break with the US and restore funding. We saw the UK, the impact was such that David Lammy, the foreign minister, announced that he was going to suspend 10% of weapons to the Israelis. The Muslims, they said, what's the 10%? What does it mean, 10%? But Netanyahu knows what it means,

**[17:30]** which is why he refused to meet David Lammy, because he knew that if one day he's brought before the ICJ, the judge will say, Britain, why did you halt 10% of weapons? What is it you saw in Gaza? What did you see in Palestine that made you do it?

**[17:45]** And the only explanation is I thought there was a war crime. I thought there was something here that could get me in trouble. The world is shifting in a way Israel did not imagine. It's shifting towards justice. Yes, it's not on the terms that you wanted it to be on.

**[18:01]** Yes, it's not as clean as you want it to be on. Yes, it's heartbreaking in terms of the tragedy that is unfolding. But it is undeniable that the ones who believe themselves to be in an existential threat are Israel, not the Palestinians. And this is why Henry Kissinger said that a conventional army loses if it does not win.

**[18:20]** Israel has not won. But a guerrilla force wins as long as it does not lose. And the guerrilla force here I'm referring to is the Palestinian citizen who continues to be in their home, who continues to be in their land, who refuses to leave, who refuses to be ethnically cleansed,

**[18:36]** who refuses to be erased, who refuses to be eradicated, and in the words of Ta-Nehisi Coates, is now imposing themselves into the frame of discussion after being shut out from it by the Zionists for so long. I think one year on from October 7th,

**[18:51]** there is much to be heartbroken about, but there is much to be hopeful for as well. Mr. Panela, you know, one of the historical principles that you touched on, I think it's so key. It's so key to even repeat that, you know, we worry about, is it going to get worse? Is it going to get better? Is it going to lighten up? Or is it going to become more severe?

**[19:08]** And it's almost as if the worst thing is invisibility. And even if there is a short-term price to pay, the fact that an enemy or a particularly arrogant head of state plunges forth, you know, headlong into something, actually creates the conditions that are his own undoing.

**[19:28]** Because now it's something everybody's aghast, as you said, public opinion shifts against him, international support dries up. And so sometimes people are trying to forecast into the future, and they're saying, well, this scenario, it's going to get worse, or this scenario, it's going to get worse. But we have to also keep in mind that these things actually, they force conversations, they obliterate support, they isolate political actors.

**[19:51]** Now, one of the things that you mentioned was the student movement. Now, we're back in session. And much of the summer, at least in the US, and I imagine also in the UK, was spent by Zionists trying to basically figure out the formula in regulations to crack down on student protests, crack down on free speech, to basically make it easier to prosecute, easier to expel, easier to eliminate.

**[20:19]** This thing, which was perceived as a threat. What are your reflections on that, first of all? And what is your advice to students who might be wondering, well, this is really risky to my career prospects, this might be really risky to my personal safety, I'm being doxxed, the vans are driving around with my address on them and my photo on them. What would you say to the students?

**[20:41]** One of the things that's first and foremost, I think is worth doing is acknowledging how you got here. What is it that you have that you manifested? What is the power that you displayed? That was such that Netanyahu came to try to lobby for a change in the regulations? What is the power that you manifested that you don't believe to be great, but it frightened Netanyahu enough for him to do a press conference pleading with Biden to stop the student encampments?

**[21:07]** What's the power that exists in your hands in the absence of the money that you think you need? In the absence of an army that you think you need? What's the power that you manifested that shook Tel Aviv, that shook Netanyahu's office in Tel Aviv and those who support him here in the United States? It was your voice.

**[21:24]** It was the relentless attitude with which you embarked in raising your voice for what was happening in Gaza. Why? Because what happened was the other students were listening to you. And when they started hearing you, they listened to you. And when they started listening to you, they started debating with you. And when they started debating with you, they ended up losing and being forced to read. And when they started to read, they started to shift. And as they started to shift, they ended up joining you in the encampments.

**[21:51]** And not only that, because of social media, because of TikTok, may Allah protect and preserve TikTok and elevate its status. Say ameen, those of you who are watching this video. I was in Philadelphia. I tell the story of time, but I was in Philadelphia and somebody in a masjid said to me, you know, I made this point.

**[22:06]** I said, say ameen. And he went, we're making du'a for TikTok in the masjid. I said, I'm sorry, audio, if I'm causing you a big issue. He said, I told him, what's the problem with it? He said, TikTok is fitna. I told him, shh, he said, don't shush me in my own masjid. I said, no, shush, shush, you're embarrassing yourself. Don't tell them TikTok is fitna. He said, but it is. I told him, if you tell people TikTok is fitna, you are telling them that you taught the algorithm to show you fitna because the algorithm only shows you what you like.

**[22:33]** It doesn't show you what you don't like because it's worried you'll uninstall the app. So when you tell people it's fitna, you're telling them you search for fitna. So the algorithm realized you like it. So it shows you the fitna. Give me your phone later. I'll fix your algorithm. But don't say it loudly that TikTok is fitna. You humiliate yourself in any sense. I was going to say jokes aside, but that wasn't a joke. But in any case, as a result of TikTok, when Sydney saw the student protest in Columbia, they embarked on their own encampment.

**[23:00]** And I know it because I was there at a Sydney encampment when I went to meet them. What made you do it? They said, we saw the videos of our American brothers and sisters going out and doing the encampments. When the Americans did the encampments, those in London said, look at these Americans. Why aren't we doing it as well? We should be doing it too. The social media spread that message like wildfire.

**[23:19]** Because even if the American student felt their encampment didn't achieve what they wanted it to achieve, it set ablaze the fire of justice across the whole world where all these other students were doing it, perhaps more effective than you were doing it. But you started it.

**[23:35]** You inspired it. You went for it. And this is why the student who is scared, it's not about the extent that you're willing to go, move and watch how Allah makes everybody move with you. Move and watch how everybody is inspired to move with you. Move the way Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) did that made the other Sahaba move with him.

**[23:54]** He didn't tell them move. He moved and they followed him. And this is why we say that if the Seerah does not terrify you, then you're not reading it right. Because the Seerah of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is that in the first 13 years of Mecca, he only has his voice.

**[24:09]** It's the da'wah that he's given. And this is what I always say to students when they say we feel powerless. I always say, why is Netanyahu after you? Why the Zionist lobby after you? It's because there is a power that if you manifest it will cause irreversible consequences to the power of the Zionist.

**[24:27]** There is a power that you have, not me, that you have as a student that will have irreversible consequences for the way in which you talk about these issues in the universities, the way that professors have to talk about the issues. Vietnam was not the student movement. One of the driving forces to end the war in Vietnam was not the student movement protest key to getting civil rights for the African-American population that the government continuously tried to deny them.

**[24:52]** It was the students. Why? Because the voice matters. And this is the point that I emphasize, and this doesn't just apply to the students. The voice matters. When Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) says, convey from me, even if it's just a verse. If you read that hadith like a dajjal with one eye, you think that it's walking down the street.

**[25:09]** Say, say, you feel the spiritual. But when you open the other eye, you realize the emphasis is not on area. The emphasis on wallow, even if it's just an area. Ummah, don't be quiet. Ummah, don't be still. Ummah, don't be an ummah that doesn't move.

**[25:25]** If all you can do is convey an area, if all you can do is raise your voice, if all you can do is like what Wayne State University did today. I'm on the plane. I see that they're live on Instagram. It said they're live on Instagram. And I see a few students gathered together and they're giving talks, raising awareness for Palestine.

**[25:43]** If that's all you can do, do it because Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), he does not speak about something that has no impact. When he says do it, it's because it has an impact. And this has been magnificent since this past year.

**[26:01]** What's been magnificent is people are now believing their voice matters. They're starting to see it has an impact. They're starting to see it does make Jamal Bowman, who voted for the Israeli Iron Dome and voted for weapons. It does make Jamal Bowman say, hang on a second, maybe I need to hold them accountable and maybe I need to call for a ceasefire, too.

**[26:19]** It has power. It makes David Lammy, who keeps saying Israel has the right to self-defense. But the moment he becomes foreign secretary, he says, I'm going to need to withhold a few weapons just to keep myself safe. No one threatened David Lammy. No one bought David Lammy. What's the power that made him do it?

**[26:35]** It's the power of your voice that convinced the masses to go on these million-man marches for no other reason, no self-interest, for no other reason than that their fitra resonated and knew that something was wrong. The power of the voice matters. And what I would say to the students, the brief answer, what I would say to the students is that you are in the midst of a fight.

**[26:58]** Sometimes you have the sense that because the Zionists came and changed the regulations, the battle is ended. It's not. You move, they move. You're pushing, they're pushing. And now there is a struggle. And this is the struggle of justice. Who's going to win? The Zionists want you to go back.

**[27:13]** They want you to go home. They want you to give up. They want you to believe that it is unbreakable, that it is impregnable, that there is no hope for change. And so you go home and you stop talking so that when you stop talking, you stop talking to American society.

**[27:29]** And when American society no longer hears your voice, their hearts stop changing. And when their hearts stop changing, they'll start forgetting. And when they start forgetting, then it opens up room for the Zionists to regain what they lost because you moved. And that's the point with regards to the students in that many of them are adopting tactics in their own way.

**[27:48]** But don't stop talking. I'll finish on a sports analogy only because I played soccer. I played it at various different levels. There is a saying during the 90 minutes when you can't break down your opponent or you're unsure, he hasn't scored yet. But you're aware that your tactic is not working in the way that you want it to.

**[28:05]** But you still have 80 minutes on the clock. So you do something called just move the ball around, move the ball, stress the opponent. Do they press high or do they stay deep? Do they rely on the flanks or do they come through the middle? Move the ball. Keep raising your voice until a weakness is identified.

**[28:21]** And that weakness is showing. It's showing in the way that Congress tried to ban TikTok. Who were they trying to silence? Who were they trying to silence? They weren't trying to silence any of the Arab rulers. The Arab rulers are making it clear that it's fine. In 1982, King Fahd calls Ronald Reagan and ends the attack on Beirut.

**[28:39]** In 2001, King Abdullah calls Bush and he tells them that if you support the Israeli intifada, we will cut our ties. Bush ends the Israeli repression of the intifada. The Arab rulers are making clear they're not going to make that phone call. The Turkish or these other, they're making clear we're not going to make that phone call.

**[28:56]** But the reason TikTok is being banned is not because of billionaires, not because of a power of millionaires. It's because Mitt Romney and Antony Blinken and Joseph Biden and Netanyahu, they got together and they said there is something that is emerging that is hurting our influence.

**[29:16]** The source of this hurting of our influence are a bunch of ragtag group of students who have no jobs, who don't even know what they want to do in their career, who can't even afford proper clothes, who have to rely on mummy and daddy, their destiny upon scholarships.

**[29:32]** These people are flipping global policy. These people are breaking global alliances. These people are making Macron flake. They are making Belgium flake. They are making Norway flake. Flake is a local term in the UK, meaning that they're not as firm in their support as they were before.

**[29:49]** These students, we need to silence them because Candace Owens can hear them. Tucker Carlson can hear them. Ta-Nehisi Coates can hear them. Or Kamala Harris's daughter can hear them. These American society can hear them. And all of the millions that we're spending is not buying those hearts back because something they're saying is permanently keeping those hearts.

**[30:11]** Let's shut them up by banning TikTok. Let's shut them up by shadow banning their accounts. But there are too many of them yet. You can shadow ban a hundred. You can shadow ban a thousand. You can shadow ban ten thousand. You can't shadow ban 1.9 billion. You can't shadow ban the millions more of non-Muslims who are also talking about Palestine.

**[30:31]** What is going on? Why won't they stop talking yet? And this is the point that I would say to the students. It's not what should you do. It's where you are right now in this battlefield. You moved and caused such an impact that they are bringing the juggernauts to silence you.

**[30:46]** Don't stop now. Don't stop talking now. Don't get tired now. You are in a place that we've never been before. And it's because you believe, continue to believe. Don't falter now. Yeah, it's a testament to the power that they have, the panic that they have elicited

**[31:04]** from the Zionists and from the powers that be, that the reason that they're cracking down so hard is because of the power, because of how effective it is. And one thing that I saw you mention in another forum that I thought was very, very important was that the Zionist tactic is to use an almost like an asymmetry

**[31:24]** of violence and force and money and influence, not just to win, but to protect the perception of invincibility. And it's almost as if this is the critical moment because the invincibility has cracked. It might even have shattered.

**[31:40]** And they're trying to throw the kitchen sink, as we say, at the problem because they're worried that it will continue this way. That 10% of arms that Lammy took off the table for Israel might become 20% soon, might become 50% soon, other nations doing it.

**[31:56]** And then what happens to the occupation? Because when he did the 10%, I don't mean to interrupt you, because when he did the 10%, what is David Lammy saying? He's trying to say, listen, Zionists, I'm still with you. I'm supporting you, but I'm hedging. I'm trying to. Meaning, David Lammy said,

**[32:12]** you're not as invincible as I thought you were. So just to be safe, I want to play both sides. And Zionists are saying, what is it that you doubt in our power? What do you mean they are making you doubt us? You should be completely loyal to what we say. What is it that's making you hesitate?

**[32:27]** And that's why, they spent so much money on primary races in the US. Yes. That's why the lobbying power spent so much money on media campaigns in the UK. It's because there is a power manifesting that they fear. If it breaks them, Thomas Massey, let's use Sahih Muslim, because I find it very effective in Sahih Muslim in the Book of

**[32:44]** Republicans chapter of Congress, people, it says, I should be aware of it. In any case, Thomas Massey told Tucker Carlson, there are many representatives who don't believe they don't want to support Zionism. But when I tell them, speak out, they say, no, but they will punish me in my home district.

**[33:00]** It's not worth it. Meaning what prevents them? The awe of invincibility. But when suddenly you see that the awe of invincibility no longer exists, all these international allies are now turning against them. This is why I think that this is the first time that the Zionists believe that the lobby now has an existential crisis because all of the oppression

**[33:16]** that was committed, the house of cards is now falling down. But why? Because the power of justice is manifesting. The voice is manifesting. And I always give it back to because when I start Sahih Muslim, I feel the shame in my heart. So I want to bring it back to Muslim. Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), when you think about politically,

**[33:34]** let's not read the seal of like a Dajjal the way we were raised, open the other eye just for a second. And I always tell people, read the seal and ask yourself one question. Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), has no army when he's in Mecca. He has no army. Spends 13 years with no army.

**[33:49]** He has no wealth, no billionaire, no Qatar behind him, no Saudi or anything to make sure that no one is partisan. No Brits, no Russia, no China, no America, no any of these things. What is it about him?

**[34:04]** About what he does that makes Quraysh feel insecure in their material superiority. They have the F-16s, the Quraysh, they have the wealth. They have all that material superiority. The logic should be that they should feel at peace.

**[34:20]** And this is just a man who's, you know, talking, raising his voice. Let him do it in the Ka'bah. Why should we be worried? And this is the point in that sometimes the answer is staring you in the face. But you never realized it because you needed to open the other eye. What is the power that Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), had in Mecca that made the Quraysh feel so insecure?

**[34:38]** And I remember there's an American student. He came to me after a talk and he said, Sammy, you know, you keep referencing these books, but I don't read books. You know, like anything more than 20 pages. I don't read it. And I didn't want to discourage you. So I said to him, OK, but go watch the movie, The Message by Mustafa Haqqani. It's a really good movie.

**[34:54]** I know some people on Twitter, they'll be like, how dare you reference movies in a serious debate. But I'm trying to get the Ummah to learn. In that movie, The Message, Abu Talib talks to the leaders of Quraysh. And this is what I mean when I say don't doubt your power. Don't falter now. The leaders of Quraysh, they ask Abu Talib,

**[35:11]** tell your nephew to stop talking, tell him to stop raising his voice, tell him to keep his da'wah in his home, tell him to stop going to downtown New York, to the center of the city and tell the people about what's happening in Palestine, tell him to stop going to Dallas, to Ta'if and telling them

**[35:30]** and doing all these images and these posters and tell them there is a land called Palestine and this is what's happening to it. Tell him to stop raising his voice and talking to people. Abu Talib says all he wants from you, he's telling me he doesn't have the material superiority to threaten you. All he wants from you is a word.

**[35:46]** He just wants justice. He just wants you to stop the genocide. He just wants Palestinians to have the right of return. He just wants the Palestinians and Palestine to go back to what it was before, a haven where all the religions lived side by side, coexistence. Interestingly, when the Muslims ruled,

**[36:01]** when the Muslims ruled Sarajevo, when they were in Andalusia, they were the epitome of coexistence. When the other religions came, they ruined it. I don't say that in terms of superiority. I say historical facts go to any university. When they point to the objective epitome of coexistence, they point to three areas, Andalusia, Sarajevo and Jerusalem.

**[36:20]** But the interesting thing is, Andalusia was a haven for coexistence when Muslims ruled it and ceased to be one when Isabella ruled it, that Sarajevo was a haven for coexistence when Muslims ruled it and ceased to be one when the Austro-Hungarians came in and took

**[36:36]** it over and Quds was the haven for coexistence when Muslims ruled it and ceased to be it when the British and when the Zionists came in and they ruined it. And they can go reference Avi Shlaim, the Israeli or put it in quotation marks, Israeli professor who teaches at Cambridge.

**[36:51]** He was asked by Muhammad Jalal in the Thinking Muslim podcast, can it be said in Oxford, sorry, can it be said that the Jews suffered anti-Semitism under Muslim rule? He said categorically, it cannot be said. The tensions began after what the Zionists did in 1948. Otherwise, in the Muslim books,

**[37:07]** it has the rights of Ahlul Kitab and Muslims are obliged by Allah to uphold them. But the point that I'm saying is that Abu Talib says all he wants from you is one word, the word of one state, the word of right of return, the word of justice. And Abu Sufyan says something remarkable. He says, if all Muhammad wanted was a word, we would have given him a hundred words.

**[37:27]** We would have written him articles in New York Times. The problem is the word that he wants. And Abu Jahl says the word that he wants is making our children turn against us. It's making our children pro-Palestine. What did the ADL lobby say in the leaked recording? We've lost the whole generation of America to the da'wah.

**[37:43]** The word he wants is flipping the whole social order. The word he wants is making those who are Zionists into pro-Palestine. The da'wah that he wants is something that our material superiority cannot reverse. And this is what I mean when I say that Netanyahu.

**[37:59]** Sometimes believes in the power of Allah more than most Muslims do because the Muslim is saying my voice doesn't matter. Netanyahu is spending millions to silence it. But Blinken believes in the power of Allah more than Muslims do because Blinken is desperately trying to get TikTok banned in Congress while the Muslim says,

**[38:16]** what's the point of TikTok? Biden believes in the power of Allah more than most Muslims do because he is doing everything he can to prevent scrutiny of Zionism on the university campuses while the Muslim says, what's the point of the university campuses?

**[38:32]** They know what the da'wah means. They know the power it can achieve. They know the shift it can bring about which is why they're trying to silence the da'wah. And this is what I mean in that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says it in the Qur'an. If only you would open the other eye when he says,

**[38:47]** ... The good deed and the bad deed in da'wah are not equal. If they respond with racism, we are not the racist. They are not our teachers. If they respond with xenophobia, we are not xenophobes. In fact, the biggest anti-Semites are the ones supporting the genocide because they made Europe unlivable for the Jews while the Muslims made the Muslim lands livable,

**[39:08]** which is why they came to the Muslim lands rather than go to Europe. But the ayah finishes, ... Push back with that which is best, da'wah pushing. Why? ... For the one who is your enemy today, the one who was racist to you today, the one who was pro-Zionist today,

**[39:29]** tomorrow might become your warmest ally. Ta-Nehisi Coates has done in two weeks what many of us could not do in 10 years, but Allah tells you who achieves it. And this is the point of the students. I know it sounds like I went around the wrong way, but this is the point with the students. Allah says that the ones who achieve it, ...

**[39:46]** None achieve this shift. No one, ... None achieve it except, ... The ones who are patient, patient with what? Patient with a process that is not producing outcomes at the pace that you want. But if you persevere will produce an outcome greater than anything you imagine.

**[40:04]** Ya Imam, Allah is saying that if you are patient with raising your voice, patient with your movement, patient with the encampment, patient with the protest, patient with the boycott, in the space of one year, you can shift the whole global public opinion with regards to Zionism.

**[40:21]** But Allah ends the ayah with, ... Meaning that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying that Allah, when you move, when you take one step, I will take the ten. When you come to me walking, I will come running. When you make the effort, I will amplify it.

**[40:36]** I will amplify your voice. I will amplify the power of the boycott. I will amplify all of it. If only you would move and that's what with the students. It's not about the tactics. It's keep moving. Sometimes there is Badr, sometimes there is Uhud, but keep moving because you are forcing a shift that it doesn't matter how much money the Zionists spend.

**[40:56]** They will never be able to reverse the shift that was brought about by the da'wah. I'm talking about not the Dajjalic one, the da'wah of the Muslims and those non-Muslims who have been their fitrah is resonating. The da'wah brought about the shift and I always like to say this phrase, Israel spent millions on a PR campaign that the ummah broke for free.

**[41:15]** Yes, subhanallah. There's so much to say about that. Another analogy we could draw is to Bani Israel when they come to Palestine for the first time and all they're told is, listen, you move and it's yours and they want to say you and your Lord go and fight.

**[41:31]** Yeah, exactly. Subhanallah. Sometimes we, like you said, if I might just translate a little bit is that our actions do not demonstrate that we trust Allah. Our actions do not demonstrate that we trust Allah, right? Sometimes to my students, an alien race came down and UFOs and looked at us and said,

**[41:53]** do these people believe in Allah? Do these people trust Allah? Sometimes our actions demonstrate that we don't because we're too worried about what about this? What about this? Allah told us he made us a promise. You go and you move, you do what you can and Allah will take care of the results. And sometimes the results are not linear. Sometimes it's like a hockey stick.

**[42:09]** You put in, you put in, you put in, you put in. It seems like a hockey stick. It seems like a hockey stick and you can't see what's happening. But then once it cracks, everything breaks. But even to reinforce that point, I was in Sarajevo in the summer and Junaid was with me as well. He was witness to the conversation.

**[42:25]** So the imam gave a khutbah and he started with Alhamdulillah, Al-ladhi fadhalal mujahideen 'alal mutaqaideen. Praise be to Allah who elevates those who strive, those who are willing to struggle for the sake of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, those who are willing to protest, to raise their voice, etc. Praise be to Allah who elevated those who take action over those who don't.

**[42:41]** Right. So at the end of the khutbah, of course, me and Junaid, you know, we looked at each other, we went, hey, so we went to speak to the imam. We said that's a very provocative way to start the khutbah. So this Bosnian imam, he says, I said to him that, you know, many Muslims, they're feeling the fatigue and you know, we're trying to keep the morale up, etc.

**[42:57]** But it seems that they believe, you know, as long as they make du'a, it's fine. He said, if only they would make du'a. I said, what do you mean? He said, the Muslim thinks they're making du'a sincerely, but they're not. I said, what are you talking about? He said, take for example, have you ever seen people pray for rain? I said, yes.

**[43:12]** He said, how do they pray for rain? I said, I've seen them in taraweeh, etc. The mosque is full. The imam is going, Allahumma asqina, Allah, and everyone's going, Ameen. He goes, they're so energetic, etc. He goes, yeah. And they bring umbrellas. Have you ever? No, he said, have you ever seen an umbrella in those places? Have you ever seen an umbrella?

**[43:27]** Yeah. And I said, I didn't see an umbrella in mosques. He goes, because they think they are sincere when they call it. But the absence of the umbrella, that's what shows that there isn't the belief that Allah can deliver. Yes. Because if they believed it, they would have brought it with them. Right. And that's why, I mean, to your point,

**[43:44]** Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, you mentioned about Bani Israel, if you and your Lord know, kill them. But even the generation after, because Allah says, because this generation didn't move, because they didn't trust the promise, Allah left them 40 years at the mercy of all of their enemies. The next generation come, Allah gave them the same choice because

**[44:00]** Muhammad Asad says, it's not Muslims that make Islam great. No one does a favor for Allah. Yeah. It is Islam that made the Muslims great. If Allah so willed, the whole world would be guided. Did Yunus (عليه السلام) not abandon his people? And then they are the only people that disbelieved in their prophet and Allah still guided them.

**[44:16]** Allah making the point, yeah, Yunus, I could have done it myself. I didn't need a prophet to go and do it. But Talut, when you read his story in the Qur'an, you read about all the tribulations, whoever goes drinks from the river is not from me. The sense you get is how on earth is this army going to beat Jalut. Jalut. Until Dawud (عليه السلام) is not introduced, until the ayah,

**[44:34]** when Dawud delivers with Allah's solution. Yeah. The whole surah is designed with Allah saying, I won't give you an indication what victory looks like. But I give you a promise, move for that promise. I'll give you the victory. Move on the basis of that promise, move on the basis of the

**[44:49]** promise, the victory will come. And this is why I think that sometimes those who doubt the power of movement, I think it's less to do with whether they believe in the feasibility of the movement and more to do with right now, we're in the tunnel and it's dark. Allah tells us you keep walking, the light will show eventually

**[45:05]** and they're saying I don't believe the light will show eventually. Let's stay here for a sec. I'm happy with the status quo. I'm happy with the comfort I've achieved. I'm happy with my success that I've achieved. I'm happy with my three bedroom home. I'm happy with my new Tesla. I'm happy with that Cybertruck. It's not very pretty that Cybertruck.

**[45:21]** But in any case, I shouldn't say, you know, Yaqeen does not, you know, they get involved in Elon Musk. I'm sure there are many people who love their Cybertruck stuff. Yaqeen takes no position on the style issues of Cybertruck because you're a 501(c)(3), right? In any case, but the point is, is the issue of, it's the issue

**[45:38]** of comfort. And the reason why I say that is, and I'm going to finish on this point because I know that there are other issues that people probably more relevant that they want to go to. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), and this is a hard one for me to take. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), one day Hafsa,

**[45:53]** his wife, she changes the bedding while, you know, that he sleeps on. So according to the narration, he wakes up as he usually does, but he says to, has somebody changed the bedding?

**[46:09]** And she says, I made it more comfortable. He says, change it back. The implication being, it made me too comfortable that I was starting to neglect, you know, either tahajjud or waking up earlier than I used to or the like. And 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) has a du'a that I really love. And the reason I said it's hard for me is because it's the

**[46:26]** idea that what you want in this dunya may not be what is good for you. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab said Allahumma, do not give me too little in this dunya that I am reliant on people, but do not give me too much that I become negligent in my responsibilities. And that's, and this is the point that we won't go into it for too much, but the idea that what stops you from moving,

**[46:45]** is it because you don't believe in the feasibility of the movement or is it because the idea that you might sacrifice something that Allah gave you in the first place is so heavy on your heart that you would begrudge the sacrifice that is necessary. And that's why I always, you know, somebody stood once at

**[47:01]** the end of a talk. I remember and he said, you know, Sami, I don't like listening to you because I believe the ummah is weak and you keep insisting it's strong. And the prophet said, one day we will be weak. I said, Wallahi, you have lied. The prophet did not say the ummah will be weak. He said, I have the hadith. He says one day you'll be like the foam of the sea.

**[47:18]** I said he didn't use the word weakness or da'if, finish the hadith, you Dajjal. He said, I don't appreciate that. I said, no, but what you've done a Dajjalic interpretation of the hadith. The hadith goes that the prophet said one day Allah will remove the fear from the hearts of your enemies, meaning

**[47:33]** it's a proactive removal of fear not because, and they will come at you like you are a feast on a plate. The Sahaba, they asked a very pertinent question. Ya Rasulallah, will we be many on that day or will we be few? Will it be because we're weak, few in number and unable to resist or will we be many?

**[47:49]** Will we have resources to fix this? Will we have the ability to resist? Will we have the ability and talents and manpower and money and resources to push back against this wave that comes on us? Rasulallah (ﷺ) says you will be many, you'll have the money, you'll have

**[48:05]** the resources, you'll have the talent, you'll have the numbers, you'll have the knowledge and you'll have all of that, but you will be like the foam of the sea, not because you will be weak, but because your hearts will be afflicted with wahan, your hearts will love the comfort so much that when it is called on you to sacrifice for what is right, you will

**[48:23]** hesitate, you will doubt, you will say that I love this so much, the idea I might sacrifice it is not worth it. And this is the point that every Muslim, I think what Gaza saved us, saved us, is that Gaza reoriented the priorities.

**[48:40]** From October 7th, you asked me the first question, you said what has changed? The world realized how much the global order doesn't value the life of the other, how cheap it considers the life of the other. The Palestinian baby is not equal to

**[48:56]** the Israeli baby. The lie of 40 beheaded babies took mainstream news. The reality of Palestinian babies beheaded didn't make any headline whatsoever. It showed that value in terms of, but the idea that you can have no dignity, but be rich in that no dignity, have a good

**[49:15]** house, but with no dignity, have a good car with no dignity. The comfort is such that you're hesitating to restore that dignity itself. And this is why I want, there is a Shaykh, actually he contributes to Yaqeen, Yasser Fahmy, I don't mind naming him. Yasser Fahmy said something to me once in a car.

**[49:30]** He says, you know Sami, he said, what's the hardest part? I mean, you've been across America Sami, what's the hardest part of these talks that you're giving? I said to him, Shaykh, the hardest part is convincing people that justice is the right thing to do and that the price you

**[49:46]** pay for standing up for justice is worth paying, telling you that there's no comfortable way to uphold justice, but the price you pay for it is worth it. And I remember, I'm sure you've met him before, he has that silly grin on his face and he goes, he grinned and he went,

**[50:03]** Sami, do you not think it's because in many ways Islam can be quite problematic for a modern Muslim? I said, Astaghfirullah, what do you mean? He said, think about it. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), what was his relationship like with Quraysh in the first 40 years of his

**[50:18]** life, before the Wahy? I said, it was good. He said, he was the golden boy. Two tribes are beefing, call Muhammad ibn Abdullah, we trust him to mediate. My cousin cheats me in business, in the trade, get Muhammad ibn Abdullah. He won't cheat you even if he's not related to you.

**[50:35]** I want to send a caravan to Syria, Khadijah, I want someone I can trust, send Muhammad ibn Abdullah, you can't do better than him. The status quo is he is loved and they love him. When do his problems begin, Sami?

**[50:50]** His problems begin, he comes down from Hira after the Wahy and he says, La ilaha illallah, Muhammadur Rasulullah. Free Palestine, stop burying your daughters alive, stop cheating people in business and the like. He said, has his character changed? Is there anything that Quraysh can point to and say that

**[51:07]** he's become a bad person? Hasha, nothing. They still know his Sadiq, they're still leaving their amanah with Rasulullah (ﷺ). He said, okay, so they start repressing him and oppressing him. He said in modern day when we teach our children what success looks like, we take them to the nicest street in the

**[51:25]** city and we say, Habibi, when you grow older, I want you to study hard, get a good job so you can be successful like the dweller of this big home or the driver of this lovely car. When we point to someone's success in our modern society, we don't point to somebody who has humble means but Allah

**[51:44]** subhanahu wa ta'ala is great. We say don't be like that person. He failed in life, be like the dweller of that big home, Sami. By this criteria, point to me to where Rasulullah (ﷺ) achieves and I went, I saw your faces.

**[52:00]** He says, why? He says, when does the struggle of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) end? The way we say it ends when you buy a house, when does it end for Rasulullah (ﷺ)? I said it doesn't end until his dying breath, even when he enters Mecca, which he said, Wallahi, you were the dearest land to me and I would never have left you if your people

**[52:16]** have not driven me from you. When he enters Mecca, he doesn't even stay, he goes to Medina and he dies there within a year of Fath in Mecca. He doesn't even, I don't want to say it in a blasphemous way, but he doesn't spend years in Mecca enjoying the fruits of what he achieved. He goes straight back to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[52:32]** So he says, Shaykh Yasser Fahmy says, point to the point where you'd say Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the struggle ends. It doesn't end until his dying breath. So he said, the success that the seerah is telling you is that he persevered through the struggle.

**[52:48]** He kept going. He kept persevering through this trial, the trials and so Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala rendered him Khayrul Khalq and Michael Hart rated him as the most influential person in history, not because he conquered lands like Genghis Khan. He didn't, he didn't conquer lands like Alexander the Great.

**[53:04]** He wasn't as rich as Enrico Dandolo of Venice. He didn't see Al-Aqsa liberated. He didn't see Islam being given in the English, dawah being given in the English language. He didn't see Yaqeen, mashaAllah. He didn't see flat Dallas. He didn't see the hills of California. He didn't see Islam there, but he didn't need to because

**[53:19]** Michael Hart says the magnificence of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) is that he left behind the spirit where generations would move in his name though. They never met him. They would move in his name though. He was not amongst them. They would move based on the message and the promise that

**[53:35]** he gave them and no amount of dunya offered to them would make them give up the cause. They would rather resist colonization in Algeria than succumb and see to these colonizers. And this is the point that I want to finish and I know I've gone on long about this but but this is the point I want to

**[53:51]** hit home on. And I didn't realize it until recently when I saw this interview. There is a Turkish boy. I think he's an actor in Kuruluş Osman, one of these Turkish series. He's 13. He has an interview with the Turkish presenter and the Turkish presenter says to him. What is your dream in life?

**[54:07]** He says my dream is to meet Rasulullah (ﷺ) one day at 13. I was not saying that. 13. I was not saying that I wanted to play for Arsenal. I was a decent footballer and I wanted to play for Arsenal that that was my dream. So the presenter is shocked. So he goes and what would you ask Rasulullah (ﷺ)?

**[54:23]** He says ask him. I wouldn't ask my beloved Prophet anything. Now at this time when he's asked the question, I'm thinking I would ask him about Badr, Uhud. I'd ask him about this. I'd ask him about that. I'd ask him why he went to Jannah instead of waiting to see Al-Aqsa liberated. I'd ask him about what he felt like, you know, when he got it. I'd ask him what was it like, you know, when Jibreel

**[54:40]** spoke to him to smash Taif between two, all these questions you want to ask. He says I wouldn't ask my beloved Prophet anything. So the presenter says to him. Well, then what would you do? He said I would thank him. He said what do you mean? I would say to him, Ya Rasulullah.

**[54:55]** Jazakallah khair, that when your people started persecuting you, you didn't give up the message. When they would throw the organs on top of you when you were next to the Kaaba and try to humiliate you, that didn't stop you conveying the message. When Abu Lahab and his wife would put the thorns in your

**[55:11]** path and they would spite you at every turn, you didn't say what's the point? This isn't worth it and give out the message, you kept going. When you saw your friends and your Sahaba being persecuted and that pained your heart, you didn't stop moving. You kept going. When they would laugh and mock you when you would go speak to the tribal leaders, you kept going.

**[55:28]** When they told you why you're going to Najashi, Najashi is a NATO ally of Quraysh. You still believed in Allah's promise. You kept going. When you lost Khadijah (رضي الله عنها) and she dies during the boycott, you didn't give up, your heart was broken. You kept going. When Abu Talib, your protection was taken from you and you

**[55:43]** are at the mercy of the rest of the tribes, you didn't give up the message. You didn't say like the Muslim said, let's preserve our status quo and keep our head down and preserve what we've gained. You kept going, Ya Rasulallah. When you were kicked out of Mecca and it broke your heart, you looked at it. They chased you in the cave.

**[55:59]** You had to hide in the cave with Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) and you were only saved by the web. In that moment when Abu Bakr felt feared, you said You kept that faith, Rasulallah. I don't know if I would have had the same in that situation when you're being driven from Mecca and you go to Medina.

**[56:16]** Ya Rasulallah, Jazakallah khair that when a thousand came on you in Medina and they told you there are 1000 well-armed army and we are 300 ill-equipped army and as you marched out your hesitation was clear when you said to Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (رضي الله عنه) Ashiru alayya, Sa'd, are you with me on this or not?

**[56:31]** And Sa'd says Ya Rasulallah, as if you are seeking reassurance from us and the Rasul of the Salam says and if I am and Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (رضي الله عنه) says we've given you our promise. We'll go with you and you defeated those thousand bi-idhnillah. But Ya Rasulallah, when you were met with defeat in Uhud afterwards and they said you see the hypocrisy, you see they

**[56:49]** shouldn't have gone to fight that didn't put your morale down. You kept going. When you dug the trench, you kept going, Hudaybiyyah, you kept going and when you entered Mecca, you set aside the grievance. You forgave them, Ya Rasulallah, though what they did to Hamza. You forgave them though they drove you out.

**[57:06]** You forgave them though they stoned you. You forgave them though they persecuted you. You forgave them though they harmed you and Ya Rasulallah, that act of forgiveness meant that those individuals carried Islam to Turkey for the deen to reach me, for me to reach here, for me to sit with you and tell you

**[57:24]** barakallahu fi, jazakallah that you kept struggling. What thinking, what magnificence that he could do dawah for 13 years in the absence of an army (ﷺ) and wealth and he would keep going based on the promise.

**[57:42]** He said Shaykh Ibn Battal, Hud has given me white hairs. What did he mean? Surah Hud is full of prophets who didn't achieve the success by your criteria. Nuh (عليه السلام), his people are destroyed. Salih (عليه السلام), his people are destroyed. Hud (عليه السلام), his people are destroyed.

**[57:57]** Salih (عليه السلام), his people are destroyed. Lut (عليه السلام), his people are destroyed. Shaykh Ibn Battal, Hud, I don't know if I will be like them or if I will be achieving the success that I want to achieve. He keeps going. He doesn't need Sami to explain the plan from A to Z to sell the scenario of the dunya and the life.

**[58:13]** And the reason I make this point, I promise I finish on this point, I promise on this point. When I was in, I was giving one talk and I was given the example that after 13 years of dawah, Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) creates an environment where Aus and Khazraj go and they're willing to give him all the support that he needs.

**[58:32]** So I was telling the story in a talk and I said, Aus and Khazraj, they come, they say to Rasulallah (ﷺ), Ya Rasulullah, you have no army, you have no wealth, but we love your message so much that we want you to use Medina as a base, Yathrib as a base, and we'll give you everything that you want. And Abbas says, wait, before you give the pledge,

**[58:51]** this path has struggle. You might get sacked from your job. You might be persecuted. You might be repressed. All of Arabia will come against you. The whole Zionist lobby will come against you. If you're not ready for that, don't give him a false promise. We are ready to support him. He doesn't need you for that.

**[59:07]** So Aus and Khazraj say this is perfectly fine. We are ready to struggle with Rasulullah (ﷺ) and ready to give the bay'ah. So my father called me after I gave a talk this and I always say everybody needs a teacher. In my case, it's my father. So my father called me and usually when my father called, my father doesn't call me normally.

**[59:24]** If I speak to him, it's through my mother. My mother calls me and says, you know, Habibi waladi ghayli and then she gives the phone to my, if my dad calls me, there's something up. Yeah, so I see Baba on the phone for those youngsters watching this, your relation with your parents never changes. It's always that level. So I see Baba and of course I'm going, you know, Bismillah, what did I do this time?

**[59:42]** Yeah, I can't keep him waiting too long. Assalamu alaikum. Assalamu alaikum, Sami. Wa alaikum assalam, Baba. How are you, Baba? Alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah. Sami, I was listening to one of these speeches that you gave in America. I went, ahh.

**[59:58]** And I heard you tell the story of the Pledge of Aqaba with Aus and Khazraj and you told the story quite well, but the point of the story, you missed it completely. I said, Baba, I don't understand. Aus and Khazraj, they say to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), we're ready to struggle with you.

**[1:00:14]** And they say, we're ready to, he said, that's not the point of the story. I said, Baba, I don't understand. I'm trying to convince the Muslims that the price they pay for upholding justice is worth it. So I use the example of Aus and Khazraj, that's not the point of the story. I understand the struggle part. I see you giving dunya scenarios to try to convert.

**[1:00:31]** That's not the point of the story. Don't subvert the seerah in that way. I said, Baba, I don't understand. What did they ask, Sami? What did Aus and Khazraj ask Rasulullah Muhammad (ﷺ) after their exchange with Abbas (رضي الله عنه)? And I went, Baba, I forgot what did they ask? They asked him, what's our reward?

**[1:00:47]** And I went, oh, Sami, he tells me. If Rasulullah Muhammad (ﷺ) had said to them that your reward is every khalifa will only come from Ansar and their descendants as a reward for them giving him the support that he needed at the time that he needed when no one else would give it to him.

**[1:01:02]** Muslims would probably have accepted it as qaidah, as fiqh. If Rasulullah Muhammad (ﷺ) had said to them that 50% of zakat goes to Ansar and their descendants out of appreciation for them giving to Rasulullah Muhammad (ﷺ) what he needed most when he needed it most when no one else would give it to him.

**[1:01:18]** Nobody would have objected. So what did he promise them, Sami? I said, Baba, he told them al-Jannah and what did they say? They said that is enough for us. And when we were in Kuala Lumpur together, remember we had somebody at the end of the talk. She stood up and she almost mockingly said, not mockingly, but the pain was great.

**[1:01:35]** Yeah, she said you all talk about ummah, ummah, ummah, ummah. But in the Rohingya, most of the money comes from non-Muslims to look after them. But in that moment, she asked the question, something clicked. The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the promise of Jannah moves Ansar so much, like it moves them,

**[1:01:54]** galvanized them so much in a way perhaps it doesn't do for many of us. It galvanized them so much that when they entered Mecca, when the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) enters Mecca, remember he's dividing the spoils amongst the people of Mecca. And Ansar are whispering between themselves.

**[1:02:09]** He's entered Mecca and look how he's treating his family now. He came to us when he had not and now he's and there is, you know, consternation amongst them, but the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) realizes it. So he calls Ansar, he tells them gather, hear me, O people of Ansar.

**[1:02:25]** And he says to them, if you were to say to me, O Ansar, that yeah, Muhammad, you came to us a refugee and we gave you sanctuary, one knows you'd be correct. They're too embarrassed to say yes. He tells them if you were to say to me that yeah, Muhammad, you were kicked out of

**[1:02:42]** Mecca with nothing and we gave you everything that enabled you to get back to Mecca. You would be correct and no one would dispute you. They said yes. They're still embarrassed what he's saying. He tells them how do you feel O people of Ansar?

**[1:02:57]** That they get the dunya while you go home with the Prophet of Allah. And they all celebrate. They put a refugee as leader of their city. They loved him so much for no material reason.

**[1:03:12]** He didn't make them khalifa. Even after he died, they accepted Abu Bakr as-Siddiq (رضي الله عنه) who came with the Muhajireen. They loved his promise so much. They didn't say no, this is our city. You make us the leader. They loved him so much. They loved his promise so much.

**[1:03:28]** They loved Jannah so much that whatever was asked for them for that, which is right, whatever was asked for them for that with justice, they paid it with Sa'd ibn Mu'adh (رضي الله عنه) who was killed. They paid it with so much and still they said for this promise. I'm ready to give it.

**[1:03:43]** I'm ready to give the dunya for what's right. Does Jannah move you in that same way? Does Jannah move you in that same way? Does punishing genocide for the sake of what is right, for justice, does it move you in the same way? Does Jannah move you in the same way or is Jannah something that you read

**[1:04:00]** in the masjid like a fairy tale and then as soon as you go out is discarded immediately and this is the point of the whole essence and my father was right when he rebuked me. He said, Sami, I understand that you are strategizing. I understand that you're presenting political scenarios. I understand that you're analyzing politically hoping that those political

**[1:04:18]** analyses might inspire the ummah to move but never forget the pact with Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. He made one demand for us. Allah is Supreme and we worship only Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala and the reward is Jannah. Do not take that pact, Sami, by promising something in the dunya that

**[1:04:35]** Hud did not get, that Nuh did not get, that Salih did not get, that Shu'ayb did not get, for wallahi Allah did not ask you to change the world. He asked you to try. Allah did not tell you to go and liberate Al-Aqsa. He told you to try because Allah has already appointed the time for

**[1:04:52]** all of these victories. The only choice you have is whether you want to be the vehicle that Allah uses to deliver it and the audio guy is going to hate me for life. You know, I was thinking about something and I thought that you would like it because it's a similar point, something that I hadn't thought about until the last few weeks that we remember Hudaybiyyah but we

**[1:05:13]** forget Bayat al-Ridwan and there is a similar dynamic. I think it play there because after the sulh you get ease, you get 10 years peace, you get time too. That was when the companions started to be able to gather their resources and that was sort of like, but what did it take even to get

**[1:05:29]** that, you know, to get to that point? They didn't know that was going to come. They had to watch Uthman ibn Affan (رضي الله عنه) go into the city, not know what was going to happen. They were humiliated, stopped, prevented from making pilgrimage, which was unprecedented and then he was gone for so long that they thought he was assassinated.

**[1:05:45]** They gather under a tree and they say that we with nothing with them on them, we are ready to pay the ultimate price. We're ready to sacrifice anything just to, you know, they have these phrases, you know, we would rather die on our feet

**[1:06:00]** than live on our knees, you know. Now, on this point, when I was a teenager, my father was concerned that when you pray tahajjud and all these things, there is a difference between praying tahajjud because you are arrogant in your, you know, you like the idea of being, you know, close

**[1:06:17]** to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala and actually being close to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Right. So one day he wanted to do a test that I only realized later on that I feel miserably. So he gave me, he put the seerah in my hand and he said to me, Sami, read the seerah and tell me which Sahabi or Sahabiyah you would most like to be like.

**[1:06:34]** Now, the correct answer is I would accept to be any one of them. I would accept to be any one of the chosen people that Allah use as the companions, but the jahil picked the seerah and he goes, okay, let me see. So astaghfirullah, he's watching me go through and you know, the disappointment and I don't understand why he's getting

**[1:06:51]** so disappointed. So I'm going through and Sumayyah (رضي الله عنها), killed before the Prophet of Allah can give da'wah even in public and I've gone, turn the page with the same pace that I turned the pages before. Why did you turn the page so quickly?

**[1:07:06]** I said, no, there are many Sahaba. Okay, Sumayyah is the first one, we'll continue. You can see how everybody's, you know, you can feel it and you keep going, Musab ibn Umair (رضي الله عنه), but he dies in Uhud, eloquent, etc. MashaAllah, you know, he reminds me of my friend.

**[1:07:23]** You continue, Ja'far ibn Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه), but he slashed with both arms and etc. Brave, he reminds me of Imam Tom. That's for him. Hamza (رضي الله عنه), astaghfirullah, you pause slightly on Hamza, Ahlul-Bayt and you know, you want to show a bit more respect, but you've turned the page again because he dies in Uhud.

**[1:07:41]** And you realize the Sahaba you are considering, the list are all of those who are alive after the opening of Makkah and that's when he looked at me and he said, why didn't the others? And he didn't put it in this way, but I would later reflect

**[1:07:58]** on it and say, was it because I was subconsciously imposing conditions for my sacrifice for Islam? Allahumma, I'll do it, but not if I'm Sumayyah. Right. Allahumma, I'll do it, but not if I'm Musab. I respect Musab.

**[1:08:13]** And in that you realize I didn't know, I'm praying tahajjud. I didn't know this disease was there. I didn't know that I was astaghfirullah, subconsciously bartering with Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala on whether it and this is the reason why I always argue that when it comes to the path of justice and struggle.

**[1:08:30]** The Quran, you know, at the end of the day, you know, you can paint all the pleasant scenarios. But what if, what if, la qadar Allah, la qadar Allah, what if some of us are destined to be like Ashab al-Ukhdud? Yeah, they raise what is right. They say what is good, but they are thrown in a pit and

**[1:08:47]** burn. Ashab al-Ukhdud, we celebrate them in the surah. You know, they are mentioned by Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala himself. I'm not saying everyone should aspire to be it, but I'm saying what if Allah has written that your ending is not what you want it to be?

**[1:09:03]** The question is not whether you'd be happy or not. Would you be content with it? Would you accept it? Would you say Allahumma, it is what it is, but Jazakallah, you know, thank you for using me. Thank you for using me in this regard because Sumayyah is in

**[1:09:19]** Firdaus. She's where we want to be and I really grasped this when we went to Sarajevo in the summer. There is one of our friends and his name is Almir, Almir Payevic. So Almir is with us and we brought these groups that came from America and we're taking them around and

**[1:09:35]** then while they're in the Srebrenica Memorial, they're seeing all the tombstones and everybody, you know, it's a horrific sight to see how many etc, but then Almir is next to me and I told Almir, I hate coming to this place because it breaks my heart when I remember what happened here. He says to me, you know, brother, I get jealous when I come

**[1:09:52]** here. What do you mean you get jealous? He said didn't Allah say shuhada go straight to Jannah, no day of judgment, no limbo. They're in Jannah playing at me and you are still struggling how to get to this place that they're already there. I'm jealous, Sami. I'm jealous about the people who when the Serbs came in

**[1:10:09]** and told them give up Laylat al-Muhammad, they refused to do so. They paid a heavy price and it breaks our heart, but don't you feel a bit jealous, Sami, that right now they are farihina bima ataahum Allahummin fadlih, while me and you are stuck here wondering if our salah is accepted or not and how on earth are we going to get to Jannah or not?

**[1:10:27]** I feel the Ummah is not weak because it lacks power. The Ummah is weak because there are a lot of these subconscious locks on our own consciousness and in our hearts that sometimes we don't even realize those locks actually exist. And this is why and this is the story that I finish on.

**[1:10:45]** My kids when I put them in front of the cartoon about Muhammad al-Fatih when it is Constantinople, I didn't know this because I was brought up and in my mind Muhammad al-Fatih conquers Constantinople because he's the genius and the others didn't know how to do it. Right. He's the one who knew the secret code and the others were

**[1:11:02]** failed attempts, but the narrator when he starts he says by the time Muhammad Al-Fatih got to Constantinople all of the most of the areas around had already become Muslim because of the previous generations. He was saying there is no Muhammad Al-Fatih without the eight generations before who went.

**[1:11:19]** They sort of did the groundwork. They paved the way for it and that posed a profound, not horrible question, but a question that shook me personally which is Sami. Would you accept for yourself to be Yazid who leads the army with Abu Ayub Al-Ansari (رضي الله عنه) to Istanbul?

**[1:11:36]** Not the Yazid who everybody thinks I'm talking about another Yazid. Would you accept to be Murad the lightning Sultan who tried but didn't manage to get there? Would you accept to be the one who led the army but couldn't take Constantinople, but you would be satisfied that at least he was somebody who paved the way. Would you accept Sami not to be the main character in the

**[1:11:54]** story and accept Allah is the main character? Would you accept to be the supporting role even though Allah doesn't need you? Would you accept to be the vehicle that Allah uses and accept and say that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala He's the protagonist of the story and that's when I understood, you know, at least

**[1:12:12]** if I've understood it correctly when Allah says man kana yuridu al-izzata falillahi al-izzatu jamee'a those who seek glory let them know all glory belongs to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala none sharing it and I know that it sounded like I rambled off some thoughts, but the reason my desperate

**[1:12:27]** attempt here is 'Ibadallah there are locks in your subconscious mind that is blocking you from unlocking your power. You have it now. We have more than what the Prophet (ﷺ) had in his time. I saw Umar Abdul Kaifi. I saw him once they filmed him on a plane and he's looking out the window. So the person's taking out the camera without his permission

**[1:12:42]** and is recording him and says, you know, Shaykh, what do you think about when you're on this plane? He says, I think imagine what the Sahaba would have achieved if they had this technology and it reminds me how much I'm lacking given that I have this technology. It's a perspective thing.

**[1:12:59]** It's a perspective thing. It's a perspective thing. Absolutely. Now, you know, sometimes the examples of the Companions and of the Prophet (ﷺ), they seem so larger than life that sometimes it can seem daunting. Off-camera before we started recording you were telling a story

**[1:13:14]** from your own life. If you don't mind sharing it about because now people need examples that they can follow even if they're quaint or even if they're just like 0.0001% of the famous examples that we have of a moment when you chose to stand up for something even at a personal cost.

**[1:13:32]** Now you're talking about your professional journey and I've had similar things and you know, I think that relaying them shows people that this is what Allah throws at you and you are in a critical moment and you have to decide. So would you mind sharing that briefly? Without mentioning the names of the people involved.

**[1:13:48]** Yeah, so I don't get Yaqeen in trouble. I don't want myself in trouble. So when I started the whole political geopolitical risk consultant eventually I didn't last long at the company, but clients I worked with they came to me and one thing led to another and then I started appearing on TV on Al Jazeera,

**[1:14:03]** Sky News, etc. And then eventually government started knocking on the door saying, you know, we want to you know, we want to hire you as a consultant, you know advise us on communications air, etc. and the like. And you know, we were talking before about how access can be intoxicating. Yes, that was sometimes it's not that someone has a bad

**[1:14:20]** intention, but you delude yourself. You delude yourself. You the access is intoxicating because you know, I always give the example Ali Izzetbegovic in his book Inescapable Questions, which for me anybody who wants to do politics in Islam understand it. If they haven't read that book don't move read that book

**[1:14:35]** first and then move. So he has something interesting where Richard Holbrooke was the US ambassador who was the architect of splitting Bosnia and rewarding ethnic cleansing by doing the autonomous Republic of Serbia region. Izzetbegovic used to say that when you met Richard Holbrooke you never got the sense that he had some evil plan.

**[1:14:51]** Yeah, he would please speak to you and make you feel like you were so special. You are absolutely right. He would say he'd make you feel like he fully understood what you were saying and you would be tempted to believe he truly did understand that he was you had to pinch yourself when you walk out the door to say no. No this guy is so one of the governments that came and I

**[1:15:08]** was advising him on the communications. They find you first class and they give you five-star hotels and when they sit you down and they introduce you, you know, because they came to you. You didn't go to them. When they come to you, it's you know, you've been recommended by these, you know ambassadors and by whatever this guy is good. They like he's a bit Islamist but his analysis is very good.

**[1:15:25]** So, you know you go and everything and five-star and you start believing that your access is making a difference. So one day this particular government I was working with there was a dissident of another country. He fled to their country and they told him you can't stay here. It will affect our relations with the other country.

**[1:15:42]** So you need to leave so he applied for refugee status and he got it. But when he was on the tarmac this government had an idea. Why don't we surrender him to the other country and that will help to ease the tensions between them. So when this happened, of course, I'm an analyst who analyze

**[1:15:58]** etc. and I tend to talk about these things. You know, like kalimatu al-haqq, you know what you should say. So I'm sitting at home. Of course, I've been traveling quite a bit. I don't see my family as often as I should have during that period. I see them more often now and I'm sitting in the living room and Sumaiyah, my wife, she walks in. So I've been sitting three hours trying to craft a tweet that would protect the five-star hotels and flights,

**[1:16:18]** but help me have an ease of conscience in terms of... so I'm sitting there and Sumaiyah walks in. Sumaiyah may Allah bless her. May Allah bless my parents who instilled this in me. And may Allah bless Sumaiyah. He sent her into my life to reinforce what my parents said to me.

**[1:16:34]** I always say surround yourself with people who are bitter in your ear because they help to keep you. You know, you know the ones who are like, you know, my they'll be like you didn't tell the story properly. Or my mother who tells me Sammy, you know, like I remember once somebody said, you know, Sammy, let's fly business class. And my mom will be like the Ummah of la ilaha illallah travels economy.

**[1:16:50]** Hey, don't get carried away with luxury lifestyle. It's good to have these in your life. So Sumaiyah walks in. So Sumaiyah, of course, like she's a tourism expert, you know, halal travel guide and stuff like that. She's not into politics too much. So she walks in and she says Sammy, it's almost Maghrib. You promised to take the kids out and you haven't.

**[1:17:07]** Yeah, what on earth are you doing on your phone that you would neglect your kids and you don't take them to the park? I told her Sumaiyah, if I publish this tweet, they will rip up the contract. And do you know like I'll be like it will become known. Sammy is a double-edged sword, etc.

**[1:17:24]** And maybe I can do more impact if I keep quiet and have that access. Maybe I'll have more impact if I, you know, you should full moon. You stay in Tunisia. Uncommitted. You stay, you said it. In any case, maybe if I maintain that access and keep my, I will be able to convince that person later, etc.

**[1:17:40]** And Sumaiyah wasn't having any of it. Sumaiyah said, if another Arab leader that you regularly criticized did it, would you have tweeted or not? I said I tweet. There's your answer. Now take the kids to the park. Wallahi, I like that. I tweeted it and sure enough the next day, not really and it would late. And if you talk to some foreign ministries, they say, listen, Sammy is good on certain things, but he's a double-edged sword.

**[1:18:00]** You know that he doesn't know what loyalty means. I always say their loyalty. I am loyal to Haqq and disloyal to Batil. Some people's loyalty is not to that. It's not exactly and to be honest for me when it happened, I remember sitting in the living room and you know, like it's a it's like I will give this

**[1:18:20]** anecdote before saying this so I don't condemn myself. I was in Berkeley, San Francisco and somebody said to me, Sammy, what's the hardest part of the boycott? And I said, no, he said, are you finding how you finding the boycott? I said, I'm finding it hard, man. He said, Astaghfirullah, how can you find the boycott hard?

**[1:18:35]** I said, no, the boycotting is easy. The finding alternatives is hard. I said I wanted to buy Timberlands, but they said no, it's for Zionists and now I can't find the Muslim equivalent of Timberlands, you know, like these things, etc. You know, like it's a and then one guy said to me, subhanallah, Yani, you are showing this face of, you know, boycott hard because of Timberlands.

**[1:18:53]** I said easy, brother, the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) left Mecca on the promise of Allah, but still said I'm heartbroken and wallahi, I would not have left you. He said, how can you bring seerah for Timberlands? I said because for you, seerah only applies to certain things for me, my beloved Prophet applies in big and small. That's the difference.

**[1:19:08]** So I remember sitting on the sofa and I was like, you know, by this time, of course, you know, it's spread, you know, Sammy, you know, was, you know, giving advice to this government and look how he And also this government during his communication strategy. I was already intending on leaving because that's a different story. I'm going to get it.

**[1:19:23]** But in any case, so I remember sitting there like with Sumaiyah and you know, things sort of took a bit of a turn. I was still comfortable, alhamdulillah, but not, you know, in the way of, you know, sometimes you sit there and you're like, was it the right thing? Was it this, you know, should have been smarter, should have been whatever, but I don't know any, maybe you might have some of these stories and maybe the other people here will have similar stories.

**[1:19:44]** When a door is shut in your face, when you feel that isolation, Allah opens doors from where you don't expect it. Absolutely. And I remember a student asked me and said, what's the best advice you'd give for a career? Or like, what do you regret if you had to look back? I said, I don't regret anything that happened.

**[1:20:02]** I don't regret the way the career path went and inshallah, I won't regret where it goes. What I regret is those transitional phase where you feel isolated, those transitional phase where you feel it's not going your way, those transitional phase where it's not going the way you want it.

**[1:20:18]** I wish in those moments I'd been more grateful for what I had as opposed to saying Allahumma, when is it coming? I wish in those moments I understood, وَإِن تَعُدُّوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ لَا تُحْصُوهَا That if you were to count the blessings of Allah, I wish in those moments I could say that Allahumma, I know it's I'm isolated at the moment.

**[1:20:36]** I know things are not going my way in the way that I want them to but I'm content, ya Rabb. That is the true test of character, not what you say when the doors open and that's why it was funny. There was a particular client who finally came knocking on my door and when they came in,

**[1:20:52]** Sumaiyah said, why are you not so happy about it? I told her, subhanallah, this was always written for me. This was always written for me. Yes, this was always written and I was impatient. This was always written and I was saying when is it coming? Allah had written it in the, you know Sumaiyah, I said to her, if it had come to me earlier,

**[1:21:09]** I wouldn't have the knowledge required to fulfill my obligation. If it had come, I wasn't ready Sumaiyah at that time. I was desperate for but it's like I realized Allah was saying, Sami, I want it when it comes that you maximize it. You're not ready yet. I need to show you first Bosnia.

**[1:21:26]** I need to make you meet Imam Tom and Shaykh Omar Suleiman. I need to make you see what America looks like. I need to make you meet all these people first. I need you to go through these processes first. I need you so that when they come, you know and you are ready to be the vehicle for this struggle when this genocide comes

**[1:21:43]** because you're able to reflect on what came before. Ya Rabbi, I wish I wish I had in those moments the fortitude and wisdom to say Allahumma, I know you've written something. I don't know what it is, but I know you've written it. And so I'm happy jamming having the coffee with Imam Tom, discussing Tom.

**[1:22:00]** See, I didn't say Tom this time. Imam Tom plotting or planning the next step to move forward because we're convinced we may not succeed in the plan, but we may as well move because if we move Allah will come 10 steps. Allah will come running as long as we move in His name.

**[1:22:15]** Even if this plan doesn't work, Allah will guide it that hockey stick that you said Allah will guide it in a way in which it comes and that's the thing. It's about perspective. I know that some people might say how did they start with Gaza and get here? If that's how you feel it's because it's the Dajjalic interpretation where you don't see how that applies to Gaza.

**[1:22:33]** Gaza to stand up for Gaza is perspective. It's the belief if I stand for what's right, Allah will make the change. If I raise my voice, Candace Owens will flip. If I raise my voice, Tucker Carlson will flip. If I raise my voice, Ta-Nehisi Coates will flip. If I raise my voice, companies will start leaving the Zionist apartheid occupation and movies will start downgrading.

**[1:22:51]** If I boycott, McDonald's will end up shutting stores because I didn't believe I had power but the McDonald's CEO believes I do which is why he's shutting those stores. It's all about if you move, if you have the perspective that move and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala will amplify that result. If you have that understanding that Allah is always there that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala never left you that in [Taha 20]

**[1:23:13]** when Musa (عليه السلام) makes the du'a asking Allah, Allah says ... We've given you what you asked. ... This is not the first time we've shown you favor implying,

**[1:23:29]** Yeah, Musa, do not ask me as if I've never given you, do not ask me as if I never looked after you, do not ask me as if I have ceased giving you at any moment in time because let me remind you what saved you as a baby was I bestowed my favor when you could not even ask for a favor.

**[1:23:46]** I saved you when you could not even ask to save you. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala was saying I am always blessing this ummah. I am always giving you capabilities. I'm always giving you talents. If only you would appreciate that ... that I am there with you now, so move and leave the rest to me.

**[1:24:04]** Believe in Allah, believe in the promise of Jannah and you will find that Macron calls for an arms embargo and Netanyahu starts panicking and the ICJ rules that Israel must be tried for genocide and the ICC begins the process for arrest warrants and Israel goes from being a haven of genocide victims

**[1:24:20]** to a haven of genociders because you moved. Subhanallah, I mean committed to the truth and ready to sacrifice. I mean, I think that's so important. You know what I was doing 10 years ago? You know where I was 10 years ago? You have any idea? Wild guess? No idea. I was a vegetable farmer.

**[1:24:35]** Mashallah. I was on vegetable farms. Yeah, 2014. Like that? I was on farms working in the hands and you know, How does that go? You know, they're saying, how do you go from Gaza to here? How do you go from vegetable farm to ... I mean, that's the thing. From a convert's perspective, from a convert's perspective, it's just like,

**[1:24:51]** every time I've sacrificed something for Allah, Allah has elevated me even higher. And it's like you don't even, like it's a theory until you live it. Yeah. You know, and once you live it, it's almost like, you know, how some of the, some of the Tabi'een,

**[1:25:07]** they said, if you had seen the Companions, you would have said they were crazy. And if the Companions had seen you, they would have said you don't believe. You know, there comes a point, and I'm not saying that I've reached it or anything, but I can get it, right, theoretically that the more you sacrifice,

**[1:25:24]** the more you see Allah just elevates and elevates and elevates. And you're presented with these moments of moral clarity. Because as one of my Shaykh said, he said, the devil, the Shaitan always gives you a maslaha. That's how the delusion works. Oh, I have access. Oh, I have my relationships.

**[1:25:40]** I've been working so hard with this party or that party on the inside massaging this. I got this, you know, thing. And now you tell yourself you see progress, but in reality, you've sold it all. You've sold your dignity. You've sold your people. You've sold your deen.

**[1:25:56]** And you're not getting anything that's going to move the needle. And there's a story, you know, it's interesting you mentioned that. It shows you that wisdom can be given regardless of age. So one of the hardest things about traveling is that while my wife Sumeya says go to wa qal Allah, Selma holds on to my leg weeping, crying. Selma once told her class. She said the world sees my dad more than I do.

**[1:26:13]** Which really breaks my heart, like really, really. So one thing that you know, I started doing is every night, you know, you call and I tell her, Selma, read me one of the stories that she loves it. Mashallah. So the other day she's telling me and I don't know if it was as if Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala had written it for that moment when I needed to hear it the most.

**[1:26:28]** She tells me, Baba, I was reading today, Baba, you have to listen to this story. A man realized that there's a village. They were worshipping a tree. So the man was really upset. So he said I want to show them the power of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. I want to remove this tree so that they don't so he went and then Shaitan came in front of him and Shaitan said, why do you want to cut the tree?

**[1:26:44]** He said because I want them to remember that Allah is Supreme. So Shaitan wrestled with him and he beat Shaitan. But just before he was about to chop the tree Baba, Shaitan says wait, don't chop the tree and I promise to put the dirham under your pillow. I'll give you a maslaha, every single day. So the man hesitates and then he says, okay, so he goes home when he wakes up the next morning.

**[1:27:02]** There's no dirham. The axis didn't produce anything. There's no dirham. So when, I'm sorry, I should have done that. When the man goes back to the tree, Selma didn't say that part. When the man goes back to the tree the next day, he's going to resolve to bring the tree down.

**[1:27:17]** Yeah, so Shaitan emerges again and says, why are you going to cut the tree? He said you didn't give me the dirham and I'm going to cut it because I don't want the people to sway from Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. So they wrestle but this time Shaitan beats him. So the man says Shaitan, how did you beat me today? He said yesterday you came for Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

**[1:27:34]** So I had no power over you. Today you came for the dirham and so Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala did not give you any power over me. And that's the frightening aspect in that Selma told me a story that she read in some book. But this story when I heard it, I said subhanallah, this answers the dilemma with regards to the genocide.

**[1:27:53]** When you move because you had nothing to lose because you want, you were so heartbroken at the genocide that you were willing to do anything. If it's tweeting, sharing, etc. Because of that Megan Rice looked into the Quran and two weeks later became Muslim. Yeah, Shaun King opened the Quran and ended up becoming Muslim.

**[1:28:10]** I was with him in MCA the other day. He's quoting hadith and the Quran off the top of his head. I'm not talking about hadith like in the name of Amal bin Iyati, like the network we fought even though they're valuable, but I mean not the basic hadith that you learn. He's quoting complicated meaning. He's learning the deen. You watch all these people entering Islam because they see a power in the deen that is greater than the missiles bombing the Palestinians.

**[1:28:31]** They see a power in the deen in Islam that is greater than the Zionist superiority with regards to the material wealth and the lobbying and the like. What is the power because you I only remembered it when you mentioned convert. What are these converts seeing the power that you who were born Muslim are unable to see what is the power of Allah that they see manifest that you are blinded to it.

**[1:28:49]** Someone bookman. I'm your you believe that everything is going into tragedy and disgrace when in reality, if the Zionists were panicking and this is the point that I make in that. Why are you tired when Netanyahu is panicking? Why are you tired when the Zionists are panicking? Why are you tired when they're trying to change regulations in universities because you moved?

**[1:29:07]** Why are you tired when they're trying to ban TikTok because your voice was loud? How can you be tired when you're winning? How can you be tired when you're shifting the tide? How can you be tired when an enemy that you thought was so overwhelming is finally revealing the weaknesses for no other reason than you chose to move with limited powers and the collective

**[1:29:27]** voice of the Ummah is shaking the whole narrative from around the world. This is not the time we went earlier before we walked in. We said what should be the aim of what we're doing over here and somebody mentioned fatigue the tiredness. How can you be tired and fatigued when you're winning when one year on from what happened in October 7th, and I'm not getting involved in what happened in it.

**[1:29:45]** The death of civilians is condemned by anybody by anybody including those in Islam. The reason I always say to say do you condemn is because they always they believe killing civilians is fine. They did Afghanistan. They did it in Iraq for them. It's normal. They can't believe that someone automatically revolt against it.

**[1:30:01]** But the point that I'm saying is that in that one year we've seen changes. We never thought could happen and I think the lesson from Gaza and the lesson everybody should take away from this is before you didn't move the way you move today before you weren't moving with the same urgency you move today, which is why the urgency with which you move today produced in 11 months what you couldn't produce in 20 years.

**[1:30:21]** So the lesson of this is imagine what you could achieve if you continue the momentum and you keep moving. And that's why I move just keep moving. Just don't stop. It's not about what is the right path moving forward is that as long as you move for the sake of Justice Allah will bring these pieces together the same way it brought us together with Yaqeen.

**[1:30:39]** We had never met before that podcast before and thinking Muslim led to Yaqeen which led to the American Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala in my view. So these parallel paths going to get and said these people who are moving bring them together and let them reinforce and amplify and that's why my mother always used to say me Allah bless her.

**[1:30:56]** She says Sammy the path you decide to take Allah sends the relevant people for that path. If you choose to embark on the path of Justice Allah will send you the people who will help you to deliver Justice and if you choose the path of comfort Allah will send you those who will only preserve that comfort and turn you into a people of humiliation and then have the life.

**[1:31:15]** I'm sitting with Imam Tom. I must be doing something right right stuff. Now my my read on the Muslim Street here in the US and maybe we'll we'll end on this and we'll see if there's questions is that the people are disappointed in the leadership that there are several that the people are actually ahead.

**[1:31:36]** I've actually been surprised with the last 12 months how many people who maybe were suspicious or doubtful as to the power that they wield. I see a lot of people waking up. I see a lot of people who your message what I've been trying to tell people what jihad has been trying to tell people what other people have been trying to tell Shaykh Omar other people it resonates but they're disappointed that the institutions that we've had thus far are not necessarily getting it.

**[1:32:06]** We're not leading the way. What would you say to those people in this situation? I'm going to wear this carefully. We were raised in a household where our parents would always use Seerah and life of Sahaba as reference points.

**[1:32:25]** So I want to make my dad proud by using one here. Khalid ibn al-Walid (رضي الله عنه) receives more spoils than he's entitled to after a particular battle when news reaches Umar ibn al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه). He says that if Khalid took it without knowing then he's become negligent and if he took it knowingly then it's an offense either way is excuse to remove him as chief of staff of the army.

**[1:32:53]** When Khalid ibn al-Walid reaches Medina Umar al-Khattab tells Bilal (رضي الله عنه) one of the other Sahaba I think it's Bilal that when Khalid enters the masjid take his turban off and tie his hands when he does all the Sahaba like it's one of the most important institutions in that we've built in the Muslim society Khalid ibn al-Walid sword of Allah invincible sword of Allah Umar al-Khattab eventually demotes Khalid ibn al-Walid Khalid ibn al-Walid (رضي الله عنه) is angry for three four days, but he accepts it when Ubaydah al-Jarrah (رضي الله عنه) says to him.

**[1:33:22]** I'm to replace you Khalid says no better man to replace me. You entered Islam before me and Khalid goes to Syria and then he quells any suggestion of dissent by naming Umar al-Khattab as the executive of his estate, but Umar writes an interesting letter Umar al-Khattab who realizes that Sahaba.

**[1:33:38]** This is one of the main organization main institutions of our community and you know, I'm not too eager to see it changed or to see it replaced or to see something new. So Umar al-Khattab writes a letter and he says Wallahi I did not remove Khalid except that I feared people would say that victory comes from Khalid not Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.

**[1:34:03]** Muhammad Asad says in his book Road to Makkah. It is not Muslims that made Islam great. It is Islam that made Muslims great what made the Ummah great was its ability that there are some institutions that serve the purpose in a certain point of time and Jazahumullah al-Khair and there is a new era and a new chapter that requires new organizations that requires

**[1:34:21]** new leadership. We had Khalid ibn al-Walid (رضي الله عنه) today. We need Ubaydah al-Jarrah (رضي الله عنه). We might need Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (رضي الله عنه) we might need Amr ibn al-As (رضي الله عنه) each one in the eyes of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. They are vehicles that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala used.

**[1:34:38]** Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah is not necessarily better than Khalid or the like, but all of them Allah used them as vehicles, and Umar Al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) was making this point. Do not hold on to a vehicle if it no longer serves its purpose. Do not hold on to a leader if they're no longer serving their purpose. Umar Al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) himself made the du'a: "Allahumma, do not keep me in this position longer than my ability to serve in it.

**[1:34:59]** Allahumma, leave only the one who is talented in this position. If I need to step down, let me step down. If I see somebody who is more talented..." I always say, and this is not just because I'm here at Yaqeen and people can testify that I asked this question even before Yaqeen: I asked why is it that Yaqeen is an organization compared to other organizations? How is it that yes, you have Shaykh Omar Suleiman, but you have so many people popping up around it, etc.? It's because there is a structure here that says that one is not greater than the institution. It's the institution, and the vehicle—it being a vehicle—which is the pride. And that's why I always say, and I say in a roundabout way:

**[1:35:29]** And I'll say I use my words exactly as I used them. Somebody said to me, "Sammy, we are moving, but the organizations are not moving at our pace. What can we do to convince them?" And I said, "Bypass them." I remember organizations said the community is moving too quickly. We want them to slow down. And you know, I said you risk being rendered obsolete because the ummah keeps moving.

**[1:35:54]** The ummah elevates those leaders that are relevant to the time. It's for you to adapt to the ummah, not the ummah to adapt to you. And unless you adapt to serve the needs of the ummah at that particular time, then barakallahu feekum, jazakumullahu alkhair. You were wonderful once upon a time.

**[1:36:09]** And that's not taken away. Khalid ibn Al-Waleed (رضي الله عنه) was wonderful when he took Iraq and Syria. It's for Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah (رضي الله عنه) and then Amr ibn Al-'As (رضي الله عنه) after him to lead the next page (رضي الله عنهم أجمعين). It doesn't take away from each other. It's not about, you know, this is bad and this is good. It's that we have a time. We need a leader. You're not there.

**[1:36:26]** Khalas, let's elevate somebody who is at this moment in time. And this is why the ummah has survived for 1400 years because the ummah is able to refresh its leadership. The ummah is able to retire leadership. That's not—I'm not saying that should happen here. I'm saying the ummah is able to find new leaders. Why? Because what inspires this ummah is not a personality in terms of the leadership. What inspires it is a message delivered by the Prophet of Allah, Muhammad (ﷺ),

**[1:36:50]** which said that if you move for the sake of Allah, Allah will give you from where you do not expect. "Yazidkum quwwatan ila quwwatikum wa yu'ayyidukum," and He gives you assistance from angels. Allah will give you—He will give you Dawud (عليه السلام).

**[1:37:05]** He'll bring from you Talut (عليه السلام). When he was appointed Talut, you know what did the community say? "What do you mean Talut?" Shaykh (عليه السلام). What is it? We do not see you as someone from us, but Allah elevated him. If these organizations do not want to lead this initiative, then allow the space for Talut.

**[1:37:24]** Allow the space for Dawud. Allow the space for Sulayman. Allow the space for Ubaidah ibn Al-Jarrah. Allow the space for Amr ibn Al-'As. For Allah, they are there. They just need you to loosen your grip a little bit. MashaAllah. Okay, so we got some questions. We got questions.

**[1:37:40]** Do we really have questions? Then it's late. It's late. Sammy, you have any final words you'd like to say? I think that the final thing that I will say is this: Whatever happens as a consequence of our movement

**[1:37:56]** is not what should make you move. The idea that we will achieve something should not be a condition on which you move. For the Qur'an is full of examples of Nuh (عليه السلام), who for 900 years gave da'wah to the extent where he would say,

**[1:38:11]** ... "Allahumma, I've called on my people for 900 years. I've called on my people day and night. And every time I call on them, they run away from me.

**[1:38:26]** And when I call on them so you might forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears and they cover their faces and they treat me with arrogance." Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) tells us about Ashab Al-Ukhdud. Their ending was not what you would imagine you would like your ending to be. Allah gives all of these various different examples. But this is why I think that what does it mean to be successful in Islam?

**[1:38:49]** And that's why we came back to the point of struggle. What made the Rasul of Allah great? It wasn't the lands he conquered. It wasn't the wealth he had. By the time he died, Rome was still a superpower and so was Persia, but he predicted they would fall. His magnificence was that people would move knowing they might not see the outcome.

**[1:39:09]** His magnificence was he convinced an ummah to move, even if they believed they would not achieve it because they weren't desperate for an outcome. They were desperate for the pleasure of Allah (سبحانه وتعالى). They were desperate to be vehicles Allah would use. They were desperate to hear when they die:

**[1:39:25]** "Ya ayyatuhan nafsul mutma'innah, irji'i ila rabbiki radhiyatan mardiyyah." Come back to Allah. Allah is pleased with you. This is what they were striving for. This is what the French could not understand when they were in Algeria. We have taken over their land. We have persecuted them. We beat up their men. We shamed their women.

**[1:39:46]** Why do they not succumb and why do they not just accept the status quo? What makes them move? What makes them keep going? What makes them willing to give everything for the sake of something higher than them?

**[1:40:01]** What makes them move and resist us when we have the material superiority? We commit a massacre, they keep moving. We go and abuse them, they keep moving. We do all sorts of harm and all sorts of torture and we do the most inhumane things.

**[1:40:16]** We blow up the heads of their kids, but this community keeps moving. What is it? Make me understand what this message is. The glory of Islam, the beauty and magnificence of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) was not that he conquered Al-Aqsa—he wasn't there.

**[1:40:32]** It was that he put the spirit in people's hearts that if I don't do it, let me pave the way for somebody else to do it. Let me keep moving. If I don't see it, I'll meet in Jannah the person who did it and then I'll hear the full story. Let me strive because the dunya is for them and Jannah is for us.

**[1:40:48]** That's the magnificence. Do not move on the basis that you want to see an outcome in your lifetime. Do not pursue this cause on the basis that you believe you have to see the liberation in your lifetime. Pursue it so that you want the ultimate success that any Muslim can have, which is—and this is what keeps me, gets me out of bed every night.

**[1:41:07]** When I feel the sadness of when I see Sidra's picture with the legs blown off and she's hanging on the wall. When I see Hind Rajab, 320 bullets shot at her car, when I see Reem and the picture of her with her grandfather, when I see the heads of those kids blown off, when I see the utter inhumanity, when I see that there are people who are willing to forgive the genociders,

**[1:41:25]** when I see that there is a global order that is sanctioning what is happening, I would prefer to see these Zionists bomb the living daylights and set the world on fire than stop them and stop this genocide. Let's take a risk. What keeps me going is this: Allahumma, I know that You exist. Allahumma, I know that Your will is manifest.

**[1:41:43]** Allahumma, I know that Your promise is true. Allahumma, I know that You've already appointed a time for this promise. Allahumma, on this basis, I will move. Allahumma, I'm trying to come up with these eloquent arguments and I don't know how eloquent they are. I'm trying, Ya Rabb, and I do it for You. Allahumma, I'm worried about what the consequences might be.

**[1:42:02]** I know I'm doing activism and luxury, but I'm worried something else will come. Allahumma, make me strong in doing it. Allahumma, I'm trying to call on my people, doing research. What are their fears? How can I address it? Allahumma, I don't like flying. I'm getting on those planes. I hate turbulence. Allahumma, I'm doing it.

**[1:42:17]** Instead, I'm doing it, Ya Rabb, please accept this from me. I'm not the one who's going to deliver the victory. I know it's only You, Ya Rabb, (سبحانه وتعالى). I imagine that it may well be, Imam Tom, that on our deathbeds, we are sitting there and maybe we are messaging each other and we say,

**[1:42:34]** our time has come, but the world is in a worse place. The world is in a horrible place. Killings are still happening. The global order is still messed, and we will tell each other, you know, maybe were we wrong to—maybe the arguments in the podcast were wrong. Maybe we should have focused on a different angle. Maybe we should have done this. Maybe we should have done that.

**[1:42:50]** Maybe, oh, you know what, Imam Tom, maybe I didn't think about it properly. We weren't as wise as we thought we were. Maybe we should have, etc., etc. And the ruh starts leaving the body and we think, "Subhanallah, inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un," and it leaves. This is what keeps me moving. I imagine the angels will say, I imagine that as I'm weeping with the heartbreak of everything that's happening,

**[1:43:07]** I imagine the angels will say, "Ya ayyatuhan nafsul mutma'innah, Oh, beautiful, sweet-smelling soul. Oh, lovely soul, wonderful soul. The angels will say, you know what this soul used to do? The community said, 'There's no point. What impact does your voice have?' But they kept going regardless. They couldn't see the outcome, but they kept moving. They said, 'This is impregnable.'

**[1:43:24]** They kept moving. The odds are against you. They kept moving. They said, 'We have Allah (سبحانه وتعالى).' They kept moving. They kept—Oh, sweet, beautiful-smelling soul. Come, come. Why are you crying? Come. Irji'i ila rabbiki radhiyatan mardiyyah. Allah is celebrating you. Allah will say, 'Look at My servants. I gave them a promise and look how they move. I didn't show them Jannah, but look at how they move.

**[1:43:43]** Like the hadith of the angel. They talked about My Jannah. Have they seen it? No, they haven't seen it. I will give them the Jannah. So they look how they move based on the promise. Irji'i ila rabbiki radhiyatan mardiyyah.' And Dino, a friend of mine from Bosnia, when they asked him about Jannah, he said, "You know, my dream is that when I sit in Jannah, I want Allah to show me the full tape.

**[1:44:01]** I want Him to show me from beginning to end." And one of the Americans who had the story said, "Subhanallah. Do you know what struck me the most? Look how he dreams. I want to be in Jannah and I trust Allah and I want Allah to show me how He made His justice manifest." Dream of these things in that Allah (سبحانه وتعالى), at the end of the day, I will stand before Him and so will you.

**[1:44:19]** Allah will not ask you about things that you are unable to achieve. He will say, "I gave you power. I gave you a voice. I gave you money. I gave you comfort. I gave you luxury. I gave you everything in this dunya. What did you do with it? I gave you the money. It's not your work. I gave it to you. I blessed you with it. What did you do with it?

**[1:44:36]** I gave you the microphone. I gave you the camera. What did you do with it? And the frightening thing is, can you imagine somebody who will see somebody and they will say, 'You know, this person, his voice that he raised moved and frightened Netanyahu, but you sat at home and you did nothing.' Don't be the guy who says, 'Yeah, Netanyahu, I wish I did something.' Move and you will see that the water starts flowing and chances will open up.

**[1:44:56]** And this is why I finish on this point: It's not a matter of whether you have power or not. Everybody has power. Martin Luther King—it's a universe, it's a fitra concept. Martin Luther King says, 'If you can fly, fly. If you can't fly, run. If you can't run, walk. If you can't walk, crawl. But by God, keep moving.'

**[1:45:15]** If you see something is wrong, change it with your hands. If you can't, then change it with your tongue. Speak out. Speak out and do something. There's a genocide. Speak out and do something. Kids are being killed. Speak out and do something. They're buckling—the Zionists. Speak out and do something. The world is shifting. It's shifting because you're moving. Don't look at each other and say, 'What are we achieving?'

**[1:45:34]** You're winning. You are making them buckle. Blinken is buckling. Biden is buckling. The genociders are buckling. Macron is buckling. The Belgian deputy PM is buckling. The ICJ is buckling. The EU—why are they buckling? They're buckling because you're moving. Only a fool would turn around after this and say,

**[1:45:52]** 'I'm going home. There's no point.' Move and keep moving. You're winning. And be it in Allah. Allah has written that victory will come. And one day, Allah will remove everything and He will say, Allah will remain. Believe in Jannah like you can see it.

**[1:46:11]** And I always say, and I promise I'll finish on this point: Yaqeen did the Jannah series. Shaykh Omar Suleiman did the Jannah series. And it was the first time somebody encouraged me to envision Jannah. I'd never envisioned it before. I just say, as long as I avoid hellfire, I'm fine. I'll be up above the first Jannah.

**[1:46:28]** I'll take that. You know, I'm not the kind of guy who should imagine Jannah. So you see him, you know, you guys, you had the lights behind him and he's talking about it in that lovely way that he talks, you know, like, MashaAllah. And then that night I went and lay down in my bed. It was only 10 minutes. I lay down in my bed and usually I put my head on a pillow and I conk out.

**[1:46:46]** I can't sleep. I think, "What would Jannah, what would Jannah look like? First Jannah. He's described it for me, right? So I think I can be a bit brazen and think about first Jannah. I want to think about for those, just first Jannah. And what you realize when you imagine it is the first Jannah—you go through everything you want in the dunya.

**[1:47:02]** Which takes you a few hours. Let's say you went to bed at 10 o'clock, by like 2 a.m., 3 a.m., you've exhausted everything that you want in the dunya. By the time you've exhausted it, you tell yourself, you get to a place where you're like, "I'm here. I may as well see what second Jannah looks like. I may as well imagine it." But when you get to second Jannah, you're imagining things that you didn't think that you liked or wanted because you've completed dunya.

**[1:47:22]** So you're like, "What is it that I would like that I have not considered?" So you start thinking about prophets that you would meet in the second Jannah, third Jannah. By the time it gets to 4 a.m., Fajr at 6:15, 4 a.m., you're on the fourth or fifth Jannah. I may as well. I'm here. I may as well.

**[1:47:39]** When you get to the seventh Jannah at 6:14, one minute before the adhan of Fajr. The reason why I'm saying it is I want everybody to imagine it. What is it that the Ansar saw in the promise of Jannah that made them move?

**[1:47:54]** I always imagine that one day you walk in, you see Ali ibn Abi Talib, you see Sa'd ibn Waqqas, you see Khalid ibn Al-Waleed, you see Amr ibn Al-'As, etc. You walk in. I imagine a scenario. I always walk in and then I see three men sitting underneath a tree. And I love this. I dream of it every night. Three men sitting underneath a tree and you walk by.

**[1:48:11]** And because you're limited in your imagination, you can't imagine what Jannah looks like. So you imagine it in terms of someone in New York or someone in London or whatever. You're walking by, you're overhearing. And you hear one guy say, so ya Rasulullah and ya Amirul Mu'mineen, when I liberated Al-Aqsa, I came in and I kicked out the Crusaders and I established Islam and the deen.

**[1:48:27]** And the other person says, but ya Salahuddin, when you entered, what were the laws that you imposed? He says, ya Umar al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه), I imposed the same laws that you imposed in Al-Aqsa. And you'd be like, Allah? He said, Umar al-Khattab and Salahuddin Ayyubi. So of course you're not going to walk straight past. You're going to walk in. I'm enjoying this dream. It's still 6:14. The seconds are ticking. I don't have long. You go and you say, Assalamu alaikum. Wa alaikum assalam.

**[1:48:44]** Are you Salahuddin Ayyubi, Umar al-Khattab? Yes, I'm Salahuddin Ayyubi, Umar al-Khattab. Masha'Allah, Masha'Allah. It's wonderful to be here with you. Which generation are you from? Wallahi, I'm from a miserable generation. I'm a generation where we could have prevented genocide, but we were unwilling to shake the status quo because we'd established a comfort in it.

**[1:49:01]** So we didn't think it was worth it. But I tried. I used to go all across America. Very big country, you know, Salahuddin Ayyubi, you know, it was four hours to fly from Detroit to Arizona. Four hours at that time was longer than London to Istanbul. You should have seen the rally to California flight, five hours, 15 minutes.

**[1:49:17]** It was almost from London to Riyadh, etc. But, you know, we tried and we tried to do this, etc. Say to Rasulullah, you are Rasulullah, you're saying, but this time you feel guilty. Ya Rasulullah, we weren't like your generation. We tried and we moved, etc. And then you sit down and then somebody else will walk in. When the other person walks in, you be like, Assalamu alaikum, you tell him, wa alaikum assalam.

**[1:49:35]** Rasulullah will say to him, what generation are you from? And he will say, we are from the generation that liberated Al-Aqsa in 2050. Very close because of all the efforts there. So I don't know if you feel jealous in Jannah, but you think to yourself, you think, oh man, I died too early.

**[1:49:50]** How was it done? What was the, you know, with the Asim Muhammad Al-Fatih? What did he know that the others did not know? So as the person goes and sits down, I imagine, it's just my imagination, I blame Shaykh Omar Suleiman. I imagine that, you know, he walks in, before he sits down with Rasulullah (ﷺ) and Salahuddin Ayyubi and Umar al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه),

**[1:50:07]** you know, Imam Taqi al-Din al-Faqini and insha'Allah, Shaykh Omar Suleiman and Abdullah Odurro and these others. Before he sits down, he looks at me and you and goes, Do we know you?

**[1:50:23]** You guys are here as well? We'll be like, do we know you? You know, I used to watch these guys on the internet and I used to watch these, and they used to say, the Ummah is strong, you're powerful, you can do it, don't lose confidence, move, go boycott, go protest, go do this. Yes, they're buckling, yes, you're winning.

**[1:50:38]** And he made me believe it. I'd watch him, I'd feel it, I'd believe it, I believed it. And so I would go when I would protest, I would go to the encampment, I would spend my money, I would go. And, Ya Rasulullah, one thing led to another. They paved the way of a new generation of thinkers who didn't fear as much as they hoped.

**[1:50:53]** They hoped, they believed it. We could see it as if we could see it right in front of us. They painted the picture for us, Ya Rasulullah. They painted the picture what Jannah looks like. They painted the picture what liberation looks like. And one thing led to another. And then eventually, Ya Rasulullah, I finally got to pray in Al-Aqsa, but it didn't happen without the efforts of those who came before.

**[1:51:12]** They paved the way for us. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, I find you here, Ya Rasulullah, we are not here without that generation that came before us, that paved the way for us. I accept that bit part role, if you would call it a bit part role. If the reward is Firdaus, if the reward is Jannah, if the reward is sitting with Rasulullah (ﷺ), give me the bit part role.

**[1:51:31]** Give me Sumayyah (رضي الله عنها), even though she wasn't a bit part role. Give me Sumayyah (رضي الله عنها), give me Musab ibn Umair (رضي الله عنه), give me whatever. When next time that book is put in my hand, I'm ready to be any one of the Sahaba or Sahabah, if it means that I get there. But the best thing that I imagined just for 6:15:58 seconds just before the event comes in.

**[1:51:49]** I didn't realize that I could love something so much until I imagined it. Because once you get to Firdaus with Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), the question is, what is there left for me to see? And there's only one thing left, which is a promise that I learnt about but never thought about, I never contemplated it.

**[1:52:08]** It never moved me or the like. Which is that maybe Rasulullah (ﷺ) will stand up and say, Ya Ibadallah, stand up, we have a meeting. What's a meeting with Rasulullah? Allah is about to reveal His veil. It's done. You are here for eternity, He's about to reveal His veil. And Allah looks at you, you finally see the face of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

**[1:52:26]** And He says, Ya Ibadah as-Salihin, Ya Ibadah who believed in My promise. Oh you, look at what I prepared for you. Look at what was waiting for you. Look at here, look at it here. Do you feel pain here? Was the dunya worth it? Look where you are today.

**[1:52:41]** Look, have it for eternity. Have it forever. Adkhulu ha bi-salam. Thalika yawm al-khulud. Lahum ma yasha'un fiha wa ladayna mazid. Fiha surur marfu'a, wa akwab mawdu'a, wa namarik asfufa, wa zaraib abathutha.

**[1:53:00]** Allah says, have it, have it. I always wanted you to be here. All I needed was for you to trust Me. Oh you who trusted Me. Oh you who trusted Me without seeing Me. Adkhulu ha bi-salam. Enter My Jannah.

**[1:53:15]** Fadkhulu fi ibadi, wadkhulu jannati. I think that is worth moving for regardless of what happens in this dunya. So let's enjoy the journey and see where life takes us. Bismillah, Bismillah. That's a wrap. We're gonna do it. May Allah bless you Sami. Thank you very much for coming here.

## Other Episodes in "Imam Tom Live"
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- [Who's Your Real Enemy? | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/who-is-your-real-enemy-snapshots-with-imam-tom-facchine.md)
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- [What Sharia Law Actually Means | Snapshots with Imam Tom Facchine](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/what-sharia-law-actually-means-snapshots-with-imam-tom-facchine.md)
- [Why Not Every Seat is One Worth Taking | Focal Point with Imam Tom Facchine](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/why-not-every-seat-is-one-worth-taking-focal-point-with-imam-tom-facchine.md)
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- [What Will Ramadan be Like in Rafah? A Conversation About Sha'aban and Leadership | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/what-will-ramadan-be-like-in-rafah-a-conversation-about-shaaban-and-leadership-imam-tom-live.md)
- [Israel Bombs Rafah During Superbowl, that Biden Tweet, and Constructive Conversations | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/israel-bombs-rafah-during-superbowl-that-biden-tweet-and-constructive-conversations-imam-tom-live.md)
- [The Lives of Imams, Hate Crime in Texas, Israeli Humiliation, Ceasefire Resolutions | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/the-lives-of-imams-hate-crimes-in-texas-israeli-humiliation-ceasefire-resolutions-imam-tom-live.md)
- [Musk's Take, Columbia's Skunk Surprise, Islamic Unity, and India's Ram Revelation | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/musks-take-columbias-snake-surprise-islamic-unity-and-indias-ram-revelation-imam-tom-live.md)
- [Michigan Mosques Say NO! | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/michigan-mosques-say-no-imam-tom-live.md)
- [Does Protesting Work? | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/does-protesting-wok-imam-tom-live.md)
- [How to Develop Better Habits | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/how-to-develop-better-habits-imam-tom-live.md)
- [How To Become A Strong Muslim Leader | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/how-to-become-a-strong-muslim-leader-imam-tom-live.md)
- [Courage in the Face of Israeli Censorship | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/courage-in-the-face-of-israeli-censorship-imam-tom-live.md)
- [On the Gaza Ceasefire | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/on-the-gaza-ceasefire-imam-tom-live.md)
- [How to Fight the Israeli Backlash | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/how-to-fight-the-israeli-backlash-imam-tom-live.md)
- [Israel is Losing - and They Know It | Imam Tom Live](https://yaqeeninstitute.org/watch/series/imam-tom-live/israel-is-losing-and-they-know-it-imam-tom-live.md)